Ugh, I sigh. I had been at this for hours and was right at the beginning of where I started. Yellow yarn tangled in my fingers as, for the millionth time, I went and stabbed, twisted the 'head,' strangled the body, and pulled the knife out. I had watched Hermes kids do this thousands of times as they knitted huge blankets for the Hypnos kids (coated in itching powder, of course). I probably did knit a little more violently than them, but it was the same—wasn't it?

I tossed the project on the bed and walked over to my closet. Since it was the middle of winter, it was freezing in my cabin, and I had a space heater in my closet that I wanted desperately. I plugged the heater in and went back to violent knitting.

A couple more hours went by, and I had just finished the yellow sweater. I use the term sweater loosely because this was my first project and, well… First projects are always interesting. Anyway, Katie Gardner came and knocked on my door.

"Hey Nico, meeting in the big house."

"K. I'll be there in a second."

I shrugged on my sweatshirt. Well, by mine I mean one of Will's that I had permanently borrowed. Then I strapped my sword on and headed out.

The big house looked like all the holidays threw up on it. There were Christmas lights draped precariously, Menorahs perched on shelves, Mishumaa Saba on the tables. Other holidays were there as well. I sat down on the couch waiting for Will to come in. He was usually last because he was 'just finishing something up.' I saved a spot for him and was not surprised when Chiron started calling out cabin names, checking if everyone was there.

"Apollo?"

"Will won't be coming. I am here in his stead because... well, you know how Apollo kids get during the winter," Katie Gardner said.

Chiron just nodded his head and moved on. What did she mean 'how Apollo kids get during the winter'?

"Okay, so here is the problem," Chiron started. "The heat is down. I am sure your cabins have already noticed the dropping temperatures. We are not concerned quite yet. Hephaestus Cabin is working on it. We will alert you if we have to move everyone into the big house or if the heat turns back on. We have those space heaters that were purchased a little bit back. We advise using those.

All activities are put on pause because a storm is coming in. And we need everybody inside and getting warm. The infirmary is closed right now. If it is an absolute emergency, have a camper go to Apollo's cabin and get the injured child to the infirmary and get everything up and running before Apollo gets there. That is the meeting. Any questions?"

The rest of it was people trying to get a sense of what to do with their cabin for that long. I felt bad for Travis, at the thought of dealing with pranksters during a cold storm didn't last long as I saw him pull out a list for pranks they could start pre-planning.

Katie pulled me aside and said, "Have you checked in on Will yet?"

"No? Also, what did you mean 'you know how Apollo kids get during the winter'?"

She dragged her hand across her face. "He didn't tell you? During the winter, the sun isn't up as long. Sunlight is a main staple for Apollo's cabin's energy and mood. It's easier for them to get sick. They get cold really easily. Seasonal depression hits them hard. It's just hard to function."

That clicked in my head. I felt cold in my cabin, which meant Will must be feeling freezing. Also, he had to still be a counselor during this. It made sense why I hadn't seen Will in a bit. I think she saw these thoughts rush over my face.

She pushed me to the door. "Go give him the message of the meeting. Maybe you can accidentally get stuck at his cabin during the storm." She winked and turned to go talk to Travis.

I went to my cabin first and grabbed blankets galore along with my space heater and the sweater I had made. After doing a quick check that I had winter-proofed everything, I headed over to Will's cabin.

I opened the door. Flurries made it into the cabin, melting on the light wood floor. I closed the door and dumped blankets on the floor. The cabin was like a tomb. All of the campers were in their beds, silent and still, except for some Taylor Swift playing quietly at the end of the cabin.

I saw a figure leaning against the window. I headed over to see who it was.

Annabeth and her cabin did a fantastic job with the layout. When you opened the door, right next to you was the weapons wall. It had all of the campers' weapons. Then bunks on each side of you like a tunnel leading you to the back wall. The back wall had a cabinet that ran the bottom of it. Above the cabinets were windows that scaled to the ceiling. The back wall made you turn into the kitchen hangout area. Chiron had finally relented to allowing Apollo cabin to have a TV after Will pulled the 'I promise to work a little less' card. He didn't follow through with that, but I wasn't expecting him to. It had a circle of beanbags and an oven for cooking snacks.

The figure leaning against the window was Will. My boyfriend. I will only stop calling him my boyfriend when we get engaged. Not that that is going to happen anytime soon. But I just get little flutters every time I call him think about that.

His head was leaning against the cold glass. His face was flushed and very warm to the touch. His eyes couldn't focus on me.

"Nico?"

"Will," I sighed in response. I half-carried him to the bed. He slumped down, exhausted.

I got to work making the cabin warm. I brought blankets and covered the windows. I hated to take away the little energy they were getting from it, but it was just too cold but maybe it gave them a little energy. The ceiling was enchanted to look like whatever the sky looked like, and it was just depressing seeing the dark, angry clouds letting massive flakes fall down. With the windows covered, I went to the closet and grabbed their space heater. With both running, the place was warming up. But not enough. I couldn't warm both areas. No one was in the kitchen side, so what if I closed it off?

I closed it off. Then I went to that side and got a bunch of wet cloth. The first one I placed on Will's forehead. My extra time spent in the infirmary was finally starting to pay off. I went checking on everyone else. Then I made myself some hot cocoa—dark, of course—turned the TV volume to low and watched the newest crime show.

I felt the storm hit before I realized it. All of a sudden, it was like being punched. The storm howled. The cabin shook a bit. It was scary realizing that all that kept you from the violence of the outdoors was a thin wall. An American thin wall. When I disappeared for a while, I spent some time exploring the world and discovered that American walls are super thin. Like thin.

I hurried and checked on them. It made me feel like a mother hen. Before I went through the blanket curtain, I did a couple of chicken dance walks—nobody will ever know.

Will was sitting up with a lot better color in his face. Blankets swaddled around him.

"Hey Nico!" He seemed a lot better.

I smiled at him. "You need anything? Hot chocolate, tea?"

"Could you get me hot cocoa?"

"Yeah."

When I came back and gave the cocoa to Will, the steam curled up in his face, making him look a lot more comfortable. He blew on it.

"When did you get here?"

I looked at him. "Do you not remember? You were leaning against the window. I carried you back to bed."

He laughed a little. "I was so fevered. I remember pressing my face against the window because it was nice and cold, and then snowflakes slowly morphed into polka dots dancing." He shivered a little. "I am still so cold."

I shoved him over a bit and scooched onto the bed. "Move over a bit."

"I could get you sick."

"I am the King of Darkness. I never get sick."

Once he moved all the way to the other side of the bed, I snuggled into the blankets. I grabbed his middle and pulled him to me. He rolled to face my chest. He pushed his head into my shirt and fell asleep. I started to slip into the grip of sleep. The yellow sweater rested on a chair, ready to be worn the second its owner woke up.