Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 10: In Memory Of

A few days after Nico was feeling better, he took Will to Gilo Claw, Arizona.

He had Jules-Albert take them, and he was a really fast driver, so they made it there in a matter of hours. Once Nico got out of the car, he held a hand out to Will to help him out, while holding flowers in his other hand.

"What are we doing here, Nico?" Nico still hadn't told Will yet. He would rather show him instead.

"I told you that I wanted to have you meet somebody." Nico said, approaching a graveyard.

"And this person lives in the middle of nowhere Arizona-" Will cut himself off when he noticed that they were walking in the direction of the graveyard.

The two walked in silence while they walked to the graveyard. Once they got there, Nico took Will to a small grave towards the back. It was relatively new, and it had dried up flowers, pieces of candy, and other little things in front of it. The grave read:

"Bianca di Angelo

1930-20

Loving sister and daughter, may she rest in peace

The part where it said the year she died was hard to make out even though the rest of the grave looked new.

Nico sat on top of the grave naturally, like he had done it many times before. Which he had.

"They actually never found her body." Nico said in a soft voice. "She's still out there in the junkyard somewhere." He knelt his head towards the right of where they were at.

He picked up the old flowers and replaced them with the flowers that were in his hand. "Gods, I should have visited sooner. I haven't seen her in over a year. It's been busy for me."

"One of the first things I did when I had finally accepted that she was gone was ask Percy where it happened. While I was practicing my shadow travel ability, and after I tried multiple times, I made it here. I asked for directions to the nearest graveyard, and then I asked the person that was working there to give my sister a gravestone. They didn't listen to me at first, of course. I was a random kid in a coat that was way too big for me. I looked ridiculous. After about the third time I tried, I was actually ready to show this guy my powers when my dad actually showed up." Nico wouldn't make eye contact with Will the whole time.

Nico felt the smooth texture of the grave underneath his hand and body, and he glanced at Will quickly before looking away again. Will's expression was solemn, yet his gaze soft.

"It's pretty stupid because I know she's been reborn and is who knows where, but you said you wanted to meet her before, and I told you that I wished you could, as well."

"It's not stupid." Will told Nico gently.

"Sometimes I talk to her. Especially when I knew her ghost was still around, but even after I would. I tell her about things that have happened since we had last seen each other before she went on the quest. The one where she never came back. But like I said, it's been over a year."

Nico stood up. "You can talk to her if you want. I mean, you don't have to, but if you want."

"I'd love to talk to her." Will told him.

"Okay. I, uh, I'll go over there. I want her to be able to meet you when I'm not listening."

"Okay." Will said. He bent down and sat next to the grave.

                                                                                             ---

As Nico walked away, Will began to talk.