The rainbow seekers guide to seeking rainbows

Nico

It was raining.

It hadn't rained for quite some time, so Nico wasn't altogether surprised. It had been due to rain for a while now - and when the heavens had burst forth, the torrents of water that flowed were fast and furious.

It was just as well that it was raining on Nico's first day as a school counsellor.

Technically, he didn't actually hold that title yet - he was there 'on trial', and they were 'waiting to see how he performed'. But, off the record, a job was almost guaranteed for him. All the members of staff were already familiar with him, and those who he would be working with were already aware of his triggers.

The only people who weren't aware of Nico's existence were the students, a problem which would be remedied soon.

After the introductions were made, the high schoolers were silent. They didn't seem to particularly care - Nico could hear the quiet murmurings of students who were wondering why his existence mattered to them. There was probably gossip already spreading, probably rumours about all aspects of his life already circulating. Apparently that stuff was pretty normal for a high school.

What he hadn't been expecting was for the students to act on those rumours and gossip so quickly.

When the end-of-day bell rung, some boys approached him when Nico emerged from the staff room with a black coffee in hand.

"Mr di Angelo," came a slow drawl from behind him. The vehemence and venom in it were unmistakable, and Nico was used to people saying his name in such a way - many people who approached him on the street, people forced by his father to never lay a hand on him, would speak to him in that way.

"Hello."

"You're so short, I almost tripped over you," said the same, slow drawl. The boy who said those words seemed to be the stereotypical picture of delinquency - Nico wondered idly if he were a part of any gang. "What are you, a middle schooler?"

"I'm an adult, thank you." Nico didn't smile. Even though it was a job requirement for him to be nice and compassionate, that didn't mean he was going to just stand and smile when these people's existence irritated him more than the most irritating of flies.

Leaning in, one of the others said, "You sure about that?"

"Man, and I was afraid he was gonna be some hot dude!" At those words, a small group of girls looked over before hurrying away. "Looks like he ain't gonna steal all the girls, right?"

"Don't be so sure, mate, they got weird taste these days."

Nico tried to make his way through the boys by exiting the conversation quietly, but the two that had spoken moved to block his path, the other three hanging back slightly as if unsure what to do. The first one - probably the leader, given how street gangs worked - sneered as he pushed Nico back, making him stumble.

"If it's girls that you're worried about, I'm in a relationship." Nico tried to push past once more but they still stopped him.

It was starting to piss him off, but Nico went with it.

He didn't want to lose his job before he got it.

"You? In a relationship?" The disbelief was clear in his voice, and the boys who were clearly just the first two's lackeys looked at each other, not knowing whether they had a role to play. "You're so small and scrawny, what girl's gonna want you, Mr di Angelo? Bet they're thinking of getting rid of ya already, eh?"

"Actually, I'm gay, and I have a fiancé." Nico held up his ring as proof. "Now, will you please let me go?"

They let him go, whether it was willingly or simply because the shock of the revelation had frozen them. He wondered if they were the accepting sort or whether he'd be mocked for it the next day. Nico didn't know much about schools - all he knew was information gathered from Will and Percy and Annabeth and their experiences, but nobody would consider their high school life normal.