Possible trigger warning for the italics?? Idk?? I thought I'd just say that; I'd rather be safe than sorry. It's just bad insults and stuff. I have no idea when to put trigger warnings, so sorry. Enjoy this cliche-ish chapter.

~~~

"Worthless!"

Punch.

"Hideous!"

Kick.

"Faggot!"

Slap.

"Monster!"

Punch.

"Octavian! Stop!" Nico cried, tears streaming down his face. "Leave me alone, you-"

Punch.

"You're a fucking sicko. Go to hell," Octavian sneered, sword in hand.

Nico struggled to break free from the ropes he'd been forced into. "Let me go!"

"Oh, because you have a reason to live? Your little, 'boyfriend' doesn't care about you."

"Will loves me, you little fucker," he snapped.

"Then where is he?" He hissed back.

"He's picking up dinner! And then you fucking kidnapped me while I was in the hall!"

"Kidnapped? So you admit you act like a child? That you are a child?"

"You know what I mean!"

Punch.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Octavian, what can I do to get out of here?"

"Kill yourself, you sicko." The words were bitter and cold.

"Why don't you tell Will to do the same?"

"He isn't as much of an emo creep as you, Nico. But, if you want me to," -he paused, snickering, "I will." Another laugh escaped his mouth. "I'll wait till he's back," Octavian grinned evilly.

"Will can beat your little ass, so you watch out," Nico growled.

"Oh, can he now? I thought he was the weak one, not you."

"Well, maybe if I wasn't tied up, I could show you I wasn't weak!" Once again, Nico tried and failed to break free from the ropes.

"Sure you could."

"Oh, is little Asstavian scared?" He sing-songed.

"No! I could kill you if I wanted to, di Angelo."

"You're acting like the 'tries to act tough, but is actually a weakling,' villain of those cliche movies," Nico retorted.

"What am I supposed to do, offer fucking tea and cookies?"

"Well,-"

Slap.

"Shut! The! Fuck! Up!" The bleached-blond haired boy screamed.

"The apartment manager is going to confront you about the noise, you know!" The shorter boy pointed out.

Punch.

Kick.

Slap.

"Stop! Just quit it!"

"You said you could handle it!"

"I-I can!"

"Then show it," the pale eyed boy hissed, then whispered, "Will isn't going to be the only one left with bruises tonight."

"H-how do you know about those?!"

Slap.

"You know what? Just fucking kill me, Octavian. I-I don't even care anymore. It'll shut you up."

"Ah, so you admit no one loves you."

"N-not exactly," he stuttered. "That has nothing to do with this conversation."

"Your 'boyfriend' will move on soon enough. He'll find someone new, someone who isn't a creepy fuck-face like you!"

"You think you could get away with murder, Octavian?" Nico challenged. Tears were streaming down his face, and he was bleeding all over the floor. His lip had burst open. 

"You think I haven't killed anyone before?"

"Y-you're just trying to sound tough. You-"

His words were cut off by the door slamming open.

William had arrived.

"Will!" Nico screamed. "You fucking idiot! Get out!"

Will dropped the Happy Meals in his hands onto the ground, hurling himself at Octavian. He was clearly doing the opposite of Nico's command.

He was pushed onto the ground; Will had pinned him down. "Fucking fag-"

"No! I get it, we're monsters to you, but we aren't going to change!"

"Fight me, Solace."

Nico could see Will's face fall. "I-I can't."

"Oh, what's this? Admitting you're useless?" The paler blond sneered.

"If I hurt someone, my college will find out, and I'll be expelled. I could even be out in jail. So could you."

"It'd be worth it," he said in reply.

"Because you have no family or friends that care about you?" Will snapped.

"No,-"

Will covered his neighbor's mouth with his hand. "I don't want to hear it."

Octavian took the opportunity to slam his fist into his chest, causing Will to collapse.

"Will! Will!" Nico yelled, trying to squirm over with his ropes.

"Fuck off, creep!" Octavian's sword was pointed at his chest.

"Go ahead, stab me! You don't have the guts!" Nico retorted.

"Gladly." He stepped closer, but was stopped when Will grabbed his leg.

"Stop! I admit it, I'm a coward! The only thing I can do is heal. I can't fight for shit, but Nico can. Don't make him suffer, he's suffered enough!" He stammered weakly, tears streaming down his face as well.

Octavian turned to face him, tapping the point of his sword on the other blond's head. "Very well."

"WILL! NO!" Nico screeched.

Octavian kicked from from behind, causing him to tumble over into a dizzy state. His vision was blurry, and he struggled to remain conscious.

"See you later, Nico..." Octavian laughed.

"As for you, William..."

Nico woke up crying an ugly sob. He was in a cold sweat, and he was alone.

After arriving home, his roommate had stated that he was going to crash instead of them watching a movie together. Nico wasn't tired, so he'd stayed up, and eventually passed out in his own bed.

But he wasn't going to sleep any longer without his amore tonight.

Nico wrapped himself in a blanket before tiptoeing across the hall to Will's bedroom.

The room was slightly illuminated by a small nightlight plugged into the wall, and Nico made his way across to stand by the bedside.

The blond was snoring loudly, and he hadn't seemed to heard any of his mumbling.

 Good. At least someone was getting a good sleep.

Only to be woken up...

But he wouldn't mind. 

Nico considered just slipping into bed next to him, but he just needed to talk.

So, in that case, he crawled on top of the bed next to Will and tapped him on the shoulder a few times. "Will?" He knew he was being childish; he was acting like a five year old. Maybe Octavian had been right in the nightmare.

He didn't show any signs of response, so he tapped on his shoulder again. "Will."

This time, his eyes fluttered open right away. "Nico? What happened?" He sat up, facing him. 

Nico didn't even respond, he just hugged him tight, sighing into his shoulder.

He instantly wrapped his arms around him. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah." He tried to sound casual, though it probably wasn't working.

"Can we talk about it?" Will asked, yawning.

Nico broke away from their hug."That's why I came."

"Go ahead and tell me as little or as much as you want."

"It was O-Octavian. He captured me, and he hit me, punched me, kicked me, and slapped me again and again and again. And he'd yell horrible things. He even told me to k-kill myself," he began.

"He said I was an emo creep, and that I was a sicko and a monster.

"And then you came, and you yelled back at him, but then he knocked me out, a-and he... stabbed you, I think. He'd kicked me so hard, I think I was only half conscious. What a fucking douche bag, that boy.

"I'm sorry. I know you were sleeping. I shouldn't have woken you up, I-"

Will cut him off. "Shh, that's enough. Will you tell me where he hit you?"

"My cheeks and face, mostly. But also my arms, neck, and chest," he answered. "W-why do you ask?"

"Close your eyes," Will ordered.

"Why?"

"Because," he breathed, clutching Nico by the shoulders.

And after he'd obeyed, he was peppered with sloppy kisses from Will. All over his forehead,  nose, and cheeks, and, shit, Nico was getting dizzy from this. He laughed a couple of times; his lips tickled against his skin.

"Homosexuality isn't a sickness, Nico," he whispered, pecking his ear.

Instead of being hit again and again and again, Nico was being kissed again and again and again.

And the best part?

The kisses were real.

Will's lips traveled from his ear to his cheek to the corner of his mouth, and he forced himself to kiss him back. It felt more natural this time. 

"He's not going to hurt you, ever. And he's not going to hurt me..." His roommate trailed off.

Kiss, kiss, kiss.

When he was being honest with himself, Nico had to admit that he'd actually considered pulling away after the first peck, saying how he didn't want his pity.

But he'd actually woken him up to complain about his nightmares. What was he supposed to expect? This was Will, after all.

"Nico? Are you okay?" He abruptly opened the gap between the two.

"Have I ever been?"

"Nico," -he yawned- "if you want to just sleep here right now, instead of talking-"

"We stopped talking when you started kissing me."

Will gave him a sly smile. "I know."

"But then you stopped."

"Yeah, I did."

"That's stupid."

A smile crept upon his lips. In the dim light, Nico swore his freckles seemed to glow. There was a little sparkle in his eye.

"..."

"..."

Kiss, kiss, kiss.

"Amore..."

Kiss, kiss, kiss.

Fingers were twirled in hair. Chests were pressed against each other. Minds were lost in one another.

Everything felt right.

But, shit, why did humans have to breath to live?

Nico disconnected, taking in a big breath of air.

"You lose your breath easily," Will whispered jokingly.

"I'm not the one who is trained to hold their breath, mio caro."

"Still."

"..."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that, Will?"

"Just thinking."

"Oh? And what are you thinking about?" He smirked. They were lying against the wall at the front of the bed now.

"I mean, no offense or anything, but fuck anyone who's ever hurt you. You're precious and didn't deserve that."

"Precious?"

"Yes, Nico."

"..."

"..."

"Hey, Will?"

"What?"

"Thanks."

Will yawned again. "For...?"

"Everything. I hate being the one who needs to ask for help..."

"You're gonna need to ask for help in your life, Nico."

"But-"

He put a finger to his lips. "Hush, baby."

Nico swatted his hand away. "Don't tell me what to" -yawn- "do."

"Someone's tired," the blond noted.

"Says you!"

"Oh, ha ha."

"Go to sleep," the pale boy said.

"Only if you sleep next to me."

"I suppose that wouldn't be too bad."

Will stifled a laugh. "What, do I smell or something?"

"Maybe."

He slid down on the bed so his head was on the pillow. "C'mere."

The other boy obeyed, positioning himself next to him.

The freckled boy poked his nose. "Goodnight, Nico."

"It's like 3am. It isn't night anymore."

"Whose fault is that?"

Nico didn't reply.

"I'm sorry, Sunshine."

"..."

"We can sleep until 3pm if you want, you know."

"K."

"And then we're going" -yawn- "shopping." His eyes were closed as he spoke.

"No."

"Yes."

"Go to sleep, William."

"So demanding," he muttered in reply.

"Shut up."

"Oh-kay..." He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his torso. 

Nico waited to let himself sleep until he was sure his friend was okay, that he had a neutral expression on his face as he slept.

He didn't want to have him suffer in his dreams...

No...

But, neither of them did.

They were safe in each other's grasps.

~~~

5K?!? 820+ votes?!?! ASDFGHJKL

I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH.

W O W.

BLESS YOUR BEAUTIFUL SOULS.

OH, AND SORRY THIS CHAPTER WAS CRAP. YET ANOTHER TERRIBLY WRITTEN KISS SCENE WAS FEATURED IN THIS BOOK. BTW, DID YOU NOTICE HOW THIS HAD NO DETAIL??? UUUUGHGHG. I HATE MY WRITING SOMETIMES...

LIKE???

HOW DO YOU WRITE A KISS SCENE

DREW CAN DO IT.

BLESS 

I HOPE YOUR DAY IS AS NICE AS YOUR PERSONALITY!!

OH!! 

HERE'S TWO BONUS THINGS FOR YOU:

BONUS 'FACT': 

THE APOLLO CABIN DOESN'T ACTUALLY GLOW.

IT'S JUST WILL SOLACE MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.

*FINGER GUNS*

BONUS PIC: