Boys Like Boys [Nico di Angelo]

chapter twenty-one

I hung out with Leo the whole day. We talked about our favorite foods and things to do, as well as a bit about our pasts. I told him about Bobby and he brought up Teresa, but was very vague about it. I could tell it was something he didn't want to talk about.

Eventually, it was time for the campfire. Leo led me to where Jason, Percy, Piper, Annabeth, and Nico were sitting. I felt butterflies swarm in my stomach when I saw Nico - I didn't know if it was from nervousness, infatuation, or resentment. I sat next to Leo, keeping a good amount of distance between us so I didn't accidentally touch him.

"Hey, guess what," Leo whispered to me in Spanish, smirking as his amber eyes gleamed from the light of the fire. "I think Nico's jealous."

I peeked over at the son of Hades to see he was glaring holes into the back of Leo's head. Happiness surged in me and I felt my cheeks flush.

  "Definitely," I agreed with a giggle. "Tell me a joke."

  "What do you call lasagna that gets around?" he asked, and I waited for the answer with an eyebrow raised. "A pastatute." 

  I broke out into laughter, hearing Leo chuckle to himself. I covered my mouth with a hand as I stifled my laugh and caught Nico's eyes, immediately looking back to Leo. I knew exactly what would grind Nico's gears.

  When Leo's eyes met mine, I didn't look away. I kept my eyes trained on his as he talked about one of his machines. I almost always looked away when Nico looked at me.

  "Hey, where are you going?" I heard Jason as Nico as the son of Hades got up. Nico ignored him and stormed towards his cabin, leaving Jason and the rest of the others confused.

  Leo and I snickered.

  "I'd totally high five you right now," Leo said with a giggle. "He's so jealous."

  I felt a drop in my stomach as I imagined Nico alone in his cabin, reading a book. I hadn't seen him all day, which meant he'd been alone all day. Suddenly, I felt really bad about what I'd done.

  "Actually, I think I'm gonna stay in my cabin tonight," I told Leo and watched as he smirked.

  "Knew you would," he replied, giving me a soft smile. "Be patient, okay?"

  "I'll try."

  "The Bunker door's unlocked if you wanna get your stuff." 

  "Thanks a lot, Leo," I said, giving him a soft smile as he saluted at me. I began walking deeper into the forest, but thunder boomed off in the distance, so I thought better of it and began heading back. After a few minutes, I found that nothing was familiar and I was totally lost.

  A flash of lightning split the sky and thunder crackled. I felt a drop in my stomach as I clutched onto the nearest tree and squeezed my eyes shut.

No, you have to ignore it. Get your stuff and go back to the cabin. Nico's alone.

  I tried to stomach my anxiety as I began looking for familiar landmarks - anything familiar at all - but it began to pour down rain. It was coming down so fast, I couldn't see three feet in front of me. Black smoke began to curl up my legs, like snakes trying to protect their owner. It began to grow cold and I felt shivers rack my body. All I had on was a t-shirt and some jeans. This was a total disaster.

  "Calum! Are you alright?" a voice called and I turned around to see Leo coming towards me. "I figured you'd get lost, but I totally didn't realize it until you were already gone."

  "I-It's fine," I said, my teeth chattering as shivers ran up my spine. I wrapped my arms around myself and felt goosebumps raise my skin.

  "Your lips are blue," he said, before unzipping his thin green army jacket and handing it to me. I shook my head.

  "N-no, you need it-"

  "My natural body temperature is at least eight degrees higher than considered natural. Trust me, I don't need this."

He threw it over my shoulders, and I could feel the heat that was previously from him seep into my shirt. I sighed contently, before he began walking.

"Can I just bring you your stuff tomorrow morning?" he asked, giving me a soft smile.

"Y-Yeah," I stuttered out and he nodded, before walking out of the forest. For some reason, the rain wasn't pouring inside of camp, but it was still cloudy and thunder boomed off into the distance. "T-thanks for helping me out. I've got it from here."

"Alright. Go get your man," he said with a wink, before running off. I walked quickly towards the Hades cabin, before walking in and shutting the door quickly, leaning my forehead against it. It was so cold in the cabin, and I shivered even more.

I made my way to the bathroom, before realizing I didn't have any dry clothes. All of my stuff was at Leo's. I sighed and walked out again, looking at Nico, but he was laying down, probably asleep. I sighed to myself and headed out towards Percy's cabin. I knocked and he answered relatively quickly, before giving me a once-over.

"H-Hi, do you have any d-dry clothes I can borrow? All of my stuff is at the bunker and Nico is still avoiding me," I inquired. He nodded and let me in, before handing me a pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt.

"You can use my shower if you want," he offered and I felt giddy at the thought of a hot shower.

"You have a shower?"

"Yep. Being a son of Poseidon has its perks. Plus, showering after the Aphrodite kids sucks, they use all of the hot water."

"I know that feeling," I murmured bitterly and he laughed, handing me a towel.

"Just use whatever soap's in there."

"Oh my gods, you're a saint," I whispered and he chuckled, before I walked into the bathroom.

It was a freaking waterfall shower.

A hole was opened up in the stone ceiling above my head, and water fell down like rain. It was warm and toasty and I felt myself sigh as I stripped my clothes and stood under the water. After washing my hair and body, I stepped out and changed into the clothes Percy gave me. I quickly towel dried my hair and stepped out.

"So...I asked Nico about why he was mad at you," Percy mused as I walked out of the bathroom. He took the used towel from me and threw it into a corner.

"What'd he say?" I inquired, running my fingers through my damp hair.

"Other than the fact that he wouldn't shut up about how gorgeous your eyes were and that every time he saw you, he wanted to kiss you? He just explained to me that you have a dark side and sometimes it comes out and he doesn't like it because he doesn't want to lose you. Also, he thinks you're scared of him," Percy explained nonchalantly, but my face was probably red beyond belief. Nico likes me back?

"Why does he think that?" I asked, my voice wavering as I struggled to control the butterflies swarming in my stomach.

"Because every time you see him, you get nervous. And every time he tries to make eye contact, you look away. Which makes him pretty dense, because that's obvious signs of a crush."

My cheeks heated up more as I stared at the ground, trying to avoid Percy's stare as he more than likely tried to get me to admit I like Nico as well.

"Oh, you totally like him!" Percy exclaimed, before chuckling. "Don't worry, I won't tell him. But you should probably go talk to him. I can tell he's a bit lonely without you." 

"Thanks for everything," I managed to stutter out, before leaving as quickly as possible and heading back to the cabin. I opened the door and saw that Nico was still asleep in the bed, his shoulders rising and falling softly with each breath he took. I smiled at the sight, before closing the door gently and locking it. I curled up under the blankets on my bed and closed my eyes, getting ready to sleep.

"Cal?" a sleepy voice mustered out, and I felt myself smile at the fact that he didn't call me Calum.

"Yeah?"

He didn't reply, instead his bed creaked and his soft and slow breaths let me know he was asleep again. I sighed and closed my eyes, falling into a warm and well-needed slumber.