The Party Pt. 2
What can I say? It's quarantine and I'm out of creativity. This one picks up right where the last part ended.
Nico POV
"I met a boy."
Percy's cocky, teasing grin faded.
"You what? You mean you made a friend?" he asked, confused. I groaned inwardly, remembering that I had never come out to Percy officially. I just assumed he knew. I sighed. Well, there was no point in pretending anymore.
"No Percy, I met a boy named Will and he took me out for ice cream and I think we kissed." I said.
"Wha-you-he-you think you kissed? You're not sure?" he asked, apparently dumbfounded.
"No, I was a little bit drunk last night." I admitted.
"I-wow. So...you're gay?" Percy asked. Has he always been this slow or is it just me?
"Yeah...I'm gay." I clarified. The dorm was silent for probably seconds, but it felt like years. Finally, Percy moved.
"I'm sorry, I just...I need to leave…" he began.
"Don't bother. I'll go. You stay." I said as I could feel the bile rising in my throat. Percy nodded wordlessly and turned away. Blinking back tears, I grabbed my jacket and all but ran out the door. I made it to the stairwell before the tears started coming. I sat on the landing in between the second and third floor while I collected myself. It was obvious that I couldn't go back to the dorm, at least not right now. So where could I go? It wasn't like I had a lot of friends. Then a blond freckled boy popped into my head and I realized that there was only one person I could go to at the moment. I wiped my face and tried to remember if Will said anything about where he lived.
Will POV
The sun coming through the window woke me up. I love Saturdays because on Saturdays, I don't have any classes until 3:25 pm so I can sleep in however long I want. My roommates, Michael and Lester, belong to a rare race of humans called "morning people" and were usually up and out by the time I even woke up.
And it was probably a good thing that they weren't there to hear me scream into my pillow out of frustration. How could I be so irresponsible, taking advantage of a very pretty drunk boy? Even after he spent a solid 30 minutes talking about someone else, I still kissed him, or let him kiss me.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…" I repeated to myself over and over again until the word lost meaning.
I thought a shower would help me clear my head, so I pushed myself out of bed and headed to the apartment's single bathroom. Another perk of waking up so much later than Mike and Lester is that I didn't have to compete with anyone for the bathroom.
While I was in the shower, I replayed the events of the previous night in my head. My mind showed me the very flushed, but still very cute, drunk face of Nico DiAngelo and I groaned in frustration. I figured that he probably didn't remember what happened the night before and I would have to just pretend it never happened. Just my luck that the boy I fall for-
Fall for? I paused in the middle of shampooing my hair. Was I in love with Nico DiAngelo? A boy that I had only met once and loves another boy? Because that would be a whole other level of stupid, even for me.
I finished showering and just as I stepped out of the shower, I heard someone pounding on the door.
"Coming!" I called as I scrambled to pull on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I went to the door.
"What's up?" I asked as I opened it, expecting to see Lester or Kayla. But instead, I was greeted with a very tearful Nico. My first reaction was joy at being able to see him again, but then concern flooded over me.
"Nico…? What's wrong?" I asked, worried that he'd been hurt. He sniffed and wiped at his face with the sleeve of his jacket.
"I'm...sorry to bother you. I just...I needed somewhere to go. Percy…" he trailed off, his words cut off by his hiccuping sobs.
"Hey...hey." I said as I pulled him inside and shut the door. I led him to the couch.
"Here, sit down and relax. I'll grab you a cup of water." I said and made my way to the kitchen. As I rummaged through the cabinets looking for a clean cup, I heard Nico sniffling in the other room. I had hoped to see him again, but not under these circumstances, him crying and talking about Percy. I sighed and tried to push down the mix of confusing feelings rising in me.
I took a deep breath, pulling myself together, before I made my way back into the living room, carrying a glass of water for Nico. I set the water down on the coffee table and sat next to him on the couch.
Nico POV
"Do you feel better?" Will asked, smiling. I nodded, feeling stupid for bothering him on a Saturday morning.
"Look, I don't know if you remember, but you were at a party last night and you got a little drunk. You told me about Percy. Listen, I know it can be tough when someone we love doesn't feel the same way. But you deserve so much better than someone who doesn't even care to see how wonderful you are. Also, you really can't hold your liquor, so maybe don't drink at parties next time?" he joked. I was going to tell him that I remembered going out for ice cream with him and kissing him in the parking lot. But he cut me off.
"But seriously, if that guy is stupid enough to let someone like you get away, then he's not worth it. You could do so much better. Really." he blurted out. He sounded so passionate, I had never heard him talk like that before.
"Will…" I started. He looked at me, and I moved forward, closing the distance between us. I kissed him, more gently than in the parking lot but somehow it felt more real this time. After a couple of seconds, Will pulled away and stood up.
"Nico, I think you're a good guy. And I like you. A lot. But you're in an emotionally vulnerable state right now and I don't want you to do something we'd both regret. Also, I know how you feel about Percy and I don't want to be used as a way for you to get over a guy. I'm sorry and I hope you can understand." he said, not smiling for once. He ran his hand through his damp hair.
"I need to go dry my hair. Feel free to stay as long as you need to, okay? If you get hungry, Mike bought some fruit yesterday and they're in the kitchen." he said almost absentmindedly, as if he was thinking about something else. He turned to leave and I jumped up from the couch, where I'd been frozen during Will's speech.
"Wait!" I called. He paused and I was silent for a bit, trying to find the right thing to say. But my mind kept replaying Will saying, "I like you," over and over again.
"I promise...I'm not using you to get over Percy." I began.
"I haven't known you for that long, but being around you feels so different from being with Percy. It feels more real with you. I've been trying to get him to fall for me for such a long time, but now I know that I never really liked Percy. I liked the version of him that I had in my head and that's not the same thing. Last night, even though we only went out for ice cream...I felt things that I don't think I've ever felt before. So please, please don't walk away." I begged, not even bothering to hide the note of desperation in my voice. I felt tears begin to stream down my face. I looked at the floor, hoping that Will hadn't seen me crying. But then I felt a pair of gentle hands cup my face and make me look up. I found that I was looking into a pair of the bluest eyes I've ever seen. Eyes that were also wet.
"Were you telling the truth? When you said all that?" he asked, almost whispering. I nodded. A huge grin split his face. He laughed, hugging me too tightly, but I didn't really mind.
"Wait. If you're not here to get over Percy, then why are you here?" he asked, suddenly concerned again. I sighed.
"I told Percy about how you took me out for ice cream last night and I forgot that I'd never officially come out to him. He got really uncomfortable, so I left." I said, and almost started crying again while recounting what had happened.
"Oh. Oh no. Neeks, I'm so sorry." Will said sadly.
"It's okay. I needed to tell him eventually." I shrugged, trying to feign indifference.
"Are you going to try to talk to him about it? I mean, you don't have to, but maybe you should. It's possible he was just shocked by the information and just needed some time to process it." Will suggested.
"Yeah, you're probably right." I admitted.
"You don't have to right now. I mean, the choice is yours. But I'm here to help you whatever you decide to do." Will promised. I gave him a small smile and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thanks Will. But I feel better now, so I think I'll go talk to Percy." I went to get my jacket. Will agreed that that was a good idea and he gave me his number, making me promise to call him later.
~Timeskip, Volume I~
When I got back to the dorm, I paused in the doorway for a moment, listening, as I always do to make sure Percy doesn't have anyone over. I had learned my lesson after the first time I had accidentally gone to ask Percy for the calculus notes at the wrong time. But as it turned out, I didn't need to worry. Percy was sitting on the couch, apparently waiting for me. He saw me and jumped up, making his way towards me. I tensed up, worried that a fight was about to happen.
"Nico, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I know I scared you but really, I'm not upset." he blurted out all at once. The tension in my shoulders released and I sighed.
"That's a relief." I said. He smiled, which usually would have put butterflies in my stomach and made my heart hurt, but not so much anymore. I smirked to myself and went to grab a cup of water from the kitchen. Percy followed me.
"Yeah, after you left I called Annabeth and she knocked some sense into me." he chatted casually.
"Annabeth...she's the architecture major you were with at the party, right?" I asked. He blushed slightly and coughed.
"Ha...yeah that's her. Anyway, I figure it's cool that you like guys as long as you don't like me." he attempted a joke and winked.
"I actually thought I liked you for a long time, but it's okay. You're not my type." I said without thinking. Crap, what have you done now? I thought to myself.
"You-I-why-what-I'm not your type?" Percy spluttered, apparently confused and slightly offended. I chuckled.
"Calm down, gods Percy. I have recently discovered that I have a thing for the blond, blue-eyed, and freckled." I said lightheartedly. He laughed awkwardly before falling silent.
"So that boy that you talked about that took you out for ice cream...do you like him?" he asked shyly. I thought back to how passionate he was when he was trying to convince me that I deserved better than Percy, I remembered how he looked at me Friday night even though we'd only just met, I thought about how he was there for me even though he thought I liked Percy, but most of all, I thought about his blue eyes and how they made me feel safe and calm, like I was finally where I belonged. The idea of us, together, excited me. I felt like I could do anything, as long as it was with him.
"Yeah, yeah I like him."
A/N: What'd you guys think? I know this doesn't follow the typical oneshot rule, but I promise I'll go back to writing proper oneshots soon. I just couldn't resist a little bit of angst! Please stay safe, wash your hands, stay inside, and wear a face mask when you do go outside!