A light in the darkness (solangelo)

Chapter 2 (No creative title this time 'cause I'm lazy)

The next morning, I woke up at sunrise, as usual.

I groaned, rolled out of bed, and got dressed. I put on a blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

I headed over to the infirmary and checked up on some of the patients. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I turned to see a familiar son of Hades poking his head in the doorway. "Hey Neeks," I said, "what are you doing up so early?"

"Oh, nothing really. I was just wondering if you needed any help in here," he replied.

I smiled. "Not at this very second, but if you wait a little while for things to get a bit busier, I would definitely need your help."

"Oh, okay," Nico said.

Just then they blew the breakfast horn. "Come on, let's go eat," I said, walking out the door toward the dining pavilion.

When we got there, we each grabbed a magic plate and goblet and sat down with the others. I was eating a stack of pancakes, some breakfast sausage, bacon, eggs, and toast. I looked over at what Nico was eating and saw that he only had a small fruit salad. "Are you sure that's all you want?" I asked.

Nico looked at me and replied, "I'm not very hungry."

I was worried. Ever since the war with Gaea, Nico had been eating next to nothing. "I don't think you're eating enough, Nico. Please just eat a little bit more than that."

"I said I wasn't hungry," he repeated.

"Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top? I gave him my best puppy dog eyes.

"No," Nico said with a smirk.

"Don't make me say it, I will say it," I threatened.

Nico's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare,"

"Doctors. Orders," I said.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Fine," he grumbled. Suddenly, some scrambled eggs appeared on his plate.

"Thank you," I said.

💀☀️💀☀️💀☀️💀☀️💀☀️💀☀️

Later on, Nico was helping me in the infirmary. "Hey, Nico, could you bring me some gauze?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied, turning toward the cabinet. He pulled out a roll of gauze and handed it to me. "So, about last night," he began.

"Look, Nico, I've had a crush on you ever since you won the war with the titans. I thought you were the best person in the world. I-I like you, a lot," I said awkwardly, "I saw the way you'd look at Percy. You're not as subtle as you think. I'm surprised Percy never noticed."

Nico smiled. "That's because Percy is an idiot," he pointed out.

I laughed.

"Will! Quit flirting and get back to work!" Yelled Maddison, my half sister.

"Actually, Maddie, my shift is over," I said looking at the clock.

Maddie let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, then get out."

"Alright. Nico, you wanna hang out with me today?"

"Um, sure," Nico said.

We walked out of the infirmary and toward the beach where Percy and Piper were surfing. Well, Piper was surfing, Percy was face planting in the waves he created. It was ironic, considering he was the son of Poseidon. Piper waved at us as we walked past.

We walked to a secluded part of the beach. There was a massive willow tree there. The tree's branches touched the ground. It was beautiful. We sat down on the roots of the willow, leaning back against the trunk. "So, um, Nico, I was wondering if maybe- that you would- that we could- what I'm trying to say is-" Nico cut me off with a kiss.

"Stop talking, you're really bad at it. I'll do the talking." Nico said, "Will you go out with me?" He asked.

"Of course!" I exclaimed. I hugged him. Then, we stood up and he stood on his tippy toes and gave me a kiss. His lips tasted like pomegranate. "Come on, let's go tell someone," I said, taking his hand.

"How about we just get some Aphrodite kid to spread a rumor and see how long it takes to get around to the others," Nico replied with a smirk.

"Gods, Nico you're a genius," I said.

Then, we walked out from under the willow tree, and headed towards the Aphrodite cabin.