Hi guys, here's the part two to last week's one shot! And I put the video up top, just in case you haven't heard the song yet. Enjoy!

Will's POV

"So, when are we going to meet this mystery man who you're totally in love with?"

"Whenever you feel like going down to the surf shop and saying hi," Will responds, scribbling down notes onto a crumpled sheet of paper as his textbook lays in front of him, the words tiny and the images complicated. "And we're not in love, Percy. I just met him a few days ago."

"You have been talking about him a lot," Annabeth points out. "You seem like you like him at least, which is good. I don't think I've ever heard you talk about someone like that before." Will sighs, setting down his pencil and falling down onto his bed, the past three days rushing through his mind. It feels like forever ago when they were on the beach, kissing by the bonfire as the stars glittered above them. Years passed since Nico spent the night in Will's bed, and ages have gone by since waking up at four to walk down to the empty beach to see the sunrise paint the water pink and orange. But it's only been three days, and that's something Will can barely comprehend.

"Yeah, I do," he says, the happiness seeping into his voice. "I like him a lot."

"I'm happy for you, bud," Percy says, grinning. "Sucks that we're leaving tomorrow, though."

"Percy!" Annabeth shoots him a look and turns back to Will. She's trying to smile but Will can see underneath her facade, and there's a small sadness that breaks Will's heart. "You still have all of today with him. And tomorrow, until seven. There's still time. Don't listen to him."

"No." Will sighs, sitting back up and grabbing his pencil. "He's right. We're leaving tomorrow night, and I can't exactly make a long distance relationship like this work, especially not this deep into the school year. I should break it off. I don't even like him that much." The words sound fake, even to him, but it breaks his heart just to say it. He turns back to the textbook but he can still feel the intense gaze of his friends and when he looks up they're staring unblinkingly, and Annabeth is biting his lip. "What? What else can I do?" Will's voice cracks at the end and Annabeth sighs, inching closer and resting her hand on his leg. Maybe she truly has an answer to the impossible question Will's been contemplating since the first kiss, or maybe she can just hear the desperation in his voice.

"You could stay a little longer," she offers tentatively. 

"You know I can't do that. I have so much left to learn. And I'm not sure if I can get my payment back."

"People do it all the time," Percy says. "Leo did it last year when his mom needed help with their shop. He was gone for a month and a half, right before finals, even, and he still did fine. You could do the same thing."

"It's different," Will says. "I can't put my life on hold for a guy. I have to think about my future."

"He could be your future," Percy says. "You haven't really given much thought to your romantic life at all. Do you want a steady boyfriend, get married? Or do you want to die alone?"

"Percy, I'm not gonna die alone," Will says, rolling his eyes. "You're being melodramatic. And I have to go. We're having dinner together." 

"Think about it, while you're with him," Annabeth urges. "You could just take another week, just to see if it's worth pursuing, okay?" She rests her hand on his arm, squeezing gently. 

"Yeah, yeah, I will." Will smiles softly as he slides off of the bed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Thanks. I should get going."

"Yeah, have fun on your date," Annabeth says, her voice rising in the end. Just before the door closes behind him he can hear whispering and two sets of eyes on his back.

------

There's soft cello music playing in the background and there are tiny candles with flames flickering on each table. It smells of garlic and pepper and to the right of him, there's a young couple kissing over the fire. As his gaze sweeps the restaurant it lands on Nico, sitting on a bench in the lobby. earbuds snaking down to his phone in his pocket, his eyes tilted up to the ceiling. When Will takes several steps over to him his eyes come to meet Will and he smiles, bundling up his earbuds and slipping them inside of his pocket. "Hey," he says, rocking on the balls of his feet and grinning, chewing on his lip as a blush spreads over his cheeks. "You look nice." Will glances down at his body, beaten yellow converse, worn khakis, a light sweater.

"Thanks," he says. "You- you look amazing, though." He can't take his eyes off of Nico. They're glued to his body, the black dress pants, the gray button up that shows off his surfer's figure. "That's not much of a surprise, though."

"That was smooth," Nico says, laughing softly. He stands on the tip of his toes, pressing a small kiss to Will's cheek. It brings a feeling of warmth to Will's body but when he remembers what he's going to have to do the warmth turns to ice and he feels as if he's coming down from a high, and there's an anvil in his chest. "Do you want to sit down?" His fingers curl around Will's and he pushes a tight smile to his face, his head giving a throb. "I reserved us a table, we should be all set." 

"Yeah, that sounds great," Will says, trying desperately to keep the pain out of his voice. Nico is talking as they sit down, swinging their hands between them. His mouth is going a mile a minute but the world seems to be in a blur, and Will can't hear a single thing he's staying. 

"...good?" 

"What?" Will glances at Nico to see his eyebrows creasing and he gives Will's hand a tight squeeze over the table. Will can see the silk underneath his skin, feel the warmth spilling out from the candle and he focuses all of his attention on the sensory details around him in an effort to divert all of his attention from the boy in front of him. 

"You good?" Nico's frown deepens and he runs his thumb up and down Will's hand. "You look distant."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Will says, staring hard at the tablecloth. He watches the light from the candle glint off of the silk tablecloth so he can avoid Nico's piercing gaze. "It's just- this isn't gonna last." 

"What?" Nico's face falls and his hand loosens, falling out of Will's. "Will, what are you talking about?"

"I have to go back to Boston in tomorrow night," he cries, his voice ringing out across the restaurant. His face flushes as people turn to stare, and Nico heaves a sigh, letting his arms drop to his side.

"I know," Nico says, his eyes flickering down to the table. "We can enjoy what we have now, right? And maybe we could make it work long-distance? I know we just met but I really like you, Will. I haven't felt this way about someone in years. Or, ever, really. And I don't just want it to end like this."

"I don't know," Will says. "Like you said, we just met. And that's a big commitment, Nico. Maybe we should just enjoy the rest of our time together, and break it off when I leave. It would have been perfect, but not in this world." Nico is staring hard at the table, his nails digging into his cuticles, his mouth set in a straight line. 

"Yeah." He nods. "Yeah, of course. I didn't really expect this to go anywhere, anyway." There's a hint of moisture in his eyes.

"We can still enjoy tonight, though, right?" Will asks. "I do like you, Nico. I just can't be in a relationship like this right now. Not with everything going on." Nico bobs his head, swallowing hard and letting his hands drop to the chair, moving them across the cool plastic.

"Yeah." He doesn't say anything else for a long time.

------

It's dark when they get out of dinner and even though Will's stomach is stuffed full with fish, he still feels empty. Nico won't look at him, his eyes flitting to the ground, the blinding streetlamp, the dim glow of the moon; anything to avoid Will. "I guess this is it, huh?" Nico asks, stopping on the sidewalk and turning to Will. He can feel his heart hammering and he's not sure why but it feels as if it's splitting in half.

"We can hang out tomorrow, can't we?" There's a hint of desperation in his voice and he tries to meet Nico's eyes but he still won't. "I'm not leaving till tomorrow night. We can go to the beach, or get lunch, or-"

"I can't." His voice is choked and he plays with the end of his jacket, his mouth twisting in pain. "I think it would hurt too much. I think it might just be best to forget about it. It was such a small thing, after all." He laughs bitterly. "I don't know why I'm so sad about it ending, but I am. Maybe..." his voice trails off. "Maybe it's just what could have been, you know?" He lifts himself up on his toes, pressing a soft kiss into Will's cheek. "Bye, Will." He comes down, his feet planted firmly on the ground and when he begins to walk away Will can feel something being ripped out of his heart until Nico rounds a corner, disappearing, and it snaps completely. He's left watching where Nico used to be, bathed in the light of the streetlamp and the moon with something snapped inside of him.

------

"Will, hurry up, we're gonna miss our flight." Annabeth's hands are on her hips and she's giving Will the look that makes him know it's time to stop screwing around. 

"We have half an hour before it leaves, we're fine."

"Loading already started, idiot," she says. "Come on. I don't know why you're stalling so much." Will's chest rises and falls as he stares out the window, listening to the planes take off all around him. 

"I do."

"Shut up, Percy," Will says, whirling around to face him. 

"What? I do." 

"I said shut up, Percy."

"It's about Nico, isn't it?" Percy smirks, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't want to leave him." Will sighs deeply, his eyes shifting to the floor. He doesn't answer and he doesn't look up but he can still see Percy and Annabeth drawing closer to him, and Annabeth sets her hand on his back. 

"You don't have to leave right now, you know," she says. "You can stay an extra week or something. Just see if it takes off. Because you really like him, don't you?" Will chews the inside of his lip, his wavering gaze still on the ground. 

"Yeah." His voice is quiet and weak and it takes an effort to push out the word. "But I already broke it off, and that's probably a good thing. I can't be with him right now. It probably won't go anywhere."

"That's what I thought about this dumbass," Annabeth says, nodding her head at Percy. "I thought he was the stupidest person I had ever met in my life, but I still went with my gut and we've been together for years. If you think that you and Nico could be something, you should go for it." Will tilts his head up, watching the planes take off, carrying people halfway across the world. He doesn't want to step foot on one of them, feel it rumble underneath his feet and watch as the city gets smaller and smaller as he gets further and further away. He doesn't want to leave.

"I can't." His voice isn't convincing, not even to him. "I can't throw everything away."

"You won't be," Annabeth says. "You'll be missing your classes for a week. Tell your teachers you have the flu, or there's a family emergency. You can give it a try and if you really don't like him, you can come back and at least you'll know that you tried. But I think you like him, and I think he likes you, and I think that for once, you need to put your own happiness first." All around him are people talking, planes taking off and the sound of voices over the loudspeaker. But the thoughts in his head drown them out and it feels like there are a million different voices telling him to do a million different things but the one thing that they all agree on is that he has to go, has to find Nico, has to give it at least one more try. 

"Yeah," he says, his face flushing and his heart hammering in his chest. His hands are sweating on the strap of his duffel bag and he nearly drops it but he feels a wave of happiness inside of his body and he bounces on the balls of his feet, a grin spreading across his face. "I'm gonna stay. Just for a week, though. Maybe you're right. I deserve this." His cheeks hurt from the smile but he can't help it. He feels Percy thump him on the back and Annabeth grins. 

"I'm happy for you," she says quietly. "I really, really am." Will isn't exactly sure what to do so he stands there, swaying gently on his feet as a world of possibilities expands in his mind. "What are you waiting for?" she asks. "Go before you change your mind."

"Yeah." Will bobs his head. "Yeah, that's a really good idea." For a few seconds, his feet are glued to the ground and he's staring at Percy and Annabeth, at their expecting faces and Annabeth arches an eyebrow, her hands placed firmly on her hips.

"I don't see you moving," she says. 

"Oh, right." Will takes a second to look at his friends one more time, sinking in the last bit of familiarity in his life. "I'll see you in a week, I guess?"

"It's not that long, Will, you don't have to be so dramatic," Percy says, shooing him away. "Get out of here, go find your lover." That sparks a flame inside of Will's chest and without even registering his actions he's running, blowing past people who throw him angry glares but he doesn't mind. Soon he's pushing his way out of the building, his head swiveling to find the way they came from and when he hears the faint sound of waves to his left he's sprinting, his duffel bag thumping his back all the way down the street. 

He looks like a mess when he finally gets to the beach, his feet slipping in the sand. His face is burning and his breathing is labored when he finally reaches the surf shop and he puts his hands on his knees, panting before straightening up and looking into Nico's dark brown eyes. "Hey," he says, offering him a small grin. "Bet you didn't think you'd see me again."

"Obviously," Nico says with an eye roll. His mouth is set in a firm line, his eyes narrow. "You dumped me. Shouldn't you be on a plane right now? That is why you dumped me, right?"

"Actually, you're the reason I'm not on a plane right now." Will's heart is hammering. "I couldn't leave without knowing whether or not we'd go anywhere. Because I like you, Nico, and I'd always regret it if I didn't give us a try. I know I broke up with you because I didn't know what I wanted but I'm staying another week because I want to do something good for me for once. And I think you're that good thing." Nico's mouth twitches but there's still a sadness in his eyes. 

"You're going to go back eventually," he says. "And then you're going to leave me, just like you did yesterday. I don't want to date you if I know it's only gonna be for a week."

"It won't only be for a week," Will says, desperation seeping into his voice. "I promise. Please, Nico. I really, really like you, and I promise I can make it work. I'd just never forgive myself if I didn't try." Nico frowns but the sadness in his eyes is gone, replaced by a spec of hope. 

"Okay." Will's heart leaps and he throws his arms around Nico's shoulders, squeezing tightly. 

"Thank you." He feels a tear forming in the corner of his eye and he sinks into Nico's grip as the warm breeze tousles his hair. 

"You don't need to thank me." Nico is staring into his eyes, a small smile playing across his lips. "I like you, too. And I'm really, really happy you came back." He sweeps in for a kiss and with the sand underneath his feet and the wind in his hair and Nico in his arms, Will has never been happier.

Hi guys, so I want to start by saying I'm really sorry this is late, it's been a little crazy recently but I'm definitely going to make sure it doesn't happen again. And I'm sorry if it's not great or if there are mistakes, I didn't have time to look it over but I hope you like it anyway!

Nina