Sep 8, 2022
posted on ao3 for the first time in forever ill get around to posting the tumblr vers eventually love u byee
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posted on ao3 for the first time in forever ill get around to posting the tumblr vers eventually love u byee
Liz’s Top 10 Fics of 2019
hey look everyone else is doing this so imma do it too!! all of these were originally published in 2019 & can be found on tumblr or ao3. thank you everyone who supported me this year!!!
Crazier Than You - Ch 3/?
Chapter Title: Full Disclosure
Words: 1351
[chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four (coming soon)]
Read on Ao3
Will was, admittedly, a little bit distracted the following week. However, it wasn’t so much because of Nico but more of the rapidly approaching show. They were only a week away from dress rehearsal and while majority of the set was built, they still had to add doors to the center piece, build wheeling gates, put up the walls, and build the bed of nails.
Okay, scratch that; they still had a shit ton to do. Not to mention SATs were falling right between dress rehearsal and the show, and midterms were falling only the week after. They were short on people and short on time.
To put it simply, Will was stressed out of his mind. So, dumping a bucket paint on his clothes was just the cherry on top.
Lou Ellen seemed to find the entire situation hilarious, immediately whipping out her phone so she could Snapchat the entire situation. It was even worse when Cecil came over with a handful of wood chips and dust, claiming that it would help get the paint out as he threw them onto Will. (It did not).
He wasn’t even painting today so he didn’t have his already-destroyed tech clothes on. It was just that finicky bucket that caused his downfall. At least he remembered to wear his tech sneakers, which were covered with various paint stains. However, hot pink paint now streaked down his favorite hoodie (a navy blue UT hoodie from when he lived in Texas) and a relatively new pair of jeans.
Typical.
Crazier Than You - Ch. 2/?
Chapter Title: Pulled
Words: 2,047
[chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter four (coming soon)]
Read on Ao3
“So how’s it going with lover boy?” Lou Ellen teased at tech after a few weeks of Will going to rehearsal. He didn't need to anymore, by that point, as they were just waiting to finish building all the set pieces before they began running them. Chiron never called him out for it though so he would make himself busy backstage. Secretly he enjoyed watching it all, even with the constant stops and restarts. This was one of Will’s favorite musicals, after all.
Also, Will had gotten significantly closer to Nico. Nothing more than friend-close, of course. It’s probably the most social Will has ever been with the cast, considering Nico was somehow acquainted with almost all of them. Apparently, he’s more social than Will first thought, though he’s been assured by Nico that is all circumstantial (whatever that means).
All of this just gave Lou more reason to bug Will about his micro-crush on Nico.
“We’re just friends Lou, I swear,” Will sighed, nailing another piece of wood to the bench they were creating for the dining room scene.
“Friends who hold hands?”
“It was one time! And it was an accident!” He nearly shrieked, feeling his face warming. Will truly regretted telling Lou that story. It was a moment of panic, and he needed to get it off his chest to someone who didn’t know Nico as a close friend. He set a mental reminder to never tell Lou Ellen anything.
Unfortunately, her comment brought the vivid memory back to Will. During rehearsal that week, things were slower than usual as the cast made their way through Act Two. It got the point where Will was too fidgety to stand still anymore (curse you, ADHD) and he had already scrolled to the end of his Instagram feed. As he had fiddled with the curtains next to him, he thought he was grabbing onto the chain; while in reality, it was actually Nico’s hand. Awkward apologies ensued, and Will did his best to forget it altogether. (Also, no theatre person had the right to have hands that smooth. Or maybe Will was just used to everybody in tech’s rough, calloused palms).
“Besides,” Will continued. “I’m pretty sure he likes Piper. Nobody can have that much chemistry in high school without probably wanting to fuck each other.”
“It’s theatre. He’s probably gay!”
“Not all guys in theatre are gay! Just look at Percy.”
Lou rolled her eyes. “Just because he’s dating Annabeth doesn’t make him straight. That’s bi erasure, Will.”
“Whatever, I can’t focus on him when I have a job to do.” He was getting riled up, shooting another nail with a kshk. “Like, it’s not fair, y’know? That I don’t get the year that goes smoothly, and not because of sets or anything,” Kshk.
“Will,”
“The other day, I forgot to close the curtain before Full Disclosure because I was thinking he had to kiss her and it so fucking dumb that I want that to be me..” Kshk
“Will!”
“I think I’ve been single for too long Lou.” Kshk.
“Will!”
“What?!” he nearly dropped the nail gun as he turned to face Lou Ellen, who just pointed at his hand. As soon as he noticed blood dripping from where he had accidentally shot himself with a nail, he felt his finger begin the throb. Painfully.
“Shit,” Will cursed loud enough that even their supervisor, who was busy snooping through their snack box, turned and said “Language, Will!” He ran off the try and grab a bandage or cloth or something that didn’t have sawdust on it. Cecil dropped down next to Lou Ellen.
“What did I miss?”
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes for the nth time that day. “Will being a chaotic gay idiot.”
“Ah, so nothing new.”
**
The show was approaching quicker than Will was expecting it to. Parts of the set weren’t even finished being built yet, much less painted. He eventually gave up on trying to finish it all at once and called in Rachel to recruit art class students to start on the finished pieces while he, Lou, and Cecil built as fast as they could. It ended in a lot of late nights with just the three of them after everyone else went home; their supervisor usually dozed in the back.
After one particularly long night, Will shooed off his bleary-eyes friends, saying he could clean up himself. During this cleanup, however, Will discovered the bucket of dirty paint brushes stashed in the corner, as if whoever put it there was trying to hide it. Setting a mental reminder to ask Rachel about it the next day, Will sighed and grabbed the keys to the janitors closet. As much as he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse and/or cry, he was stage manager. This was his responsibility. Not to mention he was the only one left here to do it. So, he picked up the bucket to clean them himself.
Here’s the thing: Will hated the janitors closet. Avoided it at all costs, in fact. For his entire four years in tech, he’s managed to only go in it four times. Of course, he already knew he was going to have to in order to get the mop for the stage. It just so happened he was avoiding doing it until he absolutely had to.
The closet had a certain smell to it, one that everyone in tech seemed to be immune to except for him. It was grout and mold mixed with old paint and cleaning supplies that somehow managed to combine into a smell Will could only describe as cat pee; it never failed to give Will a headache after more than 30 seconds of being in there. Not to mention that the sink water was freezing cold no matter how you adjusted it. When Will noticed there were paint rollers in the bucket as well, he nearly cried. (They were made of some cheap fluff material that took forever to squeeze paint out of. Lou had nicknamed the task “the shitty handjob”).
Will had only managed to clean one of the six rollers in the bucket before he was interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Clearly, said visitor was confused as well as to what Will was doing, judging by his first words.
“Will, what the hell are you doing?” Nico almost seemed exhausted with him by the way he said it, although maybe he was. Will was definitely exhausted with himself. God, he was so tired.
The blonde’s answer was barely a mumble over the loud spraying of the sink. “I’m cleaning brushes.”
“What?”
“I said, I’m cleaning brushes!”
“Why are you cleaning brushes at-” Nico checked the clock on his phone. “-7:00pm? Have you even gone home today?”
When Will shook his head, Nico just laughed under his breath. “I mean, I get it. I have a sister who pulls all-nighters to finish an art project she has all the time in the world for. You were in the zone.”
Will laughed quietly too, although it was shortened by a yawn. “The worst part? This isn’t even my fault. I’ve been building all day.” He was forcing his eyelids to not go half-lidded; he didn’t need Nico interpreting what was exhaustion for, well, something else.
He went back to the roller in front of him. Nico just stood there a moment, fiddling with the sleeve of his hoodie.
Finally, he spoke again. “My sister is supporting her boyfriend in some language singing competition, and I’m her ride home. So I’m going to be here awhile if you, uh, want some help?” he offered.
Will just smiled to himself. “You don’t know what you’re getting into. Trust me, you do not want to be doing this.” When he glanced up, his hand with the sink hose shifted and he accidentally splashed water all over his jeans. “I prove my point.”
“I mean, I could sort of guess by your expression when I walked up here that you aren’t exactly enjoying yourself-”
“Tell me about it.”
Nico snorted at Will’s eye roll before continuing. “-But, maybe it’ll be more fun with someone to talk to. Plus, four hands are better than two?”
“If you insist. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.”
Truthfully, Will was terrified. He knew how stupid that sounded, being a senior nervous to talk to this random junior that he forgot about up until a few months ago. Sure, they were friends, but always backstage with a thousand other people. Neither had really talked to the other one-on-one, and there was nobody in this wing of the school.
It was quiet for a moment, only the sound of the hose running as Nico handed him brushes to spray down.
Will took the plunge and spoke first. “How did you get into acting? You always seemed pretty quiet freshman year.”
Nico looked surprised. “Yeah, I never really thought I would like it either. But Hazel heard me singing and told me I could try out for some local church theatre. Turns out I’m not bad.”
“You’re telling me,” Will chuckled. “I couldn’t have been only one blown away by your audition.”
Nico didn’t respond, heat rising to his cheeks. Will wasn’t quite sure if it was him specifically or if Nico was just generally surprised by compliments. Honestly, he didn’t know which one he preferred either.
“Uh, thanks,” Nico smiled sheepishly before clearing his throat.“So, how did you end up becoming stage manager?”
“Dunno. I always wanted to be in one of the shows, but I figured out pretty quickly that I didn’t exactly have the voice for it, so tech crew was the next best thing.”
Nico lifted his head from the bucket and looked over at him. He wasn’t smiling, but he looked intrigued. “Usually when people say they can’t sing, they’re over exaggerating,” he pointed out. Without warning, he started pulled out his phone and pulled up the Addams family album. He tapped the screen a few times before “Pulled” started to play. When they got to the chorus, Nico started singing along.
“I'm being pulled in a new direction,
But I think I like it.
I think I like it.”
He gestured for Will to join. With hesitation, he did.
“I’m being pulled in a new direction
Through my painful pursuit,
Somehow birdies took root.
All the things I detested impossibly cute.
What do I do?”
Unfortunately, Will wasn’t exaggerating when he said his voice sucked. He had no sense of rhythm and was mostly tone deaf. Next to Nico, he didn’t sound any better. At least singing along to the recording made up for it a little bit.
He was pretty sure Nico was laughing at him, but that didn’t really matter. They went back to working on the brushes.
When the bridge came, Will accidentally splashed Nico with the hose as he mocked a violin at “string quartets,” which just resulted in an all out splash war. By the end of the song, both were completely soaked and nearly in tears with laughter.
Nico switched off his phone before the next song could play. “I don’t think you’ll be playing Wednesday anytime soon,” he said through laughter. “Though honestly, I wish you were. I would love to see that with a live band. Plus kissing you is probably easier than kissing Piper.”
Will chose to ignore that last comment for the sake of the sudden butterflies in his stomach. “You’d rather kiss me than Piper?”
Nico shrugged. “Kissing a girl is one thing. Kissing a girl who is also one of my best friends is another. That’s like kissing my sister.” They both shuddered.
(Well, at least he wasn’t being friendzoned).
“Could be worse,” he pointed out. “You could have to kiss your actual sister.”
Nico laughed. “You’re right, that’s so much worse than having to just kiss a girl.”
They finished up pretty quickly after that and said their goodbyes. Walking to his car, Will felt different. Lighter, almost.
It wasn’t until he started the engine when it clicked in his brain.
This wasn’t just some little crush on a guy he thinks is cute.
Will was falling.
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Crazier Than You - Ch. 1/?
Chapter Title: Overture
Words: 1385
[chapter 1 | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four (coming soon)]
Read on Ao3
Audition day for the spring musical. Meaning, about twenty high school kids were running laps around the auditorium
“Brunner is ruthless,” Lou Ellen snorted from her spot next to Will Solace. “As if the warm-up dance isn’t already enough, he has a warm-up for the warm-up.”
Will laughed, and a few of the kids passing glared at them, which only made Will happier. This was one of his favorite things to do: watch the poor theatre kids suffer while he sits in the back row with a container of Pringles to share with Lou.
(Not saying that tech crew isn’t hard. It’s actually kind of hell, especially this year for Will. Say what you want, but being the stage manager isn’t as fun as it looks. Honestly, he’d rather be going through whatever these kids are doing. The grass is always greener or whatever.)
“I think Apollo is to blame actually. And this is only the beginning. Just wait until he makes them do push-ups.”
Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, but the hint of a smile was still on her face. “The poor freshman. Serves them right though, they’re going to be breaking all my props in a month or so. Did you know they’re asking for light up hula hoops? Those things are over $100 at least, which means I’m definitely going to be paying for batteries again.”
Will nodded solemnly. “At least they’re doing a good show this year. The Addams Family is a personal favorite of mine, plus it’s just pushing school limits. What do you think, Heathers next?”
“As if!” Lou Ellen cackled in her seat, causing more students to turn their heads and give her the stink eye. Before she could say anything else, something (more specifically, someone) caught Will’s eye.
“Lou, who is that?” Will asked almost softly, pointing towards the person in question. He was short, around a usual freshman height, but he looked like he might be a junior or a senior. Or maybe not, since Will doesn’t think he’s seen him around before.
“Oh him?” Will nodded. “Will, that’s Nico di Angelo. He was here for his freshman year when we were sophomores, remember? He transferred schools for a year, I guess he’s back now though because he’s in my studio class.”
Will did remember very vaguely. The first year of high school is rough for everyone, but nobody had it as bad as he did. Nico’s sister had gotten into an accident and died a month into school, and apparently, he learned he had a stepsister that was born a year or so after his mom had died who was going to their local prep school. It surprised him to hear that that’s where Nico was transferring considering his history, but he seemed to be doing well now. It also explained how he seemed to know all the kids from the private school. (The school was too small to have their own theatre program, so they have to send all their kids over to the public school in their district instead.)
Will took another chip. His eyes were still fixed on Nico. “Huh.”
Lou Ellen studied his face. “You think he’s cute.” She concluded after a second.
“I do not!” Will nearly screeched, already about to jump from his chair if needed. (He was also slightly mad at himself for being so readable. Can you blame him? Nico was wearing an oversized crew neck with a cartoon ghost, and it looked adorable.)
She just laughed. “Woah, calm down. I never said you had to marry the guy, it was just an observation.”
Will sat back down, pouting. Before he could go full you don’t know me and cross his arms at her, the two of them were shushed as auditions began. They went as they always did, no different from the fall show except for the added music and way too many freshman girls that could not hit that high note so please stop trying. He wasn’t surprised to see Nico grouped together with the other kids auditioning for Pugsley. No doubt he could land that role, he was the perfect size for it (and most likely act the part as well)
However, when Will watched Nico’s actual audition, he couldn’t believe he was trying out for such a smaller role. Okay, sure it’s s a lead, but damn, that boy could sing well enough to land something bigger.
“He’s really good,” Lou Ellen said, somehow reading his thoughts. Or maybe just because it wasn’t hard to see that this kid had talent. “Do you think they’d give him Gomez?”
“I’ll bet you five bucks they give him Lucas.”
Lou Ellen raised her eyebrows. “Alright, if you’re confident,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender. “It’s a deal.”
They went back to watching the auditions until a few seconds later when Lou Ellen leaned over again. “Oh, and one more thing,” she started with an innocent style on her face. As innocent as Lou gets, that is.
Will side-squinted at her. “What do you want?”
Her smile widened but she looked more Cheshire Cat than Disney princess. “I’m expecting my name to be next to Assistant Stage Manager on that playbill, Mr. Solace.”
That $5 was handed to Will begrudgingly by Lou Ellen once the cast list came out two days later. However, the conversation was almost entirely forgotten when Will reminded her that she was going to be spending a lot of time with him as assistant stage manager. (Really there was no doubt he was going to choose her. But hey, he doesn't have much control over his own life. It’s the little things, really.)
After that, anything about Nico or anything else about the show slips Will’s mind. Tech crew was on the same day as vocal rehearsal for the show, so unless they went into the lobby at the same time, Will really didn’t see them at all. It wasn’t until a month and a half or so leading up to the show that Will realized he needed to figure out lightning cues for Thalia before they started running with sets.
He went to their rehearsal that Monday just to know what to expect. As it turned out, lighting cues didn’t take nearly as long as he was expecting, and rehearsal wasn’t going wrap up for another hour. Which, it wouldn’t be a problem if Will hadn’t gotten a ride from Lou Ellen to the school and was now getting a ride home from Annabeth, who was in the show.
Logically, because he had an hour to kill, Will should start on his homework. Which is exactly why he didn’t do that. Instead, he made himself busy backstage constructing the idea that’s been brewing in the back of his head since the beginning of the year. As he screwed another screw in place, he was surprised to see Nico walking up to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, squinting at the Italian. (Curse him for leaving his glasses in his backpack. He wouldn’t be surprised if he accidentally screwed his finger to the piece of wood along with the nail.)
Nico snorted. “I should be asking you that, I think,” he said, glancing at Will, who realized in that moment how insane he must look. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the dark, a half-made box in his hand. He was most defiantly covered in sawdust, and oh God, his hair was probably a mess too.
“I’m making a snack box.”
“A snack box?”
“Yeah,” Will laughed pathetically, knowing how dumb he probably looked. “It was partly Lou Ellen’s idea, but she said if I got a box she would bring snacks and we could keep all of them back here.”
To Will’s surprise, Nico laughed, though not in a mean way. More of an actual, genuine laugh. “That’s amazing,” he said once he calmed down enough to speak. “You have to let me in on it.”
Will couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. “Deal, as long as you help us paint it.”
A small smile found its way onto Nico’s face as well. “A small price to pay for a good reward,” he said, shaking Will’s outstretched hand.
And hey, maybe this year’s musical wouldn’t be so bad.
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Gotta Be You
Words: 667
Notes: This is a lil oneshit based on the coffee shop AU of my fic called “coming right back (so stay right here)”. You honestly dont have to read it to understand this fic, but if you haven’t,,,, you could. Also happy birthday Nico !!!
Nico di Angelo Birthday Event - Day 4/4
Read on Ao3
Working at a cafe isn’t at all like in books and movies. There's no crazy drama, nothing worth robbing, and certainly not any love stories. It was a lot more of Will being extremely bored and wasting all of his phone battery.
(Was he supposed to be doing anything non-work related? Technically, no. But it’s not like Apollo is ever around to stop him).
Weekdays were the slowest. People had school and jobs and not much time to sit down and relax in some run-down cafe in the middle of nowhere. Students would come in quickly to grab drinks before class, but that’s about as exciting as it got.
Will sighed, slowly cleaning the same spot on the counter again. His phone was charging in the back, Lou Ellen was out grabbing more coffee filters, Cecil didn’t even bother to show up today, and he was bored out of his mind. Hell, he even ran out of homework to do.
More Than This
Summary: Five times Will and Nico acted like they weren’t flirting and one time they stopped pretending
Words: 4,409
Nico di Angelo Birthday Event - Day 3/4
Read on Ao3
I.
It was an argument with his father that had Nico approaching a breakfast place called Naomi’s at 8:30 on a Saturday morning.
The argument itself was irrelevant. Something about how Nico needed to get out more. Somehow he found himself a job, despite the fact that his father said “getting out” doesn’t mean “getting a job.” Anyway, it was better than texting Jason Grace for the first time in four months if he wanted to “hang out.”
As soon as Nico stepped inside the restaurant, he realized he had no clue what he was doing. The overall atmosphere was fine, pretty homey and cozy. But the people. God, where did all of these people even come from? Their town wasn’t even that big. The noise level was so different from the echoing hallways of Nico’s too-big-and-too-empty house (mansion, really, but he never liked that word). It was a little overwhelming, to say the least.
“You can sit wherever,” a boy with the biggest blonde curls Nico has ever seen speed walked past him, two menus and a plate with half-eaten pancakes clutched in his hands.
Nico had no idea how to respond, and when he tried to the only thing that came out was “uhhhh.”
The boy turned back around, grimacing with annoyance for a split second until his eyes met Nico’s. The Italian couldn’t help but to deeply inhale for a second in an attempt to remain calm. Was it even possible for eyes to be that blue? Holy granola, this guy is beautiful. His thoughts were interrupted by the blonde shaking his head like he was trying to clear his mind.
“Oh god, I’m sorry Nico,” he said with a softer smile. How does this kid know his name? “I haven’t had coffee yet. I’m a little out of it. Follow me.”
You're All I've Ever Wanted
Words: 721
Notes: This is a day late and I mixed up the days it’s fine. Also this is a rewrite of my first ever fic and it’s still a cringefest I’m sorry
Nico di Angelo Birthday Event - Day 2/4
Read on Ao3
Nico hated packing. Or, at least the idea of it. His suitcase had been left open and empty on his cabin bed for an hour or so now, and it didn’t look like he was going to be filling it anytime soon. Just thinking of having to go through his drawers and think about what might happen in the following week, and what it was going to be like without Will.
Will. It was still insane to him that the blonde headed son of Apollo was able to keep a hold of him, even when Will insisted that being with Nico was one of his favorite things. It was hard to believe still that somebody wanted him around.
(Nico wasn’t blind. It was clear that all the Argo II members who didn’t previously know him, and even some that did, wasn’t thrilled to have him traveling with them. It was probably for the best that he went off with Reyna. Obviously, though, things aren't as bad now. When you’re in a war together, there comes a point where you’re able to push aside some differences.)
Speaking of Will, the son of Apollo was the other reason he wasn’t packing. When Will had come to check and see the progress, packing didn’t seem so important anymore.