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Will remembered waking up in his cabin in a blind panic, the remnants of a nightmare lingering in the back of his mind. He shot up to a sitting position his heart hammering. The cabin was much too quiet save from the soft breathing of his siblings.
He struggled to grasp onto what was wrong, what the nightmare was about but when he tried to grasp onto a thought it just got farther away.
He remembered a figure dressed in black a few paces in front of him, blood splattering the ground, darkness swelling around the figure. It seemed to pulsate around them, getting more and more intense until Will couldn’t see them anymore. When the darkness cleared, the figure was gone.
Will grit his teeth, that was the only thing he could remember, but the image played in a loop in his mind.
He knew who it was, and he knew what had happened. Another surge of panic went down his spine.
As quick as he could while still being quiet as to not wake his siblings, Will threw off his blankets and scambled to get some more decent clothes on instead of just being in his boxers. He didn’t even check what time it was before stumbling out of his cabin.
The grass was wet with dew and the wind blew his hair in front of his face. His bare feet crunched on the ground, it sent shivers up his spine. He didn’t like the feel of grass but he didn’t care enough to put shoes on.
As he made his way to the Hades cabin, he raised his hand to knock moments before he was at the door. He couldn’t just barge in, no matter how much anxiety chewed at his stomach and no matter how much he needed to make sure that Nico was okay. It was an irrational thought, just a nightmare, and yet his knees shook with every step.
The door opened with a harsh pull, Nico stood in front of him, his lips pressed together in a tight line, his eyebrows furrowed in a set glare. His hair was mussed from sleep and he was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts.
“I know you like waking me up early and all, but this is a new low, even for you,” Nico spat, clearly not appreciating being woken up in whatever godforsaken time it was. Will licked his lips, checking over Nico for any visible injuries or anything wrong that he could see. It wasn’t much in the dim light but it was enough.
Nico was fine, and he was also quite annoyed. Will’s cheeks bloomed with embarrassment and shame. What was wrong with him? He glanced over his shoulder, folding his hands together in front of himself.
“Solace,” Nico said, forcing Will to look back at him, “what do you want.”
“I was… Uhm…” Will licked his lips, trying to form words. He couldn’t even imagine the state of his own appearance, the way Nico was looking at him made Will feel small and vulnerable. “I was… y'know… checking in on you… Uhm…”
Will didn’t even know Nico that well. They hadn’t been friends for long and Nico barely liked it when Will came to wake him up for breakfast.
“This is one of your ‘doctor checkups’?” Nico asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
“Just… making sure you’re alright… y’know?” Will laughed nervously, he heard how out of breath he sounded. His voice was slightly forced and strained.
“Why?”
Will grimaced, “sorry… I didn’t realize how late it was… early… Uhm…”
Then, there was the question that Will hated to be asked: “Are you okay?”
Will froze. He tensed his shoulders, staring at Nico with a terrified expression.
“Yeah… of course…” Will laughed again, “sorry. I guess I’ll just go back to my cabin…”
The images still flashed through his mind, Nico standing in front of him, his back turned. The shadows pulsating around him for a brief second before he disappeared. Fading away into the shadows.
The darkness behind Nico made Will a bit uneasy.
“Okay…”. Nico raised one eyebrow confused.
Will didn’t move, his eyes drifted everywhere but the boy standing in front of him.
“Will,” Nico prompted again, his patience was running thin. And Will knew how rude it was of him to wake Nico up at this time. It was a foolish thing to do and incredibly impulsive. He realized that he could’ve gotten eaten by the harpies.
“Maybe could I possibly stay here for the night?” Will blurted out, his face burning with shame as soon as it came out of his mouth. Nico’s expression shifted from shock to confusion then back to his neutral expression.
“Why do you—“ Nico started to ask, but Will cut him off.
“I mean! Just for the night… or y'know whatever is left of it. Like a little sleepover, that’s what friends do. They Have sleepovers and I’d think that maybe you get lonely in your cabin all by yourself. I don’t want you to feel lonely because you’re my friend and I was a bit worried about you and I needed to make sure that you’re alright. Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you up or intrude if you don’t want me here I’ll leave it’s okay!” Will plowed through that all in one breath, his voice rising in pitch towards the end. Panic was evident in his tone and his throat constricted painfully.
Nico blinked, rubbing his eyes. His expression was unreadable and it only made Will’s panic worse. He was about to start rambling again when Nico finally spoke up.
“You can sleep in Hazel’s bed if you want,” Nico rolled his shoulders back, “I don’t understand why you want to but I just want to go back to bed.”
Will nodded mutely. Nico sighed and yawned. He was probably only agreeing because he was tired but Will wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth (if this even counted since he bet it was just a pity gift horse).
Nico slunk back into his cabin, Will followed and shut the door behind himself. The cabin wasn’t as dark as it looked like from the doorway, there was a small fireplace in the corner that cast a faint greenish glow across the cabin. It wasn’t very bright but it was enough to navigate the floor without stumbling over anything.
Will heard Nico flop back down on his own bed. He found Hazel's bunk (the only other bunk in the cabin) and timidly sat down. He hoped Hazel wouldn’t mind… or find out about this. Will wanted as few people as possible to know about this. It was a stupid, irrational fear and he didn’t think about what he was doing.
“Lay down and go to sleep,” Nico said from across the room. He was laying on his side, his back facing Will so he didn’t know how Nico could tell that he was still sitting up.
Will curled up on top of the sheets, too embarrassed to slip under them, it’s not like he was cold. He didn’t get cold very often and the hades cabin was a decent temperature. It was the weight of his own blankets that he missed, but if he went back to his cabin he feared that he’d have another nightmare and if he woke up Nico for a second time…
Nico’s breathing was soft, he must’ve already fallen asleep. Will wondered how he could be able to sleep in a cabin all by himself all the time. He wondered if Nico ever got lonely.
Will could still see Nico from where he was curled up. It was nice to just see his form under the blankets. And when Will was completely sure that he wouldn’t disappear, he closed his eyes. Trying to find any sort of sleep that his body would allow him.