3 Days to Fall in Love

14- Nico

It was Friday.  Finally- it seemed like the week would never come to an end.  I burst into the Zeus cabin.  Jason was lying on his bed, tossing his imperial gold coin absentmindedly. 
"Jase- you have to help me." I breathed.  He shot up.
"Of course! With what?!" I cracked a smile.
"Date with Will tonight, have no idea what to wear!!" His face broke out into a huge smile as he jumped towards me and gave me a hug. 
"Congratulations!!" He squealed. "Now let's go." He practically dragged me back to my cabin, which wasn't necessary since I was going there anyway.  We rummaged through my drawers for a while.  "Dude, do you have any color?"
"Um, no?" He rolled his eyes.
"Aha!"  He pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white shirt, placing a baby blue flannel over it and topping it off with a grey beanie.  "Perfect.  Now go try it on." I took the outfit from his hands and disappeared into the bathroom.  A minute later, I came out, feeling and looking refreshed. Jason clapped his hands.  "I may be no fashion expert, but you look great." Then he wished me luck and left, and I caught sight of him meeting Piper with a high five. I laughed, checking the time.  My stomach fluttered, noticing it was 6:57 and Will would be here any minute.  Gods, Will.  I didn't know what to think of him. He was so bright, my exact opposite. He was a ray of sunshine, always cracking jokes and smiling. He was skilled, a talented archer and medic, and he could sing. He was devoted, loving his work and putting his heart into it. There was nothing I could say against him. Why? I shook the thoughts out of my head as a knock sounded at the door, followed by a voice.
"Knock knock." I knew who it was, but decided to play along anyway. I leaned against the door.
"Who's there?" The corner of my lips tugged up.
"Will." I knew he was smiling without seeing him.
"Will, who?" I teased.
"Will you open up already?" I laughed and swung the door open. He stood, grinning at the doorstep, wearing a pair of white pants and a dark red sweater. He held a single rose in his hand, and though he obviously didn't bother to brush his hair, it looked amazing. He looked amazing. I accepted the rose and he smiled, taking my hand and leading me around the cabin.
"Where are we going?" I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
"Where we usually go." I was a bit confused. The strawberry fields? Okay.
"But isn't that the other way?"
"We're taking the more scenic route." He flashed me a smile and I shrugged, happy either way. We passed the blossoming trees and I could hear the click of our shoes on the stone path. It was almost like a hidden trail- I wondered how Will knew about it. Birds whistled in the trees and for a while we just walked in comfortable silence, the rose spinning between my fingers. This was nice. I could get used to this. The wind blew my hair into my eyes a little, and when I brushed it out of my eyes, we had arrived. It was not, however, how I expected. I stared at the scene in front of me- it was beautiful. Fairy lights weaved across the bushes and up on vines, giving the place a magical feel. Soft, colorful blankets were laid out, pillows on top of them. A picnic basket sat on the side. The sun had set by then, and the small area was glowing.
"It's not much at all, but do you like it?" Will whispered beside me, the back of his hand brushing mine and sending shivers through me.
"I love it." I whispered back. He smiled, relieved, and we sat down on the blanket. Will opened the basket and pulled out two plates and cups. He handed one to me.
"Let's play a game."
"O-okay." I cursed myself for stuttering.
"How about I bet you didn't know?"
"What's that?"
"So basically, one of us goes first. Say it was you. So you would say something about yourself that you think I don't know, and if I do know it, I get a point, and if I don't you get a point. And then we take turns."
"Okay, but instead of points let's say... for every point I get you have to do a dare, and vice versa." I corrected.
"Okay." He smirked. "I'll go. I bet you didn't know that my hair was not always blonde." I paused.
"Wait, really?" He laughed.
"Yeah, it changed when I got claimed. That took some getting used to." He laughed.
"How old were you?" I asked, curious now.
"Mm... around 6. I came here a long time ago.
It's home now." He shrugged, a blissful smile on his face. "Anyway, your dare.  I dare you to.." he looked around to find something to say.  "I dare you to sing a song all the way to the end." I shot Will a desperate look.  "Fine. Only a little then. But you have to sing!" I groaned and contemplated sticking my head in a strawberry bush.  But then Will widened his eyes and pouted, and I lay back in the blankets and started to sing, placing a pillow over my head as to muffle my voice.  He lay back next to me and put his head under my pillow to hear me.  His hair brushed my face, and I stuttered, my song ending.  "Wow, Death boy. I'm impressed."  He smirked and I shoved him over.  "My turn. I bet you didn't know that English isn't my first language."
"No?"
"Nope."
"What is?"
"Italian."
"Oh. Wow. That's... actually really cool. Can you say something?"
"Uh uh. Dare first.  I dare you to... let me give you a marker tattoo." It wasn't a bad dare, but it'd be fun.
"Uh, okay." He reached in the basket and pulled a black pen out.  I uncapped it and motioned for him to give me his arm.
"What do you want?"
"Hmm.. surprise me, Death Boy." I tapped the pen against my lips, thinking, before I settled on one design.  I drew in smooth lines a dreamcatcher, the threads in the middle weaving to make a sun.  The feathers on the bottom blew in different directions.  He smiled at it.  
"This is pretty great. You didn't tell me you could draw." I shrugged.
"I can't." We continued on for a while like that, talking and daring each other.  Often our bets would lead us to trail off into conversation, and it would take a while to get back on track.  I didn't even notice the sun rising until Wills hair started glowing in the light.  Not literally, I mean, though I'm sure it's possible.  By morning, my hair was braided, multiple bracelets and rings were drawn on my hands, I was wearing a crown of leaves and every other sentence was in Italian.  Will had a dream catcher tattoo, his hair was spiked in a  mohawk, (which I gotta say made him look hot as hell), and he had fake lipstick prints on his face.  He looked at me and laughed, and I laughed too.  Then he plucked a strawberry from a bush and tossed it at me.
"Think fast, Shadow Prince." I caught it with a flick of my wrist.
"Shadow Prince?" He shrugged, throwing me a smile. 
"Oh! Oh, I have something for you." My heart fluttered.  He did? He pulled out a small box and opened it.  "Its small, but I had it made especially for you." He mumbled, taking out a small necklace.  It was a shiny black chain and had a golden pendent in the shape of a sun. "It glows," he said quietly, "when I think of you." I melted inside.  Wait, what was that?  I shuddered inwardly at the thought of someone breaking my barriers down, but it seemed like Will knew exactly how to do it.  I looked at it, and then at the blushing boy holding it. 
"Th- thank you." I said in bewilderment, still surprised that he would go that far for me.  He smiled.
"You act as if nobody's ever given you a gift before."
"N-no one has."  His eyes widened, then he grinned.
"Remind me to do that more often."  He held out the necklace and I gently took it from his fingers, slipping it over my head.  The pendant glowed softly.  A smile graced my lips as I shifted my gaze back up to Will. 
"Thanks, Will. For everything." Then I kissed him on the cheek, an action that didn't seem so impossible after today.  He just smiled and slung his arm around my shoulders, getting up and walking with me back to my cabin.  I didn't really want our time to end, but I was seriously getting tired.  We bumped into Percy on the way back.  He took one look and raised his hands in defeat.
"I'm not even gonna ask." He chuckled and continued walking.  We stopped at the door to my cabin.
"Go on now, get some sleep." Will said.
"Yeah, yeah. Okay." I squeezed his hand and walked into my cabin, but not before saying, "See ya, Solace," and shooting him a two fingered salute.  After I had cleaned up a bit, I sat on my bed and wondered how he could have made me feel like that.  So... soft, and vulnerable.  I didn't like it, but at the same time, I wouldn't change it for the world.  I lay on the bed.   My necklace was glowing.