Sonder: A Solangelo Story

Chapter 2

Well, Nico finally knew where the hell he was in the world: Lecompton, Kansas. Population: Nobody of any significance. The wide empty plains and the vast nothingness gave away the fact he was probably nowhere near the beach. Well, he figured it was a plus though he could see how this town could drive any sane person mad. Everybody knew everyone, secrets were almost impossible to keep and if you were acting like an emo kid sitting in the corner when you're normally too chipper for the others to handle, then you got sent to the counselor's office to discuss your feelings. We'll that's where Nico was now, sitting on a very comfy couch and glaring at a bearded male. Doctor Chiron, has been a psychologist for as long as anyone could remember. 

"So, Mr. Solace? I see that everyone seems to believe that you're having an off day. But neither of us believe that do we?" He asked, his eyes carefully watching the males reaction as Nico nodded his head. The doctor creeped him out a bit as he seemed to know a lot more than he was letting on for the moment. "Now, now....Will, have you been reading those books I let you borrow?"

"Which ones? I have so many, maybe you should take them back?" He responded, his voice steady and quiet.

"No, No. I think you'll find them useful but yes I can see what the other teachers are saying. I'll just inform them that you're experiencing exhaustion and should just leave you be." He told Nico, sending his male back to his class. Now, which way was it?

~

Will, meanwhile, was already on his lunch break and confused by the people at his table. There was the girl from earlier, Reyna, a boy with brilliant sea green eyes, Percy, his extremely intelligent girlfriend, Annabeth, his half sister and her boyfriend, Hazel and Frank. The group had a different dynamic compared to his friends at home. Though he felt they would've gotten along nicely, as Jason and Piper cared for others, but not as much as each other, while Leo was just charismatic enough to make friends. Though at times, he would poke fun at Leo's ego while Calypso normally would shut him down if it got too inflated. 

"Nico, Reyna says you've been acting strangely. Is that true?" Annabeth said, causing Will to realize that he was being stared at and beaming like an idiot.

"Uh....no, I don't think so?" He mumbled awkwardly and rubbed his feet together.

"I don't think I believe you, you're grinning like you just got given the best news of your life" Hazel popped in the discussion, giving Will a sincere expression of concern on his face. 

"I'm fine, I promise y'all"

"....y'all???" Percy said, clearly a bit more interested in what was occurring. "You sound as if you should live in Louisiana or Texas." He was about to mock him again when Annabeth smacked the back of his head. "Oww..."

"Don't mock him!" She said sternly, watching the male nodded slowly before turning back to Will. "You're acting as if you're someone else."

"I'm sorry, I'll try my best to be my usual self but I'm feeling a bit optimistic today." He said, shrugging slightly.

"It's kinda funny seeing Nico happy, especially in New York" Frank muttered quietly to Hazel, but it was still loud enough for Will to hear.

"Maybe I should go to my next class since everyone only wants to interrogate me." He muttered, throwing his leftovers in the trash before storming towards a building. Was it the right one? He didn't care.

~

Eventually, he found his way to the classroom and just sat in the back after handing the teacher his note. Once there, a student next to him carefully nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, Will?" He whispered, the blonde hair and blue eyed male looking as if he could be his twin. It only took a few moments for Nico to raise his head and stare at the other, glaring darkly.

"What?!" He whispered sharply back as if he was trying to use his words to slice through butter. The other male blinked a bit, concern evident in his eyes.

"I guess the others weren't lying, you aren't acting like yourself." He mumbled with concern.

"Grace! I see you're feeling a bit chatty today, so why not tell us what you're discussing with Solace?" The teacher said quickly, her green eyes observing the two. 

"Uh....I was just asking if he felt well, Miss. He seems to be a bit off today" The blonde stated honestly before the teacher turned her attention to Nico.

"Is this true?" She asked, tapping her foot.

"Even if it is, this was between me and him ma'am. I don't intrude on your discussions, don't intrude on mine" he said, causing the class to stare at him.

"Will, what the hell are you doing?! You're going to get detention." A brown hair female muttered from the other side of the blonde. The teacher was clearly taken aback by his words and took a deep breath. 

"Well, you're interrupting class with your conversation" 

"I was trying to sleep, he was whispering and nobody was even giving a fuck about our discussion until you brought it up. You could've left us alone, he would've eventually shut up and let me sleep." He snapped, all eyes on him had grown wide with shock. They hadn't expected Will to curse or even talk back, it wasn't long until the whispering start again. The teacher herself didn't know how to properly respond to this situation and figured she'll just pretend it didn't happen, the counselor had said he was feeling a bit off. Finally, he was left alone and just rested his head on the desk. Honestly, it was an accident that he cursed but it was a dream anyways. So, who cared?

~

The last class had ended for Will and he was now trying to find his way back home, feeling drained from the immense number of questions the others had. It wasn't their fault they were concerned but it was a bit infuriating, couldn't they just believe he was having a good day for once? Does he always have to be depressed? Why was Nico always sad anyways? There were many questions about the male who seemed to be his exact opposite, but for now, he should be glad he survived a school day. 

"Nico Di Angelo.....I don't think I'll be forgetting that name anytime soon" he whispered, repeating it over and over again in his head. Once he was at the door, he was surprised to see Hazel and Reyna there "hey, I thought you guys went home?"

"Nico? You do know what today is right?" Hazel said, her voice somber as she bit her lip.

"....no?....did I forget someone's birthday?" He asked, reaching out to grab the doorknob.

"It's the 6th anniversary of Bianca's death. We still haven't food the hit and run driver who killed your sister." Reyna whispered, the concern evident in his eyes. The revelation having completely stunned Will, the pieces were finally starting to make sense. No wonder the group was interrogating him, no wonder Reyna looked more concern whenever he smiled. It looked like he finally snapped, that he pretended that day didn't happen. That Nico had forgotten about his sister.