Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 4: What Does it Mean?

   Dreams about his mother. Again. Nico sat awake in his bead, staring at the ceiling. He wanted to know what was going on.

   The dream was different again. This time, he saw his mother tuck in Bianca and then himself at bed time, before heading out into the night. It was the same place as the last time, except this time Nico got a better look at the outside of the building. It looked like a typical Italian building from the time period, except it was run-down. The paint was chipping off of the building, the windows were boarded up, and cobwebs surrounded it. But like in the last dreams, his mother looked around, like she was making sure no one was watching, then opened the door and went inside, and that was it. The dream was gone.

   Nico was scared. Thinking back on his mother, she was always nice and kind. Soothing and gentle. But Nico didn't know her for very long. He was 7 when she was killed by Zeus. There couldn't have been any way that Nico had known if there was something that she wasn't telling him and his sister, big or small.

   He didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

   When Will came to get him in the morning, he was surprised to see that Nico was already up.

   Before Will could ask him about it, Nico answered him. "Dreams."

   "Oh. Bad ones?"

   Nico thought about that for a minute. "I don't know."

   "Well, would you like to talk about it?"

   "Actually, yes."

   Will sat down next to Nico on his bed.

   Nico sat for a second without saying anything, and Will didn't push. Nico always liked that about Will. He never forced anybody to share something they didn't want to. He was always patient.

   "I've been having these dreams for a while. Four of them now. They're all a little bit different, but they all focus around one aspect: my mother. It always ends with her walking into an abandoned building at night, all suspicious like, but I can never see inside. By then, the dream is over."

   "This takes place where?" Will asked gently.

   "Italy. It's always Italy. At various points of time, but it's always before we came to America."

   "Do you ever remember anything like that? Your mother leaving to go somewhere in the middle of the night?"

   "No. I don't have very many memories of Italy. I mean, there are some things that are as clear as day, like my neighbors, or my school, or things like that, but the little things? I can't remember those."

   They were both silent for a minute.

   "I need to know, Will. I need to know what she was doing. I want to know about her. More than just her being a mother. Because that's all I remember. I don't remember the things she liked to do, or her favorite color, or her favorite book, or anything." Nico's voice cracked at the end.

   Will pulled him into his warm embrace. "We'll figure it out." He told him quietly.

   "How do you know that?"

   "I just do."

   "She's dead, Will. She's been dead for over 80 years. Whatever happened, she didn't want anyone to know. The secret probably died with her. The only other person that might have known is my father, and nobody has heard from him or any of the other gods besides Apollo for 6 months."

   "Nico. You're obviously getting these dreams for a reason. All demigod dreams that show events from the past, present, or the future are shown for a reason. If you're getting these dreams, you're probably going to get an answer sooner or later."

   "What if I don't get an answer from my dreams?"

   "If that happens, then we'll ask your dad. As soon as all of this communication stuff gets fixed, of course."

   "I just really need to know. I don't care if it's bad or good."

   "We'll figure it out, Nico. Don't worry."

   So they sat like that. They talked and hugged and stayed that way for hours. Because everything else always seemed miles away when Nico was with Will.