Empty Closets

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Travel By Shadows (Nico's POV)

 The clashing of swords can be heard from all the way across the camp. I also hear singing from the Hermes cabin and drills from the Hephaestus cabin. It almost seems like no matter what you do, you never hear silence.

I may be the only one not doing anything right now. You can find me staring up at a blue sky with clouds dancing around and gliding past my eyes. The sun heats my skin as I lie on the grass, calming myself after all that has happened recently.

It’s becoming increasingly harder, but I’m trying to avoid Percy as much as I can. The fact that I was 73% relieved and happy he and Annabeth broke up wasn’t something I was very proud of. But still, I can’t seem to get him out of my head, and last night didn’t help much either.

  Most of the time was spent ranting about people we hate, which brought us closer (I think). Then we ate blue cake and watched a movie about a fish that lost his son and he and this mentally impaired female fish go off to find the son (I think his name was Nemo).

Then we both walked to the bonfire where everyone cheered when they saw Percy. We sat down and started talking to everyone. One thing, though, got me really upset.

“Percy, Nico,” Hazel had asked, “where were you guys?”

“We were at Nico’s cabin,” Percy told her. “We talked and watched ‘Finding Nemo.’”

“‘Finding Nemo?”’ Katie asked. “I thought that movie was banned.”

“Why would it be banned if it was in Percy’s cabin?” I asked her.

“Well, we kept all of the banned movies in the Poseidon cabin because no one was in it until Percy came along,” she told us.

“But I don’t see why it’s banned! Even though it was annoying, I don’t see why it’s banned. We also saw ‘Mean Girls’ and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ in there too.”

“Yeah, because those have either gay characters or people who are gay that have voice parts in those movies,” Travis said.

“That’s so stupid!” Jason told him. “It doesn’t matter who you are attracted to!”

“Yeah!” Piper added. “Love is love, and if anyone knows that the best, it’s us.” She motioned towards the rest of the Aphrodite cabin. They and a few other cabins (Hephaestus’s, Ares’s, Zeus’s, and Athena’s cabins) cheered when Piper stopped talking. Half of Poseidon’s cabin joined in while the other half and the rest of the cabins stayed silent. How was it possible that most of Camp Half Blood was homophobic?

“Oh I get it,” a kid from Zeus’s cabin said. “Are you guys gay?” This made everyone who had previously stayed silent laugh.

Jason’s cerulean eyes stared at me. He saw the pain I secretly hid from everyone else. I remembered that he was there that day. The day I was forced to tell Cupid.

“Hey, cut the crap!” he yelled to everyone. That shut them up. The boy opened his mouth as if her were going to speak again (maybe ask if Jason was gay), but Jason just gave him a look that told him not to think about saying anything. At this, I mouthed thank you and he nodded back.

Leo changed the subject and everyone moved on, thankfully. When everyone kept his or her full attention on Leo, I shadow travelled to my cabin and cried for the fourth night in a row.

Who knew wanting to come out would be this difficult?

Right now I’m thinking of how much I hate people. I try not to think about last night again, but the events keep coming back.

I decide to shadow travel again, but this time I head to Zeus’s cabin. Jason should help me.

When I get there, he’s at the door talking to Piper. Once he sees me, he smiles and lets me in.

“I can come back later if that’s better for you,” I tell him. “I just need to talk.”

“Oh…” Jason replies. Piper heads to the door but I stop her.

“No! You can, uh… Stay,” I tell her.

“Are you sure?” she asks. Jason’s eyes widen.

"Yeah, but you can’t say anything to anyone about it.” Piper promises.

 Jason nods and closes the cabin door behind me.