Chapter 1

A change.

I walked down the next street, kicking the stones that laid at my feet. The air was thick and foggy, one of my favorite types of weather.

A soft breeze hit me, letting the hair out of my eyes get pulled back. I winced when I turned the corner, my school coming in sight. The heavy air made my breath go uneven and the bitter cold bit at my nose, but I didn't mind.

Students walked into the doors of Half Blood high, some looked pissed that it's Monday… some look like they don't give a shit. Oh the joys of learning. I heaved a sigh and walked in myself.

It took me a minute to adjust to the blaring lights in the hall, I got a couple stares from the other students, but to me that was normal. I was used to being the outcast. I didn't have much friends… but in the past they disappointed me anyway.

I bumped into a hard figure and fell on my face. My ears rang with laughter all around me.

"Watch it scruffy" Jason Grace whispered in my ear. Not even five minutes at school and Grace is already picking on me. I got to my feet and felt my face grow hot. I walked swiftly past them, keeping my pace, and pressing my palms to my face constantly to cool it down. Calm down, I told myself. Their not worth it.

I ran my fingers through my hair, a habit, and quickly walked to English, not daring to look back. I luckily made it before the bell rang. I breathed a sigh of relief and walked to my seat. When I sat down, blonde turned his face towards me.

"Messing with you again, Neek?" He used his nickname on me as he smirked. Will Solace. We were practically enemies, and completely opposites. His smooth blonde hair pushed back, revealing his beautiful baby blue eyes. Compared to mine, always covered in my dark hair. He wore bright colors against my dull ones. And was over the top hot, and practically the most popular guy in school. I wished I was more like him, more bright, but we are just too different.

"Naw" I responded and rolled my eyes. "Mind your own business, Solace."

He laughed at my stubbornness, a soft yet muffled chuckle. He even had a cute laugh... I sighed at my thoughts and pushed them away. It wasn't worth it. He wasn't worth it.

The bell rang as the teacher walked in the classroom, starting class.

"And its Nico, to you" I whispered at him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him smile.

(Line break)

The bell rang for dismissal. I walked out of the class the same way I came and heard footsteps behind me.

"Neek!" I heard Will say and appeared to my side. I sighed. "What do you want Solace?" I said, demanding.

"I was wondering if I could meet you up at the library tomorrow"

I rose an eyebrow. When did Will ever want to meet up with me? That's right, never.

"That's odd. Why don't you ask your boyfriend Will" I said sarcastically. "Or better yet, any of your other friends. You have plenty"

"How many times do I have to tell you Nico, Percy is NOT my boyfriend!" he exclaimed.

"Mhm"

"And I guess" he shuffled his feet "That, your my friend too…?" I stopped walking.

"Whoa really?! That's the funniest joke i've heard all day!" I joked. "Come on Solace, spit it out. What do you really want. Me to do your homework? Give you test answers?"

"I...no. No that isn't what I want. I just wanted to.. kinda get to know you more…"

"I-"

"But you clearly have better things to do" he cut me off quickly. "I let you go now. Go spend some more time being alone" he muttered and walked down the hall, leaving me speechless.

I walked to science alone like always. But this time, I didn't want to be alone. Maybe Will was right… maybe it would've been nice to get to know him more. No. I don't want that. I don't want him to learn more about me, then he would really leave me alone. It's better this way, being alone, no one to hang out with after school or spend late nights studying with one another. Or go to basketball games with, watch movies at the theater and stuff popcorn in each others faces. All that "Fun" was nothing to me. It can't be fun. In fact it disgusted me.

I took my seat and tried to pay attention to Mr. Myers. As much as I loved science, I couldn't keep my eyes up front. They stayed glued to the desk, staring at the little erase marks on the table as if that mattered. Will wouldn't get out of my head. I mean… we talk and all… but I never really took it as a friendship kinda way. Just one talking to the other. Simple as that.

I messed with my eyebrow piercing nervously. Earlier today… does that effect anything now? Will he still at least talk to me? The thought of Will ignoring me made me shiver. I mean I didn't want him to stop talking to me… no. he doesn't have to. But I want him to..? Maybe it's better if we don't.

But I want to talk to him.

"Nico!" Mr. Myer called my name. I jumped in my seat and looked up to see him glaring at me. "What does H2O do in photosynthesis?" he demanded.

"Uh… Water splits into oxygen, hydrogen ions, and electrons to replace the lost electrons of photosystem II in light-dependent reaction" I answered. His face softened a bit. "Pay attention Mr. Di Angelo" was all he said and turned to the rest of the class, who still had their eyes on me. I covered my face with my hair and looked down, hoping Will wasn't staring too. Surely though, as I looked up at his seat, he was giving me a curious look. When our eyes met, he quickly turned away, leaving me with only a flash of his sharp blue eyes.

(line break)

"Finally" I sighed of relief when fifth period ended. Physics wasn't my thing, and the teacher was so annoying. After catching a glimpse of Will in the hall, he was of course talking with Percy, I practically ran out of the school doors and into the fresh air. The sun came out, which felt good on my skin. I standed there for a quick second, absorbing all the light I could get, and started running towards home. School made me claustrophobic as hell. I ran down the next street, almost running into a biker I knew from school. Jackson, I think. "Hey!" was all he said and swerved into the sidewalk.

"Sorry!" I yelled back at him and ran full speed down the block. Can't be late. Can't be late. Can't be late. I ran up the cemented stairs, down the hall, and to our apartment. Yes, I said our apartment. Me and my dad's, anyways.

I punched the key into the lock and slowly crept the door open. I took a deep breath, the burning of smoke burned my nostrils. I took one step… two… and looked down at my feet. Broken glass. Shit.

I speed walked to the kitchen. Empty. The only thing that caught my eye was the beer can that swayed on the kitchen floor. I dropped my backpack on the floor and it echoed throughout the house. I walked to the bathroom, slower this time, and noticed nothing wrong. I walked up the stairs, fixed the photo on the wall that was hanging by one nail, and entered the next room. Dad's room.

I took my time walking on the wooden floorboards that squeaked beneath me. The smoke was getting stronger. I walked into his bathroom, found the cigarette and tossed it into the trash. I heard a soft cough from the next room. His closet.

I went to go check on him. And there he was, sprawled in a ball on the closet floor, laid my father. He smiled up at me.

"Hey, hey! Look whos home!" he said woozily. He coughed again. Then again. Then came blood. I scrambled to the kitchen to get his pills and poured some water in a glass, my hands shaking as I leaped up the stairs. He was wheezing now, crouched in tightly. I gently placed the glass of water in his hand and placed the pills in his palm. "Drink it" I said. Nothing.

"Drink it" I repeated, my whole body trembling. He placed the pills in his mouth and raised the glass to his lips, gulping it down in the matter of seconds. My shoulders ached from the tension, but I didn't care. I stared at my dad, the tears starting to form in my eyes but I willed them to go away. Don't cry. Don't you dare cry.

"Everything is alright now dad" I sniffed. "Your going to be ok dad"

His lids slowly closed, and he fell in a deep sleep. The pills worked then. I inhaled slowly, swiping the wetness from my face, and smiled. I grabbed him a blanket from his room and covered him up. I'm glad I got to him in time.

I sat next to my father, crouched in the corner and just watched him. I stayed that way for a long time.

(line break)

I took my seat next to Will and found him staring. I looked at him, "What?" I asked and got my books out for english.

"Are you ok?" he asked curiously.

"Um yeah... what's this about?" he studied me. I bit my lip and turned away from him, feeling my face burn up. He finally looked away. Realizing I was holding my breath, I exhaled.

"You look hurt" he finally said, whispering to me. Like you care, I wanted to say, but all I did was shake my head.

After a moment of awkward silence, I finally said "Just didn't get that much sleep last night" he nodded like he understood, but I knew he didn't. Perfect Solace would never understand. With his perfect grades, perfect looks, and his perfect life in general.

"So… you never really gave me an answer from yesterday" he said quietly. I froze.

"If you would've let me finish-"

"Yeah. I'm sorry about that… look I know you don't want to..." he trailed off. I'm just so confused, I wanted to say, I never thought a guy like you would want to hang out with a jerk like me. And it was true. He's just so…. Perfect. In every way I look at him, there is no ugly. In every way I try to be rude to him, he's always nice. Too nice. Why me? Why the jerk who gets picked on every single day would ever want to even be in the same room as me? I'm not sweet, Im broken. Everyone here knows that.

But Will is different apparently. Its like he wants to get to know me…

"No" I whispered "meet me". I was shocked by my own words right when they came out of my mouth. And apparently so was Will. "Wait really?" Silence. I took a shaky breath and nodded. I'm making the biggest mistake of my life.

"Ok. So after school maybe?"

"No!" I said a little too loudly. We got looks from a couple students, but they looked away with no interest. "No no.. um, lunch break?"

He smiled. "Perfect"

It felt like forever until lunch. Each class felt extra long as I tapped my foot impatiently and looked at the clock on the wall every five minutes. As much as I hate to admit it, I am really looking forward to this. I mean I won't let him dig too deep from my past, so what is there to lose?

Third period felt the longest. I didn't have this class with Will, so I wasn't surprised to hear my phone ding in the middle of class. I gave him my number this morning… don't ask. I slowly took it out, being cautious of the teacher, and a couple words read on the text…

Will: Coffee shop down the street, meet me in 10.

Me: Got it

I put my phone away, luckily not caught by the teacher, and payed attention the rest of the period.

(Line break)

Will got there before I did… no surprise. I shoved my hands in my pockets and opened the door, it's loud ding buzzing in my ears. The smell of coffee beans filled my nose. I've never been to this coffee shop before, in fact i've actually never been to any of the ones here. Back in New Jersey where I used to live there weren't any around so I guess I didn't feel like trying any when we moved down here. Will caught my eye and waved towards me. I walked towards him quickly and sat down just as quick. I looked around some more. The coffee shop was filled with flower vases and tables crowded with people. I watched them, alert.

"Hey, you ok?"

"Anyone from school come here?" I ignored his question and tapped on the table that separated us. "Um no, not that I know of… why?" I looked around one more time, you know, just in case.

"Nico."

"Hm?"

"It's alright… everything will be ok"

I looked at him dead in the eye. Everything is alright now dad, your going to be ok dad. I shivered. He gave me the same look he gave me this morning… like studying me. I bit my lip hard.

"I think this is a bad idea Will" I looked down. He narrowed his eyes.

"I just… want to get to know you. If thats so hard, I can leave." he said quietly. Please don't.

"I... I want to get to know you more too Will" I cringed at my own words and looked away from him.

"Alright then" he shifted his weight. "Spill"

"Huh"

"What do you want to know?"

"Um…"

"Oh come on Neek" he laughed "Am I scary to you or something?"

"No. No not at all actually. I just never thought I would do something like this…" I paused and breathed slowly. "I just… never thought I would be hanging out with someone like you…?" he frowned. "Why do you say that?" I wanted to say nothing, but all the thoughts of him just spilled out of me.

"Will, your just so…. Untainted, if that's the word. You have what seems like a perfect life to me… perfect friends, probably perfect family… there are tons of people who would want what you want. Not that I want it, no, your just so good in a way to me. It makes me feel… well… ambitious." I blurted. He stayed silent, and I wish he wouldn't. "Say something" I whispered. "Anything" please.

"I… thanks" he breathed. I stared out the window that sat next to us. Fuck. I told myself. "I'm sorry" I didn't look at him beyond my lashes. I messed up, terribly.

"Its ok" he chuckled. "So… you think i'm perfect huh" he smirked. My face felt hot. So fucking hot I covered them with my hands. "Yeah um no." I mumbled in my hands. I heard him laugh, which made me relax more. I starting laughing too. It felt good to laugh.

For the rest of lunch period we just talked about each other. Will told me he had a little brother that was annoying, but he also said he loved him. That made me smile. He also said his mom liked to bake a lot… I didn't say anything to that.

When he asked about my parents, I couldn't help but lie. I mean yeah… Will was a great guy and everything… I just don't really trust him yet. I said they were good, even though one was dead and the other was drunk every five seconds and needed to be on watch all the fucking time. He nodded and asked me more questions, and I tried to be as honest as possible, leaving out all the bad memories.

"You play any sports?" he asked. "Nah. I was never really interested in them." he raised his eyebrows. "Like… none?" I laughed. "Nope. my dad didn't force me into it anyway. What about you?"

"I love playing soccer. Sadly I have to wait till next season to play" he frowned. He went on about his childhood growing up playing soccer. And if I was honest, I never got bored of hearing him talk about it. It fascinated me seeing Will get all interested in my life… even when I didn't think so. I was being more and more honest with him.

Will checked the time. "Shoot! We gotta go Neek!" he scrambled out of his chair. I kept pace with him as we walked down the street. "Whoa Will chill. It's only one class, besides we won't be late."

"Yeah I know, It's just people will wonder where I am…." He looked at me from the corner of his eye and sped up. I didn't say anything.

We made it in time, like I knew we would. Will breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed.

"Aren't you going to say 'I told you so'?"

"I told you so" I muttered. He didn't see my disappointment. Good. All he said was "I'll catch you later Neek" and ran down the hall to regroup with his friends. I took my time getting to my next class, shuffling my feet on the way.

Jason Grace leaned against the lockers. When he saw me pass, he stood up and blocked my way. "Excuse me" I said, practically a whisper. "What was that Scruffy?" his friends joined him.

"I said excuse me" I said a little bit louder now. He smirked. "What if I said no?"

I looked around for Will, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Answer me punk" he took a step closer. I took one backward. "Please" I pleaded. He just laughed. Everyone did. It echoed in my head.

Laughter. At me. The outcast.

I pushed my way past him, past everyone who crowded us, and to the bathroom. I slammed the stall door shut and locked it. I'm planning on staying here for awhile.

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