Nico sat in his car quietly as the car warmed up. His breath still came out in small clouds dissipating seconds after into nothing. He shivered slightly as he waited. After he felt the car engine had warmed up he turned on the heat and pulled out of his parking spot. The drive was quiet and the only sounds in the car were his breaths and the radio that played jazz softly in the background.
He came to a red light and his eyes flitted nervously around him, anxious about his arrival to his destination.
'Turn right on Briggs St in 1.3 miles'
Nico tapped the steering wheel absentmindedly as the light turned green and he continued down the wet roads. He sighed as he made a right on Briggs St and tried to remember why he thought hanging out with a few old friends today was a good idea. It would be filled with chatter and his headache stayed very persistent. He turned off the GPS when he reached a red light since he knew where he was going from there. As he made a turn on the left he turned on his blinkers, filling the car with a ticking sound.
As Nico pulled onto the pavement behind another car he could already hear the chimes of laughter and chatter coming from the house. When he opened the car door a gust of cold air made his cheeks tinge pink. Closing the door behind him and locking his car he walked towards the steps of the house. The closer he got the louder the sound got, it wasn't seriously loud just the standard volume you would have at a housewarming. He rung the bell and waited, soon after the door cracked open and a familiar pair of emerald eyes locked with his brown ones. The door opened fully and Percy smiled widely.
"Hey, Nico, glad you could make it!" He said motioning him to come inside.
Nico started taking his sneakers off and placing them by the door and taking off his coat.
"I'll take that for you," Another voice said from behind Nico.
He gave a smile to Annabeth and she enveloped him in a hug.
"There's food in the kitchen take whatever you like." She said smiling as she put Nico's coat away.
Annabeth walked into the kitchen and Nico followed with Percy trailing closely behind.
"We have chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, steak, burritos and more," She said with a sense of pride. "Help yourself."
Nico smiled and commented how amazing she was. Percy took his finger and started dipping it in the mashed potatoes when Annabeth slapped his hand sent him a glare. Percy retreated and went to the backyard to talk with some other people. Nico grabbed a plate and his eyes darted between all the options. He decided on chicken and a salad, how cliché of him he thought. He grabbed silverware for his food and headed towards the living room. There was soft music playing that filled the whole house, and it was warm and cozy. Nico sat down on the far end of one of the couches and started eating the food. Soon he felt the couch shift under the weight of someone so he looked up. Through his long shaggy raven hair, he managed to make eye contact with the person.
"Hello Will," Nico said softly, afraid speaking too loud would shatter some calming vibe that was in the house.
"Hey, Neeks." He responded his eyes remaining on Nico.
They stayed silent for a bit but soon came into a comfortable conversation. Leo came to sit on Nico's lap at one point both crushing him and earning a half-hearted punch in the arm. To Nico, it kind of felt like old times. At some point, he had stopped listening to the conversation around him and just spaced out. The conversation moved outside but Nico had already had enough of the cold outside air. When someone placed a hand on his shoulder he huffed in annoyance but turned to look at the owner of a hand.
"No." He said looking at Piper.
"Yes, you are coming outside with us." Nico looked at her like she was crazy.
"Have fun freezing to death but you're not taking me with you," Nico said and Piper rolled her eyes.
Piper yanked Nico up and he sighed in defeat.
"Since when did you get so strong?" He asked quizzically.
She shrugged and started dragging him into the backyard, as she slightly struggled to open the backdoor he tried to make a getaway. It failed but to him, it was worth a try. The moment he opened the door the cold air hit and Nico wondered why Piper wanted him to go outside. He took a shallow breath and a small cloud of air formed. His cheeks slightly tingling from the cold air. Piper shut the door so no more cold air got into the house and Nico just surveyed the area.
Jason was talking to Percy, both of them seemingly deep in conversation. Percy's eyes darted place to place but everyone knew he had attention deficit disorder so no one ever commented on it. Will had a small little girl with red hair perched above his waist while talking to Cecil. Annabeth and Reyna were creating small talk. He walked over to one of the chairs in the back and sat down. He was about to maybe go to sleep when a red-headed figure started bounding over towards him.
"Nico!" Kayla squealed as she tackled him in a hug.
He hugged Kayla back and she sat on his lap and began asking him questions.
"Do you want to see my coloring book?" She asked excitedly.
Nico nodded in response and she ran off and returned with an animal coloring book. She flipped through a few pages and landed on one looking proud of herself.
"This one," She said pointing to a kangaroo, the brown crayons straying outside of the lines. "This one is my favorite." She said smiling.
"I love it," Nico said smiling back at her. "Did you do this one too?" He asked pointing to a colorful bird.
"Yep!" Kayla said beaming.
Will walked over to them and picked her up and she whined.
"Put me down" Kayla demanded. "I want to stay with Nico!" She wailed.
Will laughed "How about you play with the other kids?" He offered.
Kayla glared at him. "Their no fun." She mumbled.
"Oh come on, I'm sure Alice wouldn't mind coloring with you." He said pointing towards Percy and Annabeth's daughter.
She nodded and Will set her down.
"You know..." He began with a chuckle. "I think she has a crush on you." He said laughing at Nico's expression.
Nico looked genuinely confused.
"She's like 8." He stated.
"As you know, that little girl crushes or something." He said and Nico shook his head.
"I don't know why she would like me," Nico commented and Will tilted his head.
Will sat down next to Nico in another chair and started filling Nico in on how Naomi was doing and Kayla refusing to go to school one day because he was sick. In turn, Nico told him about certain shows or movies he had taken a liking to and his art. For both of them, it was easy talking to each other and it felt like the old days. Will and Nico were the closest out of the group and that may have been because although Nico's been friends with the others longer they didn't know how to deal with his ups and downs.
After an hour of socializing Nico decided it was time to go. He said goodbye to everyone, aware he wasn't going to be seeing most of them very soon. He put his sneakers on and pulled his coat over his shoulders. He was ready to leave when Kayla tackled him and hugged him. After a while, Kayla still hadn't let go and his shirt was feeling wet.
"Kayla?" He asked.
She still didn't move from where she was, Will walked towards them and stood in the doorway. Kayla looked up at Nico and he realized she was crying. Nico looked at Kayla and played with her hair.
"Awe, don't cry." He said, "I'll come to visit you, okay?" He said even though it may have not been true.
Kayla nodded and slowly detached herself from him and sadly walked towards Will. Nico waved goodbye and left. As he walked to his car he shuddered from the cool air. He opened his car door and sat in the driver's seat. He started the car and let it warm up for a bit before backing out. He didn't turn on the GPS because he figured he knew his way back.
It took him 20 minutes to arrive, he pulled into the parking lot. He locked his car and walked into the lobby and up the stairs to his apartment. He fiddled with his keys for a moment before he walked inside. He took off his shoes and coat and retreated to his room. He turned on the light and took off his outside clothes and changed into his pajamas. He shuffled out into the living room and turned on the TV going to Netflix. He started picking up from episode 5 in The Magicians and laid on his couch. He laid in various positions throughout the episode. Upside down, cross-legged, curled into a small ball or spread out. He huffed as the episode came to an end, he would have binge-watched until his eyes threatened to close but he already used enough energy socializing.
Nico rolled off of the couch with a thud and walked into his room flopping onto his bed. He pulled out a copy of 'Carry On' by Rainbow Rowell and turned on his bedside light. He was now reading books other than the 'classics' and he had a mild appreciation for this one in particular.
After reading a few chapters he set it aside and turned off the lights. It was about 8:10 pm but he was feeling tired so he let himself succumb to the softness of his pillows.