They landed in Central Park in the dead of night which was the best chance they would have where no one would see them. Jason all the while was completely dumbfounded by the city itself while Nico just huffed in annoyance. Annabeth gave them the information they would need to find this Chiron person. He would know what they were as soon as they arrived so there was no worry about having to lie as to their true bur pose in being there. Annabeth even said he had already enrolled them in the same school as Percy.
She said that Nico would be in the same grade as Percy, which was Junior year, and Jason would be placed one grade higher. Hopefully they could finish with Percy and bring him back before anything rather permanent was set down. They were on a time table and the less attention they drew to themselves the better. The last thing they wanted was staring down demons having to fight their way out. Nico would make it out just fine if needed but he knew he couldn't protect Jason and Percy at the same time. Granted they were both skilled warriors he was the only one who could make a quick getaway.
Once in the park Nico sealed his wings away as did Jason and all eh could do was watch as Jason walk in awe. He decided to let it slide as they were in the middle of a huge park but once they reached the city they needed to look inconspicuous. Once they reached the edge of the park Nico pulled Jason aside.
"Ok, you need to stop." Nico said.
"Stop what?" Jason said confused.
"All the staring and wide mouthed awe. It won't look right on someone who is supposedly from here."
"Well sorry for being overwhelmed. I haven't been down here in almost four hundred years so sue me." Jason retorted.
Nico sighed and looked down feeling slightly guilty. He forgot that most angels hardly ever went to Earth because of Luke. He had basically sealed the place off from those up above and made it his demon playground. Every now and then and angel would get out like Will of Thalia but not often. Nico had no trouble considering he was death and could actually KILL Luke without effort. He supposed that's why no one really messed with him as he could kill them and there was nothing they could do to stop him.
"Alright but you need to make sure you clear that face off once at school." Nico said.
"Alright fine." Jason said with a smirk.
They walked out of the park into the busy city with cars and people all around. Even though it was the middle of the night the city was never truly asleep. How could it? Eight million in just the center and millions more in the surrounding area, it was just too many people. They walked down well lit streets looking for the small apartment they would soon call home for the next few months. It seemed like trying to find a needle in a haystack but luckily Annabeth was very thorough in her description. In about a half an hour of walking they found the building and hit the button with the apartment number.
There was a pause before a voice spoke, "Yes?"
"Um, is this Chiron?" Nico asked.
"Yes." the man said quickly.
"My name is Nico and I'm here with Jason. We were told we would be staying with you."
There was a brief silence and Nico slightly panicked that this wasn't the guy they were looking for but the man quickly spoke up again.
"Yes, come on in." he said cheerfully.
The door unlocked and Jason opened it and looked and Nico questioningly. Nico simply shrugged and they both entered the building. He was on the fifth floor and was waiting for them at the steps and quickly brought them inside. It was a nice apartment with a small kitchen and a fully furnished living space and Nico could see the two bedrooms down the hall. Chiron shut the door and took our bags back to the room we would share for the time being. It would be rather cramped living but it was much better than anything Nico was used to. All Jason was doing was complaining about this and that until Nico elbowed him and glared at him.
Chiron sat down on the small chair and the two boys sat on the couch. Chiron rubbed his hands together and sighed deeply and for a second you could see years add onto his face and it made you wonder how old he actually was. He looked up and the years seemed to melt away when he smiled at the two of them.
"So, you'll start school tomorrow and I contacted the secretary letting her know that you two would be there tomorrow. I hope that you'll warm up to my livings, it isn't much but it's difficult to live off of a teacher's salary." Chiron said.
"It's honestly better than some places I've stayed. So where is this school exactly?" Nico asked.
"It's just down the road, I work there so we can walk down in the morning and I can give you a quick tour. The building is pretty straight forward but some of the classes that you, Nico, are in are a little hard to find."
"That's alright, I'm used to waking up early, its Nico here I worry about. It's a wonder he even get's up before noon." Jason joked.
"Thanks, but I am more than capable of getting up early if need be." Nico snapped.
Jason simply laughed and Chiron smiled, he quickly bade us a goodnight and we both went back to the room. There were two beds made on each side of the room, how they fit in here was beyond Nico. They had enough space between the two of them that they could survive and not be in each others hair too much. Nico quickly changed and hopped into bed relishing any kind of sleep he could get at any time. Jason didn't say anything and simply climbed in bed and turned out the light. Nico laid there and stared at the ceiling of what tomorrow would hold.
—
Percy woke to the sound of his alarm and he groaned at yet another night of bliss gone for good. He slowly sat up and turned off the annoying sound. He jumped in the shower and let the warm water wake him up for the day, he didn't know why but whenever he did this he was always wide awake by the time he got out. He quietly went to the kitchen and made himself a small bowl of cereal and then quickly grabbed his backpack and went out the door. He knew his mother had already left by then and he hoped he could get to see her tonight before he went to sleep.
She worked two different jobs to keep up with me and her dream of writing a novel so Percy rarely saw her during the day. His school was close and he simply walked there rather than take a bus and since they only owned one car, his mother always got it. Percy was willing to do that for his mother despite her many protests. Life had never been easy for them but they made it work and Percy was grateful for it. If it meant that his mother could be happy then he was fine with it.
His school came into view and people were walking into the school in herds. Percy had a few friends and hundreds of admirers and it generally annoyed him. He barely went a day without some girl coming up to him and throwing themselves, confessing how they loved him and wanted nothing more than for him to take them out on a date. It was getting old and very tiring, almost so much that he would start becoming hostile to the girls. He was always kind and politely denied but it never deterred them for long.
He walked through the main doors and was simply on autopilot so early in the morning that he completely ignored the person he ran into.
"Sorry, didn't see you there." Percy said.
"It's fine." the boy said.
Percy offered a hand and helped him up. The boy was almost a head shorter than him with black hair, and charcoal eyes. His skin was pale with an olive hue which made him look like hie was sick. He was wearing a solid black shirt with slightly torn, black pants which made it seem like this kid liked black.
"You new here?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, first day actually. I have a friend who came with me but I lost track of him."
"I can show you around if you want. At least until you find him."
"Thats fine." he said quietly.
They walked quietly and Percy found it extremely uncomfortable, it seemed as if this guy wanted to say something but didn't. Percy spotted one of his friends, Silena, with her boyfriend Charles. I called him Beckendorf which was his last name and he didn't care what people called him.
"So, where are you from?" Percy asked, desperate to break the silence.
"Um, I was originally born in Italy but I left when I was young. I-I have been on the move e-ever since." he stuttered.
"Cool, so can you speak Italian?"
"I can speak practically any language you could throw at me."
"Alright, say something in Italian."
"Odio la scuola." he said softly.
"What was that?"
"I hate school." he looked away.
Something was definitely up with him. He wouldn't make eye contact he spoke in short sentences and was always very quiet. Percy assumed that it was simply because of the the new school and usually people were intimidated on their first day, but he could at least show he was trying. Percy sighed and walked over to his friends without realizing that this kid was going to follow him.
"Hey Silena, Beckendorf." I said quickly.
"Percy, where have you been? We've been waiting for nearly ten minutes." Silena said.
"Sorry, met someone new today."
"Oh really would it happen to be the cute, black haired one hiding behind you?" she teased.
Percy turned and sure enough standing behind him was Nico. He was slouched over and had his eyes to the floor trying not to be noticed and that made Percy chuckle. He moved and moved the kid forward with his hand, noticing that the kid tensed up at his touch.
"Well this is…actually I never got his name." Percy smirked.
"It's Nico." he said quietly.
"Nico…" Percy whispered.
He didn't know why but that name sounded very familiar. He racked his brain for any possible memory of this Nico kid or why it sounded familiar but he came up with nothing. He shrugged it off thinking that it would come to him one day.
"Well aren't you precious." Silena said.
"I g-guess." Nico said.
"Well I got to show him around. I'll see you guys at lunch?" Percy asked.
"Totally, see you Percy." she smiled and then walked off with Beckendorf.
I shook my head laughing slightly at how ridiculous she could be sometimes and how embarrassing that must of fleet for Nico. Percy turned and Nico still stood there frozen to his spot and glaring into the floor.
"Hey whatever did the floor do to you?" Percy joked.
Nico look up and there was an ever so slight smirk on his face. The fact that this was the first time Percy got some positive reaction out of him made his smile. Nico looked as if he was seeing something beyond Percy and then suddenly he waved his arm and Percy turned around to see who he was motioning. The first thing that came to Percy's mind when he saw this guy was he was a blond superman. He had short cropped blond hair, blue eyes framed by glasses. He wore a purple t-shirt and khakis shorts to match but he also had a Superman back pack with the giant S on the back.
"There you are Nico, I was beginning to worry." the guy said.
"No need, I am more than capable of fending for myself." Nico retorted.
"So who is this?" the kid motioned to Percy.
"Jason, this is Percy. Percy, Jason."
"Nice to meet you." Percy said sticking out his hand.
Jason took it and Percy noticed he had quite the grip but good first impression.
"So, how do you know Nico?" I asked.
"Well, we met when we were really little. Maybe five or six, I honestly can't remember. Ever since then we've followed each other around." he said.
A few bells went off in Percy's head that this guy was being really vague. Whether he was doing it on purpose or was doing it for Nico's sake Percy didn't know. he guessed that whatever the reason was it was personal and not something to sake someone you just met. Percy could respect that, if he got to know them better then he would ask but not until then. Percy was very considerate when it came to other people and not wanting to offend them for something he wasn't suppose to ask.
After the introductions Percy showed the duo around the school, where there lockers where, which classes were where, and so on. He finished with about five minutes to spare and he said goodbye and that he would like to see them again sometime and Jason said he was all for it. He liked Jason, he seemed like a really cool guy and was really open. He hoped that if they became friends that he would be open enough with how Percy really was. Silena found out without me even doing anything because she was just that good at it, but for people like Zoe, or Khione he had to be very careful. Beckendorf didn't really care and would even make jokes that Percy knew were light hearted and he actually laughed at them on occasion.
He didn't know when he realized it but one day he just couldn't get over this guy he had seen. What he looked like Percy couldn't remember but it just to his breath away. From then on he always looked at guys and only guys but no one ever caught his attention. He tried thinking about Jason and he seemed just to commanding for Percy, as he was pretty assertive himself, he could see them butting heads a lot. However Nico was a different case. Nico was shy and very quiet, but that didn't deter Percy, and his looks were not something to joke about.
He had the black, silky hair and that pale okie skin seemed so soft. Not to mention he was foreign so it added spice to him that Percy found tantalizing. He knew that he couldn't judge by looks alone, so he would get to know these guys and see how things went. If it went well then Percy would be all that much happier, but if not, then he would be glad with two more friends.
"Percy!" someone yelled at him.
"What?"
"I've been trying to get your attention for minutes now. Off in the ocean again?" his friend Zoe asked.
How he had managed to grab his books from his locker then traverse the halls and make to class was beyond him. He was glad that Zoe had brought him back to reality and not the teacher, he could go a day without too much embarrassment.
"No, just thinking." he said.
"Oh, meet some cute guy?" she jabbed.
"No! I mean I barely talked to him and he's really shy. Plus you know I don't judge by looks." he said.
"Yeah I know, but it's not every day that someone makes you so distracted. When was the last time that happened?"
"Never."
"Exactly."
I huffed and she laughed at my obvious discomfort. The teacher then walked in and the classroom fell silent and I would have to put up with another day. However class flew by and before Percy really thought about it he was walking into the lunch room with his bag in hand viewing the masses before him. He didn't spot his friends so he simply sat down by himself and started eating. Before long a small black haired kid sat down next to him and he turned to find that Nico had actually chosen to sit with him. Percy smiled that he was the guys first choice, it especially helped Percy warm up to the guy.
Nico didn't say anything he just simply began to eat, but what concerned Percy was that he had very little on his plate. Luckily for him Percy had packed extra today and he was willing to share with him. So he picked up one of the bags of chips he had brought with him and handed it to Nico. Nico looked confused as to why Percy was holding this.
"Uh, w-what are you doing?" Nico asked.
"I'm giving you something to eat, you barely have anything. No wonder you're so skinny." Percy said.
Nico's cheeks burned red as he took the bag and I smiled at him. Silence once again took over but it wasn't uncomfortable. A few minutes later Beckendorf, Silena, and Zoe all joined them at the table and Nico sank lower into his seat keeping his gaze down t the table.
"Hey, Perce." Silena said.
"Hey, so how is school so far, any migraines?" Percy joked.
"No nothing to stressful. So how's your first day Nico?"
Nico didn't respond and simply kept his gaze firmly on the table. Percy nudged him and Nico looked up at him and Percy smiled at him. Nico looked confused and then Percy motioned with his head towards Silena. He suddenly got what he meath and his face turned red as he looked back at her.
"It's been fine." he said quickly.
"Really? Even if you haven't been around your new best friend Percy?" she jabbed.
Percy came to Nico's defense, "Actually he's been in all of my classes so far, it's just that he's been placed away from me. The teachers seem to have this idea that you need to be away form people you know."
He smirked and then nodded in agreement.
"Now onto more pressing matters, the swim team. Are you going to join it Nico?" Percy asked.
"Of course he would bring this up." Silena said.
Nico remained silent for a moment, "I haven't given it any thought. Plus I was never good at sports anyway."
"Well I think you should join, it would be fun."
"Percy your just saying that because your the best on the team. You may even be the best in the state for all I know." Beckendorf said.
"Whatever." Percy said.
Lunch continued in relative silence with a little talking here and there but nothing to long. The biggest thing was that Nico didn't say a word for the rest of the time and that made Percy wonder what was wrong with him. Lunch soon ended and we went off to class and Percy walked next to Nico in silence and he didn't make eye contact with me at all. He wondered if Nico didn't like him all that much and only hung around him because he didn't know anyone else who knew the school.
Upon entering the classroom half of the class was already there and Percy took his seat which was towards the back where there were a lot of open seats. Nico sat down next to him and stayed silent taking out a notebook and began to doodle and Percy just put out most of the noise and focused on what he knew about the kid.
He was very quiet but seemed nice, his looks were second to none so there was no arguing there. However he wondered why this kid was so quiet or why he froze at the smallest of questions. It was a mystery and he also wondered why he seemed like he knew who Nico was, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe Nico would tell him one day why he seemed so familiar. The teacher walked in that moment and now Percy really tuned out hoping that the second half of the day would go just as fast as the first part.
The class ended and he simply went on his way throughout the day occasionally talking to Nico but mostly just trying to get through the day. Soon the day didm end and he was seamed with homework which really got on his nerves. They had started just two weeks ago and it seemed as if they were halfway through the year already. He walked to his locker and grabbed the books and shoved them in and shouldered his bag. He met up with Nico and Jason once more hoping to catch them for tomorrow.
He saw Nico and Jason standing by the doors and Percy waved them down. He grabbed Zoe who was walking with him and went over to the two. Percy saw her eyes widen for a mount before a deep scowl formed on her face.
"Zoe I would like you to meet Jason and Nico." Percy said cheerfully.
"Hi." she said quickly.
Nico and Jason squirmed under her gaze and I wonder what on earth was going through her head at that moment. Had she already met them? Why was she so mad at them? What on earth did they do?
"Can I talk to you two privately?" she snapped.
Huh, I wonder what they'll talk about?
Here's a little treat since you guys liked the first chapter so much. Now it will become very difficult to write as I moving into college and will start school in a few days. I will try to to get as much out as quickly as possible but don't hate me if I'm not fast. So I also want to bring up something that will happen if I don't address it now. Do not get offended by the premiss of the story which is based off of Christian beliefs. If you do then don't read it, and please do not send message after message how you want this story taken down, I've already felt with that on another one I wrote. Thanks for listening and I hope I don't have to address this again. Enjoy and review. -starwarswiz
