Breathing Next To You (Percy Jackson)

Chapter Ten

Percy

So that's why he's so pissy.

Daniel likes me.

And now that I agreed to go on a date with someone and it's not him he's jealous.

When I got home I waited an hour or so before I tried calling and he refused to answer so I just called the home line and left a voicemail. Its his dad's volunteer day so he wouldn't be home. Just Daniel and maybe his mom.

But even better, he answered the phone.

"What do you want!" He wasn't afraid to raise his voice," why don't you go irritate the shit out of Nico or something?"

And that's when I saw it. How betrayed he felt. How deserted he seemed.

Because now in his mind he didn't matter to me, just because I went on one stupid date that ended fairly well. It wasn't very exciting, not really anything I had expected. If that was good or bad I was still trying to decide.

I'm his mind he had been replaced.

For a second I couldn't talk.

"Because you're still my friend," I was able to summarize," and just because somebody else is there doesn't mean we have to stop talking and stop being friends. You're mad, I get that, you feel left out and betrayed, I can tell. But my gods you're not getting replaced and you're not the second in the line."

"Okay." He notions to go on.

"It was one date," I told him," okay, nothing with anything is official. It wasn't the best thing in the world, it wasn't the worst. It was okay, it went fine. It might happen again, it might not. But either way I'm not cutting either of you out of my life because of it. I said earlier that I'm still not the most comfortable with admitting that I'm gay. I know I am without a doubt, but to say it out loud and to tell people is something else that is hard for me to manage so who knows. This could just be something to get me used to it and make me comfortable with myself. So just... Please, be patient. I'm not sure what will happen, nobody really is. It'll just happen and whatever happens is how it'll work out. One day at a time."

He managed to agree to that and that was when I got the text from Nico.

The text saying that the date last night went great, maybe I could meet him at his place tonight. He'll be home around 4.

I agreed to meet him there and packed a small bag of stuff and left a note so they wouldn't freak out as I left right before four.

When I got there Nico was in the lobby so perfect timing as we went up together and into the apartment as something caught my eye. It was old. I remember it. On the wall. Nico hasn't covered it yet.

A blood stain.

My blood.

"Oh, yeah, that," Nico noticed I was looking at it," it was here when I moved in and I haven't painted over it yet. Its just kool-aid I'm pretty sure. That stuff stains like a bitch."

"No, its blood."

"How do you make that assumption?"

Then I realized I forgot to tell him.

"Well from here to here, small body and big impact..."

"How do you know, Percy?" He was concerned about it now.

I was silent for a second.

"It may or may not be my blood..."

"What did you do!?"