WPOV

The last time I saw Nico di Angelo was four days ago.

The way my parents danced around the subject was cruel. The sound of silverware blended with Mom's neighborhood gossip. Dad read headlines from his tablet, sifting through them carefully and sipping his orange juice. I wasn't even listening to the conversation I was supposed to be a part of, because it was all unimportant.

I felt so sick and powerless.

I still didn't know what happened to Ethan and Luke, or why Percy was at the station. My parents weren't letting me leave the house. My phone was being held as evidence, so I couldn't talk to Frank or Juniper or anyone. The person I loved was in infinite danger and there was nothing I could do about it.

A vague statement from the Police Department, minimal coverage on the local news, and my parents' hushed whispers. That was all I had.

My mom knew everything but refused to share it. I don't think she realized how tormenting that was.

How could she assure me that the police were doing everything in their power? She was sitting across from me, nonchalantly eating pancakes as if she didn't realize that there was a case to begin with. Nico might be dead by now. Every minute that wasn't committed to searching for Kronos and Lycaon was a minute wasted.

"You're not being fair."

Silence. The room stilled when they looked at me.

My mom's shoulders slumped with invisible weight burdening her. "It's one of the Police Department's top priorities right now. There's only so much we can do."

"It's more than that. There are things you've been keeping from me, evidence that surfaced after Octavian died. I'm not an idiot - I deserve to know."

"The only people who deserve to know is Nico's family." She said it tiredly, expecting for the subject to drop.

I kept pushing.

Reckless sentences. The consequences didn't matter to me anymore. "You apparently care about his family; what about him? You should have been there for him forever ago, but you weren't."

"You're not being fair. How do you think your father and I feel? You never made it home. When they found you, you were covered in someone else's blood and being held at gunpoint by a lunatic. Mars showed me his bodycam footage, you were fucking traumatized. You still are. And you expect me to show you the rest of it? I almost had to bury you because your nose was where it didn't belong. I'm not making that mistake again."

"You don't get to do that." I snapped, standing up and bracing my hands on the table. "You don't get to twist this, make me feel bad for doing what I thought was right. At least I was doing something."

"What if Kronos took you instead? We could have lost you forever."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Tears made their way down my cheeks while I fought for composure.

My broken voice gave in to honesty. "Nico and I loved each other.... I think you're forgetting that. You're forgetting that I actually did lose someone. Unlike you, I can't spend time imagining that happening any different."

I would have given anything to know Nico was safe. I wanted to trade myself, and I wished Kronos had accepted that. 

I could see my mom softening. My dad put his face in his hands, trying to block this out. It was hurting all of us, but it was so important for them to understand.

"You weren't there." I continued, "You didn't see what I saw."

You couldn't even imagine it.

She was trying to let me down easy, but she was making it worse. "I'm sorry, Will. I know you're worried, but I can't do this. I don't want to see what it would do to you... Maybe Nico will get to tell you one day."

I was shattered. My pieces flew in too many directions to count, emotions warring for dominance as I stood in front of them.

I was angry at my mom. I was angry at my dad, for blindly taking her side like he always did.

I wanted to scream and cry and forget.

I wanted to kill a man that was already dead.

"If you won't help me, then I'll find someone who will." I said, heading towards the door. "I need time."

I was being disrespectful. My dad's voice had an edge to it. "Will, where do you think you're going?"

"Percy's house."

I slammed the door, cutting off my parents' disapproval. I stood on the porch and allowed myself to feel guilty for it, because I knew it wasn't their fault. They were doing the best they could.

But still, they weren't doing enough.

~

I hated the way the world was moving on. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky when it should have been raining.

One foot in front of the other. I stared at the sidewalk. The thoughts whirling around in my head whispered horrible things to me, so I was doing my best to ignore them. I stayed in that trance until I heard voices I recognized.

"Percy! Jason!"

They had been walking together, deep in their own conversation. They quieted when they heard me and stopped in their tracks. I ran across the road to meet them.

"I should go." Jason mumbled. He turned away from me.

I was confused, grabbing his shoulder as a silent question. He spun around too fast, the lightning in his eyes startling me.

"I'm not doing this right now."

"Doing what?"

But I let him leave. I stared at his back as he walked in the opposite direction. Cutting my eyes to Percy, I saw that he was on the verge of tears.

"What happened?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"I told him about Nico... They were close."

I felt my gut twist, Mars wasn't the only one who blamed me.

Percy spoke up again, bringing me back into focus. "This whole thing is a nightmare, the cops told me everything... I saw you at the station the other day."

"What were you doing there?" It came out blunter than I meant it to.

He couldn't look at me.

"The cops showed up at my house. They said they had a warrant for my stepdad's arrest - which wasn't really surprising, to be honest. My mom let them in. Gabe already had some alcohol in him, though, so he tried to get away." He paused, pushing a hand through his hair and taking a breath. "He threatened to kill my mom with a knife. The cops shot him."

"I'm glad your mom's okay... what happened after that? Nico knew who Gabe was, he was scared of him."

Percy hesitated. "I'm not supposed to tell you."

 "Please."

He shoved his hands into his pockets. He knew I how much I wanted answers.

"I went to the station for questioning, After they told me about what happened to Nico, they explained what they found on Octavian's computer. I didn't have to watch the whole video, they just played the audio. I had to identify Gabe and Nico's voices."

"The video-"

"Gabe and some other guy were making Nico hurt people. I heard them give him a kitchen knife and force him to cut someone's eye out."

My eyes widened. Ethan, Luke.

He wiped his face with the back of his sleeve. "That's all I know, but I'm sure there was more on that computer... I barely heard that part, but I'm never going to get the screaming out of my head."

"I'm sorry." I whispered. It was too heavy to be any louder.

"You don't have anything to apologize for."

Yes, I do. I thought to myself. Nico was your friend, and now he's gone.

He pressed something into my hand. A photograph. "I meant to give this to you a while ago, it's one of the ones I sent to Jason." 

It was taken of Nico and I at the park. We were sitting across from each other, his hands in mine. The two of us were laughing at something, but I couldn't remember what it was. I just remembered that it had been a good day.

I had to see him again.

A/N ~ Realtalk: I love WPOV chapters. I have to be in a weird mood to write NPOV lmao

And another thing: I have recently discovered the Voltron fandom. I watched seasons 1 and 2 in one sitting. I did this only three days before season 3 dropped (which was a completely unintentional stroke of luck). I stayed up until 5:30 am to finish season 3 the day it was released. Ever since, I have been watching crack videos, cast interviews, and reading conspiracy theories about the next season. No one I know watches it. I need help. Someone who's seen season 3 talk to me please thanks.

I'm just waiting to have my life back....

Two tags today, so brace yourselves. These A/Ns are always too long

For the first tag, I was tagged by both greekdemigod1234 and FlyingKittysSurf

I refuse to title the entire chapter, but this tag has been deemed "Moped Pidgeon"

1. I haven't quite let go of my childhood dream of being an astronaut. Even though it's very unlikely, I still think about it.

2. *prepares for death* I've never read Harry Potter

3. I actually like long walks on the beach

4. My last three birthdays, I've had pie instead of cake. Pie is superior.

5. I ask my chemistry professors if I can do the labs by myself, just because I don't want to work with anyone else. (I'm easily intimidated) (I still miraculously make A's)

My wallpaper (i hate myself):

I was tagged by greekdemigod1234 to do this tag:

1. Do you have a crush?

Nah.

2. My middle name?

*cringe* Leighann

3. Height

5'6''

4. My shoe size?

Woman's 8

5. Eye color?

Brown.

6. Last time I cried?

When I was thinking about a future chapter of this story ;)

7. Biggest Fears?

Ah, you know. Just the usual - not doing anything important with my life and being forgotten about

8. Last song I listened to?

Pluto - Sleeping at Last

9. Last person I texted?

My younger sister

I'm only tagging a few people b/c I'm hella lazy. Sorry in advance, guys. You don't have to do this if you don't want to (obviously), and feel free to do these if I didn't tag you.

skydreamer1

JMpieguy2001

Athensgeek3

Webkinzluver5

whatacliffhanger