Children of Loss 6

Chapter 6

Nico looked at himself in the mirror. A group of the Lost Kids had gathered behind him. They were all inspecting the state of his body. Three weeks had passed since the other Lost Boys had started helping him work out, and Nico's body had finally started to look normal again. They were all currently up in the gym, getting some exercise before work. “See, all you needed was a good diet and the right exercise,” Apollo said, placing a hand on Nico's shoulder.

“Gonna get those big tips now,” the Stolls said, slapping Nico's stomach.

Apollo had set him up with a diet and exercise plan that he had stuck to for the past three weeks. He had gotten Will and the twins to be Nico's workout partners. The girls had done a good job in making sure Nico ate healthy and stuck to Apollo's diet plan.

Annabeth pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of Nico. “Percy wanted an update on his progress,” she said, sending a text message.

“I bet he did,” Travis said with a grin. Annabeth just rolled her eyes. Apollo handed Nico his shirt and the boy slipped it on over his head.

Piper clapped her hands together, bringing everyone's attention to her. “Alright, gang, we should head out. We need to be cleaned up for work tonight,” she informed them. The group gathered their things and boarded the elevator. It was weird for Nico, after four weeks of living with them, there were still a few of the group that he hadn't met yet. He knew it was a large hotel, but how could he go so long without running into the others?

Percy had been spending more time with Nico, much to his enjoyment. He was really enjoying Percy's visits. He still hadn't asked Percy about his past, though. Part of him was nervous asking about it. He didn't want Percy to pull away from him.

There was a drawback from spending so much time with Percy, though. Luke and Octavian seemed to grow more irritated with him every passing day. They always referred to him as Percy's favorite. Nico did notice a few of the others show small signs of resentment as well. Nothing major, just annoyed stares whenever Percy was in the room with Nico. Apollo and Thalia had assured him it wasn't anything to worry about, but that it was just that Percy treated him differently.

Nico wasn't sure what they meant by that. He had to work every night, and often had day shifts added on during the weekends. He felt worked to the bone, especially with school work to go along with all of it. He didn't see Percy treating him any different. The only thing that seemed different was that Nico didn't seem to have to negotiate hours like the others did. He hadn't thought much about the top floor lately. He had been so busy that his mind was kept occupied.

The group exited the elevator onto their floor, the girls heading off down their hallway. He bid the others farewell as he entered his suite. He flopped down on his couch to relax for a few minutes before he had to get cleaned up. He flipped on the TV and searched for something to watch.

When it was getting close to an hour until he had to be at work, he shut off the TV and headed for the bathroom. He slipped himself out of his clothes and turned on the shower. He slipped inside the glass shower and started rinsing himself off. This time, he actually let his eyes look down at his body. It was such a relief to him to not look so grotesque anymore. There was even the tiniest bit of muscle starting to show. Nico let his head fall back on the shower wall, letting the water wash over him.

Looking at the terrible shape his body was in had been so hard on him. He couldn't recall a single day where he didn't cry looking at his naked form. While he was thankful for Percy pulling him off the streets, he couldn't help resenting his father for putting him through all of that. If it hadn't been for Percy, he probably would have died out there.

Nico shut the water off and grabbed a towel. He dried himself off and grabbed his toothbrush. Brushing at his teeth, he inspected his face in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes had finally vanished. Several of the Lost Kids had even started complementing him on his features. Things like his soft black hair, and almost matching dark brown eyes. His skin still was pale, since he had told Apollo he couldn't tan. Percy had complemented him on his improved appearance as well, saying that Nico's eyes were one of his favorite features. Nico noticed his cheeks darken in the mirror at the memory.

He left the bathroom and headed for his bedroom. He set about pulling out some clothes to go to work in. He slipped into his pants and slid the shirt over his head. He shut his bedroom door behind him as he made his way back into the kitchen. He should probably eat something before going to work. He had some leftover pasta from lunch earlier, he figured that would work.

After he finished eating, Nico left his suite and headed for the elevator. Will was standing by the elevator when he arrived. He gave Nico a smile as the dark haired boy approached. “You working the bar tonight?” Nico asked.

“Yep, you headed up there too?” Will replied as they both stepped on the elevator.

“Yeah.”

Will nodded and slid his card into the slot before hitting the button for the bar. A few moments later they stepped out into the bar. Nico had gotten used to the noise by now, it seemed so normal to him now. They headed over to the bar and signed in. Chiron tossed them their aprons after they were finished.

Thalia walked over, handing Chiron some empty glasses. “I'm so glad the two of you could join us,” she joked. Will rolled his eyes at her as he put on his apron. Nico glanced over at the elevator when it opened, letting Reyna off of it. One thing Nico had noticed was that Reyna liked to keep to herself for the most part. There were only a few of the others that she would really be seen hanging around during free time. She wore her normal emotionless expression as she signed in quickly and headed onto the floor. Nico pulled his pad and pen out before following her lead.

The hours seemed to creep by at a snail's pace for Nico. He had had one customer tonight that just seemed like he was purposefully trying to give Nico a hard time. Nico was relieved when he finally got to go on break. He plopped down onto the couch in the break room, letting out a long sigh. Reyna came in a few moments after him and went over to the small fridge they had in there. She pulled out a bottle of water and sat down in the chair next to the couch. She seemed content in the silence, Nico observed. She was one of the few people that seemed to be a little bitter at Nico for how Percy treated him.

Nico bit his lip as he stared at her. He wanted to get to know all of the Lost Children, even the ones that intimidated him. “Reyna, can I ask you something?” he asked quietly.

She glanced over at him, taking another drink of water. “Sure, kid, what's up?”

“Well, I was just wondering what your story was? Everyone else seems to have a tragic story about how they got here, and I was just curious what happened to you.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”

Nico pouted at her. “I just wanted to get to know you better.”

She held out her wrist, exposing her tattoo to Nico. “I got this from my old life. I ran away from home when I was around your age. I was dating this guy, at the time, and he was involved in a gang. Well, he told me if I wanted to be with him, I had to join them. So, the stupid young me decided to do it. They branded me with this and let me be in their 'family'. I use the word very loosely. It wasn't anything like we are here.” She began rubbing her marked wrist softly. “After I ran away, I moved into their crib and stayed there. I did drugs for a short while in my time there, so trust me when I say you shouldn't try any of it.”

“How did you get from there to here?”

Reyna's eyes darkened, her mouth set into a firm line. “That bastard cheated on me, only I didn't know it right away. Percy showed up one day, furious at my boyfriend for not paying something.” She paused for a moment. “I'll leave out all the boring details, but he told me that my asshole of a boyfriend had cheated on me. I wanted to kill him so badly, but...never mind. Anyways, Percy pulled me out of there and brought me back here.”

“Do you know how Percy found out that your boyfriend cheated on you?”

“I do,” Reyna replied, taking another drink of water. Nico waited for an elaboration, but it never came. Reyna just went back to sitting in silence, occasionally taking a sip of water. Nico tilted his head to look back at the ceiling. He figured it was best to just leave her be. He had gotten to know her just a little bit better, and that's what he had wanted. Yet another tragic story was laid out before him.

He was thankful that it was the weekend, school today had been exhausting. He had his first major test since his return to the educational system, and he was hoping he still managed to keep his good grades. Sighing, Nico pulled himself off of the couch to get back to work.

Percy hadn't shown up tonight, which made Nico frown to himself. Most nights the green eyed boy came to the bar for a few minutes. There were the rare nights that he wouldn't show up at all, though. Nico supposed this was one of those nights.

Finally, they were released from their duties, once the last of the customers had left. They all boarded the elevator and headed down to their floor. “Any plans for tomorrow, Thals?” Will asked, popping his back.

“I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know,” the black haired girl replied

“How about something relaxing? I could use a good day of relaxation,” Reyna added.

“Amen to that,” said Will. The elevator doors opened and they headed out onto their floor. The girls bid them goodnight before heading down the hall. Will waved at Nico as he passed Nico's door. Nico watched him head down the hall and stop in front of Apollo's room.

“You live with Apollo?” Nico asked.

The blond looked back at Nico and nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“I needed to ask him something about the diet plan he gave me. Do you think he's in yet?”

Will shrugged. “I don't know. You're welcome to come in and see. You can wait for him if he's not.” Nico nodded and walked over to where Will stood. The blond inserted his card and pushed the door open. “Oh god!” Will yelled, trying to shut the door.

It had been too late, though. Nico's eyes had immediately landed on Percy and Apollo on the couch together. They were completely naked and currently in the middle of sex. They both froze when the door opened. “Shit,” he heard Percy mumble, already pulling out of Apollo. Percy grabbed for his pants, throwing them on as fast as he could. Apollo sat there, a shocked expression on his face. His mouth kept opening and closing, unable to find any words to say.

Nico felt tears burning in his eyes. “Shit, I'm sorry guys. I didn't know,” Will said. Nico started to back up. Will tried to make a grab for him, but he jerked his arm away.

“Nico, wait. You don't understand,” Percy said, jogging towards the door. Nico didn't wait, though. He bolted to his door. Percy pushed past Will into the hall. “Nico, please listen to me.” Nico fumbled for his keycard. His hands were shaking so bad that he almost dropped it. Percy had come to stand right next to him. He refused to look at Percy, though. He didn't trust himself to not waver from the boy's eyes. He wiped at his face as he slid his card into the door.

Apollo came out into the hall, having put on some pants. Nico heard some doors open down the hall, other Lost Children looking outside to see what the commotion was. “Nico, please listen. You really don't understand,” Apollo pleaded.

“Leave me alone!” Nico yelled. He opened his door and slammed it behind him, refusing to let any of them into his suite. He bolted the door so that Percy couldn't use his master key to get himself in. He didn't want to see him now. Nico went over to the couch and curled up on it, letting his tears fall.

There came a frantic knock at the door. “Nico, please open the door. Let me talk to you. I can explain,” Percy's voice came from the other side. Nico didn't budge, though. Any other time he would have jumped in a heartbeat to let Percy in his room, but not tonight. His phone started going off, he pulled it out to see Apollo's name on the caller ID. He threw his phone to the floor so he didn't have to look at the name on the screen.

He heard running in the hall and soon another voice was heard outside. “What the hell is going on?” came Thalia's raised voice. There was hushed talking on the other side, Nico could no longer make it out. Then there was knocking again. “Nico? It's Thalia. Can I come in to talk?”

“No! Everyone just leave me alone!” Nico yelled, refusing to move from the couch. There was more hushed talking. Nico heard a few footsteps and a door closing.

“Nico, I'm going to get everyone to leave you alone, but I want to come talk to you in the morning.” Nico didn't care. He didn't want to talk to them. He rubbed at his face as he dragged himself off of the couch. His stomach felt sick and his head was spinning. His phone went off again, this time it was a text message. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to look at it, but against his better judgment he picked it up. It was a message from Percy.

Nico, I'm sorry you had to see that. It's really not what it looks like. I really want to explain it to you. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Nico bit his lip, debating typing a reply. He shook his head, placing his phone on the kitchen counter. He went to the fridge and grabbed bottle of water. He headed back to his room, placing his drink on his nightstand. He collapsed on his bed, letting out a single sob into the comforter. He didn't even bother undressing. He just curled up on his bed and cried himself to sleep.

Nico stood in his shower, letting the water beat down on him. He was stupid. Stupid for ever getting his hopes up that he might have the slightest chance with Percy. Why did he try to fool himself? How could Apollo betray him like that, though? Surely Apollo knew that Nico had a crush on their boss. The blond acted like he knew of the crush. Yet he still did this to Nico.

He didn't feel betrayed by Percy. He couldn't. No, he felt something else for the green-eyed manager. He was hurt. Percy had hurt him. Nico didn't own him, though. They weren't dating. Percy had every right to go and have sex with whoever he wanted to. Nico had no claim to him. It didn't change how much it hurt, though. He wanted to be with Percy. In his entire life, he had never wanted something like this. He had never wanted something so badly. Now Percy truly was out of his grasp. How could Nico ever hope to compete with Apollo? Apollo was gorgeous.

He wiped at his eyes and shut off the water. Stepping out, he grabbed a towel and slowly dried himself off. He didn't want to go anywhere today. He didn't want to run the risk of running into either Percy or Apollo. He couldn't face either of them. He wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom. He needed to check his phone. Hopefully, fate would be on his side and he wouldn't have Apollo on shift with him tonight.

Picking up his phone, he ignored all of his missed calls and texts. He opened his daily email from Leo, inspecting his coworkers. “Fuck,” he mumbled. He had no such luck. There was Apollo's name clear as day in the email. He would have to force himself to ignore Apollo. There was no way he wouldn't crumble to pieces if they actually spoke. He would probably have the urge to punch Apollo in his perfect face.

A new call came in, it was Thalia. Nico sighed and decided to talk to the girl. “Hello?” he asked quietly.

“Nico! Finally! We were beginning to think you died in there,” came the girl's reply.

“No, I'm...fine.”

“You don't have to lie to me, Nico. Look, this place isn't paradise. We call it an illusion for a reason. This place majorly bites, especially when you first get here. Trust me. I remember when I first started here. I hated it. You're going to hate it for a while too.”

“You're not going to tell me to hear them out, are you?”

Thalia chuckled through the phone. “No. I know you probably hate both of them right now. If I were in your position, I wouldn't want to talk to them either. I just wanted to invite you out to take your mind off of things.”

“Apollo won't be there?” Nico asked, biting his lip.

“Nope. I haven't even told him about this. Annabeth and I were going to go down to the spa. I wanted to know if you wanted to go? It might help you take your mind off things.”

Nico ran a hand through his drying hair. “I-I guess. Yeah.”

He could practically see Thalia smile through the phone. “Great! I'll be over in ten. Be ready to go by then.” Nico hung up the phone and went back to the bathroom to get ready.

After brushing his teeth, he went to his bedroom and found something comfortable to wear. He didn't feel like dressing up too much. He would come back before work and change clothes. There was a knock at the door. Nico went and peered through the hole. Sure enough, it was Thalia. He opened the door and let her in. “Hey,” he mumbled quietly.

“Shit, Nico. You look like hell,” the girl said, raising his face to look at her. “Did you cry all night?” Nico nodded. “I'm sorry. I-I did try to warn you. Percy's not someone you want to develop actual feelings for.”

“I know. I was being stupid.”

“You weren't being stupid. A lot of people fall for Percy when they first get here. You're not the first, and you probably won't be the last.” Nico nodded, wiping at his nose. “You ready to go?” Nico nodded again. Thalia led him out the door and down the hall to the elevator.

Waiting at the elevator was Annabeth. “You got him out of his room after all I see,” the blonde mused. Nico didn't say anything, just standing there in silence, staring at the floor. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. “Wow, he really is shaken up. He actually walked in on them?”

Thalia sighed. “Yes, because Will wasn't using his head, and the two of them were idiots and used the couch.”

“They do this a lot?” Nico asked.

Neither of the girls seemed to want to answer. They boarded the elevator and hit the ground floor button. “You got some waking up to do, Nico,” Annabeth stated plainly. “We told you before, this place isn't sugar and rainbows.”

“I just...never mind. I was just being stupid. I let myself believe I had a chance with him. I thought he might actually like me back,” Nico whispered. The girls shared a look, refusing to comment on the subject.

“I told you, Percy doesn't take an interest in us,” Thalia said, putting her arm around Nico.

“You shouldn't be mad at Apollo either,” added Annabeth. “It was just business.”

“Business?” Nico asked, looking up at the blonde girl.

Thalia shot her a look. “Relax, Percy will probably fill him in a little once Nico cools off.” Annabeth faced Nico once again. “That is the answer to your question on how we discuss hours with Percy.” Nico cocked his head to the side. Annabeth sighed. “Apollo was trying to get more hours...upstairs, and to do that you are required to...prove to Percy that you are deserving of the hours.”

“By letting him fuck you?”

“Like I said, not as nice of a place as you might think.” The elevator opened and the three exited it. Nico followed the two girls around the corner towards the pool. They turned another corner, now heading away from the pool. They came to two open glass doors. Circe's Spa was written on a sign above the door.

Inside a tall woman stood behind a desk. Her piercing green eyes were currently busy looking through a magazine. She had long dark hair, eloquently braided with gold thread. She was a thin woman, currently adorned by a long silky black dress. A small stuffed guinea pig lay on her desk next to her computer. She glanced away from her magazine to look at the three new arrivals. She smiled and walked around the desk to usher them farther into the room. “Ah, Annabeth and Thalia, I was wondering when you were going to return to me,” the woman said. Her eyes fell upon Nico. Her lips turned down into a frown upon inspecting him. “And who is this?”

“Oh, this is Nico. He's sort of new here,” Annabeth replied.

“Nico, this is Circe, the spa manager,” Thalia stated. She turned her attention to Circe. “Do you think you could squeeze the three of us in? We could use a spa day. Especially Nico, he had a rough night last night.”

Circe tapped her cheek. She walked over to her desk and ran through her time schedule. “I suppose I could squeeze the three of you in, but only since the two of you are my favorite customers,” Circe said, pointing to the girls. They smiled and dragged Nico towards the back.

They were ushered into separate rooms to get out of their clothes and into some robes they were provided with. After that, they were led into a large room with some tables set up in the middle. Nico's cheeks started burning when the girl's started to remove their robes. They had their backs to him, so he didn't see anything and, luckily, they had their underwear still on.

Nico slipped his robe off of his shoulders and climbed onto the table. The door opened again, Circe and two other girls came inside. One of the girls came over to Nico's table to get started on his massage. He felt his cheeks flush when the girl commented on his soft skin. Apparently, it was softer than a lot of the girls she massaged.

As the massage team was busy with their job, the girls decided to see how Nico was doing. “Are you at least feeling less depressed than you were last night,” Thalia asked, voice full of concern.

“I don't know,” Nico replied. “I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to be feeling. It's not like he cheated on me. I know he has every right to do as he pleases.”

“It happens,” Annabeth added in.

“A lot?”

“Whenever we want better time slots, yes.”

Nico frowned. “You mean you've both had sex with him too?”

Thalia cleared her throat. “I tried to warn you, Nico,” she said softly. “It's not paradise here. It's what we have to do.”

“Have to? Can't you just get by with the hours he gives you? Percy seems like a fair person.”

“Try telling that to some of the others,” Annabeth replied. “It's a harsh world we live in here, Nico. You have to understand that. Not to be cruel, but to survive here, you have to throw out almost everything you thought you knew about the world. It doesn't work the way a lot of people think it does.”

“What Annabeth is trying to say,” Thalia said sternly, “is that Percy isn't someone you need to go after. You are where you are, and you should be happy there. You don't want to be where we are. You don't want to have to do what we have to do. Percy did you a favor by keeping you in the bar.”

Nico's face grew dark. He was tired of everyone telling him that. They treated him like a child. “Fair that he'll have his way with you and not with me?” Nico sat up, startling the girl massaging him. She tried to get him to lie back down, but Nico wouldn't do it. “I'm tired of being treated like a child around here. Am I so repulsive to Percy that he doesn't want to touch me like the rest of you? What the fuck is so important about upstairs anyways?” Nico began yelling, Thalia and Annabeth stared at him in shock. Circe and both of her girls had stopped doing their job. Everyone was staring at him, but he didn't care. He huffed and jumped off the bed, marching back to the changing room.

He slipped his clothes back on and opened the door. Thalia was there waiting for him. “Nico, wait. Please don't get mad at us,” she pleaded. He wasn't going to listen. He pushed past her and sprinted for the exit. Her voice slowly began fading behind him, until he was approaching the elevator.

He slipped his card into its slot and hit the button to his floor, fighting back more tears as they threatened to surface. He exited the elevator, brushing past the Stolls, who were waiting to board. “Nico? Shit, he's still upset,” Travis said. Nico heard them trying to follow him. He quickened his pace and slid his card into its slot. He slammed the door behind him, refusing to hear what either of them had to say. He didn't want to talk to any of them. They were all the same. If it hadn't been Apollo it would have been one of the others.

Nico silently clocked in, one arm wrapped around himself. He was aware of his coworkers' eyes on him. They all wanted to try and say something, but none of them would make the first move. Everyone except Luke, that is. The asshole seemed so happy with what had happened. Apollo kept trying to give him the puppy-dog eyes, but Nico refused to look at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He only looked at the person because he knew it was Chiron. Chiron was the only person Nico couldn't bring himself to be mad at right now. He doubted the bartender did the same things that the rest of them did. “Are you alright, Nico?” he asked gently. “I can request you get the night off, if you prefer.”

“No, that's ok. I'll be fine,” Nico whispered back. Chiron squeezed his shoulder and went back to work. Nico sighed and headed over to his first table. He tried to look happy for the customers, but he was sure that he failed miserably. Piper reached out for him when he headed back with the orders, but she pulled her hand back when she saw he wasn't going to stop for her.

“Nico,” he heard Apollo whisper behind him. He turned around and fixed the blond with an emotionless stare. Nico wanted to get across to the traitor that he was dead to him now. Apollo bit his lip, looking down at the floor. “I'm really sorry, Nico. You weren't meant to see that.”

Nico just stared at him for a few seconds longer, and then brushed past him to take the drinks to the table he had just come from. Their group effort was just making Nico angrier. Their unity and sense of family was grating on his nerves. How could they defend this? How could each of them do this? They knew that each of the others had sex with Percy, but none of it seemed to bother them.

A few hours later, Percy came into the bar. Nico was heading back to the bar when Percy grabbed Nico's arm and spun Nico to face him. “Can I help you?” Nico asked, his voice drained of all emotion. It made Percy's eyes flash with hurt for a brief moment.

“Can we talk? You really don't understand,” Percy stated.

“What's not to understand? The others want better hours so you get them to fuck you to earn them.” Percy's jaw tightened. His eyes flashed with anger for a brief second. He took a breath to calm himself.

“Look, I just don't want you to be mad at me. You weren't supposed to see that.”

“I'm sure I would have found out eventually. If it wasn't Apollo I'm sure I would have found out about one of the other one's you fuck around with.” Nico yanked his arm free of Percy's grasp, walking back to the bar. Percy followed after him. “What I don't understand is why I'm exempt from this? Do I repulse you, or something?”

He heard Percy groan behind him. “Why would you even think that? Because I choose to keep your innocence intact?” Percy asked, voice becoming harsher as he spoke. “Excuse me for wanting to keep you out of that lifestyle. I thought I was doing you a favor.”

Nico huffed and walked into the break room. He heard Percy groan in frustration right before the door shut. Thankfully, Percy didn't follow him back there. However, Nico wasn't alone in the room. Silena smiled at him as he came to sit down in the chair next to the couch. Could he not get away from them? Could he not have a single moment to himself?

There was a long, awkward silence between the two. Nico figured she knew he was irritated at all of them. She finally cleared her throat and spoke up. “I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to see that.”

“Why?” Nico asked harshly.

“Because, I'm with Charlie, and I don't like having to do what I have to do. I can understand what you're going through. You like him, Percy that is. It was hard seeing him with Apollo, especially considering what they were doing. You probably hate us right now, I wouldn't blame you if you did, but trust me when I say you really don't know the whole story.”

“How can I when all of you keep me in the dark?”

Silena frowned. “It might be better if you didn't know what the reality of things around here is. I think Percy and Apollo would both rather you hate them for what you saw, than to have you suffer like the rest of us.”

“Suffer? You all seem happy to me, how can you say you're suffering?”

Silena's face became solemn. “What you see is a charade, every one of us wears a mask to hide how damaged and fucked up we really are.” She stood up and headed for the door, turning around to face Nico before leaving. “And that's only for the customers and to get by. What you saw is normal for us here, and we act like it's no big deal because it's not. If you want to live here, you better start realizing you aren't in your little bubble of a world anymore.” With that she pushed through the door and walked back into the busy bar.

Nico frowned at the door, pulling his legs up to his chest. The fake walls of this place were starting to crumble around him. Why couldn't he go back to it being the perfect place he thought it was? He wiped at his eyes as he felt tears starting to surface.

Nico looked up as the door opened once again. Luke rolled his eyes at the sight of Nico. “Is crying your only setting?” he said with annoyance as he laid down on the couch.

“Leave me alone,” Nico mumbled.

“Aww, is the poor baby realizing that perfect Percy isn't the golden angel you thought he was?” Luke chuckled dryly at him. “You haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg yet, kid. You better start carrying around a box of tissues. The Percy you thought you knew doesn't exist. As your time goes on here, you're just going to fall farther and farther down the rabbit hole, until you finally shed light on how fucked up Percy and the rest of us really are.”

Nico's cheeks stung as he wiped at his eyes once again. He couldn't get himself to stop crying anymore. “Shut up.”

“He must really find you unattractive if he won't fuck you like everyone else.” Nico began sobbing into his arm. “Did you really think you were his favorite? You wouldn't even last one night upstairs. You're too weak. You're just a child in his eyes, and that's why he stuck you down here. Because he knew you couldn't handle life up there.”

“Fuck you!”

“No thanks, Percy already fills that need.” The door swung open again and Chiron stepped inside, with Percy, Silena, Piper, and Apollo following close behind.

“What is going on back here?” Chiron asked. “Why was there yelling?” Chiron glanced at Nico. “And why is he crying?” Chiron glared down at Luke, who just shrugged.

“Can't you go one night without being an ass, Luke?” Piper asked, walking over to Nico. She tried wrapping an arm around him, but he shoved her off. She frowned at him, but stepped back.

“I want you to take me upstairs,” Nico mumbled.

“What?” Percy asked, stepping farther in the room.

“I said, I want to go upstairs. I'm not a kid, and I'm tired of being treated like one! You said I don't understand? Well show me, explain it to me. I'm tired of being clueless about things around here!” Nico yelled. “All of you are in on this big secret, and none of you will let me know what's going on. Take me upstairs, I'm tired of all of this bullshit.”

“Nico, don't-” Chiron started, but Luke interrupted him.

“No, let him go upstairs. Let him see this place for what it really is. He thinks he's all grown up, so let him go prove it.”

“Luke,” Percy said warningly. He stepped closer to where Nico stood. “Nico, you don't know what you're asking. Please reconsider this.”

Nico shook his head furiously. “No! I want you to take me upstairs. I want to know what the big fucking deal is about it. I want to be like the others, I'm not a fucking kid, and I'm going to prove it.”

Percy sighed heavily. “Alright. I'll have Leo give you tomorrow night off. I'll come get you around ten, be ready by then.” He turned around and headed back towards the door. He stopped right before walking out, not looking back. “Don't say I didn't try.”

Nico looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him with sadness, except Luke. Luke had a cocky grin plastered on his face. Seeing it only made Nico more determined to wipe it off his face tomorrow night. “Nico, please listen to Percy,” Piper began. “You don't know what you're asking for.”

“I've made up my mind,” Nico said, walking out of the break room.

Nico sat on his couch, silently watching the clock. It was nearly ten. His nerves were at an all new high. He didn't really know what to expect tonight, but he knew he had to show them that he wasn't a kid. He had had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. The anticipation of this moment was killing him. He had wanted to know what was on the top floor since he had gotten here, and he finally was getting what he wanted. Why did Percy seem so sad over this, though? Shouldn't he be happy that Nico was trying to be grownup?

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped off of the couch and walked over to the door. He found Percy standing in the doorway, a serious look on his face. His eyes made Nico uncomfortable, that wasn't something uncommon, but now it was for a different reason. Percy looked at him like he betrayed Percy. Percy's dark black hair fell down into his face, casting shadows across Percy's facial features. He had on a dark blue button up shirt and a pair of dark pants.

“Ready?” Percy asked with a sigh. Nico nodded. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” came Nico's quiet reply. Percy gestured down the hall and Nico shut the door behind him. They walked down towards the elevator and waited for it to arrive. Nico glanced up at Percy, but the taller boy refused to look down at him.

They boarded the elevator and Percy slipped his card into the slot. He slammed his fist on the seventieth floor button and they began to ascend. Nico's heart started beating faster and his palms started to sweat. Maybe he should have backed out. No, then Luke would just give him more hell. Nico had something to prove. Nico let out a breath as he stared at the metal doors of the elevator. Percy glanced down at him finally. He didn't say anything, just watched Nico for a few seconds until the elevator doors opened.

The lights in the hall were dimmer than on the other floors, the only source of light came from small lights that lined the floor along the walls. The two people from Nico's last trip here stood at the two podiums. Two lines of people stood in front of both of them, slipping money to the boy and girl and walking down one of the two hallways. Percy walked out and Nico decided to follow. The girl and boy both looked up at Percy as he approached. “He's with me, Clarisse,” Percy said, addressing the tall girl. Percy dragged Nico over to the boy's booth and the boy pulled out a stamp. Nico held out his hand and the Asian kid placed his stamp on Nico's hand. “Thanks, Ethan.”

Percy grabbed Nico's arm and the two headed off down the hall to the right. Nico could feel his heart speeding up even more. He was afraid it was going to burst from his chest at this point. They came to a small set of stairs. Nico could hear music blaring from up the stairs.

Percy grabbed Nico's hand when he noticed the boy wasn't following him. He led Nico upstairs. The first things Nico noticed as they ascended the steps were the flashing lights. The music became louder, becoming distinguishable as Ellie Goulding's “Lights”. They finally came to the top and stepped onto the floor of the room. Nico's jaw almost dropped.

There were tables set up all over the room, with many men and women sitting around at all of them. Nico's eyes fell upon some of the Lost Boys as they walked around the room. The only clothing they wore were bow ties around their necks and speedos to cover their lower extremities. Nico's eyes finally fell on the stage on the other side of the room.

He unconsciously licked his lips at the sight of the three boys on stage. Apollo and the Stoll twins were all on stage, in nothing but small black speedos. Apollo was currently letting his hand slowly slide down his chest, letting his thumb hook into the top of his speedo. All three of them were slowly moving their bodies along with the music that was blasting from the speakers.

Connor ended up crawling on the floor with his back arched, he crawled over to his brother. Connor wrapped one of his arms around his brother's waist, while the other slipped into Travis's inner thigh. Connor laid his head against Travis's hip as Travis slid his hand along his torso.

Apollo had spun around and had bent over, earning quite a few whistles from the crowd. He turned his head and winked at his audience as he rose back up, letting his hands trail up his legs. His hands traveled up until they rested on his butt. He grabbed the fabric and slowly slipped the speedo down, revealing the top of his ass to everyone.

“Welcome to Neverland,” Percy said, bringing Nico out of his trance.

“The top floor is a strip club?” Nico said over the loud music.

“Only for only those who can afford it. This is why the others make more than you.” Nico looked back over at the stage. Apollo caught Nico's eye and he noticed the blond frown for a brief second.

“Well, look who made it to the big boys' club,” Luke said, walking up to Percy and Nico. He was dressed like the other waiters up here, only in a bow tie and speedo. Nico looked up at Percy. Percy's green eyes were intently watching Nico. He almost looked like he was pleading, Nico wasn't sure for what response, though.

 Nico honestly didn't know what to feel right now. He just found out that all of these people he had come to know were strippers. To be a part of this, Nico would have to become one too. This was what they had all been warning him about, but now he didn't know if he could actually say no anymore. He had come this far, it didn't seem like turning back was an option. Could he do it? He had never seen anything like this. He was just that innocent kid like his sister had said he was. Nico looked over and saw Luke smirking at Nico, like he had already won. In that moment, Nico's decision was made for him. “I want to do it.”