In Time {Solangelo}

~ Nico ~

He was standing on the beach when Will's face shimmered into existence, Nico stepped back in surprise. "Nico, how are you?"

"Um... good."

Will grinned at him, "That's great."

"Are you home?" Nico asked

"Yeah, I just wanted to see a friend."

Nico blinked, "And I count as a friend?"

"Obvious."

Nico did his best not to smile, then he saw something running towards him shouting his name, "Sorry Will, I need to go."

Will smiled, "That's fine."

Nico saw Will's face and added, "It's only Kayley, nothing big." Then he dispersed the message with a wave of his hand. An odd feeling rose in his chest, he wished he'd talked to Will a little bit more.

"Hey Nico!" A voice called, he saw someone running towards him at full speed, as he watched they fell on their face. He took a step forward to help but they got to their feet as if nothing had happened and kept on going. He saw a familiar face, with blueish eyes and brown hair, "Kayley," he said, "Will left yesterday you know."

Kayley came to a stop in front of him,"Oh I know," she said cheerfully, "I'm not looking for Will, I'm looking for you, silly."

"Me?"

"Yupers."

"Why?"

Kayley rolled her eyes, "I have something for you." She held out her hand, in it was a small package. Nico took it and opened it slowly, expecting something to jump out at him. Instead of a death trap there was a piece of paper folded twice, he opened it. At the top in large curling letters it read, How to Talk to People of the Opposite Gender, in smaller letters beneath that was, (or How to Talk to Anyone if you are Nico). He looked up, he didn't know what to say.

Kayley grinned and put her right hand on her hip, "You're speechless. I just that fabulous!"

Nico laughed as he stuck the paper into his back pocket, "Thanks."

"No problem, I hope it helps." She took her hand off her hip and Nico noticed that where her hand had been there was blood. "Are you hurt?" He asked. Kayley glanced at her palm, "Nah, I'm cool."

Nico knight his eyebrows, "You fell on your face and your cool?"

"Happens a lot." She admitted.

"Do you try to get hurt?"

Kayley took a step back, "You're as bad as Lego Man," she thought for a minute, then snapped her fingers, "I got it!" She exclaimed pointing a finger at Nico, "Duplo Boy!"

"What?"

Kayley laughed to herself, "Jason's in his cabin, you should go see him."

Nico nodded, "Okay bye."

"Bye Duplo Boy." She called after him as he walked away.

* * *

He knocked on the door to Jason's cabin and walked in, Jason was sitting alone in the middle of the floor. "What's up Grace?"

Jason's eyes flew open, "Hey Nico."

Nico sat down next to him.

"Enjoying camp?" Jason asked.

"Yeah... I guess."

Jason grinned, "That's great!" He studied Nico's face, "Something on your mind?"

Nico nodded slowly, "Someone said something..."

"What did they say?"

"Something that made me think." Nico snapped. He could feel his mental shields going up, he didn't want to talk about Will. Nico shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it. To personal."

Jason withdrew, "Sorry... don't get to personal, I'll try to remember that."

Nico forced a grin, he opened his mouth to say something but before he could there was a knock at the door, "Jason," Emmy stuck her head in, "Can I talk to you?"

Jason stood up, "Sure." Nico followed him and went to his own cabin.

* * *

It seemed that every conversation he had with someone he actually wanted to talk to got interrupted somehow. He shighed. Maybe it was just that kind of day. He lay on his bed. His mind wandered as he thought about the son of Apollo. Nico remembered the night that he'd caused frost to spread across the entire camp. He remembered how Will Solace had tried to help, in his own infuriating way.

In his mind's eye Nico could see the look on Will's face as he'd shadow traveled away. He remembered stumbling into Charlie, who instead of trying to help just listened. He remembered the way she had just been there, nice, warm, comforting. He was beginning to notice something about all the children of Apollo, they all were different in their own way but at the same time they had a sort of aura about them, sunny and kind aura. Each one was a bit different from the others, but they all could make you feel a bit better.

Nico lay on his back as something occurred to him. Will had never talked to him about the night on the hill, he'd never really asked Nico why he'd acted like that. But Nico knew why. He had been mad at himself, mad at Will even though it hadn't been Wills fault, it wasn't Wills fault. Nico rolled over and faced the wall, he knew he liked Will. He did. But he just didn't know what to do.

It didn't help matters that though he had tried to kill him, Will still made an effort to help him. The son of Apollo was still trying to help. Still trying to be his friend. But that was it, just a friend.

Nico closed his eyes, he remembered his trip through Tartarus. The things he had seen, the thing he had heard. It all would have broken him, but it hadn't. It hadn't because he had know he was there for a reason. And it hadn't because he had be almost as full of despair as the pit was.

And then he had watched helplessly as Percy and Annabeth had fallen into Tartarus, the place he had just escaped, and he had known that the two of them together stood a better chance of reaching the doors of Death, than he'd ever had. Because Percy and Annabeth where more than a team. He knew that one of the only reasons that they had escaped Tartarus alive was because they had watched eachothers back. They both had supported each other the entire way. They both had been willing to sacrifice themselfs for the other.

And for the first time in his life Nico wished that he had someone like that, someone who understood.