Nico

I'm going to regret this, but I also don't have many other choices at this point in my life.

"Hey, Nico." Leo said at breakfast, leaning on my table. He can be so fucking annoying sometimes, it just grinds my gears. "Wanna hang out today?"

No, I answered in my head, you're literally the most annoying person I know.

"Sure," I answered aloud, shrugging and mentally punching myself for it.

And people say I'm not nice.

"Wait, really?" His dumb ass apparently asked me thinking I'd reject him. Of course, he was right in thinking so. But then why would he bother asking? That's dumb. I just sort of gave him a look. "Oh my gods, this is going to be fun!"

"Mhm."

"Hm?" Leo asked, noticing the tone of voice I carried on that word. "Are you upset that your travel stuff for delayed do you can't go home? Because if so I won't bother you. If you don't want to hang out, that's okay..."

Yeah, but Jason isn't here now. I reasoned with myself over this. So I might as well deal with it for a day.

"You're fine," I responded and put down my silverware. "And why would I want to to go home?"

"What... Nico, I'd go home in a heartbeat if I could." The son of Hephaestus told me as if I didn't already know that. "Why wouldn't you want to go home? Especially if you still can. Go home to your mom. See her again. I'd kill for that again."

"What's there to go home to?" I asked him, shrugging it off again. It's not like he knew about this. We don't talk, but we don't for a reason. "My mom's dead, too. I'm not even leaving camp this year. Not yet, that is. I'll probably leave in a month or so and take a break."

"Where would you go?"

"Depends," I answered, shrugging once again . I do that a lot. "I don't know. Where would you go?"

"On the streets, probably." Leo told me. "I mean, they're not so bad once you find an area with a few nice people. It's not so bad then. It's just hard to find that."

I nodded my head, agreeing. I ran into a really nice family once; the second time I ran away from here. They took me in, treated me like family. I hated being called in because of that. It's been two years since I was called in.

Maybe I should go back. I miss them. Visit, at least.

"Yeah," I responded, my mind on them. "It is."

But it's been two years...

It's been 3½ since she died.

"But anyways, enough of that depressing shit," Leo reverted back to his ways soon enough. "You should tell me why you like Annabeth so much."

"What?" I responded, thrown off. "I....I don't. she actually annoys me. I'd love to be able to slap her."

"Oh." Leo said flatly. "I guess I didn't realize that, with what everyone says and all."

"Rumors are rumors, Leo," I reminded him, taking another bite of my meal. "Most of the time they're dumb, and half the time, they're not true."

He nodded his head and got a text. Opening his phone he responded to it quick and suddenly straightened up, a burst of energy coming from him.

"Nico, do you remember the friend I had here like a week ago?" Leo frantically asked me as if he was a child. "His name was Charlie, he talked to you a little."

"Yeah..." I confirmed, unsure if I really wanted to agree to this.

"So I know that you're probably going to say no and probably like hate him for a long time because of a lot of reasons," Leo rambled on, sounding a little nervous. "But I feel bad if I tell him without asking you and I mean.you don't hate me so it—"

"Leo." I cut him off, knowing if I didn't it would never end. "just ask the question."

"Would you want to go out on a date with him?"

"I..." You know, I wasn't expecting that and now it's me not exposing that I'm actually gay and not interested. "You know, I'm flattered, but no. I'm good."

He seemed more relieved than he did let down for his friend. Charlie was cool and all, I guess. I wasn't interested, though.

And either way, I'm not out. So it's not like that matters all to much, either.

"I, uh..." Leo said after sending a text to Charlie, probably telling him that I said no, I wasn't interested. And sure, it was weird, but it's always been weird between Leo and I. "I told him."

Of all times, now he just has to be awkward. When else would he do that?

"Well no shit," I responded, motioning at his phone. "I just watched you send him a text."

Leo nodded his head, not objecting to anything I said. And I'm not sure if it's because he felt weird or if it was because I just come off as an asshole to him, but soon enough Leo tried to get rid of the tension.

"Sorry," the Latino boy apologized, shaking his head momentarily. "I shouldn't have asked, that's like weird and I know you don't like that sort of thing and yeah. Sorry."

"What?" I questioned, not understanding his reasoning behind apologizing. "what sort of things don't I like?"

"Like the whole gay thing," he said, shrugging and if that wasn't wrong, I don't know what was. "People being gay and whatever. I know you're not like fond of it and all, but I still asked and.."

His voice trailed off, guilted for absolutely no reason. Like my gods, you're fine.

"Leo, it's not like you asked me out." I didn't fucking know how to respond to that outside of like saying it was fine. "It'd be weird if it was you. It'd he worse than it already is. And when did I say that I wasn't fond of people being gay?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, now not looking at me, which irked me a bit. "But it just seems like you wouldn't, like Hazel hasn't said anything but she made it obvious that she doesn't like it. Almost killed me."

I sighed.

"First off, if you're going to talk to me, look at me when you talk." I insisted and he slightly looked up. "Leo." He looked up fully, knowing I was serious. "Listen, I could care less if you went off and sucked Percy until he was sterile or if you went and got Thalia pregnant... Okay, I would care a little. But not because you're bi or they are or whatever the situation is. I really don't care. If it bothered me that much, you would've found out a long time ago."

"But Hazel—"

"Hazel and I are very different," I stopped him right there. "Hazel was raised in the 40s, I wasn't. Okay? It really doesn't have a lot of impact on how I view things anymore."

He nods his head and sort of looks down again, which made something click into place for me.

Leo and I have literally never hung out before, he annoys the shit out of me half the time. It makes no sense for him to just walk over and ask to hang out. Just because we're on totally different levels.

But then this comes up and it's weird and it's awkward and it's uncomfortable. It shouldn't be, but it is. For absolutely no reason, it's uncomfortable.

Because he walked over here knowing this would happen, but Leo was expecting to be ripped on by me. For me to call him a faggot or whatever slur you would want to pick from in the long list of gay slurs.

Yet he comes over, and I don't rip on him. I don't give him weird looks. I don't even try to change the subject.

I support him and tell him it's okay instead.

Even though that's not what he wanted. Which seemed weird, but I mean up until this last month, I drove myself up the wall because I didn't want to accept that I was gay.

Leo, the most openly outed gay at camp, was either questioning himself once again, or feeling bad for himself. Plain and simple.

But I mean, the more I thought about it, I get it. There's only like one other outed person here and that's Will or something. Maybe a kid from the Aphrodite cabin, I'm not sure really. He's definitely the minority here, though, and I mean, there's homophobes in camp. It makes it pretty shitty real fast.

"Oh my gods, Leo," I started off, understanding how he felt. "It's okay. I'm not going to rag on you for being gay. Will other people? Sure, people are shitty. But like, don't sit here and sulk. You're already out, the worst is done, yeah? Unless you like ask someone out, as in a guy, it's not getting any worse."

"I don't—" he cut himself off. "Sorry to be an asshole, but how would you know, Nico? I get that you're like not the favorite person in the council and whatever, but not being everyone's best friend and this are two totally different things."

"I have my reasons."

"You... Wow, okay," Leo remarked, not impressed. He wasn't supposed to be, though. That's not the point. "come back when you have a legit response. Until then, I'll be in Bunker 9."

He started to walk away and I kind of panicked.

"Wait, Leo!"

He looked back at me and suddenly I realized what I almost said and I internally like freaked out and so when he looks back and I don't say anything, it makes me look worse.

"That's what I thought."