He watches the bubble float towards the sky.

And then it bursts, because, well, it wasn't made of particularly strong soap, and it was a rather windy day.

And symbolism. To commemorate the beginning of high school.

It wasn't as if he was scared of high school, because there really wasn't much to be scared of, just a wardrobe of stereotype cutouts. Jocks, cheerleaders, those who ran down the hallways awkwardly by themselves, or who huddled in gossipy circles in the library, or those who thought math was an appropriate substitute for exercise.

Did that make him the stereotypical unstereotype?

His thoughts were interrupted by a beeping of a horn, and when he saw Percy leaning out of the window of his mom's car.

"Yo we're going to be late", he said.

Percy, his best friend, and at some times, his only. From middle school, his friend had changed significantly, and definitely not in a bad way.

His hair was a bit longer, but kept in this totally unstyled form (Percy's name for his 5-product routine), which looked just a bit too arranged. His face had thinned out a lot near the chin, so he now had that mythical jawbone, and his voice had changed from a pip-squeaky dolphin giggle to a smoother, light sound, that reminded Nico of light trickling down into the ocean. Due to his constant laps in Nico's pool, Percy had built up a pretty damn good physique, and his chest lightly bumped out his shirt.

Unfortunately for him, all those changes were for Percy and Percy alone. He could still comfortably have Barbara shop at Abercrombie Kids.

He opened the door and clambered in, and soon they were off.

For the purpose of "economic diversity", or forcibly mixing the rich sectors with the poor one, their town had set up a rather fancy school splitting system. There were six elementary schools, which were split into the three middle schools in such a way that each middle school had around a 50-50 split of the poor and rich, and then they all came together in high school as one happy, thousand-strong, family.

If only. Nico guessed he shouldn't complain, since he was one of the rich, but he often got lumped in with the other poorer kids due to his looks. At school, the teachers almost publicly favored those students from the rolling green hills of Uptown, and the kids behaved the same way, only meaner.

And now they were, all coming together.

"Hey Percy, are you nervous?" He asked.

Percy leaned back and grinned, a cheesy smile that pulled at the corners of his eyes, and tugged Nico's heart in all sorts of ways.

"It's not going to be a big deal, dude," he said, watching as the trees went by the car. "It's just high school, and as long as I have my best friend with me, it'll all be okay."

That phrase again, simultaneously endearing and ridiculously infuriating. Best friend.

It was probably Nico's fault, in that he never told Percy that he was gay, but still. It was as if the hero was completely oblivious to the way he moved, in the water every morning for the past three years, water drifting over his toned body while Nico sat by, "for safety". As if.

Truth was, he wanted nothing more than to be Percy's friend forever, and yet he also wanted so much more. He had read recently of a marriage petition in Massachusetts, all those states away, where two guys who had known each other since childhood asked to get married.

"Mm. Can I ask you something else?"

"Shoot."

Nico swallowed. "Will we be friends forever?'

Percy leaned back again, and this time his eyes were cold, colder than they'd ever been, as if the soft summer current that always ran through them suddenly froze.

"If you ditch me on the first day of school, di Angelo.."

Nico laughed, and suddenly the world turned a few shades brighter.

There's a moment, Nico thought, in everyone's life, where a decision is to be made. The decision between taking the leap forward, or standing on solid ground a moment longer. He always thought of himself as a jumper; after all, when the ground he stood on was that fucked up, it wasn't like he had much to stand on anyways.

Back up.

It had been three months since high school had started, and well, it had progressed almost exactly like he thought it would. After the first week passed, with the exhilaratingly fake smiles and friendliness, he was left completely in the dust as the groups settled.

And, of course, Percy basically forgot his name.

His best friend was hot, nice, and a star athlete. Could he even call him his best friend anymore, if they hadn't talked for weeks? It wasn't even a question whether they would stay friends forever, and although Percy still waved to him in the hallways, it didn't mean much. No longer in the mornings did Percy come over to his pool, or drive by with his mom to pick him up, and after a while, Percy's side of his bedroom seemed broken and neglected, catching cobwebs and smelling lightly rotten.

He imagined it must be fate, though, because then something happened. Never being one to be closely attuned to the social circles of the school, he didn't hear about it directly, but from the whispers and stares.

Percy Jackson, stud swimmer, had come out of the closet.

In retrospect, it was a train wreck waiting to happen. They lived in upstate New York, where "damn liberals" was muttered underneath the breath for every incident, no matter how remotely unrelated it was to liberalism.

The backlash was swift.

Fag.

Gay boy, should've been able to tell by the Speedos.

Can't believe he had the guts to show his face in this locker room again. Probably checking us out, eh?

And yet, Percy kept his head high, and Nico felt shame rise in his heart. He should be there, supporting his friend, bearing the brunt of high school's cold bite together.

"Nico, please."

The decision. He looked down at the green-eyed boy, who sat on the side of his bed, not having the guts to even look up.

He laughs now, a cold gurgle that rushes out of his throat before he can stop it.

It's funny. Percy looks pitiful.

"Do you even know what being lonely feels like?" His voice is sharper, and he knows he'll regret it later, but now it's already too late.

Percy doesn't talk, and the silence threatens to devour Nico. Instead, he fights it.

"All those times I went by your house, and you couldn't even spare a minute to talk to me because Luke was having a party, or Annabeth wanted to go shopping, or the swim team had another celebratory party for their star freshman."

His head remains bowed, and Nico instantly feels regret wash over him. But it's too late now.

Because if there's anything he's ever learned, it's that taking a leap means that the ground behind you crumbles away.

A/N: Next chapter the real plot starts! Thanks to everyone who read; I know it's been going a bit slowly at first, but I'm just trying to work on establishing a comprehensive setting. Feedback, especially harsh criticisms, is super appreciated!