Nico took a deep breath. His nerve endings were tingling all over his body and he could feel himself beginning to sweat.

"Calm down, calm down, calm down." He told himself, shaking out his skinny limbs.

The lights in the hall went out and from behind the curtain where he stood he could hear the roar of the crowd.

His familiar black guitar was pushed into his hands and he took another deep breath before finding his way into the strap so the instrument hung comfortably on his shoulder.

He looked around and saw his two bandmates, oozing confidence and smiling brightly. Percy was tapping his drumsticks against his leg, while Jason clenched and unclenched his fingers, warming them up.

Percy walked out onto the stage when the lights were still off, but not without being noticed by the fans on the front row, who launched into a loud bout of screaming. Jason was soon to follow, slowly striding all the way across the stage before picking up his bass and hanging it around his shoulder.

The screaming got louder and louder as Nico grabbed the neck of his guitar and ran onto the stage, stopping at the microphone stand just to the left of the center. He grabbed the wire hanging off the stand and plugged it into his guitar, stepping down on one of his pedals as he fidgeted with the strings. He took a pick from the holder attached to the stand and for the first time looked out at the crowd gathered in front of him. It wasn't a large venue, maybe it held 1500 people but it was packed to the rafters.

He'd gotten good at tuning out the screaming. Before, when they'd just started out as a band, playing their first gigs, he'd manage to power through the show, being fueled by the music, only to nearly collapse backstage after the concert. It took Jason almost an hour of soothing and gently rocking Nico in his hold to calm him down.

He was glad his hair hung low in his eyes as he stepped up to the microphone and struck a chord on his guitar.

"Good evening New York! We're Thrice Greek!"

Percy didn't wait for Nico to finish speaking, he smacked his drumsticks together one, two, three, four times and the band launched into their first song.

The gig passed by in a blur. Steady, staccato drums, deep bass, screeching guitar. 'The next Muse', a magazine had called them. Nico went from crooning low into his microphone to launching away from it as he belted out a chorus.

17 songs later, the band made its way off the stage, Nico and Jason having thrown their picks into the crowd, Percy enthusiastically having thrown at least 8 drumsticks.

"How's it going, Neeks?" Jason asked as he swung his arm around his smaller bandmate.

"Get your sweaty arm off me, Grace, I'm fine." Nico blurted out, shoving Jason's arm away from him with a chuckle as they were lead to their dressing room.

"Man, that was a good crowd." Percy told his bandmates with a big grin as he walked into their dressing room a little bit later. "Been a while since we had a crowd this loud."

Jason grinned and nodded, shooting a glance to the youngest member of their group, who was sprawled over a couch with a steaming mug of herbal tea in his hands.

"Didn't hear them." Nico murmured. "It was perfect."

They sat around and discussed their gig a little bit more, before they took turns showering.

As Jason came back into the room with a towel still on his muscular shoulders a brunette peeked her head in through the door.

"Guys, be back out there in 5 minutes, there's a crowd and you're doing a signing session."

Nico's eyes immediately widened as he looked at their tour manager standing in the doorway.

"But-" He managed to blurt out before Jason interrupted him.

"Come on, Piper, can't you see he's not up to it?" He silenced Nico's oncoming interruption with a held up finger. "Neither am I, to be honest. That gig took a lot out of me."

Piper raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "Jason, you play bass and stand in the background, there is no way you're tired. Besides, I asked Frank to round up some security."

"I tried." Jason informed Nico as he got up off the couch, pulling at his band mate's arm.

Percy was already halfway out the door, probably eager to see if that blond girl who'd followed them to shows all over the east coast showed up again.

Jason ducked down to look at Nico in the eye. "You can do this, Nico. Stay close to me and let me know if it's getting too much, I'll make up an excuse and we'll get out of there, okay?"

Nico smiled and kissed Jason on the cheek. "Thanks, Jay. Remind me again why we broke up?"

Jason smirked and stood upright, pulling Nico towards the stage doors. "Come on, time to face the wolves."

Jason knew all about Nico and his anxiety issues. He was deathly shy and would have a panic attack every time he was confronted with a large crowd. Eventually he grew out of it onstage, and even managed to speak up during their interviews. He couldn't be more proud of his friend. Or well, his ex-lover. When they were in college, playing parties for free beers, they'd gotten together on more than one occasion. Nico was comfortable in his sexuality, while Jason had taken that time to experiment. While he did love Nico, and he did eventually decide that, yes, he was indeed gay, they weren't right for each other. They worked better as best friends, and best friends they remained.

The doors swung open and Nico stepped into the dimly lit hall, hiding behind Jason out of habit. With his skinny frame and Jason being freakishly tall he could easily stand behind him and avoid being seen all together.

They noticed Percy out of the corners of their eyes, chatting with some fans animatedly, signing albums without even looking at them.

Nico was happy that the venue's security had made the fans form a queue, so they wouldn't all storm the merchandise table at once, surely sending Nico into a blind panic.

He forced a smile on his face as he made his way to the middle of the table and sat down on his stool, Jason plopping down next to him.

The fans were being lead by their table three at a time, each one having a bit of time for a short chat and an autograph. Fortunately for Nico, Percy was the first one they came across, and he took up most of their time excitedly chatting to them, asking them about the show and how they liked it. The fans ended up having to rush past Nico and Jason with a quick hello and a scribble.

Jason looked over at Nico and reached over to give him a reassuring squeeze on his arm as the last of the fans walked by. Nico smiled at him as they were interrupted by a nervous "Hello" coming from the other side of the table.

Nico looked up into bright blue eyes and was immediately taken aback. Not just because the eyes looking at him were the bluest blue he'd ever seen, giving Jason and his electric blues a run for his money, but also because the owner of those eyes was... A man? Blond hair, tall. He would have mistaken him for Jason if he hadn't had his contacts in. Nico felt his stomach do a backflip.

"H-hello..." Nico stammered out, reaching for an album to sign that wasn't there.

The man in front of him blushed and stared at the floor, audibly scuffing his sneakers against the concrete flooring. "I... I-uh, I'm a fan."

Nico couldn't help but smile. He mumbled a thanks before he felt Jason's hand on his shoulder. The blonde was standing next to him, as if having sensed his discomfort.

"Hi!" Jason exclaimed, holding out his hand for the other man to shake. "It's always great to meet the fans. Did you like the show?"

The other man looked at Jason's hand, seeming to study it before he shook it. "I loved it. I've been waiting for years to see you guys live, and it was the best show I've ever seen." He managed to grin at Jason before turning his eyes back to Nico.

"I have a favor to ask... I've got my guitar downstairs, being held by security because I couldn't take it inside. Will you sign it for me?"

Nico's eyes widened. He loved guitars, and hearing that this, let's be honest here, attractive man, also owned one made his heart skip a beat. He perked up and turned around to wave Piper over.

"Pipes, this young man here has his guitar being held by security, would you please go pick it up for him so we can sign it?" Jason asked as he gestured at the man standing on the other side of the merch table. "I'll go find Percy, for something special like a guitar, you're going to want the complete set."

Nico nodded, and watched as Piper and Jason walked off in different directions. "So," Nico said, realizing he was alone now and trying to squash his nerves. "What kind of guitar is it? Do you play?"

The man beamed at him and nodded. "It's a black Les Paul, the same as yours. It used to belong to my brother, but it's mine now..." He looked up at Nico with a sad look on his face before quickly replacing it with a bright grin.

"Thanks for doing this, it really means a lot to me. Your music means a lot to me."

Nico was taken aback again. Night after night, he saw waves of girls and young women at their shows. Whenever they did a signing session, the only guys he saw were being dragged there by their girlfriends. They never meant to focus on a single gender or age group, but to see a man in front of him telling him his music meant a lot to him made him smile.

"Happy to do it, anything for the fans." Nico said, remembering the words Reyna had drilled into their heads when they signed their record deal.

The blonde smiled, only barely managing to hide the sad look that passed across his face for a split second, seemingly recognizing the standard answer.

Nico smiled back. He didn't know what to say. He was bad at making conversation, let alone conversation with complete strangers. He let out a barely audible sigh of relief when he saw Jason, with Percy in tow, who was holding three bottles of beer.

"Here you go, Neeks." He said, as he passed one of the bottles to Jason and put the other one down in front of Nico. "So, who's this?"

"I'm your number one fan." The blonde blurted out.

"No way, man. I've seen people come to our shows dressed in self made Thrice Greek pajamas. You gotta step up your game, dude." Percy laughed.

Nico sipped at his beer, letting the bitter taste warm his throat as he watched Percy crack joke after joke about their fans. It's a good thing everyone knew never to take him seriously, otherwise half the world would feel insulted by now.

"Sorry kid, it's time to go." A hoarse voice came from behind the young man. At the same time the house lights flicked on and Nico noticed that the hall was completely empty, save for their roadies and some other staff still walking about.

Jason took his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call Pipes, see how she's doing with that guitar." He stepped away from the table.

"It's cool, dude." Percy squinted to read the name printed on the man's security uniform. Hege? Heged? Something like that. "We're waiting on his guitar. Gonna sign it and we'll send him out. No worries."

At that moment Piper came walking in empty-handed, and with a serious expression on her face.

"You!" She pointed at the security guard. "You take people's possessions and then give them back to anyone who claims to own it? What kind of place are you running, here?"

The blonde man froze. "What? You mean- My guitar! It's- it's gone?!"

The three band members looked at the blonde in shock before slowly turning their heads to the security guard. "You what?!" Jason exclaimed.

"Hey, we took the guitar from a blond kid, and after the show a blond kid came to get it, so we assumed it was the same one." The guard shrugged.

The blonde man sank down to the floor, trembling. "My guitar..." he whispered out.

"Sorry kid, nothing we can do about it now. Now come on, I have a wife to get to and I want to close the place up." The big man moved to grab his arm and pull him off the floor.

Piper put on her most furious expression and scowled at the man. "You'll leave us. We'll call the police backstage and see what we can do about this." With that, she turned around and pulled her phone out of her pocket, walking towards the backstage doors.

The blonde was holding his head in his hands as the guard walked off. "I.. I can't believe it. My brother's guitar..." His voice broke.

Jason and Percy crouched down beside him, feeling sorry for their fan. They wrapped their arms around his shoulders and hoisted him up, walking off towards their dressing room.

Piper came back to the merchandise table a few minutes later, where Nico sat, almost frozen.

"The police said there's nothing we can do. There aren't any security cameras here so we've got nothing to go on. Poor guy."

Nico mumbled something, lost in thought. He was thinking about what it would be like if someone stole his treasured guitar. The white one his sister used to play on before...

He shook his head, he was not thinking about that right now.

Down in the dressing room, Jason and Percy sat the man down on the couch. "Can I get you a water, or a beer?" Percy asked, but the man only shook his head.

"I can't believe it... Who would do such a thing?" The blonde was fighting to keep the tears from his eyes.

"You said it belonged to your brother." Jason said softly. "What's the story there, if I might ask?"

The young man looked up at Jason. "Michael was in the army. He went missing in Afghanistan a few years ago. He never came home. That guitar is the only thing I have left of him." He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to keep the tears from flowing.

Standing outside the dressing room, Nico took a moment to steady himself after what he'd just heard. It all sounded so similar to Bianca. He needed to force himself to remain grounded and not slip into a panic attack. He quietly walked away to get some air, bumming a cigarette off Chris, their roadie.

As Jason and Percy were quietly consoling the fan on their dressing room couch, Nico walked back in, unheard by anyone.

"I, uhm..." He interrupted them from the dressing room door. "I heard your story. I... Piper told me there's not much we can do to get your guitar back. I'm sorry..." He felt Jason's look boring into him, no doubt he was wondering how Nico was doing. "It's... It's not much, but I want you to have this." He said, walking up to their fan and holding out a black guitar case.

Percy and Jason locked eyes, they knew the story of Bianca, and they knew how it affected Nico.

As the blond got off the couch, his eyes widened. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly. It's too much." He exclaimed, his whole face flushed red from the crying and blushing.

"Please," Nico said. "I know how much a guitar can mean to someone. If you still want we can even sign it for you."

He rested the guitar case on the back of the couch and opened it. Inside was the black Gibson Les Paul that they'd talked about earlier.

"You should take it before he changes his mind. He LOVES that guitar!" Percy exclaimed, digging through his suitcase for a silver marker.

"I want you to have it." Nico said. "I've been meaning to retire her anyway, and I'll rest easy knowing she'll be in a good home." He smiled.

"Catch!" Jason shouted from across the room, and Nico managed to grab the silver pen from the air.

The man stood speechless as Nico turned the guitar case around. His pen was hovering above the cool surface of the guitar body before he jerked up.

"I never even caught your name..." Nico murmured, looking at the man's shoulder to avoid having to look him in those bright blue eyes, the contrast with the red skin around them making them appear even more blue.

The man stepped forward and held out his hand.

"I'm Will. Will Solace."

Nico switched the pen to his other hand, and stepped towards Will and shook his hand. "Nico. It's good to meet you, Will."

Will blushed a bright red as he stared down at their connected hands. "I-I knew that." he chuckled out nervously.

A knock from the door jerked them from the moment. "Five minutes, guys. We've almost got all the gear loaded in so we'll be on our way to the hotel soon."

Piper's voice drifted into the room before they heard her footsteps retreating.

Nico broke the connection between their hands as Percy jerked the silver pen from his other one. "I'll make this an extra pretty one for you, Will!" He exclaimed with a bright smile as he swirled the pen on the body of the guitar in the shape of a giant 'P'.

Jason got off the couch. "You're such an overachiever, Perce. Give me that." He held out his hand and took the pen, stepping up to the open guitar case just as Percy stepped away from it and went to grab his bags.

"You're very lucky. Nico's not the type to give gifts. I'm pretty sure I've yet to get my first ever birthday present from that one." He laughed as Nico blushed and stared at a scuff on the nose of his boot.

Will chuckled nervously, looking between Nico, who was becoming redder by the second, and Jason, who was signing Nico's guitar.

"I can't believe you're doing this for me. You really don't have to..." He trailed off, watching Jason nudge Nico with his elbow and passing the pen to him.

"It was great to meet you, Will. I'm very sorry about your guitar, and I hope this whole thing won't stop you from coming to see us again. We'll be staying in the New York area, so there'll be plenty of shows to choose from." Jason smiled a bright smile and clapped Will on the shoulder before picking his bag up off the floor and following Percy out of the dressing room.

Nico was bent over his guitar, scrawling down his autograph. When he finished, he closed the case, making sure all the latches were fastened securely before picking it up.

"I hope this makes up just a little bit for the loss of your own guitar. I know nothing could possibly replace that-" He was interrupted by Will heaving a sob.

"I-I-I... I'm sorry, I just... Thank you, Nico. Nobody has ever done something like this for me. After my brother... I... I fell into a hole, and..." he trailed off, taking a deep steadying breath before looking Nico in the eyes. "Your music pulled me out of that hole. I can't thank you enough."

Nico stood frozen. Sure, he'd heard it before, during signing sessions, but never in such a private setting. He didn't know what to do. He stood there awkwardly for a few moments, trying to think of what to say.

Will spoke before he could. "Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dump that all on you." He wiped at his nose with his sleeve. "R-Really, I just wanted to thank you."

Blushing heavily, Nico nodded. "Just be good to her." He said, handing the case over to Will, who took it by the handle. His fingers briefly touched Nico's and both men turned the brightest red they'd ever seen.

Nico turned around and looked for his suitcase, seeing it standing in a corner of the room. "I'm sorry but we have to leave now." He said. "Piper will come after me with a broom if I don't show up at our bus in time."

Will chuckled and nodded, walking towards the door, case in hand. "Thank you again. I promise I'll be good to her." He flashed a last smile at Nico before turning around and making his way to the exit.

Nico took a deep breath. And another one. And another one. He didn't notice anyone step into the room until a strong pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind, pulling him into a firm chest. "You okay, Neeks?"

Nico stood frozen and closed his eyes, inhaling Jason's scent. A scent that always managed to calm him.

"I'm fine. I... I felt so sorry for him, with his brother-"

"Shhh." Jason cooed. "I know. Your sister."

They just stood there for a few moments. Nico let Jason's warmth sap the anxiety from him, before he nodded and turned around in his embrace. "Thanks Jay, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Jason smiled down at his best friend and band mate, and gave him one last squeeze before picking up Nico's suitcase. "You coming?"

As they stepped onto their tour bus a few minutes later they were confronted by a widely smiling Percy. "Sooo, managed to land yourself an admirer, Neeks?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Perce. He was a fan." Nico scoffed, sitting down opposite Jason.

"Oh come on! If you were to give a guitar to every fan, we'd all be broke and living out of a box instead of hotels." He leaned in close to Nico. "Besides, he was just your type."

Nico's eyes widened. "I-I don't have a type!" He sputtered out. "You're imagining things, Perce."

He looked across the table to find Jason holding up his hands in surrender, signaling that he wasn't about to join the conversation.

Percy clapped a hand on Jason's shoulder. "What about this one, then? Am I the only one who saw the similarities? Tall, blonde, blue eyes."

"He was a fan, that's all. I'd been meaning to get a new guitar anyway." Nico leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, hoping it was clear to Percy that he was done having this talk.

When they got to the hotel they wished each other a good night and left for their bedrooms. It had been a long night and they were all eager to get some sleep.

All but Nico. He pulled a notepad and a pencil from his suitcase and made his way to the balcony. He breathed in the cool night air and started writing.

Across town, Will walked into his shoebox apartment and reverently laid the guitar case on his bed. He couldn't believe what had happened to him tonight. Seeing him in the flesh, it was almost too much, and if that wasn't bad enough, he had to go and do something amazing. He sighed and knelt in front of the case, thinking back about the man who'd managed to put his feelings into song, as if he reached into Will's mind and wrote songs about what he saw. The good and the bad.

Will smiled to himself and stared at the case before opening it gently, like handling a newborn baby.

He saw the giant 'P' in the upper left corner, and an intermingled 'J' and 'G' in the upper right. He couldn't believe this was actually his now.

Then his eyes fell upon the writing on the bottom half of the guitar.

"The only thing that's left to do is live. -NdA"

Will felt tears well up in his eyes, quickly closing the guitar case before tears could fall on his prized possession. He recognized the quote from a magazine, an article in which Nico was talking about his newest tattoo. It had a picture of him proudly raising his forearm where those exact words were inked in cursive script.

He smiled as he felt his eyes get heavy, and fell asleep curled around the guitar case.