Just Eat (Solangelo AU)

Chapter 8 (Will)

When Will woke up the second time, it was to the nurse assigned to Nico shaking him violently. "Hu, was- was goin' on?" He said, his southern drawl prominent. "It's Mr. DiAngelo, he just- he just-" Will shot up. He looked over at the other bed. It was empty. "I'm going to his house to tell his family."  Before the nurse could utter another word, he grabbed hi stuff, leaped out of the bed, and rushed out of the hospital. As he rushed over to the apartment, tears streamed down his face and he thought back to the last time he had seen Nico.

                                        O-----O--------O--------------O------------------O-------------O

There is not a dry eye in the funeral home. Maria DiAngelo's body is lying in the pearl casket at the front of the room. Her ex-husband, multimillionaire Hades, is standing at the front of the room with his three children, Nico, Bianca, and Hazel. Nico, who is only ten, seems confused as he clings to Bianca's dress. Will is there because his sister is friends with Bianca, and his father was one of the first responders at the hotel. A freak explosion they said. Gas lines not up to code. When Will goes up to say hi, he notices bandages poking out from under the collar of the suit that Nico is wearing. "Hi Nico!" Nico waves shyly. He looks up at his sister as if to ask 'Can I go?' Bianca nods down at him, kissing him as he leaves. They wander the funeral home until they reach and unused room. As soon as they enter, Nico's small body is wracked with tears. Will doesn't try to comfort him or stop the crying. He simply holds Nico as he cries, a few tears of his own sliding down his cheeks. When Nico is finished, Will gets up and grabs one of the many boxes of tissues scattered around. "It's okay to cry sometimes." He says, "When the pressure of the facade gets to be too much." Nico looks up at him and smiles a wobbly smile. "Facade? That's a big word for a 10 year old." Will chuckles, but as he does, Nico's face hardens at something behind Will. "Will! There you are!" Apollo chuckles. "Nico, I'm so sorry." He says, his face turning grave again. "I hate you." The words are barely audible, but they seem to echo in the room around them. "Nico what are you talking about?" "YOU DON"T UNDERSTAND WILL! HE COULD HAVE SAVED HER! HE WAS THERE! But he didn't." He turns to Apollo, "You let her die." Will sands and walks over to Nico. "Nico, I know that grief can be difficult, but my dad did all he could-" "NO! GET OUT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" Will steps back, his face twisted with confusion. "Nico-" Apollo comes and puts his arm around his son. "Come on Will. There's nothing you can do." As Will walks away, he turns, just once, to see Nico glaring back at him, his face a mask of cold fury. 

                                           O-------------O-------------------O----------------------O

Will pulls himself from the memory of Nico's last glare as he arrives at the DiAngelo residence. Despite being Hades Olympian's children. The DiAngelos kept their last names. He takes a deep breath, wiping away tears, and prepares to knock on the mahogany door.

AN: Whew. I feel proud of that. Please comment and stay safe.