Solangelo Oneshots

Schooled Part 2

Trigger Warning: Transphobic speech, depression, anxiety, self harm, homophobia.
I wrote this when I was going through a really hard time so please don't judge me lol

Nico could barely believe it. No, scratch that. He believed it wholeheartedly. His alarm wasn't set. He had woken up the time he usually left and now had to rush. He already left his house at the latest time possible to not be late. He rushed out without grabbing any breakfast. He did, however, grab a thing of coffee. It helped with his depression. He was on medication, but without coffee his depression really got to him.

He somehow got to school on time. After his morning classes, he slunk back to his locker. He hoped no one noticed him. Unfortunately, someone did notice him. Octavian. Octavian was a jerk, to put it kindly. He was the kid who burned ants for fun. Who killed frogs to kill time. Who loved picking on everyone who showed even the slightest vulnerability. Nico already had a problem with vulnerability. He used to lived with his father, stepmother, and sister. The experience left him traumatized. Marie, his stepmom, was emotionally abusive. Hades, his dad, fell for her a few years ago. She found out what he wanted and pretended to be that woman for a while. She would find your insecurities and slash them open even wider. She was the only mother Nico ever knew, he trusted her. But then she changed. She became angry and vindictive. No matter what you said or did, she would twist your words and make you seem like the villain. He didn't live with her anymore, Hades had once again remarried, but trauma stuck long after the danger was gone.

Octavian walked up to Nico. "Hey, girlie." He said. "Hey, Octavian. I'm a boy." Nico responded, having given up on trying to further prove his masculinity. He used to protest, but now, he was too tired, and it was only October. "What're you doing tomorrow? Going on a date with your boyfriend?"
Nico sneered. "Octavian, that doesn't offend me. Try harder." Nico started walking away. "Where do you think you're going?" Octavian asked, blocking Nico's way. "Lunch. It's lunch time."
"Is it, now? What's for lunch? Your gay butt?"
"Maybe if I valued your opinion, I'd be offended by that, but right now it just sounds weird. Seriously, why? It seems li-" Nico didn't get to finish his sentence. Octavian punched him and walked away. Nico used to tell teachers about the abuse, but gave up after hearing 'try being not gay' and 'stop pretending to be a boy' one too many times. It was less hurtful to be punched or kicked every few days than to be hurt physically, tell someone, and have them make fun of you, too.

Nico didn't eat lunch, even though he was hungry from not eating that morning. He didn't want to go into the cafe, knowing it would mean letting the bullies see him again, reminding them that he existed. Instead, he walked to the library. The librarians knew him well. He went there everyday to help put up books and dust shelves. They didn't mind his gayness, transness, his creepy clothes, or his hair that could never get the I-just-got-out-of-bed-and-I-still-look-good look. They just liked having help.

"And, Miss Di Angelo, do you know the answer."
"I'm a boy, Mr.Smith."
"I don't care about what you want to be. I want to know the answer to the problem."
"34,821.07." Nico answered. He was good at math. He figured that maybe if he was super respectful (read: treated the teachers like gods)  and was a total pushover, they would respect (read: treat him like a human) him and use his actual name and pronouns. It hadn't been working.

He saw Will again as he began his run home. He stopped for a moment to gaze at Will's gorgeous hair when Will turned around and saw Nico. He walked over to him. "Hey, you're Nico, right?" Nico panicked "Yes. I am Nico. I'm dead inside." Then he ran.

'Good going.' Nico thought to himself, tears in his eyes as he ran home. 'You blew it.'

Will tried to follow him. Will was pretty fast, he was sure he could find the boy. He found out earlier that day that the boy's name was Nico. He'd been looking for about a week, but Nico wasn't easy to find. He wasn't in any clubs, didn't sign any yearbooks, wasn't in any friend groups. Everyone knew of him, they had heard his name and seen him around before, but no one was close with him. A girl named Lacy said she had tried to get to know him because he seemed so sad, but he pushed her away. She decided he wasn't worth the effort.