Percico: All's fair in Love and War
Chapter Two: First School Day
*DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the plot and ICDAT!*
Hi guys! Hope you enjoy this one as well!
Percy sat lazily in his seat during Calculus class. Mrs. Dodds went on about Trigonometry, as if he actually cared. All of his friends were in the same classes as he was and he was seated behind Annabeth. She was listening rather intently to what Mrs. Dodds was saying while no one else really was.
"So, as I was saying, the hypotenuse is of the triangle is the–" she stopped and Percy turned his head to the entrance of the classroom to see what had happened. Luke walked in, with an arm slung lazily draped on Nico's shoulder.
"So, Nico, since you have Calculus now, guess I could have walked you class," Luke said happily.
"Thanks Luke," Nico said. Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat and made Nico stare at her. Everyone thought she was going to really give him a lecture about respecting school times. Surprisingly, she didn't even squeak. She smiled.
"Welcome to your Calculus class, Nico," Mrs. Dodds said. Nico smiled another small smile.
"Thanks, Mrs. Dodds," Nico said. Luke seemed stunned.
"Nico, you know her?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, she was my Math tutor for three years or so," came Nico's reply. Mrs. Dodds smiled.
"May I take a seat up front, Mrs. Dodds?" Nico asked.
"Sure, Nico. Sit in front of Annabeth. And please dear, no such formalities. I'm not that old!" she said too happily. Well, it just made Percy shiver. Nico took his eat in front of Annabeth and shot her a smile. Annabeth giggled a bit but said nothing.
"Um, Mrs. Dodds, are cellphones allowed in class? You know of our busy schedules already and I've already missed several calls. Perhaps if I put it on vibrate and just left it on my table in case someone tries to call?" Nico just asked out of the blue. The question shocked everyone, except Mrs. Dodds.
"Sure, dear. Don't worry. I'll just let the rest the teachers know during your break," she smiled knowingly. Honestly, Percy nearly fell out of his chair when Mrs. Dodds approved. Annabeth just giggled when Percy gave a stunned stare, his mouth agape.
Nico took out his smartphone and set it on the edge of the table he sat at. He took out his textbook, workbook and notebook. He opened them to the required pages, gave Mrs. Dodds an appreciative smile and Luke a small wave. Luke smiled in return and the blond walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He set his phone on vibrate and waited for Mrs. Dodds to continue.
"Right then. As I was saying, the hypotenuse is the longest side of a right-angled triangle…" and that's when Percy zoned out, staring out the window of the classroom. It's going to be a long day, he thought.
~Page Break~
It was break around midday and Percy decided to walk through the long endless hallways, out of the admin block and classroom building, to the outdoor cafeteria. It was huge since it could house well over a thousand spoiled brats. Percy was quickly flagged down by Jason and forced to sit at their table.
"Hey, guys," Percy greeted. He set down his food on the table. He had a healthy meal today. A ham and turkey sandwich with lettuce and mayo. He loved brown bread. And for drinks, a healthy box of orange juice and for dessert, yoghurt. Well, this was what he brought from home. The cafeteria only served food to those who wanted it since almost everyone brought their own food. Everyone from the group in the morning sat at the table. Luke sat next to Percy and made small talk with him. The Stoll twins sat with Beckendorf and also spoke about some things. Annabeth sat with Piper, Thalia, Silena and Calypso abut whatever it is girls talk about. Percy had also assumed a bored look on his face. Then, a thought crossed Percy's mind. He stared at Luke's cold blue eyes for a moment.
"What?" he practically growled.
"Well," Percy began, "I was wondering how you knew Nico so well," Luke smirked.
"He's my cousin, Percy. His dad is my uncle. I've known him since I was two. Well, when he was just a year old," Luke smiled at this, then went back to his angry appearance. Percy chuckled
"Why?" he asked.
"Oh, just curious," came the reply. They sat for a while more before Nico walked in. he had a little brown paper bag in his hand and walked over to the cafeteria to get a platter to set whatever food he had on. He smiled at the lunch lady and walked away. He was about to sit alone when Piper and Thalia waved at him motioned for him to come over. He smiled and obliged. Luke instantly perked up. Piper slung an arm around his shoulder and guided him to sit between Percy and Luke.
"Oh, no, I–I don't need to sit there." He said. Percy felt kind of hurt but let it slide. He was the new kid after all.
"Nonsense. Luke couldn't be happier and I doubt Percy has a problem," she said.
"Nope, not a prob," Percy said, his sea-green eyes flickering over to watch Nico slide between him and Luke. He set his platter on the table and opened the bag. He set out just a bunch of seedless red grapes and a small bottle of water. It stunned everyone, even Percy, except for Luke. He grunted and rolled his eyes.
"Still don't eat much," Luke observed.
"Yeah," Nico said while plucking a grape and biting off a small piece and slowly began chewing. "Just not up for eating," Luke seemed irritated.
"You do realize that your dad will probably kill us both if you don't eat, Nico," Luke said.
"Luke, please. He knows about it. Now, stop questioning me, Mother," Nico said as he poked his tongue out at Luke. Luke just rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, Nico. Don't be the odd one out," Luke pleaded. Everyone was very intrigued by this new Luke and his behavior toward Nico. Sort of like a bigger brother.
"How about I try and finish what I brought for lunch today and then I'll have a little more, okay?" Nico rested his hand on Luke's shoulder. Everyone held their breath waiting for the blond to lash out at Nico or push him away. Shockingly, that didn't happen. Luke just nodded, gave a small smile to Nico and went back to eating. Percy decided to join the conversation, now.
"So, Nico," Percy said. Nico turned to face him. "How do you like ICDAT so far?"
"Well, I like the library. Especially the Greek section," Annabeth perked up and smiled at Nico, "The Sports Center is quite interesting and academia is … refreshing since I already know most of the teachers here. Most of them tutored me before," he finished.
"That's cool," Percy said as he earned a smile from Nico, "but what do you do for fun?"
"Well, it's only been my first day here, so no fun really," Nico said, "Although, I enjoy swimming and volley ball,"
"Awesome," Percy said. Nico smiled another small smile and concentrated on eating, well, the first grape that he began eating was still uneaten. Luke looked over at Nico and groaned.
"Nico, you should finish your fruit," Luke said sternly. That was the first time he actually spoke formally to Nico.
"Okay," Nico said. Luke relieved as Nico carried on and finished the small bunch of grapes he had.
"Now," Luke said, "would you like a sandwich or a frozen yoghurt? Or should I order McDonalds?" Nico scowled and then sighed since there was no getting out of it.
"Fine, be that way, Luke. I'll have a frozen yoghurt," Nico grumbled. "You're such an annoying cousin,"
"You'll thank me when you don't collapse from hunger," Luke retorted. Percy smirked.
"You can have mine," Percy said, "I have two, so, I don't mind sharing," Nico seemed baffled for a second but then a blush touched his cheeks.
"Th–Thanks," he said as he accepted Percy's frozen yoghurt,
"Sure thing, Nico," Percy said as he offered a dazzling smile. Luke grunted and Nico just rolled his eyes.
"Luke, I'm sure that Percy didn't do anything to the yoghurt," Nico said.
"Yeah, Luke, I wouldn't do anything to hurt Nico here," Percy said as he slung an arm around Nico's shoulders. Was it Percy's imagination or did Nico blush a little? Luke just grunted but smiled when Nico touched his shoulder and gave him a smile. Percy was rather amused by Luke's behavior toward Nico so he propped his elbow on the table and set his chin on his palm and stared intently with his sea-green eyes at both Nico and Luke. Nico blushed a little from the attention but as soon as it appeared, it disappeared. Now, everyone gave Nico their numbers – even Annabeth, a little too excited – and Nico couldn't seem happier. And Nico blushed furiously when Percy gave Nico his number.
~Page Break~
For Percy, the end of the day couldn't arrive any faster. He was simply tired and hated school. He needed another vacation. He sighed as he walked to the parking lot and a few reporters snapped a picture of him. The crowd from the morning had grown even more and more school security guards were needed to keep them in check. They were probably here for a glimpse of Nico, no doubt. Nico's limousine pulled up at the entrance of the driveway. Out walked Charon and Argus. Argus opened the door for the woman with blonde hair and gray eyes and she zipped pass the crowd to the double-doors. They swung open to reveal Nico walking with Luke and Piper. The crowd decided to go completely crazy at this point and most of them tried to get pass the security guards. Argus and Charon rushed forward to Nico and stood in front of him while the blonde woman wove arm together with Nico's. Luke smiled at the woman and she did the same.
They walked together to the limousine until Nico stopped and offered Percy a small wave. Percy smirked back and the media snapped an entire lot of pictures before Nico was dragged away by Luke and the blonde woman, while Charon and Argus followed closely behind. Nico got in, followed by Luke and the blonde woman and Argus closed the door for him. They drove off quickly and as soon as Percy got to his car, he was surrounded by a swarm of reporters asking whether he knew Nico well or whether they were good friends. You should be asking Luke, Percy thought. Percy didn't say a word and got into his and drove off to his hotel. He stopped and handed over the keys to Leo. He pushed pass the doors, waved at Nyssa and took the elevator to his family's suite. When he walked in, he was greeted by Rachel. She had red, frizzy hair and green eyes. Freckles splayed lightly across her face
"Hi, Percy," she said, "How was school? Heard that a di Angelo kid is attending ICDAT now,"
"Hey, Rachel," Percy said, tossing a smile, "Yeah, his name's Nico. Nice kid, he's in most of my classes," Percy began to go to the dining room so he could get a snack but was stopped abruptly when his mom walked down the staircase elegantly in a designer blue dress and some heels. Her hair was curled and fell gracefully onto her shoulders.
"Mom, you look great!" Percy said.
"Thanks, Percy, dear," she said greeting him with a hug, "How was school? A di Angelo is attending your school must be nice,"
"Well, yeah. His name is Nico. He's really nice. Honestly, we thought he'd be stuck up or something. Well, most of the students at our school are, just expected him to be more than everyone else. He isn't, though. He's quite nice, not that sociable, though," Percy said.
"Well, that's nice, Percy. Get your homework done and freshen up. Your father will be here in an hour and he wants you to spend some time with his client's son," Sally finished.
"Yeah, sure, mom," Percy replied, "Hey, what will we be doing?"
"Oh, you're going to go to the park. Just a stroll or drive with two golf carts. Nothing fancy. Your father just wanted to keep it casual. Well, see you in a bit, Percy. I'm going to an art exhibit. See you at dinner, love," with that. Sally left the suite.
Percy hurried to his room. He quickly ran into the shower and tried to set his hair. He got out, toweling his hair and went to his walk in closet. He picked out some black sneakers with neon designs on them, black skinny jeans and a sky blue tank top. He got down to the kitchen and grabbed some fruit, and went to his study to complete some homework. His father walked into the suite and knocked on Percy's study.
"Percy, give me twenty minutes and then we can leave!" Poseidon called.
"Sure, dad!" Percy called back. And, to Poseidon's word, twenty minutes later, he yanked Percy from his study, to the elevator and to his car. Poseidon had a Jaguar as well. However, it was pure black and ran smoothly compared to Percy's. They got in, and drove all the way to the closest entrance to Central Park. Poseidon got out, dressed in khaki shorts and a blue button down short-sleeved shirt. The area they entered had two golf carts waiting for them and was blocked off by multiple security guards. Poseidon went to sit at a bench and Percy followed. Percy was bored, so he decided to text one of his friends. Annabeth? Probably doing homework. Luke? Probably asleep. Thalia? Probably practicing archery. Jason? Basketball practice. Out of nowhere, Nico's name popped up. Percy decided to go with Nico.
'Hey, Nico. ' Percy texted. Within 10 seconds, there was reply.
'Hi, Percy. What's up? I'm going to see someone with my dad' Nico texted back.
'Oh? That's nice. My dad's seeing a business client, so, he asked me to tag along.' Percy hit send.
'That's nice. I have to go now, we're pulling over to meet the person my dad's going to see. Bye.' Nico texted. Percy was a bit disappointed but didn't say such things.
'Okay. See you in school tomorrow. ' Percy hit send again. As soon as the text was read, a really, really long limousine pulled over and out got a slightly muscular man with familiar pale olive skin and eyes that almost looked black. He wore a black tee that hugged his torso, just not as tightly as Percy's, and a wicked black jeans and crocodile leather shoe. He walked up to Poseidon, though Percy didn't pay attention until Poseidon called his name.
"Percy?" Poseidon called.
"Hmm? Oh, hi, I'm Percy." he said as he took the man's hand.
"Well, hello," he said coolly, "I'm Mr. di Angelo, but everyone calls me Hades," Percy nearly choked.
"You're Nico's dad?" he asked.
"Why, yes. May I ask, why do you ask?" Hades asked.
"Oh, he's attending our school now," Percy said.
"ICDAT? How nice," Hades said. Just then, familiar voice called form behind Hades.
"Percy?" Nico called. Percy looked around Hades and practically beamed from ear to ear.
"Hi, Nico! How oblivious were we?" Percy asked.
"Very," Nico said, "Where will we be riding?" Percy motioned the empty golf carts and Nico quickly greeted Poseidon with a forced smile – why a forced smile? – And then sat in the second golf cart.
"Go on, Percy. You can join Nico," Poseidon said.
"Sure thing, dad," Percy said. He jogged over to the golf cart and quickly found the keys. But before he could start the cart, he noticed that Nico was frowning. He rested his hand on Nico's shoulder and the boy nearly jumped out of skin. However, when he saw that it was Percy, he blushed and Percy smirked.
"Hey, Nico? Why so sad?" Percy asked.
"Oh, I'm just tired. Nothing to worry about," Nico said. Percy was not convinced.
"You know, for the son of the most famous actress in the world and brother to the most famous teen actress in the world, you suck at lying," Percy said as he smirked. Nico sighed, wrapped his arms around his knees, and placed chin on his them.
"I have to stay at your dad's hotel if I want to go to ICDAT. I want to, but I don't want to be so far from home. That's why my dad's here today, partially of course," he sighed again, sadly.
"Oh, come Nico, do you hate me that much?" Percy asked. Nico was immediately stunned.
"WH-what? No! Of course not, I just … I like my home in Beverly Hills and I don't really like New York that much," Percy smirked.
"Well," Percy said, leaning in, "I could show you around, spend some time with you. My family lives in the penthouse suite so, you won't be alone or anything," Nico blushed a bit.
"Um, that's great, and all. It would be nice, but … never mind, it would be great," he said, while brushing his hair behind his ear. Percy started the golf cart and strolled behind Hades and Poseidon who were talking.
"So, do you like our school? Is it to your liking, or just too bland?" Percy asked, smirking. Nico rolled his eyes.
"It's fine. But I'm sure if my sister had to attend, she would hate it," Nico said, chuckling lightly. Percy also chuckled.
"So," Percy began, "Do you have a certain special someone in your life?" Nico blushed a bit. Cute, Percy thought.
"Well, no, but I'd like to," was Nico's response. "You?"
"Well, Annabeth. But, no one else after we ended it," Percy said. Nico just nodded, not pushing the matter further. Another hour of driving around, Poseidon and Hades had come to an agreement.
"So, then, Poseidon," Hades began as they got out of the golf cart, "He'll stay with you in your suite until the end of the semester. And, we'll see how he likes it at ICDAT and make other arrangements,"
"That's correct," Poseidon said, "I hope he enjoys his stay. He has Percy to help him out as well," Hades nodded and walked off to his limousine. He spoke to Charon. Charon moved to get out a couple of bags from the limo.
"Just put them into my boot," Poseidon said, unlocking his car and popping the boot open. Percy gave Poseidon a curious look and turned to Nico for answers – who immediately blushed.
"Yeah, it seems like I'll be staying at your hotel after all," Nico said. Percy beamed.
"That's great! We could do a lot and have a lot of fun," Percy said.
"Yes, well, he needs to complete all tasks and other school-related projects," Hades said.
"Don't worry, Mr. di Angelo," Percy said, "I'll help him out,"
"Very well," Hades said, "Goodbye Nico, enjoy your stay and do behave,"
Hades got into the car, followed by Charon and Argus closed the door.
"See ya around, kid!" He said as he got into the car and drove off. Poseidon turned to face Nico and gave him a small smile.
"I trust you don't have any problems concerning your living arrangements?" Poseidon asked.
"No, sir," Nico said. Poseidon smiled.
"No need for formalities, Nico," Poseidon said. Nico gave a nod as he got into the back of the car. Percy rode shotgun. Nico couldn't wait to see the hotel because he seemed so eager to Percy. When they got there, Nico's eyes went wide with excitement as Poseidon and Percy just chuckled. Leo popped out of nowhere and offered to take Nico's luggage.
"Well, Percy will show you around and to your room, Nico. I have another business meeting I need to get ready for. Enjoy," Poseidon said as he walked off. Percy called for the elevator and pulled Nico in by the wrist.
"So, hope you like the hotel so far," Percy said, his sea-green eyes studying Nico's eyes intently.
"Yeah, I guess so," Nico said. Percy gave him a dazzling smile and Nico blushed a little. The elevator doors finally dinged open to reveal the entrance of the Jacksons' suite. From Nico's facial expression, Percy could tell that Nico was mildly surprised. He showed Nico around the penthouse and showed Nico the room next to Percy's. Nico got in and set his things down. He sighed contently as he began unpacking and exploring. Percy sat on the circular king-sized bed, now draped with black comforters, and watched Nico intently.
"It's rude to stare, you know," Nico said, with a light blush.
"Hmm? Well I like the view a bit," Percy said. Nico quirked an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. He sat next to Percy and rested his back on his new bed. He let a sigh escape his lips.
"Do you like your room?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, it's nothing like mine at home, but it'll do," Nico joked. Percy smiled and scratched the back of his neck. Percy squeezed Nico's knee, earning a blush from the young boy.
"Well, I'll be leaving now," Percy said as he got up, "I have homework to attend to," Nico smiled.
"See you later, Percy," Nico said. Percy stopped.
"Actually," Percy began, "Why don't you come and join me in my study? We both attend most of the same classes, so…" Nico smiled and then blushed.
"Yeah, okay," Nico said. He sighed – inwardly – contently as he turned around to get his books. Just then, Percy walked up to Nico and took his books for him. Nico just rolled his. It's only been a day and Percy is turning out to be a really nice person.
Well, did you enjoy it? So. Review, favorite and follow, yes?
~TheSun'sShadow
