Bianca
I woke up a little early the next day. We stayed at Percy's place. And Percy and Nico stayed in one room, Mom and I in another.
I walked by the boys room to get to the kitchen and get something to eat. I could smell something and Mom was awake. And I missed her food so much.
Their door was cracked open, so I looked in. Just wanting to see what the room look like.
Instead, I got to see Nico using Percy's body as like one of those body pillows. It was um...
Were going to keep that away from Mom until we know what she thinks about that stuff. Even if they're not together or whatever. Nico might be gay, I don't know. He looked at boys. A lot more than he should've in ways he didn't need to. When we were younger. He never really cared too much for girls.
And even if he is, then Percy would have to be gay or bisexual, too. Maybe pan. But some form of liking a guy.
Along with that, they'd have to like each other. And have the guts to admit it.
Nico doesn't have the guts to do that, last I checked.
His confidence isn't quite that high.
I closed the door all the way, and went to the kitchen to help my mom with cooking breakfast. I wouldn't doubt Sally and Paul will sleep a little longer. Susan probably woke up once or twice. I'm a hard sleeper when I want to be. And last night I was.
Mom seemed like she was in a really good mood, which was good. I missed her over the years. I was glad to see her again. I can't even imagine how Nico feels about all of it.
Maria
My gay little boy was starting to become a my gay little man.
Oh, shut up, of course I know. Having a sister, we also told her she'll marry a boy before we even thought about telling Nico anything because he was 3. Bianca always pointed out boys she thought were cute.
And Nico just started to agree. And he asked me once or twice if he'd marry a boy, too.
Hades had that talk with him. because to the gods it was a perfectly fine thing. But in the mortal world... It wasn't.
And I never really got that. I'm happy Nico turned out to be (more than likely) gay. In the time he's living in now, it's more so accepted. I don't think gay marriage is legal quite yet. Not everywhere, at least.
But it's getting there, you know? And it gives him the chance to be happy and not be frowned upon like he would've been in the early 50s, when he would've been 15, 16 years old had Hades not placed them in the Lotus Casino.
And again, I'm not dumb. Whether Percy notices it or not, sees it or not, Nico has a hardcore crush on him. What Percy said about Nico hating him really didn't make sense, but I can assume that something happened. Maybe something to do with Bianca's death that got between them. It could be anything, really.
Percy was the next one to wake up after Bianca. And by then breakfast was made. So the three of us are together. And I asked Percy about that. Nico seemed so nice and what not with him now. Why did they hate each other.
"We didn't hate each other," Percy clarified for me. "Nico hated me. Because um... Well, when you died, Bianca. We finished the quest and we got back to camp and he came running up and he was excited and he wanted to see you and somebody told him to just wait, be patient. But after not too long he kept asking and asking about you and he already sort of knew."
Percy stopped for a second.
"Nobody else wanted to tell him," he explained to the two of us. "So I told him let's go on a walk and I told him you had died. And he took the news in silence he didn't say anything. And I tried explaining what happened, how there wasn't anything that could have happened to stop it aside literally grabbing you and stopping you. Which, we tried. It didn't work out. And um... He freaked out. He said he had a dream about it, he didn't want to believe it and he started to yell at me. He was pissed off beyond belief, and he threw that statue I gave him from you after telling me that it was my fault you died and I promised to watch out for you and all this crap and he threw it and of course I tripped over it trying to chase him and lost him. He left camp and we couldn't find him until the next summer."
Again, he paused.
"So he kind of hates everyone." He concluded. "After you died, he didn't really want anything to do with camp. He felt like he didn't belong there, there wasn't even a cabin for him. Kids didn't like him. He pushed everyone away for the longest time. For like two years it was hopeless. The second time he ran away he did tell someone. He told me he was leaving. He'd be back when we needed him. He just always seemed to push me further away. Probably because I was the one who told him and I watched it happen. One of those one step closer, two steps back. But yeah. I mean, he got better. He made a couple friends. Newer campers that didn't know anything. Still don't know, as far as I'm concerned."
So Nico didn't actually hate him. He just had a hard time with the grieving and coping and that was his way of doing it. Closing out the rest of the world.
Which, I suppose when you don't have much for family, seems half way reasonable.
