Nico was already awake when Will went to his room the next morning. He was sitting up in bed with a few books next to him but he was holding the model plane they had left for him. He put it down quickly when he saw Will.

"Hey, my mom's about to take me to the main land to school. Do you want to ride with?"

"Yeah." Nico got up and followed Will outside. A part of him expected to see Jules-Albert driving, instead of Will's mom.

"I don't deserve this," he said, quietly enough that he didn't think Will had heard.

"I think you're wrong." Will reached over and squeezed his hand. Nico instinctively jerked his hand away. He regretted it instantly but just stared out the window.

"What do you want," Will's mom asked him suddenly, turning back to look at Nico.

"What?"

"Just get him the bacon, mom. I have to be there early for Dr. Collins." Will glanced at Nico. "You have to eat it if she buys it for you."

"But I'm not hungry."

Will handed him the bag anyway. "You're being rude."

"But-"

"What? You don't deserve it? Eat it anyway."

"There's more than a sandwich in here."

"Omg, right? The nerve of my mom, making sure you have enough to eat."

"Stop saying it like that!"

"It's a biscuit with egg and cheese and some hash browns. Not the Chimera."

"Will-"

"Here's some orange juice," Will said pushing the cup into Nico's other hand.

"Will-"

"I can walk to school from here if you're just going to complain."

Nico angrily took a bite. He really wanted to throw all of it at Will for being so stubborn but he didn't want to upset his mom who was being so kind.

When Will went to get out of the car a few minutes later, he leaned over and kissed Nico. The car door slammed just as Nico was getting over the surprise. He looked quickly at Will's mom but she didn't seem to care. He looked out the window but Will had already disappeared into the crowd.

"Do you want to go anywhere today," she asked him as they pulled away from the school.

"Like where?"

"What do you like to do?"

"I like Mythomagic and planes."

"The Lexington is docked at the bay. They turned it into a tourist attraction but Will's been wanting to go so maybe this weekend. We can stop by the store though." She looked at him through the rear view mirror.

"I can't. I have my first class at 9:30."

"Are you sure? If you know what you want it won't take long."

"Maybe later. They've included amphisbaena and cerastes to the new Mythomagic expansion.