Twinkle twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. Percy stared up at the sky from the safety of his new bedroom's window, felt a rush of excitement at the large house and its many rooms. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. He stared out at the lights of the city, at the lights of the city that never slept. Twinkle twinkle, little star. How I wonder what you are. The air blasted against his face as he felt that sick sense of relief, that through a death he came to be where he was.
The countdown to the worst day in Percy's life started on October 21. Ever since his father had died, he and his mother had been living on a prayer when it came to finances. A year after his father's death, Percy's uncle also died, leaving behind everything he had owned to his two children. They needed someone, Percy and Sally needed them. It was only fitting that they moved to this large home the two children lived in.
And it was certainly fitting. Percy and Nico had been friends since birth, despite the common fights they had. Hazel kept close to Sally and never left her side, insisting on helping her with every household chore. It was good, life was good, everything was okay.
Until the countdown started, until Percy padded through the hallway early that morning to hear someone throwing up behind the closed bathroom door.
"Hey, are you okay?" Percy knocked on the door, soft enough to not wake anyone else. "Can I come in?" The wooden door opened an inch from his touch and when he didn't get an answer, swung open from his push to reveal Nico sitting in front of the open toilet, his hair in his face and his arms wrapped around his stomach.
"Nico!" Percy's eyes widened when he saw the state his cousin was in, having expected it to have been Hazel or even his mother. "Are...are you okay?"
"Yeah, just a stomach bug." Nico looked up at Percy with a grim yet determined expression. "It's just a stomach bug. Don't worry about it."
"Are you sure...?" Percy took another step into the room. "At least let me help you back into bed. It isn't going to go away if you don't get rest."
Nico seemed to wipe his mouth in slow motion before he moved a hand to the toilet seat, using it to haul himself to his feet. A slight stumble, a mutter and curse, a slight gasp of pain before he was steady enough to look at Percy again. "I'm fine. I have to get ready for school."
"Nico, you should stay home..." Percy flushed the toilet before wetting a small rag. "Put this on your head and lay down. You can stay home for a day."
"And get behind on my work? No, thank you." Nico took the rag and laid it over the top of his head as he exited the bathroom. "It's just a stomach bug, Percy. You worry too much."
Percy watched him walk out of the bathroom before spraying air freshener around the toilet, making sure nobody would notice the morning's slight difficulty. He knew Nico, he knew him well, and nothing was going to stop the younger boy from hitting the goal his mother had always wanted for him. Since her death when he was ten, Nico spent his life working to become valedictorian of his class. And Percy knew a simple stomach bug wasn't going to stop him, so he cleaned up and went on his way to school.
Besides, Nico knew his limits.
...Right?
The next morning Percy experienced the same scene. Nico hanging over the toilet, holding his stomach, throwing up as if his very stomach wanted to come out of him. It didn't look normal, not in the least, and there was a little too much blood mixed with his vomit. But Percy took him to school anyways. They hid it from his mom, hid it from Hazel, hid it well. It was something they were a little too good at.
It was easy to hide it at school. Nico always kept away from people, looked down at the idea of friends. What would they do but distract him from his mother's dream? So he kept to himself, kept in the back, ran to the bathroom when he needed to. It was easy.
But the pains in his stomach kept getting worse, and the lights he saw didn't seem normal.
"Nico, you need to eat." Percy moved Nico's lunch closer to his resting head. "Sit up and eat already. It's the only way you're going to get better."
"You can't rush getting over a stomach bug," Nico grumbled into the table. "Leave me alone, I don't feel good. If I have time to eat I have time to study."
Percy shook his head, ate his own food in silence. Maybe he should have sat with his friends, after all. They watched him from their table, beckoned him back to their cozy little corner, beckoned him away from Nico's slumped form.
"Nico, are you sure you're okay?" Percy asked. "If you promise you are I'm gonna go visit Annabeth for a second."
"I'm fine, Percy." Nico chuckled softly. "Go to your girlfriend. I don't even have to look at you to know you're basically drooling over her."
Percy rolled his eyes but relaxed at the normal tone of Nico's voice. It was just a stomach bug, it wasn't like he was dying. With that thought in mind, Percy took his lunch and went to sit between Annabeth and Jason, leaving Nico alone to scowl at the table. Scowl in pain, scowl at the many tests he had that day.
But it was just a stomach bug, and the lights had gotten dimmer.