3 Days to Fall in Love

9- Will

I walked out of the Hades cabin, feeling refreshed.  Nico was like me! What were the odds?  I headed over to the archery range and grabbed a bow and quiver.  Every shot I made was directly on target, each hitting the bulls eye multiple times.  This was usual for me, but I liked to get a bit of practice in when I wasn't busy in the infirmary.  I brushed my hair from my face and took another shot.  I practiced until my fingers were raw and it was my shift at the infirmary.  When I got there, the whole place was filled, and I did my job automatically.  Life was routine for the next few days.  I chatted with Nico sometimes during meals, and tried to make him eat more.  As always, there was work to be done, archery lessons to teach, and plenty of other things to do, so I was always busy, even in my mind.   I was too busy thinking to realize I had run into someone on my way to the infirmary one day. 
"Watch it, freak." I looked up.  Two boys from Hermes were standing in front of me, and I recognized them as the ones who had given me that scar.  I just snarled and tried to walk around them, but they grabbed my arm and pulled me back in front of them, shoving me hard onto the ground.  I jumped up, only to get a mouthful of blood and a bruise on my ribs.  I groaned.  They kept kicking me until I curled up and accepted it.  Ouch!  I could hear them laughing.  Then all of a sudden someone was behind me.
"Hey, losers.  Beat it, before I beat you to a pulp." He growled.  Nico? 
"Oh, Solace got a boyfriend? What you gonna do, shorty?" They taunted him.  Nico quickly snapped back a retort.
"You guys should probably keep in mind.. I may be short, but my temper will always be shorter." The ground shook and cracked beneath his feet, the air around us darkened, and Nico's face contorted into a dark frown.  Skeletons rose up and grabbed their ankles, and then the next thing I knew, they were gone.  The ground closed back up and the sky brightened.  Huh.  Nico helped me up. 
"What did you do to them?" I asked, staring at the ground where the boys had stood.  Nico shrugged.
"They'll be back in a few days.  I hope they like the underworld." I laughed, then cut myself short and grimaced at the pain in my chest.
"You shouldn't have used your powers, you know." I pointed out, clutching my stomach. 
"Yeah, well, whatever."
"Not whatever, and I could've taken care of it myself." I pressed, following him up the hill.
"Yeah, you were doing such a great job." He rolled his eyes.
"You could've gotten hurt." I protested.  He snapped his fingers and a few zombies crawled up. 
"I. Dont. Care." He turned and kept walking.  I directed the sunlight onto the zombies and they crumbled. 
"You should! It's not safe!" I yelled up at him.
"You think I can't do anything? Are you going to ground me? You can't! I can shadow travel!" He shouted back.  I placed a beam of light on him. 
"I had it under control!! Who's sunshine now?" I shouted, crossing my arms.  Jeez, he was so annoying!! Nico huffed angrily.  He shot back shadows at me and I dissolved them.  Campers started gathering around at all our fighting and the flashes of black and yellow that flew between us.  We continued to yell at each other as we fought. Nico drew his sword. I kept smashing skeletons and zombies and Nico kept sucking in light with it. At last, we had gotten close enough to each other that we were both surrounded in a black and gold haze, our eyes narrowed at each other, screaming insults.
"Get over it, Solace! I can do what I want!" He slashed his sword at me menacingly, not really meaning harm.
"Ugh! I swear Di Angelo, I will kill you if you don't manage to kill yourself!" More campers flocked around us.
"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try! Oh, but wait! You're no fighter." He snarled. I sucked my breath in, tears forming in my eyes but not falling.
"Just- just- go to hell, Nico!" I cried, and then in a split second he shrugged and was gone. That little- ooh! I turned and stormed back to my cabin through the silent mob.