Nico
I figured that taking Will up on his dinner offer would cancel out me disregarding Percy at lunch.
I can be different here, is what I kept telling myself. And the only way to actually be different is to do things I'm uncomfortable with. So, I decided to start off with being more sociable. Was it uncomfortable? Absolutely. My whole life, I'd avoided other people. Evaded questions. Ran away when people got too close. But I know Bianca would want me to have people. So maybe by sitting with Will and Leo, it would help me open up to some new possible friendships.
What I didn't realize was that I wouldn't be eating with just Will and Leo. Imagine my shock when I followed them downstairs and across the street to the dining hall and they led me to the fullest table in the room.
And, of course, just my luck, one person sitting there stuck out to me in particular. Percy.
Will and Leo slid into the spots across from him and a dark skinned girl with long box braids. I took the empty spot next to Will, and as soon as I did someone else dropped into the other open spot next to me. I turned to see a pretty girl with chocolate brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes there, followed by a blond boy.
Will leaned over the table and glanced around. "Okay, everyone's here. You remember Percy." I nodded and snuck a glance at him. He smiled, and I offered him a small one back. Maybe my display of weirdness earlier was forgotten.
"And this is his girlfriend, Annabeth." Will said, motioning to the black girl.
Girlfriend. Of course. And she was beautiful.
"Nice to meet you," she said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"I'm Piper," said the girl next to me.
"Jason," the blond boy on the other side waved.
"And then down there is Grover, Hazel, and Frank," Will said, pointing with each name. They all kind of blended together. I wasn't sure I'd remember everyone.
There was a moment a bit later when Percy stood up to go get a refill on his water. I looked around at everyone; they were all super engrossed in their conversations. For the most part I had been listening to Annabeth talk about how horrible her AP chemistry teacher was, but she had long went quiet. I stood and followed after Percy.
"Hey," I said as he stuck his cup under the dispenser. "I'm sorry about earlier at lunch. That was rude of me."
"S'okay," he replied, watching the liquid rise to the top of his glass. "I'm telling you, you remind me of a younger version of me."
"I can't imagine any version of you being an uncool, friendless weirdo. At my old school, I was the laughing stock."
He turned to face me, his sea blue-green eyes bearing into mine so intently it was shocking. "Well, that was your old school," he said. "You can be different here."
Hearing him say the words out loud I've been thinking in my mind all day felt like some sort of sign. "Yeah... I'm trying to be." I squeak.
He flashed me his perfect smile. My knees felt weak. "Good. You know, Goode is the first school I've ever been at longer than a year."
"Really?"
He nodded. "All the other ones, I got kicked out of. Except for the last one before here. That one was a different boarding school. Yancy Academy. The kids there bullied me so bad that I called my Mom crying every night begging for her to homeschool me. And I was in eighth grade then. Not my coolest moment."
My lips parted in surprise. I had so many questions. Kicked out? Bullied? Him? He seemed like he didn't take shit from anyone.
"So yeah. Things are rough sometimes, but eventually you find your way."
