Trauma [Solangelo]

Bitchy Piper

(For this story, almost every teenage character in the HoO series is a junior in high school, except Hazel and Frank who are seniors)

Nico POV

I walked out of history class and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

As always, all the students cleared a path for me to walk, not wanting to be near me. It's not like I wanted to have social interaction with them anyway. I don't need friends. Even if I did, I wouldn't have the option.

Today's menu included grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, carrots, and a variety of fruit options. I grabbed a black tray and slid it across the counter while telling the staff my order.

After receiving all my food, (one apple) I trudged over to my usual corner table. I was about to sit down but halted once I heard the familiar southern accent calling my name.

"Nico!" Will hollered from across the cafeteria. I turned to face the blond. He pointed to me and then to the seat next to him at his table. After understanding what he was asking, I swiftly shook my head. That's the table where all the popular people sit. And in case you didn't know, I'm not the most popular person--far from it actually.

Will gave me a 'come on' look. He then proceeded to give me puppy dog eyes. I hesitantly walked over. He beamed with joy.

"Guys, this is Nico. We're doing an English project together and he's a pretty cool dude."

Everyone eyed me with disgust except one person.

"Hey, Nico!" Percy said. "It's been a while." Now it was my turn to have a look of disgust.

Will, seeing the growing tension, decided to attempt to break it.

"I know Nico doesn't usually sit with us and he has a sorta bad reputation, but let's just try to get along because he's my friend."

I just groaned at his statement. "Well everyone here obviously hates me for.....well I don't know why they hate me, but they do. So I'm just gonna go.

"We don't all hate you. C'mon, sit down or you're not gonna have enough time to eat," Percy suggested and I decided to oblige to his request even though I knew I could finish one apple in less than five minutes.

I could tell that Percy still felt bad for Bianca's death because he's always way too nice to me. It's kinda funny that he thinks I'll forgive him. Like dude, you practically killed my sister, so don't get your hopes up for forgiveness.

We all ate in silence for several minutes until it was finally broken.

Piper eyed me skeptically before getting straight to the point. "Sorry, but we have a no flunking-student policy here, so you're gonna have to sit somewhere else," she scoffed, obviously pleased with herself.

I couldn't help but chortle. "And what are your grades?" I asked.

"My grades aren't that good, but they're better than yours. I bet your best grade is a D-."

"Who has the best grades here?" I wondered.

Annabeth, as I suspected, spoke up. "I have all A's with one stupid A-."

"Well then, I guess I have the best grades considering I have all A's with not a single A-," I smirked.

Everyone just chortled at my statement.

"Mhmm. Yeah, sure. And I'm captain of the football team," a short Hispanic boy with curly brown hair snorted.

I whipped out my phone and found my grades online. I then proceeded to show everyone at the table.