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.
The next day I was a total wreck. Since I was consciously aware of my crush on Nico, I was more nervous to be around him. It wasn't bad, but I didn't like it. I talked to Nico a little at gym, waved at him in mythology and even talked to him before and after Italian. Our conversations became more fluent and often. I was also aware of how much I thought about him. It was embarrassing how much he appeared in my mind.
That day we had a swim lesson. I was going to teach him how to stay relaxed in the water and how to move correctly. He came in with his bag in his hand. "Hey" I smiled at him, "Hi, go change so we won't lose any time." He disappeared in the locker room, leaving me to collect myself. My mind flashed scenes of our last lesson. The trust test, me holding him as he got used to the water. I swallowed.
Nico came out in his tee-shirt and swim trunks looking as nervous as he always did. I wondered why, did I scare him? He seemed calm around other people. I brushed the thought out of my mind looked down at the list for lesson two. "Okay, today you'll learn how to use your feet to move through the water. But first, I want to make sure you haven't forgotten how to float."
Nico nodded and climbed down the ladder into the water. I followed him to the middle of the pool and watched as he tried, but failed, to get up to the position. "Try again. It takes a few times to do." He did it again and finally made it to the top. Tufts of his dark hair floated behind his head. His soaked clothes clung to his body.
"Great, so now we can move on." Nico got back on his feet and waited for me to tell him what to do. "I need you to get as deep in the water as you can. Stay close to the side and use that to hang on to." He pursed his lips and slugged through the water. He reached the side of the pool and walked along the edge to as deep as he could without going underwater completely.
I stayed close to him to make sure he didn't go completely under. It's not good if your student doesn't trust you, and I don't want Nico to drown, "Okay, grab the side with both hands and let your legs float behind you." He did that, making sure to get a firm grip on the concrete edge before lifting himself up behind him and letting himself float.
He took a deep breath and let his body relax. I smiled to myself. He was trusting me. He was actually learning to trust me. I felt so happy suddenly I forgot what I was doing. "Oh, uh, just float for a second. Get used to it." He kept breathing and I kept trying to hold back my happiness. I didn't know why I was so happy. It's not like he liked my back. My insides suddenly felt like they were melting at that thought.
"Ready?" my voice showed my sadness. It made Nico turn his head to look at me. I pushed my thoughts aside and smiled at him, "Are you?" he nodded and looked forward again. "Okay, slowly kick you legs back. Like up and down in a kicking motion." I didn't explain it well but at least I explained it the best I could. Nico seemed to get it because he kicked his legs back perfectly. I quickly realized he was a fast learner. "Good, do that for a few moments and get used to it. It's one of the most important moves to swimming."
He did that for about twenty seconds and started to slow down. "Your leg muscles need to be strengthened. But that will happen as you swim. Stop and rest for a moment before we move on." He stopped and hung on the edge. If he didn't hang on the edge, the water would go up right under his nose. "Come over here to where you can touch the floor." He used the edge to hang on and climbed up the poolside.
"Okay, basically you are going to use your legs and arms to move through the water on your back. I'll give you a demonstration." I got to the front of the pool and got on my back, using the wall to get there. I started to kick loosely like my legs were flippers and used my arms to help glide through the water. Once I reached the other side, I did the same on the way back. Nico watched with careful eyes. I got back on my feet again, "Make sure you are loose and relaxed. Don't switch arms too early, just glide through the water."
Nico got to the front of the pool and used the wall to get on his back. But once he started to kick his feet he wasn't doing it right and he fell in. "Do it loosely. Like your feet are flippers but don't do anything to make them flippers. Let your body naturally push you through the water." He tried again and got pretty far, almost to the other side. But, fear got to him and he fell. I caught him and pulled him up. He coughed and clung to me like a little kid.
I patted his back held him close. I knew it was going to get awkward but I didn't care. That same feeling I got the last time I held him returned, making me not want to let go. He caught his breath and his grip loosened. "I'm okay now." He said. "Good" I whispered. With him still on me, I swam over to the other side. "I don't think swimming is the thing for me" he said once his feet touched the floor.
"Don't get discouraged, there is plenty of time to get better." I was actually scared he would drop the lessons. "But I keep almost drowning" he pointed out. "Yeah and so did I. The 10-year-old I taught before you did the same. Nico, it's your first time." He set his jaw and sighed, "Fine, but keep me alive." I smiled, "no problem, I would get fired if you drowned." He glared at me before trying again, this time getting all the way to the other side. By the time the lesson was over, Nico could complete a whole lap around the pool.
"Good job. Unfortunately, our time is up." We got out of the pool and he got his towel. As he walked to the locker room, what Annabeth said popped back in my head. "Hey Nico," he turned, "Do you have any plans for this Saturday?" he turned dark red and shook his head. I smiled, "Well, would you like to come out with me and my friends? We're go get something to eat and going to a movie."
Nico turned redder and looked a little disappointed. A wave of sadness washed over me. "Sure, that sounds fun. Can I bring Will?" Again, that strange feeling ran through me. "Of course, the more the merrier." He smiled weakly turned back to the locker room. A heavy regret weight on me. I felt like I should run into the locker room and ask him out. But I didn't, because I was scared. But I did make the promise to myself that I would make up for it.
And I already knew how.
Sorry for the wait. I'm doing Nanowrimo. Feedback please. This is my first full story so comments and votes help.
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