Theater (cl)Ass

Disclaimer: I only own the plot not the characters.

A/N: wowww another two-shot from me. Recently, it's all I can write. Awful at commitment and such. Lol anyways, some warnings. I hope you enjoy despite how different it is.

Warnings: OOC. Nico and Will almost switched places here, almost. I don't know. I just felt that Nico shouldn't always be portrayed as short and tiny. Can't we all imagine a hot tall Nico taking an adorably sweet bright Will into his arms? No, just me? You're wrong! I got the image from a past story I read (and didn't finish of course) on here. It's something new, and I think we all need new. Not much fluff or smut, very T rated.

Nico didn't want to do this. He didn't want to act in a shitty play. He didn't want to do Romeo and Juliet again. It physically hurt him to both say the cheesy lines and to act out suicide, as if he hadn't thought enough about that on his own. However, there he was, auditioning for the part of Romeo for a second time.

Maybe his least favorite part about this play was that he had to kiss a girl in front of his entire school. What, was he back in the closet again? He could hear Jason and Percy snickering now.

It was all his agent's fault. She practically forced him into it. "I don't want to," he picked at his torn shirt. Reyna shook her head with firm movements.

"I don't care. Juilliard basically requires you to act in your school plays if you want to even be considered for their best scholarship," Reyna kicked at his feet. "They know most school plays are shitty. You don't even have to do a good job, but you have to have it on paper. They've already seen you in New York, and they want you. But you have to do this."

Nico threw his head back and groaned. Reyna was his best friend and a self-made agent while still in high school. She and Nico both knew he needed this scholarship. Otherwise, he'd be shipped off to Yale on his father's boat of money, sentenced to a life without theater, which was one of Nico's few passions.

The theater director of their school was a joke. His name was Octavian. He was just one year out of college, and he had no clue what he was doing. Clearly, he was one of those guys who became a teacher in order to coach a sport easily. Although, Nico's costar from a play years ago also went to his school and took archery, which was what Octavian coached alongside of dealing with the drama department. Nico hadn't even seen Will since freshman year considering their school had thousands of kids, but he'd seen his archery skills on set of the small local movie they both acted in. Will was amazing; Octavian was a danger to his students.

Auditions were a train wreck. Nico knew that the moment he stepped foot into the auditorium. Octavian was on stage barking orders. There had to be over a hundred kids in the place, all talking loudly.

Cursing Reyna, Nico made his way to the stage. Octavian taught English, which was one of Nico's favorite classes. While Octavian definitely ruined his advanced Literature class, he did pick wonderful books and plays. Most centered around Rome, but some were more modern. Nico made the mistake of asking to read the Iliad one day, and since then Octavian definitely knew his name.

"Oh. I wasn't expecting to see such a star here," Octavian breathed out with annoyance. His eyes ran down his checklist in hand. With an impatient sigh, he rubbed his temples. "Your agent told me you were coming. If I just give you Romeo, does that mean I don't have to suffer through your horrid audition?"

Nico never understood this man. If he were good enough to have it over everyone else, why would his audition be 'horrid?' It was sort of pathetic how little the man knew of acting. Nico always do prefer plays to movies, so this would be his most insulting work ever. Not only would the set and secondary cast be less than decent, but also his costar would be horrendous compared to him.

He was not one to toot his own horn because he was certainly not star worthy, but he had taken acting classes every summer since he turned ten and went to his acting coach every week for lessons. The only one who put in as much work as him was Will Solace...and Juliet was a female role.

"Can I pick Juliet?" Nico bargained. Octavian looked like he wanted to slit his throat. Nico only batted his eyes and smiled sweetly.

"Oh my gosh! What is with you fags and thinking you're so cute? Just because you smiled doesn't mean you get what you want. You're too gothic to do that, try again," he screamed through clenched teeth. Nico narrowed his eyes as his hands clenched into fists. Every bone in his body told the black haired boy to throw a fist or kick the obnoxious blonde in the jewels. He didn't do or say anything, though; he knew Octavian well enough at this point. Nico gave him half a minute of fuming before... "If you must, you can sit through the worst and pick out the decent ones for me."

Hmm. Maybe this fag knew what he was doing.

Octavian made the announcement that Romeo was taken and all Juliet auditions would take place backstage with Nico.

Nico half-heartedly waved his hand before quickly slipping behind the curtain. There was a line of about twenty people. And none of them were even half of what he was looking for. One might have gotten the job done without stumbling over every word, but there was no way he could stand to kiss her lips.

He continued on. It was around the seventeenth audition where he lost hope. And then he saw the blonde hair. "Name," he hissed without looking up.

"I'm a little insulted you don't remember your first kiss, Death Boy." The voice was distinctly different than it had been during 9th grade, but Nico didn't have trouble pin pointing who his first kiss was or who the only person was that called him that ultimately true nickname. His head snapped up to see the ever-gorgeous Will Solace.

"Sunshine, I think you're in the wrong place. If I'm not mistaken, Juliet didn't have a dick," Nico teased before pushed out of his chair. Will only grinned and closed the distance between them by throwing his arms around the taller boy.

Nico shot up around the age of seventeen. He had lean muscles that fit him well. Will, on the other hand, only grew half as much as Nico did. He was half a head shorter than the dark haired boy, but his beach-boy look fit him perfectly. Will was dressed in a cut out tank top and slim fitting workout shots that accentuated his small waist. His eyes were scrunched when he smiled, and his hair was tussled effortlessly.

Nico couldn't stop checking him out, but that was the beauty about their distant friendship. Neither of them cared to be lusted by the other. Even as ninth graders, their platonic friendship was borderline at best. As Will said, Nico's first kiss was with Will. Despite how adorable (and, truthfully, awkward) it would be it was not on stage. It was during practice at Will's house, and it was only slightly more than a peck, but it counted.

"Wellll," Will grinned that boyish grin Nico adored. "It's been so long since we worked together, so I thought why not? And don't you think this school could handle a little gay twist to the boring play?" Will offered the idea like it wasn't crazy, and Nico accepted the idea like it wasn't crazy. The idea immediately attached into his mind, forcing a slightly alarming smile onto his lips.

"I like your thinking, Solace," Nico agreed. He turned to the other two girls standing there. "We found our Juliet, thanks."

"What, no audition? I think you're showing favoritism, Death Boy." Will giggled.

Nico raised an eyebrow. He stepped forward, openly invading the blonde's personal space. "Want to practice the kissing scene then?"

Will's eyes twinkled and he shoved Nico's best playfully. "You're such a flirt!"

Nico shrugged as he looked around, eyes clinging to Will more. His thoughts instantly slipped away from appropriate. "Come on. Octavian is going to have a field day."

Octavian was casting the nurse when the boys came up. His head whipped back as if they scared him. "Ew. Double the gross. Don't you two have make-up appointments or something?"

Will's mouth dropped open, and Nico could tell he was about to blow his top. Quickly, Nico grabbed Will's forearm and dug his fingers into the skin, and he spoke before the other could. "Octavian, we have an idea to spice up the play a little."

"Oh dear," he muttered. Nico doubted this would go over well.

"I want Will to be Juliet."

His eyes grew to the size of Uranus and Nico was pretty sure he saw a vein pop in his forehead. "WHAT? ARE YOU DUMB?"

Will crossed his arms over his chest. "Why not? Now we won't bore people to death with the play that everyone has seen."

"Besides, he's the only other decent actor."

"He's a guy!"

"I'm not playing Romeo without Will as Juliet," Nico crossed his arms over his chest. Octavian burst into insulting laughter.

"Good. Your kind is hard to manage anyway." Octavian snorted as he crossed Nico's name off the role for Romeo.

Nico clenched his first and didn't hold back this time. He looked at Will, whose eyes were filling with hot, angry tears. They looked at each other for a full minute, willing the opposite to calm down enough to get something done. Nico wanted nothing more than to knock Octavian on his ass, but he knew it would get them nowhere.

"Run along. You're infecting the possible Romeos with that ridiculous idea," Octavian shooed them away while muttering under his breath, "fags."

That word lit a match inside Nico. His blood boiled. It was that stupid word. Nothing was more insulting than being called an overly used, derogatory, three lettered word. Fag. Nico enjoyed being gay, and he was about to show Octavian how hard a fag could punch compared to his believed jocks: just as hard.

"You fucker!" Nico suddenly pounced, but Will's hands yanked him back. He was on his butt in seconds with Will's elbow at his throat.

"Calm. Down."

Without the tears running down Will's cheeks, Nico wouldn't have stopped fighting against him. But he saw the way Octavian had slapped Will, the way he had pulled out his soul and character and made a joke of it all. Nico stopped fighting long enough to hear Will's shaking words. "Calm down, please."

Biting his lip, Nico looked over the blonde's shoulder to Octavian, who was laughing moronically. Nico stared into Will's eyes and nodded. He cautiously helped him up.

As they walked away, Nico turned around. "We'll be back with a fucking lawyer, dickface!"

As soon as they were out of the theater, Will stopped pulling on him. He released Nico completely in favor of collapsing against the wall, knees drawn to his chest and head down. The first sob broke Nico's heart. Though he still felt the need to throttle Octavian's face in, he forced himself to lose his rage. Instead, he sat beside Will.

The boy was quivering. Hesitantly, Nico reached out to touch him, to show that he was there, but then he thought better of it. Will, however, noticed. He smiled sadly up at him, and Nico wondered how he could want something that seemed so broke. But he did. He wanted to fix Will. He wanted that smile to reappear.

"Fags can touch each other, right?" He ended it by breaking into another sob. Nico's jaw hardened.

"Shut up, Solace," he grumbled while wrapping an arm firmly around Will, who shifted so his face rested against Nico's chest. "You know he was just calling me that."

Will shook his head against him. Nico pressed his chest against the top of his head. "I kissed you on camera, Neeks. Even if I haven't came out, I 'act gay.'"

He always had been worried about Will. Nico came out of the closet at age nine, and his father didn't care. It wasn't like it affected him at all. It was a major relief to Nico. He got called a fag and gross plenty of times, but by now he didn't care what anyone thought of him. If anything, it's only brought attention to him as an actor. Overall, he would do it again; before, he was a smothered flame dying to be free. He could see that same flame in Will, but it was smothered ten times more than he ever was. It was hard for Will to hide it, and it hurt him. Nico could see it in his eyes then and now.

"I like gay Will better," Nico shrugged. Will snorted miserably. Hearing footsteps, Nico cleared his throat. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Will asked while slowly unraveling himself from Nico. Neither said or needed a thanks. They used to catch up from time to time, and they both used the other for comfort. Now it was just physical comfort. It was a given.

"We're going to talk to Chiron."

Chiron was their principal. For such a large school, he was very intimate with his students. Nico didn't know how, but it seemed like he'd taught hundreds of thousands of students at this point. When the pair stepped into the office, they almost ran into Jason and Percy.

"No way! It's Solangelo in real life! Woah!" Percy squealed with too much excitement. Will blushed and inwardly shrank into Nico, who only rolled his eyes. Solangelo was the ship name Percy and Jason adopted when they saw a tape of Nico and Will's first play together. It never failed to embarrass Nico, and Percy loved that.

"Well he is more my type than yours," Nico snickered. "Will, you know Percy. The other idiot is Jason."

"Yo."

"Very articulate," Will giggled in his adorable voice. Nico wondered how anyone actually believed he was straight. "You're in my chem class, right?"

"Yeah. I do all the work while Percy watches with our girlfriends, who always finish in half the damn time." Jason muttered something under his breath, causing Will to laugh. Nico loved that laugh. He was also glad to hear genuine joy in his voice and not the choked cries from earlier.

"Why are you guys here?" Nico asked.

Percy grinned. "I broke into the swimming pool for lunch."

"And he dragged me along."

"And we got caught."

It summed them up. Nico snorted. "So nothing new. Have fun in detention."

"I always do," Percy nodded as he walked through the door, Jason nervously following on his heels. Jason never had detention before. He must have been freaking out.

Chiron clearly didn't except the two of them to both walk in together. "Gentlemen, doing another show together?"

Nico leaned against the wall as he checked out some of the cool items he had laying around. "Yeah. The school play."

Chiron frowned. "Well, that's a twist...it sounds great. How can I help?"

Nico shot Will a grin and slung an arm around him. "You can help by firing Octavian for calling little Will here a fag. Does he look like a-?"

"Language!" Chiron hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he began to pace.

"He also called Nico that," Will mumbled, looking intently at his feet.

"He won't let Will play Juliet even though that would keep the play from making everyone tear my eyes out," Nico huffed.

Chiron sat back down, eyes flickering between the two boys with great intensity. "I will certainly have a word with Octavian. I am very sorry, and if either of you need to talk to anyone, the counselors or I are here. As for the play, we will try to get somebody to replace him before the show."

"Thanks, Chiron," Nico said. Will mumbled something else along those lines before darting out of the office. With curious suspicion, Nico followed after the quick kid until they were near the exit in an abandoned hall. "Dude, what was that about? You just shut down."

"Oh..."Will rocked back on his heels nervously, but that sent him into the door, which fell open at his weight. He barely kept himself on his feet. Nico followed him outside with amusement.

"You're adorable when you're nervous," he teased. "Well, what's got your nipples in a clamp?" It really didn't work the same as panties did, but he said it just to see Will's tanned skin then bright red. The camera didn't do him justice. His recent works also portrayed him as a young naive teen, and while he easily came off that way, Nico knew differently. He was innocent but not naive.

"Uh, see...Chiron sort of walked in on me and this guy making out on the couch on stage last month," Will stumbled back over the curve while scratching the back of his neck. Nico smirked, enjoying the seemingly permanent red tint to his cheeks. "Haven't been able to look him in the eyes since."

"Will Solace, sneaking around to hook up. I'm impressed." Nico teased, leaning back against his car that they'd stumbled to. Will joined him with a pouting lip.

"It's been a while, okay? But it wasn't worth it. Jake's a sucky kisser," Will pawed his foot into the ground with distaste. "Like who opens their mouth like this for a kiss?" He demonstrated it by making an oval shape with his lips. It was sad to say Nico still wouldn't have minded kissing him like that, although, the image was much more familiar to that of a blowjob.

"The last guy I was with wouldn't let me top. I'm fine with bottoming, but," Nico shrugged. Will clearly wasn't expecting such drastic information. Nico only laughed. "I think he was scared it'd be considered too gay."

Will almost choked on air in his fit of laughing. His phone buzzed and he cursed. "I have to get home, butttt..." Nico could almost see the words on his lips. He willed them to come out. If you ever want to top, I'm free. Sadly, that was not what happened. "Thanks for helping me, Death Boy. It's going to be fun."

. . .

It was not going to be fun. Octavian was, thankfully, fire like a cannon ball. However, Chiron had nobody to replace him. It wasn't like Dionysus was any worse than Octavian, but at least the latter directed people to places and gave out lines. All Dionysus did was sip oddly red colored 'juice' and watch TV on his phone.

It was a month before the performance when Octavian somehow pranced his way back into the theater. He demanded some type of position, strictly volunteer, and because Dionysus was too lazy to direct, he let Octavian join as his personal assistant. Really, Octavian started bossing people around.

The play was rewritten well, all at the hands of Nico and Will. They, however, had horrible actors and actresses. It ruined the play, but that was to be expected. So it was already bad, but Octavian made it worse. Multiple people quit. The setting wasn't even a fourth of the way finished. Will left rehearsals crying half the time or hauling Nico's butt out before he could land a fist on Octavian the other half. Chiron said Mr. D overruled him since he was technically a vice principal.

"Yeah, well, I've got a D who'll shut them both up," Nico had growled when the pair left his office, causing some tension to dissipate from Will.

It was the day before the play when Nico went over to Will's house for practice. Neither of them was nervous. Neither of them truly needed to practice, but it was a good excuse for a free make-out session. Truthfully, they should have practiced this sooner. Nico whole heartedly intended to, if it hadn't been for the on and off relationship fling Will had been in for all the months leading up to the play until thee days ago. Will never wanted to be in a relationship with Jake in the first place, and he finally put his foot down.

Now Nico could move on with his dubious plans of taking the classic one second kiss and twisting it into a one-hour fuck, or something in the middle.

"-as if Octavian thinks I'm a girl! Do I look like a fucking girl to you, Nico di Angelo!?" Will fumed, ending his path of pacing directly in front of Nico. He raised an eyebrow expectantly with too much mirth.

"Considering I can see your dick outline in your jeans? Nah I'd say no." Nico snorted and flopped on the bed. Will gasped and turned around, hands over crotch. "Mhmm, the backside's even better. Nice ass."

"Nico!"

"Yes?"

"Shut up! My parents-,"

"Think you're straight and I'm gay and it's only slightly awkward that we have to kiss so we're here trying to fumble our way around it and if I, the openly gay one, made a comment about your ass it'd be simply to diffuse the tension? You're absolutely right. I couldn't have said it better myself," Nico smirked with delight. Will's mouth was still hanging open.

"You're a dick."

"You are what you eat."

"I worry about you sometimes."

"You worry about everyone."

"Yes, but with you for good reason."

Nico rolled his eyes and pulled out their self-made lines. Truthfully, they kept most of the play the same, except the title. Now it was Romeo and Julian. It's ironic how easily a heterosexual relationship could be changed into a homosexual relationship. Almost as if there wasn't a big difference. Hmm.

He thumbed through the pages until he found the one he wanted. "Okay. So the kiss scene. Can we practice it without Jake trying to 'beat me up'?"

Will laughed and sat on the bed beside him, peering over his shoulder to view the play as well. "Trying would be the key word. But yes, I think he got it through his thick head that I don't like him."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I still don't get why you agreed to date him in the first place."

Will seemed to think on that for a moment as he stared at Nico, who pretended not to notice. In all honesty, it bothered Nico. Why not him? "I don't know. He asked me out when he was giving me head, so he just assumed I said yes to him. And I didn't correct him for a while..."

Nico rolled onto his side, staring up at Will. "You should try standing up for yourself sometime, Solace. It does wonders." Will giggled a little nervously. "For instance, if I started making out with you instead of just kissing you during practice, would you stop me?"

Will blushed furiously, but he got the indication. "No, but that's different."

"How?"

With a sigh, Will stood up and grabbed his lines. "Because I'd enjoy kissing you."

Nico's heart fluttered against his permission. "Is that so?"

Will opened his mouth to respond before looking at his feet. "Well, I mean...you have a reputation. I don't know. And I - we hardly even kissed in 9th grade - you just look like a good kisser, that's all."

"Want to find out for yourself?" Nico winked. Will laughed nervously, hands playing with the hem of his shirt. "Don't worry. I'm joking. I'll keep it PG, don't want you passing out on me."

"Ha. Ha."

As Nico promised, he kept the kiss PG. Originally, he planned on trying for more, but he could tell that Will was a mess of nerves, worse than what he normally was. Still, he'd be perfectly happy with kissing Will, even if it was just a peck.

"So what type of kiss are we going for?" Nico murmured as he looked over the lines. At this point, they'd both memorized them, but he needed to do something other than stare at the beautiful boy.

"More than a peck, no tongue...open mouth though?" Will asked, voice cracking a bit at the end.

Nico smirked. He was enjoying this too much. "Sounds good. I'll start."

He cleared his throat, mentally preparing himself for the role of Romeo. He was a such a cheesy idiot it pained Nico to act like him; but he did. And sadly, he played it well.

"O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do. They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair." Nico said, eyes swimming over Will in his beauty.

He stepped forward and with elegant grace spoke the words, "Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake."

Nico's heart beat wildly as he stepped forward so that their breaths mixed. "Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take," he breathed as his hands tipped Will's head upward. Time seemed to move slowly. He closed his eyes and counted to two before bringing his lips to Will's. Nico wasn't sure what he was expecting, but he was surely not prepared for the electricity that shot between their lips. His body was suddenly very alert. It seemed like the air around them dropped and turned into anticipating static, like it would do before a lightning strike. He could have stayed there forever, but Will pulled away, blinking brightly up at him with a pure smile.

"Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged." Nico inwardly puked. What a terribly cheesy way to end a perfect kiss?

"Then have my lips the sin that they have took," Will purred quite seductively for both his character and for Will. Nico grinned excitedly.

"Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again," Nico said with haste. He cupped Will's cheek and brought their lips together for a second time. It was a longer kiss. Will's hands wrapped around his neck, and Nico's hormonal body took that as a sign to further the kiss. He let his tongue slide along Will's lower lip.

Instantly, Will jumped away with a flustered look on his face, hand over his heart. "S-sorry. I didn't know you were going to do that."

Nico ran a hand through his hair, desperately hoping he hadn't lost all chances with him. "Instinct," he shrugged. Will chuckled a bit before rocking back on his heels. "Sorry."

"No! You're fine - that was, uh, really good - er, I think," Will gushed in a way that made Nico want to kiss him again. "Want to do it again, just for the sake of practice?"

A/N: Leave me your thoughts. Who liked the different characters for Nico and Will? How do you think this will end? Yay or nay? Can I get 5 reviews for the next part pleasee?

As always, feel free to suggest a short story prompt for me to do, but I make no promises. Still would love to hear them!