Out of the Shadows: A Solangelo Fanfiction

Chapter 20: Wait

   Nico didn't come out of his cabin for 2 days. Will felt extremely bad, afraid that he pushed him too much. That he had said the wrong things. But mostly, he was worried about Nico. He didn't come out to eat. Which probably wasn't a big deal to him, but most people would get so hungry they could hardly function after only 2 days.

   He had tried getting him to come out of his cabin. He had Cecil try. He even had Chiron try, but he didn't even answer anybody. They knew he was fine though, because they could hear things getting thrown around sometimes.

   Everybody asked him if he knew why Nico was hiding. He told them no. His secret wasn't his to tell. He wouldn't even tell his siblings.

   When Nico had yelled that he was gay, Will's internal thoughts were something like: OHMYGODS OHMYGODS OHMYGODS HE'S GAY HE'S ACTUALLY GAY, HE LIKES GUYS YASSS THIS IS AMAZING NVYBHHHBGDSXEYIKMNBGFDXA.

   But apparently Nico thought that Will's internal thoughts would be more like: Oh my gods, he's gay? Ew, that's disgusting, I hate him now. I'm going to go tell the whole camp so we can all make fun of and laugh at him because he hasn't gone through enough torture in his life MWAHAHAHAHA.

   Honestly Will was finding it hard not to be hurt by that. Is that really something Nico though he would do? After getting to know each other the past two months (minus the times he was unconscious)?

   Will sat outside his cabin for the most part. He stayed far enough away so that he couldn't hear anything from inside the cabin, but close enough that he would know the minute Nico came outside.

   At one point Brooke came and sat by him. She stayed quiet for a while, but eventually broke the silence.

   "So what happened?"

   "I already told you, I don't know."

   She gave him a face that indicated that she knew he was lying. "You think I'm buying that?"

   Will sighed. "You're too smart, Brooke."

   "I certainly am. So? What happened?"

   "I can't tell you, Brooke. It's his personal business. He would kill me if I told anyone. Or become extremely self-conscious. I don't know which one." He replied, putting his head in his hands.

   Brooke patted him on the back. "I understand. But if you want to tell somebody, I'm here. You know I can keep a secret."

   "Thanks, Brooke. But I can't. It hits too close to home." Will mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't have said that!

   Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Is he gay?"

   Will slowly nodded. I'm so sorry, Nico! He thought.

   "Well, that's great!" She said, grinning.

   "Except for the fact that he apparently thought that I would hate him for it and tell the whole camp."

   "Oh. Why do you think he feels that way?"

   "I have no idea! I've been his friend for the past 2 months! Or at least trying to be! He's so stubborn, he refuses to let people in. He always asks me why I would want to be friends with a son of Hades. All I ever want to say is because I really like him! I've been head over heels since I was 11! I understand he feels insecure about his sexuality, but I can't believe he really thought I wasn't going to be accepting. Now that I actually know he likes boys, it makes things even harder. I actually have a chance, even if it's close to nothing!" Will rambled.

   Brooke was a great listener. She nodded along, occasionally tucking her golden blond hair behind her ear. "Will? Remember when you first realized you were bisexual?"

   "Yeah."

   "We were both 10. It was our first year at camp, and I remember you took me out to the strawberry fields. You said, 'Hey, Brooke? If I told you I liked boys, would you still love me?' You were so scared! I just hugged you and told you of course. Then you built up the courage to tell Micheal and Lee. You were always so close to those two."

   Will smiled at the memory. "Yeah, and when I first met Nico, I liked him immediately. I loved how he stood up for his big sister, how he seemed so strong and cool. Even though he changed so much from when he was 10, he still has those qualities."

   Brooke nodded. "I was the first person you told. You ran to me the day after Percy and everyone went on the quest and said, 'I think I really like Nico di Angelo!'" Brooke giggled. "Your face was so red! And then you just skipped away! You were such a baby gay wreck back then."

   Will laughed. "A baby bi wreck."

   "I remember you being devastated when he left. Everyone thought he had died. But you didn't believe them. Sure enough, he showed up to fight during the Battle of the Labyrinth."

   "That's right. I remember thinking he was so different than when I saw him the year before. He looked so sad and lonely. But that didn't change my feelings for him. If anything, it made them stronger."

   Brooke nodded. "I remember you coming to me and telling me, right in the eyes 'Poor Nico looks so sad. I want to be his solace! Get it?' You were so proud of yourself for that one. I just shook my head."

   "Oh my gods, I remember that! And then when I was almost 13 during the battle of Manhattan, I was all healing campers and trying to be a good counselor when Nico just struts in like a badass and saves all of our asses! I was seriously having a gay panic."

   "You were! I remember when multiple campers were passed out and you were healing them, you were going on and on about how hot Nico looked fighting, and blah blah blah. I had to get you to calm down!"

   "Oh gods I forgot about that! I remember when Percy went missing it was such a big deal. Nico disappeared from camp and nobody cared. When he finally came back to defeat Gaea, I ran into him and I completely freaked! I was like oh gods he's right in front of me, this is my one chance to get him to stay at camp! But now I probably ruined it."

   Brooke rested her hand on his arm. "Do you understand the point of what I'm trying to tell you? Everything we've talked about is your crush on him. You were very scared to tell people at first, even with a cabin full of campers whose godly parent is LGBT+. But you had people who accepted you. I don't think Nico had that. Remember when you told me you thought he was probably homophobic because of when he's from? That's probably why it's really bad for him."

   "You're right, Brooke. I love you, sis."

   "I love you, too."

   The two sat there like that talking about past memories when Will saw a figure out of the corner of his eye. Nico was coming out of his cabin.