Friends With Mental Issues (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Crumbling Down

Percy stared at the wall, his thoughts moving faster than he ever thought possible. Sleeping was impossible at this point, and yet, he lay in bed with the blankets pulled up to his chin, staring at the wall in frustration. He flipped over, staring at the other wall in frustration. And then the ceiling. And then he stared at the original wall.

"Ugh!" he shouted in frustration, throwing the blankets off of him and standing up. "I can't take this anymore!"

~

Nico was on his bed, laying on top of the covers in the clothes he'd worn that day, staring at the ceiling with a rather bored expression. In reality, he felt like screaming, but that really wasn't the point, now, was it?

His eyes drifted closed, the frustration and anger and everything else inside him exhausting him. It seemed like he'd actually get some sleep tonight... That is, until some asshole started pounding their fists on the door.

For a second, Nico contemplated ignoring the persistent pounding, trying to return to the state of sleepy bliss he'd just been in, but it was no use. Whoever it was pounding on his door was obviously not leaving. He growled as he sat up, rubbing his eyes angrily and yanking his door open with a very friendly 'what?!' At this point, his eyes were still half closed, causing his vision to be a tad bit blurry, so for a moment, all he saw was a very sculpted chest and very nice abs. And then he got a hold of himself. "What is it, Percy?"

"Nico, I'm sorry if I woke you up," he started, pushing past Nico and plopping down on his bed, "but I just couldn't sleep."

"I'm an insomniac; of course you didn't wake me up," Nico said, sighing heavily and rubbing his eyes as he wondered why he felt the need to lie to Percy about something so trivial. He crossed his arms expectantly, staring down at Percy with an eyebrow raised. Percy didn't say anything, staring at Nico with a kind of lost puppy look. Nico sighed heavily (and audibly), pinching the bridge of his nose, faintly wondering why he put up with this shit. "Okay, fine. I'll play along. Why, oh, why, dear Percy, could you not sleep on a night such as this one?"

"I could go without the obvious sarcasm," Percy muttered, sticking out his bottom lip and glaring at Nico.

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not in my best mood in the middle of the night. It's definitely not like irritability is a side effect of insomnia."

"Sorry," Percy said miserably, putting his head in his hands. Nico huffed out a breath, slightly guilty he'd made Percy feel bad, though he'd never admit that. He sat down beside him, and it seemed that this was the magic command for Percy to spill his guts. "It's just - well, I don't know if you knew this, but I'll be leaving soon."

"I figured as much. Summer is almost over, right?"

Percy nodded, taking a glance over at Nico before continuing. "Right, and I don't want to leave things as they are. Piper and Leo haven't spoken at all since their fight, and everyone is just so different, and I can't leave like this, you know?" Nico noticed that Percy had a small habit of talking in run-on sentences, and, normally, he'd say something about it with anyone else, but he decided to let it slide this time. Because he doubted Percy would do anything to fix it, and, besides, he seemed rather serious right now.

"I know."

"So you'll help me make things right?"

"I never said that."

"Why not?" Percy cried, putting his hands on Nico's shoulders and giving him a slight shake. "You guys are my friends, and I couldn't bear it if I left and everyone was still all weird." Nico would never admit it, but being called a friend by someone like Percy made him feel all strange inside, but he would never let that sway him.

He brushed Percy's hands off, giving Percy a serious look. "I know that, Jackson." Percy blinked, confused at how Nico suddenly felt a lot more distant than before, and how the sudden use of his last name jabbed him even though people at school and his teachers always did that. "But trust me when I say this; you don't have to worry about it. This isn't the first fight we've been through, and, even if things don't get better between them, we'll find a way to manage."

"Wha..." Percy trailed off, a sudden spark of anger igniting in the pit of his stomach. "What are you even trying to say? The last time I checked, being able to 'manage' isn't something good. Why are you so against me trying to be a good friend to everyone? What is your problem?" He was yelling now, and the fact that Nico's facial expression was still blank infuriated him even more.

There was a small moment of silence, and finally, Nico spoke up. "I think you need to calm down, and consider this rationally. I'm sure you're aware, but we have been without guidance and interference for a while now, so having someone try and patch things up and send us off with hugs and kisses isn't something we're used to." Percy looked as if he was about to protest, but the look in Nico's eyes made him stop. "If you make one wrong move, everything could crumble down before you even know what's happening."

He didn't say it, but somehow, Percy got the vibe that Nico was speaking from experience. "Nico-"

"I didn't mean to rain on your parade," Nico interrupted, holding up his hand, "but, even if you don't believe me, I care about those assholes, too. This isn't something I'm trying to brush off. If you were looking for advice, then you came to the wrong place because I'm drawing a blank, too." Nico seemed to contemplate something, and, after having reached a conclusion, put a cold hand on Percy's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy."

"It's..." Percy trailed off, at a loss for words for a moment. "It's okay." He stood up, and Nico stood, too, dropping his hand from Percy's shoulder and stuffing it in his pocket. As he walked out of Nico's room, Percy looked back, giving Nico a once-over. "Those are the same clothes as yesterday, right?" Nico shrugged, knowing full well that Percy was correct. He smiled at Nico, a small thing that was just a tiny lift of his lips, but still managed to reach his eyes. "Get some sleep, Nico."

Nico closed the door behind Percy, running a hand through his hair. There was this strange sense of the world crumbling around him, and he stood there, the silence deafening as everything was crumbling down. He wondered, for only a brief moment, if someone would be able to put the pieces back together this time, too.

~

"A dance?" Percy asked, giving Chiron a confused look.

Chiron pursed his lips, a strange twinkle in his eyes. "Well, not so much a dance, but a party for you."

"Why for me?"

"Tomorrow is your last full day here, after all. It's a going away party." Percy bit his lip, twisting the hem of his shirt. It was already curfew of the next day, and Piper and Leo had yet again refused to talk to each other. This was all becoming so final, and it was worrying him greatly. Maybe Nico was right. Maybe Percy had already made a wrong move, and everything was already crumbling down.

"Oh."

Chiron looked at Percy with a knowing look, which was quite unsettling because Percy always got the feeling that Chiron knew exactly what was happening. "If you don't want it, that's perfectly okay, but I just felt as if leaving with only a mere goodbye would be rather boring."

Of course, Percy vaguely knew that Chiron was using a sort of trick on him, but he couldn't help but fall for it. "It's not that I don't want it, it's just that.." He trailed off, a sudden flash of memories bombarding him quite rudely. "I'm going to miss this place more than I originally thought, and everything seems so, I don't know, final."

"You will visit from time to time, I expect," Chiron said, crossing his arms and leaning them on his desk. "But, Percy, you must understand that nothing lasts forever. There will always be beginnings you won't like, and endings you're not going to like even more simply because you do not wish to leave something dear to you behind." Percy furrowed his eyebrows, staring down at the floor. "However, memories last forever, and it would be a shame not to create happy ones such as, oh, I don't know, parties every so often."

Percy felt himself smile, a laugh escaping his lips despite how badly everything seemed to be going with the seven. "Okay, Chiron. Let's have a party."