Nico slammed the door of his father's car, flashing him an unconvincing smile as Hades di Angelo wished him a good day at school.

"Have a great day, and work hard, son."

Nico dared to hope that his day would actually end up like a nice stroll in the apple tree garden, but he knew that the heavens thought this was too much to ask. After all, Nico had spent the whole weekend wondering what in the world would happen if he faced Perseus Jackson again.

He had tried to come up with different plans and schemes, but every intricate second of effort he had put in weaving this masterplan of his had rendered useless because as soon as he had came face-to-face with Percy, his body had froze up and his cheeks had coloured.

What does that mean? Well...

*   *   *

Nico fidgeted with his fingers, staring at the way his hands moved as their (slightly) crazy P.E. teacher Coach Hedge barked orders at them as if they were in the military.

"Listen up, cupcakes!" he said, his voice booming in the gym. "Today, we'll be practicing self-defence. In other words, fighting. It is important that you learn this once you'll be in the outside world, all alone."

Nico wanted to roll his eyes. It was not like demons would hunt you down as soon as you took a step outside. But he didn't complain. It sounded pretty cool. Until Coach Hedge finished his talk.

"You'll be practicing with partners. As you can see, punching bags have already installed in the gym. You can choose with who you'll be with."

The brown-eyed boy's eyes widened as he shuffled on his feet uncontrollably. He saw Piper flash him a reassuring smile, but it didn't help the heavy thumping of his heart. The brunette would definitely choose her girlfriend, and Jason would choose either Reyna or Leo.

It was always like this. His friends always claimed they cared for him, but at the end of the day, he was never their first priority.

Goosebumps appeared across his skin as their P.E. teacher asked each one of them who they chose as their partners to send them off with them. "Annabeth Chase!"

"Piper," she replied, without skipping a beat. Nico rubbed his arms self-consciously. He was definitely going to get chosen last, he was sure of it. As other names were called, he tried to steady his breathing desperately.

"Percy Jackson!"

His heart seemed to stop. He had desperately tried to avoid the impossibly green gaze since the beginning of the lesson, but Percy seemed very keen to make him very uncomfortable , as he hadn't taken his eyes off him since the start.

Nico risked a glance upwards, which he had immediately regretted. Percy seemed to stare right into his soul, his turquoise eyes looking like oceans of melted emerald, his easy, laid-back smile causing him to have a war of hearts. Yet despite all of that, his composure seemed pretty... stiff.

"I choose Nico di Angelo."

Nico froze, his classmates shooting him either an incredulous or envious look as Percy ambled over to him, sometimes wincing in the slightest or seeming stiff. But Nico didn't realise. He couldn't blame the other students for acting so incredulous. He didn't understand what was so peculiar about him either.

"Hey." Percy said, an easygoing grin adorning his graceful lips.

Nico clutched the hem of the thin material of his shirt, feeling his muscles tense. "Why did you choose me?" he asked, the question barely over a whisper. "You don't even know me."

"Are you kidding?" Percy laughed; a clear, beautiful sound that threatened Nico's knees to give in. He paused to take a breath before continuing. "You said goodbye before I even had the chance to say hello."

Nico deadpanned. Percy wasn't lying. Reluctantly yet absentmindedly, he took out the necklace that was hiding under his P.E. shirt and fidgeted with it. "I—"

The green-eyed boy abruptly interrupted him. "I never knew you had that necklace."

Shocked, Nico tightly closed his fist around it, not sure whether his emotions were towards Percy or himself. "I... don't show it that often."

Percy's green eyes glittered dangerously. "Why not?"

"I..." Nico faltered. Could he trust Percy? His mysteriously dark eyes shifted.

The black-haired teenager straightened his back. "Nico, I... I know we haven't talked for a long time— and that what happened Friday night... that probably wasn't the best way for us to meet again."

He laughed bitterly. "Probably not."

He made the mistake to look straight into Percy's pleading green eyes. "I'm sorry, I really am. And I want to start over. Even forget, if you want."

Nico tightened his mouth into a line as his gaze met his. "I guess... if that's what you want."

Percy let out a relieved breath as he beamed at him. "I'm glad, Nico."

He felt the blood pumping towards his face at the words, so he quickly looked away, praying he hadn't noticed. "This necklace belonged to my sister."

"Belonged?" Percy inquired, curiosity evident in his sparkling green eyes. 

Nico lowered his head, trying to focus on anything else than that. The silver necklace was one of the only few belongings he had managed to retrieve from Bianca's bedroom before his father had locked it forever. "I don't want to talk about it."

From the look in Percy's eyes, Nico guessed he got the message. "Oh, right. Sorry I asked." he said sheepishly, the guilt gnawing at his voice.

"Well... let's get it over with, then. We should probably start training now."

Percy stretched his arms. "I've done boxing before. I'm pretty sure I have the hang of it by now. I'll just watch you do it— I can give you advice."

A blush bloomed on Nico's pale face as he trembled— from apprehension or excitement, he didn't know. All miserable thoughts of his sister vanished into thin air, already forgotten as Percy broke the tension with his good laughs and smiles.

"Um, okay."

He approached the punching bag and went into position before experimenting with his fists a little, throwing some couple well-aimed hits at the bag. He set his legs apart, hoping his stance wasn't making him look like a complete fool.

He winced at the new pain rising in his knuckles, but he felt Percy's gaze tearing him apart strand by strand, and he certainly didn't want to come completely undone under his green eyes.

Nico ignored the pain as best as he could as punched until the nails digging into his palms finally drew blood, his chest rising and lowering with his quick breaths. His heartbeats felt like a bass drum in his throat as he felt Percy's presence, right behind him.

"That's good, Nico, but..." Percy placed his hands right above Nico's hips firmly. "Keep tension here, remember."

The dark-haired boy exhaled shakily, the hairs on the back of his neck rising involuntarily as he felt Percy's warm breath on his skin. He could feel the comfortable warmth of Percy's skin on his damp, cool shirt.

His hands left him, which left Nico with a sort of empty feeling in his chest, but that feeling quickly dissipated as Percy slid his hands to his forearms next, guiding his movements as they slowly made progress, their hearts beating as one.

"I know I've already said this, but you can throw a good punch when you want to. But, no offense, there isn't much muscle on you. You should strike more with your knees and elbows. It will bring more damage than weak strikes." Percy advised him, his smirk evident in his words.

Nico had half a mind to hit him, but he was certain his face was a deep red by now, Percy's touch making his skin prickle and his cheeks get hot. "I— uh, thanks." he stammered, hoping that the green-eyed boy didn't see his face, since he was now right behind him.

And that wasn't all. Nico was leaning right back into Percy's strong, sturdy chest, and he could feel the even breaths of the boy as he bit his lip. How could I have fallen for someone like him? he wondered as his back sensed the teenager's chest heaving steadily. He grasped a whiff of the smell of his sweet-smelling cologne.

Percy released his grip on him, and Nico's hands felt clammy as the honey desire for more left him and his eyelashes fluttered restlessly, his head spinning without stopping.

"Hey, you okay?"

The black-haired teenager's crystalline voice broke him from his thoughts, and Nico reemerged from the the surface of the water with a deep inhale, hating, loathing that Percy could turn him into this mess of a state.

"Dear heavens." he murmured through his gritted teeth.

The green-eyed boy raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

Nico let a shallow breath escape his parted lips. "Nothing." he lied. "Just tired, that's all."

He risked a look back and saw Percy unfold his arms and let them dangle by his side. "Well, you worked well. You deserve a break." 

Without meeting his gaze, Nico mustered a small agreement as he sat down, his sweaty back pressed again the gymnasium's wall. He saw Percy give him a lopsided smile in his periphery as he looked down, twisting the lid of his water bottle off.

Nico panted as he drank down the refreshing water, his mind barely processing the rush of his blood heading towards his arms and face. It roared in his ears and hurt his head, so he pressed a few fingers on his left temple, feeling the quick pulse through the cool skin.

He hadn't even registered Percy's sharp intakes of breaths when he raised his head, seeing the well-toned teenager throwing some good punches at the bag. Nico felt his face warm as Percy's eye caught his, and winked.

Abashedly, the dark-haired boy brought his knees up to his chest as he averted his gaze for a split second. Before he knew it, he was already furtively glancing towards Percy, his curiosity and sheer awe for the guy getting the best of him.

And of course the green-eyed boy was looking straight back at him, and the barrier of nothingness yet everything at the same time seemed to collapse instantly, shattering any resentment still deeply furrowed in the very back of both of their minds. Nico smiled coyly, a rosy dust tinting his cheeks. To his pleasure, Percy returned the favour, a genuine smile painting his soft graceful lips.

Nico wondered how he could ever hope to live without him.

*   *   *

As the final bell of the day rang stridently, every student filed out of their classrooms, and suddenly the quiet halls were crowded with too many teenagers for Nico's liking, and it didn't help that more than half of them smelled like repulsive sweat and dirty laundry.

He pushed and elbowed his way through the swarm of students, ignoring the dirty looks and exclaims from them as he made his way out of the hellhole he was in, finally taking in a deep breath as he stepped out of the school's doors.

Leaning against a wall, he swiftly took out his phone from his pocket, checking absentmindedly his notifications. Well, he thought, same deal today as well. Dad's coming to pick me up.

Nico tried to ignore the softest trace of a headache starting to bloom behind his left eyebrow as he heard shuffled footsteps from beside him.

Before he knew it, Percy was standing right in front of him, an almost shy grin plastered onto his easy-going face, but something seemed kind of off, like it was all... forced.

"Hey, Nico."

Nico tried for a tentative smile, but his expression quickly turned brooding again as he saw the look in Percy's eyes. "Um, hi, Percy." he said, wondering why he was talking to him. Hadn't the guy got enough of him for one day?

"So... are you waiting for someone or something?" the black-haired teen asked, his eyes darting self-consciously around his surroundings. Realising this, his spirits slightly dampened, immediately assuming Percy didn't want other people to see him talking to a guy like him. Well of course. What was I thinking, really?

Nico's hand immediately flew up to his necklace, which he started fidgeting with on reflex. "Um, well, actually, yes. I have a ride." 

He furtively glanced at Percy's expression and was surprised to see it crumble slightly under his gaze. "Oh, right... okay." he replied, almost sadly.

Nico instantly regretted his choice of words.

"Um, I mean, from my dad."

"Right," said Percy, nodding.

But as soon as it had came, the forlorn look on Percy's face had disappeared, now replaced by a winning grin. "Well then, do you want to come to Leo's party on Friday? I'll send you the address."

Nico was hesitant at first, but he agreed, seeing Percy's beautiful smile seeming to make him melt entirely. "Sure, I'll go," he paused for a second. "Um, here's my number, you can text me..."

Percy seemed to brighten at those words. "...the address." Nico finished, albeit hesitantly. Percy handed him his phone, and Nico's brown eyes sparkled seeing the glittery green case he had chosen. But he quickly dismissed the thought, typing his number in before returning him the phone. Percy had a wide smile on his face.

"Right." the green-eyed boy shot him finger guns. "Well, bye Nico! See you tomorrow...?"

"See you." Nico smiled.

As soon as Percy walked out through the gate, Nico bit his lip. He had never seen him display such raw emotion before, and it was actually endearing. 

Oh gods, he told himself, What if I actually end up falling for him, in the end?

*   *   *

Percy looked down as he trudged back home, wondering what he would face back there. And he had wanted to walk Nico home... he should have known he had a ride back home.

At least he had gotten his number.

✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.･:*

hey guys!
i haven't re-read this yet, point out any mistakes please!

i hope u are safe in these trying times.
thanks to DarkRosalia for the endless support, you rock :)

- deniiial