King of My Miserable Life

Chapter 20

"Ugh, horrible ending." Nico closed the laptop as soon as the credits came up. It was around five in the morning, the three boys in their room huddled around the laptop to watch a movie. Nico sat on Will's lap while Percy sat next to them.

"It wasn't that bad." Percy got up and stretched, the smell of turkey wafting into the room. "It already smells so good."

"You have to wait until dinner time." Nico moved the laptop to the floor before laying onto the bed. "I'm tired..."

"Then get some sleep before your mom wakes us up for the parade." Will laid next to him. He pulled the blankets over them, relaxing into the comfortable material. "Goodnight."

"Night..." Nico breathed out, his eyes closed. In seconds he was asleep, sleep deprivation having taken its toll. He stayed up most nights and worried, worried about what his father had meant, worried about becoming king. He was too young, too inexperienced.

"You should get some sleep, too," Percy told Will. He laid on his own bed and stared up at the ceiling, his hands underneath his head. "I know it's exhausting, taking care of him."

"I'm fine," Will promised. "He has nightmares and I like to be awake so I can wake him up. You just get some sleep, Percy."

"You can't stay up every night..." Percy closed his eyes. "You're going to kill yourself doing that, Will."

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Percy." Will moved some hair out of Nico's face. "Please just go to bed."

Percy frowned but did as he was told, having learned that Will was stubborn when it came to Nico, when it came to the boy he loved. Percy couldn't blame him, being the same way about Annabeth.

He just wished he could help him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will stared at the food in front of him, trying not to be sick. He didn't want to be rude, didn't want to make Nico feel bad. But he hated Thanksgiving food, hated what was sitting on his plate. He missed Cartian food more than anything.

"Are you going to eat?" Nico asked, buttering himself a roll he had taken from the basket. The soft bread was the only thing that looked good to Will, but the butter Nico spread on it made him feel sick. "Do you not like what I picked out for you?"

"I love it." Will lied. He took another bite, stopped himself from throwing up. "I just keep getting distracted."

"You're probably half asleep," Nico admitted. "I am, too. Stayed up way too late last night."

"How late did you stay up?" Sally asked. She sat beside Paul, holding his hand under the table. "What were you doing?"

"All three of us were watching a movie," Nico explained as Will choked down his food. "I think it was around five when we finally got to bed."

Sally pursed her lips. "I got you up at seven so..."

"Two hours isn't bad." Percy defended, trying to escape his mother's wrath. "And that means we'll sleep good tonight."

"The boy's got a point." Paul scooped some more potatoes onto his plate. "It's not like he's in school."

"He should be." Sally sighed. "Are you two taking your classes online?"

"..."

"Percy!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will ran a hand through his sweaty hair, able to feel his stomach convulsing and thrashing around. He felt like someone was stirring up his insides, felt like something was forcing food where it wasn't meant to go. Just when he thought it wasn't as bad as before, he threw up again.

His bare knees sunk into the tile floor, the coldness keeping him from passing out. His throat ached, his taste buds wanted to die. Every time he tried to think of what made him this way, his thoughts would go back to dinner and he would throw up once again.

"Will?" Nico knocked on the door, having torn himself away from watching football with the others. "Are you okay?"

Will took a deep breath, felt his hands rattling against the sides of the toilet seat. "I...I'm fine...just a little sick...I think I caught a bug."

"Sick? Can I come in?" Nico asked, his hand on the doorknob.

Will closed his eyes, knowing Nico would see him this way sooner or later. "Yeah...yeah, you can come in."

Nico stepped into the bathroom, his eyes widening when he saw the state Will was in. He took a few seconds to process it before he ran to help, getting a wet rag and putting it on Will's forehead. "Keep that there. Do you want to lay down?"

"Lay down...throw up on your bed..." Will leaned his forehead against the rim of the toilet seat. "I'm sorry...I don't know why I feel so horrible."

Nico moved Will's hair out of his face. "I'm going to go get Sally. She can help. She used to take care of me and Percy all the time when we were sick."

"I'm fine," Will promised. "I'm fine. Just gonna...lay down." He moved so he was laying on the floor, his head in Nico's lap. "That's better..."

Nico ran his hands through Will's hair. "We can't stay on the bathroom floor all night."

"I know, but I don't want to move." Will whined. "Can't we just stay here for a little while longer?"

Nico sat back against the wall, his fingers changing from brushing Will's hair to just playing with it. "Yeah, alright. Just try to get your stomach calmed down."

Will closed his eyes, felt his stomach rocking with the waves of the ocean. "Nico...?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Will's lips twitched into a smile. "Want to know how I'm absolutely sure? Cause we can be like this, no worries. We can be like this..."

Nico grabbed Will's hand. "We can be like this, peaceful."