Nico spent New Year's Day sleeping.
He couldn't remember the last time he had slept longer than five hours. However, he wasn't complaining.
He had returned from Jason's at around two in the morning. The party had still been raging, but a headache had begun to develop behind Nico's eyes, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he snapped. In the end he had excused himself, wishing Jason a Happy New Year and awkwardly saying goodbye to Will, who had offered to walk him home.
"Are you sure?" asked Will, his eyes wide with concern as Nico slipped on his coat and turned towards the door.
"Yes, Will," said Nico, trying not to sound too exasperated (though at this point, it had been a challenge). "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself."
"Well…alright," Will said, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "Text me, okay?"
"Okay," Nico said. They looked at each other for a tense moment before Nico swung the door open without another word.
Nico had trudged home alone, letting his mind spiral like the tiny pieces of snow drifting through the crisp air.
What had been about to happen?
The question plagued him, burning like a hot coal in his stomach. He had been tempted to text Will and just ask, but he figured it would probably sound stupid.
In the end he had nearly thrown his apartment door open and locked himself inside, as if that could serve as a barricade for the what ifs buzzing through his head. He had barely changed into sleep clothes when a wave of exhaustion more intense than he had ever felt washed over him. He stumbled over to his bed, ramming his foot into the metal bed frame in the process. If he had been more alert it would have hurt terribly. But in his current state it did little to faze him. He collapsed on his bed before he had even gotten a chance to wiggle beneath the covers.
When he woke, milky beams of sunlight were filtering through the dirty window, doing little to brighten the dingy apartment.
He shifted groggily, feeling his heartbeat pounding through his head. Slowly he regained his senses as the heavy blanket of sleep lifted.
Arms shaking a little, he pushed himself into a sitting position. The comforter pooled around his waist and he found himself absently wondering when he had last washed it. The fabric felt a bit stiff to the touch.
Nico yawned and stretched his arms high over his head. He felt both awful and refreshed—it was an odd combination. How long had he been asleep? He guessed it was early morning…
His hands pawed at the mountain of comforter lazily as he tried to find his phone. He knew it was here somewhere.
It took him several moments before his fingers found the smooth texture of his cell phone. He held the screen close to his eyes, his vision still a bit fuzzy.
5:36 pm
Nico blinked quickly, as if that could change the time. Surely that couldn't be right. He never slept longer than five hours. More often than not, he simply stayed up through the night, finding the process of actually falling asleep a bit inconvenient.
There were five unread texts waiting for him. Three from Chalice, the guy who had hired him at the mortuary, one from Jason, and one from…Will.
He read the texts from Chalice first.
Where are you?
I thought you were coming to work today? You were supposed to pick up my lunch and dust the skeletons.
Seriously Nico, if you don't text me back I'm going to seal you in one of these coffins.
Nico felt a wave of guilt rush through his stomach. He had completely forgotten about his shift at the mortuary. He had foolishly agreed to work New Year's Day ("People don't stop dying on holidays, you idiot," Chalice had said in response to Nico's reluctance.) without considering how he would feel after Jason's party. He hadn't anticipated that he would feel so sluggish. Or that he would promptly sleep for fifteen hours right after and feel like his tongue had condensed into a brick.
Sorry about that. I accidentally overslept. I can come over now if you want, he typed. The last part was him being polite. He really hoped Chalice wasn't going to make him go to work like this.
A response came almost immediately.
You overslept? Blimey, are you a vampire or something? Don't bother coming over now. I'm closing up shop for the night.
Nico sighed in relief and turned his attention to the remaining texts.
Happy New Year! I'm glad you came to the party last night! From Jason.
Happy New Year! From Will.
Nico frowned at the small screen of his phone. Usually Will's texts were longer, as if he typed without thinking and didn't bother to edit them afterward.
And even though there was no reason to question this text, Nico had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He got the vibe that Will was mad at him for some reason…
But that was ridiculous. He was thinking too much, as usual.
He hoped, at least.
A short chapter, but I hope you liked it! If you have any ideas on what is going to happen next, leave them in a review! Your predictions will be fun to read. Also, if you want to talk about Percy Jackson you can PM me, but I'd prefer to talk on my blog ( feverfooted on tumblr). It would be nice to get to know some of you guys :)
-Sid