Goth! Nico/ Surfer! Percy AU Part 8!
Hi, sorry for the wait!! I was a little in doubt about if making this chapter in Percy's or Nico's POV, tbh, but in the end I decided that we're back to Percy! I always enjoy writing him being all smitten and in love <33
Enjoy~
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
You can also read it on AO3!!
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Percy had been looking at his phone for what felt like hours, staring at the empty message box and the name written on top, trying to find something, anything, to write that wouldn't sound extremely lame.
He knew his friends were looking at him, probably thinking he was the most ridiculous lovesick fool they had ever seen - which was fair, honestly, because Percy did feel like he was one second away from screaming into the void and starting to roll around on the cafe’s floor.
So, yes, he was a lovesick fool - but a lovesick fool with his crush's number now safely saved into his phone.
Crush.
It had been two days since his meeting with Nico at the beach, and for the whole time Percy had felt like the word wasn't right, wasn't nearly heavy enough to embrace the way he felt. When he had told Annabeth, she had looked at him and smiled.
“I can see that, Percy, but you do realize you barely know him, don't you?”
It was true, of course it was - yet it didn't matter.
Percy could still feel the warmth of Nico's hand in his like it was engraved on his skin. The need to hold it again was almost overwhelming, Percy could feel himself going crazy for it.
They had held hands, and it had felt like Nico hadn't wanted to let go either, that he had wanted to make the contact last as long as possible just like Percy had.
Percy wanted to text him. But what do you even write to the guy who's been haunting your mind for the past few months and who you aren't exactly friends with but at the same time it feels like you're so much more?
“Hi, it's Percy, how are you?”
Yeah, no, that was lame.
“Hey, would you like to go on a date with me?”
Too forward, definitely not.
Percy groaned, frustrated.
“I swear to god, Jackson, if you don't stop staring at that phone right now, I'm gonna kick you out of this place”.
Thalia's voice pulled him violently out of his thoughts.
“This is a public space, Thalia, you can't kick me out”, he replied without even looking at her.
“Oh yeah, watch me”.
Percy only looked up at her when a kick did actually hit his legs under the table.
“Ehi!”
Thalia smirked down at him. “Told ya”, she said. “I can't believe I only come here like two times a year - and when I do, you're too busy to look at your phone to actually talk to me? That's low, Jackson”.
Percy rolled his eyes, but the pull in his guts let him know that he did feel guilty. He sighed and finally put his phone down, straightening himself and going back to sip his coffee. Not that he would apologize to Thalia, but he could admit to himself that she was right; and after all, if he put aside for a moment his current concern, he really was happy to see her. It had been months since the last time they had the chance to hang out together like this.
“Don't mind him, Thalia”, Annabeth jumped in. “He just got his dream boy's number! And now he's trying to figure out what to write to him”.
She said it like it was ridiculous, but Percy remembered how happy she had been for him when he had told her about the events of two days ago, so he didn't take it to heart.
“His what!?”, Thalia almost screamed, accompanying every word with a painful slap on Percy's shoulder. “Why don't I know anything about this! How could you guys not tell me, come on!”
He swatted her hand away. “Ouch, ow, ow, okay, alright!”
“I can't believe this! I can't even remember the last time you had a crush”.
“Yeah, well”, Percy said, and lowered his eyes. “Doesn't really feel like a crush, anymore”.
“Oh woah, then it must be serious”, she said. “Come on, tell me everything”.
And so he told her - told her about the first time he saw the pretty goth boy working at the beach kiosk, about how long he had spent just looking at him. Trying to leave out the most embarrassing parts was no use because of course Annabeth had to jump in to point out how ridiculous he had been the whole time and how much he had panicked to just go and talk to him to buy something, and obviously she couldn't leave out his plan to impress Nico with his fantastic surfing moves.
“Annabeth, stop making me look like a loser!”
“I'm not making you look like a loser, Seaweed brain, I’m just telling the truth!”.
Percy kept talking, and he kept thinking about Nico, and he knew that he had the most enamored smile painted on his lips as he spoke. He talked and he couldn't stop because, god, he did love to talk about him.
They had only seen each other the previous day and Percy missed him already. He definitely needed to find the courage to text him - perhaps he didn't need to think too much about it, maybe a simple hey how are you would do, after all.
He wondered if Nico was doing the same, looking at his phone and trying to find something to write to him, or maybe waiting and hoping for a text to arrive.
He was so focused on recounting everything that he didn't notice the way Thalia's expression went from curious to surprised, then to confused, and finally to pensive.
“Wait, what did you say this guy's name is?”
Percy stopped in his rambling. “Nico, his name’s Nico”, he said, and finally noticed how Thalia seemed to be deep in thought. “What’s that face?”
It took a moment for her to reply. “Nico as in… Nico Di Angelo?”
Percy stopped and looked at her like she had grown a second head. “What?”
Next to him, he heard Annabeth’s voice echoing the same sentiment.
“What are you talking about?”
“Goth boy, shortie, long hair and lots of piercings, doesn’t seem like he own anything but black clothes, looks like he doesn’t know how to smile-”
“Hey, I’ll let you know that he has the prettiest smile you could ever imagine!”
Thalia waved him off at the same time that Annabeth said “Yes that does sound exactly like him”.
“And he works at the beach kiosk with a blond guy?”
A long moment of silence passed during which Percy kept staring at Thalia as her words kept swarming around in his head, blinking at her trying to process what she had just said.
It couldn’t be, could it?
“You know him!?”
Percy could feel his heart run around in his chest, pumping blood loudly in his ears.
That felt so much like fate.
“Huh, kind of?”, Thalia said. “I saw him a couple of times when I went to visit my brother”.
“Your brother?”, Annabeth asked.
Thalia nodded, smiling. “The blond guy working at the kiosk. That’s my brother, Jason”.
Another moment of silence passed before Percy finally came to his senses. “What the hell, why didn’t you tell us!”
This time, it was his turn to swat Thalia’s arm over and over. She hit back with just as much strength.
“Ow, why would I tell you! I didn’t even know you guys went to that beach - see, your fault you don’t tell me anything!”
Percy could feel Annabeth rolling her eyes at their antics.
But he had more pressing things to think about. He couldn’t believe it- really?
It was so stupid, feeling giddy for something like this, but Percy couldn’t help the smile that rose to his lips. They were connected.
You’re so ridiculous, Percy Jackson, so ridiculous, he told himself, as his heart danced in his chest.
“Nico Di Angelo”, he murmured to himself.
He knew his friends were looking at him ready to laugh at him. He looked at Annabeth. “See? I told you he must be an angel!”
They did laugh at him at that, and Percy felt so light he joined them.
“You really are so ridiculous, Seaweed Brain”.
“Hey, can’t a man be a little in love?”
They stopped in their laughter to stare at him, and it took Percy a moment to realize what he had said. He felt himself blush - he hadn’t even admitted it to himself yet, yet the words had felt way too natural on his tongue, leaving his lips without him even thinking about it.
“Percy….”
“I know”, he cut her off, looking away. For some reason, his hand felt warm. “I know, I don’t know him all that well and it’s too soon. But… that’s why I said a little”.
“So you like him for real, huh?”. Thalia asked. The look in her eyes was earnest in a way that Percy wasn’t very used to. He and Thalia had been friends for a long time now, but it wasn’t often that they ended up talking seriously to each other.
Percy nodded. He really didn’t think he had ever liked anyone like he liked Nico before.
“Now, I don’t know him too well”, Thalia said. “But Jason told me once that it took him a pretty long time to get close to him ‘cause Nico isn’t an easy person - so, from what I know and from what you told me, I can say that you are an exception to this rule”.
Percy’s heart was running miles.
He thought about Nico so easily talking to him, smiling at him, thought of him asking about him out of worry, of him taking his hand and getting in the ocean with him despite his fear of it.
“I can ask Jason about him, if you want. But”, Thalia continued, pointing a finger at him. “You better text him - today”.
~~
When he went home that evening, the phone felt heavy in his head.
He would see Nico tomorrow anyway, he didn’t have to text him, he could easily wait until he could talk to him face to face. Or he could simply wait until tomorro’s evening and see if Nico would be at the beach after his shift again. He could.
It didn’t feel like the right thing to do. It felt like the coward way out, the one that wouldn’t lead to anything more.
And so, before he could think too much about it, he pressed send.
Me: Ehi, Nico! You have the afternoon shift tomorrow, right? Let’s hang out at the beach again after it?
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