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The next few minutes of class was spent by Nico scowling at his paper, while listening to Mrs. Lalonde drag on, when the bell rang.
Jason looked around at first, confused, and Nico directed his eyes to the students grabbing their lunches. Jason exited with the class rather slow, near the back where the darker teen was.
"So," the blond boy walked beside him as he tried to do small talk. "How long have you been at this school? Since Freshman year?"
Nico nodded, not taking his eyes off the dazzling art on the walls. "Oh, so this is your last year. Are you from New York?"
"Why are you talking to me?" Nico looked at his shirt, avoiding his expression. "I've much mostly ignored you, why are you still talking? Can't you tell when someone wants to be left alone?" Nico halted, and narrowed his eyes angrily, waiting.
He didn't turn back.
"You didn't answer my question." he said simply.
Nico stared, before shaking his head slightly out of his dumbfounded daze, and kept walking, slowly. "No. I'm from Italy."
"Oh that's cool. I should have guessed honestly. I can hear a bit of accent." Jason had slowed down his walk and they were walking side by side.
By then, they had entered the crowded lunch room, where noise filled his ears and he could hear the chattering of students and the clanging of silverware.
"Hey Jason!" someone shouted. Nico ignored the call at first, and also ignored when Jason began to chat with whomever said his name, until he heard the person gently say, "You're Nico di Angelo... Right?" he looked up and she shrank away.
She was short, shorter than Nico (who was pretty short). Her skin was dark, and she had frizzy extremely curly hair, with dyed golden streaks down the black locks. She had big hazel eyes, they were an extreme contrast to her dark skin, making them look almost golden. "This is Hazel. She transferred from my old school."
Fitting name.
She smiled a little, and he waved his hand, acknowledging her.
As he turned around and began walking to the tables, he could hear Hazel talking to Jason, explaining how to get a lunch. People glanced at him as he passed their table, heading to the one nearest to the left wall, which was empty.
On the first day, it had a few students sitting there, and when Nico had sat down, they had gotten silent. The next day, it was empty.
He sat down beside the wall, and kicked his feet up, propping them against another seat. He took out his iPod, and put in one earbud. In a few slides and clicks, Let's Go by Stuck in the Sound began blasting.
After he few minutes, he let himself smile a little. He guessed that after all Jason didn't want to talk to him.
Good, he thought. He could be left alone now.
He opened his eyes a little, only to jump hard and fall out the circular seat and slip backwards into the crevice that met the wall and the seats. Jason sat in the seat in front of him, chewing on a turkey sandwich.
When he fell, his iPod slipped from it's resting place on the table, and suddenly in a swift movement, Jason was standing, catching the device, yanking the earbud from the dark boy's ear as he let out a loud oof! as he landed.
He must have looked hilarious, with his feet sticking up in the air.
Jason set down the spared from damage iPod, and covered his mouth, muffling a loud snort as he tried not to laugh. Growling when Jason reached out a hand to help him, he slapped his hand away and pushed himself up.
His back ached from the fall. He looked around the room dangerously, a few tables noticed, and the had their hands clasped over their face, holding in laughter, their bodies shaking. He looked back at Jason to glare at him for laughing, but he found otherwise.
Jason was staring at him. For a moment, Nico stared as well as he took in his face. All he had seen was the side of his face, or glancing up at him, he never really properly looked at anyone for long.
He saw things he didn't notice before, like the dark freckles that dotted his nose, or how shocking his eyes actually were. He was surprised he didn't notice the scar on his upper lip, it set off his features, attracting your eyes to the small scar, it being in such an odd place.
He also noted that he was wearing a purple shirt (he'd never guess a macho guy like that'd wear such a bright color.) Jason would have even looked like a football player if it weren't for the glasses, which made him look more intelligent and observing.
He was so clean-cut.
Nico hated him.
He hated everything about him, the way he looked, the way he acted, he was to nice and he looked like the guy with the perfect family, that always had good money and perfect grades. He'd probably join a sport and get the most attractive girl in school as a girlfriend.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Nico snapped. Jason looked down at his sandwich for a moment, silent. When he looked back up, he was smiling.. His small eyes were crinkled, his scar was stretched slightly as he smiled. Confused, he put his feet back on the chair and leaned against the wall. Nico raised his eyebrows. "You're a good guy-- I can tell."
Nico laughed and ran his hands through his hair, casting another look at Jason.
"I don't care what you say, man. I'm your friend." He pushed up his glasses that were beginning to slide down his nose and smirked at him again.
Silence stretched on to a minute as Nico was speechless. Suddenly, Jason spoke: "Why aren't you eating?"
"It's none of your business." Jason raised his eyebrows expectantly, frowning.
"I don't have money."
"Why don't you just bring food from home?"
"..."
Nico could just feel the guy judging him as he didn't reply. Jason slid half of his sandwich towards him and tossed an apple, in which Nico caught warily.
Jason smiled again.
It wasn't a smile with teeth, people smiled all the time, but the kindness in his expression simply caught him off guard.
"I can't accept this."
"Yeah, you can." Jason crossed his arms. "And you will. No take backs, sorry."
He picked up the sandwich and examined it. Turkey with lettuce and mayo.
Glancing at Jason once, he leaned down and took a bite. Somehow, the sandwich was the best thing he'd ever tasted. "Thanks." He said curtly.
Jason nodded, and as he took another bite, he asked, "Why did you leave Italy? You still have a slight accent, so it must have been no longer than a few years ago. Why America?"
"Ti capita mai di smettere di parlare?" Nico muttered. "My mom and my sister and I couldn't afford living there anymore. Poverty problems."
Jason nodded, leaning back in his chair.
"How'd you get that scar on your lip there?" Nico said.
Jason leaned forward suddenly, bringing his face inches from Nico's laced his fingers under his own chin, and whispered, "Wanna know how I got these scars?" Before he could stop himself, he chuckled, and mentally cursed himself. Jason laughed too, it was low, and had a ring to it, and seemed kind of like a rare thing, like electricity splitting through the air.
He leaned back and threw his hands over his shoulder, and put his hands on the back of his head. "Don't laugh, man."
"As if,"
Jason smirked, before looking to the side and saying, "I... I tried to eat a stapler when I was two." Nico covered his mouth as laughter escaped, his body shaking as he imagined it. "Who let you near a stapler?"
"My sister Thalia, I know, great sister, right?"
"She should work on that."
Jason laughed again.
After that, they had simple conversations, Nico found himself smiling or chuckling occasionally. When the bell rang, Nico did not glare ahead as Jason walked beside him, instead he had a regular expression, listening to Jason talk.
Once they got into the classroom, Jason waved his hand and excused himself as he threw his bag over his shoulder and told Nico bye.
As people filed out, Nico stared for a moment at his retreating figure, shocked.
What just happened?