"Neeks, finally back from the hospital I see." Jason grinned.

"Yeah well," Nico shrugged.

"Oh hey," Leo looked at Nico, "I've been wondering. Why did you save that Percy guy?"

"I just... did. Nothing more nothing less."

"Yeah but--"

"I said, nothing more, nothing less."

"Fine."

--

Percy slowly sat down on his bed, running his hands through his hair.

Why did they save him? More importantly why did Nico save him?

He should've just let him die.

He would've been fine with dying.

He would've been happy with dying.

He had nothing left to hold onto. Dying wouldn't be so bad. He'd accept it.

Percy stared blankly at his wall. If everything was gone...

Why wasn't he?

Why was he the one to survive?

His trust in the world was gone. His faith in humanity had vanished, and he had fallen. And he could absolutely promise.

That he was not okay.

--

"Oh!" Nico turned his head, smiling at Percy, "Hi Per-"

Percy immediately looked away, spinning around on his heel and walking away from Nico.

Nico frowned, running towards him. "Percy! Percy come on. Did I do something?"

Percy turned his head away from Nico as the boy walked beside him.

"Percy..."

Percy shook his head before speeding up, running away from Nico.

"I..." Nico bit his lip, watching him go. What had happened? He had almost made progress in befriending Percy.

"Whoa." Jason laughed, walking up to Nico. "Guess he really hates you. Hey, Leo, let's go pick on him!"

Leo smirked, "What do you think we should do?"

"Don't mess with him. Like me, he just got released from the hospital." Nico looked at the two.

"Exactly. Knock a man when he's down. It just makes it funnier."

"Jason-"

"SEE YA NICO!" the two ran off, leaving Nico on his own.

Nico shook his head. He didn't know why he dealt with those two idiots.

He wanted to be alone, but of course the King of highschool couldn't be left alone. Not ever. Soon a crowd of people were around him, asking him questions and being all friendly, probably hoping to get in with Nico and his 'crowd.'

But at the moment Nico didn't want to be around them or anyone in his stupid crowd. Honestly he just wanted to quit. Maybe he could get expelled... no. That wasn't an option. He had to graduate, and once he did he could be away from all this... all this hell that's his life.

He mostly wanted to graduate at the top of his class. Wanted to be good enough so that he could get a scholarship to some major college. After college maybe he could get a job, a very successful job that payed quite well. Or he could just go into modeling, like he wanted to when he was younger.

The modeling option sounded better.

--

"Hey Percy! Nice place!"

Percy turned his head, his eyes widening as he stared at his window.

Nico had managed to somehow find out where Percy lived and had now climbed in through his window. Thing was, the house Percy currently was living in was a four story house, counting the basement.

"Hey, I know. Me tracking you and your house down. Kinda stalkerish. But it's totally for a good reason!"

Percy tilted his head slightly, sitting down on his bed.

"Okay I don't have a good reason. I just wanted to know why you didn't talk to me today! I mean, well, you never actually talk to anyone but- Oh you know what I mean."

Percy just slowly nods. He had been in the middle of treating an injury Jason and Leo had given him earlier that day.

"So... how come you acted like you did to me at school?" Nico asked.

Percy bit his lip, shaking his head.

"Oh. You don't wanna tell me. That's fine. Not like I climbed three stories up here to get my answer."

Percy glanced at Nico. Now he just felt bad...

"Laugh! I was joking. Or... did you find it funny? God it's impossible to tell with your eyes covered."

So Percy's attempt to hide him and his emotions did work. They said your eyes were the key to your soul, and Percy definitely wanted to keep that key hidden. Whoever said that was probably right, too. He could have a pretty close guess as to what Nico was thinking just by looking at his eyes and his expression.

"This conversation is so one-sided. Well actually that's sort of expected because you don't talk but I mean," he shrugged, "maybe... we could communicate with a pen and paper? Do you have any?"

Percy hesitantly walked over to a small desk in his room, opening one of the draws to reveal a small, rectangular whiteboard and a blue whiteboard marker.

"Perfect," Nico nodded.

Percy walked over to his bed without a sound. He sat down on the bed, leaning against the bed post. Percy gently tapped a spot on the side of the bed.

Nico walked over, sitting down and turning to face Percy, giving him a small and friendly smile.

Percy bit his lip and uncapped the marker. He gently clicked the cap of it onto the back and began to write.

When he was done he turned the board around, the blue color spelling out the words, 'Why?'

Nico held out his hand, silently asking for the whiteboard and marker. But instead of handing them over Percy simply gave him a puzzled look, erasing the 'Why' and writing something else.

'You can talk. You don't need the board.'

Nico held out his hand again and Percy slowly placed the board and marker in it

'Because... if for the moment you can't talk, then I won't either. I want this conversation to have two people. Not one.'

He slid the stuff back to Percy.

Percy stared down at the board for awhile, the both of them quiet. His eyes flickered back up to Nico and he realized the boy was just watching him. He didn't seem bored, he didn't seem impatient, just... curious. Percy still didn't understand. Nico could talk. He could speak. He could use his vocal chords and talk with an actual voice. Nico didn't have to rely on a smile, or a frown, or... a silly little whiteboard to let people know what he wanted to say. He could just say it. Why go through the trouble of taking the time to write something if you could just speak it?

After a few minutes Percy picked the two objects up again, writing down the word 'Why' yet again.

'I told you,' Nico wrote back.

'I don't understand,'

'You don't have to.'

'Why?'

'You don't.'

Giving up on getting an explanation he would actually get Percy decided to move onto another subject, but he didn't know what.

Nico erased his last words on the board and wrote something else down.

'Did Jason and Leo give you a hard time today?'

'Yes, but I am okay.'

'Define okay for me.'

'My okay.'

'Is that the same as mine?'

'I doubt it.'

'You're kind of mysterious, you know?'

'.'

'What happened there?' Nico raised an eyebrow as he passed the whiteboard back to Percy who merely shrugged, writing his answer.

'Nothing to say to that.'

'. can be everything, you know.'

'Not to me.'

'.'

'.'

'I'm sorry for Leo and Jason.'

'I know.'

'They didn't always used to be like that.'

'I know.'

'Something happened.'

'Do you know?'

'I have a guess.'

'I do, too.'

'Maybe our guess is the same.'

'Maybe.'

'What time is it?'

Percy pointed up to the clock hanging on the opposite side of the room.

Nico nodded, '8:50.'

'Won't your family be worried?' Percy asked.

'I don't know. Maybe.'

'Go home, Nico.'

'Trying to get rid of me?'

'...Yes'

'Ouch'

'Goodbye, Nico.'

'Bye, Percy.' Nico gave him a small, mock salute and set down the whiteboard, heading to the window.

Percy slowly pointed to the door.

Nico nodded slightly, "Right..." he walked over to the door.

Percy waved goodbye and Nico just waved back, "See you at school, Percy."

He nodded and just like that Nico left, closing the door behind him.

Percy looked down at the whiteboard on the bed, studying Nico's handwriting. Just... staring at those last two words. Nico had beautiful handwriting. Percy had never noticed that before. The way some letters would curve in the most alluring way. It was like art with letters.

Instead of erasing the whiteboard he got up, walking over to his desk and gently setting it down, staring at it for a few more seconds.

As he headed back to his bed he couldn't help but wonder.

Even if he had been ignoring Nico, why would the King of Highschool care, or even care enough to visit?