Will
"Nico I know you've been trying but it's not smart to just tell off a bunch of campers, let alone chase them with the undead!" I yelled, Nico was facing away from me with his arms crossed, the light from his cabin dimly lit his pale hands.
"I had every right to! And if do it again, those vile, nasty, good for nothing-" he trailed off, looking down and sighing.
I approached him "What did they do?"
I tried to place a hand on his shoulder but he jerked away.
"Nico-"
"Shut up Will! Just shut up!" He yelled, turning and walking towards me "It doesn't matter what they did, they fucking deserved it!"
He was crying, only a little but I could see it. Crying on Christmas Eve.
"I'm sorry Neeks I just wanted to know-"
"So did they, they wanted to know a lot of things! Things I don't want to talk about, not with them, not with anyone! I wish people would just mind their own business, even you, you just need to leave me alone, I don't care how long!"
I froze, feeling my eyes well up and eventually overflow. He'd never acted like that towards me, I always thought, that I was the exception.
"I-I you said, you said you didn't mind me, you know, w-worrying about you. I-Imsosorry."
"Well I do mind! I mind every second of it! Every damn second of you hovering over me when I'm mad! I just want to be left alone!"
The tears were flowing at a steady rate at that point, I couldn't stop them. I was usually able to calm him down, he would apologize and we could talk calmly, but now he was saying I hovered.
"I'm so-sorry N-N-Nico, I-I ju-justst want to help," I was sobbing, unable to control my breath or heart rate "I'm sor-sorry."
He stood there panting, his fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. He was crying too, angry tears where mine were broken.
"You aren't sorry, being like that is just your nature. You're naturally clingy."
"S-Stop it N-Nico, it-it's Christmas Eve. Can we please not f-fight? Pl-please?" I sobbed.
"Fuck Christmas! It's stupid, this time of the year isn't special it's all shit, everyone putting up an act so others feel obliged to get them things!" He shouted, throwing his hands in the air "I don't see why us fighting today is any different than us fighting in the middle of the summer!"
"N-Nico I lo-love you please, ca-calm down. I don-don't want to fight."
"Too late Will, just leave," he muttered, approaching me.
I started to say something, but then our eyes met. They weren't his usual warm, kinda, loving, brown eyes. They were cold and dark, swimming with tears and anger.
I left his cabin. I left.
I didn't want to go to my cabin, my siblings would question me, so I ran to Halfblood Hill and sat down, leaning against the tree and hurrying my head in my hands. It was cold and wet on the ground, I didn't care much about that though, or I didn't think about it. I thought about Nico.
Nico had issues with his feelings, I knew that, issues with closing himself off, but he could usually talk to me.
Clingy.
He hated when I worried about him, and I almost constantly did that. Did that mean he hated me? Was this all a joke to him? Was I a joke to him?
I cried for what was probably an hour, hugging my knees tight to my chest and shaking.
"Will? What are you doing up here?" A voice asked.
I turned almost violently and wiped the tears from my cheeks. It was Jason. I could just tell by the reflection of the night sky in his glasses.
"N-nothing, I'm good, just sitting here," my voice was so rough that I didn't even think for a second that he would think that was the truth.
"What happened?" He asked, instantly kneeling down and putting a hand on my shoulder.
"Nico, him an I, I um, I guess we fought."
"About what?"
I shook my head "I'm not even sure, it started as me asking why he chased some campers around, then it was about me being too clingy and hovering around him."
Jason took a deep breath and wrapped an arm around me "I'm sorry man. That really sucks."
I sniffed a little "That's a bit of an understatement."
He helped me up and dried me quickly with some warm air "We should go talk to Nico. If you've been up here for more than half an hour he should be fine."
"Y-yeah."
So Jason and I ended up walking back to Nico's cabin, when we got there the door was partially open.
"Nico?" Jason called.
No response. I opened the door and looked for him, nowhere.
"J-Jason he isn't here," I stuttered, the tears welling up again.
"Hey, it's fine, let's just look around, maybe he's just hiding or something."
I started frantically checking, his closet first, which had been filled with black shirts, then it was empty. His bathroom was empty, under his bed too, then I saw the piece of crumpled paper on the bed. I opened it shakily, but I couldn't make myself read it.
"Jason, c-can you read this for me?" I whispered.
He walked over, placing a hand on my shoulder again, taking the not and clearing his throat "Will, sorry. Turns out I won't be staying at the camps after all."
Jason's voice had hitched at the last part. I sat down on his bed, unable to breathe.
He was gone.
He left me.
