A Mortal School With A Mortal Enemy

Defending Nico

   After the war ended, a lot of the demigods decided to take a bit of time to try to be normal. The fastest way they could think to become normal: attend a mortal school. Most of them had a feeling they would hate it, figured they would be expelled by the end of the year, and knew that there would likely be a monster sighting every week; they couldn't wait for it to start.
   They transferred into the school about halfway through the year which made them the center of attention of well, everyone. The mortals quickly learned that all the boyfriends and all the girlfriends were extremely protective of each other: mortal boys with newly formed black eyes never cast a second look at the girls and no girl ever again flirted with boys after Piper, Hazel, and Annabeth got their hands on her. Despite a few issues with the mortals, the new school was going pretty well: there had yet to be a monster attack in the middle of class and none of them had been sent off on a quest.
   All of the demigods were happy, well, almost all of them were happy. The transition to the mortal school had been harder on Nico then he wanted to admit: as he was younger then most of the others he was in a different part of the building, had very few classes with any of them, and to make matters worse Will wasn't there. Nico's boyfriend had gone an mission trip to Africa to help care for the sick children there; Nico was proud of him but he had been gone for two months and Nico was starting to miss him like crazy. Nico was also the only demigod that the mortals in his grade weren't afraid to mess with and he couldn't do anything to stop them.
   It wasn't like he could summon the dead in he middle of the school day as a way to scare the mortals and even if he could, one of the first things that his bullies had said to him was "if we go down, we're are going to bring your freak sister down with us." They managed to keep it on the down low so none of the other demigods had a clue what was going on. Nico was their punching bag and he refused to tell anyone about what was going on because he would prefer  he got hurt than letting Hazel get hurt.
   Nico sulked through the hallway, trying to remain unseen; it was a Friday and there was only one more class left in the day until the weekend started and he couldn't be happier. Not only would he get two days away from this hellhole but he a Skype date planned with Will that night.
   "Hey goth boy," Nico felt every muscle in his body tighten at the sound of his main bully, Thomas's voice. Nico was tempted to ignore him but he was to scared, not so much for his safety but more so about the idea that they might retaliate for his disobedience by harming Hazel. Spinning on the balls of his feet, Nico turned so he was facing Thomas who was accompanied by his two dense but strong friends.
   "What do you want now Thomas," Nico said, clearly irritated by the situation. Thomas smirked.
   "Now, now, now is that anyway to talk to me? Don't you remember our previous conversations- if there is even one thing about your attitude or what you say that irritates me then your sister gets it. So before we continue on, is there anything you want to say to me?" Every ounce of Nico's soul wanted to tell Thomas to go to hell, and maybe to send him their literally, but no amount of anger was worth risking Hazels safety. Just as Nico took a deep breath and was about to say the cursed words of apologies, he heard someone shout his name.
   "Nico, there you are. I've been looking for you throughout this entire building babe." Before Nico could fully realize what was going on, his amazing boyfriend Will Solace was standing beside him and had wrapped an arm around his waist. Thomas stared in shock and confusion at the reunited couple.
   "And you are?" He asked Will rudely. Ignoring his question, Will looked at his boyfriend and asked,
   "Are these boys bothering you?" Nico was stuck, he hated the idea of lying to Will but he felt like he would be selfish to put Hazel in danger if he said anything. 
   Will raised his eyebrows expectantly at Nico while Thomas glared harshly at him. Nico opened his mouth, not entirely sure what he was going to say but Will spoke before he could. Facing Thomas, while stepping protectively in front of his boyfriend, Will said,
   "The fact that he hesitated to respond means that you have indeed been messing with him and also likely threatened to harm someone, I'm going to bet Hazel. You may be able to get him to lie to our other friends but even if he wanted to, he cannot lie I me. Now you see, I don't like when people hurt my boyfriend so if I ever find you within a 10 yard radius of him again then I will personally ruin you. Not only does that involve physical harm but it also means your reputation. Everyday when I see him, I now know to ask about you and your little friends. If he tries to lie to me then I will know that you are up to your old tricks and you will have a one way ticket to Tartarus. Understood?" Thomas looked like he had just seen a ghost, Nico was personally shocked that he hadn't peed his pants. When Will was mad, Will was scary.
   Thomas and all of his friends nodded to show that they understood; all of them seemed to shocked to speak. With one last withering glare at them Will turned around, put his arm around Nico, and started to lead him away from his ex-bullies. But then, so quickly that anyone who blinked would have missed it, Will spun back around and punched Thomas in the face with such force that blood immediately starting pouring from Thomas's nose. Will leaned down to where Thomas was now kneeling on the floor and whispered, "Let that be your warning."
   Not caring about the crowd that had gathered around the scene; Will gave Nico a kiss and pulled him towards him. Desperate to spend time together, the couple proceeded to walk out the front door of the school; both feeling happier then they had in a long time.