Boys Like Boys [Nico di Angelo]

chapter seven

"So, you and Nico are a thing?" Alice asked at dinner, stabbing her chicken with her fork angrily. I jumped as the metal hit the glass of the plate.

"No! No, we're not..." I trailed off, feeling a blush settle onto my cheeks.  

"He can touch you. How is that possible? That's not even fair! Nico doesn't even like boys. You don't even like boys. Do you?! Shit! I always mess everything up!" she cried out angrily and I felt panic rise up in me at her tone. It reminded me of Bobby and I had to get away.

  "A-Alice, please calm down," I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself. She sighed, putting her fork down as she avoided my eyes.

  "Sorry. I just...sorry."

  "It's fine," I lied, before picking up my plate. "I'm gonna go." I hurriedly threw my food away and left, heading towards the strawberry fields. I sat down and curled up in a ball, staring at the grass billowing in the breeze, trying not to reminisce too much about Bobby.

"You okay?" a soft voice asked. Jason sat next to me. I looked over at him, noticing his bright blue eyes. I had seen them before, but I couldn't remember where.

"I don't know," I replied honestly, my hands shaking.

"I saw you get up from the table. Was it something Alice said?" he asked quietly and I appreciated it more than I'd ever let on.

"Well, sort of..." I trailed off. "She yelled and I-" my voice cracked, so I closed my mouth.

  "Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "You don't have to tell me."

  We sat there for a few moments. He stared at he sky, whereas I watched the grass rolling in the breeze.

  "Do you think I'll ever control this...this curse?" I inquired and he sat there for a second, before sighing.

  "I think if you try hard enough, yes. I don't think it's going to be easy, but I definitely think it will be possible. We believe in you, y'know?" he asked and I sighed, leaning my cheek on my knees.

  "I don't believe in myself."

  "Well, that's the first step to achieving control. Believing in yourself."

  "How am I supposed to do that when every single time I get stressed, I kill things? One day, I'm gonna wake up and there will be a dead body," I whispered and I watched Jason shudder out of the corner of my eyes. Even he was afraid of me. He could probably squash me like a bug, yet he was scared of me.

  I wanted to go home.

  "Jason?" I asked and he looked over at me.

  "Yeah?"

  "Can a...can a boy like boys?" I whispered quietly.

  "Of course. You can love whoever you want," he answered immediately and I looked to the strawberry stalks. "Why do you ask?"

  "Alice mentioned something about it...but...how do you know if you like someone?"

"Well..." he trailed off, looking up at the sky again. "You get butterflies in your stomach when you see them, and you want to just watch them because you think they're beautiful and lovely and you just start to fall in love with everything they do and how they talk. You always want to be around them because you love their presence and-"

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked, watching him smile.

"Yeah," he paused, looking at his hands. "Yeah, a long time ago."