Two Odd Princes ~ A Solangelo AU ~

Chapter 38

Three weeks passed. Bianca had done everything possible to avoid interacting with Will. It was worse than the last time B embarrassed herself, though no one blamed her. They'd probably do the same if they were in her shoes but she'd been avoiding it for so long. She'd have to talk to the blonde eventually and the more she pushed it off, the rougher it was going to be.

Things remained the same for Will and Nico, or so one of them thought. Since Nico didn't remember anything, everything was fine. As for Will, he was trying to regain the courage to confess to the other boy. Part of him thought about taking a shot or two but Nico would deny anything he said at that point, claiming it was his drunk side showing.

Now it was a week before his birthday banquet. Will was hoping that he'd get a burst of confidence as his birthday neared.

At the moment, all the girls were off doing whatever girls do to get ready for big formal events, leaving Will and Nico to do their own thing.

They were casually hanging out in Will's room. Will lied on his back, watching Nico play another round of Mythomagic on his laptop. Nico, for some unknown reason, was playing extremely fair for once. The other assumed this wasn't a good thing.

Will's phone buzzed. He'd gotten a text from his dad about one of the guests arriving in fifteen minutes and wanting the boys to be down there to greet him.

"Pause it," Will told Nico.

"Can't," he responded, not looking away. "One can not simply pause a game."

Will rolled his eyes. "Can you hurry it up."

"Hold your horses, Sunshine."

Will's heart skipped a beat at the nickname. He knew that everyone had a nickname, so it wasn't anything special but it still made him happy to be called that.

"Done," Nico blurted, pulling the other from his dazed thoughts. "Let's go."

"That quick?"

"Yup," the shorter boy answered, popping the 'p'. "It only took three more turns thanks to the cards I had been saving."

Will made two mental notes. One: Never challenge Hazel in Go Fish; Two: Never challenge Nico to a game of Mythomagic.

That only made him wonder what not to challenge Bianca to. Would it also be a card game? She didn't seem like the card game type of person. Video game? Maybe but it still didn't seem like the right answer.

The boys stepped outside in front of the castle, meeting Apollo at the bottom of the steps. After a brief greeting, they fell silent. Luckily, the silence didn't last long thanks to a carriage pulling up.

The first to come out of the vehicle was a girl. Will recognized the hair right away and knew who the guest was.

"Solace," Clarisse grumbled.

"La Rue."

Nico glanced between the two but didn't say anything.

Next to come out was a little boy, probably around Hazel's age. He immediately went to hind behind his sister, refusing to show himself.

The last person came out of the carriage. There was no doubt in Nico's mind that he was the actual guest and the other two were his children.

"General Mars," Apollo greeted with a smile. "It's nice to see you again. It's been too long."

"Indeed it has," Mars agreed. "But we've been over this. It's Ares."

"Of course, of course," the king then turned to the boys. "You already know Will. But this is Nico di Angelo. Will's soon to be brother-in-law."