Nico-

High school. A living hell for me. Too many people, too many faces, too many rooms. It's like a

labyrinth of chatting cheerleaders or shouting jocks. Me? Well I'm a freshman. Nicholas Di Angelo but I go by Nico. I was sitting in class, barely listening to Mrs. Pohlman. Then, the shrill noise of the bell travels through the school and,once again, survival begins. I follow the crowd to the front doors of the school but I was tripped. Taller seniors start laughing and and the stupid one said, "Oh no little gay Nico fell. Get your thoughts straight boy." they laughed and laughed as I collect all of my books off of the ground.

A hand grabs my History text book and I look up, seeing another freshman, my height. He

smiled and took some of the books out of my hands, "Here. I'll help." He said, his blue-green eyes flickering with a smile. His hair was an ebony color, shaggy and matted over his eyes. He was wearing an orange shirt from some camp, jeans, and Vans. If you look him over, he's not that bad looking. "I-I'm Nico." I said, not meaning to stutter. Fuck.

We walked out of the front doors, "I'm Percy." He said, not losing the smile, "Those guys were

pretty mean so it would make sense why you were all shrunken down before you fell. High school's brutal."

I thought for a minute. He was watching me before I fell. He was watching me. I hadn't realized

that I said it out loud until he laughed and patted me on the back, "You were the only freshman to be standing in the senior's crowd. I usually let them pass first." Percy said, ruffling my hair, "It's all good though because without mistakes, we don't learn."

My breath hitched when he rustled my hair and I glanced at him, "You sound like Mrs.

Pohlman." I said, laughing a bit.

Percy laughed too and smiled, "You know, Nico? You're alright." He said, stopping at his car.

He opened the driver's side door and gestured across the parking lot, "Got a ride? I don't want to keep you."

I shook my head, hair sweeping against my grey eyes, "No you're fine. I walk home...I don't

want to keep you though so...T-thank you, Percy..." I managed as my voice faded off. I grabbed the textbooks on the driver's seat and turned around, only to feel his hand on my sweatshirt. He turned me around and put his hand in front of me, like a barrier, "No. It's cold and I have a car. Get in." Percy grabbed my textbooks, tossed them into the back seat, and got into the driver's seat.

I hesitated but walked around the car, climbing inside It wasn't that bad. A Nissan with

black leather seats, GPS, radio, seat warmers. It was more than okay and I wanted one.

The ride was silent for the first 5 or 10 minutes until Percy broke it, "So Nico. Where are you

from? I haven't really seen you and I knowjust about everyone in this town."

I was looking out the window and looked over at him when he spoke, "I'm from Telford..." I

said quietly, "We moved here last week."

Percy looked at me inquisitively, "Telford?"

I smiled, "England." I said, running my fingers through my hair.

He nodded but kept his eyes on the road, "I knew you had an accent but I couldn't tell where."

Percy pressed the break and pulled over, looking at me, "Not trying to be like...nosy but I was wondering," he said, scratching the back of his head, "Um...They called you gay. I-is that true? Like that's totally fine if it's true I was just..." He shook his head, "Nevermind. I'm bad at getting to know people."

I laughed, "Yeah. It's true...How 'bout you?" I said, turning to sit cross-legged facing him.

He looked at me for a moment, "Am I gay?" He asked. After I nodded, Percy just shrugged, "Bi-sexual but hey guys are better right now so..."

I smiled and looked out the windshield, tapping my hands to match the beat on the quiet radio,

"How long have you lived here?" I said, not moving my head.

Percy's answer was quick, "My whole life. Born and raised."

I nodded slowly, "Cool..." I pulled my sleeves over my wrists, careful not to show the scars, and

pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Hey...um...since you helped me and all...w-would it be okay if I could like...pay you back? Get you a coffee or something?" I managed. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Percy hesitated and then smiled, "That'd be nice. You don't have to though. I was just trying to

help out a newcomer..."

I replied quickly, too quickly, "No! I-I mean...uh It's fine. Really. I owe you."

He smiled, "Thanks, Nico. How about I'll give you a ride tomorrow and we'll go get coffee after

school?"

I nodded and he put the car in drive. The rest of the ride was silent except for the awkward

exchange of goodbyes. I opened the front door and looked back. Percy winked at me from the car and I smiled, walking inside. I sat down on the sofa and put my head in my hands. Did I just make an accidental date? Maybe it wasn't accidental. He said that'd be nice so...Maybe I didn't screw up too bad. Ugh fuck I'm so bad at this. I thought to myself.

My dad swaggered down the stairs with a bottle of vodka in his hands. I hurried over to him,

took the vodka, and led him to the couch. Slowly, I backed away and poured the alcohol out of the window. "Nico. N-Nico. Your mum...fuck..." was all that Nico could decipher from the moans and mumbles. "Dad just...rest. Drink this." I said, handing him a glass of water.

He's had alcohol problems since my mum left. She was arrested for the murder of two of her co

workers. I haven't talked to her since she left. When she did leave, my dad got addicted. I cut and hoped everything would stop but it didn't. I was stuck and it wasn't getting better. My dad was drunk constantly and I was getting bullied in school. I just wanted to fit in somewhere but Percy can't know any of this. He'll think that I'm a mess and he'll leave for sure. I'll be back to tripping after school and getting bad grades. I'll be getting new scars and bloodier razors. I'll be stuck with an irresponsible Cockney father who can't even make a sandwich without alcohol. God. Why me? Why?

Percy-

Friday. I grabbed my things and hopped into the car, passing Nico's house on the way and

picking him up. That was improvised on my part but he accepted so it felt like an accomplishment. That day was pretty rough. I walked with Nico throughout the day and he received more than a few poundings from the other kids. I continued to stand up for him and near the end of the day, he was getting hit pretty hard by the other kids when I came back from the classroom. I jumped into the fight, dragged him out, and noticed small bumps on his wrists. No. He doesn't seem like the type to cut. No... That thought nagged my brain and after school, we drove to the local cafe.

His sleeves were, once again, pulled down and his eye was a little swollen. I wrapped my

hands around my mocha and frowned, "Nico? Man, I'm sorry. I should've been there so they didn't even start to hurt you." I said, not sure where I was headed with that statement. "I'm...I'm sorry."

Nico didn't say anything for a while but when he did, It wasn't what I'd expected, "I know you

saw, Percy." He stared blankly into his coffee mug, " Don't act like you don't know."

I looked at him and felt sad, "I just...I wasn't expecting...I don't know."

He shook his head, "The whole, 'You don't look like the one to cut' has happened before. Mostly

from seniors hoping to break me down and relish in my sadness." His eyes looked at me but his head didn't move, "Ask away. It's not like I have stuff to hide anymore."

I just shook my head, "Nico. I-I just...Why? Why would you cut?" I made sure to keep my

voice down, remembering that we were still in a public area.

He raised his head and picked up his coffee, "Pull over on the side of the road like yesterday so

nobody can hear. Then I'll explain." He stood up, hugging his long torso with his right arm while sipping coffee with his left.

I did what he said when we got into the car and it was starting to get dark. I turned on the front

lights and looked at him under the artificial glow, watching it reflect in his eyes as he pushed his bangs out of the way.

Nico looked at me and sighed, "My mum's in jail and my dad's an alcoholic. I'm getting bullied

and, to be completely honest, You're the first to notice me. In a positive way." He finished.

I looked at him, seeing the anger, hatred, helplessness behind his sad, sad eyes. "Nico...I-I'm so

sorry. I didn't-I mean...I'll drop it."

Nico shook his head, "Nah. It was good to get it off of my shoulders. To tell someone I can

trust."

I smiled, "Thanks I guess..." and with that, I hit the gas and drove slowly this time. After a

while I had a bit of a crazy idea, "Hey, Nico...If you don't want to like...be around him you can always come over to my house. It's no 3 story Mecca but it's alcoholic-free..." I said, watching the road.

Nico looked at me and smiled. A genuine smile, "Thanks. So much." He said. The whole rest of

the ride, he would occasionally mutter, "Oh god thank you." or "Finally." which made me a bit suspicious but, hey. Let life happen.

We got to my house and I helped him with his books. I lived in a 2-story suburban home with

pathetic skinny trees that had fire-red leaves and a flimsy orchid in the hall inside. After we settled, we both sat on the sofa and watched TV. He would sharply inhale when there was a plot twist, and he would close his eyes when those sad animal commercials came on. He was a bit of a softy but it was kind of cute. The way he covered his hands with his sweater and sat cross-legged rather than sitting there like you would a chair. The next thing I knew, my hand was holding his. He hadn't said anything so it probably didn't bug him.

When the movie we were watching ended, Nico looked at me and smiled, not letting go of my

hand. He leaned back, "Thank you but you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

I smiled back, "I'm getting an idea." I said. With that, I leaned forward and our lips locked. His

tongue ran across my teeth as we explored each other's mouths. His hands were on my shoulder blades and mine were on his jaw, mapping out each feature and exploring it over and over again. He was brilliant. Our eyes were closed and we didn't care about anything. It was like all of these new problems vanished and all I could see was Nico. It was amazing. He pulled back and kissed up my jawline, nibbling on my ear. I sucked in a sharp breath as he did so and his lips found their way down my neck. I wasn't very covered, just wearing a tank top. He favored the juncture between my neck and shoulder that made my shudder visible. I could feel his smile on my skin as he bit down softly, earning a small gasp that I was embarrassed of afterwords. Damn this kid's a pro. I thought to myself as my eyes stayed closed and his mouth explored my torso. His hands were under my shirt, tracing my abs and my shoulder blades, teasing. "Damn you're good." I managed through my teeth. Nico chuckled but stayed silent, taking my shirt off. Nico smiled and kissed in a line down my torso, teeth grazing every spot he knew would make my breath catch. I brought his head back up and slammed my mouth into his. My tongue immediately invaded his as it traced every nook and cranny. It ran across his chapped lips and played tag with his own burning tongue. We pulled away, breathing heavily, and I looked at him, "Guest room is next to mine..." I said, still attempting to catch my breath.

Nico smiled and kissed me one more time, "I'll find it." He stood up, grabbed his things, and

headed up the stairs. His hair was scattered and his sweater was falling off of his shoulder.

Under my breath, I breathed, "Love you." and watched him disappear around the corner of the

stairs. God. What did I get myself into?