Discolored

6: I Get a Lifelong Ban from the Demeter Cabin

Yes this is a real chapter this time. But wasn't the last one so much fun?

Also, I just want to leave a short explanation because it's been almost a decade since that last chapter was published. I had been in a friendly bout of bickering between myself and my Australian friends about which is the better way to spell 'color.' Yes, we were aware it was just a regional difference--it was never a real, serious fight. It was all just for fun :) So consider yourselves all a part of what we called The Color War--which side are you on? (Be careful with your answers... I control the ending of this fic lmao)

Okay, without further ado:

NPOV

I hate this. Annabeth had clearly been wrong to ask me to talk to Will; Will had been crying. Crying because he just found out who his soulmate is, and it's me, and apparently this is upsetting information enough to make a guy cry. And the thing is, I can't hate him for being so sad that I'm his soulmate. He's still nice about it, he even tried to make sure I was alright. But I ruined it. No, I definitely can't blame him for not wanting to be my soulmate.

Instead of going to my cabin, this time I head to Percy's. I need to talk to him about this. I knock on the pale blue door, and he opens it almost immediately. "Hey, Nico. You came to talk about meeting your soulmate, right?"

I nod quickly. "He's crying because he's disappointed that he's my soulmate. Would it be rude to tell him he doesn't have to limit himself just because we're soulmates? I don't want him to feel...trapped. I want... If he wants to date other people, I want him to know that that is okay."

Percy puts his hands in the air like he's warding me off. "Woah, woah, woah. Where did this all come from?" I'm about to answer, but he cuts me off. "Somewhere along the way, you have made some pretty horrible assumptions, Nico. Earlier, Will totally wanted to date you; I doubt he suddenly hates that he's your soulmate."

I stare at him, trying to process the words that he's saying and somehow not quite getting them. "What?"

"Oh, yeah. He asked me if you were gay, and he was staring at you for, like, the entire bonfire. He definitely was not disappointed."

"But that doesn't make any sense...." My hands are in my hair. The overwhelmingly blue decorations of Percy's cabin are making my head swim—the whole thing looks like it was decorated by a sailor. There's an anchor on the wall as a decoration, and I know Percy didn't put it there.

If Will had been interested in me, why did he refuse to look at me after we bumped into each other? He had just been staring at the dirt. And then after that, all the sad looks and the tears and—

Could it really all just be a horrible misunderstanding?

He yawns—it's getting late, and I'm keeping him awake for this. "It doesn't have to make sense, Nico. It's love."

Well, maybe it doesn't have to make sense, but it sure would be better if it did—just saying. This is all so convoluted and terrifying. "So what do I do now to make it up to him? Is it even possible to fix? If he wasn't angry with me before, he definitely is now."

Percy nods sagely. "Buy him some flowers or something. If he was crying, he was probably upset about something, and you need to make him feel better."

"Where did you get that?"

"Piper."

I huff, "Figures."

Unsurprisingly, when I left Percy's cabin to go knock on the door of the Demeter cabin, there was no response. They're all asleep. I'm on the verge of panicking; Percy said that this is how I make it up to Will. But how can I do that if the whole Demeter cabin is asleep? I'm messing everything up.