He's not sure why he thought things would be different after the war with Gaia. Why he thought that, hey, maybe people would treat him like the others, now that he spent all that time dying in a jar after running through Tartarus alone, survived, and destroyed a few monsters not too long afterwards.
But, no, things never really change for demigods, do they? There's another monster, another battle, and another mobbing of Percy Jackson.
"How did you do it?" They ask, crowding around him and his girlfriend, Annabeth (they're holding hands, always holding hands, hugging, kissing, touching). "What was it like, were you scared?" And they always answer enthusiastically, even though the answers are always obvious. They're still amazed, always amazed. Of course they are. They've fallen for Percy's charm, along with the rest of the world—including himself. They're in love with him, like he was (was, was, was he tells himself, although the bitterness he feels in the pit of his stomach watching Percy and Annabeth makes him consider that the "was" is more like "is") for so long.
And, still, he sits alone, per usual, no one really caring. He's not sure if they even notice him, all their attention on Percy, Percy, Percy instead of him and maybe he wants to be the center of attention for once—although he doesn't, really. He just wants someone to care, other than Hazel—and, even then, she's been too caught up in her life to be able to check in with him. She shouldn't have to, either—she's young and "innocent" and he sometimes has to remind himself she's a child of the past, too. She shouldn't be concerned with him. She should live her life while she still can.
So, for now, he's fine with listening to the questions asked to Percy and Annabeth by the curious demigods in his head.
He's so caught up in staring at the way Percy grins as the younger demigods beam up at him, calling him their hero, that he doesn't even notice Jason sitting next to him until he speaks up.
"You alright, Nico?" He asks, quiet enough so that only the two of them could hear, even though there's little chance that anyone else would be able to, anyways, over the holler of demigods. When there's no response, Jason shifts his arm to around the younger boy's shoulders, not as a come-on, but instead an attempt to comfort him. "It'll be alright, dude. It'll all turn out."
He's not exactly sure what he means by that, whether it's that he'll move on from this crush (except crush isn't the right word, more like head-over-heels love for) Percy or the fact that he's still the odd man out, the freak, a lonely, creepy, (gay) son of Hades.
Maybe, someday, it will turn out. Maybe he'll be accepted and welcomed into the masses, and he'll be able to be similar (but not the same, never the same) to the person he was before all this mess started.
He turns his head and isn't surprised to meet Jason's gaze straight away. They hold eye contact for a few moments before he nods, looking back down at his lap. Jason squeezes his shoulders in reassurance.
"In the meantime, I'll be your friend."
a/n: i just finished hoh... lmao... i'm like TRAPPED in this dang fandom again dang dang dang... um as to why jasons there? he's visiting the camps were unified idk decide which one you prefer... if youre thinkin i'm portraying percy as a Bad Guy i'm not! i hope idk let me know what you think