The Best Of The Worst

CHAPTER 20

KATIE

Looking at the shock and sadness on Nico's face, Katie wanted to hug him. Her big brother looked so broken when he found out that he'd made his fiancé cry. 

"It... He... I..." Nico had tears running down his face. "I don't know what I did wrong!" he gasped, but everyone could tell that that wasn't the truth.

"Dad?" Will appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm making him apologise!" Apollo boomed, then faintly giggled. "Apollo-gise." 

Will sighed. "Dad, please go away."

"But son-"

"AWAY!" 

It was the first time Katie had ever witnessed Will getting furious. A strange experience, too.

"S-sorry..." the god slouched out of the room, abandoning his perfect posture.

"C-can you tell me what's wrong now?" Will sat down next to Nico on his bunk.

Nico sighed. "Will, y-"

"I won't understand. I get it. You've only told me eighty or so times now. But can you just tell me what's wrong, whether or not I would get it?"

So Nico obeyed.

"I got my first crush when I was 8." he started, already looking like he regretted it. "Around that time, people my age started to discover romantic attraction. Everyone went around the school-grounds asking 'Who do you like?'. I always answered when they asked me with either 'No-one', or 'Amelia'. I played out this little crush on Amelia for a while. Everyone believed me. I'd 'check her out', and act like I was bursting to see her all the time.
Then one day, a new boy came to school. His name was Alfie. He had blonde hair, green eyes, lots of freckles and a smile that always warmed my heart.
I always thought that people were kidding about romantic attraction, honestly. I always thought it was one big joke. Until I met Alfie. 
We always played together. He introduced my to MythoMagic, and we helped each-other get all the cards and figurines we could. 
One day, he asked me the dreaded question; 'Who do you like?'. We'd gotten to know each-other really well by then, so he could tell that I was lying when I said it was Amelia. 'No, who do you really like?' 
Now, I had never told a soul. Like, I mean, not even Bianca or Mum knew. But, oh man, I really trusted Alfie. 
'You.' I told him. He smiled, and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. 'I like you too.' he told me. Then he asked 'Will you be my boyfriend?' and I nodded so hard that it hurt. Then... Then he pecked me on the cheek. It was a great feeling. 
I remember walking home with my sister that night, and her asking me why I was grinning so much. I'm not sure why, but I didn't tell her. 
The next day, though, Alfie wasn't there. He didn't come for a week. I would nag all the other boys and girls, asking them where he is. They never knew. Then, one day, someone yelled 'Why do you care so much?' and I replied 'Because he's my boyfriend!'
That was a very big mistake. They were all punching me, spitting on me, telling me that my parents will leave me out for the Nazi's."

Will seemed so engrossed in the story, crying along with him. Katie almost forgot about the real world, she was that stuck in. But Emma asked "You didn't believe them, did you?"

"I... I did believe them, actually." Nico said, and everyone else gasped. "When I went home, Mum and Bianca both kept asking me why I had a black-eye, why I was all bruised, how my arm got broken. But I didn't tell them."

"Hold up..." Will interrupted. "Why is this bothering you now? The past is the past!"

Nico sighed and lifted up his shirt. A large, fresh, gory scare went right across it. "Turns out, Clarisse is homophobic." 

"Oh my gods, baby!" Will gasped, shock enveloping his face. "Infirmary. Now! Stat!" 

But Nico didn't budge. "It's just like it was years ago."

"What do you mean?" Emma asked. 

"The physical scar can go away, but the mental scar stays forever." answered Nico.

"I don't give a fuck." Will stood up. "We can deal with the mental scarring later. But how long has that been there?"

Nico sighed. "A day."

"It could be infected!" Will grabbed Nico's wrist and dragged him out the room. 

"Young love." Emma smiled. 

"Are you at all affected by this?" Katie asked, shocked. 

"Not really, no." she replied.

"That's my brother!" Katie wiped away a few tears and stormed up to the infirmary where her brother and his fiancé were going.

To get there, she passed Apollo cabin, and out the front was Angus. He was sitting on the steps. 

She turned around and saw, coming out of Aphrodite cabin, was Caity. 

"Of course." she muttered. "It's hard to get them apart."

When she got to the infirmary, she saw Will wrapping bandages around Nico. Will was smiling and talking, playing happy and bubbly music that he danced to. But Nico kept grumbling and rolling his eyes. 

"They're so cute, aren't they?" Percy said from behind her. 

"Percy! I-"

"You weren't stalking. I know that Nico's your brother."

"No, I mean, I'm... Let's go with your answer." she didn't want to remind him of Annabeth.

But he didn't seem to notice that she said anything.

"Shame I'm not his type." 

"Percy... Do you... Are you pissed that he has a...?"

Percy blushed. "I... Um... Maybe..." 

Katie grinned. "As a lesbian, I am fine with that." 

"Woah! No! Not in that way!" he exclaimed. 

"Good, because I'm not a lesbian."

"I thought you had a girlfriend."

"Have. And I'm actually pansexual. There's a big difference."

"Being...?"

Katie sighed. "I get attraction to people regardless of gender. Anyways, my sexuality isn't related."

She turned around and walked back to Hades cabin. When she was doing so, she noticed that Emma had gone to Hecate. So when she got to her bed, she just did what she always does.

She read.