DEMIGODS. (Percico/Pernico)

˚‧º·Chapter Twenty-One‧º·˚

Nico sat on the couch in shame, his father's cold look pressing heavily down on him. Bianca had returned, but she sensed the palpable tension of the room and escaped upstairs. Nico would have done the same, if it were Bianca sitting on the couch and not him.

He fiddled with the drawstrings on his sweatpants and avoided his father's eyes. The air felt suffocating around him. The silence was ringing in his ears.

Finally the silence got to be too much, and he spoke.

"It wasn't his fault, Dad." The voice didn't feel like his own. "Luke poured punch all over me and he started just..."

He felt the glower intensify and curled into himself slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to..."

"No, Nico," he snapped. Nico, surprised, caught his gaze. "Think about this for one moment. I didn't want you to go to prom with him in the first place. I didn't want you to be around him at all. The tutoring was one thing, but prom and the band... He's going to hurt you. I got the phone call that you were kicked out of prom because a fight broke out, and God, I thought it was you. He's not good for you, Nico."

"He's good for me, Dad," he said quietly. "He would never hurt me."

"Who knows? Your mother and I worked so hard to raise you to be a good person, and I don't want you to become one of the undesirables. You are going somewhere, Nico. He's going to hold you back, and I don't want you to be miserable."

The anger began to boil in Nico's stomach.

"I won't, Dad. He won't hold me back. The band is so good for me, Dad. I could hardly talk to people at the beginning of this year, and now I have so many friends. We are good for each other. We help each other grow. I know you think Percy isn't a good influence, but he's so good for me. If you actually saw how he acts towards me, you would see that, but you can't because you're blinded by impressions. He's not a bad person. I don't know how many times I have to say this. You don't know him like I do."

"Nico, I'm trying to protect you."

"I'm sixteen! I can protect myself!"

"Nico di Angelo, don't you raise your voice at me. I am your father. Have you forgotten that? You're young and you don't know what's good for you."

"You're not listening to me! I know what's good for me! You don't even have the slightest idea of what's good for me."

"Enough!" he barked, and Nico flinched. "I was easygoing enough to let him come over, for you to be in the band because I wanted you to get out of the house and be around people every now and then. I know what is good for you, and don't even tell me for a second that I don't. I have worked hard for you to live the way you do. Your mother works hard. We wanted to raise you with better than what we had, but obviously that has made you ungrateful."

Nico's eyes reverted to the floor. "I— I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you be in that band in the first place."

"No, Dad, please. I'm sorry. Let me stay in the band. I'll do anything. They need me."

He shook his head. "No."

Nico felt warm tears blur his vision, and he made a quick dash for the stairs.

Nico flew down the hallway and slammed the door behind him. He buried his face in the pillow and emptied all the tears he could muster into the fabric, the softness muffling his sobs.

Hades watched his son leave and raked his fingers through his short, dark hair before settling on the couch, where Nico had sat mere moments before. It had to be done, he told himself. Nico needed to be told. Hades didn't want Nico to end up like he did in college. It had to be done.

♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯

I stared up at the ceiling in the dark, now changed into more comfortable clothes. Now, others would be at after prom parties, or hanging out with friends. At the moment, I didn't really want to be with anyone but Nico.

Mom was concerned, but I just played it off as nothing. She didn't seem too convinced, but she left me alone. As much as I loved my mom, I was grateful to be by myself.

I had never felt more embarrassed—or scared for my life—than I had in that moment. I knew Mr. di Angelo never really liked me, but that was just the icing on the cake.

I would never do anything to hurt Nico. Ever. But, I'm not sure he really knew that. He thought I was a bad influence. A punk kid that got into fights at prom and people like Nico shouldn't want anything to do with me. Nico was too good for me.

At least Mr. di Angelo and I agreed in one area.

I texted Nico, but he never texted back.

I thought about the band. What if he wasn't allowed back? He was the one who wrote the song, the backup vocals... If we had to play without him, we wouldn't be near as in-sync. We wouldn't possess the flow that we had whenever he was there. Or, maybe that was just me. Regardless, he was a crucial member of the band. We couldn't have (or wouldn't have) possibly performed without him.

I tried him again, but the result was the same. Maybe he had his phone taken away.

Maybe I overstepped. No, I knew I overstepped. I always let my emotions take flight. I shouldn't have tried to kiss him if I knew his dad was home. That was stupid of me.

Nico seemed pretty into it, though, when I defended him. Just thinking about it gave me butterflies.

I lied in bed, smiling to myself. He did like it. He told me so. He liked me complimenting him and standing up for him. He liked me. I couldn't believe it, even though I knew before. I think I'd known since the start, before he told me, even though there was something in my mind that didn't want to think it.

His dad probably never wanted me to be around him again. Because I was a delinquent. Because I got bad grades, and I was often late for class. Because I thought about everything else but Italian while he was teaching.

But, I really liked Nico. I probably even loved him, so I knew I wouldn't let his dad come between us, the band, and the music we all made together. Not when the competition we'd worked so hard for was just two weeks away. He would have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.