Of course, Will can't commit to his new boyfriend, Bill. Nico isn't surprised. Will wasn't even able to commit to him.

The day he'd learned that major detail had started out so well. Will was about to graduate from his online GED program, and he was going to college in California. Nico was so proud of his boyfriend.

"Congratulations," Nico said, handing Will a gift wrapped in newspaper.

"Aw, you didn't have to get me anything!" Will said.

But Nico did have to get him something. He was the most special guy in the world, and he deserved it. Nico didn't deserve someone so amazing, or at least, who he thought was so amazing.

Will tore the paper open, revealing a photo album. "Nico! Are these pictures of us?" He flipped through the pages, wide-eyed. Most of Nico's favorite memories were there: the time they won the Aphrodite Cabin's 'cutest couple' award, the first time Will won a chariot race, the time Nico shadow traveled too hard and had to spend a week in the infirmary. You name it, and it was there.

"I'm tearing up! Oh, I'm going to miss you while I'm in college!" he said.

Nico held back his own tears. He was a sentimental guy too- he still is- he was just better at holding it in back then.

"But I'll be here when you get back," Nico had promised. "It's only four years, right? We can do long-distance. I can shadow travel and visit you, and you can come back here for the summers."

"But Nico," Will said. "It probably won't be four years, you know. I want to be a doctor. I'll have to get my master's degree, and then my doctorate, not to mention all of the summertime internships..."

"You can be a doctor right here though! Just think about it." Nico took a deep breath. This was the moment. The moment where Nico revealed his most secret wishes to Will. "You can run the infirmary here, and I can be a counselor. Everyone knows the Big Three are going to have more kids, and someone will have to teach them what to do with all that power. Will, we can have a future here. I want to be with you."

"Oh," Will had said.

Nico reached for Will's hand. "What do you think?"

"Well, you know I love you, Nico..."

"And I love you!" Nico said. "So let's just be together! It'll be great!"

Will stared at the photos of him and Nico. "I don't know..."

"Will, look," Nico said, flipping through the photo album. He'd left dozens and dozens of blank pages. "I left these pages blank so we can fill them with more memories. With our future."

"Nico, it's romantic, really. If this was a Hallmark movie, I'd be crying happy tears," Will said.

"You mean those... aren't happy tears?" Nico was starting to worry.

"I mean, I want to be a real doctor, Nico. I have to go through all that schooling. And I'm nineteen years old! I can't commit to you!" His shouting was upsetting Nico. "I can't commit to anyone like that. At least, not right now."

Will passed the photo album back to Nico. "Maybe we should take a break," he said.

"No, Will, you don't mean that-"

"Nico, we want different things right now. You can't argue with that. Let's just figure ourselves out, and if the Fates want us to be together..." They were both crying now.

"Will..." Nico cried.

Nico cried the day after that too. He hadn't even come to wish Will well at his send-off party. It was immature, sure, but he was just a heartbroken teenager.

After a few days, he emerged from Cabin 13, ready to go back to training young demigods.

He went over to the arena, where the youngest half-bloods were practicing sword combat. Nico loves this age group. They're so cute and clumsy. Dividing the combat training by age groups rather than by cabins was the very idea that got Nico hired as a full-time counselor. It was too dangerous for the youngest demigods to spar with the oldest.

He was surprised to see Sherman Yang beginning their training warmups instead of Annabeth Chase. Ever since Percy left for New Rome, she'd been his co-teacher. They made a great team. She was the tough love teacher; she corrected the kids when they were doing something wrong, and made sure they always got back up when they fell. Nico, on the other hand, was the gentle one. He made sure everyone knew it was okay to make mistakes, and carried kids to the infirmary when they got hurt, even if they could walk.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Sherman.

"Oh, you didn't hear? Annabeth's gone," he said.

"What?"

Sherman sheathed his sword. "Yeah, she left with Will the other day. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, but they're getting an off-campus apartment together. He's going to take his classes and she's, I dunno, finding a job?"

That testa di cazzo! He left Nico because he was afraid of commitment, and took Nico's other best friend with him!

Now back in the present, that testa di cazzo is letting Nico drive his car, and sitting in the passenger seat, humming Taylor Swift!

Why is he being so nice to Nico?

Why is Nico being so nice to him?

"Oh, I like this song," Will turns up the radio. "'Cause there we are again, on that little town street...'"

Nico smiles. He didn't get into Taylor Swift until recently when she started re-releasing all her old albums, but Nico loves "All Too Well." It's probably his favorite.

"I remember it all too well..." Nico joins in. He's a terrible singer, but he's also a secret Swiftie.

"I told you almost a decade ago that you'd love Taylor Swift, and you didn't believe me!" Will says.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for her old music," says Nico.

They sing the whole way to McDonald's.

"And you call me up again just to break me like a promise! So casually cruel in the name of being honest!"

"Umm, hi... Welcome to McDonald's..." The person over the speaker definitely heard their little concert. Oh well. Nico doesn't care. He turns the radio down a little so the worker can hear him.

Will gives him a stupidly adorable pouty face.

"Hi, um, I'll have a cheeseburger Happy Meal and an iced vanilla latte..." he turns to Will. What do you want, Nico mouths.

"Same thing," he whispers.

"Actually!" Nico shouts at the speaker. "Make that two cheeseburger Happy Meals and two iced vanilla lattes!"

"Do you want the MythoMagic cards with that?" the voice through the crackly speaker asks.

"Hell yeah!" Nico shouts.

They pull up to the pickup window and a man with green hair hands Nico the Happy Meals and coffees.

"Thanks so much," Nico says after paying. They drive off.

They're almost back to the hotel now and Nico hears his text tone.

"Hey, Will, my phone is in my jacket pocket, can you check and see if it's Drew? She's my puppy-sitter," Nico says.

"Drew is taking care of live animals?" Will asks. "Maybe a lot has changed after all."

"Just check and see if it's her," Nico says. He tells Will his passcode.

"Okay, it is Drew. Oh..." Will trails off.

"Everything good?" Nico asks.

"Yeah, fine. She just sent really cute puppy pictures, that's all," Will says.

Nico smiles. "They're just the cutest, aren't they? I could get one out here if you and Annabeth move to a place that allows pets. There's a runt, and I think he's going to stay relatively small."

Will puts Nico's phone back down. "You know I'd love to, but we can't. Gods, Annabeth can barely take care of herself." He rubs his temples. "You didn't hear that from me."

Nico wants to throw his hands up like 'you got me!', but he's driving, so he just throws his fingers up.