Battling Demons: Book 2 [COMPLETED]

Chapter 1: Winter Break

Will's POV:

It had been four months since Leo had returned to Camp Half-Blood. Four months since Will and Nico had had their first kiss; since Nico and Will made their relationship official. In September, he had stayed longer than usual at Camp Half-Blood to make sure Nico was healthy enough. He eventually had to go back to Texas to be with his mother and continue high school. He was in his sophomore year.

It was December now, and Will would be returning to Camp Half-Blood. He had spoken to Nico at least twice a week. Unfortunately, because of exams and his volunteering at the hospital, Will hadn't talked to Nico in a month. And he was unbelievably excited to see his boyfriend.

It was nearing midnight, but Will had never felt more awake. He had gotten off his shift at the hospital at 6 and packed like crazy to get here tonight. He wanted to see Nico and the rest of his siblings. He had ridden a pegasus to camp. He started grinning as he walked up the hill, seeing the Big House. He walked through the barrier, leading the pegasus back into camp and suddenly the ground wasn't covered with snow anymore. He thought about letting Chiron know he was back, but he was too excited to see Nico.

Will led the pegasus to the stables before turning back to the cabins. He began to make his journey across the camp, heading toward Cabin 13. Nico's face flashed in Will's vision and suddenly, he couldn't wait any longer. He began sprinting, his duffle bumping him as he ran. Heart beating fast, he knocked on the cabin door. He meant to surprise Nico, who didn't think he was arriving until tomorrow, and hoped that his boyfriend was still awake. When he got no response, he tried to turn the doorknob. The door was locked. Will sighed as he rummaged through his duffle, looking for his key to Nico's cabin. He fished it out and unlocked the door. He pushed it open, calling out for Nico

Moonlight spilled into the cabin, revealing the recently redecorated cabin. Nico had spent weeks meticulously drawing up a floor plan for his cabin, with new furniture. The outside of the cabin was the same, the dark marble fitting into Nico's "aesthetic", but the inside had been completely redone. There was a small "foyer" at the cabin door. One either side was two bathrooms so that Hazel and Nico could have their own privacy. Then, descending two steps, the cabin opened up. To either side, there were cabinets, where Nico had started keeping food and sweets. There were also two dressers, on either side, full of clothing. Straight ahead, there was a small table with chairs, where Nico often ate. Beyond that, there was a fireplace, framed by the curtained windows. A couple of couches were in front of the flames.

The bunk beds had been replaced with two king-sized beds: one for Hazel, one for Nico. On the right was Hazel's bed. The dark golden curtains that surrounded her bed had been pulled back, revealing her white bedspread. Two bedside tables were on each side. A little further down, there was another dresser. On Nico's side, to the left, the black curtains were drawn around Nico's bed. He also had a dresser, mirroring Hazel's. Will did not know where Nico had procured so much nice furniture, but he hadn't asked. Needless to say, the new furniture looked must nicer than the old stuff.

Will dropped his bag at the front door, closing and locking it behind him. The room was sent into darkness. He slipped his shoes off and padded over to Nico's bed. He pulled back the curtains, planning on just slipping into bed with Nico. He began to pull back the covers, revealing his boyfriend. Panic overtook Will as he saw that the son of Hades was shaking; he was having a nightmare. Will lightly touched Nico, trying to wake him, but Nico pulled away, curling in on himself.

"No! Si prega di non fare! Non farmi del male!" Nico screamed in Italian.

No! Will thought.

Although Nico could control his dreams, the past couple times he had done it, he had drained his powers that he had almost faded. Will forbade him from controlling his dreams, instead, giving him sleeping draughts, which promised dreamless sleep. They had always worked in the past so the fact that Nico was having nightmares proved that they either stopped working or Nico had stopped taking them. He thought of all this in an instant before snapping back into action. He grabbed for Nico's hand to try to calm him down.