Hi guys, part two to the last update! Hope you like it!

Will's POV

His feet hurt, and it's getting colder. It's getting darker and Nico has been consistently shivering for the past hour, and he feels as if they've been walking forever. He just wants to get back to the cabin and go to sleep. Beside him, Nico wraps his arms around his chest, his lips tinged a disturbing pale blue. It's not that cold out. But maybe a combination of the thin sweatshirt and the cold weather and the fact that Nico is one of the smallest high school juniors Will has ever seen can justify the way his entire body seems to shake. "You okay?" Will asks, periodically glancing at Nico.

"Yeah," Nico says, kicking at a pile of leaves sitting on the ground. They crunch, and on further observation, Will sees a thin layer of frost over them, ice crystals lining the outer edge. Since when was there frost in October? Will stomps them underneath his feet, hearing the quiet crackle. Maybe it's the combination of the trees blocking out the light of the sun above and the wind that screams through the trees, bouncing off of the lake that ripples a couple of hundred feet away. At least, Will hopes the lake is only a couple hundred feet away. He feels as if they're wandering around in a circle, lost in a sprawling expanse of trees with no escape. "I just want to get back to the cabin." His body is visibly shaking and tentatively Will sets a hand on his back, waiting for the inevitable pull-away. It doesn't come and Will pulls him into his side, their body heat creating one single cloud of warmth. "Thanks."

"Yeah. No problem," Will says, wincing immediately after. He has a boy in his arms, a boy huddled to his side for warmth, a boy who smells shockingly of pine and peppermint and when he thanks Will for his touch, all Will can say is no problem. He's going to stay single for life unless he can find something better to say than no problem.

They step into a circle of light, the moon shining through a crack in the trees. It's warmer there, the grass soft underneath them, and Nico sighs, tipping his head back so his face is bathed in the light of the moon. "Let's stay here," he says, his voice airy. "Five minutes. I feel like I've been walking forever."

"You wanna sit down? There's a spot over there," Will says, gesturing to a tree with a thick trunk and bare branches to let in the moonlight.

"I've never wanted to sit down more in my life." Nico slumps against the trunk of the tree, sighing heavily and letting his head hit the bark. Will slides down next to him, and he takes Nico shifting to sit up as an invitation to slide his arm around Nico's waist, pulling him tight. As they sit against the trunk of the tree, Nico's body in Will's arm and the breeze coming to a gentle halt, Will feels truly warm. As if he could stay in that clearing for hours, feeling the rise and fall of his body in sync with his breaths. Nico rests his head on Will's shoulder, and for a second, Will isn't sure if they're allowed. It feels taboo to be sitting this close to a boy this attractive, to be able to count the freckles on his nose if he tried hard enough. But Will likes it and, based on the way Nico is nestled into Will's body, Nico likes it just as much as Will does. "This isn't weird for you, is it?" Nico asks. "Like, we don't have to touch, if you don't want."

"No, no, it's great," Will says, his face flushing. Suddenly, he's too hot. "I mean, it's not great, or anything. But that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just- it's nice." He and Nico are wearing twin blushes, but neither of them moves from their spot. It's the nicest thing in the world, Will thinks, to have someone this close. To hold someone in his arms, to be able to feel the heat of their breaths. And it's even better that it's Nico pressed up against him. He can feel Nico's hair brushing against his neck, smooth and soft. He wants to tell Nico about the emotions being unburied in his chest, about the way his heart palpitates any time Nico gets close. But it's weird, to have such a strong attraction to someone, so soon in a friendship. At least, he thinks it is.

"We should go soon, shouldn't we?" There's hesitation in Nico's voice as he speaks and Will feels the hesitation in his heart when he thinks about going back to the real world, a place where he and Nico don't talk and Nico darts around him furtively as if he's scared.

"We don't have to," Will says. "We can stay here for a while." A smile flickers onto Nico's face and his face relaxes, the muscles in his face that are usually so tense going slack. Will is just about to suggest that they stay here, wait for someone to find them because someone must be looking. It wouldn't be that bad, after all, to be alone with Nico in the same spot with nothing to do. He's just about to suggest it when he hears footsteps crunching on leaves.

"We've been looking for you guys for, like, an hour." Will hears Percy's voice coming from behind one of the trees and he steps out, flanked by Austin and one of their counselors, who's name Will can't remember. They all seem to blur together into a mix of cargo shorts and beaded bracelets, but one thing sticks out about this particular counselor; she looks angry.

"It's really important that you guys follow the rules," she says, stepping out in front of Percy with her hands on her hips. She squints at them, her mouth set in a deep frown. "We told you to stay in the boundaries."

"Yeah, I know, sorry," Will says, scratching his head. Nico looks pale next to him, his arms tucked into his sides as he attempts to make himself as small as possible. "We got lost."

"You have to make sure you're inside the boundaries of the game, guys. We're not going to be able to trust you if you don't." She puts her hands behind their backs, guiding them like sheep as Percy and Austin trail them, murmuring under their breaths. As they walk, Will catches a glimpse of a cabin through a clearing in the trees and as they draw closer, they can hear talking, as another counselor calls out that curfew is approaching. "I'm really sorry, but I'm not going to be able to let you participate in the scavenger hunt tomorrow."

"Shame," Nico mutters, and Will has to bite back laughter. The nameless counselor frowns.

"You'll both have to stay in your cabin until the activity is over. If you leave, you'll have more privileges taken away." Nico rolls his eyes but he doesn't say anything, and the counselor takes her hands off of their backs once they're out of the woods, back on the sprawling green that the cabins are spread out on. "I'd recommend getting back to your cabin now. It's almost curfew." She glares at them until the cabin door has shut behind them and Nico rolls his eyes again, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Maybe we should ditch this place all together during the scavenger hunt," he says, glancing up at Will. "Anything to get out of having to do more things with her. Annoying as fuck." He sighs, letting his arms drop to his side as he moves deeper into the cabin, pulling off his pine-scented sweatshirt and changing into a new one, a fresh one. It engulfs his entire body but somehow, even as a shapeless blob, he looks incredible. He suddenly wonders what would have happened if the counselor hadn't interrupted them. If they had gotten so lost in the woods so late at night they wouldn't have had any other choice but to huddle for warmth as the night drew on. It's strange to think that they had been strangers at the beginning of the night and now, with Nico warming up to him, starting conversations and cracking jokes, he begins to wonder if there might be something between them, a spark that grows warmer as the night gets colder.

"At least it'll give us a chance to hang out more," he says, hesitating, wondering if he's making a mistake. Nico isn't the most forward person and maybe Will had been too bold, but a blush spreads across his face and from across the cabin Percy glances over, grinning. He leans in to whisper to Austin and Austin giggles. Will can't help but wonder what they're talking about, what they could possibly be bonding over one night into the trip.

"Yeah, that'll be nice." There's a slight shake to Nico's words but he smiles and Will smiles back, hands trembling as he slips on a thicker sweatshirt. There's a sense of excitement in the air as they drift off to bed, nervousness and excitement and hormones running wild. And as the clock ticks closer to tomorrow, Will can't tell whether or not he's happy or absolutely petrified.

Nico's POV

"Don't blow this," Percy says, clapping him on the shoulder on his way out the door. Will is watching from his bunk, flipping through a comic book but his eyes are trained on Nico and Nico blushes, swatting away Percy's hand.

"Will you shut up?" Nico says, blushing hard and glancing at Will. Will had been looking but his eyes dart back to his book when Nico turns, pretending to be immersed in whatever he's reading, but Nico keeps catching his eyes, flitting up every few seconds to see if Nico has turned back to Percy. "I don't think anything's even gonna happen between us."

"But there's a maybe, right?" Percy's eyes are glowing and he's bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet like a child. It's almost cute, how excited he is for Nico's benefit. It would be cute, at least, if every passing second, each moment of tension between him and Will didn't leave his heart pounding and his palms sweaty.

"Yeah. Maybe," Nico says dryly. It's mostly for Percy's benefit, to get this bouncing man-baby off of his back, but the words let a sliver of hope into his heart, the idea of what if bouncing around at the back of his mind.

"Anyway, have fun in here, you two," Percy says, waving too energetically at the boys. Will flashes him a tight smile and Nico rolls his eyes, pushing him out the door of the cabin to where Austin is waiting. Percy bows his head low and Nico can hear a conversation between them but Nico pushes the door shut, turning towards Will with an awkward grin. Last night when he was given the prospect of having a couple of hours alone with Will, confined to their cabin, he had felt a thrill in his chest like no other. But now, with time stretching on in front of him, he wishes that he was out doing the scavenger hunt with the others. Something about this feels wrong, too intimate. He's searching for a conversation topic so he smiles too widely, leaning against the frame of Will's bunk bed and crossing his arms over his chest, trying to make his movements smooth. He fumbles even to do the simple task and he feels his face go beet red.

"What are you reading?" he asks, nodding at Will's comic. Bright colors light up the page and he can see the spiky text of his childhood, chunky and bold.

"Superman. It's one of the originals. Have you read it?"

"Nah. I'm more of a batman guy." Will laughs, shaking his head and inching over, patting the spot next to him on the bed. Nico inches over tentatively, lowering himself onto the mattress as if he's afraid it will shatter. It's hard underneath him and he runs his hand across the comforter, staring down at the ground until he gets the confidence to look up. His bunk is exactly the same as Will's but, somehow, Will's feels different, but he can't put a finger on what exactly it is.

"Oh, Nico, you poor, lost soul. I have so much to teach you."

------

He doesn't know when it happened, because he didn't mean for it to. Maybe it's just natural, that over the course of an hour, reading the same comic book, two people would end up closer. Or maybe Will's bunk is slanted, or maybe it's the curve of the Earth. Nico doesn't know. Or maybe it's in his subconscious, a tiny nagging voice in the back of his mind that even he doesn't register begging him to make a move, to finally allow himself one spark of romance after being incredibly single for the past sixteen years.

He's suddenly aware of everything around him. His senses seem to sharpen and he's uncomfortably conscious of the feeling of his knee against Will's upper thigh, the brush of their hands on the mattress, the feelings of their breaths mingling into one hot cloud filled with hormones and emotions. He doesn't think anything is going to happen with it, that they're going to go on with their day denying that any contact ever happened, but then Will inches closer, covering Nico's hand with his, his eyes shining bright with excitement and nervousness and all the things in between. Nico has never wanted anything, or anyone, more in his life. And he begs himself, the part of his brain that still isn't unsure, the part that still wants to run, to please, please, give it a chance.

"I'm really happy we got to have this time," Will says quietly, his voice hoarse. "I've kinda wanted to get to know you better for a really long time." His words tumble out of his mouth as if he's scared that he'll stop mid-sentence and take everything back, like if he doesn't get them out now, he never will.

"Yeah," Nico says. "Me, too." His chest feels tight and it hurts to breathe, but maybe this is what it's supposed to feel like. "I think I like you." Will blushes but he moves in closer so that Nico could count the freckles on his cheeks.

"I think I like you, too." Will moves in closer than Nico thought was possible. He moves in so close that Nico can feel his body heat and he isn't sure what's going on until Will squeezes his hand, and Nico knows exactly what's about to happen. Will's lips are crashing into his and he doesn't know what to do for a few seconds before leaning forward, kissing Will back as fiercely as he possibly can. Thoughts run through his mind on a loop, that he's having his first kiss, having his first kiss with Will Solace, having his first kiss with Will Solace alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods, having his first kiss with Will Solace alone in a cabin in the middle of the woods and he really, really likes it.

Nico doesn't know much about kisses. He doesn't know anything, really. Only what the internet and movies have taught him, which are usually romanticized, glorified versions, so he really doesn't know much. But when it ends his heart is beating hard and he's breathless, and by the way that he feels like he's floating, he'd say that they were pretty good at it. For first-timers, anyway. And suddenly he realizes that he's just had his first kiss and Will is sitting there, one leg hanging over the side of the bed and the other folded on top of it, just as flushed as Nico is, and he looks like he's waiting for something. Nico has no clue what you're supposed to say after you've been kissed. After all, it's never happened to him before.

"Thanks," he says in a flurry of emotions, wincing before the word even passes his lips. Will raises an eyebrow, a small smile spreading across his face.

"You're welcome." It sounds as if he's humoring Nico.

"You were really good at it."

"So were you."

"I really like you."

"I really like you, too."

"Maybe we should do it again sometime?" Nico asks. He isn't sure what he's doing, but he thinks he might be steering their blossoming relationship in the right direction.

"What about now?" Nico is taken aback; he's never seen someone so direct before, so clear in what they want. But a tingling feeling runs up his spine, sparks shooting up from his body and he takes this as a sign to nod. Will cups his face, their lips connecting for the second time in two minutes and when they lay down, kissing hard with the noises of the forest around them, it feels as if they're the only two people in the world.

Hi guys, just wanted to let you all know that there's gonna be one last part of this, just because it was longer than I expected and I want to wrap up the story. Anyway, hope you liked it!

Nina