How do you tell someone you love dearly that you absolutely hate their boyfriend and he's a complete douchebag???
Oh, right, you don't.
Anyhoodles,
Let's get this party started!!
- Nickel
p.s. THANK to Elena aka nocturnal_writer. She edited this chapter and pretty much made sure I actually spent time writing instead of complaining it didn't write itself. Have fun~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was waiting for everything to explode in my face.
Since that meeting and what my mother had said almost two weeks ago, no one bothered me about my coming out. I did everything I could to avoid Thalia and Zeus, knowing it would just be awkward.
I'd spent more hours training this week than I have in probably my whole life.
"You know, running from this won't stop the shit storm that will eventually start." Clarisse told me, swinging a right hook at me.
I dodged it easily. "I know it won't, but it'll help me avoid it for as long as possible." I tried to sweep her legs, but she jumped easily.
"Listen, you need to grow a fucking pair and go talk to your fiancé and her family, talk to your parents, and send a tweet or post a picture or something to tell people it was legit." Clarisse dropped her stance, signaling our three-hour sparring session was finished.
With a heavy sigh, I nodded. "I know I need to, but ignoring it is easier."
"Well, dumbass, no one said coming out to your entire kingdom was going to be easy, but it's a little too late to run from the consequences. People probably have a million questions for you and Thalia. Talk to the poor woman."
"Okay! God, why does everyone feel the need to baby me all of a sudden?"
Clarisse laughed easily. "We have always babied you, Nico, it's just gotten worse since all of this happened."
"Yeah, alright. I'll see you later, Clarisse."
With that I left for the showers, I needed time to decide what I was going to say to Thalia before I faced her.
---
Okay, yeah, I didn't listen to Clarisse in the slightest. Instead of finding Thalia and talking to her about it, I went to my favorite hiding spot and curled up with a book.
It's a miracle no one actually checked under the servant stairs on the fourth floor considering I used to hide here when I was a child. I even had some old books and blankets here to make it more comfortable.
I'd heard at least a dozen servants walk by calling my name. I remained quiet, continuing with my book as they walked past me over and over.
I was almost two thirds of the way done with the book by the time Percy knocked on the stairs next to me, startling me away from the story.
"Hey," he said with a gentle smile. "Everyone is kinda freaking out; they think you ran away or something."
I let out a snort while my eyes rolled to the ceiling. "Yeah, because I'm the type to run away. Please, that's more Bianca's style. I've been here for... What time is it?"
"Almost dinner." Percy crouched next to me.
"Then just about five hours. I'm running away from Bianca and Thalia, so hush or they'll find me."
"I get it; this is apparently a big deal, even though it shouldn't be."
I sighed, set the book down and pulled myself out from under the stairs; I knew this was why Percy was here.
When I was standing again, Percy and I head off to the dining hall so I can make it to dinner.
---
I never actually made it to dinner that night, though.
Percy left me to finish his work for the day when he was positive I wouldn't go back to my spot under the stairs.
Big mistake.
As soon as I knew Percy was out of eyesight and no one else was around, I creeped out through a few of the servant passageways. I snuck off of the palace grounds, making sure to avoid any drivers or staff. When I was out to the street, I called an Uber to come pick me up.
When the car pulled up, I slipped inside, saying, "Don't tell anyone you saw me; I'm trying to get out for a bit without people following me everywhere."
The man's eyes widened and he nodded. "Okay, uh, your Highness. Uh. I've got some water and candies and stuff back there for my riders; you can have at it."
"Okay. Thank you." I smiled warmly at the man through the rear view mirror.
The ride was short from the palace to Elena's home. I knew I could always go there when I needed to escape. I get out of the car, thanking the driver and making sure to give him a good rating. Everything I'm running from raced through my mind as I approached Elena's small, meek apartment.
"Nico?" Elena said in surprise as she opened the door. She ushered me inside. "What the hell are you doing here?! They'll send a fucking search party!"
I smiled as she pulled me in and shut the door, making sure no one followed me. "It'll be fine; I texted Haz that I'm out."
"Why are you here, Nico? What's been going on? I saw you come out on national television."
I sighed heavily, not knowing how to explain everything to her. "I- life is complicated right now. I just needed a friendly face."
"Well you've got one. Stay as long as you'd like, as always. You are going to talk about this, though. You have to."
My eyebrows scrunched up as I looked away from her. "I came here to run away, not to confront my issues, El."
"I know, but you're still going to talk about it."
"Fine, but ice cream first."
"I have chocolate chip, mint, and Snickers in my freezer." Elena pushes me toward the kitchen.
---
=Bianca=
I hated this. Of course they would send me to fetch Nico.
He's so reckless.
He skipped dinner on purpose, the coward. I love my brother, but his behavior in the last month has done nothing but cause issues for the kingdom. He knows nothing about the politics behind his future position.
I pray father speaks to him about this soon.
Walking up to Elena's door, I knocked softly. There was some shuffling on the inside, and I heard Nico groan quietly; he'd probably been waiting for someone to figure out where he was.
After a moment, the door flew open to reveal the tall, thin blonde my brother is so enraptured by. Her green eyes give me a guarded once over before they found my own dark eyes.
"Bianca." She said in greeting. Her voice sounded cold; I couldn't blame her.
"Hello, Elena. It's nice to see you again." I greeted her. "Can I come in? I'm here for Nico."
Elena's eyes grow colder. "Nico isn't here, Bianca. I haven't seen your brother since Thalia got here a month and a half ago and Hades began forcing him to act like a straight man."
"That man is your king; show some respect." I snapped. "And I know Nico is in there; he's dreadful at being silent. Please let me in."
"What will you do if I don't? Call the guard and have me arrested?"
I sighed heavily, rolling my eyes in annoyance. "Nico, I know you're in there. I'll come in after you if you don't get your ass out here."
"I told you he's not-," Elena cut off abruptly as we both heard a dejected sigh from inside the small apartment.
Not even a second later, Nico's head peaked out next to Elena's shoulder. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned to look at him. They had what seemed to be a silent conversation before she finally backed off.
Nico turned to me with a glare. "I will go with you, but you will let me sneak up to my room and tell them you couldn't find me."
"No," I replied. "I will not lie for you because you're too much of a coward to face this head on. You need to come home, you need to talk to Thalia, and you need to listen to what Dad has to tell you."
"I am not a coward! Just because you're comfortable letting father suppress half of who you are does not mean I will let him force me away from who I am entirely."
That was a low blow, even from Nico. Pulling my shoulders back and tilting my chin up ever so slightly, I sneer at my baby brother.
"Fine. If you don't want to come home, I won't force you. However, don't you ever dare to bring that up again. You have no idea the toll this takes on me daily and the number of times I have debated throwing caution to the wind. You don't know the first thing about politics in this nation, nor what your actions are doing to hurt Dad and Mama. So either grow up, grow a pair, and confront your problems head on or don't bother coming home."
Before my dumbstruck brother had a chance to respond, I turned on my heel and went back to the car waiting in the lot for me.