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Normally, Nico doesn’t mind parties.
People always do a double take when they see him at any non-mandatory social gathering. One of his favorite memories is meeting Leo for the first time outside of school and watching him choke on his jungle juice monstrosity for a minute straight because since when does Nico di Angelo go to house parties?
Despite the overwhelming crowds and crappy music, the environment tends to work in Nico’s favor. It means he doesn’t have to worry about making awkward small talk and missing social cues. Anything weird he does gets chalked up to the drinking—if people even remember that much.
But after less than an hour at Piper’s end of the year celebration (note: it is literally September), Nico’s not feeling too optimistic.
For starters, Jason, who is supposed to be Nico’s ride and possibly fellow wallflower, is dragged away by Leo Valdez five minutes into the party to go do god knows what.
(Actually, he’s pretty sure they’re making out somewhere. He’d be willing to wager money on it, even.)
As if being abandoned isn’t bad enough, when Nico finally works up the courage to grab a drink from the kitchen, some guy nearly bowls him over, pouring his entire drink down the front of his shirt in the process. He doesn’t even apologize, stumbling away and getting lost in the crowd as Nico freezes and tries to smother the twitch in his left eye. He storms the rest of the way to the kitchen, forgoing his drink and instead types quickly on his phone.
(11:32 PM)
nico:
can u come get me
at piper’s party
(11:33 PM)
percy:
sure, eveything alright??
(11:35 PM)
nico:
someone spilled their drink on me
+ jason ditched me to go kiss leo or smth so i’m bored
(11:35 PM)
percy:
L
be there in 20!!
He sends another text to Jason to let him know he’s leaving (although if his theory is correct Jason isn’t going to see his message til the next morning minimum) before tucking his phone back into his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he pushes through the crowd to get to the front door. He’s almost there when a pair of arms are thrown around him.
He squirms out of the person’s grip and is read to round on them, stopping himself when he realizes it’s just Piper. Her hair is in loose braids, with various colorful hair clips that weren’t doing a very good job of holding any hair back. She grins wide at him.
“Nico! I’ve been trying to track you down all night! Come dance with me!” She extends her arms, making dramatic grabby hands at him as he snorts, batting them away before gesturing to his damp shirt.
“I was actually just leaving.”
“What?” Piper sounds horrified, crossing her arms. “We haven’t even got to the games yet! You can’t!”
He rolls his eyes as Piper starts fake sobbing. “As great as that sounds, Percy’s already started. I was just going to wait outside.”
She continues her theatrics for a few seconds longer before she gets bored and gives up, squinting at his shirt. “You’re going to be miserable waiting outside in that. At least go grab something from my room to wear before you go.”
Nico raises an eyebrow, eyeing her current outfit. She’s wearing a baby pink tank top patterned with tiny cherries and baggy dark wash jeans. It looks cool (as does everything from the wardrobe of Piper McLean), but Nico would rather catch a cold than have to tolerate a car ride with Percy Jackson wearing—gods-forbid—the color pink
She catches his look, slapping his arm lightly. “Eyes are up here, di Angelo,” she teases, and Nico can’t resists to urge to roll his eyes again. “Thalia dumped a bunch of her old shirts on me last year, so just find one of those. Should fit the emo look.”
“Thalia’s goth, not emo.” It’s Piper’s turn to shoot him a raised eyebrow.
“And tell me, does that mean they don’t fit your look?”
He glares at her in response and she just laughs. She says something else, but the song switches to something Lady Gaga and everyone is screaming along, effectively drowning her out. A girl tears through the crowd—Shel, maybe?—flinging an arm around Piper’s shoulder and dragging her away to dance. Piper blows him a kiss before disappearing
He maneuvers away from the crowd for a moment to check Percy’s location. He’s still showing at the apartment, so even if he starts in the next few minutes Nico will be stuck waiting for another twenty minutes at least. And the longer Nico stands in his vodka-infused shirt, the more he wants to peel his skin off. So, pushing back through the crowd (he swears its getting worse every time he has to do it) he makes it to the staircase unscathed.
He’s been in Piper’s house enough times to know generally where things are, but he still gets lost on the second floor. The first door he opens gives him the pleasure of walking in on a couple going at it, neither of whom even falter when Nico curses and slams the door closed. He considers heading back down and finding someone to pour another drink on him, preferably directly into his eyes this time.
Thankfully, the next door he tries is the correct one and most notably, not occupied with drunk, horny teens. Unfortunately, it’s occupied by something much worse. Or someone, he supposes, as he stares at Will Solace in all his blonde lanky glory, absolutely wiping out on Piper’s bed. Nico can’t even leave like he did the previous room, because the moment Will hears the door opening his eyes are on Nico, a small grin already forming on his stupid face.
Before he can start saying whatever bullshit he has to say, Nico kicks the door shut behind him and raises a hand. “No. I’m grabbing something and then I’m out.”
Will, at his grown age, pouts, “But I didn’t-”
“Stop.”
“I’m just saying hello to my-”
“Solace, you really don’t want to piss me off anymore right now.”
Will continues his pouting, but at least he gives up on trying to socialize with Nico. He strides over to Piper’s closet, resisting the urge to physically tear the other boy’s shoes off because what kind of monster wears sneakers while on a bed oh my god. His need to spend the least amount of time necessary around Will Solace outweighs his disgust. He focuses on his task of finding a clean shirt, one that, preferably, wouldn’t be as upsetting to him or Piper should he be the victim of another rogue spilled drink.
As he’s searching, a thought occurs to him.
“Does Piper even know you’re up here?”
“Well, of course.”
“And where exactly is here?”
Will opens his mouth, then closes it. He does it a few more times till he seems to realize his goldfish impression isn’t helping his case, huffing in annoyance. Nico smiles to himself. It’s the little things in life, really.
Aha! Nico pulls out a dark grey Green Day shirt from the depths of the closet. It’s probably going to be a little big, but that’s more than welcome compared to the cling of his current shirt.
Keeping his back turned to Will, he tugs his now vodka-infused t-shirt over his head. As he pulls the dry shirt over his head, he hears a strangled noise coming from behind him. Frowning, he straightens out the top, turning to glance at Will who is now sitting propped up on his elbows, staring at Nico with wide eyes and looking somehow more flushed than moments prior.
“If you’re going to throw up, at least get to the trash can,” he grumbles. Will just blinks owlishly at him again before letting himself drop back down on the bed limply. Weirdo.
“I like this room. It’s very coquette.”
Nico drags a hand down his face. He’s pretty sure Piper would have an aneurysm if she heard Will calling her room coquette, but he’s also ninety percent sure Will has no idea what the word even means so he lets it go. He walks closer to the bed, kicking at the shoe on Will’s outstretched leg.
“You know, if you’re desperate enough to hide from a party in a stranger’s bedroom, that’s probably a sign to go home.”
Nico waits. Truthfully, he doesn’t care if if the other boy wants to continue to crash in Piper’s room till the party is over, but he figures he owes it to her to at least try after she let him raid her wardrobe. When Will continues to air him out, however, Nico gets a little annoyed, kicking at the blonde once again.
“Hello?”
“I can’t go home.”
Nico freezes his brutal assault on Will’s shoes. His tone is softer than before, and he’s not looking at Nico, instead just frowning and staring off to the side.
“What do you mean you can’t?”
Will is quiet for a moment before rolling over onto his back. He still doesn’t look at Nico.
“My mom and I got into a fight… Wednesday, I think? Her boyfriend was over and they were just being too much and we—I made a scene, I guess. So, she took my house key, told me to get out till I learn to mind my own business. Y’know how it is.”
Nico frowns, because really, he can’t say he does. Maybe he did know, years ago when he was still living with his father. He put up with lonely dinners, loud silences, and cold shoulders because, despite everything, the place was always his to stay in. But then he was taken into the Jackson-Blofis household, and he found a home that’s more than just a roof over his head. The pain of feeling alone had almost faded over the years.
Yet, it still turns his stomach, knowing that his past loneliness may be only a fraction of what Will’s probably feeling now.
“Wednesday—that was almost three days ago. Where have you been staying?”
Will shrugs. “Just wherever. School helps, I can usually get away with hanging around the library till six or so. The weather’s been ok too so…”
Nico’s heart drops at the thought of Will curled up on a park bench, or with his head down at the library hopeful for another hour of shelter, or whatever the fuck else he had been doing to survive the past few days. His phone buzzes, but leaving the party is the last thing on his mind right now.
“I didn’t want to come here, I never come to these type of parties. But Lou said if I came we could crash at her house after and- and I didn’t want to ask anyone directly but she was offering so I thought why not?”
“I’m guessing that fell through?”
Will shrugs again. “Not her fault, I knew she wanted to have fun tonight. She’s going to crash at Miranda’s with some of their other friends. And I mean—she said I could come, but I barely know them and I feel bad for dragging her down all night already so…”
Nico has half a mind to storm back down to the party and find Will’s friends, drag them up the stairs and shove them into the room and just scream how did you not notice this? But Will’s smart, smarter than Nico’s been willing to give him credit for. He’s most certainly given his friends as few details as possible.
“It’ll be ok, mom will let me back soon enough. I’ll try the back window tomorrow night… stupid thing is still broken.” Will’s voice is quieter, as though he’s trying to convince himself.
Nico wants to say something, really anything to make Will stop looking so… defeated? Hopeless? Whatever the expression is, he desperately wants to find the words to wipe it away.
A few more moments of silence pass before Will sits up suddenly. He smiles, or tries to really, but his gaze remains hollowed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have… I’ll get going in a bit, promise. Thanks for listening.”
Nico stares at the other teen. Outside the door, some throwback Ke$ha song starts to play as cheers ring out.
Slowly, he picks up his discarded shirt. It’s still damp, but he ignores it and slings it over one shoulder. He walks closer to the bed, kicking softly at Will’s leg again. “Let’s go.”
Will screws his eyes shut and takes a deep breath, “I told you, I promise I’ll leave. Just- please.”
He sounds desperate. An ache blooms in Nico’s chest. “I’m not kicking you out of here. Or, well, I guess I am kind of—I’m trying to say you can come crash at my place.”
Will’s eyes snap open, pale blue eyes suddenly boring directly into him. He tries to control the flush climbing its way up his neck.
“You don’t have to. It’s not your problem.”
Nico shrugs, looking just above Will’s head towards the desk. Nothing interesting there, but it at least allows his heart to stop its attempts to qualify for the Olympic gymnastics team. “I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Sally and Paul will be cool with it.”
Will’s hand raises to tug at one of his frizzed blonde curls. For a second, he look like he has a million questions. Then, everything seems to drain out of him as he drop his gaze.
“Just for the night, then.”
Nico doesn’t respond, stepping back to let Will swing his legs off the bed. He has a feeling that the minute Sally Jackson lays her eyes on Will, he won’t be out of her sight till at least dinnertime. Nico thinks he’d be okay with that.
Will grabs a ratty backpack from the floor that Nico hadn’t seen. They head down the stairs and Will shouts over the noise that he wants to tell Lou Ellen before he leaves. He doesn’t say anything, just nods, because anything he wants say about Will’s friend wouldn’t be very nice. He checks his phone till then.
(11:53 PM)
percy:
I HABE ARRIVED
come outside when ur ready :D
(11:55 PM)
percy:
whenever ur ready liek I said
don’t mind me…..
just waiting out here
all alone
sigh
(11:56 PM)
percy:
:((((((( HELLLLLLLOOOOOO
(11:58 PM)
nico:
drama queen
can i bring a friend to stay over btw
(11:58 PM)
percy:
sure, mom and paul should be fine
just let them know in the mrnoing
whos the friend?
(11:59 PM)
nico:
will solace
(11:59 PM)
percy:
i have some questions
but i can save them for tmr if u pronise to tell me
(12:00 AM)
nico:
maybe
will be out in 2
thank u
Nico is grateful that Percy trusts him enough not to hurl a million questions right now about why the guy Nico once declared to have a more punchable face than Leo Valdez is coming to stay the night. Not only for his own sake, but because he’s positive that if Will gets even the slightest feeling that he’s intruding, he would happily jump out of the moving car to avoid staying at the apartment
A minute later, Will returns. He gives Nico a smile, one that doesn’t stretch as wide as his normal mega-watt grin. It’s softer, more personal, and Nico thinks it suits him. “We can go now, thanks.”
Nico nods and they brave the crowd of teens once more (bleugh). They make it out the door and Nico relishes the slight chill of the September evening air. Next to him, Will seems to relax minutely as the party sounds cease with the door closing.
He spots Percy parked across the street and turns to Will with a nod. “Let’s go?”
Will hesitates, pulling harshly at the strap of his backpack. “Are you sure that it’ll be ok? I really don’t mind-”
Nico raises a hand and Will cuts himself off. “Percy and his family took me in when I needed them. And as annoying as Percy can be, he…“, Nico hesitates, glancing to the car where Percy is trying (and failing) to pretend he’s not watching them talk. “…he really changed my life for the better. And I think I’d be a real dick to not pay that kindness forward.”
Will stares at Nico for a moment. “But we’re not exactly…” he leaves the thought unfinished, but Nico can fill in the blanks.
Nico shrugs. “Doing decent things for people isn’t just reserved for friends. And, well,” he sighs as dramatically as he can muster. “I- god, no one will let me live this down if they hear this… You’re not the worst company to be around.”
He glances at Will, relief and perhaps even a little pride flooding his chest when the blonde laughs at his confession. “Aw, really? And here I’ve been putting my all into annoying you.”
Nico flips him off in lieu of a response, which only serves to make Will laugh harder, the sound echoing in the quiet of the nighttime suburbs. He savors the sound for as long as he can before gesturing toward the car and a clearly impatient Percy. “Come on, Solace, let’s get out of here.”