Leo

Percy obviously took off after Nico because Nico left the cabin after that.

"Are you going to...?" Hazel questioned her staying here.

"If he's pissed off, let him be pissed off," she seemed like she didn't want to come here in the first place. "He can run off with Jackass and do whatever the hell he wants with him. He's not a faggot, I won't give a shit. If he was a faggot, I would've let him die a long ass time ago."

Nobody said anything. Grover just took her to another part of the cabin, and I texted the lovebirds to warn them. Mainly Nico, though.

Percy

That was lovely, right? Nico isn't too happy with her. And I don't blame him. I'm not either. Between making sure he thought she was dead and calling me out for no given reason, she wasn't my favorite person.

We went to my cabin instead of his and I let him vent for a while. This night was supposed to go like perfectly or something.

And it just turned into a shit show.

Of course, that works until Bianca shows up and they just argue and try to get me involved. Like, I'm his boyfriend. And I was there for him as much as he would me be after Bianca died. But this isn't my fight.

"Look, I..." I really can't handle this right now. "I'm not going to fight with you guys. It's not my business. I'm going to campfire. Figure this out between yourselves. I have plenty of my own problems to deal with, sorry if that sounds selfish."

I figured everyone would be at campfire tonight. Grover said he wasn't going, but that really it. I haven't gone all summer because of my depression. It's just hard to do anything. Being around people is exhausting.

Campfire was a lot of people. So I tried to avoid it.

But when I got there, next to nobody was there. And I was only a few minutes late.

It was Will, Connor, Apollo, and Pollux. That was literally it.

"Hey, look who came crawling back." Connor remarked as a joke. And I just kind of looked around. "We thought you ditched us, man. We haven't seen you all summer. Here, at least."

"Yeah, it's been busy." I told him, refocusing my attention to them. "Wh... Where is everyone?"

"Well Annabeth is in jail," Will answered my question. "Grover is helping Chiron tonight. Aside that, it's been us all summer."

"You're joking."

"I wish," Pollux confirmed for me that this was it. "This is it, Percy. Everyone else just does their own thing, I guess. I don't know what. I'm the only guy in my cabin, so I can't ask my brother. What did you do?"

"Most of the time I was just in my cabin," I told them as I sat down by the fire. It was low, more of a blue color. "By the end of the night I don't have the energy to be around people anymore. It sucks, I love campfire. I just don't have energy."

"So you're here because...?" Apollo knows about my depression. He diagnosed me. "Do your meds not help you? Because if so, you're supposed to talk to me about it."

"No, they work." I assured him. "I just don't have energy because people never leave me alone during the day. I'm here because Bianca's back and that was fucking great until she was dumb and told Nico that she never actually died and now they're arguing in my cabin and they tried to get my involved but I'm not doing it. I'll explain myself to Nico later."

And just... I was there the entire time. But it opened my eyes to what was happening.

I went back to my cabin, and Nico was there. Just relaxing. He said they gave up on arguing not long after I left. He didn't tell her that we we're together. After the text Leo sent us, I wouldn't, either.

But it just made me think.

"Hey, babe," Nico said as he sat down next to me, putting his hand on mine. "Are you okay? It's been a long day, and you don't go to campfire anymore. We're you okay there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I insisted, neither of us knowing that Bianca had come back to give Nico something from the cabin. Without meaning to argue. "I just didn't realize that campfire was kind of a dying thing. There was like 5 of us there tonight. Just kind of makes me sad. Campfire used to be the best part of camp."

"What happened?"

I shrugged.

"New kids stopped going." I explained to my boyfriend. "Everyone my age and older just... Are gone now. I never realized how many of us there used to be. I hate to see it go."

"Then advertise it." Nico suggested, giving my hand a squeeze. "I can promise that the others don't even know what it is. They'd love to go to a bonfire. Bring it up one day."

"I might do that."

He gave my arm a light punch and I did the thing. Looking up at him as I laid down on the bed.

"I mean, we might as well amputate the thing," I joked as I saw somebody come up to the open door out of the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell who. "You keep breaking it. My gods. This is getting expensive, Nico."

"Aw, does wittle Percy want a wittle kiss to make his boo boo feel all better?"

"Oh shut up," I responded, throwing a pillow at him. "Who's here?"

"What?" He didn't even notice.

"Sorry if I'm like interrupting something," I didn't expect to see Bianca back here tonight. It was kind of a sigh of relief, though. She wasn't mad. "But I was unpacking and I had a bunch of stuff for you, Nico. I wasn't sure how cool you'd be with me just like going in your room. So I figured I'd bring it here if you want it. It's a bunch of stuff from places I've been to. I thought you might like it."

"Oh no, you're not... Thanks." I don't think he was expecting her, either. "thanks for not just going in my room, too."

Nico took the box and went to use the bathroom. Which is when I noticed that Bianca seemed a little off by this entire whole situation.

"Are you okay, Bianca?" If she runs the possibility of being my sister in law one day, I might as well try to be on her good side of things. "You look a little worried."

"Wh... Yeah." She told me, looking back at me. "It's just a weird adjustment. I know I shouldn't have left and I probably should have come back. But I don't know. Dad told me it was a bad idea. So I didn't. The longer I was gone, I found reasons to not go back. My guilt got the best of me, though. I was kind of scared he wouldn't be here. Based on what Leo and Hazel's boyfriend told me, he was able to move on. Which is just a weird thought. He's grown up. He doesn't need me anymore."

"Ehhh, I wouldn't go that far." I insisted as she fully entered my room. "He was pretty crushed when you left, and he still needs some help. It's just no bigger than anyone else here. It's not me or... Other people."

"Yeah, I heard about the depression," so it wasn't a secret. Then again, I didn't care for it to be one. "How have you been? That isn't a nice thing to have. Annabeth isn't here to help you, either. I heard she did some bad things to some guy."

I nodded my head.

"That was me, yeah." Confirmed that much for the daughter of Hades. "Don't want her help. I want her to stay in jail. But um... I've been worse. I've wanted to kill myself before and I don't right now so probably good. I feel bad sometimes. Nico busts his ass to make sure I'm doing okay."

"Like you didn't do the same thing to him when I was gone." She remarked. "But I actually had a reason to talk to you. Without Nico around. Because I wasn't sure how he'd handle it being we're from the whole 30s and 40s time."

"Okay. What's up?"

"So you obviously know Nico really well now and I just don't want to do this if he isn't okay with it." Bianca started off, and I wasn't sure as to what this was about. Whatsoever. "Like, when we were little it was okay to call a black man a nigger and be mean to him. Times have changed. And, along with the Jews and the poc and whatnot, gays were hated on a lot. In Europe and in America."

"So?" I questioned. "Aren't you like homophobic or something?"

"I..." Bianca sighed. "Actually? No. But did I act like it? Yeah. It... And I ask you about it assuming you're totally okay with this stuff. But I went to my dad about it right away and this was why he told me to stay away from Nico. Because I told my dad that I'm a lesbian or maybe I'm bisexual or whatever. But I befriended this one chick when I woke up a few miles away from that junk yard and she was nice and I liked her and we dated and broke up. And I have a different girlfriend right now. And she wants to meet Nico. She's at a hotel in the city right now. Waiting for me to bring my brother to meet her."

She paused.

"Do you think he's going to be okay with it?"

Truth be told, I busted out laughing my ass off.

"This isn't funny!" Bianca thought I was laughing at her and I get why. But I really wasn't. It was the irony of all of this.

"No, I'm not laughing at you being a lesbian." I insisted as I sat back up. "it's just the irony of the question."

"What irony?"

"You have to pinky promise." I sat beforehand, sticking out my pinky. "That you won't kill me after I tell you this."

Sighing, she pinky promised I'd go unharmed.

"So what ironic about me asking if Nico will be okay with me being a lesbian?"

"Bianca, honey," I broke the news to her, making sure she was sitting down. And she was. On the floor. "Nico's gay."

"I... How do you....?"

"Know?" I responded and she nods her head. Wanting to know how I found out.

"Well you see." It was kind of awkward but also it's probably just me. "I'm his boyfriend. Please don't lecture and / or kill me. Hazel has already threatened me. She also threatened Nico because I don't know why but she did. Probably because I have crippling depression. That's always a factor."

"I'm... Repeat that." Bianca requested. "Because that was a train wreck from start to finish."

"Nico and I are dating," I slowed it down for her. "Don't threaten me, Hazel took care of it for both of us."

She made an o shape with her mouth as Nico got back.

"What did I miss?" My boyfriend asked as Bianca looked at her brother.

"We we're just bs'ing." She filled him in on what was going on. "Do you want to go into the city for a few hours tomorrow? Meet my girlfriend? She really wants to meet you. She's been annoying me all day about it. I promise that's not the only reason I'm here, I still love you little shit. Get an STD and I'll kill you, though."

Nico didn't even hear half of what she said.

"I'm going to say yes."

"Okay, sweet! I'll make sure you're up by 10:30 so we can meet her at noon for lunch!"

And the she whispered something to Nico and he turned red and said her name and he asked who and she said me and left.

"What about me?" I asked him as he laid down on my chest.

"You told her we we're together?"

"After I knew it was chill." I insisted and explained what happened. "She insisted that she wanted to ask me about something because she didn't know if you'd be okay with it and she asked how you react to her being a lesbian and having a girlfriend. And I kind of laughed. I couldn't lie at that point in time and I told her that it was kind of ironic she asked that considering you're gay and I'm your boyfriend. So she knows. But she's also okay with it. She pinky promised not to hurt me."

I could feel Nico relax and slowly drift off into sleep.

Life fucking sucks. But still least he's here to keep me from wanting to kill myself all the time.

I don't think I'd still be here without him.