Favors (Percico AU)

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 (Percy's POV)

Nico closed the door behind him leaving me alone in the quiet apartment. I usually liked being home alone, but all I wanted to do was sit down and think. I wanted to spend more time with him. He was actually talking to me, it was amazing. Teaching him how to swim and the tutoring meant that I would be spending almost all week with him. But somehow, it didn't feel like enough.

I sat down on the couch thinking about the things he told me. His family, school, Will. I didn't know why but, listening to Nico talk about Will the way he did made me feel a little angry. I never really had problems with jealousy before. Will was Nico's only friend so it made sense why he would talk about him like they were brothers, but it still bothered me.

I sighed and laid back on the couch. I did have another lesson with Nico the next day. I started to think about our last lesson. A knock at the door had me up on my feet in seconds. Annabeth was waiting in the hallway, and for some reason, it kinda felt like a let down. "Hey Percy. Nico left right?" I nodded and let her in. Things weren't too weird between us, but it was still a little awkward.

"Did you have fun? Learn anything?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch. "Yea actually. I had a lot more fun than I thought I would." Annabeth nodded, her eyes held that look of thought. "Tell me, do you like spending time with him? Like you always want to be around him?"

I frowned, "Yea...why?" She rolled her eyes. "What do you think about him?" I wanted to ask why Annabeth was asking stupid questions, but something told me that if I did, I wouldn't like her reaction. "He's a nice guy. A very interesting person... why?" She again ignored my question and asked, "how often do you think about him?"

"Why are you asking?" I didn't want to answer that question. The truth is, I thought about him a lot. "Because you like him," Annabeth said mater-a-factly. My jaw dropped, I couldn't say anything. She rolled her eyes again, "oh come on Percy, you know you do. It's obvious." I just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Percy, you talk about him more than you think. You've been acting different too. Jason and I talked about it and it's painfully obvious to everyone but you."

My shock only grew. My friends had been talking about me having a crush on Nico. "But... he's... a guy." Annabeth looked at me like I was stupid. "Percy, think about it. Think really hard. How do you actually feel about Nico?" I thought about it. Nico was a shy, smart person. I liked being around him, I thought about him a lot when he wasn't around. I smiled more often around him. Then what happened during the tutoring session popped back in my mind.

The sight of him was captivating; I didn't realize I was looking at him. The way his lips moved to form the word love, it shook my core. The way I felt when he talked to me like he actually wanted to... and was enjoying it. The way I felt when he left...

It all crashed down on me at once. I did have a crush on Nico. "But... I... a guy..."

"Percy, it's okay. Your sexuality doesn't matter." I started to freak out. I liked girls but suddenly I was falling for a guy? "But... I like girls. How can I..." Annabeth's thinking look returned. "You maybe are attracted to girls but just like Nico. Or you are bisexual. But that is up for you to find out. No matter what, don't screw things up."

I swallowed hard. Screwing things up was my specialty. "What if he doesn't like me back?" That was probably my biggest fear. Annabeth smiled at me. "Don't worry about it. Tell him when you're ready." I just sat there, shock clouding my mind. The possibility of being gay never crossed my mind. When I was with Annabeth, I enjoyed our kisses. I liked her, I was attracted to her. But then Nico stepped in the picture...

"Oh, you can invite him to our night out." I thought about it. Every month, we try to take a night where we all go out and do something fun. I wanted him there. I made a mental note to ask him.