How to Seduce Will Solace: Step by Step with Nico Di Angelo

Step Eight: Realize you have a crush on him

Nico yawned, blinking groggily as he woke up. He felt something warm next to him, and he instinctively moved closer to it with a content sigh.

He heard a chuckle, felt his pillow moving up and down and vibrate, felt a warm hand go to rest on his side.

It took his sleepy mind a second.

When he realized that his pillow was in fact not a pillow, he gasped, quickly moving back with his cheeks turning a nice shade of red, nearly falling off the bed.

"Sorry," Nico said, rubbing his palms on his thighs, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay," Will says, sitting up as well, "I only woke up a few minutes ago." Nico nods, continuing to rubs his hands on his jeans, and he idly wonders why he's so anxious.

He takes a deep breath, moving to wring his hands together and looking at a few pictures Will has up on his wall.

"You okay?" Will asks, a hand going to rest on his shoulder, making Nico jump again. Will moves his hand, looking surprised, and Nico pushes the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbles, "Sorry, I'm fine." Nico tries to think back to this morning- had he taken his medicine? He thought he did, but it would make sense if he didn't by accident. He swallows thickly, standing.

"I think I'm going to go," he says, and Will frowns, but nods.

"Sorry if I did something," he says, and Nico shakes his head.

"You didn't do anything, I'm fine, really," he mumbles, searching for his phone. Will doesn't look like he believes him, but Nico pushes that from his mind.

When he finds it, he clicks the home button, and see notifications that his dad has called and texted him.

"Shit," he breaths, scrolling through them. He quickly finds his shoes, which he didn't realize he had taken off until his socked feet touched the floor, and put them on.

"What's wrong?" Will asked, trying to peak over his shoulder. Nico shook his head, taking a deep breath as he sat back down.

"My dad. He had a meeting type thing and he needed me there," he said, clicking his phone off. He swallowed, by the passive aggressive 'never mind' he sent, Nico knew that the people were already there, and he knew that if he came late, Hades would be pissed. He looked at Will, unintentionally using puppy dog eyes, "is it okay if I say here a bit longer? Just until the meeting is over?"

"I- yeah. Wouldn't he want you there?" Will asks, Nico frowns.

"He'd be mad if I showed up late," he mumbled, "Are you sure it's okay? If you don't want me here just tell me."

"You can stay, I don't mind," Will says, smiles, "we can watch a movie. And we can watch it downstairs since pretty much everyone is gone today." Nico nods, taking a deep breath as Will gets up and leads him downstairs.

Will sets the television up and gives Nico the remote, telling him to find a movie he likes and goes to get snacks himself. Nico clicks through his options, deciding to go for something scary.

He smiles when Will drops an arm full of snacks on the coffee table, running back to the kitchen and grabbing as many drinks as he can.

Will gives him a large smile, sitting on the couch besides him. When Will sat, the couch dipped and Nico had to shift so he wouldn't fall on top of him. Will laughed, cheeks turning pink.

"Sorry," Will mumbled, and Nico shakes his head, giving a hesitant smile.

"It's okay," he mumbled.

They ended up choosing a rom com that Will promises will make Nico cry, and Nico rolls his eyes, though there isn't any heat behind it.

Will turns the lights out before they start the movie, and when he sits down again (gentler, this time) Nico can't help but notice how close he sat. He can feel Will's thigh on his, his knee brushing against his.

Nico blushes, but keeps his eyes on the screen. He wonders if Will even notices it. He shifts just a hair closer, and their arms and shoulders brush together. Will doesn't say anything, so Nico doesn't move back.

He casts a glance over at Will and sees that he's still looking at the television. Nico purses his lips, looking back over at the television and watches as the movie begins. He feels a bit of anxiety settle in his gut, and he isn't exactly sure why.

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When the movie is over, he glances up at Will, surprised that his head is resting on Will's shoulder. When the heck did that happen?

He raises an eyebrow at Will when he sees the tear tracks under his eyes, and Will lets out a pitiful whine.

"It's so sad," he cried, wiping at his eyes. Nico smiles looking back at the television and watching the credits roll.

"The acting is terrible," Nico states. Will lets out an offended huff.

"This is one of my favorite movies, Neeks, I don't need you bashing it."

"You like terrible movies," Nico says, and Will lets a tiny smile show.

"Terrible is the best genre, change my mind."

"Horror."

"Blocked and reported," he huffed, and Nico laughed, "why would yo willingly scare yourself. Doesn't sound like something a sane person would do." Nico shrugged, sitting up and stretching his arms.

"Is anyone really sane?" Will shrugs, nodding in agreement. Will's parents, or who Nico is assuming his parents are, decide that moment to walk in. His mom gets one look at Will before frowning.

"What's wrong?" She asked, glancing over at Nico, "Who's this?"

"The Best of Me," Will pouted, and it took Naomi a second to realize.

"That movie always makes you cry, Will," she smiles, walking over, Apollo walking towards the kitchen. She smiled at Nico, "I'm Naomi," Nico smiled weakly.

"I'm Nico," he mumbles, a bit awkwardly. Will rests his chin on the couch cushion, smiling at Nico, making him blush. Why was Will staring at him?

"What?" he asks Will quietly, and Will only smiles wider, shaking his head and looking back over at his mother. Nico looks at the both of them, lips in a slight pout.

"Well," Naomi said after a second, her smile wide on her face, and Nico has to admire how much Will looks like her, "I'll leave you two to it then," she gives a slight wave before walking off, and Will turns so he's facing the television again. Nico nervously wrings his hands together as he turns as well, crossing his legs under him.

He spends a couple more hours at Will's house, and they just talk together. Nico doesn't really think he's laughed as much as he did at Will's house in a while, and when he walks through the door again, muttering a goodbye to Will, he feels light and fuzzy and warm.

It's when he's in his dad's car that he really registers his heart pumping quickly, those butterflies in his stomach, the sweatiness of his palms. When he realizes what it means, there's a second of panic, but he's quick to push it away. Maybe for once he could enjoy the feeling, see where it takes him.

That's why he ignores Percy's 'I miss you' text when his phone chimes.

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10/22/18