Will's mother looked at his arm in concern. "Is that permanent paint?" She questioned, yanking his arm towards her sight. Her lips were in a thin line, as if she couldn't decide whether to admire the work on her son's arm, or demand it to be washed off.

"Why do you have paint on your arm, William Solace?" She finally asked sternly. Will blushing.

"Nico put it on me. It looks pretty." He muttered, not meeting her eyes. She sighed, "Do you know how much this cost? And to have his talent placed on such a regularly washed place?! And allowing him to paint on you in the first place, Jesus Christ, Will!" His mother finally scolded, letting go of his arm.

Will pressed his dry arm to his chest, rolling and then popping his wrist. "It's my skin mom." He replied, his voice calm, no longer the small voice it had been a few minutes prior. His mother sighed, "I helped you create that skin, so don't go and start ruining it." She told him, Will ignoring her politely as he walked up the wooden staircase. Walking down the carpeted hallway, he entered his room.

The light walls instantly greeting him cheerfully, Nico's paintings strung on every wall. Will smiled, looking at a sketch Nico had drawn of himself. It wasn't colored, but it made Will smile. The scenery behind him seemed real, just as Nico had drawn his eyes. They held joy, or, at least that's what Nico exclaimed.

In his pocket, his phone vibrated. Picking it up, he recognized the familiar ring tone. Nico had texted him.

Will found himself smiling, plopping his body onto his bed. It creaked under his weight, and Will held his phone in front of him.

Hey

Nico had texted, then started to type more.

Can I stay with you for a while? Dad's being a emotionless robot and step mother won't stop trying to put me in a suite.

Will let out a chuckle, but immediately replied.

Yeah, want me to pick you up? We could hang at Urma's for a while, if you want :)

Nico took a minute of two to reply to Will's text. Knowing him, he had probably started to paint on his wall, again. Just to piss off his step-mother. Not that Hades cared what his son did.

Definitely, I'll be there in ten. See you there X)

Nico texted, making Will chuckle. Shutting off his phone, Will got off his phone.

"Mom! I'm heading out, I'll be at Urma's!" Will hollered, stomping down the stairs. Going out the door, Will jogged down the concrete drive way, ignoring his mother's calls.

"I told you, I'm going with Nico!" He exclaimed, finally acknowledging her, taking his keys from out of his pocket. They rattled in his hands, as he opened the car door.

Sitting down in his car, he drummed a few fingers on the edge of his steering-wheel. Almost afraid to start the car, he didn't really drive often.

And, if he was being completely honest, he never really wanted to drive. Nico had dropped him off after all.

Ding!

His phone chimed. Will glanced at it, Nico had texted him again. Probably for taking too much time getting there. Or maybe he had already walked over to Urma's and was waiting impatiently for him.

Will had yet to know if he needed a ride in the first place, after all.

Solace, get your butt over at my house. Cancel Urma's, I need a model.

Will shook his head, smiling at Nico's actions. Amused, he started up the car quickly.  Forgetting his cautiousness, the blond drove down the road. Memorizing the way to the pale Italian's house.

Making a left turn, he smiled. The familiar light green window shutters, dark oak walls, and Cobble-stone driveway came to view. Picking up his phone, he called Nico.

"I'm here." He told him, continuing to smile as he saw Nico on the front porch. "About time." Nico snapped into te phone. 'Hold your horses, Picasso." Will joked, parking quickly.  Taking a step out of his car, Will was instantly greeted with Nico's body.

"You took, like, an eternity." He murmured, clinging onto Will's body. Will breathed in the scent of paint that always lingered on Nico's clothes. He saw a few scratch marks from Nico's sister's cat, Constellation, on his elbow, cheek, and collar bone.

"You have to stop that cat from treating you like this." Will commented softly, Nico having pressed the tip of his nose into the crook of Will's neck. Wrapping his arms around Nico's waist, Will waited for Nico to let go.

After a couple minutes, the two let go of their embrace. Nico punched Will on the shoulder, almost playfully. "That's for being so late and leaving me with the demon." He stated, referring to his step-mother. Will found himself rolling his eyes in a playful manner, "Let's go inside, I'm sure you can't wait to have me shirtless in your room." Will teased. Nico blushed, "Shut up." He grumbled, but hurried Will inside.

"Hey Mrs. di Angelo!" Will greeted as he was pushed up the stairs by Nico. Persephone made no comment, not sparing Will a glance. Getting shoved into Nico's room, Will looked around. To his left, the wall was covered in paint. Random band logos, pictures, color schemes were painted on the wall.

Nico mainly using it for experimental purposes. The other two walls were filled with his sketches, ones that weren't in the various sketch books. His floor was a mess of color.

The birch wood floors covered in hues of blues, reds, yellows, oranges, and everything in between.

Glops of paint plopped on the floor, some still wet. Taking off his shoes, Will placed them next to a wooden crate. That crate acted like a storage unit, his father refusing to give him proper drawers to use, seeing how Nico had basically devoted his room of all normal-ness (if that was even a word to begin with).

"Get on the stool."

Nico ordered him, Will sitting down on a black stool in the middle of the room. Nico turned on a stereo to the artist's left, the lyrics to "The Death of a Bachelor" quickly blaring out of its speakers. "Sit still, and look at me." Nico said, "Neeks, I know how this works." Will informed, placing his eyes on Nico. Nico tied up his chin length hair, forming a low, messy ponytail. Will found it nice, just Nico and him.

He looked at Will, a paintbrush in his hands. Resting the paintbrush on his ear, Nico reached for a charcoal pencil.

"Okay, move and I will end you." Nico warned, starting a rough sketch of Will's body and face. Will didn't reply, fearful of getting stabbed by Nico with a sharp pencil if he spoke.

Soon, the air smelled like fresh paint and paper. Nico had his eyebrows scrunched up, and his nose wrinkled in concentration, Will thought he looked pretty cute. "Ugh!" Nico screamed in distaste, frustrated glares shot at Will's face.

"I can never get your nose right!" He shouted, barely being heard over the music. Will just sent him a smirk, remaining silent. "Why do you have to have such a perfect face?" Nico muttered to himself, Will not hearing him.

Picking up his pencil once more, Nico placed it at the center of the sketched up Will's face. "Sit still or I'll stab you." He shouted to Will, the blond returning to his statue like stillness on the stool. Nico started to sketch again, Will's nose purposely being avoided until the last possible moment.

Finally done, an hour had passed. Will was pretty sure his butt had fallen asleep, having been sitting on the stool for so long. Nico turned off the music, the room silent.

"You can stand up now, all I have left to do is paint you, so you'll have to sit closer to me." Nico explained to him. "Like always." Will decided to dryly comment. "I'm not going to put up with any of your crap today, Solace." Nico growled, "Okay Mr. Artist-Dying-Inside." Will shot back.

Nico snorted, clearly amused. "Shut up and get over here." Nico motioned to the crate to his right, Will obeyed. Popping his knee as he stood. Walking down, now barefoot. He stepped into a cluster of purple paint, letting a small laugh as the cold paint spread on the soul of his foot.

A shiver was sent down his spine. He then sat on the crate, Nico had added a cushion for comfort. "What colors shall I use today?" Nico questioned, looking at his model.

"Hm, Thalo blue for the eyes, definitely." Nico spoke aloud, grabbing a tube of blue paint. "Umber has to be added."

Nico continued, grabbing another tube. "Titanium buff, and Golden ocher, m'kay." Nico whispered, adding the colors to his palette.

"And Payne's grey for the shirt!" Nico finished, grabbing the paint brush from his ear. "Add white and black, will you, Will?" Nico asked, handing him the wooden frisbee shaped palette. "Okay." Will said, doing as he asked quickly. Nico dipped his brush in the blue, looking at Will's eyes.

He squinted at him. "Are you sad today? Your eyes seem dull, adding grey to the outer edge of your iris." Nico questioned, Will sighed. He was a little awed, only Nico could realize his emotions, just by painting his eyes. "My mom and I fought today."

Will stated, "It was one of the few times she ever ranted." He further explained. "I left her, and I'm not sure why it's bothering me so much. I mean, I'm almost 19, I'm a legal adult!" Nico smiled softly. "She doesn't want that." He told Will, Will sent him a confused look. Nico took it upon himself to share his wisdom.

"You've always been her little, happy ball of sunshine. Always smiling and cheering her on, I think she's scared about what she'll do without you. What she'll have to face without you. And honestly, I don't blame her for wanting to keep you near." Will sighed, "I stayed with her when dad left, I cancelled my college plans for her. I can't just drop everything and take care of her again, especially when she's finally getting happier. When she's finally trying to move on, Nico."

"She can't handle the thought of you leaving her though, it's like how you changed your college appliance list to be closer to my college." Nico suggested, "No it's n—" But then Will realized, Nico was right.

"Solace, sometimes, you just gotta ride the waves of life." Nico spoke, "You sound like a 90 year old man, di Angelo." Nico shrugged, unfazed by Will's comment. Dipping his paint in the Thalo blue again, he looked into Will's eyes.

"Promise you'll never leave?"    

"Yeah. You'll be lost without your 'canvas' after all." Will said, partially joking. 

To his surprise, Nico replied to him.

"Yeah, and I don't like being lost."

Will had yet to know what that meant.