All this preluded Nico and Percy ending up nose to nose after being shoved or hauled onto the dance floor by their so-called friends.

Sarah laughed and let go of Percy's hand, skipping off to the other singles to dance with Travis Stoll. Rachel and Hazel were laughing behind Nico.

Percy couldn't breathe. Nico was close enough so that if he wanted to he could close the inches between them in a second. His lips looked soft. His brown eyes were so close and so wide he could see his pupils expand. He could just reach out and touch him.

Nico wanted very much to inhale, but something was clogging his throat. He was closer to Percy than he had been in... Ever. Right? This closeness wasn't making thinking any easier. In fact, it was making it oh, so much worse. He had never seen Percy's eyes so closely before. They weren't just green, they had hints of blue swirled in them, like the paint Rachel left lying around.

They both swallowed but still couldn't move an inch. Above them, Single Ladies was playing, and Aphrodite girls were screaming the words in their ears, but they didn't move a muscle.

...Cause another brother noticed me

I'm up on him, he up on me

don't pay him any attention...

As soon as they realized the implication of the song, both of them remembered that breathing required inhaling and they took a step back, looking away. Percy coughed and Nico ran a hand through his hair, blushing and clenching his jaw.

Behind Nico, Annabeth had her arms crossed and was studying Percy like he was a bug in a jar. Percy'd never hated that analytic gaze so much.

Behind Percy, Jason was leaning up against a table, staring at the pair as he sipped a glass of wine. He was smirking. Nico had never wanted to punch Jason's face in more than right now.

"Uh, hey, sorry um- Sarah- pushed me I didn't-" Percy stammered.

Nico nodded and squeaked: "Um, yeah, Rachel and Hazel both- pushed me - too."

"Right. Yeah. So. Um..."

"See you around...?" Nico eyes flitted up to Percy then away.

"Yeah, see you around."

Nico nodded again and walked passed Percy.

Percy made a beeline for the bar.

Percy went straight for the bar, but Reyna beat him to it.

"Henry, don't give this man anything. He has been cut off already, and we don't want him drinking."

"You got it Reyna," the man said.

"Seriously?" Percy glared at her. "After you two psycho lesbians have been screwing with me all night? Just let me have the fucking drink!" Percy cringed after the words left his mouth.

The bartender inhaled sharply, making a pained face and glancing back between the two of them.

She pursed her lips and smiled coolly. Reyna held up and finger. "I'm not going to take offense to that because A: You're drunk, B: You don't mean it and are obviously projecting your insecurities upon someone who has their life and sexuality figured out, and C: You're going to apologize right now before I kick your ass." She added a finger for each letter.

Reyna was right. Percy felt like a total piece of shit. "I'm sorry Reyna! I swear I don't know where that came from."

Reyna just shrugged. "Like I said: projecting."

"I don't know, or care what that means," Percy informed her. Before Reyna could stop him, Percy reached over the counter and grabbed a bottle of something and backed up quickly.

Reyna just rolled her eyes and strode after him. "This is rather immature, don't you think Percy?

"Well, you know what they say about desperate times," Percy shrugged as he picked up speed.

Reyna stopped. "Fine. Take it. But you're going to need another ride home. And once I talk to Sarah, probably another room to stay in tonight. You'll be vomiting alone!"

"I'll take my chances in the hallway." Percy grinned triumphantly as he turned to escape outside the tent.

Nico nodded at Percy again and kept his burning cheeks down as strode past their table. His shoulders were hunched and his hands were balled into fists in his pant pockets. Rachel and Hazel got to their feet.

"Nico!" Rachel called after him.

Nico ignored them and walked faster. He was seriously considering shadow traveling to New Rome, screw Rachel and whatever she would do to his damn t-shirts.

"Nico!" Hazel touched his shoulder and Nico shrugged her off. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" Nico fumed as he headed for the tent exit. "I really don't know! It's like everyone wants to humiliate me in front of Percy tonight, most of all my best friends and my sister!"

"Nico-!" Hazel started but Nico waved her off.

"No, not right now guys, I can't deal with this. Just- I need some air." The girls stopped following him as Nico ran outside.

Percy was laughing as he stepped outside. He had the bottle of rum wrapped around the neck as he gulped down several ounces of the wonderfully disgusting stuff. He loosened his noose of a tie.

As he stumbled around to the steps overlooking the trees on the backside of the tent he chuckled. "Yo ho and a bottle o' rum. I'm a pirate. Percy the Pirate. Percy Jackson the Pirate. No..." Percy staggered around the corner as he trumpeted. "Perseus Jackson, the Pirate Son o' Poseidon!"

Someone sitting on the five concrete steps jerked their head in Percy's direction, and for what felt like the billionth time that night, Percy found himself looking into brown eyes that made him want to melt like the chocolate they looked like.

"Percy!"

"Nico?" Percy sighed and stumbled toward him. "Course you're 'ere. Did Annabeth send you?"

"No. I just- I needed air. Rachel and Hazel wanted to talk to me, I should-" Nico started to get up, but Percy waved his hand.

"Nah, 's okay." Percy fell on his ass on the steps next to Nico. "Ow. I got rum and it's gooood. And Annabeth would just make me talk t'ya tomorrow. Sorry for the-" Percy waved his hand to the tent. "Thing. Annabeth's been weird."

Nico sat back down, further away than he had been originally. His tie was tossed next to him carelessly and the first couple buttons of his shirt were undone. His jacket was missing but he was still wearing his vest. His hair was back to the long disheveled look like he had been running his fingers through it.

"Yeah. I'm, um, sorry too." His shoulders were hunched and he looked down as he wrung his hands nervously.

Everyone was weird. Nico still didn't know why Annabeth and Reyna had told Rachel to bother Nico with the gay jokes. Especially them, he thought that they'd be more understanding. They usually were.

"Also... Sorry for Rachel and that burglars story. That never happened and I still don't understand why Annabeth and Reyna wanted her to say that."

Percy looked at Nico over the rim of the bottle. "D'ya say Annabeth and Reyna?"

Nico looked at him with his shoulders still hunched. "Um, yes."

Percy groaned and took another gulp of rum. "Why can't people just leave me alone? It really ain't that hard. It's just like, 'Hey Percy,' then walk away. That's all it is! And you've been doin' a great job with that by the by," Percy said.

Nico hid his smile behind his bangs. "Why would Annabeth make you talk with me?" Nico asked, his shoulders less tense.

"Hmm?"

"You said Annabeth would just make you talk to me tomorrow?"

"Right!" Despite his drunken state, Percy had enough control over his mouth to lie. "Cause she thinks us not talkin' is 'unhealthy' for the group" He raised the hand that wasn't holding the bottle to do sloppy quotations. It wasn't a complete lie, Annabeth had bugged him about it even before they broke up and she found out who Nico and Percy were was supposed to be to each other.

"Yeah, Hazel and Jason have been telling me that for years," Nico said, grinning slightly.

Percy took another swig of the drink. "Mm, you want some?" Percy offered him the bottle.

Nico glanced at Percy out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. "No thanks, I've had my share of underage drinking and it wasn't quite to my liking."

"Oh! Right, you're... Nineteen? Eighteen? I always forget you and Hazel ain't the same age as the the rest of us. Sorry, I never would've even thoughta offerin' you any if I'd 'membered," Percy slurred, taking another drink.

"I'm nineteen."

"RIIIIIIGHT! Wait- When were you drinkin'?" Percy asked.

Nico picked at a fingernail nervously. "Um, a couple of years ago I had this boyfriend-"

Percy glanced away for a split second. Then he blinked hard. Why was he jealous of a boyfriend that he'd never met? This was stupid. He took another drink.

"- He- I- I got drunk to impress him. It was really dumb and Hazel wouldn't talk to me until I broke up with him."

"...Oh. Sorry 'bout that." Percy said awkwardly, because what was he supposed to say to that? He changed the subject. "So what'a ya been up to?"

"Um, Hazel and I graduated a couple weeks ago. Hazel and Frank found an apartment in New Rome and I moved in with Rachel."

Percy nodded lazily. "So you're goin' to New Rome U?"

Nico tilted his head. "Yeah, probably... For the first year at least," but it was more to himself, so he glanced up, startled when Percy asked: "Where else would ya go?"

"Um, well," Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "New Rome has pre-law, pre-med, psychology, and of course mythology and history, and their art program is great but it doesn't have a lot of-" Nico stopped. He didn't know why he was talking so much. He hadn't even told Hazel he didn't want to go to New Rome. He didn't even know if he could trust Percy. He could of course, but he hadn't talk to Percy in years... And Percy left, right? He might be different...

"Lotta what?" Percy asked, his bottle 75% empty.

"Um..." Nico's shoulders were tense again. "I haven't really told anyone..."

Percy paused swirling the rum. Nico had almost told him something personal, and he had a choice whether or not to press further and become as Nico's confedant, and then possibly have to share personal shit as well. Or Percy could just leave it alone and sit here having a casual conversation. But Percy was sick of the superficial conversations he'd been having ever since he'd gotten here. Everyone prodding him about how and what and who he was doing. He was going to junior college with no idea where his life was headed, and currently confused as hell as to who he wanted. He just wanted someone to help him figure it out, and so far everyone made it more confusing adding to the load of boys and majors and grades and jobs and life and... EVERYTHING.

Nico was actually reaching out to Percy, not interrogating him. He was offering a part of himself to Percy, a secret. He was confused too.

A smile twitched at Percy's lips. "Come on, di Angelo. Why doesn't the son of Hades want to go to New Rome with the rest of 'em heroes?" he asked looking at Nico.

Nico smiled a little. "If you promise not to tell anyone yet..."

Percy laughed. "If I even 'member what you tell me in the mornin', I swear on the river Styx I won't blab that Nico di Angelo wants to be a..."

Nico grinned. "A graphic novelist."

"A graphic novelist?" Percy nodded as he brought the bottle down from his lips. "What's that? Is it like..." He looked at Nico and Nico waited for him to finish.

"...porn?" Percy asked carefully.

Nico threw his head back and laughed. Percy smiled. He loved seeing Nico di Angelo laugh at something he said, even if it was him being an idiot.

"No! Gods no!" Nico said, still smiling. "It's like comic books, but not at all. It's a novel told through pictures that are like comics. You know, the frame by frame drawing?"

"Oh!" Percy decided to save the rest of the rum for when he inevitably said something even more stupid. "Yeah, I totally get it! But didn't ya say that New Rome's gotta art program? What's wrong with that one?"

Nico shook his head. "Nothing, it's just more focused on more 'traditional' art - Like what Rachel does - it's great for that. But they don't really grasp the more 'pop art' scene, and since I want to do that I would be kind of stuck in New Rome..."

"You know, I think I actually got what you just said!" Percy said, totally surprised. "That never happens!"

Nico smiled again. "Well way to go Jackson!"

"Woooo!" Percy shouted, throwing his fists into the air.

Nico laughed again. He had missed Percy being an idiot more than he could admit out loud. And he had never seen Percy drunk before. It was freaking hilarious.

"Why graphic novels then?" Percy asked.

"Because I love comics," Nico admitted, shrugging. "I love superheroes and their powers. But at the same time I don't like the comic books stuff, like how the girls are always dressed in stupid outfits and the skinny boys are all geniuses, guys are total Captain Americas or Green Lantern or the Flash, or stuff like that. They're just copies of the same tropes over and over again."

"AAAAWWWW! Nico the Nerd is back! I love Nico the Nerd!" Percy drawled, throwing an arm around Nico and giving him a sloppy noogie.

"How much have you had to drink?" Nico asked, smiling and blushing. He could smell the booze on Percy's breath right next to his ear.

"Too much. Tha's all I know. I'll be throwin' up for hours!"

"That's gross," Nico said, making a face. Percy hadn't taken his arm back, so Nico kept looking forward, because if he turned his head even a little to the right he would be staring into Percy's eyes and he'd be trapped.

"Yup." Percy's brain suddenly realized how close he was to Nico di Angelo, and he carefully slid his arm back to his side.

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a minute. Percy finished off the rum.

Nico needed to say something. He hated just sitting here. Normally he would never offer anyone this, but he needed something to break the silence and it was the only thing that was coming to mind so:

"Do you want to see some of my character sketches?"

Percy stopped staring at the empty bottle forlornly and looked up. "Characters? Like your own characters?"

"Yeah..." Nico said. "I asked Hazel to carry my sketchbook in her purse."

"That thing is HUGE!" Percy said, widening his arms to show what 'huge' was.

"I know!" Nico grinned, happy the tension was gone. He stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Okiday!" Percy giggled.

Nico jogged back in the tent. The dance floor was packed with vibrating and pulsating bodies. Everyone shouted the chorus:

You had me shaking and you

Shook me all night long

There was hardly anyone sitting at the tables and there was no one around Hazel's seat. Nico crept over as quickly as he could. Her thick dark purplish pinkish purse took over her whole seat. His sketchbook was sticking out. He grabbed it and was about the sneak back out when he saw a sealed water bottle on the table. On an impulse he took it for Percy.

As he pushed back the tent, he heard Percy singing sloppily. "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot, Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho!" Percy raised his empty glass and laughed.

"You' a pirate now Percy?" Nico teased as he plopped down next to Percy, shoving the water bottle into Percy's chest.

"Yup!" Percy grabbed the water bottle. "What's this?"

"It's water." Nico said. "If you drink water now you're hangover won't be as bad."

"OOooh." Percy unscrewed the cap. "GOT it. So where're the sketches?"

"Here," Nico said, flipping it open and revealing the wooden black pencil inside the cover. He flicked through the book until he got the page with Piero on it.

"Who's that?" Percy asked.

"This is Piero," Nico introduced. Piero was tall looking with a ferocious look on his face like someone had stolen money from him. He was wearing a bulky trench coat over skinny jeans and a loose white t-shirt. He had combat boots on, and a mean looking sword in his hand with sharp angles like teeth.

"He's the main character..."