I am back now with another story, this time Percico. I have been dying to write this ship! Anyway, because I don't want to pressure myself too much stories all at once, so I'm only doing 3 at a time. I would do 1 at a time because I'm so busy and all, but what's the fun in that?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this AU story!

"Hazel!" Nico yelled after the already gone car. He knew she was smirking. And he was going to get her for this one day.

He turned around to have a look at where he was stuck at for now. It was a gay bar filled with men of all ages, walking around, dancing, and holding drinks in their hands. That was why she wanted him to bring his ID. He found it so strange when she did that, but now he knew why. He looked too young to be a twenty-one year old going to a bar.

Some part of him wanted to go inside and check the place out, but he wasn't really a social person. And that place looked packed with people. How would he even be able to breathe? Maybe he could call a cab, but he didn't want his sister to come here only to find out he wasn't there. Sure, she liked to annoy him, but she was, along with his father, the only family he had. He didn't like seeing her frown even for a millisecond. He'd wait until she'd come.

Without even realizing it, his feet were dragging him inside. There was no harm in getting in, right? Well, there was alcohol and he never wanted to try any, but he didn't necessarily have to do that. Maybe he'd find a cute boy. Maybe.

There was no line outside, so that made it easy to enter. Still, the man standing in front made him take his ID out. He did that but while resisting an urge to swear.

Once he was let in, he froze. Sure, the place was visible from the outside, but entering it was different. The dimness and the flashing light threw a nice effect on the place, but that wasn't what stopped him in his tracks. It was the massive amount of men inside. He had never felt so thrilled. There were so many boys in the center of the dancefloor with their bodies against each other. There were others basically devouring each other's faces. And then there were ones holding their drinks in their hands while talking. There were other things to notice, too, but even with his ADHD he couldn't pay attention to everything.

A guy about his age walked past him dressed in all black, but before he left, he winked at him.

Nico shook this off and walked over to the bar. He didn't know what to do at the moment, so he just sat there, waiting for something to happen. He had no intention of drinking, but what was he supposed to make of this moment? So he ordered himself a drink and watched everything happen.

He got a few guys checking him out, and he wasn't really surprised. It wasn't that he found himself nice looking. It was just that people had often told him that his Italian look was attractive.

He made a mistake by turning around because once he did that, he caught sight of Percy Jackson also sitting, talking to someone Nico didn't think he knew. Percy Jackson. One of his old friends. His crush. He was here. Wait. Percy was gay? And he was here? Since when? Why didn't he tell any of them? Did he just discover this recently after he… stopped being friends with Nico?

Something in his guts twisted at the memory of what happened before. No, he won't bring back those painful memories back in his head. He refused to after all those years trying to forget about Percy.

For a moment, his eyes met Percy's before his old friend looked back at the guy in front of him and continued his chat, a smile forming on his lips again. Of course he'd ignore him. Why wouldn't he?

He laid his elbow on the table and put his hand on his chin. Great. What else was he gonna find out?

"Nico?" a voice asked from behind him. Who was it this time? He turned around, and this time, he wasn't surprised. It was Will Solace. During their days in high school, he was openly gay, so no shocker there. "What are you doing here?"

"Drinking. What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked.

Will laughed and sat down beside him. "Haven't grown a bit, di Angelo. Still short."

Despite the comment, Nico smiled. He missed hanging out with Will. They weren't best friends – no that was Reyna – but Will was one of his friends who managed to make him finally smile after Bianca's death. "Very funny, Solace."

Will's smile stayed for a few seconds before he frowned, a look of worry in his face. Shit. What did he notice? "What's wrong?" He wasn't going to answer, but Will was observant. His eyes went behind Nico's shoulders. "Is it… Percy?" He forgot how Will could read his expressions.

"Maybe," he answered quickly. Okay, not the smartest move.

"You still like him, don't you?" he asked.

Nico sighed. There was no use denying it. "Yeah. I miss him, and I want him, and I feel like crap, and he's beautiful, and help me." What happened to his ability to speak properly, he didn't know. Maybe it was the drink?

Will looked behind Nico and then back at him. "I have an idea that you probably won't like."

"Why wouldn't I like it?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow.

At Will's actions, Nico wanted to yell and punch him because before he knew it, Will was giving Nico a kiss. It was short, but it was enough to freeze him in his place, and piss him off.

"What was that about?" Nico asked, ready to kick his ass.

Despite Nico's obvious rage, Will still smiled as if he really liked Nico. Well, did he? Now Nico was wondering. "Percy's looking this way. I can see that he misses you."

It took him five seconds to get what was going on, but he finally did. Will was trying to make Percy jealous. "Are you asking me to be your pretend boyfriend?" he asked in a low voice.

Will's smile widened, but in a more friendly way. "I might be."

"Is he still looking?" Nico asked.

Will didn't need to look behind Nico to say, "Yes."

In another attempt to make Percy jealous, Nico kissed Will. Maybe he viewed their friendship as platonic, and he really didn't want to ruin this between them, but considering Percy had his eyes on… whoever that was in front on him, Nico wanted to do this.

"I'll take that as a pretend yes," Will said. Nico chuckled at his friend's dorkiness. Gosh, he missed that.

Will's eyes were following something behind Nico, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was looking at. With the most real-looking smile he could do, Nico turned around to look at Percy. Wait, was that Clovis with him? How many gay guys from school was he going to see here?

"Nico! Hey!" Percy yelled over the music. It wasn't that loud, but Percy wasn't really close to Nico. They must have had at least five feet of space between them. His arm was wrapped around Clovis, and if that didn't make Nico jealous, he didn't know what will. Nico didn't know what to do. Was he supposed to shake hands with him? Hug? Just sit down? It seemed that not even Percy knew what to do. He was standing awkwardly there, which was unusual of him. He was always confident and smooth. "It's been a while."

"Yeah," he said, rubbing the glass in his hand with his fingers. It was already empty. Maybe he should calm down. He didn't want to look Percy in the eyes, but he had to. Even if this brought the horrible memory of their fight together.

"Well, I think you remember Clovis, right?" Percy asked, tightening his hold on Clovis.

Nico nodded. "How can I forget the guy who always "pretends" to sleep in class?" he said, using air quotations. Plus, they've talked to each other a little bit in school. He didn't consider him a bad guy. Until now.

"Uh, excuse me, di Angelo, but I'm a night owl. I must have my morning beauty sleep," he said joking. His last name di Angelo seemed to suddenly be everyone's favorite thing to call Nico.

Percy laughed at this, but Nico and Will didn't. They just sat there awkwardly. "Of course you do." His eyes landed on Nico. A mix of feeling started to hit Nico: regret, affection, hurt, relief, and other things he couldn't even grasp. Percy took his eyes away from Nico and started looking at Will and Clovis. Anywhere but at Nico. "Hey, I was thinking maybe we can do something since it's been like what – four years since I've seen you?"

"Something like what?" It was Will who was asking the question now.

"Well, maybe a double date."

Oh. He was hoping they'd spend time alone, but whatever. At least he was going to see his old friend now. The one that he left and hurt. "Sure."

Percy's smile got ten times bigger. "Great. I'll decide on when and where and then I'll call you, okay?"

He was going to nod, but then he remembered something. "Wait, I changed my number."

Nodding and saying "oh" seemed like such a normal act, but Nico could see the sadness in his eyes. Was this because Nico never bothered to call him and tell him after he did that? Great. Now he felt like a jerk. But to be fair, after their fight, Nico didn't exactly want to talk to the green-eyed boy.

Percy got his cellphone out and gave it to Nico so he can type his number in. After he did that, Percy left while holding Clovis's hand. Oh, how Nico wanted to chop off that hand of his.

From his left, he heard a whistle coming from Will. "Looks like Nico's having a date tomorrow."

Nico shot daggers at Will with his eyes. "Shut up."

"But why? I mean, can't you picture it? That tanned skin, those exotic eyes, that adorable smile. Aren't you excited?" Will asked, raising an eye at Nico.

"Can you stop talking about Percy like this?" Nico asked, looking away from his friend.

"Percy? Please, I was talking about me," Will said. When Nico turned back to look with disbelief at his friend, he noticed Will raising his eyebrow in a flirty way.

Nico stood up and pushed Will's shoulder playfully. "I'm out. I'm getting a cab." He was already walking away, but Will's voice made him stop.

"Wait," Will said. Nico turned to look at him with impatience. "I don't have your number, either."

That was one thing he forgot. He completely dismissed the fact that he didn't talk to Will after he left for college, too. It was only Reyna who he still had a connection with. "Oh. Right. Sorry." So he gave it to him and then went outside after saying goodbye.

Ho got himself a cab and called Hazel to tell her he left the club. All the while during the ride home, he couldn't stop thinking about Percy. Or how he'd soon be spending time with him.

I hope you guys like this. I personally enjoyed writing it. Reviews and love are appreciated! Thank you for reading!

Until next time…

-TEM