One Shots, Two Shots And A Dead Drew.

Bridge.

A/N I'm in the mood for some angst? Lol like everyday.

Will gazed helplessly down the Williamsburg Bridge as Percy, Annabeth and Michael stood opposite an army of monsters and enemy demigods with Kronos in the lead. Will looked around frantically and saw Kayla and Austin next to him, staring at him.

“How could you let this happen?” Kayla asked, tears in her eyes as if she already knew what was about to occur. Will faltered.

“Wha–me? But I… I'm not–”

“What are you doing?!” Austin screamed at him. “Don't just stand there! Do something!”

Will looked back to Michael, perched atop a suspension cable with his bow drawn, and began sprinting toward him–Not that he would have any idea what to do when he got there, but he needed to get involved somehow–but it felt like he was running through knee-deep molasses. With every labored step the cement under his feet cracked, the fissures spreading until the bridge felt like it would crumble underneath him. He hadn’t even made it halfway to Michael when the older boy turned to Will and said,

“It should've been you.”

The bridge collapsed out from under him and Will felt himself falling, Michael looking down at him in disgust as he hit the water.

Will gasped, sitting bolt upright in bed, clutching his chest and curling in on himself as his lungs ached with the effort of breathing. He was vaguely aware of movement beside him as he tangled his fingers in his hair, gasping for breath and resting his head on his knees.

“Will?” Nico murmured groggily. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and noticed Will hyperventilating next to him.

“Whoa! Hey, what's wrong?” Nico asked, at his side in an instant. Will didn't seem to hear him, his breathing still rapid as he curled further in on himself. Nico panicked for a minute, having never seen Will so worked up, but then he had an idea.

“Oh! Um–the breathing thing! Let's–let's do the breathing thing with the counting!” He gently tugged at Will's shoulder and the son of Apollo turned to face him, shaking, but didn't meet his eyes.

“Good, okay, follow my finger–” Nico tried to copy the box breathing exercise Will had done with him all those months ago, but Will collapsed into him, burying his face into Nico's shoulder, his body shuddering with every shallow breath. Nico tensed, his mind racing, but then he slowly wrapped his arms around Will and began tracing a square on his back, breathing in, holding, exhaling, and holding his breath again as he drew each side of the square to coax Will into doing the same. It took a few tries for Will to snap out of it enough to understand what Nico was doing, but eventually he followed Nico’s motions with shaky breaths, coughing as he tried to regain control of his lungs. Nico murmured encouragement to him as he continued tracing the square on Will’s back, and slowly Will began to relax into him, his breathing becoming steadier. Finally, he pulled away from Nico, rubbing his face.

“I’m–” his voice faltered, cutting off the apology he knew Nico wouldn’t have allowed anyway, and he sighed. Nico scanned his face with concern.

“…Nightmare?” he asked.

“I guess…” Will mumbled.

“What was it about?” Nico asked, placing a comforting hand on Will’s back.

“It's stupid, just… one of my recurring dreams. About the Battle of Manhattan. It’s stupid,” Will said, shaking his head.

“It doesn't sound stupid.”

“It's stupid! It doesn't make any sense! That's not what happened! It's not my…” the next word got caught in Will’s throat. He swallowed, looking down at his lap. “…I should have been there. But no, I-I retreated, like he told me to, like a coward . I could've–I don't know, pulled him back! It should've been me who stayed back. Not that… not that I'd have been any use anyway, but at least he'd still be here! But no, I let him die–I let both of them die fighting, while I… I did nothing. If–If I were just stronger , if I weren't so fucking useless –”