Chapter Text
Nico was sick and tired of this.
All he wanted was a normal life but people made it miserable. He hated the way they stared at him as he walked past them in the hallways. Never in a nice way. Always judgmental and sometimes disgusted.
He fumbled for his phone in an empty hallway. He was skipping class again. It wouldn’t go down well when he had to face Mr D tomorrow. But he just couldn’t deal with everything at the moment.
He’d had a particularly rough morning, and it didn’t help that Will had gone to work early and he hadn’t seen him yet. A group of girls - led by a ferocious teen named Drew Tanaka - had cornered him by the lockers and demanded he hand them his lunch money. Not like he’d need it anyway. He wouldn’t eat his lunch even if it was the fanciest banquet in the world.
He typed out a message to Will.
Nico: Will, please come and pick me up.
Will replied a minute later.
Will: I’m at work :(
Nico breathed deeply like his cousin Percy taught him to.
Nico: Please, Will.
Nico banged his head against a locker, waiting impatiently for his boyfriend to reply.
Will: Fineeee! Just this once though!
Nico sighed, relieved. Then he typed out a message and turned off his phone.
Nico: I will be waiting outside. ;)
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It took exactly four minutes for Will to get to Half Blood High School. He was 17, and could legally drive, so at least he didn’t have to walk the half an hour like he used to, but he was still worrying about Nico the whole way there.
See, Nico was not an attention seeker; if anything, attention was a Nico-seeker. And he only left school early when he really wasn’t feeling well. Usually, he’d just go to a quiet classroom and refuse to move until the bell rang. The teachers couldn’t do anything about it.
But if Nico texted Will it meant something was wrong. And nothing was more important to Will than making his boyfriend safe and happy. When he pulled into the parking lot and threw open the door of his bright yellow van, he immediately noticed Nico standing outside of the front doors to the school, backpack slung over one shoulder, eyes red.
Will ran to him, not even bothering to shut his van’s door. He hugged Nico fiercely, not saying anything; there was nothing to say.
When he finally pulled away, he scanned Nico and up and down to make sure he was okay. No new bruises, as far as he could tell. Good.
“You wanna talk about it?” Will ask tentatively. Nico shook his head, breathing shaky. Will nodded, smiled lightly and grabbed Nico’s hand with his, intertwining their fingers. He smiled at his boyfriend, curly blond hair blowing in the summer breeze as he dragged Nico across the car park, laughing at his boyfriend’s sheer confusion when he saw the bright yellow car.
“Do you like it?” Will asked, beaming. It was new, his first car. He’d been using his mum’s but saved enough to buy one.
“Umm. It’s… unique.” Nico forced a smile. Will leaned in and pecked him on the cheek. Gods, he was never going to get tired of doing that.
Nico got in the passenger’s side, sliding his backpack off his shoulder and placing it gently on the pristine floor of Will’s new car. He looked around; it was exquisite. Jet black seats with yellow accents - a stripe here, a patch there. Nico was thrilled and intrigued. He didn’t even know Will was getting a car.
“Where’d you get the money for this..?” He asked nervously. It looked expensive.
“Oh, it was nothing. Mum helped.” Will replied, a smile lighting up his face. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side. Hopping in, Will turned on the engine and revved it. He raised his eyebrows at Nico.
“Cool, huh?” Nico chuckled and nodded. Will beamed.
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Nico: We are in the car.
Percy: Sure ur ok?
Nico: I’m fine.
Percy: K well message me when u get back, ye?
Nico: Okay.
“So, are you ever gonna tell me what happened?” Will asked, glancing over at Nico from the corner of his eye. Nico jumped and put his phone down.
“No.” He mumbled. Will raised an eyebrow but didn’t push. He didn’t want to pressure Nico, although he could already guess what caused his shutdown. He knew there was a group of girls yet he couldn’t do anything about it - Nico wouldn’t let him. Will sighed and blew a lock of hair out of his face. He pulled out of the parking lot and started driving back to his house.
When they got back, Nico went to his room quietly but immediately. Naomi Solace, Will’s mum, frowned.
“Everything okay?” She asked. Will shrugged and wandered to the kitchen. He got his phone from the back pocket of his jeans and opened WhatsApp.
Will: I’m worried about Nico :/
Percy: ye me 2
Will: I don’t think he’s doing well at school
Percy: He seemed rly upset this morning
Will sighed and put his phone face down on the counter.
Nico was lost. Well and truly lost. He didn’t know what to do. He sat in ‘his’ room, on ‘his’ bed, staring at the wall. Because it wasn’t really his. None of this stuff was. The clothes, the bed, the room. It was all Will’s. Or, his mum’s, actually. After Nico’s mother died when he was young, his sister cared for him. But tragedy stuck to Nico like a magnet, and Bianca died too. Gone. His father was out of the picture; Nico didn’t remember him well. He’d walked out on the di Angelo’s when Nico was a young boy. So Nico was placed in foster care.
But he was too much to handle, too little maybe - he wasn’t sure. He bounced from house to house to house. Eventually, he was placed in a boarding school. Jupiter Boarding School. And then he met Will. He was too scared to say anything at first - a rich boy with his mum as a musician, who had everything he could want. Totally out of Nico’s league. But they grew closer. Until Nico finally admitted his feelings. And Will admitted his, too. And then, finally, Nico landed with Will.
So none of his stuff was really ever his. He was borrowing it. Naomi Solace had been so kind, letting Nico move in. He didn’t deserve any of this stuff. He bit his lip, jumping back to the present when he heard a knock on his door.
“Come in.” He mumbled. The door creaked open and Will stepped inside, carrying a plate of food. He smiled at Nico, a small smile, just for him. The plate in his hand wobbled as he carefully walked towards Nico. He set the plate down on the bed and sat down.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Yeah. ‘M fine.” Nico muttered. But Will could see that wasn’t really the case.
“Percy’s coming over soon. Annabeth, too.” Will said. Nico looked up. Percy was his cousin and Annabeth was Percy’s girlfriend, but Nico didn’t want them to see him like this. They were kind, so kind, and didn’t deserve to know this side of him. Will put an arm around his boyfriend.
“It’ll be okay, yeah? Just make sure to eat something, alright.” Nico nodded. Will ruffled his hair, something he did daily, and left the room.
Nico cautiously glanced at the plate his boyfriend had left for him. It didn’t have much on it - a piece of bread with butter, an orange and a note.
I’m here for you, love. Talk to me whenever you need to :)
Nico didn’t like it when people paid too much attention to him. Not even Will. So, he took the note in his fist and crumpled it. In the bin it goes. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Will’s kindness. He did, he really did. But it felt pushy, being asked if he was okay all. the. time. He didn’t really feel like Will meant it.
He took off his jacket and slumped on the bed, putting the plate of food on his bedside table. He didn’t feel like eating. He was so, so tired. He just wanted to sleep. Eventually, he passed out.