In The Spotlight - Solangelo

Chapter Seventeen

After five or so minutes just sitting there, unsure of what to do next, I took out my phone and opened my camera. I looked terrible. I hadn't realised before, but I had obviously been crying. Goddammit, Nico, can you go one day without having a mental breakdown? I sighed, and wiped away the tears. My eyes were red. I couldn't let the others see me like this. Yet, I knew I didn't have a choice. They would be wondering where I am.

My phone buzzed, and I saw I had a new message. Several new messages, actually. All from Will.

Nico?

R u ok?

Where r u

Percys bout to swim

Neeks?

Nico di Angelo, come back now, I'm worried. You seemed stressed when you ran away.

Nico, come on.

I locked my phone, and left the bathroom. Maybe they wouldn't notice that I had been crying. And if they did, I would just have to come up with some crazy excuse. They didn't need to know about my almost crush on Will. Or about my sexuality. Not yet, anyway.

I sat back down with the others just as Percy was leaving to swim.

"Nico, you're back!" Will exclaimed, rushing over and taking the seat next to me. "What happened? Are you ok?"

I smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'm fine, I-I just, uh, had to go the the bathroom." I looked over at Percy, who was just getting into position for the race. "Did I miss anything?"

Will shook his head. "No. We only came to see Percy anyway, and this is his first race."

"Is he any good?" I internally cringed at my question. Why the hell would I ask that? Of course he was good! Why would he be here if he wasn't a good swimmer? Besides, I had seen him swim. He wasn't just good, he was freaking amazing! He the best swimmer in the school! No, not just the school, probably the entire town! I knew that he would totally smash the competition.

Will laughed. "Of course he's good. He the best, actually."

The whistle blew, and Percy dived into the water. He immediately raced ahead, leaving the others in shock. They seemed to slow down as he swam like a playful dolphin. He was so at home in the water - it was his element. By the time Percy had reached the end of the pool and turned around to make his way back, most of the other swimmers weren't even halfway. He kicked off the wall with such force that he didn't continue his strokes for a good few metres. However, someone was catching on to him. The new comer was only a metre or so away now. Percy sped up. They were close to the end now. The new comer sped up as well, so that they were right next to each other. Percy pulled up in front. He wasn't giving up. Three metres, two metres, one metre to go...

"And Percy Jackson comes in first," the announcer announced. "Followed closely by Tyson, who was only two seconds away from beating the ever-reining champion."

Percy jumped out the water, and approached his competitor. They hugged, which just made me more confused. Who was this kid? And how did he do so much better than everyone else? (Apart from Percy, of course). The two came up to the stands, and Percy introduced him as his half-brother. That actually explained a lot of things - the hug, the fact he was almost as good as Percy. Although, I never would I guessed they were related, because they looked nothing like each other.

"I'm actually surprised you made it, Tyson," Percy said to his brother. "I thought you were staying with Dad for the year?"

Tyson nodded. "I was, but he let me come see you for the day. I have to go back home later."

"But you can make the party, right?"

"For a bit, yeah," he replied. "I'll have to leave around nine."

"That's fine, big guy." Percy turned to me. "Hey, Nico, you're coming to the party too, right?"

I tilted my head. "Party?"

Will put his arm around my shoulder. "Yeah, he's coming, whether he likes it or not. Imma force him to go."

"Wh-what about Hazel?" There was no way I was going to get out of going, because I just couldn't say no to Will, but I didn't want Hazel to go. She was too young, and from what I could tell it seemed like a late night party. Also, by the look in her eyes, I could tell she really didn't want to go.

"I can give her a lift home," Jason offered. "And I'll let your Dad know you're with us."

I nodded. "Ok, that's fine." Hazel gave me a smile of thanks.

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Percy began. "I should probably get ready for the next race."