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This really wasn’t the right time.
Nico’s head was swimming, yet he was constantly able to focus on that one thought. This couldn’t be happening. I mean, he’d have a hard time with this normally, but this really wasn’t the right time. He pushed through the crowd, cursing as he realized the door was on the other side of the room. He turned his head, looking behind him, and sure enough, there was Will, trying to catch up.
Nico kept walking, he needed to get as far away as possible until he was sober. He couldn’t have this conversation the way he was. He was going to kill whoever had spiked the punch. And Jason for making him come here. And whoever was behind whatever the hell was happening to him.
“Nico, wait!”
Nico turned again, and this time Will was close enough for Nico to be able to see the words floating in the air next to the blond’s head. The words that said, ‘What the hell is wrong with him? I hope he’s okay, what if I did something? Did I do something wrong? Shit, did I ruin everything? Gods, what am I going to do if he doesn’t like me anymore? What was I thinking…’
Nico turned away, continuing to push through the loud, crowded room. Will’s question-- ‘What was I thinking?’-- was a good one. If only Nico didn’t constantly know the answer.
The drum beats in the song that was blasting seemed to reverberate through the room, through Nico’s body. The son of Hades continued to push people out of his way, ignoring the looks he got. He couldn’t help replaying what had happened over and over again, each time making it seem more absurd.
~*~
Earlier that night
“Here ya go,” Jason said, handing Nico a cup of punch and smiling.
Nico rolled his eyes, but took the cup.
“Oh, come on, this isn’t so bad. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of fun.”
“I don’t think so.” Nico took a sip of his drink before raising his eyebrows. That punch was good.
“You promised you’d stay for an hour. One hour, and then you can run back to your gloomy cabin if you insist.”
Nico sighed. “Fine. Just get me more punch.”
~*~
Nico wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He’d spent most of it at the snack bar trying to avoid everyone else. That hadn’t worked, unfortunately, since he’d ended up having to talk to Reyna, Annabeth, Hazel, Leo, and Piper. And Jason, of course.
“Nico!”
Great.
He turned around to see Percy Jackson of all people walking towards him.
“Hey, I’m glad you came! Jason said he was going to make you, but I wasn’t sure if I’d get to see you.”
“Your hair’s messy.”
“What?”
“You have this big piece sticking up in the back. I mean, it’s kinda cute but you’ll probably want to fix that. Here, lemme get it.” Nico reached up and forward but lost his balance and fell into Percy before he was able to fix the older boy’s hair.
“Woah, did you just call me cute?” Percy asked, grinning.
“Wha-? No, of course not, you idiot. Did I?” Nico didn’t care, either way. Why should he? It wasn’t a big deal.
“Um, yes, you did. Are you okay? You seem… off.”
“I’m fine. Jeez, you sound like Will, only his voice is deeper than yours.”
“So guys with lower voices are your type?” Percy asked jokingly.
“I guess? I dunno, I don’t really like guys based on their voices or anything but I mean, sure. But don’t try to talk lower or anything stupid like that ’cause I’ve told you before that I’m not into you anymore.”
“Oh my gods, you’re drunk.”
“I’m pretty sure everyone in this room is drunk. Isn’t that how parties work? Or no? I don’t actually know, to be honest. That’s why I don’t like coming to these things.”
“You’re fucking drunk,” Percy said, amazed. “I don’t know whether I should videotape this or get you out of here for your dignity’s sake.”
“That piece of your hair that’s sticking up looks kind of like Mrs. O’Leary if you squint a little bit. Or a lot.”
“Okay, I’m definitely videotaping this.”
“Hey guys!” Will said, walking up to them with a cup in his hand. “What’s up?”
“Will, Nico’s drunk and it’s freaking hilarious.”
Will frowned. “Yeah, someone spiked the punch. Nico, are you okay?”
“See, Percy, this is what I meant when I said you sounded like Will. He’s always--” Nico stopped midsentence as he noticed the words appearing in the air by Will’s head.
‘What’s he going to say about me? Probably just going on about how annoying I am as usual. I seriously hope he’s joking. I mean, I know I’m stubborn but am I really that bad? I think his instinct is to just shrug off affection but then again… Wait, he stopped talking. Why is he staring? Do I look stupid or something? Shit, that pimple on my forehead isn’t being covered by my hair like I thought it would be, is it?’
“Nico, are you okay?” Will asked, as his thoughts kept appearing next to him.
‘What is he doing? Did I do something stupid? What’s he thinking? Oh come on, I thought I was doing pretty well and now I’ve ruined it all, haven’t I? I mean, yeah, I was delusional thinking the hottest guy at camp would ever be interested in me, but at least we were kind of friends.”
Hottest guy at camp.
Holy fuck.
Will just called me hot.
“Um…” Nico bit his lip, trying to come up with a proper sentence.
‘Shit, he’s cute when he bites his lip. I wonder what it’d be like if I bit it. No stop, Will, that’s perverted, you little fuck.”
Nico ran.
~*~
Nico finally reached the door. He threw it open and ran out into the frigid air. He shivered but kept running through the thin dusting of snow allowed into the camp.
“Nico!” Will grabbed the son of Hades’ arm, stopping him from continuing running.
This really wasn’t the right time.
Nico frantically looked around for a shadow, jumping into the nearest one he saw. Unfortunately, Will kept a death grip on his arm, so the son of Apollo ended up showing up in Cabin 13 along with the younger boy.
“Will!”
“Come on, I have something to help take the edge off the alcohol.”
Will dragged Nico into the bathroom. Nico waited on the edge of the bathtub as Will busied himself at the sink. Nico couldn’t help but watch Will’s thoughts as he worked.
‘Why does he always act like I’m such a burden? Am I actually a burden? Ugh, I don’t deserve him, why am I even trying? He needs to stop being so freaking stunning so that maybe I can move on and fall in love with someone I actually have a chance with.’
This really wasn’t the right time.
Normally, the news that the boy Nico had fallen hard for reciprocated his feelings would have been good, but Nico was not in the proper state for talking about feelings. He wasn’t in the proper state for most things, honestly.
Suddenly, icy cold shocked his system, spreading over his head and chest, rendering him frozen for a moment.
“S-Solace! What the hell was that for?”
“Sorry,” Will said, apologetically. “Cold water helps, though. Trust me.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t drink it instead of having it splashed on my head??”
“Nope, this is it. Now, come on, change so that you don’t get hypothermia.”
“Which would be your fault,” Nico grumbled, even though he quickly followed Will’s orders since he was freezing.
Nico quickly changed his shirt and wrapped himself in a blanket, avoiding looking at Will the whole time. He really couldn’t handle knowing what Will thought he looked like shirtless.
“Better?” the healer asked after Nico got into his bed.
“You’re not forgiven,” Nico mumbled. “But yeah. I kind of feel more right in my skin.”
“Good.”
Nico couldn’t but look up and read Will’s thoughts, all of which were sweet and hopeful and self-degrading.
‘... What am I even doing? Gods, I’m so awkward, I should leave.’
“You’re not awkward,” Nico blurted. His eyes widened when he realized what he’d done.
“Um… thanks?” Will said, trying to be nonchalant, but clearly uncomfortable.
Oh my gods, please make this go away. I don’t like knowing what he’s thinking, please, please, make it stop.
“Nico, are you alright? Seriously, you’re acting weird and just… why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”
“You threw cold water in my face,” Nico deadpanned.
“I meant, other than that.”
Nico shifted uncomfortably. He knew that Will liked him. He knew he wouldn’t get rejected. So why was this so hard?
‘I should just leave. Oh my gods, I fucked this up, didn’t I? Ugh, he’s just staring at me like he can see into my soul. He can’t do that, can he?! His underworld stuff is creepy as it is but--”
“I can’t see into your soul,” Nico said quietly.
Will froze.
“But… I can, um. Well, something weird is happening and… I can kind of… read your mind?”
The following conversation was the most awkward thing Nico had ever experienced.
~*~
When Nico saw Will the next morning from across the green, no words floated next to his head. Nico sighed in relief. It was over.
When Jason sat down across from Nico at breakfast, he was grinning wildly. “So how are things between you and Will?”
Nico furrowed his brow. “Fine. Why do you ask?”
“Um. Did you see him last night?”
“...Yes.”
“How… how did that go?”
“Jason, what are you getting at?”
Jason didn’t meet Nico’s eyes. “Well… Okay, I wasn’t the one that spiked the punch, but I did put some stuff in your drink. A love potion?”
Nico stared.
“Did it not work then?”
“You have ten seconds to start running.”
“What?”
“If I catch you, I will not have mercy.”
“What are you--”
“Eight…”
“Oh.”
“Seven…”
“Okay.”
“Six…”
“I’m going to run now.”
“Five…”
Jason ran.