AHHH! Half way done! I'm not prepared for this hurricane to end!
DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters, just the story.
...
There wasn't a second that Nico felt like he had privacy. Everywhere he went people looked at him differently.
His hands were stiff and rigid, refusing to move at his whim. They still were cold and discoloured just like the night before. He wanted to run, to hide, and while he looked out of the view from the window, he knew that he was going to have to say goodbye to the one thing he enjoyed about this entire event.
...
On his way from magic history, Nico decided that taking a detour would be a smart idea. With the amount of attention he was getting from the incident yesterday, he just wanted some time to breath, to pretend everything was normal, or at least as normal as it could get.
As he passed through the back of the school, hidden by the strange architecture, he leaned on the building for support. He looked out on the empty field from the way he had come, watching the trees sway in the wind. Nico looked in front of him, watching the sun cast its shadow on the greenhouse.
And as if everything had come undone, Nico felt himself slowly fall apart. His shoulders started to shake as his breath became hitched, hot tears pooled and streamed down his cheeks. He frantically wiped at his face, trying to get read of the tears that had coated his cheeks.
"Stop being so stupid," he whispered to himself, trying to regain his sanity.
Everything was falling apart. He had no friends, everyone either hated him or was scared of him, no one was telling him what happened or even where to go from there, everything was a mess; he was a mess.
Nico wasn't sure on how long he had been there, but it wasn't long until he heard footsteps and tried to cover himself up, either from the person or from looking like he had been crying, either would have worked.
"Are you okay?" came a deep, reassuring voice, coming closer as he spoke.
Nico looked up and wanted to die. Of course the person that would find him was that idiot wannabe doctor from before - Will, his name was.
"What do you want?" Nico asked, not caring at the point that his voice had cracked somewhere in there.
"Nothing - I was just walking by to get to my shift at the infirmary, are you sure you're okay?"
Nico tried to push passed the blond who still was in his full uniform and hair down. He wanted to, he really did, but after one quick glace at the drying tears on his cheeks, Will grabbed Nico's arm, pulling him back gently.
"Whoa, something is wrong," Will spoke with concern lacing his voice.
"Nothing's wrong," Nico insisted again, sniffling, "I just got something in my eye, now leave me alone."
"Look, if something's bothering you, you can tell me-"
"Stop trying to be my friend! I don't even know you, so back off! You're not even a real doctor so stop trying to act like one!" Nico stood frozen, his hands shaking. He quickly shoved his hands in his pocket after seeing the hurt look on the blond's face. He felt awful for saying it, but he wanted someone else to feel bad for once, not just him.
With a quick step he left the blond behind him, much like he ha before, storming off to be somewhere else.
...
When lunch came around, it only got worse. He not only felt awful for yelling at the blond, but now everyone was whispering about him, pointing and turning away before they thought he could hurt them. It stung, but sadly, he was starting to get used to it.
After not even ten minutes, he had gotten sick of sitting by himself, and got up and left. He had to go somewhere, and he had an idea.
Nico quickly made his way to the winding stairs, taking a deep breath as he rushed up them and to the third floor.
He managed to get to Chiron's office in seconds flat, knocking gently.
While he waited for a reply, he set his backpack down and slowly took out the book he had lent him. Nico ran his hand over the cover one last time, feeling the cracks from age with a soft touch.
"Come in," came the deep voice of the Headmaster.
Nico slowly pushed the door open with his free hand, making his way inside with shaky hands.
"Ah, Nico, I was wondering when I was going to see you. I was going to call you in soon, but looks like you beat me to it," he joked, closing a book of crimson that he had open on his desk, removing small spectacles and placing them on the cover.
"Yeah, well, I had some free time and thought I would return the book," Nico told him, showing the item with a flick of his wrist, gingerly making his way over, keeping his head down.
"I don't think that's the real reason why you are here," Chiron said, voice low and serious. Nico looked up at him in awe, wondering how he would know that.
"What do you mean?" he asked, carefully setting the book on his desk and taking a few steps back.
"I think you know, my boy." Chiron took the book, leaving the room silent as he placed it back on his shelf before turning and facing him once more. "You are looking a little under-dressed," he said, watching Nico as he looked down, trying to figure out what he meant.
"Sir, what do you mean 'under-dressed'?" Nico asked frantically.
"Your tie, it needs to be changed." As Chiron spoke these words, memorized flooded back to him and he could feel the lump in the back of his throat slowly start to rise. Self-consciously, Nico placed his hand to cover his tie, his hands a paler shade of the garment.
Chiron took his time as he walked over to a small shelf, each drawer coloured differently. With a heavy sigh, Chrion bent down to the lowest level, one covered in dust and appearing like it hadn't been opened in years, if not decades.
After removing a piece of fabric, he sauntered back over to where Nico was standing, and handed him the wrapped object.
Nico took it gingerly from the older Headmaster and looked at it, trying to figure out what it was. As Chiron went back around his desk, he kept his sight on the boy, waiting for him to open it.
"Open it," he said, gesturing with his chin as he sat down in his leather chair.
With shaky hands, he slowly unwrapped the object, only to reveal a tie of grey and black. Nico picked it up and set the wrapping aside. It seemed old, yet pristine; vintage.
"What is this?" Nico asked, finally looking the Headmaster in the eye.
"It's your house tie. Where it with pride."
Nico looked back down at it after a beat, his heart racing as he fingered the cloth in his hands. It was smooth, like silk, and it held a sort of mystical beauty. Everything about it was incredible, but what he didn't know about it was what scared him. Why had he not seen anyone else with this exact colour combination?
...
As he made his way to Defense Class, he dawned his new tie, feeling almost out of place with it. As he watched everyone around him, examining their necks, not a single person sported a grey and black striped tie.
But he didn't care, he felt like he had gotten somewhere, like for the first time, he had a place, even if he wasn't sure where it was.
Nico had left Chiron's office without knowledge on which house he actually belonged to. He had received his tie, but to a house he didn't know. No matter how hard be tried, he couldn't place it.
He passed the houses, he looked at their colours, their members and their ties, but none matched, and it was that nagging feeling that followed him to the field.
Even though everyone was watch Nico, he didn't care that much. At least then it wasn't them laughing at him for knowing nothing, it was because they knew he could do something, and that scared them.
"Better to be feared than to be laughed at," he muttered as he stood off to the side, arms crossed as he waited for Mrs. O show up.
When she finally showed up, her hair was rustled from the wind and she appeared to have received little sleep the night before.
"Alright, everyone," she started, sighing as she put her hand to her hip, blinking slowly while eyeing everyone, "can you partner up with someone close to your height."
The whole class quickly bustled about, making eye contact with one another to try and get with a friend. As everyone ran around, Nico stood off, watching as people in pairs would look over their shoulder at him. He sighed, knowing that this was to be expected.
After everyone was paired off, the teacher stood in front of everyone, shouting, "Raise your hand if you don't have a partner."
As she looked around, the only one to raised their hand was Nico, gingerly putting it down after everyone had turned to face him.
With a small huff, the teacher told the class warm up quietly as she walked over to Nico.
"Look," she started, sounding tired, "it's not your fault."
"What? That everyone is scared of me? No one wants to be partner with the kid that almost killed someone two weeks into his first year."
"It's not that," she tried to explain, losing her train of thought as she sighed heavily. "Look, why don't you take this time to get caught up on homework? Relax a little, I'll even write off on it if you wanted to leave class early to do so."
Nico looked her up and down, sighing when he realised that she had only said that to get him gone and out of the way. She didn't want to teacher him just as much as anyone wanted to be his partner or friend.
"Alright," he said blankly, huffing as she smiled, patting his shoulder, and turning back to face the rest of the class, clapping her hands to get their attention.
Nico waited around for a few moments before turning away with his arms crossed, the sound of laughter echoing behind him.
As he aimlessly wondered around, his thoughts going everywhere, yet no where, he glanced down at his hands, still disturbed by their sickening colour, almost dead-like by their appearance. He flexed them, watching as his bones moved under his skin, making them look skeletal.
As Nico walked, he wasn't looking where he was going, eyes focused on his hands. So when he bumped into something, he wasn't all that shocked. What really shocked him was the sudden push to the ground that never made contact.
As he started to fall back, he was preparing himself to hit the ground, for another bruise. But instead he was caught, a strong hand managed to grab him by the side and pull him closer. The scent of honey and lemons over took his senses as he froze in shock.
When he managed to realise what had happened, the figure that caught him chuckled lowly.
"Look's like you've fallen for me."
Nico looked up at the face that was cascaded with a blond halo, smile almost brighter than the sun reflecting his endless blue eyes.
"Let go of me," Nico mumbled, pushing his body away from Will who only laughed at the flustered boy in front of him.
"Hey," Will started, putting his hands up in defense, "I wasn't the one who knocked into me and fell." Nico wanted to protest, but he only rolled his eyes.
"Whatever," he muttered, leaving the blond a smiling mess. As he tried to walk away, mumbling under his breath whatever half-baked insult he could come up with, Will grabbed his arm tightly, something of a frown replaced his usually cheery demeanor.
"What?" Nico asked, trying to sound annoyed, but without another word, Will had grabbed Nico's hands and held it in his own, studying the miscoloured pigment of them.
"What happened?" he asked seriously.
Nico's brows furred together as he tried to figure out what he meant, only realizing he was talking about his hands after it was too late.
"Nothing," Nico managed to say while trying to pull his hands away, but Will's grip was strong.
Will gently stroked Nico's hand with his own, completely forgetting what he was doing in the first place.
"Come with me," he said, pulling Nico along even through the younger boy's protests.
...
When they arrive at the infirmary, Will finally let go of Nico's hand.
"What the hell?!" Nico yelled, demanding to know why he was brought here.
As if everything in Will had changed, Will took his jacket off and tied his hair up, going into doctor mode.
"Shut up," he flatly told Nico, turning around while rolling up his sleeves. "Now, how long has your hands looked like this?"
Nico rolled his eyes. "I don't know, maybe yesterday, but it's no big deal. Can I leave now?"
Will frowned, his face becoming hard as he took a seat on a stool that stood off to the side.
"Nico," Will flustered, taking the boy's hand in his own again, holding it gently like it was going to break, "why didn't you come in earlier, or at all?"
Nico rolled his eyes, trying to calm the faint heat that came to his cheeks as the blond continues to finger his hand with the soft pads of his own.
"I - I," Nico tried to form some sort of excuse, but his mind came up wordless as he looked upon Will's saddened face.
Will looked up at the younger boy in front of him, locking eyes when Nico looked up from the fixed point just behind Will. No one moved out of the two of them while the outside world seemed almost nonexistent to them. As Nico sat there, he became extremely aware of Will's hands on his, the heat that came from them, the heat coming from his ears. The pounding of his heart.
Nico wanted to look away, he wanted to run, he wanted to cry, so many things past over him in those several seconds that made him want to scream. But he couldn't. Will's eyes were like a vortex, sucking him in and refusing to let him out.
Nico was the first to brake the eye connection, pulling his hands back to his lap at the same time. Will straightened his back as he turned to face the small side table beside the bed.
"So," Will said, trying to break tension as he inhaled, "what's your favrouite colour?"
Nico raised a brow.
"What's my favourite colour?" Nico repeated, looking at Will with a blank expression.
"Yeah," Will clarified, sounding cheery.
"Why does that matter?"
"Just making small talk," Will said with a smile as he turned back to face the dark haired boy. He gingerly reached for Nico's hand to which Nico pulled back, looking the blond up and down.
"Um..." Nico mumbled skeptically, "purple, I guess."
"Ooo, I do like purple, but if we are being honest, I prefer yellow," Will hummed as he trailed Nico's bone structure.
"Obviously," Nico muttered under his breath, but Will ignored it, or maybe he didn't even hear.
"Now, it might hurt a little, but I have no idea what actually happened to your hands."
"What do you mean you have no idea what happen - fuck!" Nico screamed, pulling his hand from Will's own, shaking it out. "That fucking stung!"
"Watch your language," Will said, looking unamused at Nico's choice in words.
"But that really f - freaking hurt," Nico shot back, catching his tongue before he cursed again.
"Well," Will started, smirking as he grabbed his other hand, "I did say it would hurt."
"You little," Nico started, stopping before he said anymore.
Will snickered as he tried to fix Nico's other hand. Nico clenched his jaw as he prepared for the next blow, this one coming less painful than the one before it, but still stinging.
"Ahh!" Nico yelled, pulling his hand back. He tried to send Will a murderous look, but the blond just laughed back at him. "Don't laugh at me," he said, pouting.
"I'm not," Will lied, forcing his mouth into a smile to stop the chuckle from rising again, looking anywhere but at Nico.
"Liar," Nico mouthed, but Will just continued to laugh, this time not at his pain but at his attempt to seem stronger.
"Anyways," Will said, looking over Nico's hands, making sure they looked better, "looks like whatever I did worked."
"I can't believed you risked my hands," Nico muttered, still looking at Will through narrow eyes.
"Hey," Will started, "I wouldn't have completely destroyed your hands, only slightly making them worse."
"Bastard."
"Language," Will chuckled.
"Fuck you," Nico mouthed back, watching as Will almost fell out of his chair.
...
"Hazel!" Nico called out to the ebony skinned girl as he spotted her talking with a small group of people who waved her bye as she turned around to speak to Nico.
"Yeah?" she asked, smiling and soft.
"Do you think you can do me a favour?"
"Depends on what it is," she said, resting a hand on her hip.
"Well," Nico started, trying to form the proper words in the right order, "you think you could show me which house I belong to?"
As Nico asked, Hazel looked nervous, eyes looking around frantically as she thought of a response.
"Nico," she started, trying to figure out how to say it, "I don't know, I don't think you want to."
"Why?" he asked, dead-set on the idea of finding out where he truly belonged.
"It's just," she started, sighing, hiding behind her hand, "don't expect too much, okay?"
"Thank you!" Nico exclaimed, jumping in place, feeling a sense of pride he hadn't felt in weeks.
"Just," Hazel started, still having her hand in front of her face, "don't fall behind." She started to head in the direction of the houses, tall and significant on their own.
They followed a path made of stone as the got closer to the symmetrical organization of the building, Hazel keeping her sight forward as she bypassed all of the others.
Nico felt something small within him shake with anticipation as he watched the others as they passed him as Hazel continued on, heading towards a path no longer made of stone. With a beaten path only created by the constant use of people walking along meeting the end of the hand-paved road, Nico was starting to think of all the possible outcomes.
But as Hazel continued forward to what seemed to be the forest, Nico wondered where this was going. She pulled a branch out of the way and stepped into the small opening leading into the seemingly dense forest.
The path continued, this time seeming like it hadn't seen much activity in many years with over growth and rotten twigs scattered where should have been clear for those who walked it.
Nico could feel his heart pick up as he continued to follow Hazel who continued to walk solemnly, quiet as she slowed down to a complete stop, causing Nico to almost run into her.
"Here," she said, stepping over one last fallen log as the sight of a rundown two story house sat, abandoned only a minute into the woods.
"Wow," Nico said, unable to see through the state and condition the place was in. He continued to walk forward, his legs taking him as if something from inside was pulling him towards it.
"Nico!" Hazel shouted as the boy started to dash towards the broken down house. She sighed as she started to chase after him, following after him inside.
"Look at this place," he exclaimed, a smile on his face for the first time in a long time. He continued to run from room to room.
"You know you don't have to live here," Hazel shouted, standing with her arms crossed as she watched him race from one side to another, testing out the stairs and quickly running up them once he decided they were sturdy. "You can stay in the dorms if you want."
"Why would I want that?" he replied, sticking his head over the railing to face Hazel who had made her way to the bottom of the staircase.
Hazel couldn't help but smile at the boy how looked genuinely happy for the first time since coming to this school.
"Have you seen this place?" she asked, laughing softly with her arms crossed.
Loud footsteps echoed from the second floor until Nico stood at the top of the stairs, hair rustled in all directions.
"Have you seen this place?"
Hazel continued laugh. "That's the exact reason why I asked you that."
"Look," he said, jumping down the stairs, only really stepping on a total of maybe four steps all together, "this place only needs a small fix up and it'll be perfect."
Hazel stepped back when Nico reached out and grabbed her hand, running all over the place, dragging her around.
"See," he started, showing her the first floor, "we just need to fix up a few things and clean a lot, that's all!"
Hazel wanted to tell him so much, so much about how that would be an awful idea, but by the way the light twinkled in his eyes, the fire that burned behind them, even though the entire place looked like it would break any moment, she decided that she would help him.
"Fine," she said firmly, breaking her stern composure and smiling as she looked Nico in the eyes, "I'll help you clean, but don't come to me for anything else."
"Thank you!" Nico exclaimed, continuing to jump around, hand-in-hand with Hazel.
...
Over the span of the next two days, Hazel and Nico spend their free time fixing up the house hidden by the mysterious aura of the forest. When then weren't in the house, they were heading back to the main building to get proper supplies to clean with.
On one of their trips back, they were covered head to two in dirt and cleaning supplies, one of Hazel's friends had seen them previously and came up to them, asking what they were doing.
"We are fixing up the house in the woods," she told him, a boy with hair almost as crazy as the grease stains on his overalls.
"Shit, really? That old piece of work? Why?" he asked, intrigued.
"Nico here is moving in," she explained as she threw her thumb over her shoulder to point to him.
"Really? I didn't know anyone actually belonged to that house anymore, mainly because no one has lived in there longer than any one here."
This got Nico thinking, wondering why no one did live there, why no one wore the same tie as him. This was a thought that Nico had for some time, but as he rolled it over in his mind, Hazel broke his concentration by saying, hastily, "Yeah, well, there is one now, so we are trying to get it ready for living again."
"Dude, I can so help!" the boy exclaimed, clenching his fist as his eyes lit with a burning passion, and just straight up catching on fire ever so slightly.
"Really?" Hazel asked, smiling widely as she told him that it would be wonderful for his expertise on that topic.
"Anytime, gem."
"Leo," she warned him with her tone.
He put his hands up in defense. "I kid!"
The three of them managed to get over half the house fixed in the first day. While Leo fixed the major problems, Nico and Hazel cleaned the rest that where still intact. As the sun fell, the house was shaded by the outlines of branches and trees, giving life to the slow project that finally made Nico feel like he had a purpose.
"I think we'll have this place ready to be able to be moved into by tomorrow," Leo explained, wiping a line of sweat off of his brow.
"Look at this place," Hazel said, actually impressed by the work they had managed to accomplish and by the stunning beauty that it took.
"Isn't that what I've been saying this entire time?" Nico asked, wiping his forehead and leaving a trail of dirt where the sweat was.
Hazel smiled. "Yeah, I guess it was."
As they finished up for the day, picking up their supplies and carrying it out and back to either the main building or their respective houses, Nico hangs back with Hazel to ask her a few questions.
"Hey, Hazel," Nico started, trying to place his words properly, "why doesn't anyone live here anymore? And why don't people really know about this place, but, like, you?"
Hazel stopped, thinking her words over carefully.
"Well," she started, slowly continuing her walk out of the house with Nico following suit, "back when I first started, they had almost put me here." As she continued to talk, she purposely tried to ignore the first part of the question.
"They did?"
"Yeah," she said, thinking back on the time when people looked at her differently, almost like they had done to Nico, but not as aggressively. "My abilities were much like the ones found in this house, but Chiron had stepped in, explaining why I was placed where I was; with the Hecate house."
"Oh," Nico thought out loud. The continued in silence for a little while longer. "No one had told me the name of my house, anyways. What is it?"
This time Hazel fully stopped in her path, eyes looking at the ground with intense focus.
"Hazel..." Nico spoke up after a moment passed between them as they stood silent.
"Look Nico, this isn't my place, just learn to live with what you know, and if you have any questions, ask Chiron, not me." As she spoke, she refused to look at Nico. Even after she finished speaking, she continued ahead, leaving Nico just outside of the forest, stopped dead in his tracks, wondering.
Why had Hazel been so secretive about this? She was the one to agree to help him in the first place...
...
The next day came by faster than Nico expected. He must have been so tired that he fell asleep the moment he got back to his dorm. He hadn't much to pack, so when the sun came, he felt a sudden need to hurry, to finally have a place to belong.
But the entire time he stood in that house with the two others finishing up the last details on the damaged property, the events of yesterday played over and over in his mind, seeming to always come around to the same questions.
He would have thought it weird if Hazel had continued to act the way she did the day before, but she hadn't. Hazel had arrived early - even before Nico - and started cleaning, rushing around to help out. She had smiled and talked the entire time, laughing at Leo's failed attempts at jokes, even looking over at Nico with an expression that seemed pained when he tried.
Every time Nico would look over at her, her hair held back in a bandanna, he continued to think of reasons why she had acted that way previously.
But the time lunch came around, they had finished enough to allow Nico to bring his very few things over and in. Chiron had actually come up to the group of them on one of their rounds back to the main building and told Nico that he could exchange the old furniture out for the ones in his room.
He had been excited, he wouldn't have to sleep on a mattress so old it looked like it housed generations upon generations of forest creatures and bugs.
So as Hazel and Leo continued the last little bit of fix ups, Nico headed back to his dorm to quickly pack up his things into boxes. Less than an hour had passed when Nico was fully packed up and ready to get out of there. Before he left, he looked back at the room, everything covered in boxes and bare.
He walked over to the window, placing his hand on the glace gently, letting the rush of the cold glass relax him and his hand, which would still occasionally shake. Nico looked out on the fields, watching as students walked around with their friends, spending the rest of the days free time doing whatever they pleased. It was nice, yet melancholy. He had enjoyed it here, in this small room, even though he would never say it out loud.
He took his hand off the glass, missing the cold touch the moment his hand fell to his side. Nico stood there, just watching, before he reached up and grabbed the ends of the curtain, taking in a deep breath and one last glance before pulling them shut.
...
Box after box, Nico continued to stack them, making only a few trips to deliver all of his things.
As he made the tedious trips, his back was starting to scream at him, angry at the constant stress being put on it. He was about half way there when he could feel his hand slipping, knowing full well that he was going to drop the boxes soon. But just as he thought he was going to lose everything in his hand, another pair came out of nowhere and steadied him.
"Shit," Nico said, after thinking he was going to drop the boxes.
"Whoa," came the voice of the person who had prevented him from dropping them, deep and smooth.
Nico peered around the boxes, locking eyes with the playful eyes of a certain blond, a small smile on his face as he evenly carried the weight of the boxes for Nico.
"Will," was all Nico could mutter as he stared at the blond who finally looked back, smirking softly.
"Don't want to drop these," he replied while Nico got a better grip on the boxes in his hands.
"Thanks," Nico muttered back, trying to hide his embarrassed face from Will behind the load.
"You need any help?" the blond asked as he slowly let go of the boxes, hoping Nico had gotten a better grip.
Nico stared at him, trying to say something.
"No," he told him, looking away and shifting as he started to walk away.
"You sure?" Will asked again, raising a brow as he watched Nico struggle with the boxes.
"Yes!" Nico yelled back at him as he continued to head towards the forest.
Will watched with his arms crossed as Nico stumbled forwards on his way, trying to not fall off the path. He smiled to himself when Nico turned his head to look over his shoulder, quickly turning forward when he noticed Will was watching him, red rushing to his ears.
As Will watched him, he thought it was weird that he was moving into that strange house in the woods. Will knew of it, be he never had seen it. For which it was for, he had no idea, but knowing that Nico was moving, he knew it had to belong to his house.
...
The first night in his new house was strange. It was quiet being all by himself in the woods.
The strangest thing was that Nico didn't feel like he was alone. But as the night past, he did sleep; he slept truly for the first time since he had first came to the school.
So as Nico went to school, he felt a new brush of confidence as he walked through the halls. As everyone passed him, he didn't care what they thought of him or what they saw when they saw him.
And for the first time in what felt like ever, he was actually looking forward to going to his defensive class. So when he arrived, he ignored the eyes that fell on him.
"Look, the freak decided that he was going to show up," Octavian snickered to his friends, arms crossed as he looked Nico dead in the eyes so he knew he was talking about him.
"Shut up Octavian," Nico spat at him, turning his head to look him back.
"Ooo," Octavian laughed in a mocking tone with his friends that hung around him like a gang. "I'm so scared."
"You should be," Nico told him, taking a few steps towards him. Octavian took a step back, his face falling for a quick second before turning hard.
"Look here, what happened the other day was a fluke. You just happened to discover your powers at the time, so you surprised me."
"You really believe that? That I won by fluke accident?"
Octavian took a few steps forward to be almost chest to chest with Nico, staring down at him with hard hatred.
"Yes," he spat back, low and deep.
"Wanna prove that?"
"Bring it, shit face."
Octavian was the one to walk away first, shooting Nico a glare over his shoulder as the teacher started to talk to the class.
Nico wasn't listening, only finding himself lost in thought. So much had happened recently that he wasn't even sure what he was doing.
But while Nico was lost in his own mind, the teacher explained that they were going to be taking a break from magic use for a while, saying it wasn't because of any reason, but it obviously was about what occurred a few days back, and that they would continue on doing simple combat.
"Now, get together with your partner," she had stated, hands on her hip as she watched the class slowly come together.
Nico looked up, watching as Octavian stared him down as he came over, ignoring his friends as they sneered at Nico from behind Octavian's back.
"You're going down, shit face," he mouthed, his sunken-in eyes sending him threats was he came forward. But Nico said nothing.
"Now, we will be going one at a time to make sure no one gets hurt," Mrs. O said, sending her glance over to Nico as she spoke.
The first pair that went was made up of a small girl with coal-black hair and perfectly winged eyeliner, and a buff man that sported the same tie as Leo had, a small scar running over his cheekbone. As they went, everyone watched as the girl flipped her male partner over her knee, sending him crashing down to the ground, smirking as he looked up to the girl. She offered him a hand as he stood up while the teacher moved over to the next group.
A total of three groups after them went before it was Nico and Octavian's turn. The teacher didn't say anything while she watched them get ready, knowing perfectly well what was going on between them. She knew this most likely was going to end with someone covered in blood, so she got ready as she told them they could start.
The fight didn't last long, ten seconds max, but the time between she said start and the moment it ended, everyone held their breath, watching with anxiety as they stared one another down.
"Go."
Both of them got ready, eyes glued on the other, studying and watching every single movement the other made, down to every twitch the other made.
Octavian threw the first punch, but it was dodged by Nico who ducked, turning on his heel to meet Octavian who moved quickly on his feet to face Nico. When Octavian was about to throw the next punch, Nico beat him to it. When Nico's fist made contact, Octavian's head snapped back, his readied punch falling with him.
Nico's knuckled were bloodied and raw. Octavian shot his hand to cover his nose, glaring daggers at Nico as his nose continued to bleed, running through his fingers. The teacher ran over to him as he stayed on the ground, wiping blood away with his free hand.
Nico grabbed his hand, looking down at the marks that littered his knuckles. As he looked down, trying to figure out why it looked like that, a crazy thought crossed his mind; were those teeth marks?
"Will!" the teacher yelled at the blond who was passing by and was rushing over after spotting the incident.
Nico changed his sight from his knuckle to Octavian who moved his his hand away from his mouth just long enough to smile, flashing his teeth and the blood that was obviously not from his nose.
People pushed Nico out of the way as they rushed to Octavian's side, making sure he was okay. Will was the only one allowed to get close to him, kneeling down to be face to face with his housemate.
"Let me see," he told him, voice stern as Octavian kept his sight on the boy standing, holding onto his pounding hand as he did as he was told.
Will already discarded his jacket and had his hair thrown into a small ponytail, a pair of medical gloves finding themselves on his hand as he touched Octavian's nose, gently trying to see if it'll move.
"This will only hurt for a small moment," Will warned him before his hands started to glow.
"Fuck!" Octavian yelled, yanking his head back away from Will. "The fuck, Solace?"
"I told you it would hurt," Will told him, voice still stern, eyes hard. Will stood up, taking his bloodied gloves off. "Now, ice it if you want the swelling to go down."
Nico was done watching, so he turned on his heel to face away. No one cared where he went, they never did, mainly because they thought he was going to hurt them.
As he made his way, ignoring the scene Octavian was still milking, he ignored as Will spotted him and shouted his name.
"Nico!"
"Go away," Nico muttered, rolling his eyes while he continued to walk away from the blond that huffed and rushed to catch up with him.
"Nico!" Will called out again, trying to wave him down, jacket still abandoned on the ground behind him.
"What?!" Nico shouted, turning around, brows furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Will asked, face turning soft and confused as he caught up to the steaming boy with the bloodied hand.
"'What's wro...'" Nico breathed, almost pity laughing at himself, "What's wrong?! Really, Will, what's wrong? Is that really what you're asking me?"
"Nico, I'm not trying to-"
"You're not trying to what, Will? God, why do you care so much?"
"I care because I do, why do I need a reason?" Will replied, more frustrated than anything, still discombobulated by Nico's sudden outburst.
"Well, stop, okay? I don't need your fucking help, and stop thinking that I do!" Nico shouted, screaming those words that cut Will like glass.
Nothing passed between them as they stood there in silence. The wind was a deadly reminder that they were actually still there there, that there was more than just them in the world.
Nico's chest rose and fell rapidly, everything leaving him at once. As he stood there watching the wind blow Will's hair in a different direction, the way his face fell and became hard, he could feel his ears heat up and his heart race. He knew he fucked up.
"Really?" Will started, his words cold and hard, damaging by just their sounds. "That's what your going with? You know, I just thought that maybe you needed someone who was willing to be nice to you for once. Everyone hates you, and I wondered why, but now I understand. You push everyone away, you make sure no one likes you."
Hearing those words were worse than anything he could imagine. He knew people thought that of him, he even heard some of them say them just out of his view. But hearing it come from the blond broke him. He wanted to cry, God, did he want to cry.
Standing there with his hand bleeding, one of the only people that could be considered his friend telling him that he only pitied him, it hurt more than anything had the entire time he was here. Nico felt empty and felt like crying, so he did the only thing he knew how to do: Stand there like nothing bothered him, holding back the tears that threatened to fall.
Neither of them moved, they just stood there. Nico knew that there was no going back from this, he knew that if he was going to leave things like this, he might as well finished the blow himself, making sure he had the last word in.
"Like I care," he muttered.
Will, who had been waiting to see if Nico would go back on his words, shot his head up at those words, and watched with a hardened expression as the boy continued to stand there, unmoving.
"Fine," Will muttered as he turned to walk away to grab his jacket.
As Will walked away, Nico watched through blurry eyes Will's retreating figure. After Will left the area, Nico sniffled quietly, wiping the tears away with his clean hand.
Nico headed back over to the class, sitting down on the bench that was off to the side. As everyone was talking with one another, gushing over Octavian and his extended melodrama, the teacher took a seat beside Nico, sighing.
"Look," she started, "I know it's not your fault, but I think it would be better if you changed your class to a different one."
Nico just stared ahead as his teacher tried to kick him out of the class. Just as things were getting better, they had to get worse.
...
So, this is happening.
Anyways, I just finished crying over the season final of Yuri! On Ice, and I'm not emotionally stable anymore.
Wow, we are so close to done, I don't think I can handle this!
Anyways, thank you all for sticking around, I write this for my followers and for those who are willing to join me on this insane journey to write about my gay boys.
You are all so nice, please, keep all those words coming because nothing makes my day better than waking up to all of your kind words!
Review, follow, and favoutite!
Kitty out!