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“Alright, I have three rules,” Hazel announced as she parked the car.
Nico rolled his eyes. “I thought you promised tonight would be fun.”
“These are fun rules.”
“There’s no such thing.”
She leaned over to punch his shoulder, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. “Hush. Now, rule number one is that you have to actually try to enjoy yourself, okay? You’re not allowed to give up before you’ve started. Again, we can leave after an hour if you really don’t want to be here anymore but you have to try . Got it?”
Nico nodded resignedly.
“Good. Rule number two: Limit the alcohol.”
Nico raised his eyebrows. “And by that you mean no alcohol?”
Hazel sighed, biting her lip. “No, and if this doesn’t show you how desperate I am for you to have fun then I don’t know what will. But yeah, someone’ll have brought a keg or something and I’ve made the questionable decision to let you have some.”
“You know, last time I checked, I was the older one.”
She punched him again. “Yeah, but I’m the wiser one.”
He scoffed but let her continue.
“Right, so you’re close enough to twenty-one that I’m willing to turn a blind eye to you having a little to drink, but there’s no way you’re getting anywhere past tipsy, understand?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled at that.
“Alright, then. Rule number three, and this is an important one, Nico: I swear to God, if a cute boy starts flirting with you, you are absolutely required to flirt back.”
Nico frowned, pulling his jacket tighter around himself.
“Oh, don’t give me that look, you’re lucky I’m going easy on you.”
“Easy?” Nico asked, incredulously.
“Yes, if I were a little bit meaner then I’d require that you be the one to initiate the flirting.”
Nico just shook his head. “Fine, whatever.”
Hazel grinned, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Good! Let’s go!”
Nico shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he approached the big house where the party was. He still wasn’t entirely sure who actually owned the place and was hosting the party, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to care all that much either.
“Okay, are you going to be fine on your own or do I need to supervise you?” Hazel asked once they’d reached the door. She opened it to reveal more noise than Nico had expected, even considering how much of it had bled through the walls into the air outside.
“Hazel, I’m twenty years old.”
“Yet you still act like a whiny baby.”
“Hazel. I’ll be fine on my own.” Despite it being February, the inside of the house was so warm that Nico suddenly regretted wearing a jacket.
“Fine, but you’d better follow the rules mister or else you’ll be stuck here for much longer than an hour.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Okay, I think Frank’s upstairs. Bye! Have fun!” Hazel blew him a kiss as she disappeared into the crowd, the red of her skirt blending in with the similarly colored attire of everyone else at the party.
Nico suddenly felt conscious about his own clothing choice. He wasn’t really one for caring much about the way he looked as he spent most of his time either alone or with the small group of friends that were already familiar with his dark wardrobe. But now he was at a party with people he didn’t know. On Valentine’s Day. Alone.
He suddenly regretted sending Hazel away, but he still figured it was better than third wheeling. He began wandering through the house, looking for other people he knew.
It took him a while to find Jason due to the size of the house but he eventually spotted him on the second floor. His shoulders slumped in relief as he opened his mouth to shout in greeting before stopping suddenly.
Piper wrapped her arms around Jason from behind, happily pulling him across the room. He smiled widely as he followed her, laughing at something she said. She dragged him over to where Percy and Annabeth were talking in the corner, apparently sharing whatever joke she’d told Jason with them. Nico hesitated to join them.
Hazel’s first rule was to try his best to enjoy himself. That sounded fair enough. But did that mean third wheeling (fifth wheeling?) or wandering around with the hope of finding someone else to talk to?
Nico eventually fell back into the shadows, where he’d always felt the most comfortable, and after discovering that he felt infinitely more relaxed, decided that the shadows were going to be the best place for him that night.
Then he remembered Hazel’s second rule.
He made his way back down the stairs in what he was pretty sure was the direction of the kitchen. He’d never really drank before, besides a few sips of wine on New Year’s Eve, and could only hope that he’d look like he’d have any clue what he was doing once he found the keg.
Finding the kitchen wasn’t too difficult considering there was a pretty steady stream of people entering and exiting it. Nico did his best to look like he was experienced when he filled up his plastic cup with lukewarm beer from the huge keg that sat precariously upon a stool in the kitchen. He retreated to the shadows as soon as possible before taking his first sip, grimacing slightly at the bitter taste. He frowned before taking another sip of the cheap beer.
Suddenly, a strong arm was thrown over his shoulder. “Hey, man!” Nico jumped at the unfamiliar voice and sudden physical contact, turning quickly as his drink sloshed over the side of his cup.
Nico suddenly found himself in close proximity to a bright red face with wide, embarrassed blue eyes. The man’s blond hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb since the dark ages whereas his teeth, which were only barely visible now due to the o-shape his mouth was making, were startlingly white.
And he had Nico’s beer all down the front of his white shirt.
The two of them rushed into a frenzy of apologies, speaking uncomfortably loudly in order to be heard over the music.
“Shit, I’m so sorry, I thought you were a friend,” the blond said. The arm that had previously been over Nico’s shoulder now fidgeted at his side as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
Nico just shook his head, his eyes on where his beer had made the blond’s shirt stick to his chest. “No, I’m sorry about your shirt, I didn’t mean to―”
The blond grinned at Nico goodnaturedly, waving his hand carelessly. “No, no, this would be my fault,” he said gesturing to his front. “God, I’m such an idiot. I’m a junior, I should know by now not to wear white to parties.”
It suddenly came to Nico’s attention that the rest of the blond’s outfit was extremely colorful. He wore a bandana as a headband―an honest to god bandana―that was bright red with small white hearts scattered across it and bright red jeans to match. Nico didn’t even know jeans could be that color, but there they were and Nico was trying so, so hard not to stare because those pants were not only literally bright red but also rather tight and Nico really did mean to avert his eyes but this boy looked like an honest to god model and Nico had gone and ruined it by spilling his drink on him―
“Hey, you okay?” the blond asked, leaning down slightly to meet Nico’s eyes.
“Yeah, sorry,” Nico answered quickly, shifting his gaze to meet the other boy’s.
Shit.
There was a short moment when neither of them was quite sure what to do or say next, and Nico worried that the blond would leave.
“Do you want to borrow my jacket?” Nico asked suddenly, surprising himself. “To cover up your shirt, I mean.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” the other guy answered, rubbing his neck nervously. Nico took that as a sign to back off.
Oh God, did he think I was trying to flirt?
Was I?
“Okay, well, sorry again,” Nico said, backing away. He didn’t hear the other guy’s response over the loud music as he quickly disappeared into the crowd. He checked his phone. Shit. He’d only been at the party for fifteen minutes.
He looked down at the half empty cup of beer in his hand and frowned, leaving it on a table as he went in search of some quiet.
~*~
“Cheater!” Hazel’s voice cried as she burst into the bathroom.
Nico looked up with raised eyebrows. “You know, generally when you knock on a bathroom door and someone says it’s occupied, you aren’t supposed to go in.”
“You are if that someone is being a grump,” Hazel argued, sitting down across from Nico in the bathtub.
“I could have legitimately been taking a piss.”
Hazel rolled her eyes. “Not nearly as likely as you sulking.”
Nico just shook his head, looking down at his phone. “Can we go now?”
“No! You haven’t even followed my first rule.”
“I did for a full fifteen minutes.”
“Oh come on , Nico. You should’ve given yourself a better chance. Jason’s here, you could hang out with him.”
“Jason’s with Piper. I don’t want to third wheel.”
Hazel sighed. “What about my third rule, then? You’re not the only single person here, Nico.”
“You’ll be happy to know that I ran into a very attractive boy. However, I proceeded to spill my drink on him and then make him uncomfortable by offering him my jacket. So yeah, I’m afraid I’ll be spending the next half hour or until you let me leave in here.”
“Oh, Nico,” Hazel sighed, reaching out to pat his knee. “I’m sorry. But it’s not always going to work, you know? That doesn’t mean you should stop trying.”
Nico rolled his eyes. “It never works,” he grumbled. He looked up suddenly, frustration welling up in him. “Why is everyone straight?” he asked exasperatedly. “Why are none of the cute ones ever gay?”
Hazel just smiled. “Well, if you want a better shot at finding a guy, I could arrange for you to go to gay nightclub on your birthday…”
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Then get your butt back out there! If you’re all flirted out, then you can come hang out with me at least. We’ll make Frank third wheel, he won’t mind.”
“No, I think he might.”
“Nope!” Hazel stood up and took Nico’s hand. “Come on, time to go have more fun.”
“I’m having fun right here.”
“Nico, please. It’s like you’re trying to annoy me.”
He let a small grin slip despite his attempts not to. “Only a little.”
Hazel didn’t say a word, just shook her head and grabbed Nico’s hand as she dragged him back out to the party.
~*~
“Oh my god, that’s him ,” Nico hissed, gesturing to the blond with his head as Hazel led him across the room.
“Who, Will?” Hazel asked.
The blond―Will―was laughing with Annabeth, still wearing his beer stained shirt. And Hazel was leading Nico straight towards him.
“Hazel, shit, that’s him .”
Her eyes lit up at this as she pulled Nico closer, much to his chagrin. “What the hell are you―” he hissed before Hazel spoke loudly, interrupting him.
“Look who I found!” she exclaimed, dragging Nico over to the group. Nico met Will’s eyes, which were wide and blue above flushed cheeks.
“Hey, Nico, I was wondering where you were!” Jason clapped him on the shoulder and handed him a plastic cup to replace the one he’d set down earlier.
The others greeted him before Annabeth introduced Will. “We had biology together as freshman,” she added as Will nodded at Nico good naturedly, though he fidgeted the same way he had earlier.
Nico looked away, trying to act like he was interested in the conversation Percy and Frank were having while fighting to keep a blush down. God, he felt tired. He just wanted to go home, sleep, and hope that in the morning he’d forget any of his embarrassment that night had ever happened.
“Alright, ladies and gents,” a dramatic voice came over the speakers. Nico looked around before spotting Travis Stoll standing up on the coffee table across the room with a microphone in hand. “It’s that time of night, folks, grab that special someone to dance with and please only do spins and dips if you can trust yourselves not to knock down any more lamps.”
A slow song kicked in, unbelievably cheesy from the very first note and Nico gagged exaggeratedly.
Will laughed and Nico felt a small bit of pride well up in himself.
“Alright, you loners,” Hazel joked good naturedly as she waved Will and Nico in the direction of the big glass doors that led to the back yard. “Get out of here if you’re going to be grumps.” Nico willingly walked over to the doors, but not before Hazel grabbed his arm and quickly hissed in his ear, “Gay, single, unbelievably cute, wants to be a doctor. If you do not leave this party with that boy’s number, I will make your life miserable.” She then pulled back smiling and kissed him on the cheek before heading over to where Frank was standing. “Good luck!”
Nico stood frozen for a short moment before his legs carried him outside. He wasn’t quite sure how it happened but suddenly he was leaning against the porch railing next to Will.
“You know, every time I come to one of these parties, I think, ‘Maybe tonight the slow song will actually be good,’ but it just never is,” Will said, shaking his head. His gaze was trained on the sky and Nico was grateful for the lack of eye contact.
He huffed in agreement. “None of the music they play at these parties is ever good.”
“What, you’re not a Top 40 kind of guy?” Will asked, not unkindly.
“Definitely not.” Nico said it a bit firmer than he meant to and Will laughed.
It was much colder outside than it was inside, not to mention windy, and Will shivered slightly as a cold breeze blew through.
Nico only hesitated a moment before asking, “Are you sure you don’t want my jacket?”
Will retreated back into the nervous persona he’d had when he’d first run into Nico, only this time Nico was able to recognize that it wasn’t flat out discomfort. Will flushed slightly as he rubbed his neck the way he had earlier, biting his lip as he offered Nico a small smile.
Nico was making a cute boy blush. He couldn’t wait to brag to Hazel.
“I don’t know if it’d fit,” Will said, eyes bright despite his fidgeting.
Nico scoffed. “I only ever wear jackets if they’re three sizes too big.” He shrugged it off and handed it over to Will, watching as he put it on.
Nico found himself staring for the second time that evening. His jacket looked like a completely different piece of clothing on Will. Nico had always used it as something to drown in, a wearable safety blanket, but on Will it fit perfectly. His broad shoulders filled the top of the jacket and it fit comfortably on his form, tapering in all the right places.
“Shit,” Nico muttered, which he would insist was an accident if anyone asked.
Will fidgeted again under Nico’s stare, clearing his throat. “Thanks. For the jacket.”
“No problem. I might just let you keep it. You wear it much better than I do.”
Will cleared his throat again but his smiling eyes betrayed his visible nervousness. “I wouldn’t be able to keep it. How would I pay you back?”
Nico shrugged, fighting to keep a smile off his face. “I have a few ideas.”
~*~
“Can we go now?” Nico asked an hour later, pulling Hazel aside. He was completely exhausted.
Hazel’s eyebrows drew together in concern. “Did things not go well with Will?”
Nico held up his phone, displaying the recently added contact. “Well, I wouldn't say that. However, that does nothing to change my energy level, which just reached zero. I don’t care if you’re ready to leave, but I’m taking the car.”
As Hazel rushed after him to bombard him with questions, Nico didn’t bother holding back his smile.