Percy Jackson

You know, I can't say that I didn't try. Because I did. I did for years. And I have to deal with it and just stop acting like it's going to ever chance.

Nico hates me. He just about always has. He always will. I've done everything I can. It's not changing.

So I stopped acting so desperate to have him as my friend. Because it's just wasted energy. He's the one person that realized that I'm not worth it. And he was right.

I've never been worth it. I'm a terrible friend and an even worse boyfriend. I don't even feel any sort of attraction towards my girlfriend. She wants to hold hands and kiss and have sex an I just... I'll hold hands. I can tell myself that means nothing. Kisses are okay as long as we're not making out all the time. I just don't... Don't do sex. With anyone. That's not a sexuality thing. That is a me thing of Gabe's friend raped me when I was little.

Nobody knew. I didn't have the guts to tell Gabe or Mom or anyone. So I... Nothing happened. And he kept doing it. Never remembered it because he was dead drunk.

But yeah.

I'd probably have a panic attack if somebody tried taking off my shirt or pants from behind me.

Scratch that. I know I would.

We decided to do a fun day with the 11 of us. Nico, Jason, Leo, Annabeth, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Thalia, Grover, Clarisse, and myself. Go into the city, and just have a fun day together.

And it was hard. To not reach out that extra stretch to him. To constantly remind myself that he's not my friend. It just killed me because I wanted him as at least a friend. Had things been different, maybe we could've dated. But this is how it is. He hates me and I have to learn to just live with it and accept it.

It's not like we could've gotten together even if we got along. He's straight. He comes from a time that being gay could get you killed in a concentration camp. So that was never an option. For him to like guys.

Don't feel bad. I'm just wallowing in my own self pity.

And I heard the whispers. My gods I couldn't not hear them.

Leo Valdez

Clarisse leaned over to me and spoke as everyone was in their own conversation. Percy has been... Normal to everyone aside Nico. He's been less nice? No, that's not how to word it. He's less out there for him. Less like a brother and more just an acquaintance. Which was a big deal.

"Did something go on between Nico and Percy?" She asked me, knowing I saw both of them last night and this morning before we left. And I simply shrugged.

"Beats me." I told the daughter of Ares. "Maybe he noticed Nico's crush on Annabeth and that changed things. I don't know, dude. I think Nico's noticed, too, though."

Nico was looking at the son of Poseidon as if he was trying to figure something out. Which made sense. This wasn't normal for Percy.

"What are you thinking about, Neeks?" Clarisse asked Nico, who gave her a look for that name. He doesn't like it, but he gets it from everyone so he can suck it up.

"Have you guys noticed that Percy has suddenly backed off of me?" He asked the two of us as we looked over at Percy, who was talking with his best friend and his girlfriend. "It's starting to annoy me. He hasn't been this at bay in years. Something's wrong."

We both nodded our heads.

"Yeah, it's weird." I agreed with him. "Maybe he noticed the whole Annabeth thing and I mean..."

"What whole Annabeth thing?"

Okay wow, he thought nobody knew. He was wrong.

"The whole fact that you like her," I pointed out to him. "You couldn't hide it, Nico. Sorry about it. Maybe he finally noticed it and I don't know. Jealousy is a weird thing."

"I uh..." Nico corrected my implication. "I don't even like Annabeth as a friend, Leo. Much less have a crush on her. She's always hated me and I just really don't care about her. She thinks I'm a creepy freak and I think she's a know it all, nosy bitch. It's not a love hate thing. I promise."

"Got it." I remarked, noticing we had Annabeth's attention. She heard her name and tuned in. Heard what Nico said about her.

"You think I'm what?" The table was tuned into this, because Annabeth wasn't happy to hear that.

"A nosy bitch, you know that's what I think of you." Nico wasn't afraid of her. "You've told me, to my face, that you want me in hell because I'm a creepy piece of shit and I think me calling you a nosy bitch makes that even. Why do you care anyways? You don't like me. You never did, if memory serves."

Percys face was screaming for them to just shut up and leave it alone.

So was Hazel's.

"You really want to call me that?" She threatened him, her voice dangerously low.

He shrugged.

"I mean, I can call you other things." He remarked like she's not going to hurt him at any given second. "You're smart. Everyone knows that. You're egotistical because of that. You're Percy's girlfriend, but you're also really controlling of what he does, who he hangs out with, and when. I mean, you yelled at him for hanging out with Rachel, right? You have your good and your bad. Just like everyone else. You just so happen to be a nosy bitch with me."

Now, had Nico said that to anyone else, they would've calmed down more. Backed off. Because that's actually really reasonable. He doesn't hate her. Just how she is around him. How they blend.

But no. She just had to jump him. Until, you know, Percy grabbed her and yanked her off of Nico.

Nothing was said the rest of the meal. When we got up to leave and head to some of the stores, small conversation started just between a few people at a time.

"There goes your chances with him." Jason remarked to Nico, which earned my attention well enough. The pronoun him was out of place. It's Nico. Nico rolled his eyes, currently annoyed.

"Shut up." He retorted, groaning. "You say that like I had a chance in the first place, Jason. He's also seemed to given up on me so you can't just insist he might be bi or something."

I'm sorry. What?

I judged Clarisse to listen in to this.

"He gave up on you because you won't get your head out of your ass." My best friend insisted. "And just like talk with him. If you act like you hate him, you're going to get nowhere."

"Jason," he was saying this like Jason was dumb. "He has a girlfriend. Girl. Female. To get somewhere, that would have to be different. And it's not and that's how it is."

Wait so... Am I...? Am I hearing this right?

"Break them up."

And that's what made Jason and idiot. I hadn't pinpointed a person yet. Probably not Jason because Jason wouldn't talk in the third person and not a girl. Frank, Grover, or Percy. They all had girlfriends. Or somebody else entirely. I'm single, so I'm out. Nico's sort of not my type anyways.

"I'm not becoming a homewrecker." Nico was not doing that. "One, they'd both hate me for it and we'd backtrack even further. Two, all of camp would hate me worse than they already do. Do you know how many people wanted them together? Because it was a lot. They're the star crossed lovers of camp half blood. I'm not making them break up, Jason. I'm an asshole. But that's just a dick move."

Wait...

"Oh, come on, you already told Annabeth you don't like their relationship." The son of Jupiter pointed out. "Told her she was controlling."

"Yeah, and if Percy wants to act on what I said and break up with her he can do that." Nico responded as we walked into Hot Topic. "I'm not going to tell them how to run their lives just because I like him."

Jason gave up and we disbanded into Hot Topic. Where it clicked... That Nico doesn't like Annabeth...

He likes Percy.

So I walked over to Percy. Who was looking at a few of the band shirts.

"Hey," he said, noticing that I approached him. "What's up?"

"Clarisse left me for the merch." I told him, looking at a tøp shirt they had here. "Haven't talked to you in a while."

"That is true." He didn't deny my claim. "I missed your sarcasm, dude. I needed it this year. School sucked ass."

"It always has." I remembered when I went to public school. I hated it. "but can I ask like a... Maybe personal question? I don't know how personal it would be."

"Shoot."

"Why do you and Nico not get along?"