Boys Like Boys [Nico di Angelo]

chapter five

Jason practically dragged the boy named Nico over to us. Nico was a few inches taller than me, with dark hair, dark eyes that I couldn't quite catch the color of, and a very thin build which was hidden behind an aviators jacket. He wore all black, a sword strapped to a belt that hung on his waist.

"Okay, so this is Calum. He's new here. And...I think you two would get along really well. See, he has this power-" Jason started rambling but Alice cut him off quickly.

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, now," Alice laughed, but I could hear an undertone of jealousy. Why was she jealous?

"Calum, this is Nico. Nico, this is Calum," Jason introduced, ignoring Alice.

"Your name's Calum?" this so-called Nico asked, giving me a once over.

"Um...yeah, it means dove," I mumbled shyly, looking at my shoes. "My dad wanted me to be called Somnus, but it's kind of ugly-"

"That's the Roman equivalent for Hypnos, isn't it?" Nico asked, cutting me off. I blinked at his forwardness, before looking to Jason.

"Yeah...that is, actually."

"Hm," Nico grunted. "How long have you been at camp?"

"A few hours now," I told him and he raised an eyebrow.

"And you haven't been claimed?"

"Not yet," Alice muttered. "But-"

"We think that because he hasn't been claimed yet, his godly parent must've not had any kids before him," Jason said, causing Alice to roll her eyes.

"Or the gods aren't doing their job," Nico sighed. "I hope you're right, Jason. Also, it's nice to meet you, Calum."

"But wait, Nico, there's something you should know about him," Jason muttered. "He has this power-"

"He radiates death," Nico cut him off. Why were people all about cutting others off? I considered it rude, but didn't say anything. "I can practically feel it. It's almost as if he's dead himself."

"Nico's a child of Hades. He's good with death," Alice mumbled angrily.

"I am not 'good with death', thank you. I just can sense it and stuff," Nico retorted, and as he looked up, I saw his eyes were a dark mix of green, grey and brown. As he moved his head and the light refracted off of his eyes, each angle made them look a different color, like pieces of broken kaleidoscope glass.

His eyes caught mine and he seemed to realize I was staring. I quickly looked down, my cheeks heating up as I fiddled with the hem of my shirt.

Everything was quiet for a solid minute, before Alice spoke up.

"Everything Calum touches dies," she said, catching the attention of Nico, who had to do a double take.

"What?"

"Calum, show him," Jason piped up.  

"I...uh...I don't exactly enjoy killing things, you know," I mumbled, blushing as I hid my face with my dark hair.

"We're not going to think you're a freak, if that's what you're scared of," Nico said, causing me to look up. "Trust me. We're all freaks here."

I hesitantly reached down and picked a blade of perfectly green grass, which quickly wilted and turned into a pale yellow. I dropped it and Nico watched intently. It looked like gears were turning in his head. He mumbled something, before picking up the blade of grass.

"How in Hades did you manage to pull that off?" he asked, looking up at me.

"I can't control it. Literally everything I touch dies."