When Nico got back to his cabin, Damen was lounging on his bed, waiting for him. It seemed he had enough time to calm himself, now appearing as his usual cool and uncaring self.
"Hey," Nico said hesitantly, unsure of how to proceed.
Damen remained unmoved, but Nico tried not to let it faze him.
"So I'm still a little confused. What exactly happened at the arena? I've never seen you that freaked before. Not to mention showing yourself to the happy couple. What is going on, man?"
Nico waitied, less than patient, for Damen to respond. Finally, after what felt like hours, Damen shifted to a sitting position to face Nico. He sighed deeply.
"Look, I'm not really sure why I went to the arena. I'm pretty bad with the spontaneity. I guess I just felt like going."
The son of Hades waited a few moments before speaking again.
"And the freak out?" he asked.
Something flashed across Damen's expression but it was gone before Nico could recognize it.
"What freak out?" The man asked cooly, sending a dark glare across the room.
NIco kept his mouth shut.
"Look, it's wonderful you are getting along with your friends again. I sincerely apologize for ruining it. I won't let it happen again."
"What do you mean?" Nico asked puzzled.
This time Damen stayed silent, letting it sink in. NIco, however, did not get it. Damen sighed.
"I won't be back. If you are back to hanging out with your friends and other thing that make you happy, then my mother won't bother you like she used to. And you won't need me anymore. So I'll leave."
Nico felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice over his head. The idea of Damen leaving… Nico couldn't let that happen.
"But why?"
Nico could punch himself in the face. He sounded like such a little girl.
"I just told you," Damen rolled his eyes.
"So you're just going to leave? Just like that? Not even gonna stick around to make sure this wasn't just a one time thing? What if I get bad again?" Nico blinked rapidly, wondering if he had something in his eye.
"If you did, I would know. I'm attuned to you now. I'd feel it."
"But you would still be gone."
Damen stood, walking past Nico to the other side of the room. Nico felt panic, thinking the man was leaving, but instead he faced the wall for a moment before turning back to Nico with a pained expression on his face.
"Nico, I have to go. I can't see you again. Unless it's an emergency. And I'd know if it was. But need to leave you alone."
"That's not fair," Nico said, biting his tongue until he tasted blood.
"No, it's not. I'm sorry, Nico. This is all my fault. I should never have shown myself to you in the first place. I was weak."
"What? What are you talking about?"
Damen turned away again.
"I'm talking about the fact that you dreamt about me."
Nico blushed and turned away as well, so that now their back were facing each other.
"So what?" Nico cleared his throat, searching for the courage he was supposed to have as a demigod. "So what if I like you? You were fine with me liking Percy. Is it just me? Can you not bear the thought of me liking you? Do I disgust you?"
Nico gasped when he felt something hot touch his cheek before realizing a tear had slipped down it. Shit, now I'm crying like a little girl too.
He felt a hand on his arm and turned but kept his face down, scrubbing at it to remove the wetness on his cheeks.
"Nico," the son of Eris said, sounding pained, "you shouldn't want me. And I'm not going to let this get any farther. I'm leaving before something terrible happens."
The dark-haired boy looked up to the taller man.
"No, you can't. I still need you… you're help."
"No you don't. You need your friends. I can't help you anymore."
"So you're not my friend? Why are you even here then?" Nico could feel the anger starting to bubble within him. He knew it might be irrational, but it seemed so unfair for Damen to just leave him like this. He was a hurting teenage boy and he didn't like it so it made him angry.
"I really am sorry, Nico. I didn't want to hurt you."
"No? Then what did you want? Why did you come to me? Why couldn't you just have left me alone? I was just fine before."
Damen scoffed but did not speak.
"Answer me!" Nico demanded, pushing the older demigod away from him hard.
Damen stumbled, but regained his footing and looked away.
"It's stupid. And you don't need to know. I can't tell you."
"Why not?! You know all my shit. I practically lay bare all my most twisted secrets to you and you think you can keep secrets?" Nico yelled, feeling his face flush with anger.
"I can and I will," Damen answered stubbornly.
"Goddamnit."
They sat in the tense silence for a few moments, knowing there would be no impasse here.
"Please, Damen. I think I deserve to know," Nico said quietly.
He listened to the man's even breathing before he emitted a deep sigh.
"Fuck. Fine, you're right. But don't say I didn't warn you," Damen murmured.
Suddenly Nico was finding it more difficult to breathe. He moved to sit on his bed, facing Damen who remained standing, facing the wall again.
"So you know that I've been around practically your entire life. From the moment your mother died, I knew who you were."
Nodding to no one, Nico waited for the story to continue.
"I've always been fascinated by you. A young demigod, fascinated with mythomagic cards, completely unaware that the real world existed so close to him yet so far away."
Nico blushed, realizing the man must've been much more aware of Nico's existence than he had previously thought.
"I can't honestly explain how you affected me, but I found myself unconsciously following your life, trying and failing to help you along the way from the background. Even when I wasn't with you, I thought about you often. I've been wandering the world for over a century, and never before have I felt the way I do when I watch you. So finally I decided I was sick of watching you suffer from afar. I convinced myself that I could help you. So I came to you. And I was completely enthralled."
Nico's heart was pounding at Damen's confession. He couldn't let himself believe it. If the man really did feel this way, then why was he so adamant about leaving?
"Nico, it's not right and you know it. Like I said, I'm over a century old. I've never had a home or a family, or any of those things normal people have. I'm barely a person. More like a ghost. You deserve someone that can make you happy. Not a creepy stalker like me. I am not prepared to turn you into a Twi-hard-esque romantic."
"A what?"
"Never mind. My point still stands. This would never work, no matter how much either of us might want it to."
"That's bullshit," Nico said.
A/N: I tried to make this the least stalker/Twilight/shitty as possible, I just needed to clarify that Damen is already head over heels for Nico and their pasts.
Two more chapters after this, meaning one more week. Unfortunately, there will be a week or two lull between stories, and I'll probably only do one update a week. But I hope you guys enjoy!