Chapter Text
It was an average day at New Rome Secondary School. It WAS average for Nico di Angelo until lunchtime. As usual, the emo Italian shared his A-Day lunches with his friends: Percy, Jason, Grover, Annabeth, Piper, Leo, and Hazel. Leo and Grover sometimes sat at their girlfriends’ tables, so they both weren’t there today. Since Hazel was home with the flu, Nico opted to take a nap while the others at the table were listening to some story Percy was telling.
“And then I was like, ‘Finding Nemo is the best Pixar movie’ . And Tyson was like, ‘No way, bro, that’s totally The Incredibles’ . And that’s why we aren’t speaking for the time being.” The whole table erupted with laughter.
“Seaweed, don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Annabeth rolls her eyes while giggling.
“No way! That guy’s dead to me.”
“Okay, but that’s your actual brother, bro. You just can not talk to him.” Jason chuckles.
“We’ll be on talking terms when he admits he was wrong.”
“Well, I mean,...is he wrong though?” Piper giggles.
“Piper McLean, do you have something to tell the table?” Percy narrows his eyes at the girl.
“I’m just saying that Finding Nemo is a bit over-rated and--” Suddenly Piper stops her playful tirade when a familiar newcomer approaches their table. “Drew? I told you I’m sitting with Jason toda--”
“Relax, babes, I’m not here for you. I’m here for him.” Drew points to the napping boy in question.
“Nico? Why?” Percy asked.
“That my business, waterboy. Someone wake him up. I don’t have all day.” Drew demanded. Jason shares a look with Piper like, Should we trust her? Piper shrugs, I guess. Jason gently shoved Nico’s shoulder until the younger boy woke up.
“Someone better be dead, Grace.” Nico rubbed his eyes. He knows lunchtime isn't over yet, since his alarm didn’t go off yet.
“Sorry, bud, maybe next time. Someone’s waiting for you.”
“What?” Nico finally looks up to see Drew Tanaka. The same girl Percy and Annabeth warned him about when first he transferred to New Rome Secondary in the 8th grade (last year). She practically runs the gossip ring of the school. She and her groups of equally attractive and popular friends know everything about everyone. If you need to know something, they will find out for you -- for a price, of course.
So steer clear of them , Annabeth told him.
Right, you don’t want to owe them a favor , Percy added. What surprised Nico the most was that Piper is good friends with Drew.
Me and Drew go way back , Piper explained, she’s not as mean as people make her out to be. Sure, she can be conceited and nosy, but she does have heart if you get to know her.
“Nico di Angelo, right?” Drew asks as if she didn’t know, but Nico knew she knows, especially because of his reputation.
“Yes?”
“Drew Tanaka. Let’s talk somewhere private. Follow me.” Drew left the table shortly and made way to the cafeteria’s exit.
She talks as if Nico had no choice but to do as she says. She talks…like a queen giving orders. Nico wasn’t sure if Drew does it on purpose or if she naturally believes her words are above all.
He had half a mind to leave her hanging and just go back to sleep…but, Nico was a little curious. What would Drew Tanaka want from him, of all people?
As Nico gathers his stuff, he notices the cafeteria got less loud. Looking around, he sees that almost everyone’s looking at him. Guess it's not every day a popular kid talks to a normie. Nico made the mistake of looking straight and meeting Will Solace’s line of vision.
Usually, Nico would sneak glances at the blonde boy, but they never made eye contact since Will’s attention was always absorbed by his rowdy table-mates’. Today, however, Will’s incredibly sky blue eyes were meeting Nico’s. It was bad enough having everyone look at him, but with Will, Nico couldn’t wait to get out of the cafeteria. Nico mutters a quick goodbye to his friends and rushes out the room.
“Took you long enough.” Drew calls out in the hallway. She was leaning against a locker, filing her nails.
“Excuse me? I could always just go back, you know that, right?”
“Then you’re just wasting both of our time, babes. In here.” Drew led Nico into an empty classroom and closed the door behind them.
“Don’t call me babes.”
“Whatever.” Drew settles into one of the desks and gestures for Nico to follow suit. She lifts her desktop and pulls out a Happy Meal box and hands it to Nico. Nico was disturbed, confused, and happy all at once. How did Drew Tanaka know he likes McDonald's, he has no idea. “The student council is holding elections next month. The first election is for student-body president. I’m running for it.”
“Okay…what does that have to do with me?”
“Chew, then speak, di Angelo.” Drew scrunched her nose in disgust. “I need a vice president. That’s where you come in.”
“What?” Nico almost dies from a coughing if Drew didn’t hand him a water bottle. “You’re joking, right?”
“I’m dead serious.”
“Why me?” Again, Nico has a bad reputation because of last year’s incident .
“You got the It Factor , I need.” Drew opens her tiny purse and take out a mini spiral notebook and places it near Nico, so he wouldn’t, touch it with your greasy hand, just look .
“ It Factor ?”
“The normies like you, the LGBT community love you, practically everyone has a crush on you and those who doesn’t respects you and want to be your friend.”
“Now I know you’re joking. No one besides my friends like me. It's like everyone’s--”
“Afraid of you?”
“...Yeah”
“Please, if you’re talking about when you gave Bryce Lawrence a beat down last year, then you're wrong, he had it coming. Ask anyone, and they’ll say the same, believe me. Despite what I’ve said, people avoid you because they don’t want to get on your bad side. Like who knew the tiny new kid could pack a punch.” Nico found it hard to believe Drew, but then again, why would she lie to him? Has he been wrong about the whispers, stares, and giggling he hears whenever he passes through the hallway or a classroom? Was no one actually mocking him? Was it all done in an adoring or school-crush way? Did everyone actually like him and was too scared to approach him? “We’ll need to prepare for the vice president debate, since it’ll take place next week.”
“Wait, hold on! I never agreed.” Though it pains him to do so, Nico pushed the Happy Meal back to Drew, who shakes her head.
“Keep it, I got it just in case I pulled you before you ate lunch. Look, other than the election stuff, you’ll barely do anything as vice president. All the responsibility will go to me. I know with you on my side, I’ll win for sure.”
“I still can’t…I got other obligations.”
“Other obligations? You’re not in any after school clubs.” That’s where Drew was wrong. Nico was the president of the newly formed Mythomagic club, though said club doesn’t count as an official one until they get at least 15 members, and so far there were only 8. But Nico tries to keep that part of his life on the hush-hush.
“So. My obligations include sleeping and doing my homework, which I know I won’t do if I run with you.” Suddenly, the bell signaling next period rang. That gave Nico the cue to grab his things and make his leave.
“Wait, if you do this for me, your work will be compensated generously, of course.”
“I don’t want anything.” Nico doesn’t need money or someone to do his homework. His life is as perfect as it can be.
“Not even a certain blonde hair, blue-eyed boy.” It took Nico a second to understand who Drew was talking about because that description automatically made him think of Jason, but Nico doesn’t need anything from him. But then Nico's mind leapt to the boy he saw in the cafeteria.
“I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Really, di Angelo, we both know you’re not stupid. You wanna know how I’m good at finding out stuff about people?”
“Not really” Nico mutters.
“I’m really observant. And when I’m really bored, I just people-watch.”
“Cause that’s not super creepy.”
“Oh hush. When I people-watch, I love seeing what capture’s my subject’s attention.” Drew smirks, “I sometimes people-watch in the cafeteria, and sometimes you’re in my line of sight.”
“Okay, so all you see is me talking to my friends.”
“Yeah, mostly. But the other times, you stare pass the artsy girl, straight ahead to a certain blonde’s table.” Guess by artsy girl, she means his sister Hazel.
“I don’t stare at Will Solace.”
“I never said who the blonde was.” Drew smirk got wider, like checkmate, bitch.
“What does he have to do with anything, huh? Are you gonna spread rumors if I don’t join you.”
“What? No, I only spread rumors on those who wronged me. I won’t hold anything against you if you don’t take my offer.
“Why mention Will then?”
“You and him don’t share friend groups.” She said it so matter-of-factly, like she knew because of course she did. Nico didn’t know any of Will’s friends or table-mates, and he was sure none of his friends did too, since he never saw any of them talking to each other. “And you’ve never had any classes together either.”
“I know. And…”
“You’ve never formally met.” That’s where Drew was wrong again. Nico did meet Will Solace, albeit their first and only brief interaction happened last year, it left a lasting impression on Nico’s heart. “I can introduce you two since I know Will pretty well. We went to Half Blood Elementary together.” Before Nico could answer, some random student walked into the classroom and set their things on one of the desks. “Think about my offer, di Angelo. I need an answer by tomorrow evening.” Drew gives Nico a slip of paper before she steps out of the classroom and into on-coming foot-traffic.
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Of course, Nico should have banked on his friends being over-protective and nosy. They all cornered him on his way to Romantic Literature class.
“Are you okay, bro?” Percy was giving what Annabeth dubbed, “baby seal eyes”.
“She didn’t threaten you, did she?” Piper edged between anger and curiosity.
“What did Drew want?” Jason was full on mama bear mode, as he put a hand on Nico’s shoulder, which he shrugs off.
“Yes, no, and just some class stuff. I’m gonna be late for next class if this interrogation goes overtime?” Nico replies, leaving everyone surprised but satisfied with his answers. As everyone disbursed, only one figure was left -- the ever calculating Annabeth Chase. She took to walking by Nico’s side.
“What class stuff, if you don’t mind me asking.” Annabeth asked, Nico almost felt his heart drop because now that he thinks about it, he and Drew don’t share any classes. Or do they. Suddenly, Nico remembers seeing a familiar Greek Mythology book inside of Drew’s purse. Guess they took that class together, but he never noticed her.
“We got Greek Mythos together. She needed help understanding the Hades and Aphrodite myths before our midterm.” Nico answers quick before bidding Annabeth goodbye and slipping into his classroom.
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After school, Nico was seated at an outdoors table closest to the school’s front entrance. This is where Hazel and him agree to meet up and walk home together, but only on Wednesdays. Wednesdays were when both the (unofficial) Mythomagic club and the Arts & Crafts club had a day-off. Nico sat waiting there for about 10 minutes and almost called Hazel’s cell before realizing, She got the flu, you dumbass.
As he gathered his stuff, he heard a familiar voice calling from the front entrance.
“I’ll see y’all tomorrow.” Nico knows that slightly Southern accent from anywhere and look over to see Will Solace trotting down the steps, alone. It was a rare sight to see the blonde Texan without his group of friends. This was Nico’s chance. Nico faintly patted his aviator jacket’s left pocket and felt the bandage roll and tiny antiseptic spray bottle. Will lent them to him during their brief interaction last year, and Nico’s been wanting to return them back.
He can do this. Nico moves to leave the stairway’s blind-spot, but as soon as he sees the blonde turning his head, Nico crouches down to avoid being seen. Nevermind, he CAN’t do this, who was he kidding. He stayed crouching there, watching Will until the now whistling blonde was out of sight.
Great, he can beat homophobic bullies’ asses, but talking to a boy is where he crosses the line. He felt his phone vibrate from his pocket and quickly swiped it. A text message from Bianca.
2:57pm
Bianca: Good afternoon, fratello. Sorry, I did not reply to your other texts, Zoe got my phone confiscated. I just wanted to say that I miss and love you.
Nico couldn’t help but get a little misty eyed. When given the option to leave boarding school, Hazel and Nico chose public schooling, while Bianca stayed because she didn’t want a new friend group. I couldn’t leave them behind , Bianca softly said, they're like family.
Nico: Don’t worry about it, sorella. I love you too.
Maybe it was fate that Bianca texted him right now. Nico couldn’t help but remember the last conservation they shared before she left for the fall semester. Promise me you’ll get out of your comfort zone, fratello. There are people who want to get to know you. You have to open yourself up first.
Nico took the slip of paper he got earlier and began plugging the numbers into his phone.
3:01pm
Nico: It’s Nico.
I’m in.
Unknown: 💅