Fucking hell, why do I continue to do these, I already know how hard they are, anyways final chapter yay

DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters, just the story.

...

How does one come back to life from death and still managed to worry about words he hadn't spoken directly to the person they were meant for? Well, for starters, you could be Nico.

As he laid on a medical bed, this time one without straps holding him in and a comfy pillow, all he could think of was the words he had spoke in purgatory to Hades as he defied all logic and reality to come back to life. He had told Hades things in that moment that even he wasn't aware of. Why was he so dedicated to bypass death and see Will again?

These were questions that flooded his mind while he laid, Hazel off to his side.

When he had first woken up, she had been passed out, her head leaning on his bed with her arms under her for a makeshift pillow. She had looked exhausted, like that had been the first time she had closed her eyes in a week.

As Nico came to, he looked around, eyes blurring and throat raw, his voice sounding like gravel. Frank, Hazel's boyfriend, had been entering the room at the same time, eyes wide with shock. He smiled nervously before muttering that he would go get someone.

Nico wasn't so sure on what had happened that night, seeing as he passed out shortly after once again, but Will was the healer on call for him, the blond quickly running into the room with his hair up and bandages wrapped around his hands. Nico didn't question it at the time, something that he didn't exactly notice coming out of a small coma, but the blond had smiled brighter than he had ever seen him before.

Will's face had fell, but not from sadness, but as if someone had lifted an entire brick building from off of his back. His eyes were watery, his breath deep and steady as he tried to flatten his hair. His expression was nothing but kindness and relief, seeing Nico awake for the first time in days was one of the best feelings.

"You're awake," Will had muttered as he walked up to Nico's bed, the bags under his eyes more prominent as he got close.

Nico tried to reply, but his throat still hurt, too much for him to talk at that moment. When he tried to open his mouth, Will shook his head, trying to keep his joy contained.

"Don't talk," he told him in a hushed whisper, looking over at Hazel who was too far gone in a dream to wake up. "She's been with you the entire time."

Nico looked over at Hazel whose hair was sticking to the side of her face and getting into her mouth.

"I don't want to wake her," he said, gingerly sitting in the chair beside Nico's bed.

As he looked around, he noticed that it wasn't his first time in that bed, he had come here the first time when he passed out during class, this is where they met. Nico didn't have a voice to say it, but he didn't want to bring it up, how could he say that without sounding weird?

Will let out a huge sigh, worry melting off of him to show how tired he was.

"You've been in a coma for almost two weeks," Will stated, looking at Nico in the softest way he could muster even on top of his exhaustion. Will smiled and chuckled softly, his nervous showing through. "I've been here this entire time, waiting for you to wake up. I don't know what I would have done if I was home and sleep when you woke up. Good thing, too, it's three in the morning."

Nico wanted to yell at the blond to go home and rest, to leave to take care of him, that he would be there in the morning, but his voice wouldn't let him and his words wouldn't carry. Nico wan't sure if it was all due to that or the fact that he wanted the blond to stay, to stay in that chair and never leave his side.

With shaky hands and his eyes drooping, he reached out for Will's hand and took it in his own just before passing out, just before trying to tell him to go to sleep. But to Will, he was left with his hand in a loose hold, wrapped in bandages as a wave of exhaustion rushed over him, screaming at him to go to sleep.

...

When Nico awoke the morning after coming to, Hazel was gone and his hand was stiff. He went to flex it, to pop and stretch the muscles, his eyes still closed, he became suddenly aware of heat coming from a source that wasn't his, another hand fitting perfectly into his.

He sat up suddenly, his head pounding along with every muscle in his body at the sudden movement. He retrieved his hand frantically, holding it close to his chest, cradling it in his own hand. His chest pounded as he breathed heavily, eyes wide yet stinging at the sudden increase of light from having them shut for almost two weeks.

Will still stayed asleep, his hair falling in all directions as he leaned over the bed, soft sounds coming from his dry parted lips.

"I'm glad you're awake," Hazel spoke up, surprising Nico who was still adjusting to being awake. She smiled, a glean in her eye as she glanced quickly over to Will. She smirked when Nico's face dropped, remembering that she had fallen asleep next to him so she must have woken up to the two of them holding hands and leaning in to.

"Hazel," Nico croaked, forgetting that his throat was still raw. He coughed, startling Will as he began to stir. Hazel smiled as she quickened her pace, shaking her head as she tried to keep the sound of her laughter in as she rushed to his side, grabbing a glass of water.

Nico downed the water at a breakneck pace, coughing after finishing the entire glass. Hazel took the glass back, setting it onto he table at his bedside, smiling as Will rubbed his eyes. She looked at Nico who was unaware of the blond who was blinking himself awake. She wiggled her eyebrows hoping Nico would get the sign, but he just furrowed his brows in response.

When Will yawned, stretching his arms above his head, Nico shivered, the colour draining from his face.

"Hazel?" Will mumbled, wiping the haze out of his eyes. Hazel smiled, waving as she brought her head down a little to speak to Nico, but allowing Will to hear.

"I'll give you two some time alone," she spoke, her voice melodic as she tried to hide what she really meant. Nico tried to yell at her, but simply mouthed threats so Will wouldn't hear his attempt at speech.

"Alright," Will yawned, sitting up as he continued to blink tiredly. After a moment of silence between them, Nico looked over at Will who was still trying to fully wake up. He smiled genuinely, his eyes soft. "I'm glad that you're awake, Nico."

Nico smiled, looking away trying to come up with excuses on to why he had reached out for his hand half way through the night.

"You said," Nico tried to say, coughing at the gravel in his throat, "you said I was out for two weeks?"

Will smiled at Nico's attempt to speak, finding the unnatural sounds cute.

"Yeah," Will spoke, his voice dark, still thick with sleep. Nico would never admit it out loud, but the way Will spoke first thing did something to him, making him nervous and excited all at the same time. "I was starting to get really worried."

Will rubbed his palms with the pads of his fingers, mind deep in thought as the bandages moved at the touch.

"What happened?" Nico asked, voice rough, brows furrowed as he unconsciously reached out to grab Will's hand, turning it over to view the damaged.

Will's cheeks went red.

"Oh," Will mumbled, trying to look away from Nico's view which was glued on his hand. "Just burned my hand awhile ago."

Nico looked up at him, confused. When Will looked back at Nico, the two of them shared a beat before Nico realized that he was still holding Will's hand. He released Will's hand, ears becoming hot.

"Sorry," he mumbled, bringing his hands back to his lap.

"It's all good," Will told him with a smile. Will folding his hand into a fist, frowning at the small amount of pain that shot up his arm.

"Did I do this?" Nico asked, fighting with his voice to let him speak.

Will shook his head, not telling him that it was because of his efforts in trying to save him.

"Nah," Will said softly with a smile, "things got heated the other day with a patient, and it got out of hand, that's all. None of this had anything to do with you."

Nico frowned as Will continued to speak about a made up event. Nico knew something wasn't right. Whenever Will would look at him, he would stroke his bandages, a distant look finding its way into his eyes.

Only moment later Kayla walked in, surprised that both Will and Nico were up and about.

"Oh, hey you two," she spoke with an air, snorting ever so slightly at the sight of Nico being awake. "I was just coming to see if you were in here, Will, and it seems like you are. Anyways, Austin is looking for you, something about a Turkish bird?"

"What?" Will wondered out loud, brows coming together in confusion as he thought about what that might have meant.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug, "just go and see him, I guess. Anyways, I'll do a scan for you if you wouldn't mind?"

Will smiled sadly.

"Sure," he told her, standing up with a fake pep in his step, his hands shaking as he supported his weight with his hand as he got up. "I'll be right back." With a fake smile, he left, moving the curtain that separated Nico from the rest of the world.

"Hey, Nico," Kayla said with a smile, examining him up and down with her eyes. "How's your throat doing?"

"Alright," he croaked, his lips turning upwards ever so slightly to give her an attempt at a smile.

"Sounds rough," she told him, her hands hovering up over his body. As she moved to examine, something felt odd. From her hands came the same heat that Nico felt with Will, but her's was different, almost more controlled. He always felt like Will had several things on his mind whenever he went over him, but Kayla had a pinpointed-like control over hers.

"What happened to Will's hands?" Nico asked, coughing at the use of his throat. Kayla stalled for a moment before continuing, doing her best to not let her face drop.

"Nothing important-"

"Was it because of me?"

Kayla looked up to meet Nico's eyes, the urgency reflecting in them. She sighed, dropping her hands.

"Nico," she started, taking a deep breath in, "I know Will will say that it was nothing, and I know that's what he wants us to say, but I can't lie to you. Yes, it happened half way through that... event. He used too much and energy had no where to go, so it burned him. He doesn't want to use his powers because of it, so I'll be doing these tests."

Nico nodded, understanding where Will was coming from. Will was a doctor, he was strong, and to admit that he hurt himself and is unable to heal from it, it must have hurt much more than he was willing to admit.

"Kayla," Will called, even more confused as he poked his head in, "Austin wasn't looking for me."

"He wasn't?" she asked innocently, raising her brows sarcastically at Nico, turning genuine when she faced Will. "Well, that's weird."

"Whatever," he rolled his eyes.

Kayla got up to leave with a small smirk on her lips, winking to Nico as she left the room, leaving the blond and him alone.

Nico only laughed when asked what she wanted.

...

Days continued like this; Will would come in to check on Nico, trying to make him laugh and forget about the literal hell he had gone through before Kayla would come in and do the actual work. Nico was getting worried about Will's hands, seeing as each day he would come in with different wrappings.

Will would continued to make his weird, stupid jokes, to which Nico would laugh at. It was a strange ritual, but it kept Nico sane when Hazel was there to keep him company. Hazel's other friends would stop by to make sure he was alright, always bringing him something to do so he wouldn't get totally bored while Will lectured him on why he couldn't leave.

As Will would talk to him, something to Nico never truly felt right. When he asked Hazel what was going on, she simply rolled her eyes at him, telling him that he needed to think a little more and stop being so dense.

But it was normal and this was how they lived for those days Nico found himself prisoner in that infirmary.

"But Hazel," Nico said to her when she came to visit him after her final class, an apple in her hand as she bit into it, rolling her eyes at her dimwitted friend, "I don't know how to describe it, it just feels... weird. Like - like everything is jelly."

"You really are dumb, aren't you?"

"Hazel!" Nico exclaimed, his nerves increasing as he tried to keep his voice down low, looking around to make sure Will wasn't around, "I'm serious! I don't want this!"

"No one wants feelings," she said, sighing as she rolled her eyes, taking another bite of the apple before throwing it in the trash.

"Feelings? Hazel, you must be crazy."

"Am I Nico?" she asked, getting serious with her friend. "Am I really? You don't think it's weird that you literally told - what? - the god of the freaking underworld that you weren't going to die because you had someone waiting for you and you don't think it's because you like him?"

Nico stared at her like she four heads, each on a different colour and speaking different languages, all at the same time. He flopped down on his pillow, a low whine escaping his throat that had healed more, but still left a gravel in his speech.

"Hazel!"

"Nico!"

The two of them stared the other down before Nico looked away and sighed.

"I guess you're right," he admitted, not wanting to, but finally allowing himself to admit to what he had known all along. "But there's no way he'd like me back."

And to that, Hazel grunted loudly, exasperated by these two males.

...

"Kayla," Will moaned, dragging his arms as he followed her around her space before she snapped, turning back to face her blond housemate with annoyed rage.

"What?" she exclaimed, trying to keep her voice low. "What could you possible want?!"

Will put his hands up in defense.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he said, his voice small as he picked at the bandages wrapping his hand.

Kayla sighed before sitting down, gesturing to the other chair for Will to follow suit. He smiled softly as he sat down, Kayla swatting at his hands every time he picked the wrapping.

"Stop that," she said, annoyed.

"Sorry," Will muttered, looking away in embarrassment. He straightened his back, inhaling deeply before he looked her in the eye. "I just need someone to vent to."

"Go ahead," she said, gently smiling at him as he smiled back, relaxing for the first time in a long time.

"It's just, you spend a lot of time with Nico, especially lately when you examine him, I just," he thought about his words as he sighed, "I just don't get to be on that level with him like I was before because of this." Will motioned with his hands, showing her how distraught he was about it. "I just try a lot, you know, but how do I make him see that what I'm saying is the truth and not some joke like he thought before?"

"What do you mean?" Kayla asked, leaning in as she was becoming intrigued.

"It's just that I want Nico to see me less as his doctor - his friend - and more of a, you know."

"Yeah," Kayla agreed, sighing as she thought about it. It was true that Kayla and Nico had gotten closer on a intellectual and spiritual level, but it was still nothing compared to where Will had gotten in these two months. "But I wouldn't worry about it."

"Worry? How could I not?! Kayla," he exclaimed, emphasizing his point with urgency, "I don't want a repeat of last time."

"And you wont, Will, you just need to believe in yourself for once and you'll be fine, trust me."

"Yeah," Will mumbled, looking at the ground as he thought things over, "just, right now I just want to try and ask him to the dance again, you know? That's coming up, but he already rejected me before, whether he knows it or not."

"Just go for it, what's the worst he could say? No?"

"He could just say yes to pity me," Will brought up, facing Kayla in the eye as she nodded, understanding where her friend was coming from.

"Will," Kayla spoke up after a moment of shared silence between them, "you need to believe in yourself for once. Look at you!" Kayla flailed her hands up and down while she pointed to all of Will. "You are amazing, smart, funny, fucking hell, Will, you are God damn handsome, literally anyone with a pair of working eyes could point that last one out!"

Will grinned as he stood up, waiting as Kayla followed, placing a gently hand in his shoulder.

"Look, I believe in you, Will, you just need to believe in yourself for once."

"Thanks Kayla," he said softly, smiling as he headed to the curtain to take his leave. "I own you one."

Kayla smiled and waved as she took her spot back at her desk, picking her pencil up and starting to continued what she was doing previously.

Will pushed the curtain out of the way and almost screamed when he ran into Hazel, quite literally.

"Hazel," Will exclaimed, hiding his fear behind laughter as he placed a hand over his chest, "you scared me half to death. What can I do for you?"

"Well," she started, looking around as if she was in thought, appearing innocent, "at first I was going to come and find you because Nico got hungry, again. But then I overheard something much more important than Nico's simple hunger needs."

When Will heard her, his entire face blew up red hot, feeling like he wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

"Oh my god," he muttered, feeling like he was going to throw up, "I can't believe you heard that. Please don't tell anyone or say anything!" Will continued to plead with her, but she simply laughed and smiled, grinning the entire time Will looked pained.

"Really? You think I would hear this and just leave it?" Will looked like he was about to fall over and die, tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes.

"Hazel," he spoke, voice cracking and broken.

"Look," she said, raising her hand to silence him, "I am not here to hurt you, if anything, I come as your guardian angel, here to help you and bare good news."

"What do you mean?" Will asked with urgency, his chest pounding as he struggled to breath, everything growing uncomfortable from the heat that took over his ears.

"I know for a fact that you should just man up and do it. I know Nico well enough to say that even if he does turn you down, and is aware of it, he would never do anything to hurt or humiliate you, and who knows, maybe something good will come from it."

Will looked like a kicked puppy, one that still was willing to go back, even if it meant being kicked again.

"Hazel," he said, his voice still cracking, "has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?"

She smiled, shrugging.

"Time to time."

...

Nico had died the entire time he was in the infirmary from boredom, even with everyone's help, but it was finally time for him to leave. Kayla had cleared him, even after all of Will's "expertise" in saying that he needed to stay just a little bit longer. But Nico was having none of that. He wanted to get out and get back to class.

His teachers had all come to see him, telling him not to worry on the work that he missed, but on aiming to get better and they would work with him when he came back.

Nico was more than ready to sleep in his own bed, to not have to sleep with five lamps on at all time to make sure the shadows had left him completely.

As he packed the few things Hazel had brought him, Will had awkwardly entered his room, coughing to make his presence known. Nico smiled when he turned around and spotted him.

"Will," Nico called out with a gently tone, relaxing at the sight of the blond.

"How are you feeling? You're voice is sounding better," Will pointed out, slowly making his way into the room and beside Nico who turned back to face his bed to pack.

"Yeah," he said with a smile, "and you got your bandages off, I see." Will fiddled with his bare hands, smiling shyly as Nico turned around and reached for them, trailing his hands along the burn lines that were finally healing. Nico had noticed that he had started to get a lot more touchy, always looking for an excuse to be near or touch Will in some way. Ever since Hazel had made everything clear, he was doing his best to try and hold back.

At first everything seemed awkward, like his hand would hover just near Will, fighting with himself to try and make contact, but recently, he had felt comfortable in his feelings to act a bit on them, allowing himself to hold contact that normally would have bothered him before.

Will on the other hand was having the opposite problem. He was so used to touching Nico that when he Nico started to engage in contact, it was a huge shock for him, everything suddenly happening way too fast for him.

So, Will stood there nervously trying to calm his already frantic heart as Nico continued to finger his burnt palm, intrigued in the patterns of the soon-to-be scars.

"Oh, yeah," he mumbled, trying to look away from Nico's glance as he centered himself, trying to find a calming factor.

"Anyways," Nico muttered, dropping Will's hand after realizing how awkward that had gotten, "I'm just glad to be getting out of here. No offence, but it's a bore here, and I don't exactly want to be in the place where I technically died for a while."

"I understand," Will spoke gently as he laughed in nervousness, trying to find the right moment to talk to Nico about what he came here for. "So, anyways, the reason why I am here."

"Will, do you think you could pass me that book on the counter?" Nico interrupted him, trying to shove everything into his backpack.

"Sure," Will spoke up, trying to calm his frantic heart. Will walked over to the bedside table and picked a purple well-used book up, running his hands over the cover as he took a deep breath in, mentally counting to three before turning to face Nico again. "As I was saying, you know how before..."

"Thank's Will," Nico interrupted him again, Will mentally slapping himself crossed the face as he watched Nico finished packing, zipping up the zipper and getting ready to leave.

"Yes, anyways," Will tried again, taking a shaky breath as he finally faced Nico, the younger boy looking him directly in the eyes as he waited for him to speak.

"Will!" Kayla called out, entering the enclosed area as she walked by. "There you are. I need you to write up a report."

"Alright," Will said in a rush, turning back to face Nico who simply watched the two of them go back and forth. "I'll do it later, promise, I'm just in the middle of-"

"Well, Mr. Willis said he needs it by noon, so if you think you could-"

"Kayla," Will interrupted her, his patients running thin as she continued to talk, unaware of what she had walked in on, "I said I'll do it soon. Just give me-"

"I'm leaving, Will," Nico told him as he walked passed him, waving by to Kayla who continued to be unaware.

"Bye," she waved, smiling, "anyways, as I was saying-"

"Kayla, I said I will do it later, just let me by!" Will snapped at her, rushing by and catch up to Nico who was already half way to the door. He pushed by people who were in his way, curing under his breath as tried to catch up to the smaller male. "Nico, wait!" he called out, reaching out to grab onto Nico's wrist, just managing to reach him.

Nico turned around, confused as he faced the blond while people paid no attention to them.

"Yeah?" Nico asked, confused. He turned around to face Will better, adjusting his backpack to fit on his shoulder better, Will still holding onto his wrist like his life depended on it.

"Nico," Will started again, breathless as he hoped that no one was going to interrupt him again, "you know, so the dance is coming up, right? And while we are friends, I was wondering if maybe, you know, by chance, if you weren't already bust that night, because knowing you, you probably already have a thousand things to do-"

"Will!" Nico exclaimed, smiling like an idiot the entire time Will spoke, watching the blond's cheek rather colour as time ticked on.

"Right," Will said lowly, dipping his head in embarrassment. "What I meant was, if you still have nothing to do that night, that maybe, if you wanted to, even just as friends, you know! That if maybe you wanted to - you don't have to, you know - possible want to go with me to that thing-"

"Will!" Nico said again, chuckling softly, but just enjoying Will's attempt at speaking. "Yes." Nico nodded, smiling widely as the blond's eyes grew twice in size, his breathing increasing rapidly.

"Wait, really? Wait, you don't even know what I was going to say! I was going to see if you wanted to, you know-"

"Will," Nico stopped him again, placing both hands on his wrist, "I already said yes, so calm down."

"Wait, like, actually?!" Will asked again, just to clarify if what he was hearing was actually true.

Nico nodded, smiling ear to ear. "Yes, idiot, now get back to work before you get yelled at by Kayla or Austin or someone else!"

Will nodded as he backed up, smiling like a fool as he tried to not run into anyone. Nico chuckled softly to himself as he watch the blond run into a table and two separate people in his attempt. He shook his head walked out, gripping his backpack tight as he grinned the whole way home.

...

As Nico laid at home, he found that his house was not much different than the infirmary room. They still wanted him to take it easy, to take at least two more days off before heading back to class, so while he laid in bed, his mind raced.

He still can't believe that Will had actually ask him to the dance. What kind of world was he living in where things actually worked out for him.

If even four weeks ago someone had told Nico that he would be going to a dance with a Will, a guy no less, he would have laughed in your face, told you that you were stupid and had no idea that you were saying. But here he was, giddy at just the thought of being around Will.

Hazel had stopped by to drop off Nico's homework from his classes, Will tagging along, saying he needed to check up on him, but he wasn't fooling Hazel who had already found out about Will asking him. So, when Will had asked to tag along, she kept her mouth shut and rolled her eyes at him, simply allowed him to come.

"You know," he had told her on their way over, "if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have found the final boost of confidence to actually go through with it." He paused before turning to face her. "Thank you."

Hazel simply smiled in reply, nodding her head as they reached the house.

"Got your homework, idiot!" she called out, rolling her eyes when a low growl came from the second floor. She climbed the stares and sighed when she saw Nico just laying there.

"Did you bring me food?" he asked, coughing as he took a small sip of water out of his cup.

"No," she told him, "but I brought you suffering and an annoying doctor."

Nico sat up when Will poked his head through, Nico unconscionably tried to fix his hair.

"Hey," Will waved with a smile, entering his room gingerly as Hazel dumped the books onto a coffee table by his bed.

"Hey," Nico replied, smiling nervously. Will pulled up an old chair that had been there long before Nico, and sat on it, hoping that it would hold his weight.

"Nothing too fancy, now," Will joked, grinning as he ran his hand over Nico's chest, hovering just above. When his hand glowed, Will winced in pain, Nico knowing that it still hurt him a tiny bit to use magic, but he still continued on to use it. "Looks like you're good," he told him, nodding his head as he brought his hands back to his lap, waiting for Hazel to get done.

"Will," Nico spoke up as Hazel hummed, lining everything up so it made sense, "I know I was the reason your hands are like that, and I know that they still hurt when you use them. You have to be more careful, Will. Stop trying to help me any more than you already have. I already owe you my life."

Will was taken back, at a lose of words as Nico continued to speak. He knew that he wasn't going to get everything passed him, but he was damn well hoping for it.

"Nico, it wasn't your fault, I was the one that was being reckless," Will tried to speak up, but Nico shot him down.

"Will, stop. Just promise me that you wont use them until they are healed, okay?"

"But-"

"Okay?" Nico reiterated, raising a brow at the blond.

"Promise, okay?"

"Good."

"Now, if you two are done over there, I have set all you're homework out along side the notes that I received from each of your teachers," Hazel piped up with a bored sigh, eyeing the two of them as they both blushed.

"Alright," Nico told her, his lip pulling upwards. "Thanks again, Hazel, you are really a life saver." Will huffed at Nico's words to which Nico simply rolled his eyes to, trying to hold in a bout a laughter.

"It was no problem, just promise me you'll study when we leave," Hazel said, tilting her head and leaning on her hip.

Nico nodded and smiled. "What else would I do?"

"Good point," she grinning, waving Will over. Will said goodbye quietly, backing away from Nico's bed as he followed Hazel out. "See you tomorrow."

"Bye," Nico waved, tiredly watching as they left.

"Bye," Will waved goodbye last, flashing Nico one last brilliant smile before they headed down the stairs and out of the door leaving the house behind them.

And when they left, Nico did listen to Hazel. He did get up and work on his homework, well, after a nap of course.

...

As Nico sat with Hazel and Piper as they ate their lunch, the others arguing over useless things, Piper started to talk about the dress her housemates had picked out for her when they went out on allowed shopping.

"You should see it," she said, pointing at Nico with her fork to prove her point, "when Drew walked up to me with it, I thought it was going to be hideous, by my God, it is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen. Drew might be a stone-cold bitch, but give her an hour and she will make you look like an entirely different person."

"I imagine," Hazel said, her voice dragging along as they talked.

As the conversation continued on, the topic of the dance being the main focus, something hit Nico like a tone of bricks.

"Wait," he said, to which Piper and Hazel looked over at him, "I don't have anything to even wear to the dance." He turned to face them both, his eyes saddened. "I can't go in skinny jeans and an oversize shirt."

Both Hazel and Piper looked at one another before sharing a similar look in their eyes, something malicious glimmering.

"Don't you worry a single bit," Piper told him, reaching over with a devious grin on her lips.

"We have this covered," Hazel piped in, nodding at Piper's words.

Nico wasn't sure if he should be scare, or even if he could trust them, but what choice did he even have? He was already out of time anyways. So Nico simply nodded, allowing them to do what they needed to do to help him.

...

The days went by, and if there was one thing that Nico learned, it was that death made people nicer to you.

People in his class would smile at him, greet him in the morning. It was the strangest thing to Nico, yet here it was.

And it wasn't just students, but the teachers also. Everyone had treated him better, treated him like he was human, and not like some monster that was going to kill everyone at a drop of a hat.

It was weird to experience, but it made things so much better.

...

When the night of the dance had rolled around, classes were let out early, teachers knowing that this was one of the only nights that the students would get to feel normal for once.

Hazel had told Nico that they would all be meeting in the dorms to get ready, something the school allowed the students to do to avoid walking the ways from their houses.

When four had rolled around, Nico was sauntering over to the room the girls had told him to be in, people in dresses and makeup half complete ran up and down the halls, pushing past him inn a hurry. The dance may be starting at seven, but these girls were not taking any chances.

When Nico reached the room, the girls pulled him in, slamming the door shut.

Annabeth stood off in the corner going over homework while a girl he was introduced to as Reyna did her hair effortlessly. Hazel was over by the closet going through the collection of dresses that were hung up, double checking to make sure everyone was ready. Piper had pulled him in, muttering something about how long each thing would take, trying to do the math to make sure everyone was on time.

Nico flashed a small smile to a girl he knew as Rachel from his magical history class. She was straightening her hair in the mirror, fighting with her mess of a natural hairstyle, or at least that's how she put it.

"Everyone," Piper shouted, getting everyone's attention, "this is Nico, for those of you who don't know." Everyone smiled and waved, rushing around the room to get everything ready.

Nico was intrigued by how fast every girl worked, each one managing to move like machines to get everything done in time without running into one another.

When five-thirty rolled around, almost everyone was ready, only two girls weren't in their dresses. As Nico sat on the bed, kicking his feet up as they worked, he was the only one with anything done. So, when Reyna pointed out that he was still untouched, the entire room looked up at him then at one another, making a silent plan to get him done.

"What are we going to do?" Piper muttered to the girls who now stood in a line in front of him, each one of them having their arms crossed.

"I don't know," Rachel spoke back, keeping her eyes locked on Nico as they debated, going back and forth.

"Plan time," Annabeth spoke up, "Piper, you tackle makeup, Reyna and Rachel, you cover hair. Hazel and I will do outfitting. Go."

Everyone split up, heading in different angles before Nico was pulled into the center of the room and placed in a chair. He sat there as he was attacked at different angles, Piper dabbing things he didn't even know the name of on his face while Reyna and Rachel worked as one person to put his hair in specific spots.

When they were done, seamlessly Nico was passed off to Hazel and Annabeth where they stripped him down and build him up again in a well-tailored suit. When he looked in the mirror, Nico almost didn't even recognize himself.

"Holy shit," he muttered as he looked himself over in the mirror.

"I do say we did do wonderful," Rachel spoke up, leaning into Reyna's side as she played with the gingers hair.

"Well, it's time for us to go meet the boys downstairs," Annabeth pointed out to which everyone nodded, fixing themselves one last time in the mirror before the opened the door and watched as everyone from the other dorms started rushing out.

"Nico," Hazel spoke as they walked, "let us lead the way, why don't you?"

Nico nodded, having no objections to this, so he followed the small crowd of girls down the hall, his heart racing in his chest he as he tried his best to breath, palms sweaty.

...

The boys had agreed to meet up only half an hour before hand, none of them really fussing over their appearances, other than Percy who was a nervous wreck for some reason.

"Dude," he started, "I don't think I can do this." He started to fiddle with his ocean blue tie going from one foot to the other.

"Percy, you've literally taken Annabeth to this dance, like, five times before, stop being stupid," Jason yelled at him, crossing his arms as other couples walked past them and into the main hall.

"Hey, shit faces," Thalia called out to the group as her friends followed her, "I see you all are waiting out here like a bunch of idiots."

"I see you have your lesbian pack with you, also," Jason shot back, to which Thalia only rolled her eyes.

"Still can get more lady than you," she added, smirking as everyone laughed at Jason who simply rolled his eyes.

"Why do you even try and fight your sister, Jay?" Will asked, raising a brow to the other blond.

"Listen here, Solace," Jason started, but found a loss of words so he simple stopped, everyone snickering at him.

"Anyways," Frank said, arms crossed, "they should be here any minute."

As Frank said that, the girl's cracked the corner, Annabeth in her ocean-blue dress being the first one to walk down the stairs, Reyna and Rachel, arm in arm, were the next two, waving to Thalia as they reached the bottom. When Piper made her way, Jason shed a single tear, to which Leo elbowed him after making a comment.

Frank walked up to the stairs when Hazel came down, each girl taking their turn. He greeted his girlfriend with a kiss to the hand, telling her that her deep lavender dress was stunning on her.

Will waited, hands in his pocket, as he watched for Nico, but the longer it took the more nervous he got.

Hazel looked up the stairs, trying to see if she could spot him just around the corner, but as everyone turned to face the stairs, there was no sight of him.

But at the top of the stairs, Nico's chest hurt like crazy, his stomach tied in knots as he willed his legs to move. He shouldn't be this nervous, but he was, and it took every thing in him to take the first step. But when he did, everyone watched as he came down.

When Will spotted him, he didn't care about anyone or anything else in the world, all he saw was Nico. His hair was slicked back on one side, the rest falling over his face, framing it. His suit was an obsidian, his tie a fiery red, matching Will's. As Will watched him descend, he wondered how he got so lucky as to be able to take such a beautiful person.

"He really looks amazing," Thalia spoke aloud, even she was speechless. It was amazing what a little time and effort managed to do.

When Nico reached the bottom, Will met him there, holding his hand out to escort him. As a blush crept onto his face, Nico took Will's hand, smiling nervously as they followed everyone into the room, gently music playing.

Will lead Nico into the main hall as the group flooded in. Gently music played as they walked forward, towards the groups of people that surrounded the dance floor. No one was on it, only circling around, leaving the clearing empty.

"Why is no one dancing? Even at public school the horny kids would at least be grinding up on one another, what's up with this?" Nico asked, leaning in to whisper to Hazel who was walked beside him.

"Oh, no one wants to be the first one to dance, like, everyone will, but no one wants to be the first," Hazel replied, keeping her voice low.

"Why?"

"Well, it's sort of an unspoken rule that the first pair to dance has to do it all by themselves in front of everyone. It's a really romantic gesture, but no one wants to be the first. I've seen it go until the dance is half over before some one stepped up. I heard once that there was a dance that no one started," Hazel explained.

"Well, if no one steps up, I'm totally soloing it," Leo budded in, wiggling his eyebrows as he kept his eyes dead set on the empty dance floor. Hazel only rolled her eyes as she pushed him back and straightened back up.

Nico leaned back and looked up at Will who smiled down at him in return. As Nico stared straight ahead, he felt Will slip his hand down, sliding his hand into Nico's. Nico's entire face became red hot as his heart pounded in his chest, Will following much the same path.

Hand in hand, Will lead him to the cluster of people that were gathered around the center. The orchestra was warming up, getting ready for someone to actually step out and start the night off. As they waited, no one did, time ticking away as they all stood around awkwardly, some people trying to push their friends into the middle as a joke.

It wasn't much fun, but it was still better than being the first ones out, but Will thought other wise. Will kept his sight forward as he squeezed through the crowd, making his way to the front.

"Will, what are you doing?" Nico asked, looking confused as Will continued to lead the forward.

"we're going to dance."

"Will, I can't dance!" Nico pleased, voice low as all eyes were on him and Will as they stood in the middle. He wanted to dace, but he couldn't, so dancing in front of the entire school with all eyes on him was more than he could handle. He wanted to run, to hide, but he couldn't.

"Just follow my lead and you'll be fine," Will reassured him, smiling as he set their hands up properly, Will leading as the conductor got ready to start, not used to it being started that early.

As everyone watched Nico, their eyes judging, he found it hard to not focus on it. Will was an amazing dancer, but Nico kept stepping on his feet, making everything ten times worse. But when it happened, Will would only smile, continuing to lead him.

"I'm sorry," Nico mumbled as he stepped on Will's toes, apologizing every time it occurred.

"It's okay, you don't need to apologize."

But as they continued to dance, the song reaching its climax, Nico found that he didn't care for who ever was watching. As Will spun him, Nico could feel his nerves leaving him, letting him relax into the blond's touch.

Will lifted him up with ease, setting him down almost as easily as he had picked him up. It was amazing how everything went. When the song started to slow down, Nico was upset. He didn't want to share the floor with anyone, he wanted to dance with Will, with no one else there to get in their way. But it had to come to an end.

Their movements slowed down, but they watched each other's movements, clinging to each other like their life depended on it. Just as the song ended, Will lifted Nico up, spinning him as he came down. The final notes of the song played as everyone watched the two of them, slowly coming together, reaching a complete stop before Will brought his hands up to cup Nico's cheeks, bringing his lips to meet with Nico's.

At first Nico was surprised, but he melted into it, wrapping his arm around his neck as he leaned into it, not caring that the entire student body was watching them. To them, they were the only ones in the world.

And they kissed, everyone erupted into cheers, Hazel and Kayla especially loud, screaming how they knew this was going to happen.

Nico might have been to hell and back, but he would have done it all again if it meant he was going to get his happy ending all over again.

And even as people split onto the floor, the music starting up again, Will nor Nico cared, the two of them holding one another closely. When they broke apart, they leaned on one another for support, foreheads touching as they laughed, enjoying one other.

Even as people danced around them, Nico knew that they were the only two that mattered.

For Nico, his entire life was defined by a "before" and "after", and no matter had happened, he would never choose to go back to his life in the "before". He was far too happy, and nothing could ever happen to change that.

...

And the final chapter is out!

Not gonna lie, I stopped thoroughly proofreading this about two paragraphs in. Its late, i'm tried.

I would have been on time, but every time i right one of these part of it gets deleted for some reason

But wow, I finished another story! I know it wasn't perfect, but I do want to go ovr it some time in the future and add more things in, maybe change the name cuz a lot of the last minute details were rushed, like i had to cut an entire scene with Chiron and Will out which would have answered more questions, but again, that's going to be added.

Let me know your questions, if you have any, and i will make sure to get back to you. I might to an epilogue down the road for this, so that might happen, but yeah, its late and i don't have much to say other than MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Thank you for sticking around this sugar fueled story, i hope you enjoyed the ride just as much as i did, please let me know your thoughts!

Review, follow, and favourite!

Kitty out!