Hi guys! This is my very first fanfic I've ever made – EVER. I'm serious. Major noob alert.

This'll be a chaptered fic. This is the first chapter, obviously. I wanna see if anyone likes it before I post any more. Or…maybe I'll post it anyway even if there aren't any reviews. Whatever.

Btw, I hope you guys get why that's the title.

Warning: This is slash. Boy x boy. If you don't like it, don't read it.

Disclaimer: This is purely a figment of my fcked up imagination. Also, I do not claim property over any of Rick Riordan's characters. I wouldn't dare.

Pairings: Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo (PJaTO), slight Percabeth

Summary: High School AU. Wherein Percy is weirdly fond of a certain awkward boy who's his girlfriend's best friend.

Additional Note: Some characters may be a bit OOC. Also, sorry for silly mistakes that appear here and there.

Skinny Love

Chapter 1

Seventeen-year-old Perseus Jackson, better known as Percy, was well loved in his school. Everyone knew him. Everyone looked up to him. Everyone adored him. It's a fact. After all, who in the right mind would dislike the nicest guy on campus, right?

Percy was also obnoxiously handsome and disgustingly charming. He was quite tall. He also had a nice build. He wasn't skinny, and he wasn't overly muscular. His nicely cut dark brown hair was just another plus.

Truth be told, you would think that he was a son of a god or something. He was that perfect.

However, Percy didn't see himself that way. This just added to his appeal. He was humble. He could make the proudest of people feel ashamed of their egotistical nature.

Percy had a girlfriend. Her name was Annabeth Chase. She was not exactly the most sought after girl in the school, but she was the apple of Percy's sea green eyes. Annabeth's beauty wasn't conventional. Her hair was platinum blonde, her cheekbones were defined, her lips were full, and her eyes were gray like a storm. However, her beauty wasn't what she was most proud of. Annabeth wasn't a fan of superficiality really. Her brain was what gives her confidence. Annabeth was all about intellectual pursuits. Other than that, Annabeth was actually really thoughtful and sweet. Her wonderful mix of qualities was what Percy loves the most about her.

Annabeth's best friend was similar to her, but at the same time, he was very different. His name is Nico di Angelo.

What makes them similar was the fact that they both aren't fond of glitziness and superficialiity. Nico's pretty tall, but not as tall as Percy. Also, Nico's jet-black hair, skinny physique, soft cheekbones, pale skin, and hazelnut brown eyes gave him an almost haunting allure. He wasn't the most handsome guy in school, just like how Annabeth wasn't the prettiest, but their looks both gave them a strange yet attractive appeal.

What makes Annabeth and Nico different isn't just the fact that Nico was an Italian male and Annabeth was not. They have very different attitudes. Annabeth, despite being very intellectually driven, always remembers to have a heart. She was direct about her feelings, and she was affectionate at the right times and places, especially with Percy. Nico, on the other hand, was awkward and rigid. He also tended to be sarcastic a lot.

Percy was very intrigued by Nico di Angelo.

Nico hated Percy, apparently. He was one of the very few people who do. Actually, he might even be the only one who did. Percy's theory was that Nico has feelings for Annabeth. He thought it would be completely natural for Nico to have developed feelings for his best friend of eight years. Percy wouldn't shame him for that. He wouldn't shame anyone for anything. It wasn't his style.

Percy's suspicions of Nico's latent feelings for Annabeth kept getting stronger actually.

Every time Percy and Annabeth would share kisses around Nico, the other boy would always scowl. "Get a room!" he would say. Sometimes, he would even pull Annabeth away from Percy.

Whenever they were walking in the hallways, and Percy and Annabeth were holding hands, Nico always gave Percy this look – this angry yet somehow adorable look. Percy was embarrassed that he thought it was adorable.

Also, whenever Percy sat with Annabeth and Nico during lunchtime, Nico would always attempt to sit between the couple. When Percy is the one to start conversations, Nico would never really join. He would only give little comments, which were mostly snide.

This had been going on for the three whole months that Percy and Annabeth dated. It never frustrated Percy. It just intrigued him.

Percy wanted to win Nico over. He wanted the other boy to trust him. He wanted Nico to be able to open up to him. He wanted to tell Nico that it was okay if he had feelings for Annabeth, and that he respected that. He wanted it bad actually. Percy didn't know why. He just did.

His desire to make Nico like him was about to increase dramatically, actually.

Today Percy, Nico and Annabeth planned to hang out. Annabeth wanted to go to the Manhattan Mall. Percy and Nico agreed to this. Percy knew of course that Nico didn't really want to spend time with him. However, Annabeth wanted the two to spend more time together. Percy wanted that too.

Percy currently sat eating a cheeseburger in a McDonalds. He was waiting for Nico and Annabeth. He wore an orange t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He also had a blue North Face jacket on due to the cold New York weather.

His phone rang. It was a text from Annabeth. 'Is Nico there yet?' it said. Percy typed. 'Not yet, babe. Where are you?' He took a bite of his cheeseburger.

After about two minutes, he received a reply. 'Just tell me when Nico's there already.'

This was weird. Why was Annabeth being cryptic?

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nico suddenly appeared, standing in front of Percy. He was wearing a red sweater and black skinny jeans. Cute, Percy thought. He immediately tried to get that notion out of his head.

Nico looked at Percy coldly. "Where's Annabeth?" he said. His poker face bothered Percy a little.

"Hi Nico," Percy said.

"Yeah, hi. Where's Annabeth?" Nico continued to talk icily.

"Oh, yeah. She sent me a text. Said to just tell her when you're here. Didn't say where she was." Percy smiled thoughtfully. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"So what are you waiting for? Call her." Nico said, taking a chair and sitting across from Percy on the small table he occupied.

"Oh…yeah…right." Percy said, getting his phone in a slight panic.

Annabeth answered immediately. "Hello," she said. She sounded giddy for some reason. "Hi babe," Percy said. His eyes darted to Nico for a a split second. He looked annoyed. "Nico's here."

"Great! Now you two go and have fun." What? What did she mean? Percy was confused.

"Wait. What?" Percy said.

"Let me talk to Nico," she said. Percy was still confused, but he was feeling excited as well.

Percy handed the phone to Nico. "Annabeth wants to talk to you," Percy said. Nico's expression switched from annoyed to puzzled. "What for?" he said. Percy shrugged.

Nico took the phone. Percy just stared at Nico as Annabeth spoke. After receiving the message, Nico started to look angry.

"What the fuck, Annabeth?" Nico said. "No, no. I do not want to do this. I can't stand this guy!" He paused for a moment, his eyes meeting Percy's. "Percy! Talk to your fucking girlfriend!" Nico handed Percy the phone. The fidgety boy was red all over.

"What's going on, Annabeth?" Percy sai,d on the phone.

"Like I said earlier Percy, you two go and have fun," she said.

"I still don't get it Annabeth." Percy said.

Percy heard Annabeth sigh. "You two. Alone. Today. Have fun."

"I get that babe. What I mean is why do you want us to do that? And what makes you think we will?" Despite everything, Percy still sounded calm. Nico, on the other hand, was flustered and angry.

"I want you two to get along Percy, and I think this is the best way to make that happen. A day out will be great for the two of you. I swear, Percy. It'll be fun. Do it for me. It's important to me that you two get along."

Ah, why does Annabeth always have to be so wise? This was a good opportunity for him to get on Nico's good side – a really good opportunity. Not that he thought it was really possible, but he could at least try. For Annabeth. Yeah, for Annabeth.

Annabeth hung up. Percy let out a deep sigh. He met Nico's faze. "Wanna go to the arcade…or something?" he said, attempting to lessen the awkwardness. Nico, unfortunately, glared at him.

"You seriously want to go through with this?" Nico said. There was silence for a while between them. All they heard were the hustle and bustle of their surroundings.

Percy flashed a small smile. "I…Well…What could happen? I mean, I think it could potentially be really fun, you know."

Nico's mouth fell half open. It looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't.

"I don't have anything else planned you know. This is pretty much all I have on my schedule." Percy smiled. Nico started to look a little calmer. "But if you really don't want to, I can just –"

Nico cut Percy off. "Fine," he said. Nico wouldn't look at Percy. "Let's…I'll get something to eat first." With that, Nico stood up in a very stiff and awkward manner, and then walked to line up by the counter.

Percy couldn't help laughing. He was heavily amused and heavily surprised by Nico's reaction to all this. Wow, he thought. He agreed. This was his chance to show Nico that he, Percy Jackson, is a swell guy. It's time to prove to him that Percy Jackson is a boy worthy of trust, and of Annabeth.

Percy watched the other boy as he ordered. It looked like he was having trouble. It looked like he was panicking even. The cashier looked like she was asking him some things and Nico just nodded awkwardly. Adorable, Percy thought. Percy now accepted the fact that he thinks his girlfriend's best friend was very, very endearing. He just can't deny it anymore.

Yes, Percy was intrigued by Nico di Angelo. Very much so.

Something vibrated. It was Percy's phone. Percy flipped it open. There was a text from Annabeth. Have fun, it said. Percy smiled. He sent a reply. Will do.

Nico got back with a box of nuggets and French fries. Percy smiled at him. "Hey," he said. Nico just gave him a mean look.

Nico quietly ate his nuggets. Percy watched him while he did. This went on for about three minutes.

After that three minutes, Nico did something that took Percy by surprise.

"You want one?" Nico said, pushing the box of nuggets in Percy's direction. He said this with a poker face, though something told Percy that Nico wasn't truly calm.

Percy grinned. "Sure, thanks Nicky." Percy had a habit of making nicknames for people on the spot.

"Don't call me that," Nico said, in a whiny tone.

The taller teen couldn't help but laugh. Nico grimaced. Percy took a nugget. He started eating. His smile still hasn't faltered. Nico took back his box of nuggets, and got another piece for himself. After which, he ate some of his fries.

Nico met Percy's eyes for a second. He immediately looked away. Subsequently however, he lifted the French fries and put it right in front of Percy's face.

"Take some," Nico said. Percy's smile broadened. This was a very unusual phenomenon. Usually, when they had lunch at school, Nico wouldn't even acknowledge Percy's existence. It looked like their day out was having a great start. Percy was ecstatic.

Percy didn't dare ask why Nico was being generous all of a sudden. It would ruin the other boy's mood. Percy just took a French fry and ate quietly. It was still awkward between the two of them. Percy knew that. He needed to ease his way into the other boy's barriers, and he was pretty sure it wasn't going to be the easiest of tasks.

"What do you want to do first? Any place you had in mind?" Percy asked. Nico just shrugged.

Percy pouted. "Hmm. Maybe we could –." Before Percy could finish what he was going to say, Nico cut him off. "Wait. I…I do have a place in mind actually." Percy noticed that Nico blushed a little.

A smile flashed across Percy's handsome face. "Where?" he asked.

Nico continued to blush. He looked at Percy. "I…I wanna go to the comic book store," he said.

"Oh. Okay. Sure." Percy said, smiling and nodding. What could Nico want at the comic book store? Percy never saw him reading any comics. Percy decided to ask. "You read comic books, Nico?"

"Uh…no…not really," the other boy said, making Percy raise an eyebrow.

"Then what are we going to the comic book store for?" Percy asked.

Nico looked like he was muttering something. He ate his last nugget and finished up his fries before he said anything more. "Ummm…. You'll… You'll find out later, okay?" he said.

It was best to leave it at that. Percy was aware of that. "Ok then," he said. "Looks like you're done eating. So…shall we go?" Percy smiled. Nico nodded.

There was no one else in the comic book store but the two of them, and the store clerk. Percy observed Nico as the boy went to a shelf with a bunch of figurines in boxes. Percy was right behind Nico. The Italian seemed fidgety when he took hold of one box containing a figurine of a man wearing a dark cloak. Percy read the large yellow letterings on the box. "Mythomagic," it said.

Percy laughed a little. "You're into that?" he asked. Nico faced Percy, looking a bit flustered. The other boy nodded. "I'm collecting the figurines…and the cards," he said. Percy found the whole situation to be very adorable.

"What's it about?" Percy said. Nico gave Percy a puzzled look. Percy chuckled. "Mythomagic, Nico. What's it about?" he added.

"Oh… Yeah… It's about Greek mythology. The cards stand for different types of monsters and the minor gods. I completed them already, actually. The figurines are for the Titans and the Olympians. So far, I have Dionysus, Apollo, Athena, Ares, Kronos, Hestia, Hera, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, -"

"Woah there, Nico. Don't have to enumerate all of them." Percy gave the other boy a thoughtful smile.

"Yeah…Right… I… Well… This one is Hades. I've been looking for one for a long time, but stores are always out of stock. And…here it is. Finally, I got it." Nico looked up and smiled for a second. Realizing that, he turned away, facing the floor. Nico just keeps giving Percy reasons to smile.

"You seem to be really passionate about this," Percy said. Nico didn't say anything. "Hmm… Why don't I buy this for you? It'll be a great keepsake for our day out."

Nico looked at Percy again, eyes widening slightly. "You don't need to Percy," he said. "Besides, I really want to buy this for myself." This made Percy pout.

Nico glared. "Don't make that face," he said. "It's annoying." Percy laughed. Nico punched him in the chest lightly. "Ouch, that hurt" Percy whined, jokingly.

"Hmph. Shut up," Nico said, angrily.

Percy laughed some more. Still chortling, he looked at the shelf. "So…is there anything else you want here?"

Nico bit the inside of his lip. He faced the shelf, and pointed at something. "Poseidon. I don't have Poseidon yet," he said.

"I hate Poseidon," Percy said, trying to sound sarcastic. His dad's name was Poseidon, and Percy wasn't really fond of his dad, but he didn't want to delve into that. "Oh well. Poseidon it is." Nico nodded. Percy was glad Nico didn't ask why he didn't like Poseidon. That topic just bummed Percy out.

They went to the counter to pay for the figurines. The store clerk was a girl who looked their age. She had black wavy hair. She was wearing all black, from her t-shirt to her jeans. She had a silver bracelet with the word "Aegis" inscribed into it. She was sitting at the counter, expressionless. Nico handed her the two figurines.

"How much is one?" Percy asked Nico. "Umm. Twenty-five dollars." Nico replied. Percy was a little shocked. "Oh…Okay." Percy took out his wallet and handed Nico the cash from it.

"Uh… Here you go," Nico told the clerk, awkwardly. The girl gave Nico a dark look. "Thank you, would that be all?" she said, putting the figurines in a paper bag and handing them to Nico.

"Oh… Uh… Yeah…" Nico said. Percy laughed. "Do you always have to be this awkward?" he said. Nico flushed. "I…I'm not that bad," he said. Percy laughed again.

Then, the girl said something unthinkable.

"Are you two together?" Nico and Percy looked at her with wide eyes. Nico was mortified. Percy was, well, shocked. Why would she think that? Although, for some reason, Percy didn't think the thought was totally absurd.

"No! Definitely not! No! He's… No way! I'm not gay. No… We're not together. Never in a million years. No… Definitely no." Nico sounded panicked.

Percy laughed loudly, his head tilting back. "You don't have to panic, Nico" he said. The girl chuckled. "I just assumed, you know. You two looked like a couple. Acted like one, to me. Guess I was wrong." She spoke in such a monotonous tone. You couldn't tell whether she was serious or not.

"Well, we're not." Nico said, matter-of-factly. "Let's get out of here Percy." Percy continued to giggle. This day was really turning out to be very amusing.

The girl chuckled again. "Thank you for coming," she said. Nico walked away abruptly. Percy followed suit.

The two went to an unoccupied bench about ten feet away. Nico needed to sit for a while. He hadn't talked since the comic book store. Percy, on the other hand, hadn't stop smiling.

They sat down on the green metal bench. "I think you're overreacting Neeks," Percy said, trying to hold back his laughter. Nico looked at him. He was angry, no doubt. "I…I just don't like people being all…presumptuous. It annoys me okay? Plus, she mistook us for a couple? It's insane. I mean, you of all people!"

Percy was a little hurt by that. Nico still hated him. Things haven't really changed. Although, Percy does know that it would've been too amazing a feat to make Nico like him after just two hours of spending time together. Maybe…maybe he needed to be upfront about it.

"Nico," Percy said, making Nico face him. "Why do you hate me so much?" Nico eyes widened. His brown eyes pierced Percy in the gut. The Italian's face turned rosy. Percy's expression was that of confusion mixed with pain. He really, really wanted Nico to like him.

Nico turned away. "I…I don't hate you," he said. I don't believe you, Percy thought. Nico continued speaking, "You're probably wondering why I'm always so cold to you. Well… I… I can't really tell you Percy. Not right now, anyway. Maybe not even ever. I don't know. But…I don't hate you, okay?"

This must be about Annabeth. Percy was sure of it. He gave Nico a thoughtful smile. "Okay, sure" he said. He left it at that. Getting deeper into the subject would probably irk the other boy.

Percy placed a hand on Nico's head to ruffle the Italian boy's dark hair. Nico squinted. He smiled, afterwards. He didn't face Percy, though. Percy marveled at the other boy's smile. It was a rare gem – one that was always kept, only to be shown on rare occasions. The sight made Percy beam.

"Where do we go next?" Percy said, being his normal enthusiastic self.

Nico looked at Percy. He shrugged. "I don't really have anywhere else in mind," he said. Nico bit the inside of his lip.

Percy sighed. "Arcade then?" he suggested. "Don't think anybody will mistake us for a gay couple there, right?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone. Nico snickered. "So…is that a yes?" Percy added. Nico gave him a nod in reply.

Why did Percy think for a second that this wasn't really going well? Of course it was. Giddiness was building up inside him once again. Before standing up, he patted Nico on the back. Nico didn't seem to be put off by it. He was smiling, even. Percy smiled back. Nico turned rosy pink again when Percy did. The taller teen assumed it was because Nico was just not used to familiarity – though of course, Percy did not know for sure.

Nico looked nervous going inside the arcade. What is up with this guy? Percy thought. He was never this nervous when Annabeth was with them.

"No need to be nervous, Nico. It's just the arcade," Percy said, patting Nico on the back.

Nico blushed. "I'm…I'm not nervous. No. I'm not. Of course not." The Italian laughed nervously. Percy chuckled. "Could've fooled me," he said.

The two played a game of Dance Dance Revolution first. Percy did pretty well. Nico, on the other hand, was all over the place. Percy laughed it off. Nico demanded that they play another game.

They decided to have a got at Mario Kart. Percy beat Nico every single time they had a race. Is he losing on purpose? Percy thought. He lingered on the thought for a minute. Nah, he concluded. Why would he do that?

Nico said he wanted to play Tekken next. Percy chose Lee for his character, while Nico used Asuka. They played a few games. Nico lost all of them. Percy started to wonder again. This was definitely more than abnormal behavior.

"Not doing so well there, Nico," Percy said, while they had another round of Tekken. "Shut up," the other boy said. Upon saying that, Percy placed his final blow, beating Nico once again. You could tell that hearing "Lee Chaolan, wins" for the umpteenth time irritated the Italian boy.

"Maybe we could try playing air hockey?" Percy didn't know whether Nico even wanted to play anymore.

"Sure… sure, whatever" was Nico's reply. His voice sounded fidgety and nervous.

They found an available air hockey table. However, as they approached it, a certain redheaded girl blocked their way.

"Hi there guys. Fancy seeing you here." Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood in front of them, grinning and all. She wore a Harvard University sweater, army pants and blue Converse shoes.

Both Percy and Nico were startled by her sudden emergence. "Hi Rachel," was all Percy could say. Nico was unable to utter a single word. Rachel was in their class, and she was actually pretty good friends with Annabeth, Percy and Nico.

"Where's Annabeth?" she asked, trying to look around to see if the blonde was anywhere.

"Actually, it's just the two of us today," Percy said, recovering from the initial shock.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Just you two? Seriously?" She eyed Nico. The Italian boy was red. It was as if Rachel knew something Percy didn't.

"This is…weird," she continued. "Did something happen to Annabeth? Did she get hit by a bus or something?"

Percy laughed. "No, Rachel. That's horrible. She just wanted me and Nico to spend more time together."

Rachel started to look even more puzzled. "What for?" Her eyes darted towards Nico, who was still flushed. Percy looked at Nico, then at Rachel. "She wanted us to get along better," he said.

"You know Percy, I'm not feeling very well. Maybe we should just call it a day." Nico turned away and headed for the exit. "Nico, wait!" Percy said, trying to running after the other boy.

Nico was already near the exit of the arcade when Percy caught up to him. "Nico!" Percy yelled, not caring that there were loads of other people around. "What's wrong with you? Do really feel sick? Because that would explain a lot." Nico walked briskly, and so did Percy.

"I… I can't tell you okay?" Nico said. Percy, for the first time, was getting frustrated.

"Why the fuck can't you tell me?" he said. Percy stopped walking and grabbed the other boy's arm so he'd keep still. He looked at Nico with an expression that said 'I want answers.'

"Be…because." Nico mumbled something that Percy couldn't understand. "Because?" Percy said.

"Because you'll hate me!" Nico's voice didn't sound angry, but it was loud and abrupt nonetheless.

Percy didn't know how to react to what Nico said. Was that a confirmation of his suspicions? Did Nico think Percy would hate him just because he has feelings for his best friend? However, that didn't explain why he would leave just because Rachel was there. Unless… Right, Rachel must know about it, Percy thought.

"I'm really confused, Nic" Percy said, not able to find better words to convey his thoughts.

"Let's just call it a day, okay? Please? I'm really tired." Nico really was tired. It was obvious.

"I guess it's fine. Sure. I'm pretty tired too, anyway." Percy really wasn't. He wanted to eat more nuggets, buy more figurines, and play more arcade games with the other boy, but he was very much aware that that wasn't possible in Nico's current state.

"I'm going through the main exit. Wanna walk there together?" Percy said, attempting to lengthen their time together even just for a little while.

Nico's mouth was half-open. He gave Percy a small smile before saying something. "I…I think I'll be going the other way," he said.

"Oh." Fail. "Well…bye then." Nico nodded, and then turned away. He waved before walking off. Percy just stood there, watching the other boy leave.

"Nico!" Percy yelled. The boy was a few feet away. He turned around, eyes widened. "Did you have a good time?" Percy asked.

Nico smiled and nodded.

Percy smiled and nodded.

Nico continued walking. Percy continued watching. He did so until Nico was out of sight.

He had a good time, Percy thought. Percy felt like doing a victory dance. His insides sure were. He was smiling uncontrollably.

Nothing could ruin his day now because Nico di Angelo had a fucking awesome time.

Did you guys like it? I'm neurotic, I'm sorry.

~ LC