Warning: Mentions of abuse and implied child death. Swearing. Missing people. Mentioned suicide.
Nico di Angelo was a sophomore.
A sophomore with a crush on a junior who barely even acknowledged him anymore.
Said junior used to be his best friend.
They had saved him from a very dark time in his life, only to up and leave a couple years later.
High School. The source of Nico's pain.
Percy Jackson - the junior Nico loved deeply - had dropped Nico the minute he found a friend there.
Being a year younger than Percy, Nico was still stuck in middle school. He could do nothing but watch as Percy slipped through the gaps of his fingers.
He had to watch him slowly walk away, taking Nico's heart with him.
That first year without Percy had been the hardest.
Neither of them had any friends except the other. With Percy gone, Nico was all on his own.
Freshman year, Nico met his first new friend.
Jason Grace.
The overbearing sophomore didn't know when to give up. He continued to push at Nico's walls, hurling himself at them repeatedly until they finally crumbled.
It was then that Nico met his second friend.
Will Solace - another freshman - helped Nico come to terms with being gay.
Watching Will practically flaunt his own bisexuality left Nico's mind in shambles.
But then Nico came out and... and honestly, flaunting just felt so good.
Not at school, never at school.
But at the park, on the streets, fuck, even at restaurants, it was flaunting time.
Nico was single, always has been, but the way he got to watch people's mouths drop slightly when he'd clasp hands with Jason, or Will. It gave him such a kick.
It was addicting.
And Jason had been so supportive of him.
Nico really should have seen that coming.
Jason was bi after all.
It was in sophomore year that Percy Jackson first approached him, igniting all these feelings in Nico's chest that he really shouldn't be able to.
Percy had been nervous, shy almost, when he asked Nico if he could start tutoring him in English.
He said he knew how good Nico was in the subject and that none of his friends were any help. He really wanted to improve his grades apparently. Nico didn't know if he understood how much work that would take. Did he really expect so much from one person?
Percy had even offered to pay him.
Despite knowing how little money Percy's family had, and what such an offer meant, Nico declined.
Percy had tried hard to hide the hurt in his eyes. Obviously, he failed. Nico assumed it was purposeful. It was obviously fake.
Percy had no right to feel hurt.
It was a week later that Percy approached him again, seeming desperate.
Nico declined the offer, smiling condescendingly at Percy before walking off.
The same happened a few days later except the payment offer went up.
Nico declined. Again.
The following week, Percy's weekly visits became daily.
Jason had noticed now, asking Nico if he was alright and if he needed him to tell Percy to back off.
Nico said no, he didn't. Besides, it was way too amusing watching Percy beg for help.
The older boy acted as if he hadn't dropped Nico the first chance he got.
The fourth week, Percy took a slightly different approach.
"Please, Nico. I'm struggling and my mom really expects me to do well. Please, please just help me. I can't disapoint her. Not again."
Nico ignored the 'not again' part. What did he mean, 'not again'? Sally Jackson practically worshipped the ground Percy walked on.
With a defeated sigh, Nico accepted, but he said he'd only do it if Percy agreed to pay him 20 bucks every half hour.
Percy gulped nervously, his teeth worrying at his bottom lip.
Eventually, he agreed.
"Yeah, yeah, 20 bucks every half hour. Sure. Thank you so much for this Nico. You're a life saver."
They both knew that the deal was wrong.
It definitely wasn't a fair deal.
But Percy had agreed.
Nico watched Percy walk away with a smirk on his face, feeling like revenge was served, if only a little bit.
Nico had honestly been surprised when Percy handed over $40 after their first session.
The tutoring had lasted an hour. It had been slightly awkward, the time going by fairly quickly.
Nico didn't stop to think about his actions as he drew out their second lesson to an hour and a half.
He'd simply been trying to help Percy as much as he could.
Percy had looked somewhat pained as he handed over the 60 bucks, his hand shaky.
After about three weeks, Nico upped it to two lessons a week, insisting Percy needed a lot more help than he thought.
The comment had made Percy blush, his head bowed in shame.
After having spent two hours with Percy, twice a week, Nico deemed Percy tolerable.
He guessed he had to really, considering they were spending so much time together lately.
There was also the fact that Percy was paying him 160 dollars a week.
What he failed to notice was the way Percy gradually grew thinner, bags living permanently under his eyes.
Percy knew his hard work was paying off when he heard Nico call his work 'surprisingly decent'.
The first thing he'd done was run home, throwing the door to his families' small apartment open in his haste.
It seemed as if he was the first one home so, after dropping his bag by the door, he headed to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Due to Percy paying Nico 160 dollars a week, their meal sizes had started dwindling.
Percy felt bad, he was practically starving his family.
Triton, Percy's eldest brother, was the first one home.
He smiled tiredly at Percy before taking a seat at their tiny kitchen table.
Tyson came running into the kitchen not long after, his loud voice making Triton wince.
Just as Percy was dishing up their food, Leo and Estelle made their way into the kitchen.
Leo was Percy's best friend.
He'd met the boy in freshman year.
The two had just clicked, Percy somehow convincing his mom to Foster Leo after hearing of his current living situation.
Percy wasn't actually sure if their dingy little apartment was an improvement or not, but he hoped Leo was at least happier.
Catching sight of the food on the plates, Leo sent Percy a knowing look that made him duck his head in embarrassment.
Shame pooled deep in his gut, his face flaming brightly.
Leo just shook his head as he helped Estelle into her high chair, the two-year-old immediately starting up a conversation with Triton.
Triton tried not to groan as he listened to both Estelle and Tyson chattering away from either side of him.
Leo smiled, amused, before distracting Tyson with talk about mechanics.
Triton sent Leo a look, a look that literally screamed thank you, before he focused all of his attention on Estelle, listening to her babble away.
Percy placed a plate in front of each of them, placing one in the microwave for when his mom got home.
He took his seat at the small table, having to squeeze in as his chair was pressed right up against the wall.
They all started eating, listening to Tyson's excited chatter before Triton realised Percy wasn't eating.
At Triton's confused glance, Percy just shrugged, his mind still replaying the way Nico said 'surprisingly decent'.
"I'm not hungry."
Tyson stopped talking as Leo threw his fork onto the table, the metal making a loud clang sound.
"What? Just like you weren't hungry yesterday? What about the day before that, huh? Were you just not hungry?"
The whole room was silent, Triton's gaze flicking from one teen to the other. Tyson looked close to tears, not used to hearing anyone shout in their household.
Estelle just looked shocked, mouth open and head tilted. Her eyes were wide as she held back tears, wanting normal Leo back.
Leo's breathing was heavy, filling the silence.
"Leo, I-"
"Save it."
With that did Leo stand up, making his way out of their small kitchen and into the bedroom he shared with Percy, Triton and Tyson.
Percy looked down at his hands in his lap, a tear sliding down his red cheek.
They stayed in silence until a small voice broke it, sounding sad.
"Leo, mad."
Hearing those words out of his sister's mouth, Percy hicupped, more tears falling.
He nodded slowly, hoping to rid his veins of the shame coursing through them.
They sat in silence for another five minutes before Percy stood, kissing Estelle and Tyson on the forehead quickly before making his way out of the apartment.
He had a shift to get to.
The following day at school was weird for Nico. Percy and Leo, one of their school's power duos, were oddly silent, setting everyone on edge.
Percy and Leo were both jokesters.
They hung around with the school's best pranksters, Connor and Travis.
The four were never seen without a smile on their faces, their eyes always full of mischief.
That was one of the reasons Nico had been so sceptical to the idea of tutoring Percy.
Percy was a trouble maker, he always had been.
Connor and Travis spent the day glaring at anyone who even glanced at their friends.
The four of them had met in freshman year.
They'd been sent to the same detention on the second day of school.
If it wasn't for Percy, neither Connor nor Travis would have stayed.
They'd been tasked with litter picking, something that didn't interest the other three in any way.
But then Percy had looked at them with what they'd deemed the 'baby seal eyes' and asked them if they were okay with endangering animals.
Percy seemed very passionate about the topic. He admitted to having a friend who got him into nature and stuff.
He said he'd never really thought about the topic much until they became friends.
But then his friend went missing and was never found.
Percy told them about the promise he'd made to himself.
He wanted to do all he could to help the wild, to help nature. In his eyes, he was redeeming himself to his lost friend.
He'd indirectly guilt tripped the other three boys into helping, forgetting their plans of sneaking off.
The boys had been close ever since then.
They knew everything about each other. They knew that Percy and Leo lived together, knew about Leo living on the streets as he went from foster home to foster home. They knew about his mom, about the day of the fire. They were also told about Leo's aunt Rosa and were always denied the permission to act on their hatred.
They knew about Percy's dad leaving his mom. They knew about Triton being his half-brother on his dad's side, being left to live with a woman he wasn't related to. To someone who, for a while, he despised. They knew about him finding Tyson on the streets, about the way they took him in with no hesitation. They knew he'd convinced his mom to take in Leo too.
What they also knew was that Percy's first stepfather was abusive. They knew him and Triton had grown up trying to protect both each other and their mother. Gabe had been what knocked some sense into Triton, making him realise that his dad's departure wasn't her fault. The poor woman had married a horrible man just so that they could get by, unaware they received the same treatment from him that she did. That her getting a night job only did more bad then good.
They knew about the loss of his little brother, the one Percy didn't get the chance to name before he was ripped away from him. His little arms recoiling at the sight before him. They knew about Percy's fear of losing Estelle. Of having her ripped away from him just as his brother was. They knew about Percy's recent stepdad, Paul. The poor man had gone missing seven months ago, just like Percy's friend.
But Percy and Leo also knew everything about them too. They knew about their brother, Luke, and how he'd been driven to suicide. At the time, they'd been too young to understand. All they knew was that Lukey was gone and daddy was never coming back. May Catellan, the kind woman who loved them as her own, scared them. Over the years, they'd grown used to being mistaken for Luke. It was fine, it supplied them with a loving touch for the short time it lasted.
Each one of them was broken in their own way but, together, they made a whole.
Sometimes it was hard to hide the cracks but the others were there for them to rely on.
What Nico didn't realise was that he'd took a sledge hammer right to the biggest crack.
Seeing as May was out, Connor and Travis invited the other two boys to hang out with them at their house.
They hadn't hung out after school in a long time and Percy knew it was his fault but no one wanted to admit it.
They spent the first half hour they were together awkwardly avoiding eye contact with the others.
But then Travis blinked and Percy and Leo were sharing teary apologies, their frail bodies shaking as they cried. They gripped tightly to each other as they talked, having missed the other dearly despite it being only a day they spent apart.
They then spent the whole night talking and laughing, trying to fill the holes in their chests.
The next thing Percy knew, he was admitting to his tutoring sessions with Nico, his shoulders feeling much lighter as he finished.
Leo actually couldn't find it in himself to be mad. Percy looked terrible. His face was red with embarrassment, his head ducked in shame as he seemed to curl in on himself, trying to become smaller.
All Leo could feel was hatred towards Nico. The boy was a jerk, using Percy like he was when he knew Percy's family had never exactly been well-off.
No wonder Percy had been picking up extra shifts, skipping meals, barely sleeping. He was trying to keep up with Nico's ridiculous payment expectations.
Connor sighed, exasperated. Percy had told them all months ago that he was over Nico.
Percy had liked Nico since the time they first met.
But, at the time, Nico had been so busy battling his internalised homophia that Percy's feelings never mattered to him.
And so, upon his friend's request, Percy distanced himself. Percy didn't want to admit it, but at the time, Nico had been a little toxic. (Or a lot, according to his friends.)
What Nico never knew was that he was the reason Percy left.
Nico had come to depend on his sessions with Percy.
Percy was just so dependable.
Nico didn't know how to feel the next day. He been approached by Percy and told that he wanted to cancel the tutor sessions. Percy said he was pretty sure he had the hang of most things and, if not, he could always find someone else to help him.
Nico hadn't been thinking when he responded, his tone cold and words bitter.
"So, what? You're leaving me? Again? I guess it's what you do, right? Wait for me to depend on you before leaving? Honestly, go fuck yourself."
Percy held back tears as Nico turned to walk away, meeting up with Jason and Will at the end of the hall.
Percy wasn't sure, but he was pretty sure he'd fucked it for real this time.