Day 1: Monday, 1st of December
Nico woke up to a snowball hitting his cabin window.
Blah. Winter.
So much about eternal spring/summer at Camp Half-Blood.
All it took to change that was the wailing of roughly 300 demigods about wanting 'white Christmas'.
The offspring of Greek gods shouldn't even be celebrating a Christian holiday, but whatever, nobody cared, apparently.
He slowly got up with a deep sigh, looking about in his dark room.
Ever since he had decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood after the war against Gaea, he had managed to improve it somewhat.
At least one didn't think of vampires anymore when they looked at the interior - though it was still rather gloomy and dark.
Nico sighed, walking towards the bathroom without too much enthusiasm.
Today was the 1st of December.
Great.
In 24 days, it'd be Christmas.
Terrific.
He sighed.
Of course, he didn't exactly dislike Christmas.
He just wasn't looking forward much to it, either.
He had already decided to spend his Christmas with Hazel and Frank this year.
Maybe Jason would come along too. Or Will. Or both.
He smiled at the thought. His mind drifted off to Percy.
He'd probably spend his Christmas with his mother and Paul.
So yeah, that settled that matter.
His heart stung for a moment.
Okay, maybe he would have liked to spend Christmas with Percy, too.
But it was better this way.
He might still have some feelings for him, but it was obviously one-sided.
Come to think of it, should he get him a Christmas gift?
Nah, better not. In the end, Percy would take it the wrong way.
It was difficult enough with him already.
Nico sighed again, thinking of the dark-haired hero as he began brushing his teeth and cleaning up.
Things were certainly difficult between them. Not to say awkward.
He'd have guessed after walking up to Percy and saying 'Hey, by the way, I was madly in love with you. But I'm over you now. See you around.', Percy would avoid him or what not.
Instead, Percy had suddenly had a change of heart or whatever and the very next day he had lingered around in front of Nico's door, wanting to hang out with him.
And, well, ever since then, he had kind of spent quite some time with Nico.
Not that Nico minded, really.
It was just…weird.
They wouldn't even talk much and there were loads of awkward moments and silences to say the least.
But still, Nico actually found himself enjoying the time they spent together.
He thought of Jason and Will.
He also liked spending time with them.
All in all, his stay at Camp
Half-Blood had turned out to be a pretty good decision.
He had healed up completely from his shadow-traveling thanks to Will, and Jason had always been a great friend to him in the first place.
They were actually frequently spending time together now.
Sometimes even with Percy included.
Though, somehow, the three seemed even more awkward around each other than Nico was with them.
He got out the bathroom and put on a fresh set of clothes. Stupid orange Camp Half-Blood sweaters.
The only downside of staying here.
He put his sweater on and the fitting Camp Half-Blood Jacket but grabbed his new aviator's jacket and put it on anyways.
A gift from Reyna when she had noticed Nico really missed his old one.
At the thought of her, he smiled.
She was a great friend as well. More like a sister to him, really.
He was especially looking forward to meeting her this Christmas.
It would be great actually talking to her in person again, instead of through Iris-Messages and through Jason, who was pretty much constantly traveling between the two Camps nowadays.
As Nico grabbed his Stygian Iron Sword and was about to leave the cabin, he noticed something lying on the floor. He frowned and bent down to pick it up.
It was…an envelope?
He turned it over in his hands, but all it said was 'Nico' in big fancy letters that looked as if they had taken ages to perfect.
Huh?
He opened it carefully, wondering if the Stoll brothers were trying to pull a prank on him again.
But no itching powder or acid or similarly harming substance poured out.
Instead, there was a
single, cream colored paper folded on the inside.
A letter?
Who would send him a letter?
He gingerly unfolded it and began reading.
[Dear Nico,
I know reading isn't the easiest with your dyslexia, but I found this the best solution.
I know you're probably surprised to find somebody writing you a letter in the first place.
But I have a very good reason for it.
I love you, Nico. I've been in love with you for quite a while now.
I would love to tell you this face to face, but I'm worried of how you'll take the news.
So, I've decided to go about it this way.
Nico, I wish to do something for you – I want to show you how much you mean to me.
So, I've prepared a little surprise for you.
I'm not sure if you're a Christmas person, but I'm hoping you'll like it, anyways.
From today on until Christmas Eve, I'll give you a little gift every day, like your own personal Advent Calendar.
On Christmas Eve, I shall come out to you and tell you my feelings face to face.
If you don't return my feelings, that'll be okay. This isn't to win you over, Nico.
I just wish to make you happy.
I love the way you smile.
Though, of course, I hope you might just as well like me back, even if only a tiny bit.
Have a good first day of December, Nico.
Remember to stay warm.
Hope you like your first gift.
I love you,
Your Secret Admirer]
With his dyslexia, it took him quite a while to read, and by the end of it, Nico wondered if he had misread the letter.
What?
He frowned, letting his eyes hush over the text once more.
He didn't recognize the handwriting.
Then again, the people close to him didn't really write much.
His mind was spinning.
A secret admirer? Somebody loved him? What?
He turned the letter around, but there was nothing on the back of it.
He looked at the envelope once more, searching for a hint to whom it could be from.
This had to be a prank from the Stoll Brothers.
Definitely.
He wanted to crumple up the letter and throw it away, but found himself putting it gently back into its envelope.
This was one cruel prank.
He walked over to his bedside table and dropped the letter inside.
Dumb prank.
He shook his head, unbelieving.
He knew this must be a hoax.
Why was he keeping it then? And why was his heart beating like crazy?
Just when he was considering paying a surprise visit to the Stolls, there was a loud knock on his cabin door.
He frowned and went to look out the window next to it.
Jason was grinning back at him upside down, flying in the air.
Nico couldn't help but grin at his best friend, before rushing to open the door.
"Hey, Nico!" Jason's enthusiastic voice sounded through his cabin like the laughter of a child and the blonde came rushing in, wrapping Nico into a tight hug.
Ah. Yes. Nico was still trying to get used to Jason's recently developed tick to hug Nico whenever he saw him.
Really, whenever.
"Morning, Jason. So, you're staying at Camp Half-Blood the week?" He asked, since he had thought Jason would be leaving soon again because he was already at Camp for three days now.
Usually, he only stayed three days. At most.
"Yeah. I'll be staying for a while, too. Got it all settled with Chiron and Reyna. You'll have to endure me until Christmas."
Unwillingly, Nico's thoughts wandered off to the letter. He shook his head, trying to shake out the thought of that stupid prank as well.
"Really? That's great. Piper will be really happy, I'm certain." Jason's smile went lopsided for a moment.
Huh?
"Ah…yeah, I…probably."
Nico frowned.
"Is something wrong with you two?"
Jason waved it off.
"Just…ah…let's just say things didn't turn out as expected…"
Nico blinked.
Weird.
Last time Jason had been here, Piper and him had seemed quite happy together. Though that had been months ago.
Then again, Nico barely talked to Piper and rarely saw her around the Camp, since he usually spent his time either helping Will, running around with Percy or fighting until he was sore in the arena with Clarisse and the other Campers.
"Well, I'm sure things will work out alright." Jason seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded and grinned at him again.
With his glasses, he sure looked cute.
Nico scolded himself.
He shouldn't think like that of his friend.
He did admit he liked him quite a bit, but Jason was straight and he respected that.
Jason also trusted him.
And he wasn't going to misuse that trust or make things awkward between them.
"So, you ready to go?" Jason asked, looking expectantly at him.
Nico frowned. "Go where?"
"Well, outside, for once. There's a hell lot of snow around. We could…I don't know…do some snowball fights and build snowmen…"
Nico scowled.
Snow…
Cold…
Blah.
Jason noticed and laughed heartily.
Then Nico felt Jason's hand on his arm and next moment, the blonde pulled him after him out of the cabin and into the cold.
...
"No, stop it. I'm already dripping wet and frozen to the bone." Nico complained three hours later.
It wasn't far from the truth. He was practically drenched from head to toe, thanks to Jason, Will and Percy deciding he was the best target for their snowball attacks.
They all laughed.
Jason still had bits of snow in his hair and was equally drenched, while Percy was dry as a bone (stupid water powers) and Will had managed to evade most attacks made on him but had hit them all thrice as much.
And then he kept telling everybody he didn't inherit anything from Apollo other than his healing abilities. Lies.
Will was also the one walking towards him now, patting him on the shoulder and flashing him one of his dashing smiles.
"Okay, fine. Let's go somewhere warm before you catch a cold, Neeks."
Nico felt his face getting hot.
He didn't particularly like being called 'Neeks', but for Will he made an exception.
He was a pretty good friend after all – his best friend, next to Jason. Nico admitted he had kind of taken a liking to him.
Not necessarily as a possible boyfriend – he didn't even know whether Will was straight or not – but as a normal friend, somebody to laugh and spend your time with.
He had helped Nico with his plans on changing the cabin up a bit and, well, he did also get him back to his health after he had nearly faded into the darkness.
They had gotten rather close in the past months.
Nico let him wrap his arm around his shoulders and pull him with him.
The other two popped up no second later.
Percy's arm wrapped around Nico from the other side.
Uh, no.
Nico evaded both of them and quickened his pace, with Jason chuckling next to him.
Hm?
He looked around and found Jason grinning broadly at the two boys behind him.
Nico glanced over his shoulder, seeing both Will and Percy glare at Jason.
What?
They noticed his glance and smiled at him.
"How about we go to my cabin? It's the warmest." Will offered.
"No way. It's going to be
cramped. How about mine?" Jason complained, but Will and Percy booed.
"We don't want to stare at that big statue of Zeus all day, forget it."
Jason rolled his eyes. Nico did, as well.
"How about my cabin, then?" Nico said and blinked, surprised at himself.
He never really invited anybody over.
Even though the four of them spent a lot of time together, they usually always picked him up at his cabin and dropped him back off there after spending the day outside or in one of the other cabins.
All three of them looked at him.
Then all three grinned like Cheshire Cats.
Nico blinked, dazzled.
"Sure!" All three of them replied enthusiastically.
Next moment, Nico was in the firm grip of…all of them, really…and they hurried off to Nico's cabin.
He had to admit, he felt a bit weird, but in a good way.
...
In his cabin, Percy made a show of insta-drying everyone, while Will checked the state of the cabin (after all, he did help most with the refurnishing) and Jason started a fire in the open fireplace.
As Percy touched Nico's shoulders to dry him with his powers, Nico found himself flushing slightly.
Stupid him.
He shouldn't be like this. It was great being friends with Percy.
No need to behave like this all the time.
He still shivered beneath the touch.
"Are you alright?" Percy asked him, letting his gaze travel over Nico for a moment before flashing him a smile.
Nico nodded quickly and felt his clothes drying instantly.
"That's pretty cool." He said, not knowing what else to say.
Percy chuckled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"You think so?"
Nico wasn't really sure what to reply to that, but was spared the answer, because Jason showed up at his side.
"Well, at least there's one useful quality you have." He remarked and Percy looked at him disgruntled.
"You're just envious because all you can do is fly around like a blonde superman. Very helpful, by the way. Especially in the cold."
Jason scowled.
Nico rolled his eyes.
"Please…would you stop it? You're always fighting when you're together. Can't we all just get along?"
Both boys looked around at him surprised, instantly dropping their argument.
Will popped up
behind Nico, ruffling through his hair.
"Yeah, Neeks is right. It's Christmas time – the time for forgiveness and love! Let's bury our differences and have some fun together."
Nico felt his ears getting hot and swatted Will's hand away.
He also didn't like getting his hair ruffled.
It made him feel…weird.
Percy and Jason eyed each other warily for a moment, then sighed defeated and nodded. Nico's lips tugged upwards for a moment, but then he turned away, aiming for his bed.
"So, what do you want to do today?" He asked, flopping down on the side of his bed and looking around at the others.
Will instantly sat down to his left, way too close. But meh, that was simply how Will was.
Jason was the next to flop down to the right of Nico, leaving Percy to stand before them and blink, seemingly having missed his call.
Nico looked around at the two boys next to him, grinning victoriously towards Percy.
He rolled his eyes.
"So…what do you want to do?" He repeated, wondering what the hell they were up to this time.
"Hm, no clue. How about some cuddling? It's cold outside, after all. We don't want to catch colds, right?" Will offered, throwing Nico a suggestive smile.
Nico outright blushed.
No. No, no, no, no, no and no.
"How about some games? I think I finally got the hang of Pokémon." Jason offered and Nico could feel him swatting Will's arm away as he tried to put it around Nico.
Nico was inwardly grateful to Jason for that.
Trust a best friend to know when the other best friend was crossing lines.
It wasn't Will's fault of course.
He was simply a very open person, not thinking in the direction Nico was thinking, at all.
"Ugh, not games again." Will complained, rolling his eyes and dropping backwards onto Nico's bed.
"How about a nice Christmas film then?" Percy chimed in, unceremoniously shoving Will aside and flopping down next to Nico.
Way too close.
Nico jumped up, covering his flight with walking over to the other side of the cabin, rummaging through a drawer.
Ever since Leo had shown up with Calypso, things like TVs and games which had been impossible to keep before due to monsters were now no problem at all anymore.
Leo had built some type of additional mist-machine that would obscure Camp Half-Blood pretty much completely, only allowing people to find it who had been there before or who had the permission to find it from the Satyrs.
It had been his way of making up for his 'death'.
Calypso and Leo were mostly in Bunker 9 nowadays, exploring it and working on new projects together to make their dream of a shop together come true.
"I don't really have any Christmas DVD's." He said after a while.
He felt somebody closing in behind him.
It was Percy.
The hairs on his neck began standing up and he felt goose bumps appearing on his skin.
No, not now.
Percy stood close behind him and looked over Nico's shoulder into the drawer.
"Gods, Nico, how many Disney DVD's do you have?"
"Jason gave them to me." Nico said immediately and felt himself blushing.
Blah.
"Yup. I thought he should catch up on them since he kind of missed all of that stuff due to his stay in the Casino."
"Not to mention that you got me all the Superman movies."
"Oh, come on, you liked them."
"Not as much as the Harry Potter Series he got from me though." Will chimed in.
Percy went to grab a DVD, brushing lightly against Nico's arm with his own.
Nico instantly recoiled at the touch. Percy looked around at him questioning, but didn't say anything, instead holding up 'Nightmare before Christmas'.
"How about this one?"
Will and Jason appeared to the left and right of Nico.
Nico shrugged.
"Fine by me." He muttered.
"Sure." Will agreed, shrugging as well.
"Don't you have a shirt with Jack Skellington, Nico?" Jason asked, frowning.
Percy raised an eyebrow at Nico, but he was already over at his closet, pulling out a black t-shirt with a Jack Skellington head on it.
"Yeah, I do." He said, unsure whether he should be embarrassed or proud.
"Want to put it on? Would certainly fit to the movie." Will asked and took the DVD from Percy, working on the TV and moving it across the room so they could all sit/lay on Nico's bed to watch it.
Nico felt his ears getting hot.
Should he really?
"Yeah, I haven't seen you wearing black for ages. I'm surprised you're okay with wearing the Camp shirts so much." Jason said, flopping down on the bed and watching Nico still holding up the shirt.
"I'm not. I hate it. But Chiron asked me to do it, so…yeah…"
"Aw, I'd have liked seeing you wear it. Looks like it would suit you." Percy said and grinned at him, making his insides all fuzzy.
Blah.
Okay, maybe he wasn't really over Percy after all.
He sighed defeated and took his aviators jacket off, neatly putting it on the hook on his closet door where he usually put it, closely followed by the Camp jacket.
As he was about to take off his sweater, he noticed three pairs of eyes on him.
Why were they all watching him?
He suddenly felt self-conscious.
"Erm…do you mind?" He muttered and they all blinked.
"Aw, come on, Neeks. We're all guys. No need to be shy." Will winked and Nico felt the heat rising in his face again.
He looked around to Jason, who only smiled reassuringly and then to Percy, who surprisingly was the only one looking downwards to the floor, averting his gaze.
Nico hesitated a moment longer, then took off his sweater.
Instantly, he heard a whistle from Will.
"Nice abs, Neeks." Nico flushed a dark shade of red and hurried into his shirt.
"Will, leave him alone." He heard Jason say quietly and Will chuckled.
Nico pulled the shirt down and wrapped his arms around himself.
He still felt self-conscious.
He didn't really know why.
All in all, Will was right.
They were all guys.
But maybe that was exactly the problem.
Because, after all, Nico was gay.
The others might not really think that way, but while they might mind what girls thought of them, Nico did care about what they thought of him.
He knew Will had meant it as a compliment, but still…it felt weird. Good weird, but still weird.
He moved over to the others who were already sitting on his bed, except Percy, who'd been surprisingly quiet, standing next to the bed and gazing at Nico.
"You okay?" He asked, genuine worry clearly audible and Nico nodded quickly. He was fine. Just a bit embarrassed, but that was all.
He hesitated in front of the bed for a moment. Jason and Will had made space for him between them.
Which was really sweet, but he felt as if he was leaving Percy out then.
Even though he wasn't exactly keen on being so close to Percy, Percy and the other two didn't really get along that great and he usually came around just for Nico.
So he should at least not cut him out.
But if he sat down next to Will, Jason might be upset, especially since he rarely was at Camp Half-Blood to begin with.
If he sat down next to Jason however, Will might be upset.
He felt himself getting into a bit of an inner conflict right there.
While Will handled the TV remote, Jason seemed to have noticed Nico's behavior, since he looked up at him questioning, then around to Will and Percy.
He lifted an eyebrow to Nico. Nico shrugged ever so slightly, showing him he was at a loss.
Jason smiled reassuringly.
Then he moved over a bit.
"Percy, come, sit down already." He said and Percy looked around at Jason, a tad surprised, then he looked to Nico as if expecting him to complain.
Nico didn't.
Instead, he flopped down next to Will and stared intently at his hands.
He wasn't sure whether he was glad for Jason to do this or not. Percy sat down beside him, though making sure they didn't as much as brush against one another.
Nico wasn't sure whether he was happy or upset about it.
He felt Will shuffling closer.
"Ready?" He asked the group and Nico jumped up again.
"No, wait. Snacks." He said and hurried off.
How could he have forgotten?
He heard movement and Jason came to help him.
As they were away from the other two, the blonde leaned in closer.
"You okay?"
Nico nodded.
"Yeah…"
Jason smiled. He really had a pretty smile.
"And you are okay with sitting next to Percy? No hard feelings?" the blonde asked.
Nico scowled at his choice of words.
Really? 'Hard' feelings?
That was just cruel.
Jason held up his hands defensively. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…you know…"
Nico made a face and waved him off.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't want him to sit next to Will or you because I know you guys don't get along that great."
A smile hushed over Jason's face. "Always so considerate of everybody."
"I hope you aren't upset now…I mean, you're the only one of them that's barely at Camp…"
"What? Nah. I'll be here until Christmas, so I have lots of other possibilities to be sitting next to you, Neeks."
Nico made a face. "Why does everybody call me that?"
"You don't like it?"
"Not really."
"Then I won't call you that."
Nico blinked.
Then he blushed and looked sideways. Jason was always so considerate of everyone around him.
"You…you may call me that, you know. You're my best friend after all." He glanced up to Jason, just to see him smiling at him fondly.
"Really? That's sweet. In that case, I'll keep calling you Neeks, then."
Nico averted his gaze and grabbed two packs of chips from his secret hiding place from the Harpies.
Every cabin had that now, as well.
Jason grabbed some more and some big bowls and they returned to the others, who really hadn't moved whatsoever, looking up at them expectantly.
"Ready now?" Will asked, looking around at them once more when Nico and Jason had sat down again.
They nodded and Will started the film.
...
An hour later, they were still watching film, Will lying next to Nico and snuggling closer to him from the left, Percy laying on the other side and slowly inching closer from the right, while Jason still sat upright, sometimes looking over to where Nico laid on his tummy.
Nico had his eyes fixed on the TV, trying to ignore both Will and Percy. Will's arms were around him and he watched the TV with his head sideways, too busy snuggling closer to Nico, who stared intently straight ahead.
Percy had kept shuffling ever since he had lain down and Nico could swear he was definitely getting closer each time, if only by mere inches.
He sighed and grabbed another handful of chips, just to brush against Percy's hand as he was about to do the same.
They looked at each other for a moment.
Then Nico pulled his hand away, flustered and looked straight ahead again, watching the film with renewed interest even though he already knew it by heart.
He heard Percy sigh but didn't look around.
Will tightened his grip on him and he glanced at him for a moment – just to notice how close their faces were.
Will blinked, equally surprised and then grinned broadly, rubbing their noses against together.
What the…
Nico recoiled, making a sound in the back of his throat that sounded similar to 'EEK!'.
He jumped back so hard, the back of his head collided with Percy's forehead, his body barreling into him.
What did Will just do?!
"What the…are you okay?" Percy asked, holding his forehead, his other arm instinctively wrapping around Nico, who had momentarily turned into a pillar of salt, his heart thumping loudly in his chest, his face slowly turning towards Percy.
Wah, so close!
His head snapped around to Will, who only looked a tad surprised, his head tilted sideways, his hand brushing a strand of Nico's dark hair out of his face softly.
"Everything okay? Sorry if I got too close right there." He said and Nico could feel his face burning.
Percy's arm around him didn't help much either.
He hurried out of the bed, almost knocking out Percy in the process.
"Nico?" Will asked while Percy seemingly tried to follow Nico, which ended with his legs entangled in the blanket and fall off the bed, hitting the floor headfirst.
"What did you do this time, Solace?" Jason growled and went after Nico, who stormed off towards the bathroom.
Seriously, why did Will do that?!
Did friends do things like that nowadays?
And why had Nico bolted like that?
Not to mention how he had barreled into Percy.
And why had Percy wrapped his arm around him like that? Not that he…hadn't enjoyed it…damn it.
He shook his head wildly. Jason caught up to him at the bathroom door.
"Nico, what happened?" He asked, holding him back by the shoulders.
Nico noticed how his
heart was still beating way too fast, his breath coming out in huffs.
"Ah…erm…nothing…I…" He stammered, swallowing hard.
Jason sighed and smiled at him reassuringly.
"Did Will cross the line again?"
Nico's shoulders sagged.
Then he nodded.
"Should I talk to him…again?"
Nico shook his head.
"It's okay. I'm simply not used to people getting…so close. That's all."
"That may be, but he should still respect it if you don't like something. What did he do this time?"
"He…he rubbed…well…" Nico flushed and pointed to his nose awkwardly.
He hated being like this. This was NOT how he usually was.
He was the Ghost King, damn it.
What was he doing, getting all flustered and nervous because his best friend rubbed noses with him?
Well, it WAS an Eskimo kiss…
That thought wasn't exactly helping.
Jason frowned.
"He…oh…" Realization dawned on his face. Then he scowled.
"Okay, that is taking it a bit far. I'll talk to him." And with that, he stormed off.
"No, it's alright!" Nico called, hurrying after him.
But Jason was faster.
"Solace, we have to talk." Jason announced and grabbed Will by the back of his collar and dragged him outside.
Will had been tending to Percy's bump on the forehead he had gotten from both the floor and Nico, but didn't complain, letting Jason pull him after him wordlessly, only looking apologetically to Nico.
"Sorry, Neeks." He mouthed.
Nico was at a loss for words.
"Seriously, what happened? Did he hurt you, Nico?" Percy asked, rubbing against the red spot on his forehead.
Nico shook his head.
"It's fine, I just…panicked."
Percy raised an eyebrow.
"Want me to have a talk with him too, when Jason is done with him?"
For some reason, the thought made Nico laugh for a second. Then he felt guilty and shook his head again.
"It really wasn't anything bad. I'm just not…used to that kind of…stuff. I mean, I am back from the 1930's…"
Percy chuckled and flopped back on the bed.
"Sorry for barreling into you like that though." Nico said quietly and tentatively sat down beside Percy, enough space between them to not make him uncomfortable, but close enough to not make Percy feel stupid.
He laughed and waved off.
"Don't worry about it. I'm quite thickheaded after all."
"Yes, yes, you are."
Percy scowled, but then chuckled, leaning back slightly and gazing at Nico affectionately. Nico looked down at his hands as to not meet his eyes.
"But seriously, what did he do? You just suddenly bolted like that, I was momentarily worried he kissed you or something."
Nico felt his face burning again.
"Wait…he…he did…?"
"No! It was nothing like that…"
Percy raised an eyebrow. Then he leaned forward, grabbing hold of Nico's chin and looking him deep in the eyes.
Nico stiffened.
Their faces were so close.
"Jackson! Do I have to have a chat with you next?!" Jason's voice boomed through the cabin and he glared daggers at Percy, who immediately let go of Nico.
"What? I didn't do anything!"
"You mean, you didn't do anything 'yet'?"
"I'd never push myself onto Nico against his will." Percy complained, making Nico blush slightly.
What the hell?
"Hey, I didn't push myself onto him! All we did was-…" Will started, but Nico groaned loudly, interrupting their argument.
"Please…would you all just drop it? Will, I'm sorry for bolting. It wasn't your fault. I'm simply not used to people getting so…so close. Jason, it's okay, Percy didn't do anything, he was just worried. Percy, erm…sorry again for barreling into you like that."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Jason sighed, Percy waved off laughing and Will scratched the back of his head awkwardly while muttering something along the lines of 'It's okay, I know I went a bit too far'.
Nico couldn't suppress a chuckle at the reactions of his friends. Then he flopped down on the bed and rummaged through his bedside table to get out a tube of cream for Percy's bruise.
"Who's the letter from?" Percy asked, looking over Nico's shoulder into the drawer.
Nico blushed and wanted to close it shut before anybody else saw the letter, but too late.
"You got a letter? With your dyslexia?" Jason asked and was at the nightstand within a heartbeat.
Will was also there, with a curious expression on his face.
"It's…it's nothing. Just a prank, really."
"A prank?" Jason asked and before Nico could as much as blink, he had the envelope already in his hands, turning it around, staring at the fancy way his name was written on it with the other two right behind him.
Nico blushed and tried to lunge for it, but Jason (why did he have to be so tall?!) held it out of his reach and pulled out the cream-colored paper within.
"What is it? A love letter?" Will asked.
"Looks like one. You sure this is a hoax?" Percy frowned and looked more closely at the envelope.
"Yes. Now give it back…"
"If it's a hoax, why not let us read it?" Jason asked, raising an eyebrow and unfolding the letter.
Nico hesitated.
Then he scowled and flopped back onto the bed.
"Whatever. Do as you please. I don't care." He muttered, crossing his arms in front of his chest and not looking at them.
He didn't know why he was acting like this.
It was just a stupid joke anyways.
"…I know reading isn't the easiest with your dyslexia…if they know that, then why bother?" Will read out and frowned.
Nico blushed. "What are you reading it out loud for?!" He complained, flopping back onto the bed and hiding his face in his pillow.
This was stupid.
"'I've been in love with you for quite a while now'…whoa. I don't think this is a hoax, Neeks…" Jason muttered and Will shook his head next to him.
"I wish to do something for you. Show you how much you mean to me. That actually sounds sincere."
He agreed.
"A little gift every day? What did you get?" Percy asked, sounding rather curious.
Nico blinked and looked up.
"Actually…now that I think about it…nothing. See? Told you it's a hoax. Probably from the Stolls."
"I don't think so. I met them earlier and they told me that for this Christmas they have big plans with the Ares kids. Also, I really don't think they'd go through the trouble of WRITING, just to get to you, Nico." Jason muttered.
"You got nothing?" Percy asked, seemingly disappointed.
"Nope. The envelope is all I found."
"Maybe you'll have to search for it. Like with Easter eggs." Will offered.
"Or the person simply hasn't given it to you yet and is waiting for a better time." Jason said.
"I…I don't care." Nico muttered and put his face back into his pillow.
Somehow, this was really awkward.
Here he was, getting some kind of 'love letter' that might or might not be a hoax and his friends were all over it.
Maybe he should have just thrown it away after all.
"Actually, I think that's a really sweet idea." Jason said and flopped down on the side of the bed.
"It's just a prank. And even if somebody actually…actually liked me, don't you think this is taking it a bit far?"
"You make it sound like it's so far off somebody might actually have genuine feelings for you, Nico." Will said, also flopping down on the bed and casually putting his hand on Nico's lower back.
Nico scowled.
As did Percy, who flopped down as well and swatted Will's hand away before Jason could.
"Hands to yourself, Solace." They both said at the same time and glared at the blonde.
"But seriously, I think you should give it a try. How about we look around a bit. If there really is nothing to indicate a gift, then we can settle on this just being a cruel joke and hunt the people down that did it. But if we do find something, I think somebody loves you." Percy said, shrugging.
Nico's ears turned red.
Somebody loved him. Yeah, right.
As he turned his head, he found all three of them looking at him fondly.
Blah.
He was the Ghost King.
Why was his heart beating so damn fast?
He sighed, defeated.
"Fine, we can look for 'something'. But I still think this is all a joke."
"Really? Then why did you keep the letter?" Percy asked.
Nico flinched and looked away, refusing to answer. Why did he keep it?
He saw a motion out of the corner of his eyes and instinctively grabbed for the letter as Percy was about to drop it into his bin.
"No-…I mean…I don't care. If it's a prank, I want to know who it was and I need the handwriting for that. If it's…if it's actually real, then it would be rude to just throw it away." He muttered and put the letter back into his bedside table.
When he glanced at the others, they were all grinning broadly.
"What?"
"Nothing. Let's go find that gift." Percy said, smiling at him fondly and the three jumped off the bed.
"Wait…now? Here?" Nico asked, slowly getting out the bed as well.
"Well…yes? Where did you find the envelope?" Jason asked.
"At the door." Nico nodded towards his cabin door and watched his three friends intently searching.
He sighed.
This was stupid.
First of all, he was still thinking this was a hoax and didn't feel like wasting his time searching for something that wasn't there.
He turned off the TV where 'A nightmare before Christmas' was still running.
Nobody was paying attention to it anymore anyways.
What were they so excited about? Even if there was somebody, what if the letter itself was the gift?
Also, even if there was something, why would it be inside his cabin? Nobody ever went into his cabin, other than his friends when they picked him up or dropped him off.
Or the cleaning harpies, of course.
Wouldn't he have noticed if there had been somebody inside his cabin at any point?
He admitted he had no idea when the envelope had appeared on the floor, but he guessed somebody must have slid it inside from underneath the cabin door.
He watched Percy cowering on the floor, his backside high in the air with his face almost on the floor.
Oh gods.
Nico looked away, trying to push the pictures out of his head.
He looked over to Will, who was at the windows, looking outside and inside on the window sills, as well as letting his gaze travel through the room, seemingly looking for something unusual.
As their eyes met, he winked.
Nico's eyes widened for a moment and he turned away, checking on Jason, who was pretty much looking at the rest of the rooms intently.
He sighed. This was so…childish.
He joined the others.
...
In the late evening hours, they all dropped down on Nico's bed again.
"Nothing." Percy said, seemingly sulking.
"What a shame." Will muttered, sighing.
"And it did sound sincere." Jason frowned.
"Told you so." Nico murmured, rolling his eyes.
They all looked around him sternly.
"What? It's not like I'm a very lovable person."
Maybe he shouldn't have said that.
If looks could kill, he'd be insta-fried by now.
"Don't say that." Will muttered, wrapping his arm around him and rubbing his face against his shoulders.
"You're a great person." Jason agreed and wrapped his arm around him from the other side, nuzzling against his hair.
Percy appeared behind him, wrapping his arms around his midriff and resting his chin on Nico's head.
"I agree. Whoever that person was, they're a coward for chickening out like that."
Nico felt
his heartbeat quickening rapidly.
Why were they all so close?!
He looked upwards slightly.
"Percy…I don't think you get it…it was just a joke."
But Percy shook his head.
"I don't believe it. Nobody at Camp would write such a letter as a prank, Nico. We all have the worst dyslexia ever. I know I do. I would never write even half as much for a stupid prank."
"For once, I agree with Percy. Just imagine yourself sitting down and trying to write a love letter with ADHD and dyslexia for a person with ADHD and dyslexia. You don't just do that if you aren't serious." Jason muttered.
Will sighed. "The person should have written down where he/she put the stupid gift, seriously. This is stupid."
Nico blinked. Then he fought against the closeness and jumped up.
"What? Too close again?" Jason asked and the other two looked equally surprised.
"Hm? Nah, I just thought of something…" He muttered and walked over to his aviator's jacket.
'Remember to stay warm.'
He pulled it off the hook, but instead of putting it on, he rummaged through the pockets.
"What is it?"
"Something wrong?"
"You okay, Neeks?"
Nico frowned and pulled out a small square package, wrapped in red Christmas wrapping paper and a little green bow on top.
What…?
Instantly, all three of them stood around him, staring down at the small gift just the size of Nico's palm.
"Whoa, how did you figure that out?" Will asked, frowning and gingerly took the package from Nico, eyeing it from all sides for a possible giveaway of either giver or content.
"It said 'remember to stay warm' in the letter. At first I thought it meant I shouldn't be outside too much, but then I thought to stay warm, I usually put on my jacket, right? And that was kind of the only place we didn't look…" He explained.
Jason took the package next, inspecting it quietly.
Then he smirked and passed it to Percy. "So, that proves it, then, right? You have a secret admirer, Nico." He said, and Nico found himself blushing.
Percy passed the package back to him, a shy smile dancing on his face. "Well, open it, then! Let's see what that person came up with!"
Nico took the gift from him, careful to not let their hands touch by accident and felt a rush of excitement surge through him.
He wasn't exactly a gift type of person. But the thrill of anticipation always got the better of him.
Usually, he ended up feeling disappointed with whatever the gift turned out to be, so he braced for something really lame.
Slowly, he began unwrapping it, taking off the pretty green bow and opening the red wrapping paper.
Maybe he should have taken a picture of it. It really had been beautifully wrapped.
Then again, he didn't possess a camera.
Inside was a small square box in black. It looked a lot like something to hold jewelry in.
But who would get him jewelry?
No guy or girl in their right mind would think of something like that when looking at him, right?
At the thought of a girl being behind all this, he felt a bit sick.
Not because the thought disgusted him or anything, quite the contrary, he'd be flattered.
But for a girl to go through all this trouble just to then be told 'Sorry, I'm gay'…that would be pretty harsh.
The others got way too close, trying to get the best view. He hesitated a moment longer, then slowly opened the lid.
"Well, those are certainly something." Will whistled.
"Those are beautiful." Jason chimed in, looking quite impressed.
"They'd definitely suit you, Nico." Percy agreed, nodding.
Nico was at a loss of words.
Earrings.
Two skull earrings.
To his surprise, they looked really, really good.
Nico's mind was thrown into turmoil.
He did get his ears pierced, but that had been ages ago and he had only worn earrings, like, twice in his life.
He didn't even know people knew he had his ears pierced.
He took one out gingerly, afraid he could break it if he treated it too roughly.
It was truly beautiful.
He had to admit he had looked around every now and then whether he could find something suitable, but usually all the earrings he found either were too girly for his taste, or looked horrible.
He looked up at the others, who seemed to wait for a reaction from him.
He smiled tentatively.
They grinned back broadly.
"Want to try them on?" Will asked and Nico found himself shrugging, trying to hide the fact that he actually did like them. A lot. Now he only hoped they suited him.
Will took them from him carefully, flashing him a smile and began brushing his hair aside. Jason popped up behind him, collecting his hair in the back to some sort of mini-ponytail.
He felt his ears getting hot but ignored it, focusing his gaze straight ahead – where Percy stood, watching him intently.
Nico inwardly hoped he didn't look too stupid.
It felt pretty weird. For a moment, piercing through the holes in his ear hurt, but not by much, and he didn't even flinch.
It felt rather…unusual. Different. New.
As Will pulled his hand back from his second ear and went in front of Nico again, Nico couldn't suppress touching his ear gently, feeling the cool metal beneath his fingertips.
He liked the feeling.
Jason let go of his hair.
"Actually, a ponytail would really suit you, Nico." Percy commented, looking thoughtful.
Will nodded wildly. "Definitely!"
Jason chuckled. "Let's first get him to a mirror so he can see how they look on him." He said and pushed Nico towards the bathroom door.
"I…I can walk there myself, you know…" He muttered, flustered as they all followed him.
"They do look pretty good on you. Whoever got them for you, they have pretty good taste." Will said and Nico found himself agreeing to that as he saw his reflection in the mirror.
They did look good on him. He tentatively held his hair back to imitate a ponytail.
Jason promptly huffed out a small laugh and came to his aid.
"Anybody got a rubber band?" He asked and Will began searching through his pockets while Percy only shook his head, his gaze still fixed on Nico.
Nico felt rather self-conscious, so he kept his gaze on his reflection, wondering how other people must see him.
Compared to the usual bangs and the long hair framing his face, a ponytail did make him look…different. Older, maybe.
He liked it.
"Here we go. Will this be good enough?" Will asked and held out a black rubber band. Where he had gotten that from, Nico had no idea.
Jason took it and began tying Nico's hair back, then stepped back to see the outcome.
Will whistled.
"You certainly give off a 'Ghost King'-aura." He said, impressed.
"Yeah, that really suits you, Nico. You look completely different." Jason agreed. "Older." He added thoughtfully.
Percy nodded. "Yeah, it does look pretty good on you. Both the earrings and the ponytail. Would probably look really cool with one of your usual black t-shirts, not necessarily Jack Skellington."
The other two looked down to Nico's t-shirt and grinned.
"Though it still looks pretty good." Jason commented.
Nico looked at his reflection once more.
Then, he couldn't suppress the grin any longer.
"So, I take it you liked your first gift, then." Percy teased and the others chuckled.
Nico shrugged and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Whatever. I still think it's a hoax."
The others gave him exasperated looks.
"Nico, you do know those are real silver, right? No person in their right mind would get Somebody real silver if they didn't mean it." Jason tried to explain to him.
"Yeah, which is really awesome. Usually people get cheap stuff that actually supports cancer or causes really nasty rashes or the like. But real silver…somebody must have quite a crush on you." Will agreed.
"I wonder who that would be…" Nico muttered, not meeting their eyes.
They exchanged glances.
"Probably a really sweet and shy guy, judging by the way he's going about this." Will guessed and inspected the box again that had held the earrings.
Nico blushed.
He hadn't really told Will he was gay.
Which meant either Jason must have told him (which he doubted) or he must have shown it.
Which wasn't very surprising, since he always squirmed away at the lightest touch and ran away whenever he got too close.
"If it is a guy…" He muttered under his breath.
Jason seemed thoughtful. "True, you didn't really…well…'come out' to Camp yet. I would actually not be surprised if it was a girl behind all of this."
"Great…" Nico muttered and looked down.
Maybe he shouldn't be wearing the earrings then.
If it truly was a girl, it would be unfair to accept her gifts even though there was no chance whatsoever he'd like her. At least not in a romantic way.
"I think it's a guy." Percy said quietly.
They looked around at him.
"How come?" Jason asked, but Percy just shrugged and went to collect the letter.
They followed.
"It's just…I don't know. Don't you think a girl would have written differently? I don't know much about girls, mind you, but would a girl really sign a letter like that saying 'Your secret admirer'? And the way it says 'I love you, Nico. I've been in love with you for quite a while now', that sounds more like a guy, doesn't it?"
The others looked thoughtful for a moment.
Nico's heart was beating like crazy, thinking of the way Percy had said 'I love you, Nico'.
He scolded himself. He was supposed to be over Percy already.
"I think you're right." Will said after a moment and gave the letter back to Nico, who put it back into its envelope and into his bedside table.
"Well, that's a first." Percy muttered and Will looked at him annoyed.
"Not my fault you barely say anything sensible." They scowled at each other.
Jason held up his hand. "Shush, you two. But I also agree. I wouldn't have thought Percy of all people would think that far – yes, I went there, Percy. But it makes sense. A girl would have phrased it differently."
Nico nodded quietly.
"Now the only question is: How do we find out who it is?" Will wondered and the other two nodded.
Nico kicked at some imaginary dirt.
"Don't you want to find out as well, Neeks?" The blonde asked, but Nico shrugged.
"I don't know…whoever it is, they'll come out to me on Christmas, right?"
"You're seriously going to wait until then?" Percy asked, surprised.
"Well, yes."
"But aren't you curious?" Will asked, unbelieving.
"Yeah, but…"
"That's, like, 24 days away! How could anybody be that patient? Don't you at least want to try to find out who it could be?"
Nico shrugged.
Of course he wanted to know.
But at the same time he didn't.
What if it was somebody he didn't even know? Somebody he had never even looked at?
Or what if it was somebody he did know? Well, that chance was pretty damn slim.
The only people he did know where the people from the Argo II., the Stolls, Will and some other few Campers. Most of them were girls, most of the guys in relationships and none of them were gay, in the first place.
So, it could only be somebody he didn't really know. Which made him wonder if he even wanted to find out.
What to say to a person you have never even seen before?
But maybe it really was a cute guy and given the time they might work out?
He unwillingly found himself looking towards his three friends that were now talking heatedly about possible ways to find out who the Admirer could be.
Would he even be willing to try it with somebody?
As Jason had said, he hadn't really come out to the Camp yet.
Jason knew because of that moment with Cupid.
Percy knew because, well, Nico had kind of told him he used to have a crush on him.
And Will knew because…because of what?
"Hey, Will, how did you know?" He found himself asking before even thinking it through completely.
The three stopped arguing and looked at him in confusion.
"Knew what?" Will asked, tilting his head.
"That I'm…you know…"
Jason made a face. "Nico, there's nothing wrong with being…"
"Yeah, yeah. I know. You've told me. I just want to know how he knew? Did you tell him?"
Will fidgeted.
"He didn't. You kind of…told me yourself…" He muttered and Nico flushed.
"I…when?" He asked, racking his brain for a moment in the past months when he had actually even at least considered telling Will.
"You talk in your sleep. Back when you were in the infirmary, I'd sometimes check on you to see whether you were alright. You kind of…talked quite a bit about…well…this and that…" He explained and glanced towards Percy for a moment, making Nico realize what he must have talked about.
Jason scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
Percy seemed extremely interested in his hands all of a sudden.
Nico wanted to die.
"Oh…I see. Well, then…" He tried to get his thoughts together.
How embarrassing.
He didn't even want to think about what he had babbled about in his halfdead state.
"Erm…so…none but you know, right?"
"Well, I didn't tell anybody." Will muttered.
"I didn't, either." Jason said pointedly and Nico felt bad for half accusing him of telling Will.
"Me neither." Percy murmured, their gazes meeting for a moment.
Nico pursed his lips and looked away quickly.
"Well, it doesn't really matter, anyways. We'll see in 24 days who this person is. Unless they lose their interest until then."
"Nico!" Came the exasperated cry from all three of them.
Nico held up his hands. "Yeah, yeah."
...
Hours later, when they finally left for the night, Nico found himself looking at the reflection in the window next to his door as he waved the others goodbye.
That get-up really did suit him somehow. He grinned and turned away, getting ready for bed.
He wondered faintly what that admirer would think of next, but scolded himself.
He shouldn't be looking forward to gifts from a stranger.
Even if they seemed…nice.
Nico scolded himself for those thoughts, but then allowed himself to ponder who he knew from sight, and whether the 'admirer' could be one of them.
He didn't really want to find out.
But then again, he did.
He put on his black pyjama pants and crawled beneath his blanket, cursing the coldness outside.
Then, he found himself wondering once more whether he'd get another gift tomorrow, as well as what it might be.