*possible trigger warning for alcohol consumption*
The bar was packed. Percy apparently had a lot of friends meeting him; most of the people were around his age. The place reeked of sweat and alcohol.
Nico soon felt lonely, for the first time in a while. He liked being alone, but in a place like this, he felt utterly isolated.
He didn't know many of the other people there, and unfortunately everyone was with their boyfriend or girlfriend.
So, he drank to forget his problems. He didn't even know what a lot of the stuff was, but he didn't care. Nico knew he wasn't drunk. Yet.
Percy suddenly approached him with Annabeth and a guy with a beard that he didn't recognize.
"Hey Nico! This is Grover," Percy said.
"Nice to meet you, Grover." Nico stuck out his hand for him to shake. He figured he'd at least be polite.
"You having fun?" Annabeth asked.
"Uhm, I guess I don't really know anyone here," Nico replied. For once, he didn't lie and say everything was okay.
"Well, we can change that!" Percy exclaimed. He cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled, "Could I get everyone's attention?"
The crowd quieted down quite a bit, and Nico's face reddened.
"I'd like to make a toast to Nico di Angelo tonight!" Percy continued. Jason suddenly came running over with a tray of shots. "To Nico!" Percy yelled again.
"To Nico!" The other guests repeated, and everyone poured their shots down their throats. It burned Nico's throat, but he didn't care.
He met a lot of people throughout the night. There was a tough looking couple, whose names were Clarisse and Chris, and they'd bought each other drinks. Then there was two wild boys who looked exactly alike--Travis and Connor Stoll. Nico commented that he couldn't tell them apart, but they'd assured him that no one could.
He was soon feeling a bit dizzy from his alcohol consumption, so he decided to try and be responsible for the rest of the night. The last thing he wanted to do was explain to Will why he had a hangover.
Nico would be lying if he said he didn't have fun. He was glad he gave the night a chance. He'd saved up a lot of extra cash in his account while he took part of the summer off, but since he knew it wouldn't last forever, he'd been staying in. Also, the more he was home, the better chances he'd have of seeing Will walk around shirtless. That was always a bonus.
But did he prefer Will over Percy? That was something Nico wasn't sure about. Oh well. He could think about that in the morning.
His thoughts were interrupted when a girl approached him. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized it was just Hazel. She had a soda in her hand; she didn't drink unless it was for a very special occasion.
"Hi, Hazel. Haven't seen you in a while," Nico said lamely.
"Yeah, but you've been busy with your new roommate and all. Oh! How is he? What's his name? Do you think he's hot?" She had a twinkle in her eyes and laughed at her last comment.
"He's fine, pretty annoying to be honest, his name is Will Solace, and he likes to walk around shirtless."
"So I take it that you do think he's hot, ehh?" Hazel wiggles her eyebrows.
"No. I was just stating a fact."
"Maybe he's trying to get your attention by showing off his abs," Hazel suggested, taking a sip of her pop.
Nico shook his head. "Naw. He's always hot, so-."
"You just admitted it! You do think he's good looking!" Hazel cut in.
"No! I mean, temperature wise."
"So you've been close enough to know how warm he is?" She wiggled her eyebrows.
Nico sighed in defeat. "He's hugged me before, and last night we fell asleep on the couch together. That's all I can remember."
"Whatever you say, Nico." She kissed his cheek. "Is he here?"
"No. I told him I was going out, and he said he was as well. He likes to go out with his best friends, Lou Ellen and Cecil," Nico explained.
"Cecil Markowitz? I know him! He's quite the prankster, he and the Stolls sometimes hang out."
"I don't know his last name, but I'm sure that's him," Nico replied.
She nodded and saw that Leo was waving her down. "I have to go, you have fun. Just promise not to have too much fun."
Nico watched her go, and he started to wish that he'd invited Will along. At least if he was there, he wouldn't be completely alone. Not that he didn't mind being alone. Not that he wanted to see Will.
Goosebumps went down his spine when an arm was draped around his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Percy, whose breath smelled of booze. "Ayyye, Nico!"
"How drunk are you?" Nico laughed.
Percy shrugged. "Dunno. Lost a bet last week that I forgot about. Had to take a shot for every time I called Jason 'bro.'"
Nico rolled his eyes, and Percy tightened his grip on him. Nico winced slightly, but he didn't move. He was feeling quite uncomfortable, but Percy probably wasn't stable enough on his own. Would he have pushed Will's arm off?
Nico and Percy talked for a long time. His drunk friend was now getting rather philosophical. Annabeth looked over at them a couple of times, but Nico couldn't tell what her gaze meant. Percy had eventually moved his arms way and was now sitting directly across from him.
He checked the clock, and was shocked to see that it was past midnight. The bar must've been open twenty-four hours.
Drunk Percy bought Nico a few more drinks, and he was beginning to feel very sick. What would he say to his roommate? Was he supposed to admit that he'd gone out and had too much to drink? What if Will asked to come out with him if he hung with Percy's buddies again? Why had he had more drinks, even though he promised himself he wouldn't?
Questions continued to swim in Nico's mind when something -or rather, someone- pushed him directly into Percy, (most likely some slam dunk drunk person) and if he wasn't mistaken, their lips accidentally crashed into each other. The shorter boy's eyes widened. Nico thought he would like it, (even though it obviously wasn't an actual kiss) but he was very, very wrong.
He hated it. Maybe it was because of the alcohol taste in their mouths. Maybe it was because it was forced, awkward, and accidental. Or maybe it was because of the fact that Percy wasn't Will.
Nah. Nico shook the last thought out of his mind and came back to his senses. Percy was passed out, while Jason knelt beside him.
"I'm so sorry, bro! I tripped and crashed into Nico, and..." He trailed off, then continued, "Oh wait. You can't hear me. God, when's the last time we were this drunk?"
Nico just stood there, dumbfounded. This was enough 'fun' for one night. He just wanted to go home now, see his dog, and have Will tell him everything was gonna be alright while Nico puked his guts out over the toilet.
He went to find Hazel, and he saw her chatting with Piper nearby. "I-I need to get home," he stammered when they waved him over.
"What's wrong? Are you sick? Is Will okay?" Hazel asked worriedly. Why was she asking about Will?
Nico quickly explained what had happened, and the two girls agreed that it was time to leave. "I can drive, since I haven't had anything to drink," Hazel stated.
Nico then went to find Leo and Calypso, while Hazel and Piper went to round up the other boys. Nico soon saw the two of them laughing at something while staring at Leo's cell phone.
"Ha! Trolled 'em!" Leo exclaimed, cracking up. Calypso shushed him when she saw Nico approach. "Hey there, everything alright?"
He shook his head and explained -again- what had happened. Leo made a confused face when he got to the part about them accidentally sort of kissing, but Nico ignored it.
Soon, everyone was back at Percy's van, with Hazel at the wheel. Nico couldn't tell if Annabeth was furious, worried, relieved, or a mix of all of them. She was next to Percy, who was crammed between Annabeth and Nico.
Despite the fact that she was sober, Hazel was being a bit of a crazy driver. Nico wanted to vomit every time she hit a pothole or made a sharp turn. Various groans came from the van.
Back at the mansion, everyone did their best to unload their unconscious friend. Nico stayed out of the way for this; he was looking around the mansion.
The place truly was grand, even though everything was beginning to spin. There were a number of doors in every hallway, so he just chose one randomly.
It turned out to be a room with a bed, a table, and a couch. Good enough.
I shouldn't have had that much to drink...I'm going to be so, so sick.., Nico thought hazily, before collapsing on the soft bed.
He didn't even realize that his phone was buzzing every ten seconds.
~~~
Sorry this got a bit rushed at the end, or if it a bit unrealistic or something. I kinda lost inspiration after a while. Hopefully it was decent... Anyways, please comment or pm me ideas for this story! Comments, votes, follows, and criticism are appreciated! Have a spectacular day!