It All Happened On a Tuesday Night (Percico Fanfiction)

Chapter 4

The rest of the week passed quickly, and the weekend came and went in the blink of an eye. If Percy hadn't been counting the days, Monday might've flown right by him.

Monday.

Percy's heart fluttered with anticipation as he pulled on his favorite shirt, a worn sky blue one, a string of beads he always wore around his neck for good luck, and a pair of basketball shorts.

He brushed out his hair, groaning at it when it refused his pleas for it to sit flat,  and then went out to the kitchen for breakfast.

He found his mom in the kitchen cooking some oatmeal (blue of course), and kissed her on the cheek.

"Well, don't you look nice today?" She commented, motioning to his shirt. He blushed a little, but tried to cover it by turning to the fridge and getting a glass of orange juice. "Who's the lucky girl?"

Percy's tongue felt like rubber as he fumbled over the answer. "N-no one." He blushed even harder as his mom smiled knowingly at him and shook her cooking spoon at him.

"I remember when you used to tell me everything." She sighed and went back stirring the oatmeal around the pot.

"Mom," Percy complained. She smiled knowingly and crossed her arms.

"Alright, alright. Have fun at school."

"Thanks mom." Percy grabbed an apple out of the fridge and shoved it into his backpack before running out of the apartment and racing down to his car.

An overwhelming sense of dread and foreboding his Percy as he sat down in the driver's seat, his hands clutching the wheel. His knuckles were white and numb and he was reminded vividly of the feeling he had gotten at three in the morning last Tuesday.

He liked water, he always had. Percy's mom had always said his dad (his real dad, not Paul) was a great swimmer and rarely was away from the water before he had been lost at sea. Maybe that was why he had felt so safe when six feet below the surface.

Percy just felt stupid now. He was going to school to see a boy he had only just met. And he was scared. In the time he had been away from Nico, he had built up an entire person. He didn't even remember what Nico's voice sounded like, and yet he had imagined up an entire personality. He was scared now that Nico might not be the person he had dreamed up.

Percy beat his head on the steering wheel until there was a knock on the window and he looked up.

"N-Nico? What-"

Nico had a soft smile on and one hand shoved in his jeans pocket and the other holding onto his backpack strap.

Suddenly Percy felt extremely self conscious of his messy hair and the dark circles under his eyes from tossing and turning at night.

"Are you okay in there?" Nico's stance shifted so he was rocking back on his heels.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Percy paused and took a deep breath. "Want a ride?"

Nico blinked and stared down at him through his long eyelashes. "Sure, why not?" He opened the car door and slid down into the passenger side seat.

Percy finally started the car. The radio came on automatically as it always did and some odd song started playing.

"So..." Nico trailed off and Percy nearly hit a car while he watched Nico's perfect pink lips move instead of the road. His blood was moving so fast he was sure his head would explode soon. "So about last Tuesday...are you okay?"

Percy's teeth chewed at his lip and Nico felt his heart pound in his chest.

"Um, yeah, I'm okay. Doing better, you know."

"Alright, that's cool. I mean, wanting to kill yourself is never cool, but..." He trailed off again.

Silence. Then,

"Do you mind?"

"Huh?" Percy looked up at the radio where Nico was indicating and shrugged. "No, go ahead."

Nico grinned and leaned forwards, his long fingers hitting the skip button.

No Diggity, a song Percy used to be obsessed with came on and Nico seemed pleased. He leaned back and started to sing along under his breath. From what little Percy could hear, Nico was good. Really good.

"Do you mind showing me around the school today? I mean, you don't have to."

"No! No, it's fine. I can introduce you to my friends." Percy finished with a slight smile that Nico wouldn't have noticed unless he had been watching his face so closely.

Percy's eyes were the most beautiful thing Nico had ever seen. They were blue-green, and bright too. They were the kind of eyes that seemed to stare into your soul and were like two deep pools that if you stared at long enough you might drown. Or fall in love. Same thing, really.

His jawline, his cheekbones, his messy hair, everything. Nico had never felt this way about a boy, but then again he had never felt this way towards a girl either. For a while he had considered being asexual, but now he realized maybe he just hadn't met the right person.

It was right around the corner from school when Percy was hit by a brickload of doubt and social anxiety. He suddenly felt like he didn't have it in him to sit in class and take notes and maybe raise his hand and answer a question. He felt like he couldn't talk when this happened, and he wanted to be at home in his bed in the dark.

Darkness was good, unless it was at night. In the daytime, the darkness was safe. Behind his eyelids, under his sheets. But in the nighttime when there was no light, he felt like was suffocating again, and it was unbearable. His overwhelming loneliness could come out of the shadows then and...and...

The car lurched to a stop seemingly all by itself. Percy had pulled over and was panicking. The car was getting too small.

"Hey, hey what's wrong?" Nico's voice was soft and velvety and gave Percy comfort.

"I can't do this. I can't do this today. I thought I could, but I can't."

"Hey, hey it's going to be alright, okay? I know I don't know you very well, but I can tell you that in a week, six months, everything will be alright. Everything will be okay then, okay? You're going to be okay."

Percy forced a deep breath of air into his lungs and felt Nico's hand on his shoulder. His ears weren't working, but he could see Nico's lips moving in a 'it's all going to be alright' movement.