What If Three Days Meant Forever?

New Faces

Will POV

This is the second time that I've woken up like this: disoriented with my legs tangled up with someone else's and their thin figure wrapped in my arms.

It's early morning and the sun is shining through the curtains of my room. I smile lightly as I pull Nico closer to me in a tight hug to wake him up. He groans and looks up at me.

"Will? Why are you in our room?" He asks confused. I quickly realize the other bed in the room that's occupied by Monique who is still sound asleep.

Before I could answer his question, a loud yell echoes through the hall outside the door, followed by the sound of doors opening and yelling into the rooms.

"Wake up, kids! Time to get up! A lot to do! Breakfast!"

I silently curse my mother for this action, one that I'd found enjoyable when I was a kid but now it's grown senile.

"Wake up, guys!" I feel myself freeze for a moment as I realize she's only, like, a door or two down from this room. Doing the first thing that comes to mind, I detangle myself from Nico, crawl over him, and kick him off the bed just as the door opens.

I watch my mother give a look of surprise. She whisper yells, "Oh! Will! You're already awake. I would've thought you'd be in your old room. And sharing a room with her! And she assured me yesterday the two of you weren't dating..." I roll my eyes.

"Mom," I groan slightly with a small smile. "We were just talking and I fell asleep here. That's all. I'm staying in my old room across the hall." She rolls her eyes good naturedly before walking across the hall to do the same thing to Cecil. I let out a sigh of relief as Nico raises his head from the floor looking angry as ever.

"You kicked me." He growls.

"Yes. Yes I did." I answer very matter of fact like. He glares at me for a few seconds more before pushing himself up off the ground and leaning in close to my face. I lazily hold eye contact with him.

"Solace?"

"Yes, angel?"

"Kick me again, and I'll raise a skeleton to terrorize you every night we're here."

I smile and ruffle his hair. "I've said it once, and I'll say it again: you couldn't raise a wishbone now without fading out of existence." Nico rolls his eyes before looking back at me blankly.

"Kiss me." He mutters.

I go to close the small space between our lips, but before they can touch, Nico's hand hits the side of my head with force. "Ow!" I cry out.

"That's for touching my hair." He says before going to the door and holding it open. "Out." He says sternly. I get up while holding the side of my head and go to kiss him for real to which he evades. "Morning breath." I hold the hand not holding my head to my heart with mock pain.

"Just twisting the knife deeper." I shake my head as I make my way across the hall to my room to get dressed. Nico slams the door behind me and I smile as I open the door to Cecil holding his head in annoyance on the bed farthest from the door.

"Your mom hurts." He groans.

"Sorry about her." I say, offering a weak smile.

He waves me off. "By the way, I got an Iris message from Connor saying they're sending satyrs out in small search parties for Leo."

I nod my head. "Everything in the infirmary okay?"

"Yep. All good. Not in shambles."

"Oh, like when you tried to help me that one time?" I say as Cecil brings a pillow down on his face.