𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝗌𝗈𝗅𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗅𝗈

chapter 2

in the infirmary, there was a large and rapid coming and going both of patients – who were in particular children of ares – the god of war – who made their battles real wars, in honour of their godly father – and of "doctors", as well as that group of children of apollo who had received the gift of healing from their godly parent. nico had been left – with some silly excuse – by percy at the entrance door of the infirmary and stood there motionless, waiting and hoping that one of those many children of apollo would come to his rescue, without nico saying a word, even if he was suffering in silence: the blood on his cheek had increased and the wound had started to burn so much that nico and percy had to stop their "fight", which was actually a simple training, but the sons of apollo tended to magnify everything that could lead to an injury. since all the doctors present were busy with other boys from the camp – who had significantly more serious injuries than that "scratch" that nico had on his left cheek –, the hades' son decided to give up and go back to his cabin, hoping to be able to heal himself with some strange power of his, when though a voice called him back, before he could set a foot outside the door.

"hey nico, w-wait!" exclaimed, stammering, a ringing voice behind him. nico stopped abruptly not so much for the indirect order received, but for the person to whom that voice belonged: it was that annoying blond boy he had met that same morning, whose name he had already forgotten. the raven slowly turned in the direction of the origin of the voice, finding himself in front of will, with the same clothes as that morning on which a white coat was resting, who smiled at him solarly and looked him up and down looking for the reason why he had presented in that building, then pausing his blue eyes on the cheek of the raven. will took a few steps forward – regardless of what the italian was thinking – thus forcing nico not to back down. "i-i don't need your help. i'm fine, it's just a scratch" said the minor, blushing and babbling, then lowering his head and looking at the infirmary exit with the corner of his eye. "just a scratch? your cheek says the exact opposite" replied the other boy in tone, while he had already taken everything necessary to treat the raven who – always keeping his head down – was observing, in silence, all his fluid movements. after having prepared everything, will was forced to touch nico: he placed his index finger under his chin and thumb on it and raised his head slightly, to check better the wound. nico, on the other hand, wanted to pull his sword out and skewer it in the blond's hip, because of that unwanted contact: but – oddly enough – that thought immediately crossed his mind and he did nothing.

after a few minutes, those aggressive thoughts returned and nico cursed himself for having entered – under the advice of poseidon's son – in that building while looking sideways at will – who was frighteningly close to him – and while he was trying to refrain from not going crazy for the prolonged contact between will's warm and tanned skin and his cold and slightly tanned, almost cadaveric, skin. "okay, i finished. now you can go" will's words made nico's face and eyes light up and, with a quick leap, he got off the bed and approached the exit with a quick step. will was still looking at him and nico felt his eyes burning on him: the blond wanted to speak, but he was afraid that the raven would ignore him or answer him as badly as that morning and he didn't want to seem too intrusive, but the desire to know him increased more and more every time he saw him, so he didn't back down. "uhm nico, about this morning..." the son of apollo began to say. here is the topic that nico didn't want to touch. "is everything okay?" he just asked the boy, while the raven had moved his gaze to the ground and, in a feeble voice, he only said "yes, don't worry" and then he left the room under the will's gaze who, in his heart, hoped that one day, that boy had opened up with him: he was worried about him and he didn't even know him so much.

for his part, nico had taken refuge – in a hurry – in his cabin, with his cheeks burning and with shortness of breath, for the running he had just done. he took the first thing he found and threw it against the wall, first causing it to crack and then making it crumble into a thousand pieces: he didn't even know why he had that instinctive reaction, perhaps – indeed, almost certainly – he was bothered by will's intrusive behaviour, he was bothered by the fact that a stranger – like him – worried so much about a boy as dark as nico was. and here is the reason why the italian decided to move further away from the son of apollo: he wanted his privacy, his living space, and he wanted only percy and annabeth to go so far as to seem annoying and intrusive but that, at the same time, they wanted to help to break down the walls that nico had erected around him after the death of his beloved sister, bianca. yet will was dying to break down those walls, to enter in nico's life as a friend, so that the raven could let off steam and get rid of all those negative thoughts that invaded his head (and that the blond, somehow strange to him, could sense).

that rather strange day ended fairly quickly: the dinner was brought forward by ten minutes to allow a better presentation of the new boys – with their respective godly parents and roles, for those who had one – to all the other demigods who, with applause, whistles and shouts, welcomed them in their own way into that big family, which had been created during those difficult years for everyone. after all that they had gone through in the previous years, a year of apparent peace and serenity had been created which – as everyone knew – would end soon, but which everyone did not expect because too concentrated to enjoy – rightly – that little window of joy. but nico could not absorb that joy and, every time he saw all those boys hugging each other with their siblings, all the good memories he had with his deceased sister came back to his mind and those walls built around him did nothing but thicken. but would will have been able to knock them down? and would nico trust anyone besides percy and annabeth? and would he find the lost joy? or would he remain a lonely heart?