Chapter 5: Mythomagic was the Schist
Frank exhaled deeply. He was currently sitting in his room in complete darkness. The only light was coming from his alarm clock, which was as of right now, flashing the time 2:00 AM.
He had officially missed the homecoming dance.
It all started in the afternoon. He had gotten home from school, and given his daily chores like always. But he was given a list, much longer than the one he was given that many weeks ago when he couldn't hangout with Percy. Which says a lot.
So of course, Frank had to get started right away. Then he heard his phone go off. Then again. He ignored it both times, up until it went off a total of sixteen times. Frustrated, he picked up his phone, nearly crushing it in his hand. It was a message from Reyna.
Frank wasn't friends with Reyna. In fact, Reyna didn't like him all that much. Apparently, Jason canceled on her and couldn't make it to some student council meetings. So he was the only one she could find to help on such short notice. It made Frank feel so special.
But Frank being Frank, decided to help Reyna set up for the homecoming dance anyways. That took a few hours. Then on his way home, he ran into the Stoll brothers. Of course they had a trick up there sleeve, considering they just finished cleaning out the dollar store. He ended walking home with green silly string all over him.
When he tracked it into his house, his grandmother greeted him with a smack to the head. "You dumb ox!"
He ended up having to finish the rest of his chores, which took far into the night. Plus, his grandmother thought dances were waste of time too. So here he was. Sitting at home. The party he helped put together, probably now destroyed, and he didn't even get to attend.
Story of his life.
He rolled around on his bed, so he was facing his other nightstand. On it, stood a picture of him and Hazel. She was standing on her tip toes, so her cheek was pressed up against his. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and was smiling at the camera. In the picture, Frank was more laughing at her silliness. They were standing in front of the elephant, Hannibal, from the city zoo.
Missing Hazel in her beautiful dress was probably what bummed him out the most. Of course, Hazel always looked beautiful. But he was really looking forward to this. Frank backed down on asking Hazel to the dance. He was a bit relieved when no one else asked her. That would make him feel sick.
As he thought about Hazel, his eyes settled on his phone.
He decided he would call her.
It took quite some convincing for him to actually do it. He held his phone in his clammy hands and thought of the pros and cons.
What if she's still sleeping? She most likely is still awake, it takes a while to get ready for bed after dances. What if she doesn't want to talk to you? You call her for help on homework and everything all the time, she probably wouldn't mind conversing about something that's not school related.
Frank face palmed at his own ridiculousness and clicked her contact. No going back now.
There were two rings before she answered, but she didn't greet him right away. He heard a loud crash and a squeal. The he heard her take a deep breath and say "Hello?"
Frank cleared his throat and said, "Hi Hazel!''
It wasn't more than a half a second later, she nearly cut him off and yelled "FRANK!"
He couldn't see her face, but he could imagine her twirling her hair around her finger. "I mean, hey Frank!"
He smiled. He was happy she was excited to hear from him. Happy she wasn't angry at him for telling Percy instead of her, that he wasn't going to the dance. "You're still awake?"
He could imagine her rolling her eyes. "Well yeah. This makeup is a lot harder to get off than I originally anticipated. I have no idea how Silena can do it everyday. Trust me, makeup is overrated."
Makeup? Frank had never seen Hazel wearing makeup. And of course, he missed it tonight!
"Well I'm sorry to hear that!" He laughed.
She laughed too, until her voice got all serious. "So why didn't you tell me you were coming to the dance and you told Percy?"
Crap, Frank thought. I thought I was in the clear.
He put a hand to his temple. "Uhh, right. Sorry about that. I was really busy, and Percy was my most recent message so I shot him the text."
"Mhm. I see."
Frank didn't worry too much about that. He could hear the smirk in her voice. "Anyways." He started. "How was your night beside the makeup fiasco?"
She made a 'hmmm' sound as she thought about it. He loved it when she made that sound. It reminded him of a cat purring. And Frank loved cats.
"It was pretty fun if I'm going to be honest. Jason and Percy were making bets on who they thought was gonna swing first. Clarisse or Micheal Yew. It was kind of hilarious."
Frank snorted. "Who swung first?"
Hazel's voice sounded a bit out of breath but she said, "Neither. Micheal snapped his finger in her face while Chris held her back!"
Frank let out another loud snort, then remembered his grandma was still sleeping. "Wish I was there!"
"Yeah, Annabeth and Percy were really cute. And of course Jason and Piper were. I hung out with Leo a lot. I ended up dancing with him quite a bit."
Frank remained silent for a few moments. He didn't mean to make her feel awkward, but he was pretty sure he accomplished just that. He was about to apologize when she cut in-
"Leo's not a very good dancer you know. He's not quite tall enough."
Frank remained silent for a second and nodded. Taller? She could not be referring to him.
"Uh-uh.. Well, Leo is kind of a twirp." He managed to say.
"Yeah.." Did that sound like disappointment? "Well, I really wished you were there tonight Frank."
He gave her a half smile, though she couldn't see him. "Me too. Hey, can I make it up to you?"
She giggled. "Yeah. How?"
Frank got up and began pacing around his room, nearly tripping over something in the dark. "I'll take you out for ice cream after school on Monday. I can't go out tomorr- well technically today..because its 3:00 AM but.." he continued rambling on useless stuff until she said-
"Yeah Frank I would love that. But aren't you lactose intolerant?"
Frank shrugged. "Well yeah. But I love ice cream. You guys get ADHD and I get to miss out on eating delicious food. I might regret it later, but I will eat that ice cream."
Frank thought it was little odd how his friends all actually had those common disorders. Leo, Jason, and Piper all had ADHD, while Hazel and Annabeth only had dyslexia. Percy, the poor guy, had both. Heck, Frank even knew that Nico, like Percy, was diagnosed with both as well. He just seemed to manage his ADHD a little better.
Hazel's adorable laugh brought him back to the present. "Yeah, Frank. Sounds great. Wait, you wouldn't mind bringing Nico would you?"
Frank wanted to punch himself in the face and say, Actually I would mind. But he held his tongue. "Uh yeah that's cool. Nico is always welcome." At least it's not Leo..
Hazel nodded on the other side. "Okay, well I better go. Wouldn't want to wake up my dad. As soon as we got home, Nico locked himself in his room. But apparently my dad is actually gonna spend the night here. His car was still in the driveway."
Frank furrowed his eyebrows. Why was he not aware of this? Does anyone tell the Asian-Canadian guy anything anymore? "Oh. Well, I don't wanna get you in trouble. So I guess I'll see you on Monday."
"Looking forward to it. Bye Frank."
After hanging up the phone, Frank tossed his phone on his bed then he threw his fist in the air. He laid down in bed and stared at the ceiling, chewing on his lip. He was gonna go with Hazel to the ice cream shop. Just the two of them..oh and Nico. Then his mind wandered to her father.
Frank had never met her father. And that scared him. He knows her dad is kind of neglectful and stuff, but his real worry was if he physically abused his kids. He didn't really suspect it, because Hazel is real out there. She isn't afraid of meeting new people, she wore shorts and t-shirts, so she didn't look like she was getting hit. He just wanted to make sure she was okay.
As Frank started to relax and close his eyes, he clasped his hands together and prayed.
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Because Nico spent his whole Sunday sleeping, Hazel hadn't had much time to talk to him the day before. So she made it her mission to ask him all about his night out with Will on the walk to school.
Hazel was so happy Nico had a friend. Although Nico claimed he was 'forced' into the friendship, Hazel knew better. Hazel noticed how normal Nico looked when with Will. He just talked like a normal person.
Nico wasn't really a people person, and hard to make friends with. When they first met, Hazel was surprised they even shared a father. So she was relatively happy he made a friend. God can only know when he'll ever get a girlfriend. But a friend can do for now. She, herself, didn't have a boyfriend.
"So Nico, where did you guys go? What did you do? Did you guys get food? Because I don't remember you eating the dinner I cooked you the other night."
Nico didn't take his eyes off the sidewalk, but Hazel saw his rosy cheeks. "God Hazel. You make it sound like I was going on a date with him or something!"
Hazel laughed at the idea. Then she remembered her plans with Frank. "Well, I have one later."
Nico widened his eyes and slowly looked at her. "You do?"
She shrugged and blushed a little. "Well, not actually a date.. I'm just going out for ice cream with someone."
Nico crossed his arms and stopped walking. "I'm not letting you go alone. I will 'accompany' you from a safe distance."
Hazel held back a smirk and forced a pouty face. "What? Really?"
He nodded stubbornly.
"You promise?"
He nodded again.
She grinned. "Good. Cause I'm going with Frank."
Nico's jaw dropped. "Frank? Never mind, I don't even have to come. I know Frank wont try anything." He tried walking past her but she grabbed his shoulder.
"Nice try!" She laughed. "But you promised! You are going to come."
He scowled and stomped as he walked. "You did that on purpose."
She swung her arm around him. "I'm smarter than you think."
Nico smirked and swung his arm around her shoulder too. "Oh, I know you're smart. I just didn't know you were devious."
"I knew she was.'' said a voice from behind.
They both turned around to face a girl, taller than them both, with a braid over shoulder. "Reyna!" Hazel smiled.
The girl didn't really smile, but nodded her head. "Hey Hazel. Since you technically are advanced and stuff, can you fill out these papers. It's basically you just giving feedback about the school's programs so we can show them to the middle schools and encourage the younger kids." She handed Hazel a small packet.
"Sure," Hazel agreed.
Nico didn't notice until Reyna looked at him, but she was the same girl who came and tried to talk to him on the first day of school. He slightly narrowed his eyes at her. Not to actually be rude, just to examine her a little easier.
Hazel stood uneasy as her junior friend and half brother stared each other down. "Umm.. Nico maybe you should join student council?" Hazel suggested with an awkward smile. She didn't know why, but Reyna and Nico were kind of similar. It took both of them a lot to have a good time.
Nico raised and eyebrow that read Are you kidding me? "Are you kidding me?" He said aloud. "Then I would have to talk to people."
Reyna seemed to find this amusing. "I understand your hesitation di Angelo. I don't really like working with others but multiple clubs are good for college applications. " With that, she nodded politely at them both, and walked into the school.
Nico rolled his eyes. "Kids obsessing over college these days." He put his hands in his pockets, and recalled the other night with Will and how he was going to Med School. That ruled the two of them ever going to college together out. He would never be a doctor. He wouldn't be able to be around dying people. Nico figured he would just make them die faster.
Hazel walked halfway down the hallway with Nico. She spotted her group of friends, and when Percy waved at them causing the rest of them to turn and wave and yell, Nico took it as his cue to leave. He turned the corner and Hazel watched him a few moments.
She saw them creeping around the whole time, when Lou Ellen and Cecil jumped out from either side and grabbed his shoulders, causing him to tense and nearly shout curse words in Italian, she almost burst out laughing.
She had a great big smile on her face when she walked towards her friends, and Leo was the first one to point it out. "What's up with you? Who put a smile on your face and isn't me?"
She shook her head and smiled. "My brother."
Leo raised a brow. "Your brother ?"
Hazel shrugged and walked over toward Frank. She took her spot next to him and said ''He is actually hilarious. He just doesn't let you guys know that."
Percy nodded, crossing his arms and tightening his shoulders. "Yeah, I remember Nico from years ago. He was more outgoing, kinda like Leo."
Leo widened his eyes. "Nico di Angelo... used to be like me?"
Hazel was also a little shocked, and took a step back. She always forgets that Percy and Annabeth technically knew her brother longer than she knew him. It kind of bugged her, and in a selfish kind of way made her happy that her brother only liked talking to her.
Annabeth nodded in agreement with a soft smile on her face, as if remembering the friendship her and her boyfriend shared with the younger kid. "Yeah. He used to go around, basically spoon feeding everyone facts about his Mythomagic game."
Everyone stayed silent for a moment, registering what it would be like if Nico di Angelo was still a geeky cheerful kid with cards. That is until Frank's eyes seemed to light up. "Wait Mythomagic? I play that game!"
They all turned toward him. "You still play that game?" Piper brushed her hair into her face, trying to muffle her snicker.
He nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world, but a blush creeped onto his face.
"Dude. Nico was like ten when he played it." Percy laughed.
They all chuckled at Frank's slight embarrassment.
"Wait." Jason cut in. "That means...Nico used to be like Frank and Leo?"
They all stood there for a minute while the two boys shared glances. They both scowled and stuck their tongues out. Of course, even they couldn't hold back a snort, and the group was just looked like a bunch of laughing lunatics to passers nearby.
Piper grabbed Annabeth's elbow and began dragging her down the hallway. "Come on guys. We're gonna be late for class!"
As the group followed, Frank noticed Leo grabbed Hazel's arm and whisper something. Which automatically caused her to cup her face in her hands and cover up one of her famous laughs.
When Leo released Hazel's arm, Frank made sure to walk in between the two.
For Frank, the day seemed to drag on. He was just so stoked for the afternoon. His morning was fun enough, sitting with Hazel. He honestly didn't care that the holding hand encounter was a month ago, sitting in his first period class always reminded him of it. He didn't dare try it again though. He didn't want to embarrass the poor girl than he already has. They were only friends, and no matter how much he liked her, that's all they ever will be. He was too old for her, and would be leaving for college after next year. Him and Percy already decide they are going to share a dorm.
He scowled as he tried working through this sentence. It was talking about prepositional phrases, gerunds, other sentence stuff. He was kind of confused, mainly because he just couldn't concentrate. He glanced over at the coco skinned toned girl next to him, who seemed to be struggling.
Although Frank knew Hazel was extremely smart, he was still baffled that she skipped a grade, even with dyslexia.
"Hey Frank," he heard her say. She leaned over toward him and showed him her paper. "Did I do this right?"
He shakily took the paper and scanned it. For being such simple words, Frank couldn't seem to comprehend them. He was like a deer frozen in the headlights. He shamefully shook his head. "I'm sorry Hazel. I'm not quite sure."
She gave him a pearly smile, but sighed. "It's okay Frank. I'll go ask someone else who can help us both."
She got up and walked over to a blonde boy with grey eyes, who was speeding through the assignment like a boss. Frank knew that guy as Malcolm.
He groaned and slouched in his seat. He wanted to help Hazel. Be her knight in shining armor. And just like every guy Hazel ever talks to, even if just for five seconds, Malcolm was beating him at just that.
The Asian boy sighed and looked up at the clock. Eight minutes left in class. He tapped his pencil lightly on the desk, waiting for the time to pass, thinking about random topics. Hannibal the elephant at the city zoo. Hazel's horse Arion, Percy's horse Blackjack, and Jason's horse Tempest at the stables. Even Mrs. O'leary, the neighborhood dog.
After a few minutes, Hazel walked over grinning waving the paper. "I finished the assignment!"
He held up his hands and grinned. "Yay! Now you can help me!"
She side-smiled and rolled her eyes. "Of course I'll help you Frank."
She sat down next to him and ran her finger along the sentence on his paper. As she was distracted with the paper, Frank stared at the side of her face.
He wasn't quite sure how her thick curly hair would fit under a helmet, but he was pretty sure she could be his knight in shining armor.
Hazel cringed as she watched Leo shoot the cap of a water bottle across the lunch table. "I still cannot believe your brother used to be like me and Frank!" He whined for the millionth time today.
Frank rolled his eyes as he ate a spoonful of pudding. "Yeah, I'm not so flattered either, being compared to you and all." he mumbled.
Hazel shrugged. "I told you already, I didn't meet Nico until after his drastic change in personality. And if you ask me, he is perfect however he is. Besides, for all we know, Percy might have been exaggerating."
Frank threw his trash in the nearest trash bin. "Whatever. All I have to say is, Leo you better not get in trouble. I swear Mrs. Dodds been staring at you for like, the last five minutes."
Leo laughed out loud and shot another bottle cap in the trash. "Yeah, whatever Zhang.''
Eventually Leo settled down, and they continued eating. When a girl with messy blonde hair and hazel eyes sat down next Leo, his mouth broke out into a smile. ''Hey it's crazy girl!"
Hazel and Frank exchanged glances and waved to her awkwardly.
''What's your name anyways?" Leo cocked his head to the right.
The girl grinned and held out her phone like a microphone, completely ignoring his question. "Hi there guys, I'm going to post a poll online, but first I want your opinions."
The three of them exchanged glances and raised their eyebrows almost in-sync.
"Are you guys team Lazel or Frazel?"
Hazel furrowed her eyebrows. "Lazel? Frazel? What does that mean?"
The girl rolled her eyes. "Silly girl! They are-!"
"Let me!" Leo cut in, holding his hand up in the girls face. "Do you ship me and you together? Or you and Frank?"
Frank widened his eyes, nearly coughing up his drink. ''I don't know how to respond to that." He sputtered, his ears turning red with embarrassment.
Hazel blushed and ducked her head. She hated all this Leo/Frank stuff that she has been dealing with. She liked Frank. She trusted him more than anyone. And no matter how much she tried to push the feelings aside, she still felt something for Leo. She didn't quite know what those feelings were, but they were highly annoying.
"Neither!" She groaned, putting her face in her hands, causing both the boys to look away from her to hide their embarrassment.
Hazel reached over and put the phone down on the table. "That's enough."
The blonde girl gasped. "Hey! But this is for the poll on my blog!"
Leo leaned over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Ummm.. Crazy girl? How many views do you even get on your blog?"
The girl smiled and stood up, slipping her phone into her pocket. "About sixty. But most of them are me just viewing my own blog, because it's so beautiful.''
After that, the insane girl bounced away, humming something about her 'ohteepee'?
Hazel had no idea what her deal was, but just like the first time they met her, Leo let out a chuckle. "I swear that girl has issues!"
Frank set his elbow on the table. ''She's not the only one.."
Hazel bit back a laugh and thought Leo was about to make a sarcastic remark back, but he just widened his eyes. He pointed behind Frank's head and yelled "Frank watch out! The table behind you is on fire!"
Franks reflexes reacted faster than his brain and he jumped out of his seat, nearly smacking a girl in the face in the process.
Hazel just gasped and helped Frank up while Leo broke out in a fit of laughter pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "Oh that's a knee slapper!" And to add to the effect, Leo slapped his knee.
Frank's ears heated with annoyance. "Valdez.." He mumbled.
Hazel pinched Leo's arm, who winced and scowled. "Hey!"
Noticing that Frank accidentally spilled a carton of milk she said, "I'm going to get some napkins." Hazel gracefully stood up from the table and crossed through the cafeteria to the condiments table. She grabbed a handful and turned around, coming face to face with a blond boy.
"Um hi?" She tried as she shuffled around him so she wasn't standing against the table.
The boy grinned. Hazel noticed the crooked mischievousness of it, and it reminded her of Leo. "Hey I'm Cecil. Is it true you're Nico's sister?" When Hazel hesitated to answer, Cecil added, "di Angelo. I just figured you would know. You don't hear a lot of kids with the name Nico. Or Cecil actually, or Lou Ellen. But Will, yeah that's a common name. Yeah, and I feel that Beckondo-!"
"I am his sister!" She held out her hands and gave him an awkward grin. His eyes seemed to scan her up and down again, making her feel somewhat self conscious. His eyes had this troublemaker gleam and she knew instantly she shouldn't trust this guy with anything valuable. She didn't really understand what the blonde boy was trying to do, but the way he was staring at her made her think he was trying to hypnotize her or something. But what really startled her was when he grabbed her hand.
"Wha-!"
"Shhh." He maneuvered his calloused hand around hers and opened her palm. With his free hand, he reached behind him and snatched something off the table. Hazel squinted her eyes and bit her the inside of her cheek. She wasn't sure what to expect. "Here." He placed something in her hand. "Take this as a peace offering." He gave her a big smile and winked, then walked away down the center of the cafeteria.
Hazel stared after the boy for a second, trying to decipher what in the world happened. She looked off to the right where Frank and Leo were leaning over the table. Hazel figured her dear Hispanic friend waited till the last minute to do his homework, and Frank was reluctantly helping him. She almost forgot that the strange kid had gifted her a "peace offering." She looked down in her hand to find something so ridiculous, she wasn't even surprised.
A ketchup packet.
Hazel slowly made her way back to her table passing one of the Stoll brothers, she couldn't tell which one, who was on garbage duty. She scanned the room looking for the kid named Cecil. When she checked every corner and observed every face but still didn't find him, she could only assume he bailed and left the lunchroom early.
She plopped down next to Frank, who was explaining some assignment to Leo, who seemed to pretend to be listening. Frank noticed her presence and set the paper in front of her. "Hey Hazel, do you know how to explain this to him?"
Hazel rolled the ketchup packet in her fingers and let out a humorless chuckle. "Frank, I can hardly read it. Dyslexia remember?"
Frank smiled sheepishly. He always had the tendency to overestimate Hazel, because he knew she could do anything. She managed to skip a grade even with dyslexia. "Sorry."
She shrugged and elbowed him playfully.
"I can't wait for this day to be over!" Leo groaned, as he reached over and grabbed his paper, vigorously writing random numbers and letters.
Hazel smiled at Leo, then at Frank. Then she couldn't settle on who she wanted to stare at, so she directed her attention at the clock. Then the bell rang.
Frank didn't have a problem with bringing Nico. Not at all. Except it made things more awkward times a thousand. Frank had them walk with him to his house, which was spent with him and Hazel conversing, which was great! But Nico stood by, listening. It made Frank nervous. He was afraid he would say the wrong thing. Although Frank was two times his size, he was sure di Angelo could do some serious damage when provoked.
Now here they were, in Frank's car. Well his grandmothers car, but she was too old to drive. Hazel occupied the front seat while Nico slouched in the back. His dirty converse were all over the seats, which mildly annoyed Frank. But he was too scared to say anything.
After going a brief few minutes of silence, he decided to break the ice. "So Nico.." he started looking in the mirror. Nico seemed to peek his head out from under his beanie. "What do you think of Mythomagic?"
Hazel grinned and nodded her head encouragingly. Nico's face seemed to soften a bit, and Frank thought he might have seen a smile tugging at his lips. But Nico overcame it and his face remained a frown. "I don't play that game."
Hazel turned her head and gave her brother a smirk. Frank couldn't believe how different the two looked. Hazel, with the dark skin, cinnamon hair, brown eyes. Her breathtaking smile. Nico was quite opposite. Sure he had dark hair, but his eyes were black holes and his skin was as pale as if he were hanging out with the dead. He never smiled. Frank wondered if anyone would think Nico's smile was breathtaking. "You don't?" Hazel teased.
Nico let out a huff of frustration and crossed his arms, slouching even further down in his seat. Frank knew he would have to clean those seats before his grandmother saw the dirt stains.
''Anymore." He added.
Hazel fiddled with her seat belt and beamed with triumph. She rubbed her neck where the fabric was started to cause a rash.
Frank gripped the wheel tighter, and decided to go for it. He was gonna continue the conversation. "That's too bad Nico. I just got the extended set."
Frank could have swore he saw a small smile, but it disappeared just as quick. "Have fun with little kid stuff."
Frank shrugged, now deciding to never judge someone again. He was no doubt still intimidated by the short kid. But he knew he was Hazel's brother, and although he did seem a bit off, he hadn't ripped Frank's head off yet. So that was a good start.
They pulled in to a small parking area, which seemed deserted. It made a little sense because it was starting to get chilly outside, but Frank couldn't care less. He held the door open for the two. Nico said he didn't want anything and found a seat by the window. Hazel and Frank got themselves some ice cream in cups, and Hazel still decided to order something for Nico.
They joined him by the window and Hazel held out the cup. He made a face but accepted it. Frank and Hazel made small conversation. Mostly about the music that was playing in the ice cream parlor.
"I don't know, this music is a little too dirty for me." Hazel shook her head in disapproval as she took a bite of her ice cream.
Frank nodded. "Yeah." His ears reddened as he heard the lyrics 'leave our clothes on the floor'.
Nico swirled his ice cream with his spoon. He crushed the chocolate chips and mixed them in with it too. "Yeah." He agreed. He knew they would force him to contribute eventually, so he decided to get it over with. "Way inappropriate."
Frank shrugged and smiled. "Why are kids our age so into that kind of stuff?" He held his hands up, and when he realized the employees were staring at him him, he sheepishly retreated them back to his sides.
Nico shrugged. He felt a little awkward having this conversation. Especially with his little sister and a dude he hardly knew. "I dunno. Other people have issues. That's why I avoid them."
Hazel observed the exchange of words between her brother and Frank. How Frank nodded with understanding and his eyebrows knitted together in concentration. "That's reasonable." He agreed and took another spoonful.
Nico didn't say anything else. He didn't need to explain himself. Why he avoided anything about romance. Not only did it make him uncomfortable because he was so young, but because he was still hung up on something. Or someone. Shut up brain, he told himself.
He placed his bowl of ice cream on the table, which was now a pile of mush. He crossed his arms and stared out the window, letting his beanie fall into his eyes a little. A figure moving at a fast speed caught his eye, and within a second the person face planted on the sidewalk.
It was Will Solace, tripping over literally nothing again. He had no idea what this guy's deal was with his clumsiness. He was almost as bad as Zhang. Nico had seen that guy almost take people out with his elbow.
Nico silently prayed Hazel wouldn't notice the blonde kid out there. She just insisted they were friends, and it honestly annoyed the crap out of him. And unfortunately, Will was kind of hard to miss. His curly blonde hair was like a light bulb in a dark room. It couldn't go unnoticed. That's why when he had Hazel pushing him out of his chair and telling him to go outside and help Will, he wasn't surprised.
Nico stood across the road from where Will was gathering his stuff up off the cement. The pale boy hadn't realized how inconsiderate people were until he saw about six passers walk by without offering to help. He glanced through the window where he saw Hazel glare at him and urged him to go talk to his 'friend'.
He walked over to the boy and crossed his arms. When he didn't look up right away, Nico cleared his throat. Will glanced up shielding his face from the sun. When his eyes adjusted, he grinned. "This seems familiar."
Nico scrunched up his face. "Don't get used to it Solace." He held down his hand.
Will reached up and entwined his hand around Nico's. It wasn't as weird as the first time for Nico. It still sent a shock through him and he didn't know what to make of it, but he didn't want to pull his hand away instantly. Nevertheless, he forced himself to, wanting to punch himself in the face for even considering it.
"Sorry man," Solace shrugged, as he shoved all his papers and books into his bag. "Second time it happened. I'm already kind of used to it."
Nico narrowed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Wasn't an option. My sister forced me too." He pointed over his shoulder.
Will peered around him, well more like looked over his head, and waved at Hazel. She and Frank grinned and waved back.
''She's nice."
Will pushed passed him and began walking his own way, knowing that Nico would follow him. As if on cue, Nico jogged up next to him. Will mentally high fived himself for his psychic-ness. "Wait. You don't even know my sister."
Will shrugged. "So? I can just tell."
Nico scowled. "You can't just tell by looking at someone."
Will shook his head in disagreement. "Nope. Nope nope nope. You don't need to know someone to tell what kind of person they are. Like you for instance."
The short boy tightened his fingers around Will's shoulder so he was looking down at him. "What do you mean 'like me for instance?'"
Will shrugged Nico's hand off his shoulder. "I mean, you act like a little angry dude, but you are just concealing all your happiness. It's kind of obvious."
Nico fisted his hands. "You don't know anything about me." He growled.
The blonde squinted and eye. "Yeah okay, maybe I don't. But I know I'm right."
They walked in silence for a moment. He thought about what Will said. Maybe he was concealing his happiness. On more than one occasion he found himself wanting to laugh at something he overheard Percy say. He then mentally kicks himself in the shin and gets away fast. Nico was still hung up on whether he wanted to kick himself because he wanted to laugh, or because he wanted to laugh at Percy. He figured it was a little of both. He kept that to himself though.
"You know what I know about you?" He finally said.
Will raised an eyebrow and grinned, but kept his eyes ahead. "What?"
''That you are super lame."
Will scowled and stopped moving this time. "Excuse me!? I am amazing."
Nico had to hold back a smile. He hadn't realized how much fun it was to get under peoples' skin. Now he didn't resent Will so much for doing it to him constantly. He gestured to Will's choice of clothing. "You're literally wearing a winter coat and it's sixty degrees."
Will looked down as well a little sheepishly. He hadn't really remembered that he was wearing a T-shirt, with a hoody, with a winter coat. His grey sweatpants fit him comfortably, and he went with high top converse today instead of sandals. "Dude. Anything below seventy degrees? Don't even bother."
This time Nico couldn't hold back a grin. "Have a nice winter." He chuckled, dripping with sarcasm.
Will laughed and pushed Nico gently, for he was as light as a rag doll. "Fine I will."
They continued walking for a few minutes and Nico's mind drifted back to when Will fell. He hadn't dropped a bunch of doctor books or tools. The sidewalk was scattered with construction paper, marker, sparkles, and other art supplies. Nico kind of wondered what that was all about.
"Are you wondering about the sparkles?"
The sound of his voice almost speaking his exact thoughts almost gave Nico a heart attack. "No."
Will ignored his convincing lie and pulled out the container of hot pink sparkles. "It's for Lou Ellen," He explained. "I'm going to meet her at the park."
"You're bringing her sparkles," Nico comment. "At the park. Fun."
Will rolled his eyes. "You're sarcasm is quite irritating."
Nico pursed his lips and shrugged. "So I've been told."
Will looked both ways as he crossed the road and made sure Nico was safely next to him. "I'm helping her with her art project. I'm actually pretty damn good at art, ask anyone." He stared at Nico expectantly, waiting for the remark. All he got was a pale boy raising his eyebrows signalizing him to continue. "Anyways, Lou Ellen likes working outside. Something to do with nature, I don't know. But I'm bringing her supplies. And Cecil might swing by."
Nico gritted his teeth at the mention of that name, which worried Will. He did not need Nico hating his friends. "Oh yeah, by the way Solace, tell your friends to stop jumping me in the hallway."
Will laughed out loud and ran his fingers threw his hair. The breeze blowing by caused the scent of his shampoo to head directly into Nico's face. He actually thought the smell was pleasant, but made the feeling go away. It made him think of Hazel's creepy friend Leo. And that was the last person he wanted to think of.
"They do that to everyone. Even me." Will skidded his converse along the cemented sidewalk and sighed. He already missed his flip flops. His feet felt so crammed in these shoes.
Nico widened his eyes, his eyebrows raised so high he was surprised they didn't get caught in his hair. He was genuinely confused. "Yet you still choose to be friends with them."
Will pursed his lips wrinkling his freckled nose, giving him a soft glare. "Hey, I still choose to be friends with you even though you annoy the heck out of me and make me wish I froze to death last winter."
Nico rolled his eyes and made his hands find their way into his pockets. His hands immediately felt warmer. ''We're not friends." He scoffed.
"Oh yeah?" Will challenged. "Then why are you still following me?" He playfully pulled the beanie over Nico's eyes.
He blushed and was kind of grateful the hat was covering his face. After a moment, he pulled it off his face. "Fine. I'll be going." He went to turn back, and deal with the awkwardness of his sister and her 'boyfriend-not-boyfriend'. But before he could even get a sidewalk square away, Will snagged his arm.
"Calm down little man, I was only teasing." He dragged him across the green, over to where Lou Ellen was setting up her easel.
"Don't tell me to calm down, you calm down." Nico pouted as he was being forced against his will. Pftt, his Will. Nico didn't know what to think of that, so that's what he did. He didn't think about it. What he did think about though was the feeling of warmth. Will's hands literally sent warmth through his whole entire body, it actually kind of amazed him.
Will was thinking the same thing, but opposite. Nico's hand were as cold as ice. They felt like he was stuck in a freezer for hours and just got treatment. It sent a shock up his arm and into his head, something called a brain freeze. Except it was a different kind of brain freeze. It wasn't painful, it just seemed like a bunch of minor stuff floating around in his head was turned off and disposed of. He kind of felt that way the other night when he noticed Nico turn back and look at him. He hadn't thought about it much until now, he still doesn't completely understand the feeling. "Obviously you do need to calm down. You look like you are gonna punch someone in the face."
''Yeah and that someone is you!"
"You wouldn't even be able to reach my face!"
"You have probably never punched anyone in your life!"
"Do you two ever stop fighting?" They both looked up at a grinning girl with short black hair and glasses. Nico noted the new pink highlights she got.
Cecil was standing next to her, tilting his phone as he played a game. "Oh and to confirm your statement. You're right. Will has never punched anyone."
Nico smiled smugly and Will's ears turned a light shade of pink. "Cecil! You're suppose to be on my side!"
Cecil shrugged with a grin. "Sorry dude. Gotta respect the little man. He would actually throw a punch-!"
"We are not talking about this again!" Will announced, pulling out the glitter container and chucking it at Cecil's head. Cecil easily dodged it.
Embarrassing stories? Nico thought. There couldn't be anything much worse than tripping over invisible things, so he was quite interested. "Will wouldn't punch someone, eh?"
Will's blushed deepened and Cecil's smile enlarged about three times it's original size. "Yeah man! This one kid was pushing-!"
"Cecil!" Will dropped the bag and charged at Cecil, who already began running. Will gained on him super fast to Nico's surprise.
"Yeah, Will is really good at sports and stuff. He runs super fast." Lou Ellen's voice said, scaring Nico half to death. He had forgotten she was there. Twice in the same day people have read his mind. He didn't like the odds of them learning about his new plant. Yes. Hazel did end up buying him a plant. And he seriously named it Jules-Albert.
''Right." He said awkwardly like the first time he met her. He continued watching Will and Cecil. Will finally caught him, and after jumping on his back, they fell to the grass and were now wrestling each other. Will was a lot stronger than he looked. And although both boys had blonde hair, Nico couldn't help but notice how much more impressive Will looked. Cecil's hair was a wilty blond color, like the grass died because of the heat. Will's hair glowed. Like it was the cause of the grass to die. His hair was like the sun, and his whole person radiated energy. Very obnoxious energy, he forced himself to say.
Lou Ellen picked up the sparkles container and yelled, "Will! You spilled the sparkles!"
Will instantly stopped wrestling and pushed Cecil off of him, who replied with a grunt. "Whatever." He said. "I'll buy you more later. They were like five cents."
Cecil stood up and pulled grass out of his hair. "Yeah! A good five cents gone to waste! I'll go with you tomorrow man. I'll just sneak some out. It'll be easy."
Will scowled and elbowed him. "No stealing." He demanded.
Cecil walked toward Nico and rolled his eyes. When his back was turned toward Will, he made a mocking face which Lou Ellen smiled at. "Yeah, yeah, okay dad." He then directed his attention at Nico. "I met your sister today."
Nico narrowed his eyes. "You didn't steal from her did you? Cause I swear-!"
Cecil held up his hand. "See? I love this guy! I mean, he's creepy! But at least he'll punch somebody!" He grinned at Will.
Will threw his arms up in frustration and groaned.
Lou Ellen and Cecil laughed and Nico produced a small smile. It was amusing to see Will so annoyed.
"Anyway," Cecil continued. "I gave her some ketchup."
Nico raised an eyebrow. "Ketchup?"
"Mhm."
"Right.." He said again.
They all stood there for a moment until Lou Ellen asked, "What should I paint?"
Cecil held up a finger and smiled mischievously. "Paint me doing my a cool trick!"
Will crossed his arms warily. "What trick?"
To Nico's surprised, Cecil pulled a lighter out of his pocket. When neither of the other two looked alarmed, he figured it was normal. Cecil picked up a nearby leaf and set it ablaze. He then clumsily placed the flaming leaf on head until the wind blew it out. Nico was now suddenly wondering if the sun made his hair that crummy blonde color, or if it was just all the flaming leaves.
"That wasn't really a trick." Will pointed out.
Lou Ellen grimaced. "Yeah. It was kind of disturbing."
Cecil dropped his jaw. "Nuh-uh! It was cool! It was a cool trick! I bet none of you would set your heads on fire!"
Nico nodded and put on his best poker face. "You're right, we wouldn't. And that wasn't a trick, it was just your stupidity showing." Nico noticed Will grinning, but he didn't dare look up at him.
"I take back what I say about loving him." Cecil mumbled, sliding the lighter back into his pocket.
As Lou Ellen watched the three boys exchange comebacks, and Will giving Nico a friendly slap on the back, she suddenly had a lifesaving revelation on what she would do for her art project.
"FINE MOM!" Will shouted as stomped out the front door of his cruddy house. He was in such a good mood the night before but it was all ruined when his mom started up at him again.
The night before, he hung out with his friends for a while at the park. Lou Ellen said she came up with an idea but wouldn't tell them. Later, Nico had to go home, which really bummed him out. But he hung out with Lou Ellen and Cecil at Cecil's house and played Xbox. Didn't completely make up for the loss of the quiet boy's presence, but it came close enough.
Then later, he went home. While his half brothers were at their cousins, Will's dad showed up for a visit. With tacos! He hung with his dad, talking about whatever. He just liked spending time with him. His mom stayed in her room most of the night. She didn't really like Will's dad, plus she was extra grumpy when the twins weren't there.
The next morning though, she yelled at Will to wake up. He asked her not to yell. She told him he always yelled at her, which he knew for a fact wasn't true. He loved his mom even though she drove him to his breaking point. She was very young and beautiful, but she was scary. She always tied her chocolate brown hair into a tight bun so it looks like her veins are popping out. After a long argument about his dad and himself, she yelled at him to just get out of the house.
Will got to school before Lou Ellen and Cecil, so he waited at the usual spot by the statue. He stood patiently when Annabeth appeared before him.
"Hey Annabeth," he glanced around to see if she actually over here to talk to him. They never interacted all that much anymore besides the other night.
"Hey Will!" She greeted. Her gray eyes hadn't changed much since he used to stared at them every Tuesday and Thursday for tutoring. "I'm just curious, how are you doing in school?"
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What kind of question is that?"
She nudged her head. "Just answer it."
He pursed his lips and looked at the sky as if it was suppose to give him the answers.''Pretty good actually. All A's."
She nodded her head, eyes narrowed. "Interesting... Thing is, I was trying that method with rhymes and hand gestures with Percy but it doesn't seem to be working for him! I was just curious as to how you turned out. I mean, they even use those methods with small children."
Will shrugged, still fumed with anger at his mother. "Well...Percy is kind of..."
"Stupid?" She offered. "Yeah, you're right."
He laughed a little, remembering how funny Annabeth really was when she wasn't shoving calculus down your throat. He nearly missed Nico walking toward them. Will noticed his face immediately drop when he caught sight of Annabeth. Feeling a bit concerned, he made up an excuse. "Where is Percy anyway?"
She widened her eyes. "Sorry Will, I have to go look for him. Talk to you later."
Will hoped they would talk, but highly doubted it. He glanced at Nico, who now was continuing his walk in Will's direction.
''What's wrong?" They both asked in union. "What?" they both said again.
Will shook his head. "Why did you look so sad?"
Nico scowled. "Why do you look so angry?"
"I'm not angry!"
"Yes you are!"
"Here we go again!" Lou Ellen's voice cut in walking in between the boys
Lunch sucked today in Nico's opinion. He was minding his own business, reading about zombies apocalypse, when Will Solace sat down in front of him. Nico was kind of immune to the ray of sunshine lurking around, he has dealt with for more than a month now, but it still frustrated the heck out of him when a brown bag was set down in front of him.
Nico glanced at Will, then over at Clarisse who sat hand in hand with Chris. Totally forgetting the day her and Will teased him. "What?"
"Eat." Will insisted. "It's a turkey sandwich, strawberries, other stuff I don't remember."
Nico pushed it away. "Sorry can't eat turkey, I'm a vegan."
"No you're not."
Nico scowled but didn't deny it. "How did you know that?"
Will shrugged, then reached into the bag and handed it to him. "I didn't."
Nico glared at him, but Will didn't seem intimidated. Nico took a small nibble of the corner of the sandwich. After a few moments, he picked up a strawberry and took a bite. To Will's surprise, he immediately spit it out. "Dude!"
"That strawberry was nasty." Nico sputtered.
Will shook his head."Impossible. Strawberries are delicious." He plucked one from the bowl and ate it. The juice tasted dry and the strawberry itself tasted like a barnyard explosion. He forced it down. He couldn't swallow his pride. "See?" He blinked back the threatening tears because of the awful fruit.
"Told you." And before he could think about it, Nico flung his half eaten berry at Will's face. Will's first reaction was surprised, especially when Nico tried to hold back his chuckles. So he did the only proper thing. He reached over and grabbed the little container of sugar, originally for the berries. He opened it and threw a finger full at Nico.
And just there luck, a Stoll brother was wheeling the trash by them. Nico thought it was Travis. But they couldn't have timed it worse, because Travis reached into the trash and pulled out an unpeeled orange. "FOOD FIGHT!" He the chucked the fruit right at Katie's shoulder. She glared coldly at him for a second before tossing her bowl of jello at him. Before they knew, the cafeteria broke out into war.
Nico and Will threw food and pastries at anyone close by, but mostly at each other. Nico wanted to see how many goldfish crackers got caught in Will's hair.
Will just wanted that smile to remain on Nico's face.
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Detention. That's what the boys had to look forward to in the next hour. After getting cleaned up, someone ratted them out, and now they had that to look forward to after school.
Currently, they sat in their sixth period, Will next to Nico, and it seemed like that everyday. Nico was pretty sure the teacher even change the seating chart so it matched up correctly.
Anyway, speaking of the teacher, he was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't there and neither was a substitute. The class became extremely loud, and Nico was annoyed. He placed his hands over his ears but observed. All the nerdy kids were on one side. He could read their lips as they shouted "What are we gonna do!?" The stupid jocks on the other side, who were cheering and laughing. Lou Ellen and Cecil were saying something to Will, who looked like he was about to stand up and say something. In fact, that's what he did.
"Everyone!" He shouted, as he stood up on his chair. No one stopped. So he tried again. "EVERYONE!" This got their attention, so they looked up at him. "Were fine people." He ran a hand through his hair. Wow I really didn't think this through.
"What are you gonna do stupid?" One of the jocks yelled.
Nico growled to himself. He found those kids extremely annoying. He saw Lou Ellen grip Cecil's arm so he didn't go punch the guy. "What are you going to do 'The Amazing Will?'" she questioned.
Cecil chuckled and resisted to say "Is 'Nico is Not On Fire' gonna help you?"
Will ignored the douchbag's comment but smiled at Lou Ellen. "All I have to say is.. If there's a Will, there's a way."
Everyone remained silent for a second. Nico silently face palmed at the terrible pun. So terrible. He was a bit interested when he noticed Cecil standing up on his chair. Everyone continued watching to see what was gonna happen. He saluted him and Will saluted him back. But then he quickly grabbed a line piece of paper from his notebook and rolled it into a ball. He chucked it right at Will's head. Everyone laughed of course and followed his lead. Soon, everyone stood up on their chairs and threw paper at him. Except Nico. He just enjoyed it from the sideline.
The students sat down in the nick of time, because at that moment Mrs. Dodds walked into the room. "Hello I'm Mrs. Dodds, I'll be your substitute."
After explaining the assignment, she passed it out and everyone got to work.
Nico leaned over and whispered, "Look at all the trees you killed." He pointed at all the paper on the floor.
Will began highlighting his paper and rolled his eyes. "Haha. Very fun Mr. Vegan.''
Nico smirked and began his work as well.
As the hour went on the class gradually got louder. It got so loud, another teacher came in to ask what was going on and if their teacher bailed on them or something. Finally, at the last few minutes of class, Mrs. Dodds yelled "ENOUGH!" Everyone went silent, so she continued, "You were so loud and I got so many complaints. You will sit here quietly for the last five minutes, if anyone talks you will all stay a minute after the bell. I know how badly you all wanna go home."
Everyone immediately went quiet. Even the jocks. No one gets in the way of home. Nico leaned his head down on the table, while Will tapped his pencil. At first, it was fine. Now it was annoying, so Nico had to take matters into his own hands. Since he couldn't talk, he kicked Will in the shin. It wasn't even hard, but Will jumped like he just got stung by a wasp.
'OW!' He mouthed.
'Shut up!' Nico mouthed back.
'What?'
"Shut up!" He whispered aloud but quietly.
"Shh! Don't talk!" The blonde whispered back a little louder.
They whisper argued back and forth for about ten seconds before a ruler hit the front of their desks, right in front of Will's face. He might have let out a small shriek. "Mr. Solace and Mr. di Angelo, thanks for giving the class the privilege of staying after the bell."
The boys shrunk down in their seats. One: She was right in front of them and she was scary. Two: They could feel their peers eyes staring into their skulls. The bell rang and everyone heard the commotion of people at their lockers. The stares grew harder and colder, Nico and Will feeling as if they had a hole drilled through their heads. Cecil and Lou Ellen laughed at their friends reddened faces.
Finally, when Mrs. Dodds walked to the front of the class she said, "See you tomorrow." Everyone bolted.
Will and Nico tried to get out of the room quickly, but she fixed her eyes on them and glared. "You two." She motioned her big bony finger for them to follow.
They made eye contact with Lou Ellen and Cecil. Cecil pretended to take off a hat and shake his head. Lou Ellen nudged him and gave them an encouraging smile.
As they nervously shuffled to the front, Nico whispered, "This is your fault Solace."
He shook his head, sending some golden curls into his eyes. "No way man. Completely your fault."
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Hey! Yeah a lot of Frazel and Solangelo! Told you!
Also, just wanna say, i got a comment saying they want this to be Lazel. I'm gonna say that this IS A FRAZEL fanfic. Yes some Lazel, but Frazel is endgame. Don't worry tho. I'll get around to wring some Lazel oneshots or something.
Also, I made reference to Dan and Phil on youtube. They are amazing.
Also, the whole "If theres a Will theres a way" thing was not my idea. It was so tumblr. I will most likely use a lot of tumblr so if you see anything on here you posted on tumblr, be free to point that out.
Sorry the ending was rushed, I need to get it posted.
Next chapter will be tons of Percabeth and Solangelo (Ya know, Solangelo every chapter so im gonna stop saying that)
Until next time!~MyLifeIsALie