Boys Like Boys [Nico di Angelo]

chapter six

  As I walked in, I lingered by the doorway. A little bit of mumbling was heard, before the conversation got very loud, very quickly. I flinched at the loud voices.

"You're going to separate him from the rest of camp?!" Nico yelled, his voice sounding stressed with a hint of sadness.

"He's dangerous-"

"You're going to let him go through the same thing I did - that I'm still going through? Feeling different than everyone in an entire camp is not something he should go through. I won't allow it," Nico snapped.

"You don't have a choice," a voice I didn't recognize said monotonously.

"Then I'll take him to Camp Jupiter," Nico replied.

"Reyna will do the same thing, Nico," Chiron said gently.

"You can't just...you can't do that! It's not fair. I won't let him go through it. He's probably been separated from society for his whole entire life, and finally, he comes to a place where he thinks he'll be accepted, and you're wanting to separate him again! Tell me, how in Zeus' name is that fair?"

I knocked on the door and walked in. I saw Chiron sitting in a wheelchair, no horse half of his body showing. Nico was standing, his hands resting on a desk, and an unfamiliar man was sitting in a chair wearing a Hawaiin-type floral t-shirt.

"Calum," Chiron said, motioning to a chair. "Sit." I sat down. "Dionysus and I have discussed a lot."

"Who's Diony-"

"Me," the man in the floral shirt said. "Call me Mr. D, Caleb."

"It's Calum."

"Whatever."

"We've decided that you need to be separated from people you could potentially harm until you get your powers under control," Chiron said and I felt my chest seize up. I looked down at my hands, which were settled in my lap. My mom sent me to this camp, making me think I was accepted here, but in reality, I wasn't. I already knew I wasn't going to be, but why was it still so hard to swallow?  

"Wait," Nico said, causing Chiron to look at him. "Watch this." He held his hand out to me gently and I stood and took a step back, shaking my head. He gave me a look that said 'just do it' and I felt compelled to do it. I looked to Chiron, who was watching us intently and curiously. I reached my hand out and placed it over Nico's, not exactly touching yet. I couldn't bring myself to do it. What if I killed him? I'd never forgive myself. I looked at Nico, who nodded and I hesitantly brushed my fingers against his palm, before connecting my hand against his.

I had never felt human contact before. It was strange yet...comforting. Nico's hand was cold, but soft, and he smiled slightly at me, letting me know that he was okay. I quickly withdrew my hand and his smile disappeared, before a stony look replaced it. He turned to Chiron, who looked like he was thinking very hard.

"Amazing," Chiron muttered simply. Nico turned to me, our eyes meeting and right now, in this angle of light, they were a dark green. They were...beautiful. I felt my heart skip a beat and I realized what was happening. No, no this couldn't be happening. Nico was a friend. A friend, a friend, a friend. Black smoke curled from my hands and before it could harm anyone, I ran outside, falling to the ground. The grass around me wilted until I was sitting in a circle of dead, yellow grass all by myself. People walked out of their cabin to look at me, some snickering, some looking incredibly worried. I've been officially outcasted now. I wanted to curl up and hide.

"Calum," Jason said, his eyebrows furrowing before he began rushing towards me.

"No, stop!" I cried. "Don't come near me."