Pulse - Nico Di Angelo x Will Solace

Chapter 1

Nico never knew much about his childhood. Therapists told him it was a trauma response from growing up in foster care but he wasn't convinced. His older sister always seemed to have a clear view of their past, although she didn't like talking about it much.

 For instance, Nico had once asked his sister about their parents, only to have her storm out of the room. It was one of the only times he could remember Bianca being upset. That rare moment of Bianca's anger left a lasting impact on Nico. It made him realize that their past held deep wounds and painful memories that his sister was trying to protect him from. He never pressed further but in the days after her death he began to resent that he had no knowledge of their life before his parents went missing.

In fact, before last year all he could remember was him and Bianca. His biological family had seemingly disappeared from his brain. The doctors called it trauma blocking, Nico called it being a kid. He sighed at the memory of Bianca and continued to pick at his gross school lunch. Chicken nuggets and a scoop of cold mashed potatoes with gravy that looked suspiciously gray.

 He didn't eat much anymore, but he was rarely hungry anyway. Not in an anorexia way, it was just that he was too tired to remember and when he did thoughts of Bianca took away his appetite. Nico ate alone at lunch everyday, in the corner of the room where nobody wanted to eat. He'd been invited to sit with some goth kids back when he started at school and even the GSA offered to save him a seat, but he preferred the secluded seat where he could be alone. Maybe he wanted to sit with other kids, but that would mean friends. Bad things always happened to Nico's friends.

This school was supposed to be a fresh start, a way around his past. But when Bianca died something inside him did too. A wild dog, that's what the police say but Nico had never seen a dog do that kind of damage. He found his sister torn to shreds in the yard. He was supposed to take out the trash that night, not her. She offered to do his chores and he let her. Her death was his fault.

"Hey, Nico!" A passing voice called. Percy Jackson.

Percy was flawless. In a school like this only the fittest survive and Percy was definitely one of the fittest. He had made multiple attempts to befriend Nico but each failed dramatically. Nico looked up to wave but stopped when he noticed the girl next to Percy. A tall tan blonde girl holding his hand and teasing him.

Nico never had a chance with Percy. He was a freshman, Percy was a senior. And yeah, maybe he wanted to be friends with Percy anyway, but he couldn't have another kid hurt because of him. And to make matters worse, Percy had been the one to find him crying over Bianca's body, trying to get her to open her eyes.

"Come on, Bi" he cried, shaking her shoulder as he clung to her. "I need you, please."

Percy saw what had happened and ran toward them. "Oh my gods, Nico." He pulled out a cell and held Nico tight as they waited for the ambulance.

It wasn't until later that Percy tried to hang out with him. Sure, they spoke before the incident, but nothing more than "Hey.".

Nico sat up, feeling a sudden sense of guilt about ignoring Percy. "Hi, Percy."

It was something small, but Percy turned around and smiled. "Would you like to sit with us? "

He probably would have declined, but the bell rang saving him from further torture. Percy waved and walked away with the blonde girl.

Nico's next class was Greek. A weird class for a freshman to take, but he found the legends and language intriguing.

Professor Chiron greeted him at the door. "Good afternoon, Di' Angelo. Please note the new assigned seats. Row 2, table 3."