I ran after Will as he sprinted to the Apollo cabin. He slammed the door and locked it. I banged on the door but he wouldn't answer. I eventually gave up after ten minutes.
I decided to play my "last resort" card. "If you don't open this door right now, I'm coming in via Shadow Travel. You know very well it could kill me." I waited a few moments, losing hope as every second passed by. Finally, Will opened up the door. "Will," I said, trying to soothe him. "All that matters is that you know that whatever she says-whatever anyone says- isn't true. You can't let the bullying get to you." Will had tears pouring down his cheeks. I hesitantly pulled him into a hug and he quickly obliged. He rested his chin on my head, reminding me how much shorter I was. "C'mon."Let's go back," I whispered. Will wiped the tears off his face and followed me back to the Dining Pavilion.
Just as we were arriving, a couple of Will's siblings were carrying an unconscious, heavily bruised Drew towards the infirmary. Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy were sitting at the table, eating while looking smug.
"Hey," Will said, sitting down. "You guys didn't have to do that for me, but thanks. It means a lot to me, more than any of you know." He glanced at me. "I hope you guys didn't get punished or anything." I sat down across from Will, next to Piper.
"Nah. We just got dish duty for one day. I think Chiron was going light on the type of punishment, though. And, hey. We'd do anything for a friend," Percy said, smiling and emphasizing the word "type". Annabeth and I both rolled our eyes.
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Will's POV
Weeks filled with pointless arguing, adorable blushing (mostly from the son of Hades), Nico coming out of his shell, and a rushed, embarrassing confession passed. Right before the end of the summer, Nico had come up to me, all blush-y and red-faced.
"Solace," he had begun. "Uhh... are you looking forward to going back to school?" My stomach dropped. I hadn't even thought about whether or not I would see Nico during the school year. What will he say when I tell him why I'm not going to school? Is he going off to school? I eventually figured that I had to be honest with Nico.
"Nico, the truth is that...my mom...after finding out that I'm gay, she told me that I wasn't welcome at her house anymore. She said I could only come back with a girl on my arm. I haven't seen her since I left. So, I stay year-round at camp."
Nico stood there in front of me, mouth gaping open. I hope he won't hate me because of my sexuality. "You're not straight?" Nico said, not sounding too disappointed. Nico then realized what he said and clapped a hand over his mouth, blushing. "I meant, uhh...that's so cruel. But, I was just um... coming over to say goodbye, but I guess I won't uhh...need to because I'm staying all year, too." I can still remember the smile that had tugged at my lips and the relief that had washed over me. Nico really was bad at this whole "friend" thing.
+++
Many more months passed and all of the campers who had left for school came back. It was only a couple of weeks into the summer. Presently, the two couples, Nico, and I were all sitting at our table, finishing up dinner. Jason piped up. "I think we should go practice sword fighting now, right, Pipes?"
Piper nodded and added in her two cents. "Yeah, we four will leave you two to eat dinner." Piper and Jason got up from the table followed by Annabeth pulling along a protesting Percy. Annabeth whispered something in Percy's ear. His eyes opened wide as he said, "Oh! We're leaving because-."Percy was cut off by Annabeth slapping a hand over his mouth. She gave us a large smile before walking away, chastising Percy.
"That was weird," I mumbled. Will gave me a huge grin.
+++
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Nico's POV
"Please, Will?" I begged.
"But what if I hurt you?" Will stammered, worry flicking across his sunny face.
"Like that's ever gonna happen. I'm stronger that I look, Solace."
Will huffed."Fine.But only because you're cute," he said, giving me a smile. I could feel myself blush. What did "cute" mean? Was it romantic? Friendly? Probably friendly. But what if Drew was right those many months ago and Will did like me? No, that couldn't happen...right?
Will and I walked over to where the four were fighting. Will hesitantly picked up a celestial bronze sword as I took out mine of Stygian Iron. We began dueling. I easily knocked Will's sword out of his hand in roughly two seconds.
"Gods, Will. You're terrible!" I taunted, playfully. I earned an adorable pout from Will.
"Shut up," Will said, grinning.
"Make me, Solace!" I challenged, sticking my sword out in front of me so we could duel again.
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Will's POV
"Make me, Solace!" Nico teased. So I did. I surged forward and Nico quickly pointed his sword towards the ground so as not to impale me.
"Hey! Watch yourse-," Nico began, but the words died in his throat as I grabbed his face with my warm hands and pressed my lips to his. I pulled away, realizing Nico wasn't kissing me back. I felt the blood rush to my face as I looked into his eyes. Nico stood there with his eyes wide in surprise and obvious shock painted across his reddened face.
I stammered out an apology. "I...I'm sorry, Nico. I was...I wasn't thinking." I turned around, sword forgotten, and began to run away.
"No," Nico said, regaining his voice. "I'm sorry, Solace."
"What?" I asked, not sure if I heard him correctly. What did Nico have to be sorry about? I was the one who kissed him without him wanting it.
"You heard me, Solace. I'm sorry for not kissing back, but I promise I will next time...i...if you want," Nico said, losing the courage he had. Nico was definitely coming out of his shell more. Smiling, I flew over to Nico, hope blossoming in my chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him again.
Nico kept his promise.
+++
We broke apart when we heard a scream. My healer instincts kicked in and I sprinted over to survey the damage.
"Nico!" I called out. "Get me some ambrosia and nectar from the infirmary."
"JASON! SHUT UP!" Piper yelled. She turned her words to me. "He's fine, he just...well, your kiss with Nico..." I blushed profusely, as did Nico while he walked up to my side. Jason was jumping up and down, grinning from ear to ear, and only stopped jumping when Piper began dragging him away. Annabeth and Percy followed. A little too loudly, Percy complained, "What does Will Solace have that I don't?" Annabeth slapped the back of Percy's head as they walked away. I turned to Nico and saw that he was as red as a tomato.I kissed the tip of his nose.
"You are too cute when you're blushing," I said, which made his face go even redder. "I hope you know Drew was wrong, Death Boy. I don't like you."
