Chapter 1: How to Save a Life

The son of death lied in bed, over two hundred pills in hand, and trails of tears streaming down his pale face. Nico curled himself up into a little ball, gently rocking himself back and forth.

What am I going to do now? There's no point… I see no point in dealing with any of this. I don't want to feel this way anymore.

His chocolate brown eyes looked down at the reassuring pills he was clutching is his left hand. One hundred and four tablets of oxcarbazepine, ninety one tablets of hydroxyzine, and nine tablets of one thousand mg Tylenol. If he swallowed them down with water right now, he wouldn't have to deal with his issues anymore…

Nico threw the handful of pills against his bed and stormed over towards his dresser. He was met with the sight of a broken looking boy with a shattered smile, bloodshot red eyes, disheveled raven hair, and a lost look plastered across his face.

The image of his current self almost made him cry. Where had things gone wrong? When did he start slipping? When did life become so hard?

The broken teenager shuffled back to his bed and half heartedly picked up his all black iPhone. He hesitantly scrolled through his contacts list and text messaged the only person he thought would understand.

Nico cringed. Here goes nothing. Come on, Reyna. Try to save my life.

Nico: I don't feel so good 8:59

Reyna: What's wrong? :c 8:59

Nico: I don't know :( I feel really sick 9:00

The Italian teenager was scrawled out on his back, eagerly waiting for Reyna to reply. When she didn't answer within five minutes, he popped two tablets of hydroxyzine into his mouth. They were his prescribed anti-anxiety meds, afterall.

He actually felt a twinge of hope when the Puerto Rican girl texted him back.

Reyna: Aww I'm sorry baby, is it anxiety? 9:10

Nico: No… I hate to say it, but I feel suicidal 9:11

Reyna: Oh no… I understand sweetie. I need you to stay alive though Neeks, this world needs you. Your intelligence, your beauty, you're so genuine and amazing in your own unique way. You are going to meet so many people in this lifetime, and touch and each and every one of their souls as you did mine. We all need you to stay alive for yourself. That soul of yours wants to travel and bloom, let it daring. 9:14

Nico: I don't know what to do anymore /: 9:17

When another five minutes passed by with no response, Nico sulked down the stairs and into his home's massive kitchen.

His father, Hades di Angelo, was cooking dinner for the three of them. Him, Nico, and his younger half sister, Hazel Levesque, who was currently at her boyfriend Frank's house.

"Hey, Nico," Hades called, not bothering to turn away from the chicken he was seasoning.

"Hey, dad," Nico replied quietly.

This time the man whipped his head away from the food at the sound of his son's upset voice.

"What's wrong?" Hades asked. "Have you been crying?"

Nico rapidly shook his head no and crossed his skinny arms.

"No, I just finished washing my face, and I got some Proactive in my eyes."

Liar.

"Okay, good," his father responded. "Is there anything specific that you needed?"

Nico climbed onto his tiptoes and quickly fell back down.

Great, my own dad doesn't even want to talk to me.

Nico clung to the cupboard door and swung himself back and forth.

"Nothing in particular," he noted.

His father said nothing. Hades continued cooking the family's dinner as Nico watched in silence.

"Is something bothering you?" Hades finally asked.

The man knew his son had a long history of battling depression. When Nico was only twelve years old, he overdosed on painkillers for the first time. Then again when he was fourteen, and once more when he was fifteen. Now, at sixteen years old, Hades did not want the dark haired boy to take another attempt at his life.

"I feel really sad," Nico admitted. Maybe he did want to be saved.

Hades sighed. His obsidian eyes scanned the entire kitchen.

"I am too," he frowned. "I feel alone all day. Whenever I come home, I always feel alone."

A faint smile tugged at Nico's lips.

"Maybe we can feel alone together," he whispered beneath his breath.

"What?" Hades asked.

"Nothing," Nico remarked.

Nothing at all. Don't mind me.

"Why are you feeling this way?" Hades pried.

Nico shrugged his slim shoulders. "I don't know."

"Are you-Are you hungry?" the Italian man asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"No," Nico replied. "I don't feel like eating."

"You're so skinny, Nico. I'd feel better if you ate something."

"I'm trying to lose a little bit of weight," Nico confessed. "I'm a little fat."

This time Hades literally dropped his cooking utensils and glared at his only son.

"You're already skinny," he fumed. "If you get any thinner I'll be worried."

The young Italian teen scowled.

"So I'm so fat you can't be worried about how thin I am right now?" Nico spat.

Hades dramatically waved his hands in the air and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's not what I meant and you know I'm serious!" he remarked.

Nico hung his head low, refusing to meet his father's piercing gaze.

"So you really think I'm skinny?" Nico questioned.

"Too skinny, yes," Hades agreed.

The pale boy couldn't help the sick smile that stretched across his face. In some twisted way, those three words made him feel a lot better.

"Okay," he said simply.

At that very moment the family dog, Cerberus, bounded into the kitchen and happily trotted around his two owners.

"I love that dumb dog," Hades smiled. "He's a lot better than most humans I interact with."

A dim thought flashed across Nico's mind.

"What are we going to do when Cerberus dies?" he asked grimly.

Hades petted the beautiful golden colly and played with his floppy ears.

"We'll bury him, of course. Right in the backyard, so he'll always be able to protect the house."

The obsidian eyed man looked at his son and frowned.

"You don't think he's going to die anytime soon, do you?"

"No," Nico stated. "I was just curious. I hope he lives for a long time."

"He sure will!" Hades announced proudly.

"I wonder if I'll die young," Nico asked aloud. "I'll probably die before I'm thirty."

Hades grimaced and looked up at his son. He looked at him, actually looked at him, and saw for the first time just how broken he actually was.

"If you're going to die before you're thirty, how long do I have left?"

"You'll live to ninety three, like your own father," Nico mused.

"Then so will you," Hades countered.

The dark haired boy sighed. "No, I won't. My half of the family dies young. Mom, Bianca… I'll probably die when I turn twenty two. Maybe I'll get in a horrible car crash, or brutally murdered."

Hades glared at his son and scrunched up his nose.

"Why are you saying such morbid things?"

Nico blinked his chocolate brown eyes.

"I don't know. It's just all coming out."

Hades extended his arm and placed a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Listen, Nico," Hades started. "I love you and I care about you more than anything."

Nico raised a perfectly arched dark eyebrow and scoffed.

"Why do you care about me?" he asked in all seriousness.

This time it was Hades' turn to scoff.

"Because you're my son and I love you! You're my number one, Nico, and all the other people on this planet don't matter to me! You and your sister are the only people I care about!"

A genuine smile slowly crept onto Nico's blood red lips.

"I love you too, dad."

Nico and his father exchanged a few more words before the Italian teenager returned to his bedroom. He glanced down at his phone and was met with a blank screen. Reyna still hadn't texted him back yet.

Sitting there, in absolute silence, was enough to push Nico over the edge. All of his dark thoughts returned. He suddenly lost the ability to breath. Nico reached into his Death Note backpack and pulled out a notebook and a pencil.

Everything felt like too much. His previous failures and shames were attacking his mind. He was slowly losing grip with his touch on reality.

To anyone who bothers to read this, I have a few choice words to say. Either shut up and listen or throw this damn note out, I honestly don't care either way.

First of all, thanks to the stuck up bitch in elementary school (who, surprise surprise, got herself knocked up at sixteen), who tormented me for my weight and literally threw random shit at me. Thank you so much for helping me develop an eating disorder that lasted all throughout middle and high school! I've lost fifty four pounds and all of my self confidence in the process! I'm weak as hell and can barely get myself out of bed in the morning, but at least I'm finally pretty!

This next thank you goes out to a very special boy from my past, the guy who was my first ever kiss! Aww, how cute! Honey, thank you so much for pecking me on the lips and telling me how gorgeous you thought I was (even though I still hadn't lost all that weight yet). Thank you for making me, the little freshman boy, feel special at his brand new high school! And a big thank you for strutting into school the next day, bragging about how you "fucked," me the other night, and how I practically threw myself into your big, strong arms. Thanks for ruining my reputation and branding me as an easy slut. Really, it means more to me than you'll ever know.

This next thanks goes out to a girl I once knew in middle school. Where do I start? Thank you for turning all of my friends against me one month after my mother died. Thanks for making me eat lunch alone in the bathroom. Thank you for making fun of the clothes I wore, the color of my hair, and the way I spoke. You sure were a true friend!

This last thank you is dedicated to the entire Goode High School water polo team! Thanks a lot, you guys! Thanks for making me change in the men's bathroom when you found out I was gay, not inviting me to team events or parties, and even starting a petition to get me kicked off the team! I've never had one group of people care so much about me before. Friends forever, right?

Nico slammed his notebook shut and tossed it across the room. He stuffed a handful of pills into his mouth and swallowed. He grabbed another handful and repeated the process until all the pills were gone. He flopped down onto his bed for the last time, closed his dark chocolate eyes, and fell into an endless sleep.

. . . . . .

Reyna: What are you confused about? 10:36

The End!

I'm sorry if that was a little depressing /: I'm in a really dark place right now, and I needed somewhere to let all of my emotions out.

The four stories Nico told are all real experiences from my own life. The conversation he had with Hades is basically a word for word conversation I had with my own father about an hour ago.

The text messages sent between him and Reyna? Yeah, those texts were taken directly from a text message conversation I had with my best friend tonight.

Nico's medications are my actual prescriptions. The whole suicidal episode he threw? Yeah, everything in this fanfiction just happened in my real life. Just thought I'd let you guys know.

Please, don't leave any hate. I needed to let all of my stress and emotions out and writing about it was the only way to make myself feel better.

If you guys want me to make more chapters for this story, just let me know (: Until then, I'm going to classify it as a one shot.

~The OG Judicorn