YO WASSUP I'M BACK

LAST TIME (DAM FAM):

the squad is snowed into their cabin and just chill

THIS TIME (FAM DAM):

the squad heads back home right before Christmas. oh ya, and solangelo hahahHAHAHA consider it a gift for my three month hiatus on this story. but btw i suck at writing solangelo fics so i'm just gonna give you a heads up.

yeye rachel's music returns, follow her below:

>> rachelwritesandstuff

~~

(Will's POV)

I stuffed my last piece of clothing (a Hamilton  Christmas sweater, if you must know) into my suitcase and barely managed to close it. Piper had been done for about thirty minutes and had been strumming her guitar across the room.

She hummed a melody that I hadn't heard before, so I assumed it was a new song. Every few seconds, Piper would hum and strum a string experimentally.

"New song?" I asked. She shrugged.

"Kinda. I've been experimenting with the melody for a while, but I can't think of any good lyrics. Only a pre-chorus and chorus, but that's it," Piper explained.

I hummed and put on my puffy jacket. "You ready to go?"

She put her guitar in it's case and slung it over her shoulder. "I have been," Piper muttered, walking out the door.

Before I could even get down the stairs, I heard a rather loud "Ew, get a room, guys! What the hell?"

I could figure out that Piper was yelling at Rachel and Connor.

I brought my bag downstairs and sat on it as we waited for Hazel and Katie. Rachel struggled to put on her winter boots across the room and Travis was laughing at her. Nico had sunk himself into the couch waiting for his sister and Jason was trying to coax him out.

"We're here!" Katie laughed along with Hazel, dragging their bags sloppily along the staircase.

"Katherine makes and entrance," I sang sarcastically, even though Katie isn't much of a Broadway fan.

"Shut up!" she giggled, straightening her floral sweater.  "We don't call me Katherine in this household."

"Can we go?" Percy complained. "I'm tired."

"Of course Percy's  tired," Frank laughed. "Why are you tired? It's nine in the morning."

"Exactly! Who functions this early in the morning?" he whined, pushing himself out the door. The group followed him, me being last, until I noticed...

"Nico? Aren't you coming?" I asked in a peppy tone. Nico groaned and flipped his body over.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, Death Breath," I said, grabbing his hand and bringing him to his feet. He stumbled into me and glared.

"I don't want to go back. Can't I stay? Nobody will care, anyway," Nico deadpanned. I scrunched my eyebrows in curiosity.

"I will," I offered. "Hazel will. What's this about?"

"None of your business, Sunshine."

"Oh, so I'm Sunshine, now?" I teased. "You know, for a smart guy you send a lot of mixed signals." I folded my arms and looked him up and down.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tell me what your mood's about."

He sighed. "You think it's easy being a gay 'emo' kid?"

"You think it's easy faking straight for years and being bi?" I countered. "And you coming out and everyone thinks your weird? At last people have the guts to tell you, in my case, they say it in secret. Behind my back."

"Fair," Nico grumbled. "I just wish people could shut the fu-"

"So do I," I said. 

Both of us sat in silence, staring at each other awkwardly. There was a heavy elephant in the room. It's like it sat on top of us, pushing us to the ground and breaking us piece by piece. Nico knew it, too. Eventually, we would crack under the stress. We'd admit. We'd-

"Are we gonna talk about it?" I asked judgmentally.

Nico let out a long breath that I didn't notice he seemed to be holding. "Look, Solace-"

"If you're going to shake it off again, then I don't want to talk," I admitted. I counted to five in my head; getting mad like this wasn't something that happened with me often. Nico knew that, too. He took a step back with wide eyes.

"Will," he muttered. "It was an accident. We were drunk, it was a party-"

"I know that," I snapped. When Nico took another step back (yes, Nico di Angelo  was scared of me. I'm proud), I sighed. "Was any of it real? Or was it just alcohol?"

"Look, I'm sorry," Nico insisted. "I don't remember. You know that."

"What do you feel right now, then?" I asked, hope dripping from my throat.

"I don't know!" Nico raised his hands defensively.

On instinct, I crashed my face into his and kissed him quick. Pulling back, I stared at Nico hesitantly. It was nice to not taste alcohol on his lips this time. I scratched my burning shoulder and ignored my burning face.

"What the fu-"

"Hey! Will! Nico! You guys coming?"

Piper. Girl, I love you with everything in me, but now isn't a good time.

I continued to scratch at my arm, but it wasn't until I noticed Nico's face that something was off. His shoulder no longer was as black as his shirt, it was...glowing.

"Oh my God."

Now I know why Nico was so confused. I moved my sleeve just in time to watch an "A"  carve into my arm, to finish the initials N. d. A.

"Nico? Will?"

"Coming!" I yelled back. Nico and I stared at each other, wide-eyed and jaw-slacked. Nico grabbed his bags and staggered out of the cabin, and I followed suit.

I sat down next to Piper on the bus, and watched as the cabin vanished from view. I stared pointlessly out the window and the only noise that I had been focusing on was Piper's fingers plucking the strings on her guitar uselessly.

"Everything good?" Piper asked me. I nodded carefully, trying to fix my demeanor.

"Can you play a song?" I asked quietly. She nodded and strummed a bit, muttering some words.

"Everywhere I look, there's colors, left and right

No longer feelin' bland and cold and boring white

Why are there rainbows everywhere I go?

I'm just tryin' to for my way home-"

{fun fact, rachel says she wrote that song inspired by nico lol}

"Not a love song!" I said louder. "Please?"

"Okay, so, something's wrong," Piper decoded. She put down the guitar and turned to me, leaning in a little bit so she could whisper to me. "Did something happen with you and Nico?"

"How the hell did you know that?"

Piper laughed. "I have some kind of way with other people's love lives," she admitted. Tucking a strand of hair behind her hair, her eyes widened a little. "Did you finally talk about...the incident ?"

"I tried," I explained. "But then...ish happened."

"'Ish happened'?" Piper repeated in disbelief. "It happened a month ago now, Will. You guys have to talk about it!"

"I know," I said. "It's just...hard. It's awkward."

"It isn't healthy to put a strain on your relationship like that," Piper insisted. "I want you guys to talk about it before winter break's over."

I called Piper a name my mom would be disappointed to hear come out of my mouth, but my dad would probably be rather proud. She barely laughed.

"Why don't you just...go hang out with them?" Piper suggested, pointing to Travis, Connor, Clarisse, Leo, and Thalia. They were all back to playing Fortnite, of course. "It'll take your mind off of it. You seem stressed."

"Good idea," I sighed, standing up. "What about you?"

"I'm gonna sleep a bit."

"Sweet dreams about Jason."

She called me a name that my parents would ground me for life for saying. I laughed anyway.

As I wandered over to the video gamers, I thought about what Piper had said. "It isn't healthy to put a strain on your relationship like that."  Our friendship, until now. All this time, it's been friendship. Mixed signals, yet friendship.

Now, look at us. Awkward soulmates in denial.