"So, after talking it over with the sponsors, we decided to add ten new dates to the tour."

Percy's brow raised. "Ten? Wait, since when do we have sponsors?"

They couldn't see Reyna, but sitting there with the three of them huddled around Jason's phone, they could all perfectly imagine how she would pinch the bridge of her nose and give them a bored look.

"We won't be selling tickets for those. They're small gigs around town. In a guitar shop, in a pavilion in Central Park, et cetera. I'll e-mail you guys a list of them later."

Nico cleared his throat. "So just anyone-"

He was interrupted by Reyna. "No, no. Let me finish. We've worked out a deal with 96.6FM, and they'll be giving away a small number of tickets. I think they're holding a contest, but we're still working out the details."

"Can you give us a number?" Jason asked before Nico could, probably because he knew that his band mate would want to know.

"Some places are bigger than the others, but no more than twenty-five. There will be a limited guest list for you guys, but expect a maximum of thirty people for every show."

Nico was both horrified and relieved. Horrified because he was pretty sure what Reyna was going to say next, and relieved that the crowds would be relatively small.

"Anyway, because the gigs will be so small, you'll have to do them acoustic."

Okay, so he hadn't predicted that one. Acoustic gigs weren't his favourite, but... "Reyna, I won't have to do them alone, right?"

Reyna chuckled. "No, Nico. So I've booked some extra rehearsal time in for you guys, so make sure you've got the acoustic versions down by next week."

Okay, they could do that. Nico wouldn't have to do the shows alone. Ten acoustic gigs, what could go wrong?

"Oh, and the tickets will probably be coupled with a meet and greet."

Right. That could go wrong. Nico groaned and was pulled into Jason when he wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"I know, Nico. It's only twenty-five people, you-"

"Reyna, he had a panic attack just last week because he was mobbed by a group of fans. It's out of the question." Jason's voice was firm, though he would probably regret interrupting Reyna later.

There was silence. Jason had managed to catch Reyna off-guard.

They heard some rustling of papers before Reyna's voice came through the phone once again. "Okay. We'll talk about that later. I'll see if we can get the meet and greet down to a few people to make it even more exclusive."

While Nico was happy to hear that, he was crestfallen. He was a weakling who needed his friends to look out for him, and that both angered and saddened him. He wished he didn't need everyone to micromanage his life. Well, he did. But he also didn't. Not to this degree.

Yes, he knew they did it because they loved him, and they wanted him to feel comfortable, but he was so tired of being treated like a delicate flower who would crumble under even the slightest pressure. He wasn't going to spiral into a panic attack just from hearing about a show he'd have to play.

He shrugged Jason's arm off his shoulder and trudged into his bedroom, closing the door behind him with a resounding click.

"Uhm..." Percy's voice cut through the silence that followed. "Nico's gone. Hang on, Reyna," He pressed the mute button on Jason's phone and turned to its owner. "Go, I'll take care of this."

Jason nodded and got off the couch, picking up his bottle of water from the table before heading to Nico's bedroom.

Percy unmuted Reyna and took the phone off speaker. "Hey. It's just me now."

He listened to Reyna, patiently nodding along with what she said.

"I don't know. He's been on edge all week." He sighed. "He'll be fine."

He thought back to last sunday, when Nico had come home. He'd told his bandmates about what he'd done that afternoon, and Percy couldn't be more proud. Proud of Nico because he did it all by himself, and proud of himself, because even though it wasn't in his original plan, Nico and Will had spent some time together. He had made a mental note to demand to be Nico's best man for bringing them together, should all of this end in marriage.

Right, maybe his thoughts had gone overboard a little, but he was proud regardless.

He barely paid attention when Reyna droned on about boring details that he never listened to. Paying attention to the boring stuff was Jason's job.

Instead, he thought more of the events of last week. Jason had done his best to be supportive of Nico, and he didn't think Nico had noticed, but Percy hadn't missed the downtrodden look in his eyes and the way he showed his support in a more tactile way than usual.

The rest of the week had been business as usual. They'd played a show in front of a thousand people, rehearsed and had done some interviews with several magazines. Nothing especially big, scary or awesome happened, unless he counted the amazing night he'd spend with Annabeth in her apartment to make up for missing their 'date' last weekend.

Nico had gone from being in a good mood to his usual self. He'd been uncharacteristically nervous before their show, but that had quickly dissipated afterwards. Other than that nothing had changed. He'd spent a little more time in his room, but he could just be working on some new lyrics, or something.

Sunday's events had gone undiscussed since their talk after Nico had come home that day, and as time went on, Percy grew more desperate in wanting to have his big talk with Nico.

It was much easier to talk to Jason. He'd have to bide his time and wait for the perfect opportunity to talk to Nico, if only to improve his chances of the talk going well.

Aside from having to talk to Nico, he would also have to talk to Jason. He needed to know that despite being responsible for Nico meeting Will again, he would never let his bro down. Rain or shine, Percy would be there for his buddy. He didn't quite know if Jason would take a swing at him or use him as a shoulder to cry on, and it didn't matter as far as he was concerned.

The voice in his ear got louder and louder and he realized that Reyna was calling his name. Uh oh.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Sorry, I zoned out for a bit."

In a reflex, he pulled the phone away from his ear and he had been right to do just that.

When Reyna was especially angry, she would curse in Spanish. And after the third time he heard the word pendejo, he hung up the phone, put it on silent and dug his laptop out of his bag. He'd just email her and ask her to send them the details.

Maybe he should also arrange for a bouquet of flowers to be delivered at her office.

He picked up his own phone and dialled Annabeth, he didn't want to be around when Reyna would call back.


Nico stood slumped against the balcony railing. He watched as the smoke curled off the tip of his cigarette, dissipating against a gorgeous view of downtown Manhattan.

His thoughts were all over the place.

He felt like he was being irrational, and absolutely loathed feeling this way. He was fed up with everyone for trying to help him, for babying him, for making sure nothing was said or done that would set him off. Everyone was walking on eggshells around him.

A delicate snowflake, that's what everyone treated him as, ready to melt when any pressure was applied, spiralling into a panic attack as soon as one person outside of their precious little inner circle as much as looked at him.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating a little, but that's what it felt like sometimes. He'd felt so proud of himself for going out on his own last week, and he'd been fine ever since then. He'd made it through their show a few nights ago without anything happening.

The way Jason had spoken about him back in the living room irked him. It wasn't Jason's call to flat out make decisions about his life. He'd merely groaned and Jason had thrown the idea of a meet and greet out the window, without asking for his opinion.

He actually liked the idea of a meet and greet better than a signing session. At least the former would involve small, controlled groups and he would feel more at ease. He would have told Jason as much if he had asked for his input.

Yes, he knew Jason was only looking out for him, but this wasn't the way to do it. He felt like an asshole for thinking this way - at least he had friends who looked out for him - and there was some truth to the whole matter. Nico wasn't okay. He was pretty sure that one successful conversation with a fan hadn't made his anxiety and panic attacks magically disappear. He did need someone to fall back on, but instead of making progress, he had been forced to take steps backward. He didn't work on his problems as much as he used to, because Jason's arms were always open and welcoming. It was easier to fall back against that warm chest and forget that the world existed, rather than to stand up and face it. He was never nudged out of his arms, never challenged to face the world more.

It had gone from Jason comforting him and calming him whenever the anxiety was too much, to Jason trying to prevent his anxiety from coming on at all costs. He knew he meant well, but this way he would forever be trapped in having to choose between Jason and the world, and Jason would win every time.

It angered him. He was starting to feel like the walls were closing in on him, like the breath was being squeezed out of him. It was getting to be too much. Jason was getting too overbearing, and he had to put a stop to it.

As he took one last drag from his cigarette and stubbed it out on the railing, he turned around. He breathed out a puff of smoke, made even hazier by a chill in the air, and only noticed that Jason was standing at the foot of his bed when it cleared.

He stepped through his balcony door and closed it behind them, choosing to sit on the edge of his bed without saying a word.

"Are you okay?" Jason's voice was quiet.

Nico groaned, deep brown eyes snapping up to meet electric blues. "Stop fucking asking me if I'm okay, Grace. I'm not a porcelain doll, I won't break from hearing I have to meet people."

Jason's brows rose. "Hey, hey, what's going on?" He leaned closer to Nico, reaching his hand out to lay it on his shoulder.

A loud slap echoed across the room as Nico swatted Jason's hand away from him. "Just stop it. Stop treating me like a damned child," he rose to his feet in an attempt to show he was serious, but Jason still towered above him.

"I'm not-"

Nico looked up, straight into Jason's eyes. "You are! I don't know what the hell's going on with you but for the past week you've been smothering me. You're not my mom, Jason!"

Jason looked defeated, his voice barely above a whisper when he spoke. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"How? By making decisions for me without asking how I feel about it? By not letting me out of your sight for one goddamned minute?" Nico gestured wildly with his hands, clearly frustrated.

"If you'll let me explain-"

"Explain what? How I'm such a fragile child in your eyes that I need constant mothering? I know I'm pathetic, Jason, you don't need to rub it in every fucking chance that you get."

Jason's head snapped up, and there was a fire in his eyes. "Stop it, Nico. Just fucking stop it right now. You don't have the right to say that to me. Not after everything I've done for you!"

Nico was so shocked by the words coming out of Jason's mouth that for a moment he forgot how to speak. When he pulled himself together he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "All you've done in the past week is make me feel like a complete loser. Do you have any idea how shitty it makes me feel when I can't even get a bottle of water out of the fridge without you asking me if I'm okay? I don't need you to hold my hand every step of the way, Jason. I've never needed it and I sure as shit don't need it now."

Jason was dumbstruck. His mouth hung open as he stared at Nico with wide, bleary eyes.

"I can't believe it, even now you're pulling that crap on me." He walked over to Jason who still looked as if he had been struck by lightning, and shoved against his chest.

Despite of the force Nico put into the shove, Jason did little other than take a small step back, more startled than forced to move.

"Say something, you asshole! Stop trying to protect my precious feelings!" Nico's hands came up once more, but this time Jason caught them by the wrists.

"Stop it, Nico." His lips were set in a hard line and his voice took on a steely tone.

Nico struggled to get his wrists out of Jason's grasp, but he wouldn't let go, tightening his grip instead.

"Will you fucking stop?!" Jason snarled, straightening his stance. He jerked Nico forward by the wrists. "What's gotten into you?" He raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

With a series of firm tugs, Nico finally managed to get his hands free, only to shove Jason again. "Do you have any clue how happy I felt last week? I finally did something by myself!"

Nico scoffed when he saw the look on Jason's face. He pointed a finger at him accusingly. "That! That right there. That's the same look you've been giving me all week. Why in the world would you look like I backed up over your dog when I did something huge? I was on top of the world, and you ruined that. Stop trying to make me feel guilty for finally feeling good about myself!"

Jason's face hardened, his own finger came up and he pressed it into Nico's chest, with a little bit more force than necessary. "Damn it, Nico! You don't think that I felt like a complete fucking asshole for not being there for you saturday? You think I haven't been beating myself up for leaving you alone in that alleyway? You think I liked seeing you in the arms of that guy?" He emphasized every sentence with a jab at Nico's chest.

Nico pulled away from the offending finger prodding away at his sternum. "Is that was this is about? Are you jealous? You can't be serious! Get your head out of your ass, Jason."

Jason threw his hands up in surrender and backed away. "I'm so done with this, Nico."

Nico took a step forward, getting up close to his friend again. "Well I'm not, so deal with it. I'm sick and tired of your goddamned hero complex. Is that what you're trying to pull? Keep me small and pathetic so you can come in and save the day?"

A look of disbelief flashed over Jason's face, before it was replaced with an angry one. "You think I want to do that? Do you think I want to spend hours upon hours trying to get you to calm down from those fucking panic attacks? Do you-" His face fell as he realized what he'd just said.

"What?!" Nico looked absolutely murderous. "I'm sorry to be such a big fucking burden on your life, Grace. I'm sorry for being a pathetic loser. But guess what?" He picked up a bottle of water from his bed and clutched it so hard that his knuckles turned white. "I don't fucking need you! I got through the last one just fine without you and I can do it again. Now leave me the fuck alone!"

Jason squared his shoulders. "Stop acting like a kid, I did-" He was cut off by the bottle of water flying at him and hitting him square in the shoulder.

"Get out."

"Nico, I-" His voice could barely be heard over Nico's harsh breathing.

"Get out!" Nico's voice broke mid-scream, dark eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Jason nodded curtly. "Fine. You want to wallow in self pity? Be my fucking guest. Enjoy the panic attack, you little shit." He turned around, and stormed out of Nico's bedroom, slamming the door behind him.


"Dude! I have some great news!"

"Do tell, Cecil. Is the cafeteria selling meatball subs again?"

"No, man. It's a surprise!"

"And you're texting me about this because?"

"Pull your head out of the books, Will. I'm coming over! :D"

"Fine. I have this report due by midnight, but I can probably spare half an hour."

"Bring food."

Will groaned. He hated typing out reports.

He'd spent pretty much all of last sunday in bed, and it had resulted in him losing an entire day. A day he should have spent doing homework and starting on this damned report.

Who was he kidding, he didn't lose an entire day, he lost about half a week. Every time he started to work on something he would zone out half an hour later. He'd get lost in his thoughts, unable to stop thinking about Nico and how he'd come to his apartment. About Nico's touches, his quiet voice. How cute he looked when he was flustered.

He'd kept his promise, though. He was glad that he hadn't told Cecil about the panic attack before Nico showed up. Cecil was his very best friend and they'd known each other for a long while, but if there was one thing he loved, it was gossip. He read every article and interview out there, just so he'd have something to talk about. It wasn't that he didn't trust him with Nico's secret, but… He didn't trust him with Nico's secret. He wouldn't be the reason that word got out about it, and be hated forever by the man he admired so much.

Another groan. This had to stop. He kept on losing precious time because of this stupid crush on someone who would never be interested in him. But no matter how hard he tried, Nico wouldn't leave his thoughts alone.

And now Cecil had some great news that he didn't want to share via text. Most times, that was a reason to be downright frightened.

Heaving a sigh, he checked the clock. It was at least another hour before Cecil would be at his door, so he'd better make the most of it and at least try to get his homework done.


He didn't know what the hell just happened. The fight came out of left field, and right now the only thing he wanted to do was get away. Away from Nico, away from his feelings, and away from conflict.

It's not the first time he and Nico had ever fought, and it probably wouldn't be the last. But as far as intensity went, this was one of the higher ranking ones.

He was such an idiot. Nico had managed to rile him up enough to say things he didn't mean. Well, he had meant them, but they came out all wrong. He didn't know who he was more upset with, Nico or himself.

He grabbed his coat and his wallet, and made his way out of the suite. His face was flushed, and he felt too warm, and his shoulder hurt when he zipped his coat up with entirely too much vigor. He stomped for the elevator and smashed the button for the ground floor.

He caught a good look of himself in one of the mirrored walls of the elevator. He had to hold himself back from punching at his own reflection.

After a long ride down, he finally exited the hotel's lobby, and headed onto the busy streets of New York. He had no idea where he was going, but in his anger he let his feet take him where they wanted to go.

It was entirely too sunny for his mood, and when he came up to the entrance of Central Park he was thankful for the shade that the trees provided.

His feet kept on walking without his permission as he lost himself in thoughts about what the hell he was going to do now.

His relationship with Nico was over, and it was about time that he owned up to that fact. He'd been stupid to think that it was ever going to work between them again, no matter how much he wanted it to happen.

As much as he wanted to strangle Percy for pointing it out to him, the bastard had been right all along.

He finally sat down on a bench located on the edge of a large field. He stared ahead, trying to keep his thoughts from consuming him. He needed to calm down if he had any chance of making this right. A relationship with Nico may be out of the cards right now, but he wasn't going to give up his friendship. Not that, not ever. He would find a way to fix this.

His eyes fell on the people in front of him. Families having a picnic, kids throwing baseballs around. He couldn't help but smile.

A family, that's what he'd always wanted. He wanted the house with the white picket fence and two point five kids, even the dog. His heart ached as he realized that he'd never get to have that with the person that he wanted the most.

He'd never been part of a family. His father had been an absentee asshole, nothing but a name on the checks in the mail. His mother never really cared about him either. When his father had left the family, all he'd had to fall back on was Thalia.

He sometimes envied her. She'd come out of that ordeal a strong person, determined to help others. He didn't know exactly what she did for a living, but from what he did know she worked for a charity. She helped young women stay off the streets and out of gang life. She did something worthwhile.

And here was Jason. He didn't quite know what the hell he was doing with his life, especially not now that he'd had such a fight with what was supposed to be his best friend.

He'd given everything up to go live a life on the road. He'd dropped out of college, stopped his lease on the first place he'd called home since he'd left the house he grew up in, and all for what? To get chewed out by his best friend for having the audacity to care about him?

He wouldn't lie, he was happy for the opportunity, and it was incredibly great to see thousands upon thousands of people turning out to see him and his friends do what they did best.

But sometimes he felt like a third arm on Nico's body, especially where band matters were concerned. Nico wrote all the music, wrote all the lyrics. Everything they did was centered around Nico, even though he never wanted to be the center of attention. He didn't matter to the band as much as Nico did. It was probably the same for Percy, but he was sure that Percy was having a great time.

For a split second, he was worried that after this fight Nico would kick him out of the band. It would probably take no more than a few phone calls and he would easily be replaced. He didn't bring anything to the table that couldn't be done by anyone else.

And right at that point was the first time he wondered if he did the right thing by turning his life upside down for a childhood dream. Did he really have anything to show for it? He didn't have a social life or an education. If things were to end right now he'd be royally screwed.

He shouldn't make decisions when angry, but he'd certainly have something to think about. At the very least, he'd have to see if there was a university that offered online classes. It couldn't hurt to pick his studies back up, and he'd have more options as time went on.

He'd always been passionate about his studies. Back in college, his classes and homework always came before the band, right up until the point where they had been given a record deal.

He'd basically been a kid back then, barely knowing what he was getting into. He'd been tempted by the big bucks and the fame. What boy didn't want to grow up to be a rockstar?

It didn't mean that he wasn't thankful that he'd gotten the opportunity. He knew all too well that there were a lot more musicians in this world who would never get to do what he'd been able to, no matter how hard they worked for it.

It wasn't like there wasn't still time to come up with a plan to fall back on. Very few bands made it through their peak years and came out relevant on the other side. The way he saw it, he would enjoy this while it lasted, and make sure he'd have a field to fall back on if and when it ended. Since he didn't have as much skill as Nico did, he would probably have a hard time staying in the music industry.

Not that he would ever want to. He couldn't see himself wasting away in some recording studio, making sure that other people could live the life that he was living right now.

All he ever wanted was to help people. The same way Thalia was helping people, the way he had helped Nico. Had tried to help Nico, anyway.

Maybe he could combine that with his love of music. Thalia was keeping people off the streets, maybe Jason could do the same. Music could mean a lot in someone's life, and if Jason hadn't been offered the opportunity to learn how to play an instrument at the community center he'd used to spend his free afternoons at, then he was sure that he could do the same for other kids.

For now, all he knew for sure was that he'd sign up for online classes, and try to get his degree.

He wrapped his jacket tightly around him, only now noticing that the sun had started to set, bathing everything around him in an orange light.

Hopefully, the time he'd been gone helped Nico calm down. They would have to talk about their fight.

Jason hadn't had an honest conversation with Nico in a long, long time. He was too scared to accidentally push the wrong button and lose Nico, he would dance around sensitive subjects, never pushed Nico any more than absolutely necessary, and all the while he had hidden his own feelings.

Not anymore. It was time they sat down and had a good long talk.


A/N

Thank you guys so much for the reviews on the last chapter. And I just want to ask you if you could please keep writing them. Any criqitue is welcome, and even a short message saying you liked or didn't like it will brighten up my day!

Keep them coming!