SOLANGELO

Part 7 holy shit

All the other campers were already in their cabins, so no one saw Will and Nico running to who knows where.

Will finally stopped running and Nico, who was looking around, bumped into him.

"Sorry," he muttered. Will didn't notice. They were standing in front of a cave. It was right in front of the lake, hidden in a small hill. Nico looked at the view. It was absolutely breath-taking. The moon was right above them, shining down on the lake. He turned his head to find Will right next to him.

"How'd you find this?" Nico asked in a whisper.

"I was just out exploring one day. I don't think anyone else knows about it. And I've kept it to myself."

"How long have you known about this?"

"Oh, about a year or so. I just come up here whenever I just need to get away and just think, you know?" Nico nodded.

"So, do you want to sit?" asked Will. Nico turned around to find a blanket spread out on the cave floor.

"When did that get there?"

"It's been here. I brought it up here when I first found this place." Will said as he sat down, patting the space next to him, beckoning for Nico to sit with him. Nico felt his butterflies growing stronger and stronger as he sat next down next to Will. For a while, they just sat in silence, looking out at the lake.

"So, tell me more about yourself," Will said, taking Nico by surprise.

"Uh, there's not much to know. I speak Italian, I had a sister, not Hazel, like one who had the same mother, her name was Bianca. Um, I was living in Italy in the 1930's, until my family moved to the United States where Zeus killed my mom and Hades moved my sister and I to the Lotus Hotel where we stayed until we were taken by a Fury and eventually ended up in Percy's hands. We came to Camp Half-Blood and Bianca became a Huntress and was killed on a quest and-"

"Whoa, slow down. That's a lot of information to take in at once."

"Haha, yeah. My life's been quite a ride so far."

"That's an understatement."

"Yeah, but you know, I think that we've reached a lull in all these quests and stuff and we can just relax now."

"I think you're right. Or at least I hope you're right."

"What about you?" Nico asked.

"What about me?"

"What's your story?"

"Well, it's not nearly as interesting as yours. Basically, I never met my dad, the only thing I remembered was a warm, yellow glow. Also, I've always had a connection with the sun. It's hard to describe, but I just feel the sun. I understand it. I know I sound crazy right now, but there's really no way to describe this. Anyway, at the end of 7th grade, I walked into my house and my mom was talking with a saytr. And let me tell you, I was absolutely terrified. My mom ran to me and wrapped her arms around me. Long story short, she quickly explained that we could trust this saytr and that he'd lead me to a place where I could be safe because she could no longer protect me and that I'd see her at the end of the summer. I don't rememer the saytr's name, which is a shame because he was very kind. But yeah, we ended up here, I was claimed in one month, and that's basically it."

"Huh."

"Sounds like Elysium compared to what you've gone through, I know." Nico shrugged. Will laughed.

"Alright, your turn again. This time, tell me about yourself, not your life," said Will.

"Um, I'm not that interesting."

"Oh, please. You're plenty interesting. And I want to know more about you."

"Alright. I wear a lot of black. It's just basic and plain and I feel natural in it. When Bianca died, I felt completely unloved-"

"Which you now know is completely untrue," interrupted Will.

Nico playfully shoved Will. "Yes, I know now. Uh, sometimes it gets pretty lonely in the Hades cabin. I listen to a lot of music. It's just something that soothes me and lets me think. And yeah. That's pretty much it."

"Nothing else?" Will asked.

"I told you I'm not interesting."

"Alright, alright," Will said putting his hands up as if surrendering.

Nico yawned, and immediately felt embarassed.

"Sorry," he muttered. He found himself saying that a lot.

"Don't apoligize. Go to sleep."

"But we have to get back to the cabins-"

"Don't worry. I tend to wake up with the sun. I'll make sure we get back before everyone else gets up."

Nico yawned again. "Ok." He lied down. "Goodnight, Will." He felt himself drifting off to sleep.

Will stared down at the boy. He looked so peaceful. So innocent. As if he hadn't gone through all that pain and torture, but he had. And that, Will found amazing.

Will saw the way Nico's dark hair swept over his eyebrow. He saw the way he breathed: his nose inhaling, his mouth exhaling. He saw the way his chest rose and fell with every breath. He looked like an angel. So beautiful. Even more breath-taking than the view. Will leaned down and kissed the boy's forehead. He lied down right next to him.

"Goodnight, Nico."