The Best Of The Worst

CHAPTER 13

NICO

He didn't want to go, but he was being dragged into the woods, against his will, by his Will. There they met Piper, Annabeth, Katie and Emma. They were the only two guys there, but at least he had his sister and two other Fall Out Boy fans. 

When they got there, that pin-pointed spot in the woods, he realised that triple dates weren't all too bad. There was a picnic rug with plates on it that gave you whatever food you wanted. Then mugs that did the same but with drinks. There were candle-sticks that he watched Katie light, then Emma put out with her fingers. And Piper had put a rose on Annabeth's plate, which her date grinned and blushed over. 

Will and Nico were welcomed to the rug warmly. Katie had her legs spread out either side of her and she was reading. 

"You shouldn't do something so anti-social on a date." Emma scolded. 

"Bullshit." Katie replied, then briefly glanced up and saw Nico. She read while registering the fact he was here, then put a bookmark in. "We've been waiting." she told him, but didn't seem impatient. She was smiling with half her mouth, the other half neutral. 

"I can tell." Will said, sitting in front of one of the plates. It filled with a caesar salad, and he smiled. One-by-one, as Nico sat down, the others' plates filled up. Annabeth had pasta,  Piper had vegetarian pizza, Katie had a roast (not a whole one, just a serving) and Emma had soup. (It appeared along with a bowl). Nico's plate, though, stayed empty. 

"Aren't you gonna eat, Sunshine?" Will asked. 

"Don't call me Sunshine." Nico replied, avoiding the question. 

"Not even a little?" his boyfriend insisted. 

"You're the Sunshine-y one."

"C'mon, Nico. Just eat something." 

A few pomegranate seeds appeared on Nico's plate. "Happy now?" Nico asked. 

"Those aren't... P-Persephone's seeds, are the?" Katie asked, shuddering at her step-mothers name. 

"No!" Nico yelled, maybe too quickly. "Of course not." he recovered, with a small whisper. His half-sister didn't seem convinced. But they weren't. 

Nico just didn't want to mention what inspired it. 

He was feeling so empty recently. So helpless. So... So lost. He didn't know what caused it. He kept wandering, aimless in his head, but always headed to the infirmary where the only sunlight seemed to be. But the way he felt he'd always associated with lack of air. He kept thinking about the pomegranate seeds he needed to take when he wasn't breathing. So there were his pomegranate seeds, lying on the plate in front of him. 

"Are you sure?" Katie persisted, knocking him back into reality. Then realisation washed across her face. "Oh..." 

Nico could tell that she knew exactly what was going on, so he put a single finger to his lips to signal silence. Grudgingly, Katie imitated zipping her mouth up.

"Is your telepathic conversation done?" Will asked, fidgeting with something in his pocket. 

"Yeah." Nico replied, giving him a smile. Will flashed a smile back. 

Will can't understand. Nico thought. He doesn't get it. He never will.