Chapter 2: This Christmas Life

PJO:


If life was like a Christmas movie

I wouldn't have a care or worry

And everything would always turn out fine

Making angels in the snow

Kissing under mistletoe

And everyone would always have a smile


Nico got out of bed in a somewhat cheery mood. At least he got some sleep last night. That's a start.

He also noticed that he woke up with some spare time to kill, which was another pleasant surprise. He went through his usual morning ritual and then decided that maybe it'd be nice to go to the park. The Christmas season often brought people being happy, so maybe that'd improve his mood even more.

He smiled at the doorman for his apartment building on the way out. The doorman sat in shock at the scene in front of him: Nico di Angelo, perhaps that grumpiest human alive, was smiling and humming Christmas carols under his breath. Nico was the type of person who would normally yell at anyone for dimply mentioning being happy, so this disturbed the doorman. He quickly shrugged it off and decided to let the guy be happy.

Upon arriving at the park Nico noticed a happy couple nuzzling their noses together on a park bench. Nico grinned at them and then turned to a mother pushing her son on the swing set. Nico would usually be bitter about the fact that he never did that with his mother but instead the scene filled him with a warmth.

Nico looked at his watch and saw it was time for work. He set off on his way, spirits hight the whole time.


But baby, life isn't that easy

Sometimes it gets crazy

I'm falling on my knees

Yeah

I'm hoping for a happy ending

So let's start pretending what life could be


Sighing, Nico stared at the large pile of paperwork on his desk. Why did he even have to do paperwork? He was a police man! He was supposed to analyze bones and crime scenes and determine how someone died, not file things!

Why did Nico think today was going to be better than any other terrible day? He came to work only to be yelled at by his jerk boss, Eric, and given a crap ton of paperwork that has to be done by tomorrow. And to top it all off Percy insisted on talking about his perfect girlfriend, Annabeth. It was the only thing Percy talked about all day long.

Nico was used to this but today it seemed especially cruel. Today he thought that maybe a miracle might happen and his long time crush, Percy, would shut up about Annabeth and maybe focus a little on Nico. But of course, why would that ever happen to Nico? Why would he ever get positive attention from Percy? Nico hated how he felt for Percy, but he could never be angry at the boy because he loved him.

So instead of saying something rude about Annabeth to his secret love he just groaned and slammed his head onto his ever-growing pile of paperwork.


There'll be dancing and singing

This Christmas life

And the bells will be ringing

This Christmas life

No more heartaches from heartbreaks

This Christmas life

Oh I wish you could be mine


If I lived up on the north pole

I would stare outside my window

And look around at all the shining lights

Christmas carols at the front door

Family at the dinner table

And every night would always end just right


Nico was laughing and smiling for the second time that day. The nice waitress that Nico usually had, Annie Cresta, was smiling at him from the cash register. He knew her somewhat well and they had had dinner together a few times before so it brought a smile to her face to see him joyful. The poor boy almost never smiled.

Nico was laughing with his friends at their favorite diner, "Odds In Favor". They hung out here every Tuesday and were almost always the loudest group in the place. They knew the staff and a few of the staff's children and partners. This was one of Nico's favorite times of the week and, ironically enough, the odds in here seemed to be in his favor.

Nico should've known that would jinx him.


But baby, life isn't that easy

Sometimes it gets crazy

I'm falling on my knees

Yeah

I'm hoping for a happy ending

So let's start pretending what life could be


Just then, a beautiful blonde girl walked in with a boy who had raven, messy hair, breathtaking sea green eyes, and an amazing smile. Nico hadn't even seen them at first because he was so caught up in his friends' hilarious stories. But, unfortunately for the younger boy, Percy saw Nico and walked up to them.

"Hey! I didn't know you liked this diner too," Percy greeted Nico. Nico slowly turned towards him, his smile fading upon seeing his company. Nico quickly slipped a polite but false smile onto his lips.

"Yeah, this place is my favorite," he said awkwardly. All of Nico's friends immediately knew that this was the fabled Percy Jackson and his girlfriend Annabeth. Reyna, Nico's protective friend who was considered a sister, growled slightly and glared at the two before Jason, her boyfriend, jabbed her and hold her to cut it out.

Percy sat down right next to Nico without warning and ruffled his hair a little.

"My brother's fiancée works here and she's constantly recommending it to me so I decided that maybe I should drop in with my girlfriend," he jabbered on, earning Nico's curiosity.

"Who's your brother's fiancée?" Percy quickly pointed at sweet Annie over by the cash register who was grimacing noticeably. She, like most of the human race, was easily able to pick up on the sexual tension between the two and cringed at the way Nico's smile glittered a little too much. Nico threw her a questioning glance before turning back to Percy and Annabeth.

"Well, uh, I guess you could eat with us...?"


There'll be dancing and singing

This Christmas life

And the bells will be ringing

This Christmas life

No more heartaches from heartbreaks

This Christmas life

Oh I wish you could be mine


The group of people started conversation again and it turns out Annabeth was actually pretty smart and funny. She told embarrassing stories about Percy that made the boy blush and everyone else laugh. She would ruffle his hair in a way that would suggest they were siblings, which didn't seem right to Nico based on their relationship, but other than that she wasn't too bad. Nico wanted to liek her but as long as she was with Percy he couldn't do that.

Nico wished for some miracle to happen, but he didn't expect that wish to be granted. Maybe someone up there did actually care for him.


So I just close my eyes and

Create a wonderland where

Anything's possible there

I'm just dreaming of what it would be


Percy suddenly got down on one knee and the whole restaurant went silent. He fumbled with a small dark blue velvet box but eventually opened it.

"Annabeth, I know this isn't the most romantic place to propose but now just felt... right, for some reason. I've wanted to so this for such a long time but I only just saved up enough money and then you were in Greece and- I'm rambling, sorry. What I want to know is if you, Annabeth Selene Chase, will marry me?"

Silence. Everything was silent and Nico stopped breathing completely. This was it. Every last shred of hope he has was gone. They were getting married. They were going to have a family and there was no way Nico would break up a family the way his was broken up.

"No." A single word pierced the air, shocking Nico out of his thoughts and into reality. Percy looked crestfallen.

Annabeth twiddled her thumbs nervously.

"Percy, I-I was going to tell you this later, but, um, I'm sort of not really all that straight..." Annabeth trailed off at the end. Percy got up from his knee and sat down next to Nico yet again. Annabeth seemed to be nearly in tears, probably from fear of being judged but surprisingly Nico was the first to reach out to her.

"That was very brave of you," Nico said, wishing he had enough courage to come out. Annabeth smiled a little and looked down, a single tear running down her cheek. Hazel, who couldn't stand to see anyone sad, started cooing compliments and hugging the poor blonde next to her.

Percy might be heartbroken but Nico was ecstatic.

He might just have a chance. What an extraordinary miracle.


There'll be dancing and singing

This Christmas life

And the bells will be ringing

This Christmas life

No more heartaches from heartbreaks

This Christmas life

Oh I wish you could be mine

There'll be dancing and singing

This Christmas life

And the bells will be ringing

This Christmas life

No more heartaches from heartbreaks

This Christmas life

Oh I wish you could be mine


You know what? Screw it. I'm just leaving this story in the Divergent category. I don't give a crap any more. If you want to read it, then read it. If you like it, review or favorite or whatever. But I'm leaving it in this category because I feel like it. If you're not in a certain fandom you don't have to read that chapter but if you are then you can read it or ignore it or whatever. I honestly don't care.

Anyways, you can totally ignore this paragraph. As I said, I don't care anymore what you do. But I always feel obligated to share a little about my life. Right now I'my feeling a wave of depression. Yippee. I took a test somewhere (I'm pretty sure it was an official thing) and I'm apparently high in depression, stress, and anxiety. Yay, fun. I'm probably going to regret uploading this with this little bit on how I feel depressed but whatevs.

So, that's it. It's nice if you've stuck around and read all of my problems. Bye.