WPOV

"This better be good, Frank." I told him when we were hidden in the maze of bookshelves, "I'm in the middle of a tutoring session!"

"Oh, it's good, I promise." He replied, enthusiastically shoving a folder into my hands.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "What's this?"

"Open it."

I did as I was told. Inside there were two pictures. One was of a little girl and what must've been her brother; both were smiling brightly at the camera, showing off missing front teeth. The other picture was a blurry snapshot of a pickup truck.

"How did you get these?" I asked him, my eyes wide.

"I hired the Stoll brothers to hack my dad's email account. I didn't learn anything we didn't already know, though. But I did print out those pictures of Nico and Bianca di Angelo, as well as a picture of the truck our guy was in. I have a copy hidden in my room, that's yours." Frank said.

"Wait, the Stolls hacked your dad's email?"

"That's not important."

I sighed, exasperated, and pinched the bridge of my nose, "You're getting really into this, aren't you?"

"Look, Hazel and I are getting pretty close. I want to solve this, you know? For her." Frank said, the smile slipping from his lips.

"Shouldn't we just leave it to our parents? They know what they're doing, it's their jobs."

"Please, we know just as much as they do." He paused and gripped my shoulders, looking me in the eyes and trying his best to show how desperate he was. "C'mon, I need your help with this."

"Okay, okay. I'll see what I can find out." I relented. I wasn't about to be the guy that refuses to help a friend, no matter how crazy Frank was acting.

He released me then, beaming and patting me on the back, the way you'd see team members do after one of them scores a goal, "You're the best, Will."

"Whatever, I gotta get back to Nico."

I quickly said goodbye to Frank, clutching the folder to my chest. When I reached the table I pulled my chair out and sat down. I looked at Nico, who I realized was asleep with his head down.

He was so absolutely beautiful when he slept, I doubt anyone could try to convince me otherwise. The worry lines vanished from his face, making it seem somewhat angelic. The gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed just seemed to add to the calmness of the moment, a moment that was full of a peace I didn't want to disturb.

But I had to. Gently, I reached over and shook Nico's shoulder.

He jerked awake at my touch, unfocused eyes snapped open and looking around wildly. After a few seconds of panic he seemed to remember where he was and who he was with.

He looked at me with at first could only be described as relief, but his expression quickly turned to embarrassment. "I'm sorry." Nico mumbled, starring at down at the table, "I didn't mean to."

"Didn't mean to what? Fall asleep?" I asked him, confused.

Nico's reply was a barely audible "Yeah."

"Oh, don't worry about it, there's nothing to apologize for. It's not like you meant to be rude or anything. Have you been getting enough sleep at home?" I asked him, already guessing the answer based on the bags under his eyes.

"Usually I do, last night was just.... rough."

"How so?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." Nico told me, refusing to meet my eyes.

I knew that he wasn't going to tell me what was going on, and that was alright for now. I didn't want to force him into telling me; he shouldn't have to unless he was one hundred percent comfortable with it. Besides, everyone has secrets. I couldn't expect him to tell me his when I was keeping everyone in the dark about the di Angelo case. It's just not my business to tell. I'm sure Nico has a similar reason for not saying anything, or at least he thinks he has a good one. Hell, there might not even be anything wrong, I could be making a big deal out of nothing.

A silence had fallen over our table.

"Can I, uh, have your number?" I asked Nico, cursing myself for how awkward I just sounded.

"I don't have a phone...."

"Oh," I hoped I didn't look super disappointed. "Maybe we can hang out sometime?"

"What day is it again?"

"Thursday. Why?"

He hesitated. When he spoke his voice was quiet and he picked at his jacket sleeves, which I'd learned was a nervous habit of his. "I'm free tomorrow, if you want to do something then."

I couldn't help but smile at him, "That works for me."

"Great." Nico said, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face.

~

I found myself pacing back and forth in my room later in the day, the only thing I could think about was Nico. More specifically, me and him together.

It's ridiculous really, even my own parents don't know I'm gay. Nico might not even be gay. We're just hanging out after school, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. I don't want to ruin our friendship, or possibly scare him off, by developing feelings beyond what we already have.

And yet, here I am with a crush on him.

I collapsed onto my bed, running my hands through my hair in frustration. Maybe I just needed to try to get my mind off it.

I pulled the folder Frank gave me out of my bag. I went through it one last time, studying the pictures more closely. Looking at the photos made the case seem so much more real to me now, more serious. I put the pictures away and chose to hide the folder under my mattress. I spent another couple of minutes cleaning my room, too.

But that wasn't enough. I stood up, walked across my bedroom, and pulled out one of the many medical textbooks I had on my bookshelf. I sat back down on my bed and started to educate myself on Lumbar Laminectomies and the surgical procedures for it.

I was halfway through the chapter when a heard a knock on my door. "Yes?"

My dad came in my room, already changed out of his scrubs and into sweatpants and a t-shirt. We look a lot alike, sharing the same blonde hair, blue eyes, and skin tone. He grinned at me, "Dinner's on the table, your mom sent me to let you know."

I put my book on the nightstand and followed my dad downstairs, faking an ease I didn't feel and painting on a laid-back smile.

~

Friday came.

I felt weirdly nervous, since this going to be the first time Nico and I will hang out. I think he was, too. All throughout our tutoring he would stare at me and furrow his brow, almost like he was weighing his options. I decided to pretend that I didn't notice.

Afterwards, class was dull as usual. I sat next to Nico, the same way I'd been doing since I got the courage to talk to him. He was too busy writing down everything the teacher said to talk to me, though, and I didn't want to distract him. Especially since he was still failing.

On the plus side we walked to lunch together, but I still haven't upgraded enough to sit next to him. I tried once but Reyna wasn't having it at all, giving me a smack on the back of my head and a smirk.

So Nico and I would talk across the table. On occasions I was even able to get him to laugh at my crappy puns, much to Jason and Percy's delight. They'd high five and giggle about who-knows-what.

I checked the time on my phone again. We still had hours before school was over. I groaned.

"What's wrong, Will?" Calypso asked, ignoring her boyfriend, who was laughing and throwing little, crumpled up pieces of paper into Frank's empty carton of milk.

"Nothing," I said, putting my phone back in my pocket. "It's just been a long day. I'm ready for school to be over."

"Why so eager?" Percy said, waggling his eyebrows.

I opened my mouth to answer but was, by some form of miracle, saved by the bell screaming for us to get to our next class.

I grabbed my bag and handed Nico's to him, forcing down the butterflies that arrived. "I'll see you soon."

"You can count on it, Solace."