Percy

He was... And I... We... I'm going to have a heart attack. I was in shock. I couldn't move.

Nico uh... He broke away from the kiss, though. Which made me sad. His lips were soft. They were gentle.

But he took a step back and looked down, suddenly interested in his shoes. And of course... I mean, that must've taken every ounce of his confidence to do that. He didn't just tell me he was gay. That he... Liked me? He just kissed me.

When Nico bit down on his lip I was knocked out of my paralysis and reached my hand out for a moment before hesitating. His hair was in his face.

But I did it anyways. I reached out and moved his hair-

His hair was so soft.

Anyways. I moved it out of his face, and rubbed his cheek with my thumb. Something I never really did with Annabeth just because she hated the little affectionate things.

I had this mental pep talk all of a sudden.

You're gay. I told myself. And that's okay. Because he is to. And so is Thalia. And Will. And a lot of people in the world. And it's okay because you love him. You love him and you're not going to be afraid of that anymore.

You've been hiding for too long. You've been afraid to love for too long.

I took a step closer to him, which got Nico's attention, and I kissed him. I wrapped my arms around him. I wasn't afraid that he was going to tell me it was a joke. I wasn't worried that he'd call me a freak. I loved him.

And he must've gone into some sort of shock, too. Because Nico did tense up at first. But given a moment or so, he relaxed and uh... He smelled sort of like a mix between vanilla and coffee. His lips were soft, and I couldn't stop myself.

Being very hesitant, both of us pulled away from the kiss and rested our foreheads against the others. His arms were around my waist as mine were around his neck.

If I could stop time, I'd do it right here. With him. Just to be able to hold him and cherish him and love him.

I couldn't stop the smile on my face, but it's not like that smile was a lie. It always was with Annabeth. But now I'm here. And I'm not with her. I'm with Nico.

When I got around to opening my eyes, Nico was looking up at me (he's only 5'6" so our heights were a bit off) and he looked genuinely happy. And that was the first time I saw him like that ever since Bianca had died. Like he really was okay. He was actually happy

And a thought came to my mind.

That might be because of me.

I was exhausted, though. So we made our way to my bedroom and changed into something that wasn't jeans. I just threw on a shirt and some sweatpants. But Nico...

Nico slept in his underwear and my sweater that is now his. And I don't mean like boxers. I'm talking grip to his skin, girls shorts legnth underwear.

But he was laying on his back, and I rolled over and cuddled up to him. This time it wasn't a mistake or just because he's warm. I wanted to fall asleep like this.

I gave him a small kiss before getting too comfy, though.

"Goodnight." I told the son of Hades.

"Goodnight." He returned as he started to mess with my hair a little bit. That just helped me fall asleep sooner.

Grover

Annabeth and I were heading to Campfire and she explained to me their break up. Because nobody expected Percy and Annabeth to break up. I can still tell that he's in love. So I don't know why he broke up with her.

"You can't tell anyone what he told me, Grover." Annabeth was serious about this. "He probably doesn't even want me to tell you. Percy asked me to keep my mouth shut. But you guys have the mental link and you're best friends. I can't not tell you."

"Okay, okay." I promised the daughter of Athena. "I won't say a word. I'll even act like I don't know. What did he say?"

"He brought me back in the beach." Annabeth told me as we passed by the cabins. Percys light was off, which means he must be on his way to Campfire. "And we sat down and he told me that he like couldn't do it. I went to grab his hand be supportive and he said no to that. Said that was the problem. And he um, he said we should've never gone out in the first place. Told me that it was unfair to me. And then he kind of um..."

Annabeth paused for a second.

"He told me that he's gay." The daughter of Athena tried to explain that to me. "And that wasn't new to him. I was his cover up so people didn't find out. So everyone would think he's straight because he doesn't want to come out and only told me so he didn't seem like a dick and just broke up with me just because. And I didn't ask about any guys. If he liked anyone or not. I had to go teach those kids Latin. But as I left he did ask that I didn't tell anyone. I know that he talked to Chiron after dinner. So I'm thinking that's probably what it was about."

Oh...

Shit, dude. That's why his emotions never went away.

They weren't towards Annabeth. And I mean... They've been there for... I mean, a long time. But most of the time guilt or regret would overlap it and that sucked. But this wasn't... He didn't seem to feel guilty or anything right now. If anything, he seemed happy.

"Have you noticed any guys?" Annabeth asked me.

I shook my head.

"No," I said, sadly enough. Percy was good at hiding this stuff. I've always known that. He never had a crush at Yancy. If he did, I'll be damned if I ever knew. "But there must be one. For like a year and a half, two years, whatever it is, I just assumed he was in love with you. But I mean that hasn't gone away and I don't know who's he's by right now because it's really noticeable right now."

Anyways, we got to campfire. Noticed a few people were missing. Percy being one of them.

"Hey," Annabeth remarked to the others. "Do you guys know where Percy is? I'm not the only one that heard him say he'd be here, right?"

"Yeah, he definitely said that." Hazel agreed. "I don't know. I can't find Nico anywhere, either."

Jason had some useful insight.

"Last I saw either of them." The son of Jupiter told us. "They were both going into Percy's cabin. I don't know why they'd be there for an hour. But I saw them to in before I went to go to my cabin."

"Nico?" I asked, now feeling like a dumbass.

That should've been an obvious thing. I mean, Percy probably won't tell him anything. But just with how he's been the last half hour to an hour? It's Nico.

Which made sense. When Nico went missing, Percy went insane trying to look for him. He tried everything to be Nico's friend. To help Nico out. To be there for Nico. Nico just kind of pushed everyone away. But with how he reacted to Percy's death... I mean, I assumed that Nico was gay about two years ago. While we were all in the Labyrinth.

And hate is a really good way to mask love.