Inconvenient Love

Chapter 8

Percy looked over at Nico as they rode home, having dropped Will off at the large house his mother would marry for. His old friend had been silent ever since Will had gotten out of the truck, his dark hair hiding his face from Percy's view.

"Are you okay?" Percy finally asked.

Nico shrugged and turned to look out the window.

Percy sighed. "Just...tell me if you want to talk, okay?" After getting a small nod from Nico in response, Percy turned back to the road to continue the drive home. The clouds were settling in. It was going to storm.

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Monday came soon enough. Nico opened his eyes at the piercing of his alarm, the hangover feeling worse than usual as he forced himself out of bed. If it was his choice, he would be back in bed with the blankets over his head. But it wasn't.

After getting ready, Nico put his hangover sunglasses on before going downstairs. The sun was too bright. Their voices were too loud. Will's eyes shone too hard.

"Nico, I'm trusting you to show Will around," Hades greeted. Nico was going to retort when he noticed his father's choice of words. Trust. What had gotten through to him?

"Does he have his schedule?" Nico asked, starting his coffee. He glanced over and noticed that Will had already made his own.

"Not yet. He'll need to get it from the office. They're expecting him." Hades watched his son closely. The others were silent, watching the exchange with fluttering hearts. Hazel couldn't help but smile at the peace between the two.

"Fine," Nico accepted.

"Uh...should we leave early?" Will asked. "So you're not late to your first class."

"I honestly could care less about being on time." Nico leaned against the counter and sipped from his coffee. "We'll leave when Hazel wants to."

Hazel looked up from her half-eaten plate. "I'll be out there in a second if you two want to head out. Just don't kill each other."

Right. The need to act as if they hated each other. Nico glanced at Will before putting on that fake scowl. "No promises, Haz. William, let's go."

William stood up quickly. "Bye, mom. Bye, Hades."

The two adults waved him goodbye as he followed Nico out of the house. When they were both in Nico's car, Nico planted a quick kiss onto the blond's cheek. "I hate having to act like that."

Will blushed darkly at the sudden display of affection. "Me, too."

Nico wiped his own lips off before grabbing the steering wheel, gripping it tightly. "That was weird, sorry."

"Weird...but a good weird." Will smiled. "I like your affectionate side."

"Yeah, well, you're not going to get it often." Nico eyed the front door, waiting for Hazel to come out.

"I've accepted that." Will leaned over and kissed Nico's cheek, causing him to blush. "But it's not rare when I'm affectionate."

Nico bit his lip. "Will, you're not making this whole 'we hate each other' thing very easy."

Will grinned. "I know."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're one of those romantics, aren't you?"

"Yeah, haven't you guessed?"

Nico sighed. "And you say you've never had a boyfriend before?"

Will shook his head. "Never."

Nico touched where Will had kissed his cheek. "Me neither. Hopefully, we're doing this right."

"We can't get any worse," Will replied.

Nico huffed in agreement. "We're not even friends yet."

"But we could be." Will got his phone out. "Here, let me play you some of my favorite music."

"And why would you do that?" Nico asked.

"So you can learn about me," Will explained. "We need to know this stuff about each other. Friends do. Music taste, favorite shows, food, drinks, etc."

Nico waved his hand. "Fine, play it. But you better turn it off before Hazel gets in this car."

Will quickly tapped the button and turned his volume up, playing a song that Nico so didn't expect from Mr. Sunshine. "Numb by Linkin Park? Seriously?"

Will blushed in embarrassment. "Is that bad?"

Nico couldn't help but chuckle. "I was expecting some upbeat pop from you, to be honest." He elbowed Will when he saw Hazel emerge from the front door, waving behind her to her father. "She's coming. Turn it off."

Will did as he was told, putting his phone back in his pocket as they descended into silence. Soon enough, Hazel jumped into the back seat and buckled. "Glad to see you're both alive."

"Ha ha." Nico pulled out of the driveway and started toward their school. "What was taking you so long in there?"

"I was talking to Will's mom," Hazel admitted. "She's really nice, sometimes."

Will looked back at her as if she was insane. "We're talking about the same woman, right?"

Hazel gently slapped his arm. "Yes, Will. You just need to give her a chance. We talked for a while last night, too. This morning she wished me luck on my presentation and gave me some tips."

"I could have given you tips," Nico cut in.

"You've never done a presentation before in your life." Hazel insisted. "You'd rather take the zero."

Nico shrugged. "Can't fight logic."

Will smiled at the two of them as he sat back in his seat. "So, how far is the school?"

"Five minutes, maybe ten," Hazel answered. She didn't seem bothered by Nico's bad driving, but Will was gripping onto the sides of his seat. "Are you excited for your first day?"

"Nervous," Will admitted. "But also a little excited."

"You'll be fine," Hazel assured him. "Won't he be, Nico?"

Nico just shrugged. "He's never been to school before, Hazel. Who knows how he'll like it."

Hazel sighed. "You were supposed to just agree with me, Nico."

Nico shrugged again. "Just being honest over here."

Will eyed the school building as it came into sight, not loosening his grip of the seat. "Are we on time?"

Hazel nodded. "You'll have enough time to get your schedule and stuff, don't worry."

"Okay..." Will let out a deep breath as Nico parked. He spotted Percy Jackson standing next to his truck, talking to a girl with blonde hair and gray eyes. Before he could say anything, Hazel had jumped out of the car and ran toward a muscular Asian boy.

"Are you ready?" Nico asked, pocketing his keys.

Will looked over at him. "Should I really be nervous?"

"It's school, a lot of people hate it," Nico explained. "You're just going to become normal."

Will cracked a smile. "Okay."