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The lines in italics are not mine. I found the poem on Instagram and wanted to base this oneshot off of it.

***

I DRAW

I knew a boy who liked to draw,

Will gazed at Nico from the window, he saw the boy mark his porcelain skin. He wanted to reach out to help, but he couldn't. So, he hoped that someone else would save the boy with the brown eyes. 

He drew pictures that nobody saw.

Will noticed that Nico wore thick metal bracelets over his wrists. His wrists which were inked with scars. Will saw that the Italian hid his creations, his drawings.

He was more artistic in the night,

Will realized that Nico always seemed to be more creative when an inky canopy of black covered the sky. Like the ink which covered his wrists.

The brown-eyed boy

In the bathroom, out of sight.

Will saw this too, it was always in the bathroom. Nico always drew in the bathroom, where no one could see him.

He kept a secret that nobody knew,

Will knew. He noticed. And now, he wanted, no, needed to help.

He didn't tell a soul and his gallery grew.

Will looked at Nico's wrists through the windows once more and saw that the marks were more in number. There were new ones and old ones, which made the boy's arm look like a gallery of drawings.

His drawings were different, no paper or pen,

Will saw Nico bring the sharp metal to his wrist. He saw the boy revel in the cuts he made, not once did he scream or wince.

But needed a bandage now and then.

Will helped now. When the blood was too much and the paint was overflowing, Will helped. He bandaged up Nico's paintings and the boy with the black hair sat quiet through it all.

We stood by a river, under the stars,

It was a beautiful night and one where Nico didn't hide.

He rolled up his sleeves and showed me his scars.

Will saw them now, he knew they were there. But seeing them under the moonlight and so closely, it made his heart tremble.

He felt embarrassed and looked down at his shoes, 

Will looked at the boy intently and then showed him the secret he had kept. And then showed Nico his gallery.

Then I rolled up my sleeves and whispered, "I draw too".



ELYSIAN, the riordanverseWhere stories live. Discover now