The One That Got Away (Percico)

Chapter 9

-Nico-
Nico woke up blinded by the sunlight pouring through his window at 8:00 am. Stupid summer, he thought. To be perfectly honest, Nico liked the dark much better than the light. He dragged himself up and ran his hand through his hair, trudging into the bathroom, probably looking like an un-dead zombie.

He undressed quickly and got in the shower, letting the water run over his body for a moment before actually doing anything. After washing his hair and styling it so it fell in his usually dark curls, he picked out his outfit for today. Nico didn't usually wear bright colours, but today he decided to wear a white vest top and some brown khaki shorts. It was summer after all.

Grabbing his sunglasses, he went outside and waited for his Mum to come down and drive him to his second session with Dr. Lupa at 8:30 sharp. As he stood there waiting he saw the bushes move in the Jacksons front yard and two sets of eyes, two green and two brown, look out over the top. Percy and Grover.

Nico chuckled to himself quietly and waved, his chuckling turning into laughing when he saw Grover wave and smile but Percy topple out of the bush. Grover got up and began to walk over, Percy scrambling to his feet and following.

"My my, you two are up early aren't you?" Nico smirked.

Grover nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, got here at 6 am 'cause Percy called and said it was emergency."

"Ah, and was it an emergency?" Nico smiled as Percy blushed.

"Well, you could say that." Grover smirked. Percy's blush deepened.

"So, are you still coming over at 11?" Percy asked nervously.

Nico nodded and smiled gently. God, his cheeks were hurting from all this smiling business. "Yeah, if that's okay with you."

"Yes! I-I mean yeah, it's okay." Percy returned his smile and glanced to Grover, who smiled reassuringly.

Soon after, Maria came out of the house carrying her bag and Nico's letter for his appointment.

"Oh, hello Perseus! Grover isn't it? Come on Nico, we don't want to be late." Maria flashed a smile before climbing into the car. Nico turned to the other two teenagers and said,

"That's my cue. I'll see you soon." But before he could get into the car, Percy asked, "Where do you go this early, anyway?"

Nico's lips tilted down and he looked Percy in the eye, "Some things should remain unsaid, Percy." And with that, he ducked into the car and they drove off to go and see Dr. Lupa.

-

After a surprisingly short session (Mainly consisting of Dr. Lupa saying 'Listen, Nico, if you don't want to tell me then we can cut this session short, but I will get it out of you next time.') so Nico got home at about 10:55, meaning he had 5 minutes before he went over to Percy's.

He quickly combed his hair in the mirror and took a breath mint (just incase any kissing does occur) and jogged next door, where he was greeted by the smiling face of Sally Blofis.

"Nico! Hello, dear! Percy's just upstairs, and don't worry, Paul and I will be out in a moment so you'll have the house to yourselves." She smiled and stepped out of the way, leading Nico inside.

"Wow, the house hasn't changed, has it?" Nico smiled.

Sally shook her head. "No, actually. But it was always a little lonelier without little you running about with your little 'Mythomagic' figurines." Sally giggled as Nico blushed. Mythomagic was one of his favourite games as a kid.

Just as Sally and Paul left, Percy came down the stairs smiling and cheerful.

"Hey Nico," he greeted. "We've got the house to ourselves and I've got Modern Warfare on in my room, so we can play up there soon. But can I talk to you here for a minute?"