Even before the door had shut behind Nico, Will was feeling uncomfortable.
Sally and Paul were nice people, but Will didn't really know them, and after what had just happened, the atmosphere was tense and awkward.
The silence wasn't helping.
"They'll be back soon," Paul said with a smile, before leaving to the kitchen, taking a few plates with him.
Will stood up and picked up his own plate. The least he could do right now was help out a little bit.
"Oh, Will, sweetie, leave it," Sally said. "We'll take care of that. You just sit and try to enjoy yourself. I believe you were telling me about how you met the guys?"
Will sank back down onto his chair and started picking the food off his plate. He wasn't particularly hungry anymore, but the food was too good to go to waste. He understood now why Nico had overfilled his plate, Sally was a great cook.
When he finished his story, Paul had cleared most of the table and was happily humming along to Christmas songs while doing the dishes in the kitchen, while Sally was looking at him with a thoughtful expression.
"So," Sally chuckled, raising an eyebrow, "When were you going to tell me that the two of you are dating?"
Will went beet-red. "We, uh, we're not. Nico's… Just a friend?" Crap, who was he trying to kid? Yeah, officially, Nico was just a friend. Not for much longer, if Will had any say in it, but still, just friends felt like an understatement.
Sally laughed again. "Could've fooled me."
Will shrugged, not knowing what else to do. Denial clearly wasn't working. Sally could see right through him. He took a deep breath and decided to be honest. "I like him. A lot." It was weird to have this conversation with someone he didn't know, but it felt liberating. He wanted to keep it a secret from the world, but at the same time, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops.
"I could tell," Sally said, leaving Will to wonder just how obvious they had been during dinner.
She smiled at him. "And he likes you too. But I think you know that."
Will nodded. "Yeah. We talked about it a little while ago." Sally made him feel at ease, and seemed truly interested in what he said, and so the words tumbled out of his mouth before he had the chance to stop them.
"We're trying to work it out. I mean, it's not like a business transaction, but it's…" He sighed. "Complicated, with the band and all that. I'm going to be in med school next year, so that's another hurdle. We decided to take some time to think about whether it'd be worth it, you know?"
"Let me tell you something, Will," Sally said. "When I was about your age, I fell in love with this guy. And he loved me back. We were kind of in the same situation. He wasn't in a band or anything, but his job took him all over the world, so we only saw each other for a few days every couple months. Whenever he could visit, he'd be here." Her eyes glazed over, as if she was remembering it all, but there was a small smile playing on her lips. "We didn't last long. It was short but sweet, and incredibly tumultuous, but you know what?" She nudged Will in the ribs with her elbow. "Even though I haven't seen or heard from him in over twenty-five years, I wouldn't take any of it back."
"Twenty-five years?" Will asked. "So-"
"Yes," Sally nodded. "I'm talking about Percy's father. I can't be bitter about anything, not when Percy is the greatest gift I've ever gotten. So what I'm trying to say is, even if it doesn't last… Don't deny yourself the chance to be happy. Don't rush into it either, but… Life is short, and the memories you can make together will last a lifetime."
Nico had dragged Percy over to the patio, where he'd cleared the snow from the table and a few of the chairs that were surrounding it. A part of him wondered why they couldn't just go inside and be warm while they talked, but Percy seemed pretty adamant about not wanting to go back inside, even though he was shaking like a leaf from the cold.
Percy hadn't said a word to him, not since Nico had told him that it was time they talked about things. He'd followed Nico to the patio like he was being led to his execution and was currently sitting in a chair, staring down at his lap.
They sat together in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until Jason came back outside and threw a jacket at Percy before sitting down himself.
The silence stretched on, with Nico and Jason waiting for Percy to start talking. When Nico realized he wasn't going to, he sighed. "Look, Percy. Whatever's going on, you know we've got your back, right? We always have, and we always will."
Percy nodded, but didn't look up.
"Percy," Jason started, but Percy interrupted him.
"I fucked up," He said in a quiet, fragile voice.
The way he said it made Nico worry. Percy fucked up all the time. He'd gotten in trouble so many times that both him and Jason had lost count. In all the years that they'd known each other, he'd never seen Percy as broken as he looked now.
Jason and Nico shared a look, and it was all they needed. They'd always been able to communicate without words - something that came in handy while they were on stage - and both knew instantly what the other meant. Go easy on him.
"You're going to have to give us a little more than that, Perce," Nico said, getting as comfortable as he could in his chair. It looked like they were going to be here for a while.
He felt a pang of guilt at leaving Will alone, but he trusted that Sally would make him feel welcome. He'd have to find a way to apologize later, but right now, he couldn't walk away from this, not when his friend needed him. He hoped Will would understand.
Percy nodded. "Yeah. I know. I'm just… I really fucked up, guys."
"I take it this has to do with the Annabeth your mother mentioned?" Jason asked, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm.
Again, Percy nodded. "You know the blonde that's at a lot of our shows? Tall, grey eyes, cute as all hell? That's Annabeth."
Jason groaned. "Oh, god, what did you do? Please tell me you didn't knock a groupie up, Percy. Please."
Nico had the same thought. Everyone knew Percy liked to sleep around, and there was no shortage of women who wanted to sleep with Percy. In essence, it was a disaster waiting to happen. He didn't want any part of the media circus that would inevitably follow if that's what had happened.
He was surprised when Percy's head snapped up and he glared at Jason as fiercely as he could. If looks could kill, Jason would be a smoldering pile of ashes right now.
"Do you think I'm fucking stupid?" Percy bit out harshly, his voice cutting through the cold air like a knife. "Do you?"
Jason glared back. "Well what the hell am I supposed to think? You fucked up and it's to do with the blonde woman who hangs on your arm every chance she gets? We know how you are with women. It's none of our business, but-"
"Shut the fuck up, Jason!" Percy growled. "Just shut up and let me talk, okay? This is hard enough as it is and I do not need your condescending bullshit right now."
"Condescending bullshit?" Jason scoffed, looking at Nico as if to say 'Can you believe this asshole?'
"Yeah! You act all high and mighty and meanwhile, you're the one who's still in love with Nico even though he moved on years ago. Don't fucking pretend you're perfect, Jason. You're not. You're just as fucked up as the rest of us."
"Guys," Nico said calmly when both Jason and Percy stood up, ready to pounce on each other.
Percy's comment had made him choke on a breath. He knew that Jason still had feelings for him, and that Jason had probably talked to Percy about it, but he didn't know that Percy would use it as ammunition in a petty shitfight. As angry as Percy was, Jason didn't deserve that.
Nico stood up himself when neither Percy nor Jason paid him any attention. "Hey, you two! Sit your asses back down!" He looked at Jason. "Calm the hell down and don't let him bait you." He turned his head. "Percy, stop trying to change the subject."
He sat back down, inwardly smiling that by the looks of it, he'd managed to intimidate both his bandmates into backing off. "Now, let's talk about this like adults, okay?"
"As I was saying," Percy sneered, side-eyeing Jason, "Annabeth…" He shook his head. "Let's just start at the beginning, okay?"
"Thanks. You're right." Will smiled. "I was actually going to tell him that I want to be with him tonight."
Sally threw her head back and laughed, and when Will realized what he'd said he couldn't help but laugh along with her.
"Of course, I meant that tonight, I was going to tell him that I want to be with him." His cheeks turned a deep red again. "But, who knows if I'll get the chance. They've been out there for a while now."
Sally checked her watch and nodded. "They'll work it out. There isn't a thing that the three of them haven't been able to overcome together."
"Yeah, they seem close," Will said, smiling. "I guess you kind of have to be, living like they do."
"Make no mistake," Sally laughed, "they fight like dogs every now and then. But they always make up. They're the best of friends. Jason and Nico are the brothers I could never give Percy."
"Are you also from California? I know Jason and Nico are from there," Will asked.
Sally shook her head. "New York, born and raised." Her smile turned sad and she shifted in her seat. "I told you that Percy's father isn't in the picture, and when Percy was about fifteen, he started having trouble with that. His best friend moved away when her parents divorced, and he became withdrawn. I did all I could, but," she laughed, "I was getting a little tired of him banging away on that drum kit of his all day long. We lived in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, so I shipped him off to summer camp. I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but in the end it turned out to be the right decision."
Will nodded. "So that's where he met Nico and Jason?"
"He did," Sally confirmed. "Well, the third year he went to camp he did. He managed to get himself kicked out of a lot of camps, little troublemaker that he was. After I met Paul, we took a vacation in California so Percy could go to camp there. He'd already been banned from most of the camps on the east coast and that way, it worked out for everyone. We stayed in the area, so we'd be able to collect him if he got kicked out again. Imagine my surprise when he didn't."
Will listened intently. He'd known that Percy, Nico and Jason had been friends before they'd formed Thrice Greek, and that they'd attended the same college, but he didn't know how they'd met.
"He ended up staying an extra week, just so he could be with his new friends: Nico, Jason, and some other kids. Other friendships faded, but those three were thick as thieves from the day they met. Nico and Jason flew out here every other vacation, and Percy spent the rest of his school breaks in California."
"I didn't know that," Will said. "It's a nice story."
"It's like having three sons. I love Nico and Jason as if they were my own." She chuckled. "Granted, it got a little weird when those two started dating, but you get the point." She checked her watch. "I'm sure Nico will be back soon, so you won't have to listen to all these stories anymore."
Will wished he knew what was going on, but he wasn't going to pry. Whatever was going on with Percy was none of his business.
"Please," Will said, "I don't mind. I actually like hearing about all this. It's no bother at all."
"While we wait, though," Sally said, getting up, "I didn't spend all day in the kitchen just to have dessert go to waste."
Nico sat back in his chair, eyes flickering between Jason and Percy. Whatever Percy was going to say, getting angry wouldn't get them anywhere. He needed to make sure Jason was going to keep his cool, and then maybe later the two of them could kill Percy together if he deserved it. They had to let Percy finish before laying down a verdict.
A few minutes passed while Percy gnawed on the inside of his cheek and fiddled with a loose thread on the sleeve of his jacket. Nico had lit a cigarette and tried to ignore Jason's pointed looks of disgust. I know, Jason.
"Annabeth, she… She was my best friend," Percy said out of nowhere. "She used to live next door to me when we were still living in Brooklyn. We went to the same school, took music lessons together," Percy laughed mirthlessly, "even though she sucked. Not a talented musician, that one, but I think she took the lessons just so we could do stuff together. Anyway, we did everything together. She was my first kiss, even though I thought kissing was disgusting back then."
Another silence. Nico wished he had his phone on him so he could let Will know that they would be here a while.
"Her parents got divorced when we were about fourteen, and shortly after she moved away with her dad. We promised to stay in touch and all that, but we didn't, not really. This was before we had a computer, and every time I'd call her she'd be out with her new friends." He frowned. "That's why my mom sent me to all those camps. I became this shitty little brat that wouldn't listen to her. I wouldn't have met you guys if it hadn't been for that."
Nico took a long drag off his cigarette and watched as the smoke between him and Percy dissipated in the wind, making Percy come back into focus. He wanted to reach across the table and pull Percy into a hug - he looked like he desperately needed one - but Nico was scared that Percy would fall apart if he interrupted him right now.
"We lost touch. We never really spoke after that." Percy sighed deeply. "Until about two months ago, after a show. She came up to me, and I immediately recognized her." He managed a watery smile. "She's beautiful now. I guess she always was, but I was a stupid kid and girls were gross so I never paid her that kind of attention. She was my bro, you know? We ended up getting coffee and catching up a day later." He shook his head. "She contacted Reyna, but you know how it is. Everyone and their grandma is claiming to be a childhood friends of ours, so Reyna threw the e-mail out. Annabeth bought tickets to see the show on the off chance that she'd get to say hi afterwards."
Nico smiled. It sounded like Annabeth was important to Percy. He cast a glance at Jason, and it looked like all the anger had drained from him. Good.
"I slept with her, dumb dipshit that I am," Percy said, anger evident in his face. "I like her. I really, really do. And I treated her like all the girls before her. Like she was nothing. Like she should be thankful to get a night with me." A wry smile formed on his lips. "Granted, almost all of them are, but Annabeth deserved better." He nodded to himself.
"Wait," Jason cut in. "You throw all these tantrums because you slept with your friend? And you actually like her? That's it? I don't understand you, man."
"No, Jason," Percy snapped. "Again, do you think I'm actually stupid?" He shook his head again. "No, it's much worse than that."
"Jason," Nico said, holding up his hand to calm him, "Let him finish." He turned to Percy. "Nobody thinks you're stupid. Go on."
Percy glared at Jason again for good measure, then defiantly turned his chair to face Nico before he started talking again.
"As I was saying, she deserved better. And I don't know how it happened but… We started hanging out a lot before and after shows, so I guess we somewhat started dating. It's weird to say it out loud." Percy laughed, but it sounded bitter and hollow. "I guess at that point it meant a lot more to her than it did to me. You guys know me. I'm not a relationship type of guy. I mean, I've never actually dated anyone before. I've never really wanted to." He groaned and rubbed his palm along his forehead. "We went out a few times, even took her to see my mom because she missed Annabeth too, and every time we hung out it pretty much always ended with the two of us making out or something more, but I thought it was just us being friends, you know?"
Nico winced inwardly. He was starting to see how this Annabeth girl was angry at Percy. Instead of hugging Percy, Nico now wanted to slap some sense into him. How Percy could be so clueless about stuff like that was beyond him. Nico was far from being an expert on relationships, but at least he wasn't that oblivious.
Okay, maybe he was when it came to his own love life, but that wasn't the point. Not now. He'd find a way to tell Will that he wanted to be with him, even if the night hadn't gone as planned so far. He didn't know how long they'd be out here - hopefully not for much longer, the chill was starting to seep through his jacket - but he'd find the right time, he was sure of that.
"There wasn't like a clear defining moment where the being friends thing ended and the dating began," Percy said, shaking Nico out of his thoughts. "So for me… I didn't realize. I'll own up to being an asshole, but I didn't realize…" Percy looked down at the table, shaking his head.
"You… slept with other people, didn't you?" Nico said, lacing as much concern in his voice as he could muster, bracing himself for Percy's response, which was bound to be another sneer. It didn't come.
Percy closed his eyes and nodded his head so minutely that Nico thought he might have imagined it.
"Just one. I'm such an asshole," Percy croaked out, hanging his head. The disgust in his face was clear as day, making for a stark contrast with the Percy that Nico knew. The Percy that was so in love with himself that it was two parts hilarious and one part pitiful.
Nico knew Percy wasn't perfect, and he knew that Percy knew it as well, but it had mostly lain unspoken between them. Don't ask, don't tell. It worked for them, but now, as the cracks were showing in Percy's façade, Nico was saddened. He wished Percy would have come to him or Jason sooner, or anyone else for that matter. Sally didn't seem to know about any of this either.
It was obviously tearing Percy apart, and while Nico oftentimes rejected any and all help, thinking he was better off alone and only letting Jason in when things got particularly bad, he knew that it was better if you had someone right there with you, someone with a clear head who could show you the light out of the dark labyrinth that made up your thoughts, simply by listening.
"I would never dream of cheating on her," Percy said, frowning. "Not consciously. If I'd known… I swear I wouldn't have even looked at other girls, let alone-" He swallowed thickly. "You guys have to believe me!" He looked up, eyes pleading Nico and Jason to understand.
As bad as it was, when Nico tried to put himself in Percy's shoes, he could understand what he'd done. Percy's utter cluelessness routinely bit him in the ass, and this time, it had bitten down hard. He didn't know Annabeth, but it wasn't hard to put himself in her shoes either. He didn't know what he'd have done if Jason had cheated on him while they had been dating.
He didn't even want to think about what he'd do if Will… No, he wasn't going to think about things like that.
"I do, Percy," Nico said, trying for a smile. "But… I'll have to admit, it… It's not good, dude."
"I know it's not," Percy sighed. "It's awful. I'm awful. I didn't realize what I had until after I'd destroyed it." He ran a hand through his hair and yanked harshly.
Nico scooted his chair closer to Percy and gently pulled his hand out of his hair. "Take it easy, Perce. Shit like that won't get you anywhere. So, she's still angry with you, right?"
Percy nodded sadly, looking on the verge of tears.
"I can't say I blame her," Jason said, prompting Nico to deploy his deadliest glare. "But," Jason said, narrowing his eyes at Nico, "I know you, dude. You're a stupid asshole sometimes but you're not that big of an ass."
Nico patted Percy on the shoulder. "You apologized, right?" He closed his eyes and hoped that there was a limit to Percy's obliviousness.
"Yeah," Percy said, raising an eyebrow when he heard Nico release a sigh of relief. "I did. She threw me out of her apartment."
Nico couldn't pretend that he didn't understand Annabeth's reaction. If he'd been in that situation, he probably would have thrown Percy out too, only via the balcony instead of just showing him the door.
"I went back again and again, trying to explain the situation. It wasn't even about a relationship, not really. I mean, yeah, the whole thing made me realize that I love her and I want to be with her so much it almost hurts but more than anything I want us to be friends again." He rubbed at his eyes and groaned. "I tried everything. I sent her enough flowers to fill her apartment, I invited her out, I even begged her to forgive me, spending entire nights camped outside of her door, but she wouldn't have any of it. I invited her to spend Christmas here because mom was expecting her." He huffed out a breath. "I guess even mom knew we were dating and I didn't fucking see it. Anyway, I figured Christmas would be the perfect opportunity for us to talk it out, you know? It was a stupid idea, and she hung up on me." He shook his head sadly, tears brimming in his eyes. "I don't know what to do, guys. I don't want to lose her again."
That struck a nerve with Nico, and he pulled Percy into a hug, both because Percy needed it, and because the thought of losing people drove a dagger right into Nico's heart. "I'm sorry," he whispered into Percy's hair
Moments later, Jason wrapped his arms around around Percy from the other side, and that's when Percy broke. His body shook with the force of his sobs, and Nico couldn't do anything other than quietly coo in Percy's ear, keeping a tight hold on him until Percy only trembled.
"I'm okay," Percy mumbled after a little while. "I deserve it." He wiped at his cheeks and cleared his throat. "The day I punched that photographer was the day she told me she never wanted to see me again. I was angry, and I took it out on him. I had to sit in Reyna's office and tell her that I got dumped." He shook his head. "She was so angry at me and ranted and raved at me for hours. I didn't even talk back to her. I deserve everything the world throws at me because of what I did. God, I'm such a fuckup."
Nico shook his head and tightened his hold on Percy. "Everyone makes mistakes, dude. We've pulled each other through a lot, and we're totally here to help you pick up the pieces."
Jason nodded his agreement. "Yeah. That's what friends are for. I wish you'd have told us sooner, though." He smiled. "But it's all water under the bridge. You'll figure it out, and we'll help you if you need us to, okay?"
Percy fell silent and leaned his head on Nico's shoulder still looking pained, and it broke Nico's heart. Percy had made a mistake - more than one, if you counted his pushy behaviour in trying to make it up to Annabeth - and while it was ultimately up to her to decide what would happen from here on out, he didn't want Percy to feel like this. A part of him knew that Percy deserved to feel like shit, but he still hoped that Percy would be able to work it out with her.
For now, all they could do was to to be there for Percy, much like Percy had been there for him whenever he needed to talk about Will. Maybe it would be best to let things rest for a while, so everything could sink in and hopefully it would give Percy time to clear his head and figure out what he was going to do, if there was even anything to be done.
He was glad that he'd found out what had been going on with Percy, after his strange behaviour the past couple weeks. Percy's guilt and shame must have been weighing on him like a ton of bricks, but Nico hoped that coming clean to his friends had lightened the load just a little.
One thing was for sure, though. Percy had to find a way to fix this.
When Nico looked over at Jason, he could see concern on his face, clear as day, but Jason sat with his arm around Percy anyway, rubbing his hand along Percy's back. For years, it had been the three of them, and there was nothing they couldn't tackle together, Nico was sure of it.
He wouldn't trade his best friends for the world - even if they sometimes messed up, but if they got to enjoy the highs together, they had to share the burden of the lows. He wouldn't have it any other way.
Please leave me a review, I'm dying to know what you think of this one!
