*****
Will had finished his dinner. He picked up his own plate and his siblings' plates and then he made his way to the kitchen.
Nico (as always) was already standing outside the kitchen. When as his gaze fell upon Will, he smiled. A small dimple appeared on his right cheek. Will insides melted into goo.
'Let's go', Nico said.
'After you,' Will said doing a fake curtsey.
'Aww, what a gentleman,' Nico said, giggling slightly.
Together, they pushed the door into the kitchen. 'Whoa...' Nico said. And 'Whoa' was right; the entire sink and the kitchen counter were covered with plates.
For half an hour, they worked in silence. Will washed and rinsed the plates, Nico dried and stacked them. Since Nico was in his general I-don't-wanna-talk-to-you mood, Will decided to start the conversation.
'So,' Will said, trying to start a good conversation. 'You were up last night...another bad dream?' He realised what he asked. Nico was a little touchy on the matter of nightmares. Bad way to start a conversation, he chided himself.
'Speak for yourself, Solace. You were napping in my ward last night, as if that wasn't anything unusual.' Nico snapped.
Will sighed. He didn't say anything after that. He liked Nico a lot, but the son of Hades gave sent mixed signals. At first, they would be all friendly and smiling, Nico would show that he enjoyed Will's company. And then Nico would become cold and distant, as if the other one was a stranger. The guy was complicated.
Fifteen minutes of more awkward silence.
Will gave on last try at the conversation. 'So, Nico...do you read books?'
Nico's head snapped to attention. 'Sorry?'
'I meant you read books?'
'Books, as in textbooks? Or plays and that type of stuff. If it's the latter, I enjoy reading Shakespear.'
Will gasped dramatically. 'Et tu, Nico?' Will asked in a very bad Shakespearean accent. 'Then speak William!' , he said, completing the dialouge from Julius Caesar.
Nico immediately burst out laughing. Will starightened. 'Whatcha' laughing at Death Boy?'
'Oh gods', Nico gasped between laughs, 'Do me a favour Will,. Never try to inact Shakespear. You are so bad at it, that its wonder that the Nine Muses themselves haven't come down and explained theatrics to you.'
'Is my acting that bad?'
'It sure is. You could have simply said "Same here." But no, you want to be a perfect little dramaqueen, right?'
Will again grasped dramaticaly. 'Thou dare insult my acting skills?!' Will said, jabbing Nico in the chest with a spoon ladle. 'Thou shalt be punished! Thou shalt runneth laps ! Thou shalt read medical textbooks! Thou shalt...do all things horrible !' Will said, still speaking in Victorian english.
Nico doubled over laughing. Will took a moment and looked at him. Nico looked adorable while he laughed. A small dimple would appear on his right cheek. His laughter was musical. He looked more like a slightly anaemic but normal teenager and less like a troubled lonely demigod from the previous decade. Will liked that.
After a while, Nico recovered from his laughing fit. 'My jaw hurts', he stated, while rubbing his jawline.
'Why though?' Will asked.
'I'm not used to laughing so much.' The son of Hades sounded uneasy.
'Make laughing a habit now, since I'm your friend.'
'What?'
'Why, aren't we friends?'
'Yes we are but-'
' No buts. You are my friend; and that's all that matters.'
'Right.'
10 minutes of more awkward silence.
This time, Nico broke the ice. 'Which is your favourite play written by Shakespear?'
'Take a guess.' Will said.
'Let's see...As You Like It ? Romeo-Juliet ? '
'Nope. It's Julius Caesar and Macbeth.'
Nico gasped. Will rolled his eyes and said, 'Roll your tongue in, Death Boy.'
'You, of all people, read political and crime thrillers ?!'
'Why not? Macbeth is like the mirror of demigod life. One weird prophecy that says your life is screwed up. You try to prevent it, and life actually gets screwed up. Sounds familiar?'
'Yeah but still...you read crime thrillers.'
Will again rolled his eyes and asked: 'What about you Death Boy? Your favourite play?'
'Me? Oh...Tempest, Taming the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream.'
'You read rom-com?!'
'If you can read crime thrillers, then why can't I read rom-com?'
'Ohh-kay'
'But still, Julius Caesar is my all time favourite.'
Will perked up 'Seriously?' Then he cleared his throat and said, 'Since thou have showeth good taste, from now on, I call thou my ally. Now I shalt call you "thy". Thy shalt not be punished."
Nico was rolling on the floor laughing. Even Will joined him this time. 'What's happening?' Someone asked. Will and Nico recovered to take a good look at the newcomer.
The person in question was standing at the door with a glass in his hand. He was wearing a light blue turtleneck and a pair of khaki shorts. He had close cropped blonde hair and electric blue eyes that were covered with Imperial Gold spectacles. It was Jason.
'Hi Jason.' Will greeted him nervously.
'Hey Will and Nico. What's happening?' Jason repeated his question.
'Umm...nothing you see. Detention. Kitchen duty after dinner. The usual you know.' Will said casually.
'Why is Nico on the floor? Nico, you alright?' Jason asked concerned.
Will shot Nico an annoyed look, who hadn't even bothered to stand up when Jason came in.
Before Will could come up with a good excuse, Nico said: 'Nothing Jason. I'm fine. I almost died with laughter while seeing Will enact Shakespear.'
Jason's eyes narrowed. 'Died...with laughter...Will...' Jason's eyes widend as he looked back and forth from Will to Nico. 'Oh-kay...Anyways, see you later. Enjoy!' With that, Jason sprinted out. Apparently, he had come for a glass of water.
Will distinctly heard him call out 'PIIIPER!! I GOT NEWS!! COME OUUUT!!' If that guys was any more loud, he would be the cleaning harpies' dinner tonight.
Will cleared his throat. 'Umm...Kayla has offered to give you archery classes. So you are supposed to see her tomorrow at three in the afternoon at the archery range.'
Nico nodded his head and said, 'I'll see about that.'
They worked for 10 minutes in silence. After they were done with their work, Nico asked: 'For that archery lesson, are you going to be there?'
'Me? Well yes. I need some coaching in that.'
Nico paused for a moment. 'When is your next session?'
'Next session? It just got over.'
'What?!'
Will shrugged. 'We talked about Shakespear, you made a new friend,' he said gesturing towards himself, 'Isn't that enough? Counselling is all about making the other person open up.'
'Alright. Anyways, see you tomorrow at three in the afternoon. Good night.'
'What??'
'Nothing.' With that Nico left smirking.
It took a minute for Will to process what Nico had said. Oh Gods...
Will sighed and started walking towards his cabin.
Detention wasn't bad.
And tomorrow's archery session won't suck either.
********
Hey guys!!
I know, it took a long time for me to update. I was going to update almost 2 weeks ago, even my chapter was ready...but a minor glitch in the network connection and BAM! Chapter deleted.
Anyways, please read it. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section. Please read on.
THANK YOU FOR 187 READS!! :):):):):)
Hope you like the chapter.
See ya :):):):):):):) !!!!