Chapter Text
The first thing that Nico hears when he barely takes one step into his dorm room is a loud scream, followed by more muffled screams. He sighs and rolls his eyes as he slips the heavy coat off his shoulders and dumps it somewhere on the couch before making his way into the dining room where his two idiot roommates were sitting on the table.
“Are you two trying to get the director called on us again?” Nico grumbles, not even sparing them a glance because he was too busy sticking his head into the fridge in hopes it would reduce his killer migraine. It didn’t work and the only thing it did do was cause his stomach to grumble loudly. He thinks back to the last time he ate and distinctly remembers only having a small bowl of cereal in the morning. Nico needs food and he needs it now.
“Will Solace just broke up with his girlfriend.” Is what he hears from Jason as he makes his way to the table where they were sitting, apparently hoarding a pizza box. Nico throws them both a look that screams what the fuck and snatches the box away from them. The heavenly aroma of greasy pizza was the only thing keeping him sane from Percy’s occasional sniff and hiccup. His friends don’t even bat an eye at the fact that he’s taking all their food, which Nico takes as a good sign as he starts on his second slice.
“And why the fuck should I care?” He finally replies after Jason has been puppy-eye staring at him for the past minute or so.
“Because he’s like the greatest pop star of our generation or whatever.” Percy says with a casual roll of his eyes like duhh. Nico retorts by rolling his eyes back and it results in a mini eye rolling contest which only stops after Percy goes cross-eyed.
“And I’m like a fucking broke ass college student who gives no shits about what a celebrity is doing with their love life. Give it a week or so and I bet he’ll have a new girl.”
Percy promptly ignores his reasonable and correct, if he might add, statement over gasping at something on his phone. “Oh my god, he just tweeted.”
Jason squashes their cheeks together and Nico nearly barfs at the sight. “Oh my god, what?”
“He tweeted a song lyric. I’m gonna dm him.”
This is the part where they usually huddle together and scheme over tactics of getting their favorite artists to notice them, which Nico takes as his cue to tune them out. He does exactly that and goes over to grab his backpack, pulling out a heavy textbook and a folder. That Will guy might have lost one model out of god knows how many, but Nico was dealing with even bigger problems: whether or not he could do both his math and philosophy homework in one sitting. He gets to staring at the math equations that float up to his eyes, scrambling themselves into formulas he doesn’t understand, and promptly stuffs that pile of work back into his bag. Philosophy it is.
Nico gets a peaceful ten minutes of working, lightly bobbing his head up and down while he figures out what the fuck to do on his homework, until his bubble gets burst by a tap on his shoulder.
He rolls his eyes and takes out his earbuds, throwing Jason the most hateful look he could muster at that hour. “What?”
Jason flashes him a sheepish smile, and Nico can tell by the way he’s bouncing on the balls of his feet and fidgeting with his fingers that this wasn’t going to end well for him. “Say…what are you doing next Friday?”
“Uh I don’t know.” He pretends to think for a moment before replying. “Sleeping.”
“When was the last time you even went on a date anyways?” Jason asks, his voice growing higher with every word.
Now Nico is suspicious and he narrows his eyes at his friend who is visibly sweating. “Grace.” He starts out in a dangerously low voice. “What did you do?”
Jason glances at Percy, only to realize he had long since disappeared (rightly so), and laughs nervously. “What do you mean ‘what did I do?’ I didn’t do anything, I swear.”
Nico doesn’t believe him one bit so he stands up and crosses his arms across his chest. “Jason Grace, what did you do?” He asks again.
Jason gives in with a wild swing of his arms, which nearly smacks Nico dead on the face if he didn’t step aside in time. “Okay! So Percy and I may or may not have messaged Will Solace as a joke about setting him up with a ‘cute guy,’ and he actually freakin’ responded!”
Nico rolls his eyes drastically at the mention of that Will guy. He sits back down and puts in one earbud, determined to ignore Jason and Percy for the rest of his life. “Why are you telling me this? I don’t care. Good for you that you got a hot date with the man of your dreams.”
Jason huffs. “Idiot. First of all, you forget that Percy and I are seeing people already. Second of all…we may or may not have sent him a picture of you.”
“What?” Nico hisses as he stands back up so fast his pen flings itself off the table and drops lifelessly on the floor. “Why would you do that?” He tries not to yell but he can’t help it as he throws his hands in the air.
“Because!” Jason retorts. “Believe it or not, Nico, we’re your friends and we care about you. I know you probably get off on acting like a dick all the time, but we just want you to be happy and we thought maybe if you bagged a hot date it would…I don’t know, lighten you up a bit?”
Nico scoffs, pointedly choosing to ignore a few of the accusations Jason had stated (he does not get off on being a dick, mind you) and frowns. “Okay…I get that you guys are worried about me, but I’m a grown man and I can take care of myself. Just because you two are happy in your relationships, doesn’t mean I need one to be happy as well. I’m perfectly fine the way I am now.”
Jason lets out a deep sigh and lowers his head. “I know, I know and I’m really sorry Nico. I didn’t think he would be interested, let alone see it. If it makes you feel any better though, he said you were cute and he’s willing to take you out on a date. Just…try it, won’t you? It won’t hurt and you’ll be getting a free meal out of it.” He looks back up with a lopsided smile that he knows Nico can’t resist.
Nico purses his lips shut and considers the offer, weighing the options around in his mind. When a minute goes by and he still doesn’t respond, Jason’s lips actually begin quivering and his eyes sparkle a bit, and damn it, there goes his iron will.
“Ugh, fine.” He groans when Jason actually claps his hands together in a begging motion. Afterwards, he cheers like a little kid and Percy runs out of his room yelling like a maniac. “You two are insufferable.” He complains as his friends squash him breathless in a group hug. “What does he even look like anyways?”
That gets their attention because Percy is then shoving his phone in his face and Nico is staring at a picture of a blonde haired man with a cute smile. His skin looks sun kissed under the golden rays of sunlight and he’s wearing a white t-shirt that only hugs the muscles in his arms rather nicely. He’s good looking, that much he can admit. Then he realizes he said it out loud because his friends are cheering even more obnoxiously, twin smirks plastered on their faces.
Nico knows he’s going to regret it when there’s a knock on the door not ten minutes later and has to explain to the director that no they are not trying to exorcize someone again .
-
Friday rolls around in a heartbeat and Nico hates to admit this, but he’s been feeling nervous the entire week so when he comes back home from a long day of boring lectures and finds a giant post-it note taped on his door with the words ‘DATE, DON’T FORGET’ scrawled on with black marker— he panics. Just a little. Nico runs inside and rummages through his closet for something decent to wear, cursing when he realizes all his clothes look fit for a funeral (he really needs to go out and buy a new wardrobe), but then remembers that he doesn’t give a shit about this guy. This was not supposed to mean anything. It was just one date and the only reason he was going was to get a free meal. So with that in mind, Nico pulls on a basic looking t-shirt and some black jeans (he at least had the decency of wearing the ones that made his ass look good, as quoted by Jason) before he’s half-heartedly running a hand through his hair, making sure the curls aren’t deflated. Then he grabs his phone, smirking as he leaves his wallet on the nightstand, and runs out the door.
Nico doesn’t know what to expect out of this “date,” or from this Will guy, and he can only hope that he doesn’t turn out to be some serial killer disguised as a singer. Percy had called him ridiculous when he had voiced his thoughts last night and reassured him that Will was in fact, not a serial killer. Still, he couldn’t help but worry.
After hopping out of the taxi (and nearly getting flattened by a speeding bicyclist), Nico finally makes his way to the movie theater that they had agreed upon. And by they, he means Percy, Jason, and Will apparently. He was left completely in the dark; in fact, he didn’t even own any social media so he had no forms of communicating with the guy. Just the hope that he might show up and not leave Nico standing outside like an idiot.
He’s tapping away at his phone, mindlessly scrolling through his online assignments and contemplating which ones he can grind before the day ends, when he feels a slight tap on his shoulder. Nico rolls his eyes, prepared to tell whoever it was to fuck off as politely as possible, but then stops when he turns around and is met with a sunny smile and curly, blonde hair. The string of insults on the tip of his tongue get swallowed back with a gulp and Nico barely remembers to neutralize his expression when the guy opens his mouth to speak in the most melodic voice he’s ever heard.
“Hi. Are you Nico?” He asks in a voice that’s been blessed with heavenly divinity. It’s not too high pitched, but still soft, all the while low and raspy enough to stir Nico’s stomach in the most uncomfortable ways.
Nico clears his throat and dips his chin in a slight nod, using this time to discreetly check the guy out. “Yeah. Will, right?” Okay maybe Percy and Jason were on to something here. He was wearing a simple gray hoodie paired with sweatpants (clearly the definition of not giving a fuck) but his hair, which shone like liquid gold under the rays of sunlight, stood out like a sore thumb. Nico couldn’t see in the shitty picture Percy had shoved in his face, but his eyes were the deepest blue, rings of icy slate all the way to his pupil that twinkled like a milky way.
Will Solace flashes him a bright smile, showing off a row of pristine looking teeth, and Nico notices the little dimple in the corner of his cheek. “That’s me.” He says, pointing at himself as if Nico needed more cues. “I wasn’t sure you’d actually show.”
Nico snorts and crosses his arms over his chest—a natural defense mechanism at this point. “You’re the one who’s late and you have the audacity to doubt me. Plus, my friends would never let me live if I didn’t come.”
Will’s lopsided grin turns sheepish and he scratches the back of his neck, which only makes him look like a giant kid because of how big his hoodie sleeves are. “Yeah sorry about that. I got a bit held back at work but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
Nico rolls his eyes and jerks his head towards the movie theater, lights flashing in the background inviting them over in an almost hypnotizing manner. “Whatever. I sincerely hope you at least picked out a good movie.”
Will’s grin is back in full force and this time his eyes curve upwards into little crescents. “I’ve heard quite the stories of your pickiness so I went with a classic option. Hope you like romance.”
Nico scoffs, but he’s never going to admit out loud that he’s actually a huge romance geek. Damn it. “I don’t know why you responded to my friends but I’m telling you right now. You’re an idiot.”
They make their way inside the theater, which is not too packed considering it’s a Friday afternoon and most people are probably getting off work or school. Nico is thankful they get checked in by the ticket person quickly without hassle and soon they’re in line for snacks. He’s planning on emptying Will’s wallet (he offered anyway) because he usually doesn’t splurge on movie snacks (they’re too damn expensive).
Will hums. “Yeah well your friends make pretty convincing arguments.” He looks at Nico and there’s a suspicious glimmer in his eyes that makes Nico avert his gaze, opting to stare at the person in front of him.
“Then do you trust anyone who slides into your dms.” Nico counters after a moment of pondering. The line moves up an inch. “What if I turned out to be a serial killer?”
Will laughs and Nico doesn’t like the way it echoes in his head like ringing church bells. “You were using some pretty convincing emojis.”
Nico quirks an eyebrow. “Emojis? What kind?”
Will shrugs casually and smiles slyly. “You sent me a heart emoji.”
Nico is so stunned that he can’t do anything for a full thirty seconds before he bursts out into laughter, covering it with a cough after it doesn’t stop immediately. “Seriously? You were convinced by a single emoji. Anyways, I don’t have twitter nor do I use that emoji for random nobodies.” He glances at Will and offers a shrug. “No offense.”
Will shrugs back in nonchalance. “None taken and I know. Your friends told me. I didn’t think you’d be an emoji person anyways.” With that his gaze drops down and back up Nico’s body like he’s scanning him, which makes Nico feel ultra self-conscious. He subconsciously crosses his arms over his chest.
Nico clears his throat, ignoring the slight stutter of his heartbeat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Will only flashes him another charming smile and ignores him in favor of the half-dead clerk behind the register with an upside down name tag. Nico steps away to the side to brood while Will makes small talk with the guy. He has a bright smile on his face and a seemingly never ending source of energy radiating off of him that dazzles the room with the light of a new day. Nico wonders if he ever gets tired of being so chipper all the time, or what he was really like as a person behind all those masks. His deep thoughts are interrupted when Will bounces over, a dopey grin plastered on his face, with a bucket full of popcorn and drinks squished between his armpits. Nico takes pity on him and helps him hold the popcorn before they’re off to the theater room.
The walk over is relatively silent and Nico is already getting dizzy from all the flashing lights coming from all directions. He kind of wants to go home already and bundle up into a blanket burrito, safe from all the worries of the world, but Will’s presence beside him brings him back to reality. He’s struggling for something to say—anything really to get out of this awkward situation—and really doesn’t mean it when the first thing that comes to mind is snark.
“Why did you only buy one bucket of popcorn?”
Will smirks at that. Under the dim lights of the hallway, his skin looks more on the bronze side and his cheeks are illuminated by the colorful lights that bounce from the movie posters. “So we can hold hands just like in the movies.”
Nico snorts and rolls his eyes, but he can’t help the little smile that finds its way onto his face. “I thought I was going to get movie star treatment, but alas the guy who claims he’s a celebrity can’t even afford shitty, overpriced movie snacks for his hot date.”
Will lets out a breathy chuckle as they reach the designated screening room. He opens the door wide for Nico and bows his head slightly for dramatic effect. Nico rolls his eyes again at the chivalry, but doesn’t hesitate to step inside first.
“Well aren’t you a peach? Who said you were hot anyways?” Will mutters close to his ear and here in the dark room, Nico can’t help but shiver a little. They find their way to their seats (closer to the back because those are the best seats duh) and he thanks the heavens above that their section is pretty much empty. Actually, they’re pretty much the only ones in the theater save for some guy in the far front who’s passed out on two chairs. It doesn’t look comfortable and Nico is grateful for the cushiony seats that kiss his back like feathers.
“I did. I’ll have you know, I am mighty hot and you should be grateful I’m blessing you with my presence.” He blabbers, unsure of where this newfound confidence was coming from. Usually, he would never in any circumstances hype himself up this way, but for some reason being with Will brought out the natural snarkiness in him.
Will laughs and Nico deduces that it’s not too bad of a sound. “True. You are very hot. I mean when I saw that picture of you your friends sent, I was like ‘whew look at them cheekbones.’” He laughs again at the look of horror that was probably plastered onto Nico’s face before it was quickly replaced by a slight glare.
Nico is thankful that the theater was dark enough so that the blonde wouldn’t be able to see how red his cheeks were because that would be super embarrassing. He grumbles out something incoherent and opts to hug the bucket of popcorn closer to himself, inhaling the aromatic smell of grease and butter. His clothes are going to stink but he’ll deal with that later. Right now, he’s only focused on one thing and that’s vacuuming up as much popcorn as possible.
He’s hellbent on ignoring Will and trying to focus on the movie (even though he’s seen it already) because rule number one out of many in Nico’s book stated: Don’t get too attached. As luck would have it though, Will turns out to be the type of devil who talks all throughout the movie, chattering away into Nico’s ears, and he thinks he’ll be deaf by the end of the night.
Will is in the middle of asking Nico a question about the disappearance of one of the characters, which they had just explained mere seconds ago, when he decided that he had had enough. Reaching his hand into the half empty bucket of popcorn (he’d eaten most of it during advertisements anyway), Nico plucks up a kernel and blindly reaches over to shove it into Will’s half-open mouth.
“Solace, I swear to god if you don’t shut it this instant.” Nico mumbles into the dark. He hears a loud crunch and then feels something greasy touching his fingers inside the popcorn bucket, which would’ve gone flying if Will hadn’t pinned it down with his other hand.
“What are you doing?” Nico hisses and briefly registers Will’s fingers trying to entwine with his own. It feels utterly disgusting so he surfaces his hand out of the buttery popcorn and wipes it on a napkin.
He turns to look at Will just as the singer is pouting at him, a sad sparkle in his eyes. “Trying to hold hands like they do in the movies.”
Nico couldn’t help but let out a snort, along with a playful roll of his eyes. “And you think that trying to hold my hand while inside a gross, greasy bucket of popcorn is the epitome of romance? Besides, I don’t usually give out on the first date.”
The corner of Will’s lips tug into a smile and there’s a flash of fire in his eyes before they turn into little crescents once more. “So you’re saying there’ll be a second date?”
“I never said that.” Nico deadpans, praying Will would just drop the subject already.
However, the blonde is really insistent because he’s huddling closer to Nico, who stays rooted to the spot. Their faces are dangerously close for his own liking and it feels like the walls of the theater are closing in upon him, trapping him with no room to breathe. He can feel Will’s hot breath on his neck, sending tingles down his spine, as he breathes out, “I bet you by the end of the night you’ll be the one asking me for a second date.”
Hah. Nico is not one to ever back out of a bet, so he leans back and stares hard into Will’s eyes. “Oh you’re on.”
-
After the movie is over and Nico’s hands are squeaky clean from any lingering splotches of butter and Will’s DNA, they stumble out of the theater and are met with the setting sky. The weather is warm, but not hot enough where his skin was melting, and still cool from the soft breeze that caressed his face gently. Nico wonders if this was all that Will had planned. Sure…he probably came off as a bit hostile, but a promise was a promise. He was expecting that ten course meal at a Michelin star restaurant, complete with a limo ride home. None of that seemed to happen as Will led them to the corner of the street and stopped abruptly.
“What are you doing?” Nico asks in confusion as he had no choice but to stop before he bumps into the singer.
Will sighs dramatically and grins sheepishly at him. “As much as I would love to continue our little date, I got a text from my manager and I’m needed back at the studio asap.” Then his face contorts into a frown and Nico can see the genuine sadness swimming in the sea of his eyes. “I’m really sorry, Nico. I know you were probably expecting more and this was kinda a bummer first date, but I swear I’ll do better.”
Nico freezes, unsure of what to say, and stumbles through a few options in his mind before he finds himself responding in a surprisingly gentle tone. “No, it’s okay…I had fun.”
At those words, Will’s face lights up like a Christmas tree and Nico nearly averts his gaze for fear that he would go blind, or worse, the smile would be contagious. “You did?” He asks in a childishly delightful voice that Nico wanted to make fun of, but instead he just nodded. “Cool. So does this mean I get a second date?” The smug smile is back on his face.
Nico sighs as he weighs the options around in his mind. He didn’t have the worst time—it was true—even though Will had attempted to hold his hand in the most embarrassing manner. He also found that the blonde might not have been as insufferable as he’d previously thought; in fact, he was a pretty decent person. So no, Nico had no reason to decline another offer to meetup, especially when getting a fancy dinner and perhaps (he can only hope) a prepaid trip to Paris was on the line.
So he finds himself nodding and Will grins before forcing him to exchange phone numbers. Then he’s walking off into the distance and Nico is left standing there like a frozen block of ice, staring at his back in disbelief. Okay, just leave your date out in the open like that, he thinks bitterly. At that moment Will turns back around to wave and flash him another radiant smile, and Nico doesn’t know why his chest feels a little lighter.
Anyways, he shakes his head a little and calls for a taxi to go back home. Throughout the entire ride back he tries his hardest not to think about sunkissed skin, an illuminating smile, and soft laughter that was akin to the gentle plucks of a harp. He regrets everything when he’s ambushed by his friends the second he gets home and resorts to locking himself up in his room once they start screaming after Nico told him that they’d be meeting again next week.
As Nico flops down into his bed trying to drown out the loud and obnoxious sounds of Percy and Jason chanting (which is sure to get them in trouble again), he thinks to himself. Fuck. I’m screwed.
-
Nico is sitting in the library at school on Monday when someone throws their backpack on the table and sits with a huff next to him. He turns around and sees the grinning face of Piper, Jason’s longtime girlfriend, and groans out loud, slamming his forehead onto the pages of his open textbook.
“A little birdy told me something.” She starts and it’s all Nico needs to hear before he lets out another groan.
“Will you guys ever just leave me alone?” He wails to the sky. Sue him for being overly dramatic but all he wanted to do was study peacefully in the library.
Piper giggles, taking a strand of her long, brown hair to curl it between her fingers. Her rose painted lips were curved upward in a mischievous smile and there was a twinkle in the kaleidoscope of her multicolored eyes that shone like a new sun. “Soooo” she singsongs in an annoyingly childish voice. “I heard you’re seeing a celebrity. When did that happen?” There’s a wicked gleam in her eyes and Nico doesn’t know if he likes that or not.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not seeing him. We went on one date and that was it.”
“But you’re going on another one.” Piper whispers like it was the gossip of the century. Nico’s going to kill Jason when he gets back because as much as he appreciates his friends’ enthusiasm regarding his personal life, there’s a reason why it’s private.
Nico sighs and rolls his eyes. “Only because I’m a slut for free food and he owes me so…” He trails off, ignoring how the tips of his ears suddenly feel like they’ve been touched with fire. The excuse sounds lame even to his own ears.
Piper smirks, cooing as she pinches one of his ears. “Aww you’re blushing. Between you and me, it’s totally okay to admit that you like him. I’m happy if you’re happy Nico.”
Nico releases a huff of annoyance before shoving her away, crossing his arms like a petulant child. “Shut up.”
Piper only laughs, all high pitched and absolutely evil, and they both get a warning from the librarian. Nico decides that he’s done with her and puts on his earbuds, effectively ending their conversation.
-
The next morning, he’s half asleep sprawled out on the table of his Philosophy class when he feels a buzzing coming from his pants pocket. Nico stirs from his sleep, thankful he didn’t drool on the table, and looks around to see if anyone was watching. No one even bat an eye toward him and the Professor kept droning on and on about old dead people. He fishes his phone out and is surprised when he sees a message from Will. Scoffing, he’s about to ignore it when another message beeps in and Nico accidentally clicks on it.
He types back a reply asking why Will was texting him at eight in the fucking morning and the blonde is quick to respond.
Will
Lol I’m in the studio D:
and I’m sooo bored
Nico
wow imagine being rich and famous while all us other peasants actually have to work for a living.
couldn’t be me 🙄
Will
First of all I’m not rich and famous…yet ;) I’m an indie artist baby
Nico
…
ok that literally makes no difference.
my point still stands
What comes next is a rather horrendous selfie of Will, his blonde hair looking deflated and lacking it’s usual glow, in a small recording room (Nico supposes from the mic evident in the background). There’s a light ring of dark shadows under his eyes and Nico coughs as he tries not to snort at how ridiculous the picture is. His neighbor turns to give him a stink eye and he smiles apologetically, turning down his phone brightness and lowering the screen.
Nico
im gonna sell this pic for money on twitter thx
Will
Really??? Not cool man, not cool :((
Nico needs to cover his mouth with the back of his hand to keep the tiny cackle from erupting and his other neighbor throws him a side glance. He coughs slightly and pretends to write something down before turning back to his phone.
Nico
jk. it won’t be worth much anyways <3
Will
Ouch. Idk what hurts more 💔
Nico
yw
im in class so i gtg
Will
Aww ok, have fun I guess.
Cant wait to see u Friday :))
Nico blinks a few times at the message, wondering why his head feels a little dizzy, before slipping his phone back into his backpack after deducing that staring at the screen too long was getting to him. He leans his cheek on the back of his hand and phases out the rest of the lecture. By the end of the class, there’s a new message waiting for him and Nico tries to hide his smile as he opens up the text, which turns out to be another hideous selfie.