Hi! Thanks for reading my story but first: I DO NOT own any of the characters or art. Second: When I converted things from google docs, stuff might have been messed up so if there are any typos or stuff, please tell me! Third: When I put the Itlian in here I got it from google translate, so if I'm wrong please tell me! Thanks again for reading!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nico’s POV

Nico let out an exasperated sigh as his very loud alarm clock went off, blaring. “Vuoi solo stare zitto? (Would you just shut up?)” Nico said groggily.

He slammed a fist onto the way-too-obnoxious alarm. He got out of his bed, which wasn’t much different from the one at home. In fact, his room was practically spot on, except for the walls, He still needed to paint them black.

Nico stepped out of his bed and onto his floor. He picked out a pair of black skinny jeans, a black skull t-shirt, some black converse, and his silver skull ring. See? He could break the trend.

He walked into his bathroom and brushed out his hair just enough to rid the majority of the tangles. He looked at the bags underneath his eyes. The closer and closer it got to...that day, the harder it was for him to sleep. It was almost as if every time he closed his eyes he could hear the screaming. He ferociously blinked away his tears.

That happened over 5 years ago. You need to grow up. He told himself in his head. He repeated the same line over and over again until his head began to ache. 

And besides, he told himself, Hazel’s moving in today. You need to be happy.

He grabbed his book bag and made his way down stairs.

“Good morning, Nico,” Hades said, already sitting at the island and sipping his coffee.

“Buongio - er… good morning to you as well, Dad,” Nico said, saying his words slowly, hoping his accent was better than it was before.

“Hm, needs practice,” Hades said, chuckling.

Nico just rolled his eyes and sat down at the island which already had plates made for him. It included a chocolate croissant, ham, and a bread roll. Nico looked at the food with an uneasy feeling. It’s not that he didn’t like that food, no he loved it. But he really didn’t have much of an appetite lately.

“Please, Nico. Eat something. I believe our new cook is even better than the last,” Hades said hopefully.

Nico sighed and took a bite of the croissant. And to be perfectly honest, he felt like he was in heaven. The pastry was fluffy and buttery and the drizzled chocolate was rich and strong.

“Wow,” Nico said. He didn’t know a lot of English, but he did know that word, and this food was defiantly wow worthy. “This is good. What is cook’s name?” Nico tried in the foreighn language.

“Her name is Sally Jackson. She and her son, Perseus, are live-in staff. His room is a floor or two below your own,” Hades said.

Nico nodded and checked his watch. “Have to go. School begins soon.” 

Hades nodded as Nico gobbled up that last bit of his breakfast, and dashed out the door.

Will’s POV

You know how they say you learn something new every day? Well, Will just learned something that he feels is vital for any person to learn. For starters:

How to not look like a total idiot in front of the cutest guy you're ever going to meet. Yeah, he could’ve really used a manual or a guide or something.

Anyway, it started when Will was minding his own business at the bus stop, when suddenly a teenaged boy came running to the bus stop as well. He seemed to be ranting in a foreighn language.

“Quante volte devo dirlo a Jules-Albert? Voglio prendere l'autobus come un bambino normale! Giuro che è uno zombi o qualcosa del genere… (How many times do I have to tell Jules-Albert? I want to take the bus like a normal kid! I swear he’s a zombie or something…)” Yeah. Will didn’t speak Olive Garden.

Well, apparently the kid was so caught up in his mini-rant that he ran face-first into Will’s chest, knocking them both over.

“Spiace - I mean, sorry. I was not looking to where I was going,” The teen said. He had a heavy Italian accent that Will found adorable immediately. He went up first, then helped the other boy up.

When he did this, he finally got a good look at the boy. The first thing he noticed; he was short. Like, midget short. The top of his head barely reached Will’s shoulder. The second thing he noticed: This boy was the most adorable thing in history. His skin was pale, but had an olive tone to it. It was also soft, but he was skinny. (He only knew that from touching his hand. Don’t get any ideas people). His hair was raven black, it was feathery and reached his shoulders. He had plump, pink lips and full, dark eyelashes. Then his eyes - oh god, his eyes - they were so dark brown they were almost black, but Will could tell they were broken. They seemed to be in the process of being fixed, but, like, they used Scotch tape. Which is completely unacceptable. This boy needed stitches and three days in the infirmary at school. And at that moment, Will made a silent promise to be the one to fix whatever broke him.

Or maybe he was just looking way to deep into this “love at first sight” thing.

“It’s alright. Are you okay?” Will asked, doing a quick scan to make sure the boy wasn’t hurt.

The short teen’s cheeks turned red as he stepped back slightly. “No. I am fine.”

“Well, I’m Will Solace.”

“Nico. Nico di Angelo,” Nico said, looking up to meet Will’s eyes. And to put it shortly, all of Will’s insides melted.

“So...you go to Goode?” Will asked. Nico looked at him, his face scrunched up. Which reminded Will of a confused puppy. “I mean, the highschool? Goode Highschool?”

The small boy flushed red again. “Oh, um, yes. I do go to Goode. But what an odd name to call a school.”

Will chuckled and felt his own face turn red. “So…you sound foreign. Are you from somewhere?” 

“Yes. I come from Venice, Italy.”

“Why’d you move?” 

“My sister lives here and our father moved us here so we could be closer,” Nico said. His chest puffed up, him seeming a little proud to make a sentence that long without stuttering. Will resided the urge to clap for him.

He was about to ask a basic question like, “what’s your favorite animal?” but then, something clicked. “Your sister wouldn’t happen to be Hazel Levesque, would she?”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “If she is?”

“Then she’s in the same grade as my sister! I know her from when the two of them came over to my house for a project or something. She’s really nice!” Will said excitedly. This wasn’t how he’d imagined Hazel’s half-brother, but hey, no one would’ve guessed Austin was his brother based on looks. And besides, it’s not like he was complaining. 

Nico’s eyes turned far-away. “Yes, she is, isn’t she?”

Will was about to ask another question when the bus pulled up. “Want to sit together?”

Nico nodded and they hopped onto the bus. 

“Does Hazel ride the bus?” Nico asked, once they had found an empty seat.

“No. As far as I know, she rides with her friends,” Will said, taking the seat beside the small Italian. Nico nodded in acknowledgement. 

Nico had gotten the window seat and Will sat on the aisle. They sat in comfortable silence with the ruckus of the bus in the background for a while and Will turned to look at Nico again. (What? It’s not creepy!) He then noticed the other boy seemed uncomfortable, and often squirmed in his seat.

“Have you ever been on a bus before?” Will asked.

“No, we don’t have many vehicles in Venice,” Nico started, focusing on his words. “The most popular way of travel is on boats through the canals. I loved riding them. My favorite part is when the boat goes under bridges and into their shadows,” the way he said it gave it a feeling of longing. 

“That sounds amazing,” Will said, admiring Nico’s enthusiasm.

“It is, and at sunset, the light reflects off the lake and creates the most beautiful colors of pink and orange as well as purple and blue,” Will couldn’t help but notice how well Nico spoke when he felt passionate about something. “I would draw them from my window on paper, and use colored pencils to get the colors just right.” As Nico spoke, he leaned against the window and looked out, his eyes glazed over, as if imagining the image in his mind.

“That sounds magical,” Will said, then flushed for sounding so childish. But, he quickly regained himself. “Maybe one day you can take me?”

Nico turned back to look at him. He smiled as his own cheeks turned red, “Maybe I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This has been my favorite chapter to right so far, and I hoped you liked it too!