Nico barely heard Paul and Annabeth gasp as their lips met. It was like being shocked with electricity, only a hundred times better, thought Nico. Almost as soon as Percy had touched his lips to Nico's, Percy leaned back from him, got up and rocked slowly side to side on his back. He sighed as his warmth left him.
Seconds passed...
Minutes...
Nico just sat in shock at what had just happened; he was jerked out of his shock by Annabeth stuttering "What… what the hell just went on?"
Percy must have decided that he was bored and went into the living room to watch the television, humming a tuneless song as he went. Paul, sensing the other two teens needed some time alone, went into the kitchen to start dinner and call Sally. He mumbled something, gently closing the door behind him.
Nico slowly turned his head to meet Annabeth's eyes; he could see confusion and rage in them. "It was just a kiss..." he said lamely, dropping his gaze.
"JUST A KISS?!" Shrieked Annabeth.
"I… I don't know. He's never… He's never even done that before, I swear!" Nico mumbled out.
"Where did he even learn that? The only shows he watches are SpongeBob and Bubble Guppies!" said Annabeth in a more quiet, but still angry tone.
Nico stood up on shaky legs, "Are you trying to say that I taught him that? Annabeth, he barely even likes to give people hugs!" His voice rose slightly with every word, trying to reason in vain with her.
"I'm not trying to say anything! All I want to know is where he learned what kissing is! I mean, you are gay and all, and you've had a few exes. Maybe he was watching when you kissed one of them, I don't know!" Annabeth rambled, her voice also getting higher and louder.
"Annabeth, you know that when I kissed one of them then I'd make sure that he didn't see what we were doing. He's easily influenced. Why are you even so bothered by all of this? It was just an accident. Besides, Percy wouldn't even connect kissing me with love or homosexuality. It was probably just a reflex." Nico said in a more confused but still angry tone. Really...why was Annabeth making such a big deal about it?
Annabeth gave him a hard look with those gray eyes that would have terrified him had she not been his best friend.
"Fine," she spat, picking up her fallen backpack and throwing his forgotten keys at him. "I'm going home." She ran out of the room and out of the apartment before Nico even had a chance to say anything else.
"Annabeth!" Nico ran out into the corridor that he knew would be empty. "Wait!" He looked and just saw the briefest flash of blonde hair disappearing around the corner. He ran back into the apartment and grabbed the keys off the ground where Annabeth had thrown them.
Nico was about to race out the door, but suddenly remembered Percy. He quickly walked over to Percy, who was mesmerized by the television showing SpongeBob and Patrick trying to teach Squidward how to jellyfish, even though he was in a full body cast.
"Percy, I have to go back out again and find Annabeth. I'll be right back, I promise. I just have to see if she's okay." He said.
Percy just continued to look at the TV, not giving any indication that he had heard what Nico said. His face was still a medium shade of red from his tantrum.
Nico sighed and stood up, giving Percy a small kiss on his forehead before walking over to the kitchen and poking his head in. "Paul, you wouldn't mind watching Percy for a few more minutes? Annabeth ran off and I have to find her and make sure she's okay." he asked quickly.
"Nico, she's probably on the bus by now. And besides, Sally is going to be home in a few minutes and Percy's still a bit shaken up from his ordeal. Do you really think-"
"Okay, thanks, bye!" Nico said, running to the door and running out into the hallway, once again opting for the stairs as he sprinted down them two at a time, almost falling flat on his face when he missed one and tripped over one of the stairs. He sprinted to the door and almost ran straight into Sally, who was trying to unlock the apartment complex door with a big bag of groceries.
"Hey, Nico!" Sally said cheerfully. "Care to help me with carrying some groceries?"
Nico bent to catch some breath. "Have (huff) you seen (Hahh) Annabeth anywhere?" Nico said, lungs burning from the run downstairs and legs numb from the sprint from the bus stop.
"Oh, yeah. She was running down the street to the bus stop. I said hi to her but I guess she didn't hear me with all of the hustle and bustle on the street. She looked kind of upset. Did you two have a fight?"
Nico sighed, defeated. "I suppose you could say that. How far away from the bus stop were you two?"
"Well, I'd say about halfway, but she's probably there by now." Sally said. She frowned when she saw the look on Nico's face. "How about when we get upstairs we'll talk about whatever happened?" she suggested.
Nico hesitated. He wanted to desperately talk to Annabeth, but common sense told him that she was most likely gone, and even if he did catch up to her, she would be unwilling to listen. I'll check her tomorrow at school, concluded Nico reluctantly. Hopefully she'll be cooled down by then...I don't want to lose my best friend over...over this.
He walked over to Sally, taking two bags of groceries and walking over to the elevator. "Paul will probably tell you." Nico let out a defeated sigh, punching the up button hard. "I-I-I just want to go to bed." He mumbled.
Sally sighed and followed Nico into the elevator. "Nico, whatever happened, I'm sure things will turn out okay." She said trying to sound reassuring. Nico just looked down remembering the anger he had seen in Annabeth's eyes, anger she reserved for her enemies, and willed the elevator to move faster. Therefore letting him avoid more questions he really didn't want to answer.
They walked out of the elevator after it had deposited them at their floor and opened the door to the apartment. "I'm home!" Sally said, walking to the kitchen and putting the bags on the counter. She was followed by Nico, whose mood had noticeably soured compared to when he left the apartment. He dumped his bags unceremoniously on the counter. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Percy walk into the kitchen and Sally gave him a hug.
"I don't feel so well. I think I'm going to rest for a while," Nico said again, walking out of the kitchen towards his bedroom. He could hear Sally and Paul talking in hushed tones, he tried to block them out. Nico didn't want to hear what they had to say about him. Behind him he heard shuffling footsteps who he guessed were Percy's.
When he got to his door, Nico turned around and looked at Percy, who had followed him and was rocking back and forth ever so slightly on his feet. "Come on Percy," Nico said, smiling to himself and trying to banish Annabeth's angry face out of his mind as he took Percy's hand and led him into the room to the bed.
Percy flopped down on his bed, his eyes already closing. With a slight smile, Nico lay down beside him and hugged Percy in his arms until his breaths evened out, signaling that Percy had fallen asleep.
Nico laid his chin on top of Percy's head, eyes wide open, staring aimlessly at the second hand ticking around his alarm clock.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Annabeth was mad at him.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Would she ever talk to him?
Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...
He could feel his eyelids grow heavy as the red travelled circles around the face of the clock. Sighing, Nico closed his eyes and started to daydream.
And… scene! Thank you to all of my lovelies for reading this! And, of course, big round of applause for my awesome beta, OffInMyOwnWorld! :) See you next chap!
