fix you - solangelo

Chapter 5

Later that day, Nico was walking up to the dining pavilion to have lunch when Will ran up to him, grabbed his arm, and began to drag him towards the woods. 

"W-will?" Nico said, stumbling after the son of Apollo. "Stop it - what in Hades are you doing? Where are we going?"

"Into the forest," Will replied. 

Nico rolled his eyes, an action that he was still capable of, even while running. "Well, yes, I can see that. But why?"

"Because."

"Ugh," Nico groaned. "You are the most annoying person I've ever met."

"Thanks," WIll said, turning his head enough so Nico could see his grin. 

They reached the outside edge of trees and Will continued running, pulling Nico behind him. Branches and leaves hit Nico in the face and he tripped over roots and rocks. "Will! Fine, I'll come with you if you let go of my arm."

Nico didn't actually mind the feeling of the son of Apollo's  hand on his arm, however, it was hard to move  through the forest being dragged around by someone a foot taller than you.

"Kay," Will said cheerfully, letting go of Nico's arm. He was so cheerful all the time; it confused Nico. How could anyone be that happy so often ? But happiness shone all over Will; his glowing skin, constant smile, bright eyes...

Nico snapped out of his haze and hurried after Will. The son of Apollo stopped in front of a large wall of bushes. Nico walked to stand behind him, intrigued. "What's this?"

Will grinned. "You'll see."

Will stepped through a slight opening in the hedge and disappeared to the other side of the plant. Nico followed him, and gasped at what he saw.

The hedge had opened into a wide, sunlit clearing with a small pond and patches of wildflowers. Birds sang in the trees and butterflies danced among the flowers.

Will had walked over to a blanket spread out by the pond. "To prove I really am your friend, I set up a picnic."

Couples usually have picnics together. Nico blushed as this thought crossed his mind.

He said something like "uhm, err, ah," then cleared his throat. "Wow."

He came over and sat cross-legged by Will on the blanket. "You really went to a lot of effort."

Will's cheeks pinked slightly. "Well, yeah, I do want you to trust me enough to be your...friend."

Nico looked at Will sideways. What was that pause? What had he wanted to say?

Nico mentally slapped himself. Whatever he wanted to say, it's NOT that he wanted to be with you. Don't be unrealistic.

To distract himself, he looked around. "Picnic, huh? It isn't a picnic without food...you do have food right?"

Will laughed slightly, shaking his hair out of his face. "I never thought I'd hear you actually ask for food. But yeah, of course I do." He winked. "I'm an excellent chef."

Nico almost choked on air. Will actually made it? He actually made the food, that's such a romantic thing to do, Nico thought, almost smiling. Then he frowned, reminding himself that, of course, Will didn't feel that way towards him. He had to keep remembering that. 

Nico was so distratced, he barely caught the sandwich Will threw to him. "Thanks," he said, smiling for the first time in a good twelve hours. 

An hour later, Nico stretched out on the blanket, stuffed full of sandwiches, lemonade, and brownies. Will looked over at him. "So?"

Nico turned his head and looked at him. "So...what?"

"So...what do you think?" Wil grinned. "Do you trust me yet?"

Nico grinned and looked back up at the sky. "You might be trying to soften me up before you betray me, but..."

Will grinned. Nico grinned back at him, then his smile faded. Nico knew he shouldn't get his hopes up. No one stayed a friend for long after they found out what he really was like. There was absolutely no way Will would still be Nico's friend in a few weeks, when he found out about all the bad things Nico had done. He already knew about the Octavian incident, so it was only a matter of time before Will stopped hanging around with Nico. And Nico would be alone, as usual, with only his nightmares as friends. 

"Nico."

Nico blinked. "H-huh?"

Will's brow was furrowed. "You okay? You were making a face?"

"A face?"

"Yeah," Will said. "You were smiling one second, then you started frowning. What's wrong?"

"Just..." Nico ddn't want to say it; he really liked Will. He didn't want Will to go away. He couldn't take that.

"Just...what?"

"Just," Nico said. "Just....well, you, you're making a bad decision. By being my friend, I mean. I'm a horrible person. Just ask Percy or Reyna. I've...I've done some pretty bad things."

Will scooted over next to Nico and put a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone makes bad choices sometimes."

Nico's shoulders slumped. "But..but I-I turned Bryce Lawrence into a spirit. I killed Octavian. Even when I was younger, I did bad things. I tricked Percy into a trap for Hades."

"But you feel remorse for all those things," Will replied. 

Nico had no argument against that, only shook his head mutely. 

Will tilted his head down, so he could make eye contact with Nico. "Whatever you think, I swear I won't leave you. You can trust me, Nico."