Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or its characters. All rights go to Rick Riordan. I own only the plot.
Warning: There are brief mentions of a car accident, and a character agrees to a one-sided relationship with somebody.
Percy dropped Nico off at school the following Wednesday. Hades had paid the hospital bill, but he had forbidden Nico to drive the motorcycle. Percy, knowing how much Nico hated the limousine, offered to drive him in his car. It was a nice car, but it wasn't an overly nice car. So Nico begrudgingly accepted.
He walked into school and was immediately surrounded by people. Lots of them. Nico felt panic rise in his chest. He felt his heart start to beat faster and desperately tried to calm himself down, remembering what Will had said.
"Hey! Let the guy breathe!"
The crowd parted slightly and then Will's blonde head appeared. He shoved past everyone to Nico. Will grabbed Nico's wrist and pulled him through the crowd of students.
"Which way to your locker, Nico?" Will asked.
Nico directed him. Will managed to get Nico through the hallway. Nico sighed in relief.
"Hey, are you okay?" Will asked, genuine concern in his gaze.
"Yeah," Nico said, then added, "Thanks."
Will flashed a blindingly perfect smile at him. "No problem."
Will left Nico to go get ready for his own class.
Nico had just finished shoving all his books into his backpack when he felt a slight pressure on his upper left arm. He spun around, scowling, to see who the unexpected (not to mention unwanted) touch had come from.
"Nico, I was so worried!"
It was...Drew?
"Oh, hon, I was afraid you were going to die! Next time you really need to let me drive you to the hospital, no more acting like a gallant knight!" She leaned over to Nico, and hissed, "Come with me and do not say anything." Then, addressing everyone in the hallway, she said, "Make way! I'm going to bring him to the nurse's office to make sure he's actually allowed to be at school today. It wouldn't surprise me if he snuck out of the hospital!" And she dragged him through the school.
They came to an empty hallway and she shoved him into a closet. She entered after him and quietly shut the door behind her. She switched on her phone flashlight. "Now, Nico, hon, listen up. I don't know why you fainted yesterday and I don't really care. What I do care about is that you fainted. You passed out in front of the whole student body, and I came up with a story that makes you seem strong and brave. A lot better than letting people think that you fainted because of some weakness now, am I right?"
Nico had to admit she was right. He hated Drew, but she managed to supply him with a solution to his problem. Weakness. It was Nico's least favorite word.
He asked her, "Why did you tell people that?"
She smirked at him, eyes wandering over his body. "I know an opportunity when I see one. See, Nico, you're hot. I'm gonna tell it to you plain. You try to hide it, but that Italian accent is gorgeous. The dark, haunted black eyes? So intriguing. The disheveled black hair? Makes a tiger purr. The I don't care attitude? The defined jaw? The sharp nose? The leather jackets and the motorcycle? The moody demeanor? You're just begging for a girl's love. And this girl? She's prepared to give it to you. But I'm not stupid. I know you'd say no if I asked you out. But I also know that you hate someone seeing you in a weak state more than anything in the world. So I made a rumor that made you seem strong. Heck, I basically handed you popularity. But I can also take it all away. I can tell them that you really did just faint in the cafeteria. I can make you seem like the weakest 'lone wolf' to ever exist. So I'm giving you a choice: Be my boyfriend and keep your reputation as the tough guy, or refuse and be seen as weak in the eyes of everyone in the entire school."
Nico stared at her, no, he gave her his death glare. She didn't back down. Nico couldn't believe Drew Tanaka had trapped him. A shallow girl who screamed each time she chipped a nail had found out his weakness and had trapped him in it. But he didn't really have a choice. He swore to himself and to everyone he had cared about that he would never be weak again.
Drew's honey eyes regarded him coolly, and a smirk played at her red lips, because she already knew what he was going to say.
Nico swallowed and braced himself for the rest of his high school career, which would probably be the worst years of his life. "Okay."
She smiled, triumphant, and said, "Just let me do all the talking if someone asks a question about the...episode."
Drew leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go announce your new status, Neeks."
If asked, Nico would say the worst part of being Drew's boyfriend was all the affectionate little touches and nicknames.
Drew had announced him as her boyfriend to some of her friends, and they had spread it to the whole school. Nico was standing at his locker, miserable, when Will Solace walked up to him.
"So, I heard that you got stabbed saving a damsel in distress. And then you became her boyfriend. Whatever happened to arrhythmia?"
Nico panicked. "Will, you didn't tell anyone about that, did you?"
"No. Patient confidentiality."
Nico almost laughed. It figured Will would abide by that. "Listen, I decided I liked Drew's story. I like her. She asked me to be her boyfriend, and I agreed."
Will looked skeptical. "You like Drew?"
Nico swallowed the bile that rose up in his throat at the thought. "Yeah, what's not to like? The silky dark curls, the honey eyes...she's really pretty. And fierce. I like that in girls." Lies.
"You like...Drew."
Nico didn't blame Will for seeming so repulsed. Drew was really repulsing. "Yeah, a lot. And I'm not gonna stand here listening to you talk like my-" Nico had to physically force out the words, "-girlfriend is unworthy of my liking." And Nico slammed his locker, stomping away.
He made it all the way down the hall before two pairs of hands grabbed him and spun him around. Thalia and Jason were looking at him in disbelief, and Percy was standing behind him, wearing a similar expression.
"Nico," began Jason slowly.
"What. Is. Drew. Talking. About?!" demanded Thalia.
Nico decided to risk playing innocent. "What are you guys talking about?"
His cousins weren't having any of it. "Oh, you know what we're talking about, di Angelo." Thalia glared at him, and while it wasn't a glare that began to compare to Nico's, it was a force to be reckoned with.
Percy decided to help out. "Nico, I know you probably aren't aware of what Drew has been saying, considering it is your first day back and all, but you see... Drew is saying-"
Jason interrupted. "She's saying you guys are dating."
"We are."
His cousins stared at him.
"No, you're not." Percy said, looking dumbfounded.
"Did you not hear me, Jackson? I said we are."
Jason looked at Nico like he was mentally ill. "Nico, are you okay?"
Wrong thing to say. Nico could never say Oh, no. I'm not okay at all. Please help me! No, he could never tell anyone that there was something wrong with him, that he had any kind of weakness. It went against every fiber of his being to have to lean on someone. It was part of the reason he hated his arrhythmia so much. Speaking of which…
"Listen." Nico told his cousins, lowering his voice. "You can't tell anyone that I have arrhythmia. If you do, I will hunt you down and make you wish you were never born. We're going with what Drew said: I got stabbed. Understand?"
Jason looked really confused. "But you didn't."
"But no one needs to know that."
"Nico," began Percy. "What does it matter that people know you have arrhythmia?"
"What does it matter that people don't know?" Nico shot back.
Thalia interjected. "Okay, I can live with the fact that Nico doesn't want people to know that he has arrhythmia. What I can't live with is the fact that he's dating Drew Tanaka. I mean honestly, Nico, I thought you had more sense than that! I thought you had more taste! I thought you had more self respect!"
I do, thought Nico.
"What's wrong with dating Drew?" He asked instead.
"What's wrong?" Percy was looking at him like he feared for Nico's health. "Drew is a self absorbed brat. She advances on every guy who grabs her attention-"
I know all about that, Nico thought bitterly.
"-and she flirts shamelessly. It's honestly a little scary."
Jason added, "She pushes herself up against you."
Percy nodded and said, "She pretends to trip and tries to land in your arms."
They kept on going back and forth.
"She wears way too much makeup."
"Her high heels are so loud."
"Her laugh is really obnoxious."
"She always does that fake-cry thing."
"She screams if she breaks a nail."
"And she bullies Annabeth."
"Yeah, and-" Jason stopped, realising what Percy had said. Thalia looked like she had spotted her next prey. Nico was glad to move the subject away from him.
Percy had a slight red tint to his cheeks as he said, "Nico, why are you dating a shallow brat like Drew? Take it from me and Jason- whom she has flirted with on multiple occasions- she's annoying, controlling, and clingy. And if there's one thing we all know about you, Nico, it's that you hate all forms of physical contact with a passion."
Thalia looked like she agreed with Percy but was reluctant to let the Annabeth topic slip.
Nico spoke before she could. "I'm dating Drew and there's nothing you guys can do about it. If anyone at school asks me about or I hear there's a rumor about me having arrhythmia, then I will assume it's one of you. Percy, I'll make sure the whole school knows about your crush on Annabeth. Jason, I'll make sure everyone knows about you and Piper." Thalia's eyes snapped to Jason hungrily. "And Thalia. Everyone at school will know that the 'fearless' Thalia Grace is terrified of heights. Do I make myself clear."
"Crystal," Percy replied immediately.
"Perfectly," Jason agreed.
Nico glared at Thalia. "Fine," she muttered reluctantly.
Nico nodded. "Good,"
Nico was miserable. People had been looking at him strangely all day long. He preferred it when he was the moody loner everybody was afraid of. He didn't like being the topic of everyone's conversations. He had liked how it was before, when he just slipped in and out of view, like a ghost.
He entered the cafeteria and headed toward his usual table, which was gloriously empty, as always. He held only an apple; he never had much of an appetite and found that an apple was almost always enough to hold him for the entire day. He was about halfway to his table when he felt someone's arms loop around his neck and a warm, sticky pressure up against his cheek.
He whirled around, eyes wide. Drew was momentarily thrown off-balance, but she managed to regain her footing. Unfortunately.
"Get off of me," he hissed.
She just smiled at him and giggled. She didn't seem fazed at all, and it made him feel like he was somehow growing softer. It annoyed him to no end.
"Neeks," she said.
"Don't call me that," he said immediately.
She rolled her eyes slightly, as if to say, you're gonna have to deal with it if you don't want everyone to know you're a fainting mess.
"You sit with us now," she informed him.
She grabbed his arm and started to pull him toward the popular table, amidst his protests. "My boyfriend is not sitting alone at a table like a social outcast."
But that's what I am, he thought.
Nico's skin was crawling. Already today he had suffered through more physical contact than he had had in years. And she had kissed his cheek. Her referring to him as her boyfriend made him feel nauseous.
They reached the table, Nico stumbling behind Drew. She shoved some poor girl wearing way too much lipstick out of her seat. Then she shoved Nico into it. If he hadn't been caught so off guard he wouldn't have let her push him anywhere, but he was still reeling from contact, so she was able to shove him among even more people.
Nico was starting to feel suffocated. Everyone sat fairly close together, given the amount of people trying to fit at the table, and Drew was practically sitting on top of him. He tried desperately to casually push her off, but she just moved even closer and dug her nails into his palm.
Everyone at the table was staring at him. A couple girls were looking at him in a way that made him uneasy. A couple guys looked like they were jealous of him, like they wanted to be in his place. I want you guys to be in my place, too, he thought.
Drew cleared her throat and everyone's gaze snapped to her. "This is my boyfriend, Nico di Angelo. He'll be sitting here from now on. As you can see, Amanda has volunteered to give up her seat here for Nico, a more worthy member of this table. Any questions?" Everyone hurriedly shook their heads.
Nico felt trapped, and that was another thing he hated. So he did what came naturally to him when faced with situations he was uncomfortable in: he shoved himself away, and ran. Nico started to get up. "Well, bye."
But before he could go anywhere, Drew yanked on his arm to keep him in place. Nico persisted.
"I'll just...be...going," with each word he tried to yank his arm away from Drew, who had a surprisingly strong grip.
"No, you won't," she told him, her smile resembling that of a shark's. She pulled him down and her hand made its way into his hair. Only Bianca could do that. Nico snapped.
"Allontanati da me! Se non mi lascerai subito, lo farò-" Get away from me! If you don't leave me alone I'll-
He was interrupted by a warm hand on his wrist. He turned around to see Will, and beyond him, the eyes of everyone in the school. Sea green, lightning blue, coffee brown, chocolate brown, ice blue, hazel, golden, grass green-
Nico's heart was pounding. He started to feel lightheaded again. He felt panicked. That just made him panic even more. Nico di Angelo did not panic. Nico di Angelo had no weaknesses.
But he did. He did and he hated himself for it. He was supposed to be strong, untouchable. He was supposed to live up to his reputation of unfeeling and reckless. And he did until that night with his father. His father, the cold, cruel, rich businessman who saw nothing but the bad things in the world, who hated his own son, who always had an ulterior motive, who-
"Nico."
Nico's gaze snapped back to warm blue ones. Will's gaze was slightly concerned, and his hand was, surprisingly, still gently gripping Nico's wrist. "Come on," Will gently guided him away from the table.
Drew seemed to snap back to attention. "What did you say to me?"
She got up and stormed over to where Nico was standing. She grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket. She was looking at him with an odd curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "What did you say, Neeks?"
Nico knew he was in a dangerous situation. He shouldn't have snapped. It was rash and stupid. He needed to be careful. Hating himself, he wrapped an arm around her, drawing her closer. He felt like he was going to be sick. "I said nothing," he murmured, letting his accent slip through. Drew looked up at him, a little surprised, but pleased. Then, before he could stop himself, he added, "Just smooth this over. Please."
He was scolding himself and screaming at himself inwardly. He had begged her. Nico di Angelo had begged Drew Tanaka to fix one of his problems. What was happening to him?
Then Drew was pulled away from him and Percy was gripping his shoulders. "Nico, you need to tell me what's wrong right now." Then Percy was pulled away, to be replaced by Jason. "Nico, what happened?" Then Thalia was in his face. "Nico di Angelo, give me an explanation this second."
Nico was feeling overwhelmed. His heart was beating faster. He didn't think he would able to come up with an excuse for this. Nico di Angelo hated himself.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Everyone stopped and turned to Will. Nico didn't know a lot about Will, but he didn't seem like the type to yell like that.
Will was glaring at everyone. "What's wrong with all of you? He clearly doesn't want everyone crowding around him, and he sure doesn't want a girl attached to his arm all day." Drew glared daggers at Will.
An unexpected voice spoke up. "Yeah, guys, chill. Leave him be."
Nico turned around to see Luke Castellan, jock and heartthrob, telling people to leave him alone. Not that Nico was going to let them though.
"I don't need your support, Castellan." he snarled.
"Ah, come on, di Angelo. Let a friend help out."
"I don't have friends and I sure as heck don't need them."
"Don't be so negative, Neeks,"
Nico tensed. "Don't call me that."
"Why not? Is it an honor reserved for your girlfriend?"
Nico couldn't help it. He slipped into Italian. "Fidanzata? Si sta riferendosi al brattee poco profondo il cui comando viene rispettato? Non è la mia ragazza. Lei mi ha ricattato per essere il suo ragazzo, ma non è la mia ragazza. L'odio." Girlfriend? Are you referring to the shallow brat whose every command is obeyed? She is not my girlfriend. She may have blackmailed me into being her boyfriend, but she is not my girlfriend. I hate her.
Luke looked thrown off and confused. Everyone did. They didn't know that he spoke fluent Italian. Will even looked stunned.
But Drew was purring. "Oh, that is so hot. Say something else in Italian. Or in English. I'll settle for hearing that beautiful accent."
Nico stared at her for a second, then turned and started to walk away. Jason grabbed his arm before he could go far. "I thought you gave up speaking Italian."
"Yeah, man, are you okay?" Percy looked really concerned. Then one of Percy's teammates on the swim team said, "Why do you care, Percy? Let the Ghost King fend for himself."
Percy turned on him angrily. "Why do I care? Why do I care? I care because he's my cousin!" Percy's shout rang out.
It was silent. Everyone was staring at Percy in shock. The hot captain of the swim team was cousins with the unfeeling lone wolf. It was too impossible to comprehend. Popular Percy related to outcast Nico? No way. Then Nico said, "Idiota."
Will was groaning as everyone started talking at once. Then Luke silenced everyone again. "What do you mean, Jackson? What do you mean di Angelo is your cousin?"
"I mean exactly that. Nico di Angelo, Thalia Grace and Jason Grace are my cousins. What's the big deal?"
A girl spoke up. "You're related to the creepiest guy in the school?"
Percy glared at her. "Yeah, and I'm proud of it." Percy seemed to get a small mischievous glint in his eye. "Besides, he's not nearly as creepy as he'd like people to believe. He didn't used to wear all black, y'know."
Thalia piped up, seemingly pleased to tease Nico, even slightly. "Yeah, the 'nothing-can-touch-me-I-have-no-feelings' demeanor? All a facade. He cares so deeply about every little thing that-"
"Sta 'zitto!" Nico shouted at her, forgetting to switch back into English.
"You shut up, Nico. Anyway, he cares so much that he-"
Here she was cut of by Nico, who had clamped a hand firmly over her mouth.
"If you say one more word," he hissed in her ear, "I'll-"
"Aw, what's the matter di Angelo? Are you a big softie?" Luke said in a mocking voice.
"Shut up, Castellan. You all know that I could beat anyone here in any kind of fight. And I wouldn't hesitate to throw the first punch, either."
Luke smirked at him, disbelieving. "Yeah, that's what we all thought. But Thalia and Percy have brought some interesting facts into the light. You clearly didn't used to be the way you are now. What happened di Angelo? Clearly you're not as tough as we all assumed. Sure, your record wasn't that impressive to begin with, but now it's kind of pathetic."
"Luke," some girl in the crowd hissed. "Stop that! He's misunderstood!"
Nico's eye twitched.
Luke's eyes widened in mock sympathy. "I'm so sorry, di Angelo! I should have remembered that you're a misunderstood lone wolf!"
"Bad boy," someone corrected.
"My bad. Bad boy." Luke amended.
"I'm not misunderstood! I don't care about anyone on this planet. Don't even try telling me I'm wrong because it's the truth. I don't care about anyone."
"Ouch," muttered Thalia.
Nico's anger was spiking. "What, did you think I'd open up my arms and make amends for all the years we wasted by ignoring each other? Did you think I'd spill my heart out and tell you every secret? Well, if so, you were wrong. I meant it when I said I didn't care about anyone, and you are no exception to that." He looked at all three of his cousins coldly. "None of you are."
And with that he stalked out of the cafeteria. No one dared to stop him.
No matter how hard he tried, Nico couldn't get the images of his cousins out of his head. They had all looked hurt and betrayed, though he hadn't betrayed them at all.
Nico supposed resentment and anger were still rippling off him, because everyone avoided him. Not that he minded, though. He prefered it that way.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end.
Drew cornered him at the end of the day. She pulled him into an empty classroom. "You need to listen to me, Nico. You keep getting yourself into trouble. I have a way to smooth this over, but it'll cost you. And if you don't pay I'll divulge the secret about your fainting episode to everyone."
It wasn't a difficult choice. It never was, with blackmail. "What's the cost?"
Drew smiled. It reminded him of a shark. "Well, let's think this over carefully. You've been revealed as the cousin of three of the most popular people in the school. Luke thinks you're soft and weak, and if people believe him it will be a lot harder to defend our story. Percy, Thalia, and Jason know too much about you. They're a danger to our plan. We need a way to get them out of the picture. Now, that's three problems right there. Is there anyone else who could endanger our plan?"
Nico thought of Will. Will knew about his arrhythmia, but Nico was pretty sure he wouldn't go back on his promise of keeping it a secret. Nico also didn't want Drew to do anything to Will. Will seemed way too innocent and good to get wrapped up in all this. "One, but they're not the type to tell anyone. They'll stick with their word to keep it a secret."
"Good. We need to figure out how to tackle this. Nothing like what happened today can ever happen again, Nico. Our immediate threats are your cousins. You need to cut off all ties with them. Block them on your phone and on social media. Ignore them. I'll keep them as far away from you as I can. It'll be hard, because people expect you to interact with them. I'll create another story. I'll say that you confided in me. You need to go along with whatever I say, got it?"
"That depends on what it is."
She gripped his arm tightly. "No, Nico. Whatever I say has to be the story you go along with. Once it's out there, we can't change it. And if I don't start texting tonight, it won't get out there in time." She smirked. "You have to trust me, Nico."
If he didn't agree with her, she'd let everyone know about his weakness. He couldn't let that happen. Weaknesses destroy you. They're the crack needed for the dam to explode. Weaknesses were a way for people to get close to him. And when that happened, they died. No one else was going to die because of him. Never again.
"...Okay,"
Drew's smile widened. "Let's discuss the cost of this, shall we? I noticed you're not one for physical contact. That needs to change. I'm not saying you need to touch me, though that would be most welcome." She grinned evilly. "But I will be touching you. And kissing you. Nose, cheek, forehead, lips, jawline. All that stuff. I will hold your hand, drape myself over you, sit on your lap, feed you at lunch, pull your arm over my shoulder or around my waist, push myself into your arms, play with your hair, wear your leather jacket, and touch your face. And you'll have to put up with affectionate nicknames. Your payment for me inventing another story is you not protesting about any of that. If you protest once, the deal is off."
Nico swallowed, heart beating rapidly in his chest, resisting the urge to vomit. "That's asking a lot."
"I'm aware. But it's only the beginning. And it's the only way for you to keep that weakness a secret."
Nico was nervous. She had basically described his worst nightmare. Weaknesses lead to deaths, he reminded himself. "Okay," he whispered.
Drew smiled, like she had just killed her prey. And in a way she had. "Good," she purred. "But we're not done yet. Luke is a big problem. He'll be a hard threat to neutralize. We need to give him time to do his thing, to try and see what angle he's trying to come in at. Once we figure that out we can think of a way to stop him. You can go now," she added, heading out of the closet.
Nico followed her after a moment, shaking his head. What had he gotten himself into?
The harsh night wind bit at Nico's face as he rode home on his motorcycle that night. His coal black hair ripped in the wind. He was thinking over the events of the past twenty four hours. Drew had him trapped under her thumb, and he resented it. He needed a way out, and he needed it fast.
Nico pulled into the driveway of the di Angelo manor. He quickly did all his homework (it honestly wasn't very hard), and took a shower. Then he layed down on his bed and tried to come up with a plan. He was still trying to come up with a solution when he fell asleep.
All night he was plagued with nightmares. He was inside a car. The windows were shattered and the car was upside down. Blood was dripping from a wound on his head, and rivers of red were running down his arms and legs, one of which was twisted at an odd angle. What scared him the most was he couldn't feel any pain. He just felt numb, and there was a pulse pounding in his head.
"B-Bianca?" he whimpered.
"Shhhh, soldatino," Shhhh, soldier. Her face was badly cut, and one of her arms hung limply at her side. "It will be okay."
Sirens were wailing, and Nico's vision was filled with red and blue before it faded to an empty blackness.
Nico woke up in a cold sweat. He checked the time on his phone. It was 3:23 a.m. He was too terrified to close his eyes. So he got up and took a cold shower. He waited until 6:00 a.m. to get ready for school, his mind replaying that day, the day his life cracked. That day had started the mess that he became, had been the first piece of broken glass that made up the pile his life consisted of, one that grew every day. He was shards of glass.
Nico trudged downstairs. He grabbed his books and a granola bar, and then jumped on his motorcycle to head to school.
Whispers followed him into the building. Nico immediately retreated into himself. This was becoming way too much of a regular occurrence. What story had Drew come up with to explain why he had ignored his cousins for years? Nico thought back to that summer that was so long ago yet was so fresh in his mind.
It was the summer he had graduated eighth grade. Percy, Jason, and Thalia were going to start their second year of high school that fall. Thalia was a year older than the two boys, but she had gotten held back due to 'bad behavior.' The rumor among the family was she didn't want to graduate and spend years alone that she could be spending with her cousins. The four cousins were hanging out at Percy's house, celebrating the end of the school year. Percy was floating in the pool. Jason was sitting on a branch in the tree overlooking the backyard. Thalia, dramatic as ever, was lying on her back in the lawn complaining about the past school year. Nico was sitting away from them all in a chair on the pool deck. He had been more reclusive lately, and it didn't go unnoticed by his cousins.
"-And then, Mrs. Reese starts telling me off for falling asleep in class, but can you really blame me? I mean, she's boring. And why should I care about prepositions? It's not like someone's gonna ask me that at a job interview. So what's the point of knowing them? They're words-"
"Thalia," Jason interjected. "If you say one more word about the evils of grammar class, I think I'm gonna go drown myself in the pool."
"Oh, no you don't," Percy said, sitting up and treading water. "I will not have your disgusting corpse contaminating my precious pool."
"Wow, it's so nice to know that my cousin and sister will mourn me when I die. At least I have Nico, right bro?"
Nico was staring at the edge of the pool, not really paying attention.
"Nico?" Jason repeated.
Nico snapped back into reality. "What?" he asked hoarsely.
Percy swam over to the side of the pool where Nico was. "Are you alright?" he asked gently.
"What kind of stupid question is that? How...how can anyone be alright?"
Thalia stood up and walked over to her cousins. Jason jumped down from the tree and followed her. They looked concerned.
"Nico, what's wrong? You know you can tell us." Thalia tried, looking genuinely concerned.
"Everything's wrong," Nico murmured, barely audible.
"What'd you say?" Jason asked, moving closer.
"I said nothing is wrong,"
"Nico, that's a lie and we all know it. What happened? Who needs to be punched?" Percy asked.
"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Jackson."
"Woah, Nico, back down. Percy wasn't implying anything like that." Jason tried to ease the growing tension, but he ended up adding to it.
"Nothing is wrong. I'm just...I'm just not in a great mood today."
"But it's finally summer!" Thalia exclaimed. "You're free of the drudgery that is school for the next few months! And then you'll be with your cousins in high school. Life couldn't get any better."
For some reason that Nico still, three years later, couldn't identify, that comment made something inside him snap. "Never say that. Are you insane? How could all this-" He gestured to the general area around them, signifying his life. "-be good?"
Nico's cousins glanced at each other and sighed, like they expected him to be like this but had been hoping he would prove them wrong. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't sorry to disappoint.
"Nico," Jason began slowly, gently. "We're sorry. We should have realised what day it is today. But you can't keep doing this to yourself. It's not healthy. The past needs to be the past. You can't let the past become your future."
Nico looked at him angrily. "Are you trying to tell me to forget? If you are, you can bet that I will never forget, and I'll never forgive you for suggesting that-"
"Nico!" Percy interrupted. "Jason doesn't want you to forget about them. None of us will ever forget them," Percy added.
Thalia piped in. "We just want you to move on from that part of your life. There's so much more out there for you."
"There was so much more out there for them!"
"Nico, you're the one to live for a reason. As harsh as that may sound, it's true. Aunt Maria and Bianca wouldn't want you to be like this." Percy said.
"Try telling that to my father," Nico spat.
Thalia's eyes snapped to his and she grabbed his arm. "What did he say to you?"
Jason looked troubled and angry at the same time. "Tell us, Nico."
"...He didn't say anything."
"Liar," Percy said. "What did Hades say, Nico?"
"It doesn't matter," Nico murmured.
Jason seemed to be getting impatient. "Nico di Angelo, you're fourteen; stop acting like a toddler and tell us what he said."
Nico bristled. "Stop acting like my mother because you'll never replace her!"
Thalia appeared to be losing her temper as quickly as Nico. "No one's trying to replace her!"
"Would you guys please stop arguing?" Percy yelled. "Jason, don't reprimand him. Thalia, chill out before you say something you regret. And Nico, you need to calm down. We're just trying to help and you're insisting on being difficult."
Difficult. Burden. Unworthy. Undeserving. Mistake. Useless. Regret. You should have died, Nico.
"You think I'm difficult, too?" Nico whispered, glaring at Percy.
Percy was obviously getting very annoyed, to put it lightly. "Yes, I do."
Jason and Thalia looked very much like they agreed.
A darkness came over Nico. "You want to help me? Cut ties with me. Remove me from your lives."
Immediately his cousins started to protest. Nico cut them off. "I don't want you to burden yourselves with me. I don't want to burden myself with you." That last part was a lie, but he needed to remove himself from them. Percy had admitted he was difficult. They obviously worried about him. He didn't want to cause them pain or stress. He did that to too many people, and eventually those people died. He wouldn't let his cousins die.
"Nico, we won't cut ties with you." Percy was growing more impatient by the second, but he hid it well. Nico, however, could see right through him.
He needed to get them mad, make them not forgive him. "I've been thinking about it a lot recently," Nico began, his voice low and menacing. "You're all just going to get in my way. I don't need your protection, your reassurances, your unamusing humor, your 'love'. I don't need any of you."
Nico could tell they were still going to protest. He knew what he had just said wouldn't have been enough, but he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to say this. He didn't want to hurt them, but it was necessary to keep them from the burden he inflicted upon them. It was necessary to save them from him.
Nico laughed, seemingly at them. "You really thought that the guy who will never be good enough, the girl who everyone disapproves of, and the guy who can't read the board during class could help me? Wow, you guys really are dense." Nico laughed again softly and looked at them like he found their emotions amusing. "Did you really think that I cared about you guys?"
They looked at him. Shocked. Hurt. Betrayed.
Nico barreled on. "You guys are so annoying it's actually quite hard for me to believe that you have friends. I mean, who wants to hang out with the stupid guy? The stubborn, pessimistic girl? The guy who is always paranoid and second-guesses himself, and always falls short? People who pity them, that's who."
Nico didn't mean any of what he said. It tore at his soul to be saying this. But he could handle rejection and hate. He could handle loneliness if it meant no one else got hurt because of him. He wouldn't show them any weakness.
Thalia stood up and punched him. Nico felt his nose break. It hurt more than he cared to admit, but he suppressed a yelp. "You're disgusting. You know what? I will cut ties. I don't want to be related to a jerk, after all." She slapped him across the face, making sure to leave a mark, and then stomped off.
Percy stared at Nico. "Tell me you didn't mean it," he begged. His eyes were teary and desperate. Nico tried to burn that look into his mind, sure that it would be the last time he saw Percy look at him without hate in his eyes. "I meant every word."
Something behind Percy's eyes seemed to break. Shakily, he got up and walked away. "Good bye, Nico." Nico understood the underlying message.
Jason looked after the retreating forms of his sister and cousin. He turned back to look at Nico. "No one has to know we even know each other if you never repeat this to anyone. See you never."
Jason left.
Nico was officially alone.
Someone bumped into Nico, jerking him back into reality. Nico scowled, "Watch where you're- Will?"
"Hey," Will said flatly.
"What's wrong?" Nico asked immediately.
"Nothing's the matter. I just...I just thought someone was better than what they've been lately. I guess I'm kinda put down about it."
"Oh." Nico didn't know what to say. "Uh, why do you think they're better than what they are?" Nico inwardly winced at his failed attempt at comfort.
Will was looking at him intently, and there was something in his eyes that Nico couldn't quite place. Will seemed...conflicted. But that didn't make any sense. Will always seemed so carefree and open. What could he be hiding?
"They don't seem to think that who they are is okay. In fact, who they are is great. I wish I could show them that. They're a lot stronger and braver than they give themselves credit for, but recently it's like they're walking on glass. One wrong step and they get hurt. I just wish they trusted me enough to tell me what was wrong. When I tried to ask them about it they got all defensive and shut me out automatically."
"They sound like a pain," Nico told him. "Why do you insist on trying to help someone who clearly doesn't appreciate your efforts?"
Will stared at Nico for a few seconds. At last, he replied, "I think that they're going to do something that they'll regret soon. I don't want them to get hurt."
Will walked away, leaving Nico to ponder who he could have possibly been talking about.
A/N: Please excuse the Google translate Italian. Yes, there will eventually be a little Jiper and Percabeth. Other couples will be mentioned too. Solangelo will be a slow development. It will not happen at the snap of your fingers. Thank you for reading!