My World Came Crashing Down: A Nico di Angelo Fanfiction

With Freedom Comes Fear...and Sometimes Fantasy

Keep looking down on me,
I am more than you'll ever be.
Cut me deep but I won't bleed,
You're gonna kick, kick, kick me when I'm down
By all means,
Put me through hell and I'll make you see
I'll be your worst enemy....

I wake up in a daze with that song blasting through my ears. It always was one of my favorites.

I didn't know what was happening until Hazel was tackling me in a hug, sobbing with a smile on her face.

"They took her, Nico!" She said. "She's gone!"

It took a while for me to understand what she was talking about.

"Oh, um, wow," I said, still in a sleepy mood. "That's gr-"

"Don't get too excited...there's a note here." Annabeth handed Nico the strip of paper she found on the coffee table. Scribbled in messy handwriting, it read:

By the time you see this note, you've probably already had me arrested. I hope you regret this for the rest of your life, you devil child. I hate you with every inch of my being. And this isn't the end.

After reading the note, I felt sick to my stomach.

"I promise you, Nico, we will protect you from whatever it is she has planned,"Percy tried to assure me.

"Thanks, but no thanks. There is no way I'm dragging you all into this mess more than I already have,"I said. In a temporary fit of frustration, I scolded them,"In fact, I think it'd be best if you left me alone for a while."

Every one of them looked hurt, but slowly seemed to understand, and they left. A tear rolls down my cheek, followed by a massive river. My headache decides to come back. I hold my head in my hands, wailing in pain. But this time it wasn't just physical pain I was feeling, it was also emotional. I had to find a way to deal with the fear...the stress...the feeling of vulnerability. It's been a long time since I've felt this way. I needed someone to help me through it.

But who am I supposed to call?

I want to laugh at my phrase, thinking about how Will would probably say "the Ghostbusters." But I cant laugh. It's a skill I have long forgotten since this morning. But then I think, Wait...Will. Call Will.

Don't be ridiculous. You'd totally screw it up and say something stupid.

Too many emotions running through my head.

Just do it!

No!

You need a doctor, Nico. Stop thinking about ur silly little crush and get yourself some help!

I let out a violent cry. But after that, it was over. The tears stopped flowing, my head stopped pounding. Instead, there was a different pounding: someone's at the door.

My heart starts racing. I don't dare look out the window, in case I need to be pretend to be nonexistent. I slowly lift myself off of the couch and creep to the front door. I unlock it, cautiously, but ready for any attack. I swing open the door and immediately put my fists up in defense. But to my surprise, there was only a fat police officer standing there. He had crumbs in his mustache that were hard not to notice.

"Hey there, kid. By protocol, I'm required to check on you. Ya know...just to make sure there's no post-traumatic stress or nuttin' like that. So, uh, how ya doin?"

I looked at him with a look that said, Really. You're kidding, right? You really want to try me today? But I sucked it up.

"Dude, I'm fine. You can go eat your donuts or whatever you policemen do. I'm fine." I shut the door on his face and walk back to my spot on the sofa.

I hear the policeman call out in his country accent,"Son, that's just a stereotype!" He thinks I didn't see him munching his donut while he was walking back to his car.

Well now...here's a plot twist. Will walks up the driveway. He knocks on my door. I open the door, quicker and more eager than I should have.

I hope he doesn't notice the red color in my eyes.

"Nico, what happened to your eyes??" He asked.

Wow.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" I ask."I mean, not that there's anything wrong with them, it's--um, you know--I like h--your eyes are--ahem*cough*-nice," I manage to stutter. "Yes, your eyes are nice."

Will smiled and said,"Thanks. I like your eyes too, when they aren't bloodshot. They're a nice chocolate-y brown. Chocolate's my favorite, you know."

It took me a minute to stop gazing at him with a stupid grin and remember that I hadn't invited him in yet.

"Oh..um..would you like to come in?"

He checked his watch. "Sure, I've got some time to kill." He walks in." Is everyone gone already?"

"Yeah, you missed them. Sorry. They had somewhere to be,"I lied.

"Oh. Welp, that's okay. We can still chill," he gave me a soft nudge with his elbow. I hid my smile.

The whole afternoon we played video games, ordered pizza and gobbled it down in minutes, played Pictionary (I didn't know Will was such a good artist!) and finally, went for a walk since it was nice outside for the first time in days, and there was a sunset happening soon. Towards the end of the walk, Will started to slow down.

"So, um, Nico. Just wondering. Do you have a girlfriend?" He asks me. My eyes grow wide but I keep my head down so he can't see.

"No..I don't. But I'm assuming you do..."I venture. Will looked confused.

"Girlfriend? No..I don't have a girlfriend. What made you think that? In fact, I'm not even sure I'm straight."

"Wait, but isn't Gwen your-"

"Cousin?" He laughed. "Yeah, I know. It's odd. She moved to town for this school year, so my mom wants me to make her feel comfortable, and that's why we've been hanging out so much. It's kind of--"

"Wait, what do you mean you aren't sure you're straight?" I interrupted. Will didn't meet my eyes.

"Does it bother you?" He said solemnly.

"No, not at all!" I said, all too eagerly. "I...I'm not straight either." Will turned his head back to me. I loved the way his blue eyes danced and mixed with the setting sun's rays. He smiled at me. Then he did the unimaginable, and leaned in...

OH PUH-LEASE, girlfriend. You really thought that was happening? No way in heck was he gonna kiss me. He merely leaned down to my ear, and whispered something. There was no one around, but that made it even more magical.

"Don't tell anyone this, okay?"

I nodded yes.

".....I...I like you, Nico. And I was hoping that maybe......we could go out sometime. You can say no, that's perfectly ok."

Silence.