CHAPTER SUMMARY

The Valentine's Day dance.

BEGINNING NOTES

Word Count: 2358
Content Warning: None

Sorry I'm posting so late, but... um, yeah, I have no excuse except I was out late drinking with my friends on Monday. Soooooooo... yeah.

Yeah, I know this one's super short. But this chapter and last week's were supposed to be one chapter, but then I had to split them up, yada, yada, yada.

Also, I added the comments to the previous chapter. Sorry I forgot last week!

And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

"What do you mean, Octavian's blackmailing Hazel?" I asked Frank and Reyna. I was stunned. I'd suspected something was off about their relationship, but blackmail? This was high school, not a James Bond movie!

"I know it sounds crazy," Reyna said, "but hear us out. You don't know Octavian like we do. He's not a nice guy."

"Not nice how?" I asked.

"Power-hungry," she answered. "He wanted to be class president, but he lost to me every year in middle school. He got smart and ran for secretary this time so he'd have some power over student council. He's been trying to undermine my authority and sabotage me the entire year. He's bitter. It's been frustrating, but mostly harmless until he got Hazel involved."

"Okay," I said slowly, "but you guys seriously think he'd blackmail Hazel into dating him over that stupid grudge? That's insane."

"I know," Frank replied. "Reyna didn't believe me either, at first. But I have proof. I got this the first week of school." He showed me a screenshot of an anonymous text on his phone.

PRIVATE

Stay away from Hazel Levesque or I'll make you pay.

I know you asked her out tonight. Break up with her or I'll make your life a living hell.

273 Maple St.
Everton, CA

"Is that your address?" I asked.

"No," Frank said, "it's Reyna's. I told Hazel I changed my mind. I didn't want Reyna to get hurt, and whoever it was could've been dangerous."

I handed him his phone back. "Why didn't you tell Hazel you were being threatened?" I asked. "You know, a lot of people wouldn't get their hearts broken if they just used their goddamn words."

...

I might've been talking from experience.

Bianca stop looking at me like that.

Stop looking at me!

*Beep*

Frank looked down. Reyna cut in, "Because we thought it was you. You've got a reputation, Nico. We knew from Hazel's stories how much you hated her, even if she didn't frame it like that. And Frank asked her out at Bianca's party, in your house, where you could've easily overheard. We thought you wanted to hurt her as revenge over her mom. But she was so determined to have a relationship with you; she'd never've believed us."

"When you guys made up at Thanksgiving, and she was suddenly dating Octavian, I realized it was him," Frank continued. "Hazel's popular in our grade; everyone likes her. She's a great artist and writer. She helped Reyna and me campaign, and was a big reason why we ended up winning. Octavian knew it, too. If they were dating, she'd have to help him in this year's race. Maybe he'd even make her his vice for the extra popularity."

"Why should I trust you guys?" I challenged. "Frank, when I spoke to Hazel, she said you asked her out and she said no, not the other way around. I'd believe you're jealous and trying to break them up before I'd believe this spy thriller shit."

"That's exactly what I said," Reyna replied. "I didn't believe Octavian would go that far either. But today at the student gov meeting, Mrs. Lupa announced the Olympus Scholarship. They're sending whoever wins the presidency in each grade this year to Washington DC to intern in the White House. Octavian wants to play politics after he graduates. Making connections like that's half the battle, not to mention the attention he'll get from colleges with that on his resumé. And you know who's a major contributor to the scholarship?"

"Papà," I realized.

"He wanted to make sure she was single, so when he found something on her, he could strike," Frank finished. "You know she's miserable with him. Why else would she stay? Octavian hits below the belt; he always has."

"I'm going to kill him," I said.

"As long as you leave a bit for me," Frank growled.

"We can't do anything until we know what he has on her," Reyna put in. "And that's where you come in. Octavian knows us, how we think, what we can do. He's already outmatched us in student gov. But he doesn't know anything about you."

"I'll do it," I told them. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: no one messes with my sister.

Meanwhile, in the land of the sane, Percy, Annabeth, Will, and I were in the gymnasium. Octavian snatched Hazel up almost as soon as we walked through the door. I yelled after her to have fun. Her smile looked forced, but I chalked that up to nerves. And before you say I should've realized something was wrong, I wasn't the one who saw Hazel crying, and I wasn't the one Frank and Reyna assaulted in the hallway. As far as I knew, things didn't work out with Frank, so Octavian stepped in. That happens in high school all the time.

Wow, defensive much?

Ugh, nevermind.

We lost Percy and Annabeth pretty soon after that, too. I wanted to look for Nico, but Will reminded me that it would look weird if I spent the entire night with my brother instead of my date. And the two of us running around the halls alone? By Monday, there'd be rumors we snuck off to have sex, and I was not dealing with that.

So, we danced for a while, joked around, grabbed some food in the caf. We hung out with Jason and Leo, who were both going stag because Jason still didn't have any balls around Piper, and Cally had dumped Leo yet again. The rest of us had a bet going on how long before they'd get back together. It was pointless, though, because Rachel always won. That's how she got her nickname: the Oracle. Rachel and Piper, who'd come together as friend-dates, were dancing with Grover and Juniper close by.

The best moment of the night came around nine o'clock. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico come into the gymnasium. He'd been gone for almost an hour. I was relieved and worried at the same time. What was he doing in the halls for so long? Will and I hadn't seen him in the caf when we got food. Had he started drinking again? Or maybe he was vandalizing the school for the umpteenth time.

Will followed my eyes to Nico. He whispered in my ear, "I'll figure it out. You have fun."

"Hey! We're having a conversation here, Solace!" Leo protested. "Share with the group. Whatever it is, it better be dirty."

Jason's eyes widened. He over-apologized to Will like always. I tried not to laugh, but it looked like he was about to get on his knees and grovel.

"It's nothing," Will assured him. "Leo, I said that Bianca should tell Jason that Piper said she likes him."

Then, like the troll Will is, he walked away while Jason had a heart attack.

Like we predicted, Leo was too distracted with golden boy to notice anything. "In and out, in and out," he directed him, complete with the up and down hand motions. Jason had to take a few deep breaths before he got the ability to speak again.

Jason grabbed me by the shoulders and cried, "Piper WHAT?!"

I told him about the whole yelling-at-Percy-for-his-love-letters thing. Near the end of the story, Percy and Annabeth joined us in our little circle. "I heard my name, what's up?" Percy said.

"You're a fucking superstar, that's what's up," Jason said, then he grabbed Percy and kissed him on both cheeks like the secret Italian he was. Percy staggered back, a little stunned. Annabeth, Leo, and I couldn't keep from laughing.

"Okay, are you sure you're not gay?" Leo asked.

"We'd love you anyway!" I added.

"Not going to lie, I might be a little gay for Percy right now," Jason admitted.

Percy shrugged at Annabeth. "Sorry, wise girl, he said it, I'm in love with someone else." He grabbed Jason and pecked him full on the mouth.

So. Not. Fair.

Annabeth, Leo, and I doubled over with laughter. Piper, Rachel, Grover, and Juniper ran over. "Do my eyes deceive me, or did Percy and Jason finally admit their undying love for each other?!" Rachel cried dramatically.

Theatre majors.

She's majoring in set design and stagecraft, Nico.

Still. They're all the same.

"It was meant to be," Grover said with tears in his eyes. "I'll be your best man, Percy."

"I call the maid of honor!" Leo shouted.

"I still don't know what I did to deserve this," Percy said. "Can someone explain what's going on?"

Jason didn't respond. He turned his back to Percy, grabbed Piper, and said, "Piper McLean, will you be my valentine?"

Piper smiled wide. She went on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. "Sorry, Percy," she joked, "You made it look fun."

"YES!" Percy shouted, pumping his fist in the air. "I CALLED IT! I FUCKING CALLED IT! JASIPER FOREVER!"

"Congratulations, Jason," I said.

He fainted onto the floor.

I wasn't having such a good time. Reyna and Frank decided to play interference with Octavian while I came up with a plan. They came into the gym first and made a beeline for Hazel. I waited a bit, then came in after them. I had to find Bianca. Together, we figure out what to do. Bianca's a lioness when it comes to the people she loves. With the di Angelo siblings on the case, Octavian wouldn't stand a chance.

Will found me before I found her. "Fancy seeing you here," he said. "Where'd you run off to?"

"Narnia," I replied. "Nice of you to abandon your girlfriend on Valentine's Day for little old me."

Will laughed. "She's dealing with another Jason freak out... that I may have caused." I couldn't help but laugh. He seemed so proud of himself. "You want to dance?" he asked.

My brain screamed, YES! but I forced myself to stay calm. "Sure, why not?" I said.

Very smooth.

I like to think so. Will pulled me onto the dance floor, and all my problems went away. How could I think about Percy or Hazel or Papà when Will Solace was clapping along to a shitty pop song right next to me? We inched our way through the mosh pit until we reached the center, where a circle had formed around two kids breakdancing. It was so crowded that my left shoulder and arm had to be pressed up against Will's. It was the best feeling in the world.

The "Cha Cha Slide" came on next. "All right, I'm getting some food," I said, but before I could walk off, Will grabbed my hand. I stopped short. Will Solace was holding my hand.

"Don't you dare, death boy, this is a classic," he said.

I answered with something super smart like, "Urrg-uh-huh." I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

I don't think that was the only place it was rushing to.

I thought you said no hard-on jokes!

It's okay when I do it. Continue, donnaiolo.

I managed a "Fine," and Will let me go. That was the last thing I wanted.

We faced each other while we danced. I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. And, at some point during the song, I decided, You know what? Fine. No one's paying attention to me, and anything goes at a school dance. I'm going to fucking enjoy myself, no matter how guilty and pathetic I feel tomorrow, tonight I'm gonna overdose on Will Solace.

So, near the end of the song, I pretended to trip. Will instinctively caught me. "Whoa there," he said. "You weren't off drinking before, were you?"

"Sober people fall too," I said as I stood back up. Will broke out laughing. It was so infectious that I laughed too. "Told you I need some food in me. What do you think, doc?"

"I prescribe you a bag of pretzels," Will replied. "Let's run to the caf. I'm getting a headache anyway."

We grabbed some food, and then I pulled Will outside. I told him fresh air always helped headaches. I knew I wouldn't get that kiss under the stars, but I wanted to make a memory. A good memory.

"We don't get nights like this in Raleigh," Will told me, his eyes on the stars. "There's too much light. I, heh, I thought moonlight was a myth until Mom took us on a road trip out to the country."

"Us?" I asked.

"My older brothers and I," he replied. "Lee and Michael."

"That's cool," I said. "What colleges do they go to?"

"They're in the military, actually." Will smiled. "They're heroes. I miss them so much."

"Why did you move in with your dad?" I asked. "You sound homesick whenever you mention North Carolina."

Will turned to me. "Truth? I, uh, came out as bi and was bullied real bad, started getting death threats from kids at school, shit like that. The administration did nothing to stop it, so Mom pulled me out. It was hard, coming here, but I have friends, you know, Cecil, Lou Ellen. Plus I got to meet Bianca and Hazel. And I got to meet you."

My heart stopped. Bi. Will was bi. He wasn't straight, he was bi.

"You can't tell anyone," Will continued, interrupting my mental breakdown. "I know I have to come out eventually, but I'd like some time before I have to face that again, you know?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," I rambled.

Will took another few seconds to look at the stars. "I should get back to Bianca," he said. "I'll see you back in the limo?"

I nodded because I wasn't sure what would come out of my mouth if I spoke out loud. There was a war going on inside my brain.

He's in love with my sister, I thought. But he could have feelings for me.

I knew I could never do that to Bianca, but that was my night with Will. So, for once, I let myself dream, but he could have feelings for me.

END NOTES

At last, it feels like a solangelo fic. Only took eight months. Lol.

This week's beta commentary:
STORY: By Monday, there'd be rumors we snuck off to have sex
JOJO: wow do teenagers these days care enough about that shit to keep track of who sneaks off with whom?! and i thought i had boring obsessions XD
MELODY: In middle school I kissed a guy on the cheek in the corner of the lunchroom and the ENTIRE SIXTH GRADE WAS ON THAT SHIT
JOJO: okay well yeah but sixth grade is different than high school (also same lmao except it was on a field trip bus)
MELODY: Honestly if we're going by maturity level sixth grade and senior year aren't all that different.
JOJO: it is entirely possible that i just went to a trash school where sex only made the gossip headlines when someone got caught by a teacher giving morning head under the stairs before the freshmen showed up

Credits:
Author: Melody Rose (Tumblr melody0rose)
Beta Readers: Jojo (Archive of Our Own bannedfrompencils), Luna Rain (Tumblr peppermintlove1), Oli (Tumblr paradoxicalpsychic)

Please comment so I know what you think! See you next week!

COMMENTS

Thank you tostormfall and SUPERNATURAL33234 for favoriting this story!

Crazypony4

This is a wonderful story.

I can't wait to see wait happens to hazel, Will and Nico love story, and Bianca.

Thank you so so much! I hope I don't disappoint :)

Fenikkusu94

Poor Nico. I feel bad for the kid. Everything just keeps going wrong for him. Luckily, we already know things get better.

Exactly. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I know this from experience.

Hayrunisa1960

I like it

Thank you!

The Goode Ravenclaw

I love it. I can imagine how annoyedish Nico was when everyone was interrupting him. I really live [love?] this and can't wait till the next update!

I really loved writing that dynamic between the three of them, because you get to see Nico happy and his and Will's actual relationship. Even if Nico couldn't get a word in for a bit.