A/N: alright! at long last i give you the introduction chapter to my college au fanfic! huzzah! there is no percico in this chapter (so i won't tag it) but there will be eventually, this is just the intro. i will hopefully get the next chapter out this week, but until then enjoy!
Nico di Angelo wasn't exactly what you would call "studious". But couple natural intelligence with an eidetic memory and he had never had to be; especially not in the Los Angeles public school system. Nico wasn't a big fan of school, but school wasn't to be confused with learning. He loved to learn new things and get new information, but he hated the score-dependency of school. Also the social aspects; Nico had never been good at that part. The moment he'd walked into Hollywood High freshman year with shaggy black hair, dark bags under dark eyes, pale skin, and dark clothes, he was labeled the "creepy goth kid" and was avoided at all costs. After four years, the death of his mother and sister no longer garnered any sympathy, only further avoidance. He had ended up skipping lunch most of the 720 days he'd spent in high school because being hungry for a few more hours was better than the humiliation of eating alone. Still, Nico had survived and come out of high school a take-no-shit person with a solid 3.8 GPA and a 1980 on the SAT without having to put forth too much effort.
Yet surviving high school was not enough for Hades di Angelo, Nico's father. Nico had no interest in following Hades' footsteps to UCLA, nonetheless on to being a merciless corporate executive. He had been dragging his feet about college since the subject had been broached his junior year of high school, but once he started his senior year Hades pulled out all the stops. "If you don't pick a college by graduation," he had said, "I'll pick one for you."
True to his word, Hades levelled Nico with an unnerving stare the day of his graduation. "Nicolas, I need your decision immediately."
"Just give me until––"
"No. Right now. Tell me where you will be attending or I will tell you." Nico didn't fear his father but he feared where the stoic man would have him go.
"New York," he blurted out, "I want to go to NYU." He hadn't honestly thought all that much about it, but he knew he wanted to get the hell out of southern California. So he went with the first place that came to mind that was on the opposite side of the country.
Hades raised a black eyebrow. "New York?" he said, as if Nico had just suggested that they slaughter a dozen pigs on Rodeo Drive in broad daylight. He might as well have said that, considering Hades was a born-and-bred southern Californian. The only thing that could have been worse than his only son going to New York, would be if Nico had willingly chosen a school in northern California. That would be grounds for abandonment.
"Yes," Nico finally answered. His father let out a long-suffering sigh and nodded.
"Very well, then. I take it you've already decided on a major?"
"Not exactly…" Nico trailed off but realized quickly that "no" was not the answer Hades was looking for, "I was thinking history…?" This was met with another sigh.
"I suppose that will do. My assistant Alecto will help you register tomorrow," the older man made his way to the front door. Nico briefly questioned if he was supposed to apply before registering, but Hades was very capable of pulling strings to get his way and it was better not to question it. "Now, I believe we have a ceremony to attend."