No one ever knew, but Will would cry alone in his room.
Everyone would congratulate him on lives he saved, but what about the ones he didn't?
He remembered everyone's names. Janie, James, Tom, Thomas, Harry, Ron . . . . he remembered all the fallen heroes that died at his hands.
One day, he was contemplating wrapping that rope out in the shed around his neck when Nico came in.
"Hey, Will- oh, fuck, you okay?" He asked, wrapping Will in a hug.
Will tried to push the boy off, failing to put on that fake smile of his, the one that had fooled everyone, the same one he faked after the wars, after all those kids died.
Soon, Will found himself telling Nico about it all. Nico stayed silent until he began whispering "Tied Together With A Smile" by Taylor Swift.
Will cried harder, but he felt better, just a little. Nico began to tell him that all of them, every single demigod that died in those wars, did it for not only him, but so everyone, not just demigods like him, could survive.
A week later, Will found out the true reason Nico came into his room that night, when he found the rope missing.