I Can't Do This Anymore (Percy Jackson)

Chapter Two

Nico

He had knocked himself into a coma. So he wasn't dead.

But then again, he wasn't alive. Percy was hanging on by a fucking thread that he was ready to cut.

After that night, I just left camp. I wasn't going to hear the end of this from Jason. I didn't want to deal with it. I visited him. Kind of rambled for a while.

Ended up running into Sally walking back to my little alley after about four days. I had visited Percy every day. Same time. Working myself up to telling him just in case he could really hear me. Grover was the only one I told about leaving. I've been keeping him updated on Percy and he tries to tone down my scent.

Apparently he knew a long time ago. Grover knew that I was gay. I guess it was a satyr thing. And according to him, this just kind of confirmed what he had thought for years.

It was nice. He didn't care about it. Hell, he told me that it was kind of obvious when I was younger that I liked Percy. I didn't know how to hide it. He still gets a kick out of me asking if Annabeth had been his girlfriend, too. Which seemed like a million years ago.

But either way, I ran into Sally.

"Oh, sorry, I—" and then Sally cut herself and we realized who each other had been after a moment. "Oh my gods, Nico! You're in the city still! The doctor told me you had been visiting Percy. Which is sweet considering Grover has been the only other person to send anything. He wrote to us. Explained that he wasn't allowed to leave Camp yet, but he was hoping."

"Uh, yeah..." I said as I carried my cheap McDonalds bag. I'm living off of what would be quest money from a long time ago. That and the allowance my dad gave me once. It was a $20. "I've been around. Away from camp. I've been keeping Grover updated."

"That's good to hear!" Sometimes I forget how nice his parents could be even in a tragedy like this. "Where are you staying? With your mom, I assume. But where is that?"

"Oh, um..." I kind of motioned to the alley behind us. "There."

Somehow, she didn't even have to ask. From that she just got that my mom was dead and I don't have any other family.

She invited me over for dinner.

"No, you don't have to." I insisted right away, not wanting them to waste food on me when I had a perfectly good McDonald's meal. It was a waste. "Really, I already got myself some food. It'll have me set until tomorrow or the day after. It's fine."

It was not fine.

She basically forced me to go over for dinner. Which turned into her coaxing me to watch a movie.

I hadn't slept in two days. I fell asleep during the movie. Which, if I'm right, was her plan from the start.

It's Sally, after all. She can't watch somebody go through that.

She went as far as to have me wake up to a custodial parent code and application. Having both of their names on it. Sally had been off to work by then, but Paul was still home.

I kind of cried. Because I've gone to foster homes before. I stayed at one from.lkke two months. There was few of them.

I always had been last pick. With the other kids, with the staff, and with the fostering parents.

When Paul left for work at 7, I called Grover. I was still crying, but it was a good sort of crying.

"Hey, Nico!" He's always been excited for my calls, which was also nice. "What's up? Anything new on Percy or no? You normally visit him later in the day."