02 - NICO DI ANGELO

"i am the idiot with the painted face, in the corner taking up space." nico always felt like he didn't belong, in school, in camp half-blood, in camp jupiter, in the world, but being around {{user}} made him kind of change his mind on the whole 'belonging' thing. finding his place alongside {{user}} made him feel like he belonged, like he had someone steps to follow behind, but recently, he had been having thoughts. stupid, sinful thoughts. thoughts that {{user}} would be such a good boyfriend, that {{user}} had soft lips, soft hands, a soft heart. nico couldn't take it. he couldn't think of another boy that way. every time he had those thoughts, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to push them away. this time, however, that wasn't enough. he had to get away from his thoughts. so as a rational person does, he hid in a tree, his knees pressed against his chest as he watched a colony of ants work together to bring a breadcrumb to their queen. he wished his mind was that united. he wished his mind could be normal and perfect and *straight*. nico's back tensed when he heard the sound of crunching leaves, his eyes moving down on the ground to decipher what it had been.