CHAPTER SUMMARY
The di Angelos prepare for Thanksgiving.
BEGINNING NOTES
Word Count: 3121
Content Warning: None
Did I forget to post yesterday? Yes, but what else is new?
This one's a little longer than usual, but I couldn't trim it down any more.
And all the characters are owned by Rick Riordan.
Credits at the end.
I'm back, bitches. Where you at, B?
The whole fake dating thing.
Oh, yeah. That's so weird to think about now. Why did you agree to it?
Because it sounded like a good idea at the time. How the fuck was I supposed to know you liked him? You weren't out to me yet, and you were the one who was trying to set us up in the first place!
Excuses, excuses.
Whatever. I'm getting on with the story.
Nico came down around one to help get everyone out of the house. We started cleaning around 1:30. All my friends helped us out; Hazel and Reyna chipped in, too. I found the opportunity to pull Hazel aside and talk to her about Nico. I explained that he was having a bad night, and she shouldn't take what he said to heart. She kept nodding and saying "okay," but I don't think she really heard me. She looked miserable.
"How did things go with Frank?" I asked her, trying to lighten the mood.
"It... didn't work out," Hazel said. Her eyes were on the floor. I wanted to press her for more, but I also knew how bad heartbreak hurt. So, instead, I hugged her, told her everything would be all right, and let her get back to Reyna.
Everyone crashed at our place, except Jason and Piper. They lived close enough to walk home, and Leo convinced Jason to go. We were all crossing our fingers that he'd finally ask her out. All alone on a warm summer night with the stars and a full moon? Classic rom-com.
I tried to convince Thalia to sleep in my room, but she wanted to spend the night with Luke. Eventually, I had to let it go--she'd get angry at me if I insisted. Besides, Thalia talked a big game, but she could be... fragile about certain things. I knew she was in a bad place right now. It wasn't worth it to upset her.
We decided that Nico would stay in my room, and Percy and Grover would have his. I expected Percy would want to spend the night with Annabeth, but I think it was a "bros before hoes" situation.
It ended up being a good thing, though, because Nico and I finally got to talk.
I couldn't sleep, despite how late it was. I couldn't stop thinking about Thalia. How could I help her? Was Zoë right? Would it ruin her life? Not if I could help it.
I thought Nico was asleep, until he said, "Do you know what this reminds me of?"
"What?" I asked.
He rolled over so he was facing me. I did the same. "When we were kids, how I'd sneak into your room sometimes when I had a bad dream. Do you remember?"
"I'd take out a flashlight and make shadow animals to cheer you up," I said. "Then you'd tell me stories about... that game, what was it called?"
"Mythomagic," he reminded me. He laughed, and I teared up. It had been a long time since he laughed. "God, I was obsessed with that game," Nico said. "I had all the action figures, except Hades."
"Mamma, Papà, and I looked for you," I remembered. "I saved up all my allowance so I could get him. But he was so rare, even in America. We couldn't find it anywhere in Italia."
My voice cracked, and I started to cry. I couldn't help it. I heard Nico get out of bed. The next thing I knew, he was hugging me. "Whatever it is, it's okay," he said.
"I miss being happy," I whispered. "I miss being an actual family."
"Me too," he said, "but at least we have each other. I swear, Bianca, you'll always have me."
"How can you be sure?" I asked. "After what happened to Mamma and me, how can you be sure about anything?" I tried to wipe the tears from my cheek, but they kept coming. "I just want my family back together again."
"Me too," Nico said.
"Then why do you do this?" I asked. "Nico, why don't you try?"
"I-- I don't know," he admitted. "Do you ever... like, feel like you forgot how to be happy? Because I do, all the time." He took a shaky breath. ""I know we've never talked about it, but... do you know what happened to me while you were in a coma? I needed Papà, but-- but he kept pushing me away. It was like, he looked at me, and all he saw was Mamma, all he thought about was you. I-- I tried to get his attention, and you know what he did? He told me he couldn't handle me, and he threw me in the psych ward. When the doctors told him I could come out, he kept saying, 'Are you sure? I have a lot to do for my daughter, could he stay a little longer?' He didn't want me anymore. He doesn't love me, Bianca, he loves you."
"That's not true!" I protested. "He told me we were his world, Nico. Both of us."
"Actions speak louder than words," he said bitterly. Silent tears fell down his cheeks. When he spoke again, his voice was higher pitched, more vulnerable, more terrified. "I want him back so bad, but every time I try... And now he goes and does this. I hate Persephone. She's ruining what little we had."
"Talk to him," I begged. "Tell him what you're telling me. Don't let him slip away."
Nico sniffed. "He's already gone."
Nothing much happened in the next few weeks. Jason, of course, had chickened out again when he walked Piper home. Percy got more and more determined to get these two together. He came up with this plan where he'd slip notes into Piper's locker as her "secret admirer," hoping that she'd be on the lookout for someone who had a crush on her and finally pick up on Jason's not-so-subtle hints. Piper assumed someone was messing with her, so this did absolutely nothing.
Thalia still didn't tell anyone she was pregnant. Every day at lunch I waited for her to say something, but she never did. Zoë, Phoebe, Naiomi, Celyn, and I had more than a few meetings before practice to discuss the situation. We did our best to be supportive, but what could we do when she wouldn't tell us anything? We almost caved and asked Coach Artemis for advice. Almost.
Will became a regular visitor at our house. My friends, of course, tortured me to no end about my new "boyfriend." Thalia did the whole "if you hurt her, I kill you," (Will was terrified), Annabeth offered to do some detective work on his life in North Carolina (I told her no, that was probably illegal), Piper and Leo offered me relationship advice (I passed Piper's on to Jason), and Jason did everything in his power to make Will feel welcome (read: went completely overboard). Percy and Will became pretty good friends, too.
Unfortunately, every time Will tried to talk to Nico, it would go south pretty fast. It was like he was avoiding him.
I was.
I know. If anything, things were getting worse with Nico. He outright refused to talk to Persephone or Papà, said barely anything to Hazel, and I was seriously concerned he had a drinking problem with how many times I caught him drunk. I was desperate. In my head, I kept hearing Will's advice from the first day of school: "You can't help someone who isn't willing to help themselves." What if he was right?
I was dreading Thanksgiving. It was the one day a year that Nico and Papà were forced to look each other in the eye. Now, Persephone and Hazel would be there, and Demeter, too. At least Percy, Sally, and Sally's husband Paul would be there--Percy was usually a calming influence on Nico--but I doubted that would be enough. What was going to happen?
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I decided I had to talk to someone. I had a lucky break. Coach Artemis noticed something was wrong with Thalia and pulled her aside. I hung around after practice and watched their little meeting. Coach Artemis took her hand and said something, then Thalia hugged her hard. I was relieved. It looked like she'd finally told someone about the baby. Even if she wasn't ready to open up to the rest of us, she had someone looking out for her.
I called Thalia's name when she passed by. "Are you coming to Thanksgiving this year?" I asked. She and Luke usually did since both of them were estranged from their families. Thalia's dad left her unstable mom pretty early on. When she died in a drunk driving incident, her stepmother refused to let Thalia step foot in their house. Her dad didn't stick up for her. She was twelve. She lived in a foster home for a bit but ran away pretty quickly. Now that she was eighteen, the government couldn't do anything about her anymore. I didn't know Luke's story, but I imagined it wasn't a happy one either.
Yay! More tangents no one cares about!
I thought you were done with the shitty commentary.
Neveeeeeerrrrr!!!
Thalia told me she and Luke would be there. I asked if we could have a private conversation, and she agreed without a second thought. I told her about my worries with Nico. She listened carefully. It was nice to have my best friend back, even if it wasn't long. She'd been so distant lately.
"What's going to happen will happen," Thalia told me. "You're good at diffusing situations and you know Nico better than I do. If things get ugly, you and Percy can handle it. Invite Will, too. He's good with people."
"Thalia," I said, "That's a great idea."
I raced to the front of the school. I was so excited--this was the perfect opportunity for Will and Nico to bond. Nico would be avoiding the adults so much he'd have to talk to Will, if for no other reason than to look busy. I knew Will would agree to have Thanksgiving with us. From what I could tell, he wasn't very close to his dad, and he'd told me that his mom couldn't afford to come up, and he couldn't afford to go home. I'd offered to lend him the money, but he refused.
Will agreed to spend Thanksgiving with us; he was pretty happy about it like I'd predicted. I told Percy and Nico as soon as Jules-Albert slammed the door shut. Percy was ecstatic. Nico didn't say a word.
I was freaking out. I'd already have to spend Thanksgiving with Percy, and now I'd have to deal with Will too. Both of my crushes in the same place for the entire day... it was hard enough riding in the limo with them, and I got to go to my room as soon as my feet hit the ground. I'd have to watch Will and Bianca be all lovey-dovey at dinner. It was gonna be torture.
Would you like to take over, then? I think they'd love to hear about your torture.
Sure.
I swear, one day cameras are going to pop out of the walls, and some announcer is going to tell us our entire lives have been a reality TV show. We can't go two weeks without something insane happening. Usually, it's bad, and it's happening to me.
That's not-- okay, yeah, it's totally true.
Ha ha! My sister finally admits it!
Get on with the Thanksgiving from Hell, or I'm going to take over again.
Now that would be a tragedy.
Sarcastic asshole.
I'd spent all week mentally preparing for Thanksgiving. I was super stressed about it; I'd gone through an entire pack of cigarettes in, like, three days. Part of me wanted to smoke some pot and go through Thanksgiving high, but Percy was going to be there. I could never make a fool of myself in front of Percy.
Because Bianca decided to stay late at practice, it was just Percy and me alone waiting for Jules-Albert. My heart was racing the entire time. I'd thought about this moment for weeks. I knew I'd never get Percy to look at me the way I looked at him, but that sure as hell didn't mean that I didn't try.
I fixed my hair and clothes and checked my breath like I always did. Then, I ran to meet Percy as he jogged across the grass. "Hey, Percy!" I called. My hands were already shaking.
"What's up, Nico?" Percy replied.
When we reached the road, I knelt on the ground and unzipped my backpack. I couldn't look at him as I talked. "I, um, I got you something. 'Cause, you know, I'm thankful you're my friend."
"You didn't have to do that!" I looked up. That was a mistake-- he was grinning at me. I almost fainted.
I grabbed the envelope from my bag and threw it into his hands. I watched him open it. He pulled out two tickets, and his mouth fell to the floor. "Oh my god, Nico, I can't take this. This must've cost you a fortune."
I told myself to act natural. I forced out a very unnatural chuckle, but Percy didn't seem to notice. It was a curse and a blessing how oblivious he was sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Percy's incredibly smart, but when it comes to other people... yeah, not so much.
The word you're looking for is "slow on the uptake."
Those are four words.
Don't start this again. It's. A. Saying!
"My father owns a record label," I reminded Percy, doing my best to sound casual, like I was teasing him. It didn't work. "I talked to Thanatos; he knows Fall Out Boy's manager, it was super easy to get backstage passes. Don't worry about it."
That was a lie. In reality, I broke into Papà's office when he wasn't home--he never was--and went through his contacts until I found the right people. I had to pretend to be him, make up some bullshit story, and it cost an arm and a leg to basically bribe their manager, but it was in the name of love. Stupid, destructive, fucking love. Two All-Access tickets to Fall Out Boy. Percy's favorite band.
I was hoping he'd ask me to come with him. It would be like a date. Maybe it would even turn into one.
"Thank you, Nico!" Percy said. "Annabeth is going to love this!" My heart sank. Then, to make things worse, Percy corrected himself and said, "Unless you want to come. We'd totally have a great time."
"No," I forced myself to say, "Take your girlfriend. Enjoy yourself." All the magic of the moment was gone. "You know what?" I said. "I think I'm actually going to walk home."
"It's freezing," Percy protested.
"It's fifty degrees," I replied.
"That's still too cold," Percy said. "C'mon, man, I don't have a jacket or anything."
"You want to come with me?" I asked, startled.
"Sure. Besides, Bianca would freak if I let you go on your own." He pat my shoulder. My brain went completely blank; I might as well've been dead.
Because, as usual, I couldn't say no to Percy, I went into the limo. Bianca told us that Will was coming for Thanksgiving. I felt miserable. I tried not to look at Will holding Bianca's hand. I failed.
As usual, I ignored Persephone's "hello" when we walked through the door. I went straight to my room, ready to drown my problems in alcohol of the umpteenth time, when I heard crying from Hazel's room.
The door was slightly open, so I could see inside. Hazel was on her bed, staring at her phone. She texted someone something, threw her phone down, and buried her face in her pillow.
Hazel was, hands down, the sweetest person I'd ever met. When I snapped at her, she'd ask me what she could do to help. When I was drunk, she'd give me water and text Bianca. She'd warn me when Papà was home so I could sneak up to my room and avoid a fight. She cracked jokes, and sometimes I'd smile.
It was at that moment as I watched her cry that I realized how much she'd grown on me. My blood boiled. I vowed then and there that I would figure out the jerk that was hurting her and make them pay. No one messed with my sister.
I decided to do something I'd never done before: talk to her.
I had to say her name three times. When she finally looked at me, I saw that her eyes were red. She sat up and tried to smile at me.
"Like that's going to convince me you're all right," I said. She looked hurt until she realized I was teasing her. She laughed a little, but more tears leaked out. I sat next to her. "Tell me what's wrong."
I thought she'd tell me to get lost. Then, she said, "What do you do when you have to hurt someone?"
"What kind of hurt are we talking about?" I asked. "No offense, but I don't think you can take anyone in a fight." Hazel bit her lip. "You don't have to tell me everything," I said, "But give me an idea of what's going on."
"Frank asked me out at the party in August," Hazel said, "But I said no. And now there's this other guy. I don't want Frank to hate me."
"Do I know this guy?" I asked.
"Maybe. His name's Octavian," she told me.
"He's your grade's secretary, right? In student gov?" I asked. She nodded. "I heard he's a slimeball."
"I know the rumors, but I have to give it a shot," she said.
"Do you want to, though?" I asked.
She looked at her lap. "Yeah."
"You're a terrible liar," I said.
"I'm going to say yes," Hazel told me, her voice breaking. "I just have to!"
"Fine," I forced myself to say. I knew I couldn't change her mind. "If something feels off, you gotta break up with him, okay? I don't want you to get yourself hurt."
Hazel's eyes teared up again, but, this time, it wasn't 'cause she was sad. She jumped on me, hugging me hard. Then, just as quick, she pulled away and apologized. "I know you hate people touching you."
I grinned at her. "I don't mind so much when you do it."
She hugged me for a long time after that.
END NOTES
This week's beta commentary:
STORY: I could never make a fool of myself in front of Percy.
JOJO: Nico don't challenge the universe by saying shit like that
MELODY: I think the universe is already rigged against him anyway
Credits:
Author: Melody Rose (https://melody0rose.tumblr.com)
Beta Readers:
Jojo (archiveofourown.org/users/bannedfrompencils/pseuds/bannedfrompencils)
Luna Rain (https://peppermintlove1.tumblr.com)
Oli (https://http://paradoxicalpsychic.tumblr.com)
Please comment so I know what you think! See you next week!