Guy's I'm seriously running out of holiday's that people usually receive gifts in…so yeah just enjoy this random chapter.
I don't own Percy Jackson
Jason was at the one place he never expected himself to be with the one person he never expected to be there with; he was at a high school with one very moody Nico di Angelo, registering the teen for new school year.
It was Annabeth's idea, she figured it would be good if the younger ones got a good chance at an education, one that didn't involve an extremely elaborate lesson on how to behead a hydra, she had said when Hazel said they got lessons at New Rome.
Hazel and Nico objected loudly that they were doing just fine without school so far, they even went as far as to say that they wouldn't know anything since the gap of seventy years when they had last been to school was too great a time and that therefor they would just feel stupid there.
In the end Annabeth had talked them into doing it, which may have involved bribes of things which no one except the three of them knew of.
They had taken Hazel back to Camp Jupiter after enrolling her at the middle school, she was weary on the fact that she had to go to another catholic school, but it was their only option other than a school that Frank had just flat out turned down for the fact that it was in a bad neighborhood. So here they were at Colin Mcewen High School to register Nico for his junior year of high school, he argued that he didn't want to be twenty-one and in high school so they decided to put him in junior year instead of freshman like Annabeth and Reyna had wanted. That was another thing that confused Jason, the amount of effort that Reyna of all people put into making sure that Nico did things that normal people did.
"This is stupid; I don't need to go to school Jason." Nico said for the tenth time since they got in the line to register him.
"Yes you do Nico." Jason said for the tenth time.
"Yeah, like you're one to talk! The only one of us who was even potentially going to graduate high school was Annabeth and maybe, maybe Frank…let's just face it Percy was bound to not graduate in some way." Nico said giving him a look that he hoped would convince him somehow that no, Nico didn't have to go to high school.
Jason waved him off. "Which is why you have to go to school; you and Hazel are the youngest and we want you two too do better in life." He said.
"You aren't my mother Jason," Nico said dully. He scowled at Jason and then turned his head slightly to look at the students he would sadly be spending the year with. They all wore overly bright colors and things that Piper would wear; he had to admit that the girls that wore some of the same outfits as her didn't look as good as she did…
"Come on Nico, be a little optimistic; you could make friends!" Jason tried to say, he remembered the kids that dressed like Nico often did on the few occasions he would be sent to school, surely Nico would fit in with them. He had begun to dress in colors other than black lately, mostly dark reds and sometimes when he felt nostalgic he would find something that reminded him of his time and wore that. Jason didn't want to admit that he liked the way Nico looked when he and Hazel dressed up in clothes from their time.
Nico snorted at that, "Yeah because me and people are such a great combination Sparky." His hand reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, but then he remembered he had 'stopped' smoking because the others didn't want him dying of cancer. "First I can't even smoke and now I'm being forced to go to public schools." He muttered.
"Oh, and what kind of schools are you used to going to?" Jason asked with a raised brow.
"Military schools, my mother didn't want Bianca and me in public schools so we always went to private schools. When we were taken out of that dammed hotel we went to a military school." Nico said.
"So you're new to public school?" Jason asked just to make sure he was hearing right, man Percy was going to have a kick out of this. He couldn't really talk though, he dated Piper and she went to private schools…
Nico nodded, "You realize I'm not going to go to school right; I kind of live somewhere else…"
"Don't pull that shit, I know you have multiple apartments; I've been to your house in LA." Jason said. They moved up a few steps, they could see the front desk they were waiting to get to, just three more people and they would be there. "Besides Nico, you could find a nice boyfriend at school."
"We're not having this discussion Jason; I'm not getting attached to a mortal." Nico said with an eye roll.
"Oh come on, just give school a chance." Jason pleaded.
Nico shook his head stubbornly. "Not happening at all." He muttered.
"All you have to do is show up to school twice a week, hell showing up once a month will be fine with me…its Annabeth and Reyna you have to worry about." Jason told him.
"I'll go once every other week and that's it." Nico answered.
"Deal," Jason said, he knew it was the best thing they could come up with.
Jason first noticed that Nico's signature looked familiar when Nico had to sign papers for school; he found it odd that he had never paid much attention to the way Nico wrote before now. It was neat in a way that no one in this generation could ever hope to have, Jason supposed that it was because he grew up in a time when handwriting was important. He remembered Nico saying that he didn't like writing in English that much but he's never seen him write until now. It was really familiar; he just couldn't place where he had seen it before though.
"There, we're done can we leave now? I need to go to the store." Nico said with a hint of irritation in his voice.
"For what," Jason asked curiously.
"My coffee machine is dead and I wanted an excuse to get that really nice coffee machine that Reyna has in her office…you know the one that no one is allowed to touch." Nico said with a sigh, he's wanted to get his hands on that machine for ages but Reyna wouldn't let him touch it and he needed good coffee.
"Nico that is an $18,000 coffee machine that was given to Reyna as a birthday present how the Hades are you going to afford that?" Jason asked.
"Jason trust me, the Franke Evolution is worth the money and I will spend every dime I have to so I can have that for myself." Nico said.
"You could just have Reyna make you some and not spend the $18,000 on a coffee machine." Jason said with a sigh.
Nice gave him a look that said he was gonna get that coffee maker no matter what. "My money my choice, now come along Grace." He said moving towards the door to the parking lot.
That was how Jason found himself in an expensive looking store with Nico di Angelo in a country that he didn't know, via shadow traveling of course, and feeling like he was going to break the first thing he touched while Nico talked with a woman with long black hair and an accent that made Jason surprised that Nico could easily understand.
They were talking about prices for coffee makers and Jason was just confused.
He found a neat little trinket while they talked and soon Jason found himself falling in love with it.
"Jason, what are you doing?" Nico asked in genuine curiosity. He had a rather large bag in his hands.
Jason blushed and turned his head slightly so that he didn't have to see the amused look on Nico's face. "Well you were busy and I found this thing and its cool looking…" Jason said awkwardly shifting on his legs.
He expected Nico to laugh at him, but he didn't do that. Instead he looked like he genuinely understood Jason's interest in the weird little nick-knack and nodded.
"How much is it?" Nico questioned fully willing to buy Jason the stupid little bird thing that dipped its beak into water.
Jason waved him off as if to say that he didn't have to buy it, besides he had seen the price tag and he was one-hundred percent sure that not even Nico could afford that. "It is way too expensive and tacky; no need to get it." He said.
"None sense it's on me." Nico said waving the sales woman over to him again. "Can we get this as well?"
So they got the expensive coffee maker that Jason was sure Nico wouldn't even let him or Hazel touch and the expensive little bird that Jason was in love with and they went back to California as if it weren't a million miles away.
"How do you afford all this?" Jason asked in honest curiosity when they got to Nico's apartment, it was on the nicer side of town.
Nico looked away from him. "It's my payment from my father in a way…plus I actually work in this nice little coffee shop sometimes, the owner owes me a favor or two, so she lets me work there whenever I'm in town and I get paid for that…"
"Hades pays you to do things for him?" Jason asked. He always thought Nico did things for Hades because he wanted his father to like him better…he never thought he got paid for it.
"Not exactly, he gives me keys to apartments and just kind of tells me where they are and tells me that I could stay there whenever I need it." Nico told him. He held up a key ring with multiple keys on it. They were labeled with what state or country they could be located at.
Jason could honestly say that the answer was more than satisfying, he had been wondering for a long time about all of this… "You really should have told us all this…does Hazel know?"
"Of course Hazel knows, Hazel knows everything." Nico said with a little smile. He looked at the clock and groaned. "Listen, I have places to be so I have to go and I don't like you in my house without me, so you've got to go."
Nico ushered Jason out of his house with the trinket in tow and he had the feeling in the very back of his head that this wasn't the first time that Nico had bought him something expensive just because he wanted it.
Alright so I realize that I'm a little shit that needs to update her fics more often but again I have different priorities than fanfiction…okay well usually I'm reading it but um you know I'm still lazy and I'm usually on Netflix while I'm writing my actual books…still stuck on like chapter sixteen of something but you know…lazy…
Jason is finally noticing stuff! Horrah!