It has been a week since Percy had received the heart-quaking news that Nico loved him back, and still, he couldn't quite digest that information. Swallowing the news like it was true in a second was impossible to the green-eyed boy. Because acknowledging that Nico, the Nico di Angelo, liked him back felt like he was in somebody else's body, living in a dream.

So here he was, dangling his feet over the edge of the school's swimming pool, trying to know himself in the place he was. Goode High School's competition had ended, the winner being, of course, Will Solace. When he had received his rewards, he had a crooked smile playing on his lips, but besides that, he didn't seem thrilled whatsoever by winning.

Percy was used to pretending to be happy, and the expression was so noticeable in the blonde's statuesque face's features. As scary as it was, he could even see a part of himself in Will's reflection.

He was perfectly aware of how the more time he let pass dawdling behind, lingering in his thoughts, the more time he let Nico slowly stray away from him, but he couldn't quite lay a finger on how he would apologize, or confess.

Nevertheless, Percy was trying to find back some of his old self, amalgamating small pieces of him he left behind to find an answer that lay in the future. Because in these past few weeks, all he did was mope around the school like a zombie, pushing the blame outwards when all the guilt was squeezing the breath out of his lungs.

A fist closed around his heart as the painful memories flooded back in him.

He hoped swimming would help him clear his thoughts, just like how the clear water would wash against his body, making his skin glisten with a thin sheet of chlorine water. The past week, he had spent observing Nico, and the more he noticed, the more he missed him.

Taking a deep breath, Percy dived into the water, his perfect posture making the water stay serene around him as he felt it engulf him in the warmness of the small sea.

Bubbles rose from his face to the top of the water as the green-eyed boy gazed at the patterns the light made at the bottom of the swimming pool, mesmerized.

The feeling of the cold, yet hot, water basking him in the warm lights above was something he had missed. Sensing the small waves caress his toned body felt like greeting an old friend.

The muffled sounds from above made Percy giggle slightly— he had missed this.

Swaying with the current, the black-haired teen rose to the surface, breaking it with water droplets dropping around him like rose petals thrown at a wedding. Raising his arms while kicking his legs with enough force to drive himself forward, Percy started his swim, loving the feeling of the water enveloping him as he moved towards the other end of the swimming pool, each breath he took feeling like the first. The way he moved so gracefully— it was like he was the water.

As he touched the wall, Percy inhaled and caught his breath as he slid back into the rippling water. Months he had spent without doing this, too caught up in the fantasy of being with Nico di Angelo, and Percy had almost forgotten how much he loved this. For a split second, he regretted not joining the competition. It didn't matter if he could have won or not— just being in the water felt like returning to a home he had left for too long. Maybe he should have listened to Piper and Annabeth, maybe he could have had a good time after all.

But maybes won't bring him back to the past. He had to vanquish his uncouth thoughts of before if he wanted to relish the future.

Percy's head broke the surface once again as he gasped a deep breath, the smell of bitter chlorine and shampoo filling his lungs. Diving back in, he was swallowed whole as the water wrapped him in a loose embrace, kissing at his skin as he swam further, his only goal being to keep going.

After a few more longing minutes of sharp inhales and bubbles swimming to the pool's surface, Percy sat back on the edge of the pool, his toes dipping into the cool water. Accustomed to the feeling of the cold air puffing at his wet skin, he ran a hand through his soaked tousled hair, relishing how the wet tufts of hair felt on his nimble fingers.

He was prepared to plunge back into the aquamarine environment when a masculine voice interrupted his thoughts, dragging him back to reality. "Hey, Percy."

Slightly startled, he snapped his neck back, trying to catch a glimpse of the words' owner. Behind him, sitting on a bench, was a tan boy with an athletic build and fleecy sunshine-blonde hair falling in his blue eyes that glinted like gemstones gracefully, a feature Percy could never have. He smiled at him, and the green-eyed boy realised with a jolt that this was the type of charming grin that looked so affectionate that it seemed to tell you everything would be okay. He suddenly understood why Nico di Angelo held him so dear in his heart.

"Uh... hi, Will."

The freckled teenager chuckled— the sound seeming deep yet feminine at the same time. Percy felt slightly intrigued, but also slightly annoyed. Why was he here? To show-off?

But surprisingly, the black-haired boy didn't feel hatred sparking in his chest. The jealousy had started to fade away, despite Percy's feelings for Nico still clinging on for dear life.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Will said sincerely, dimples appearing on his soft, freckled skin as he smiled apologetically.

"It's okay, I just didn't expect anyone to be here after... you won and everything." Percy finished hastily. But he was being honest, because he had no idea what Will was doing here, and he felt like if the guy didn't explain himself soon, he would catapult himself out of the place as soon as possible. He already felt the unease of socialising.

Will Solace laughed, but there was no amusement in his voice. "I don't think I deserved it, and don't think I'm saying that because I expect you to shower me with compliments. I actually mean it." he said softly, each word interlacing with the other like they were made for each other. "What about you, though? I saw you swim, you're great, better than anyone else. Why didn't you join?"

Percy looked up from his feet and his bitter green eyes met his curious yet patient blue eyes. He bit his bottom lip. What were Will's ulterior motives? "I just didn't feel like joining."

The answer was pathetic, but the blonde just smiled and didn't say anything else, which just made Percy want to strangle him, because he wanted an answer, and Will was acting like he had all the time in the world. 

He was probably scowling, because Will furtively took the lead of the conversation, seeming stubborn enough to eye Percy skeptically as well. But first, the blue-eyed teenager slipped an envelope from his back pocket and handed it to him.

"Take this, you deserve it way more than me."

Taken aback, Percy's eyes widened as he wondered what was inside that mysterious white envelope, and what Will meant when he said he deserved it more than him.

"W-what?"

It was two plane tickets. To Paris.

Percy was speechless. He couldn't accept this. Will had won these tickets, not him. His stubbornness had cost him the loss of a beautiful opportunity, and he had done nothing to deserve somebody else's prize.

"I— No, I can't—" he spluttered, trying to reason with Will, but no words finding him.

"It's yours. The way you swim— it's incredible." Will smiled, his eyes filling with a sort of childish awe. "Besides, I can't go to Paris. I'm already going to my grandparent's place during summer. I can't just ditch them because I won a competition."

Percy was still fumbling to form coherent sentences, but to no avail.

The blue-eyed teenager pressed the envelope into Percy's palm and left the pool, his hand lingering on his shoulder for a sweet moment.

"I— thank you."

But the words didn't leave Percy's mouth. They stayed there like a promise. One he couldn't break. It was a silent agreement between the both of them.

The green-eyed boy withheld Will's unwavering gaze until he disappeared through the open doors, still leaving a trace of his amity and abnegation behind.

And Percy found himself wanting, for once, to be more like him.

*   *   *

Annabeth sat in front of the school, on the same bench Percy had sat on just a week ago.

How nice of her to have stayed here, waiting for me, he thought as he approached her, running his fingers through his still damp hair.

"Hi, Annabeth." he chirped, an untruthful smile playing on his lips as he tried his best to look as if remorse and thought wasn't devouring his insides.

The blonde looked up brusquely from her book and snapped it shut, her stormy grey eyes lighting up briefly as they met Percy's green ones. "Percy!"

Rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously, his gaze skittered nervously on his surroundings. "Where is Piper?"

Annabeth didn't even seem to ponder the answer as she replied dismissively, seeming to have better things to worry about.

Suddenly, Percy's back pocket felt heavier, and he patted his jeans, feeling the papery outline of the thick envelope still stored safely. It hit him that if he needed to talk to somebody about this, it was Annabeth.

Percy sat down next to his best friend, an impish grin finding it's way to his lips, and a sort of half-hearted blush settled on his rosy cheeks.

"I need to tell you something... about Nico." he confessed, finding it not so painful anymore to recognise his feelings for him. Because somewhere inside of him, a wound was healed with the simple knowledge that Nico loved him— or used to. Maybe somewhere in between.

He took a deep breath, not sure where a swell of desperation came from, but he had acknowledged it now, and it was impossible to ignore, because he had to tell someone, anyone, to escape the wreck of emotions creeping on him.

It felt like a living thing had awakened inside of him from eons of long sleep and rest. It writhed and twisted in his stomach and throat, and the sole need of sharing drove him crazy— because that was how long he had bottled up his secrets.

"He is wordless. Yet beautiful."

Annabeth's erudite grey eyes sparked up with mild curiosity as she continued staring at Percy shamelessly, and suddenly the green-eyed boy felt very small because he had extracted no reaction from her, and the mere silence of it was killing her. He had not realised how much he depended on other people's opinion until he was staring at it in the face.

She seemed hesitant. "D-do you... like him?"

Percy buried his face in his hands, the reality of his words crashing back down at him. Could he confess now, not knowing whether or not it would continue, in front of his best friend?

"Yeah, I do."

Annabeth gave him a small smile and rumpled his hair with her nimble fingers. "I'm happy for you, Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned, punching her lightly yet playfully in the arm. "Bring it on, Wise Girl."

And the both of them laughed their way out of the tight hole of discomfiture where you didn't really know what to say, and for once, Percy was glad he was doing it with Annabeth, because at least she knew something about love and relationships, whereas he was completely clueless.

"I daresay I'm not really surprised." the blonde admitted a few good minutes later, staring at the rare passerby or the vehicles roaring on the road. "I mean, the amount of time you spent with him. You couldn't have been only friends."

Percy raised his eyebrows, a warm blush spreading on his cheeks like wildfire, and he quickly averted his gaze so Annabeth couldn't see. She merely laughed, and Percy couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Honestly, during the swimming competition as well... you should have seen how intently you were looking at Nico." she continued, smirking at him. "And when you asked me about Will... you were dead quiet."

"No one plans a murder out loud." Percy said, and the blonde laughed.

He paused to take a breath. "No but actually... I was wrong about Will. He isn't that type of guy at all. Plus..." Percy removed the envelope from his pocket. "He gave me the plane tickets."

Annabeth's eyes widened as she snatched the envelope from Percy's trembling hands, and opened them, her gaze sparkling with awe. "Oh my— Percy, you're really lucky, you know!"

She withheld his gaze. "Who are you going to bring with you? There's two tickets."

Percy smiled sadly. "I wish I could ask him... but I don't know anymore."

Annabeth held the green-eyed boy's hand and squeezed it. "I guess you know what to do now."

"Yeah," Percy said. "I do."

∆    ∆    ∆

hey y'all!

back at it again with the cOrOnAvIrUs

honestly i just want to chill until i get quarantined so like :P

stay safe, ily guys!!!

-drakonator