So, I read a Christmas story (yes it's March, I'm well aware) that had much the same plot as this story, and I just wanted to write another chapter for this. So here it is.

Side note: I totally forgot that it was canonized that Malcolm's last name is Pace. I was rereading The Hidden Oracle the last few days, and I seem to always forget he has a last name now. Oh well. Malcolm Parker he is to me; Malcolm Parker he will remain. At least until I can remember his actual name.

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Percy's POV

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I spread the letters of dance in front of me, smiling contently. My last present had been in my locker. I loved homemade gifts, and my secret admirer seemed to know that. I also loved picture memories, so the frame was the perfect gift. I ran my fingers over the glass, smiling. Whoever it was, they knew me well. I looked up the Nico the Bear on my desk.

"Hey Perce," Will greeted me, looking at my desk in fascination. "Wow, your secret admirer sure has been busy," he commented lightly. "I wonder why the whole word dance is available, yet something still seems missing." I shrugged, packing my picture frame away. I did, however, study my new card, which I hadn't properly done yet. I smiled at the glittery message. It was simple, saying how much he liked me and how he hoped I was enjoying my gifts. "Hey Nico," Will said suddenly, and at first I thought he was talking to the bear, so I didn't pay him much attention.

"Hey." That was all I heard before I froze. Slowly, I turned to Nico's smiling face. "Whatcha got there Percy?" he asked. I split into a huge grin, showing off my card.

"My secret admirer struck again," I said to him. "He left this cute little note, and he made me a picture frame. I love picture memories. He must know that somehow. And of course my bear," I added, motioning to him. "He's come to school every day." Nico smiled at me, looking amused. I blushed faintly. "I hope I get to figure out who it is soon. I'd like to thank him for being so nice."

"I'm sure he'd love that," Nico agreed before wandering off. I put all my things in my backpack, only to have Will violently shake me. It took a moment for my eyeballs to roll back into their proper place.

"Jesus Will," I said, shaking my head. "What was that for?" Will looked around, then leaned in close so he could whisper to me.

"You just had a full conversation with Nico, the real life Nico di Angelo, and you weren't nervous," he said excitedly. My eyes widened. He was right. I'd talked a great deal to him yesterday too. Why was it when I tried to make a conscious choice to try and talk to him, I just couldn't do it. "You should go ask him to the dance," Will continued. At that, I furiously shook my head.

"No, no, I'm okay," I said quickly. "I…I don't want to ask him anymore." Will turned to me in surprise. "I'd rather wait to see who my secret admirer is," I admitted sheepishly. "Tomorrow's the last day before the dance, so he still has time to show himself."

"Are you really sure Percy?" Will asked, cocking his head to the side. "I thought you really wanted to try to ask…you know." I glanced over my shoulder, watching Nico type away on his laptop. I sighed. I did. I really, really did. But I was too nervous to keep it together long enough to ask him. I'd just have to face the fact that I was never meant to be with him. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to whoever was sending me all these nice things, if I just decided to go with Nico instead of waiting for them to do it.

"Yes, I'm sure," I said at last, pulling Nico the Bear to me and stroking his soft plush again. I'd found myself doing that a lot. I couldn't explain why. I think it was because he brought me comfort. "It wouldn't be very fair of my secret admirer, who's obviously trying to ask me to the dance himself, if I just went to the dance with Nico instead. No matter how bad I really, really want to." I blushed and glanced down.

"I still wouldn't put it passed Octavian to be the person who's doing this," Will said at last, and I shuddered. I mean, I hadn't ruled that out either. But this didn't seem like a very…Octavian…thing to do. For one, he'd never been very subtle with his advances before. "You know how much he's obsessed with you," Will added. "This could be him trying to lure you out, since you've shot down his direct approaches time and time again."

"Yeah but he's not very bright," I said, playing with the letters on my table again. "He doesn't do subtle very well, if at all. So I don't think this is his doing. The question is, who did it? It's not like there's too many gay boys at our school, but still."

"What if it's a girl trying to be progressive?" Will asked, and I wrinkled my nose. God I hoped not.

"It's not a secret that I'm gay," I replied to that. "Just because I don't talk about it much doesn't mean it's a secret. And while I appreciate the gesture, truly, I really hope not. I'd hate to crush some poor girl's dreams." Will just shook his head. "Besides, what girl here would even like me?" I asked at last. "It's not like I'm anything special."

"You're plenty special," Will argued. "It just takes a special person to see that. Don't you worry Percy, your man will come. One day." I smiled. I certainly liked to think so. But love would find me in its own time. I certainly wasn't going to rush it. Besides, I had other things to think about. Like what would happen tomorrow, now that I had all the letters for dance.

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Nico's POV

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"Thanks for helping later Mal," I said to him during our lunch. Percy also had our lunch, and he was sitting with Will and Katie. All three were talking. Percy was proudly showing off his gifts. The bear I'd gotten him sat on the table, seeming to watch the proceedings with as much interest as I possessed. "Great idea in the end, by the way," I added, turning to him. He shrugged.

"Percy likes flowers," he said. "Covering your sign with them seemed logical enough. Besides, he'll love it." I often wondered how Malcolm knew so much about the boy I was pursuing, but I decided that saying such things would be a bad idea. So I kept the opinions to myself. "How are you going to lure him to the library after school tomorrow anyway?" At that, it was my turn to shrug. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet.

"Maybe leave him another note?" I said. "I don't really know Mal. I haven't thought that far ahead. Why, do you have another idea?" One thing I'd very quickly learned during this; if Malcolm had an idea, listen to it. Immediately. He had good ideas for instances like this. Mal pursed his lips. I waited patiently while he collected his thoughts. Malcolm was very bright, but his ideas came in their own time. Rushing him did you no good.

"Percy likes sweets, doesn't he?" he asked at last, and I blinked. Not quite what I was expecting. But I nodded nonetheless. "Why don't you leave him a little trail of some of his favorite treats after school?" he suggested at last. "You know he likes blue foods. Get some blue candies. Leave him an edible, albeit safe to eat, trail to you."

"Malcolm, I'd kiss you if Mitchell wouldn't knock me senseless for it," I said to him. "You're a genius." His cheeks turned bright pink as he shrugged. "We'll need go run to the store before we go back to my place then," I added, and he sighed. He loved running errands with me, couldn't you tell? "You seem to know him best. What should I get?"

"Blue jelly beans, blue taffies, blue lollipops. That kid loves his sweets. Anything blue is a pretty safe bet," Malcolm replied, finally stuffing a bite of this…less than desirable looking food into his mouth. Truth be told, I never really ate school lunches anyway, but for some reason I always bought one, ate a quarter or half if I was extra hungry, then threw the rest away. Yes, I was aware I was just wasting food. But we needed sustenance for the later class periods. "You with me?" Malcolm asked, snapping his fingers under my nose. I shook my head.

"Yeah, just daydreaming I guess," I replied. I snatched up my milk carton and took a swig.

"Talked to Alabaster lately?" Malcolm asked. I nearly choked on my milk. "He promised you he'd be in touch," he continued. "The least he could do is follow through."

"What is it with everyone and Ali?" I asked myself quietly. Them, to Malcolm; "No I haven't spoken to him lately. In fact, I don't' even really know how he is. Am I sad about the fact? Maybe a little. After all, he was my first real boyfriend. But," I added as Malcolm opened his mouth to say something. "I've since moved on. I moved onto a guy who's sweet and innocent and shy and wonderful and a million other things all in one." Finally, Malcolm smiled.

"I'm glad you think that highly of Percy," he said. "I don't think he has the highest self-esteem in the world. It would mean a lot if he could hear it."

"Believe me Mal," I vowed. "If we ever date, I'm going to make sure he knows exactly how much he's treasured and loved. Every day. Every minute. Until the day we break up, or the day we die."

…

I sat quietly in my room, carefully trimming roses with gloved hands. Just because I was trying to be romantic, didn't mean I was interested in slicing up my hands. I'd asked mom the best way to do so, and after a few questions and her gushing about how cute I was being, so handed over her advice. Malcolm had actually gone home after our shopping trip. Halfway through, Mitchell called him and asked him out. He'd seemed hesitant to abandon me, but I told him to go ahead. He did stay true to his word and help me pick up a bunch of blue candies, and we'd gotten blue and red roses for my sign. None of this was particularly cheap, so thank god dad seemed to have an endless supply of money saved up for us.

I set my handiwork aside for the time being, removing the gloves mom loaned me. I'd been working on trimming these roses for a while now, and I was feeling slightly hungry, so I decided to take a small break. I emerged from my room and made my way to the kitchen. I fixed myself a snack, grabbed a soda out of the fridge, and made my way back to my room.

"Hey." I looked up as Bianca entered. "What have you been working on anyway?" she asked me, sitting on my bed. I turned back to my project.

"I'm asking someone to our dance," I said. "All week has been leading up to the big reveal tomorrow, so it has to be perfect. Malcolm's been giving me advice on how to ask him out in a special and memorable way, and I think he's liked it so far. He keeps showing off all of his gifts." Bianca wrinkled her nose, though I think she was more amused than anything else.

"It's good to see you so happy about someone like this," she said. "Usually you close yourself off when it comes to events like this. I'm proud of how far along you've come." I beamed. Once upon a time, I wouldn't have even dreamed of going to a social event like this one. But now I was dying to go, all because of a certain dark-haired boy that was very quickly stealing my affection. "Ali?" she asked. I sighed, exasperated.

"No idea," I replied truthfully. "We haven't spoken to each other in so long. I doubt he even remembers I exist right now." I shrugged. "Oh well. Time waits for no man. And I have too much to do to worry about someone like Alabaster." Bianca rose, ruffled my hair, and then departed, once again leaving me with my thoughts. I wouldn't lie and say I hadn't thought about Alabaster, because I had. But I hadn't thought about him as much as I expected to. Maybe because I knew, deep down, that we really weren't the most compatible people on the planet. It seemed doomed from the start. But Percy. God was that boy everything I aspired to be. I smiled, twirling around in my chair as I munched on the crackers and cheese I'd brought back. Yep, I was in love. And I loved being in love.

…

Yay, I actually managed to get this done! I'm so happy about the fact. Hopefully I can actually finish this at some point, ya?