ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

xxɪ ɴɪᴄᴏ | ᴡɪʟʟ ᴄᴏꜱᴘʟᴀʏꜱ ᴛᴀʏʟᴏʀ ꜱᴡɪꜰᴛ

An entire hour has passed since Nico last heard from Drew. What if his puppies are sick, hurt, or worse?

He calls her. The other line rings, and rings, and then:

Hey Bestie! You've reached Drew Tanaka! So sorry I can't come to the phone right now; it's probably because I'm doing something awesome. You can check it out on my Instagram at-

Nico hangs up. He doesn't need to hear Drew's entire automatic voicemail receiver.

He steps out of his room to try to call Drew from in the hall. Maybe the signal is a little better out there.

Simultaneously, Percy steps out of his mother's room, which is right next door to Nico's. Frank and the groomsmen's rooms are all arranged in a semicircle around Sally Jackson's room. It's a really smart idea, intentional or not. If Percy can't take care of her, there are three other guys just down the hall who know and love her that can make sure she's okay. It reminds Nico of a reverse Camp Half-Blood. Instead of the Big House in the middle to chaperone surrounding demigods, the surrounding demigods are keeping an eye on Sally.

"Oh, hey Nico, what's up?" Percy asks.

"Just trying to call Drew. She's watching Mrs. O'Leary's puppies. I'm probably being paranoid, but she hasn't updated me in a while, and she's not picking up," Nico says.

"You can never be too sure," Percy says, pushing the 'down' button on the elevator. "But if you want to get your mind off things, Leo's making me drive him to the bachelorette party. I guess the girls went clubbing, so might as well check on Hazel while I'm there. You wanna come?"

"Nah, that's okay," says Nico. "I might get something to eat. Try to calm these nerves."

"Okay. Call me if you need anything," Percy pats his phone over his pocket as he backs into the elevator.

"Thanks. Have fun at the club."

The doors close, and Nico is alone again.

He goes back into his room and shrugs on an orange Camp Half-Blood hoodie. It's a little bit too big for him. He honestly can't remember when he got it.

Nico reemerges with his wallet. He begins to search for a car rental service online. He knows he can just DoorDash McDonald's, but he'd rather drive himself. It's more of an adventure that way.

Then he hears a door slam further down the hall. He squints. Will Solace winces like the door just called him a nasty name.

He turns down the hall, sees Nico, and freezes.

Nico can be mean. Will deserves it after what he did all those years ago. But that's not Nico's style. He's a friendly kind of guy nowadays.

"How're ya feeling? You seemed a little rough earlier," Nico says.

Will looks shocked. 'Who, me?' his face says. It's like he can't even believe Nico is speaking to him. He smiles weakly anyway. "Not as bad as that last cornhole shot."

Nico laughs. That's really funny. "I'm renting a car and going to McDonald's, wanna come? It always helps when I'm hungover."

Will comes up to Nico. "I'd love to... if it's not weird, I mean."

"Not at all," Nico says. "I could use some company."

"Nico di Angelo wants company?" The corner of Will's mouth turns up as he smirks. Wow, he's been spending a lot of time with Annabeth.

"Hey, we've all changed. I like people, you're wearing Taylor Swift cardigans," Nico says.

"I don't know, you're still wearing my sweatshirt. But I'll let it pass because you made a Taylor Swift reference," Will says, hitting the 'down' arrow on the elevator.

They step inside when it arrives. The ride down is silent aside from some cheesy pop music.

The elevator pings and the doors open. "Cazzo," Nico curses.

"What is it?" Will asks.

"I forgot to call for a rental car."

Will twirls a keychain shaped like a cardigan. "We can take my car."

"Do you trust me to drive?" asks Nico. "It calms me down."

Will shrugs. "Hey, I'm happy to let you. Annabeth's the worst driver I've ever met, next to Reyna, so I always do the driving. I'm happy to let another safe driver have a turn."

"Thanks," Nico says as Will tosses him the keys. They get in the black SUV. Nico notices the pink purple and blue bumper sticker as he walks behind the car to get to the driver's side.

"How do I adjust the seat?" Nico asks. He's still shorter than Will, so he has to sit closer to the wheel, and raise the seat higher. He's never ridden in an SUV, let alone driven one.

"Oh, hit that number two button. It's programmed with Annabeth's preferences so that'll get you close enough."

"Excuse you, I am taller than her now!" Nico teases.

"We all are," Will says. "You're just the last one."

Nico notes the parking pass hanging from the rearview mirror. It must be for Will's hospital job.

He puts the key in the ignition. The car beeps as it comes to life.

The car continues to beep. Nico looks at Will, confused.

"It won't stop until you put your seatbelt on," Will says.

Nico reluctantly puts his seatbelt on. He's a demigod. He's pretty sure not wearing a seatbelt is the least of his worries.

He pulls out of the parking garage, noting how smoothly the car does so. Plus, it has a backup camera. The Camp Half-Blood van has a weird ketchup stain on the ceiling.

It's an awkward ride and Nico's beginning to wonder why he invited his ex-boyfriend to McDonald's in the first place.

"So uh," Nico starts. He isn't sure what he wants to say. "Frank mentioned you were seeing someone."

"Oh, yeah, Bill," Will says.

"How's that going?" Nico asks.

"Uh, it's good. I'm thankful to be out of town for a few days. I think I need to reevaluate a bit," he says.

"Oh." Maybe Will hasn't changed. By the sound of it, he still can't commit.

"How about you?" Will asks. "How are you doing?"

Nico isn't sure what he should share, so he talks about the puppies. Everyone loves puppies.

"That's cool," Will says. "I'd love a dog, but we're not allowed to have pets in our apartment, and our landlord really likes us, so we're not going to risk it."

Will says something more, but Nico doesn't catch it because he's lost in thought, worrying about his puppies and wondering if Drew will ever send him an update.