Little Ray Of Darkness {HOO/Solangelo}

Chapter I

Nico walked back to the doorway of the Apollo cabin, a weight lifted off his chest. Before today, he never could have admitted his crush to Percy, but today he felt different, stronger, braver, happier even.

He stopped in front of Will. He towered over Nico, with his arms crossed. Will was everything Nico wasn't. Tall, broad, tan, blonde, where as Nico was just a scrawny, pale, dark haired kid. Will stared at him for longer than Nico felt comfortable. He shifted the weight on his feet so he was tilted slightly back.

"So... Aren't we going to the infirmary?" Nico questioned in a small voice, breaking the silence.

Will shook his head, "Not dressed like that you aren't."

Nico looked down, he was still wearing that awful tropical shirt from San Juan. Except now the parrots were torn and dirty.

"Do you know how much grief I would get from the other healers if I brought you in there wearing such dirty clothes? Talk about unsanitary!"

Nico ignored the fact that Will basically just called him gross, "This is all I have."

Will shook his head again, "You can borrow one of my shirts." He motioned for Nico to follow him. Nico walked slowly inside the Apollo cabin.

It was bright, very much unlike the Hades cabin. The sunlight streamed though the windows and the cabin seemed to have a golden sparkle to it, even on the inside. For the most part it was tidy, but had a few broken arrow shafts and crumpled up poems littering the floor.

Will dug through a yellow duffle-bag. he tossed a green T-shirt to Nico. Green wasn't really Nico's color, but he didn't protest. Will stood back up and Nico froze.

"Go on." Will motioned to the shirt in Nico's hands. Nico's eyes flicked from Will, to the shirt, then back up to Will. The son of Apollo quickly understood the message. He sighed with a small eye roll and turned his back so Nico could change.

Nico fumbled with the buttons on his tropical shirt, before peeling it off and replacing it with Will's. The green shirt was way too big for him. It was made for Will's surfer-like build, not Nico's small frame. It hung off his shoulders and fell to his mid-thigh. Nico felt uncomfortable in the baggy shirt. It smelt just like Will, a fresh pine scent, like a warm breeze on bright summer day at camp.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Will turned back around and chuckled when he saw him.

Nico felt his cheeks heat up, "Shut up, I know it's too big."

"I'm just not used to seeing you in such a bright color, death boy."

Nico scowled, "Stop calling me that!" He protested.

"C'mon death boy, let's go."

-

Nico tagged along with Will at the infirmary for the rest of the afternoon. He felt overwhelmed by it all. He had to rush back and forth grabbing different medical supplies for Will. He was constantly dropping medical tape, and not being quick enough for the hospital standards.

Will, on the other hand, was completely calm and collected. He could work quickly but diligently . A camper would come in with a deep gash in their leg and Will would have them up and walking again in less than five minutes.

Nico was relieved when it was finally time to stop working. He had seen enough broken bones and blood for one day. He walked out of the infirmary and immediately flopped down into the grass. Will stood above him with a grin.

"Slow day today." He noted.

"That was slow?!"

Will laughed, "C'mon, I'm starving, let's go eat." He began walking to the dining pavilion where other campers were gathering for dinner. Nico sighed and got up slowly, trudging behind Will, who walked with a spring in his step.

Nico got food but dumped almost all of it as a offering to his father. All that was left on his plate was a bread roll. He wasn't all that hungry. He sat down at the empty Hades table and started munching slowly at the roll before he heard another plate slamming down at the table. He looked up and was surprised to see Will.

"That all you're eating?" Will looked as if Nico's lack of food insulted him personally. "No wonder you're so small. You never eat anything! No, no, no, this won't do. You have to eat more or you will get sick. Do you feel cold? Light headed? Here have some of my chicken."

Nico felt overwhelmed by all that Will said, "What? No I'm fine. I'm not even hungry."

"No you are not fine, I know because I'm a healer. You can't survive on just bread. And you don't feel hungry because your body has just gotten used to you not having enough food. Now eat, you need it." Will slid some chicken and green beans onto Nico's plate. He stared down at it for a minute.

"Eat." Will ordered again. Nico sighed and took a bite of green beans, they were fresh and juicy. "See was that so hard?" He teased him.

"Why are you sitting with me anyways, shouldn't you be at the Apollo table?" Nico questioned, changing the subject.

Will shrugged, "Its always pretty crowded over there, plus you were alone. I'm sure no one will care."

Nico ate quietly but Will kept trying to make conversation, to which Nico would give short responses. Will didn't get the hint and kept rambling on. Finally he said something that caught Nico's attention.

"-so tomorrow when you help me at the infirmary then-"

"Wait, I have to go back?!" Nico cut in.

Will looked surprised by Nico suddenly butting in, "Yes. You owe me three days. Today was one. You do know how to count, don't you?"

Nico glared at him, "Yes I know how to count."

"Well three days. You said it would be okay this morning. No going back now. You owe me Di Angelo."

"I was okay with it before I knew how hard it was."

"What, can't take it death boy?" Will sneered.

Will was starting to drive Nico mad, "Stop calling me death boy! And I can too take it."

"Is that so? Then why don't you show me?" Will crossed his arms as he taunted Nico.

"Fine. I will be there tomorrow. I'll show you... you..." Nico stuttered as he tried to think of an insulting name for the son of Apollo, "you... Sun kid!" He finally shouted as he got up and stormed off. His cheeks burned with both anger and embarrassment. Sun kid? What kind of insult was that?

It wasn't until Nico got to his cabin that he realized what happened. Will had gotten Nico to agree to coming back to the infirmary by getting him angry. How could he be so stupid? He thought of how Will was probably sitting at the table snickering with that dumb smirk he had, so content with himself for tricking Nico into coming back. Nico felt jittery and flustered. His heart was pounding hard. He clenched his fists as he flopped face first onto his bed and screamed into his pillow.