The Hate Between Us (Percabeth&Solangelo)

Chapter Thirty: What Difference Does It Make?

Nico POV:

Piper's party was great... until it wasn't.

Look, I had never been the biggest fan of parties, but even I had to admit that I was having a good time at the start. I arrived with Hazel and Frank, and we met up with Reyna and the others. I was having a good time, a great time even – the music was good (even though I had never thought that the Stoll brothers had any taste), the food was good, the people were great. Hazel convinced me to dance, and I somehow enjoyed it. Katie convinced me to play drinking games with her, and I somehow enjoyed it.

Then things started going wrong.

"You're so wrong!" Connor yelled stubbornly. He crossed his arms furiously, and Annabeth laughed behind her hand, watching him. "You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!"

"No, you're wrong!" Percy insisted. His hair had become even more messy now that he was flustered. Irritatingly cute. He saw me walking by out of the corner of his eyes and grabbed me by the shoulder before I could walk away. "Nico help me out here," he implored. I groaned.

Annabeth giggled again and gave me an apologetic look. "What's this about?" I asked.

"Rachel just asked anyone if they wanted pizza and Connor is saying that he wants a Hawaiian Pizza... can you believe it?" Percy said, as if he was revealing the most horrible news in the world. "PINEAPPLE DOES NOT BELONG ON PIZZA!"

It was my time to laugh. Connor looked as if he were about to slap Percy. Instead, he slammed his hand down on the counter passionately, and Annabeth was forced to hide her laughter behind her hands once more.

"Yes it does!" Connor yelled defiantly. "I will die on this hill if I have to! Nico, agree with me here!"

"Sadie, give me back that knife!" I heard Jason yell somewhere in the distance.

"Run, Sadie, run!" Leo was yelling. Connor and Percy ignored them, staring at me expectantly.

I blushed nervously, staring between the two of them. "Um... sorry Connor... but my Italian blood is telling me to reject Hawaiian pizza... pineapple just doesn't belong."

As Connor gasped and slammed his hand down on the counter again, Percy cheered and wrestled me into a hug, wrapping his arm around my body and jumping the two of us up and down, round and round. I laughed, realising that I was a little more drunk than I had thought, because usually I wouldn't allow myself to be hugged for so long and smile this much... but that's when the door to the kitchen opened and a group of people walked in. That's when I saw them.

I pushed away from Percy and stared at the newcomers, who were walking through the room and towards the living room, barely taking any notice of us. I recognised them all. The drummer; a boy with dirty blonde hair hanging around his face, grey eyes similar to Annabeth's, a scrawny build like mine, pale skin like mine too. The guitarist; a petite, beautiful girl with sharp features, a sly grin, two different coloured eyes and striking dyed-blonde hair. The bassist; a huge teenager towering over the rest, with wild red hair and a thick beard and even greater muscles that made him look older than any teenager should be. The pianist; a shorter girl with fiery red hair, pale skin and intensely green eyes. And the singer... with tanned skin and perfect freckles and warm blue eyes and soft lips and golden, messy hair.

My Sunshine. My... Alex? No longer mine, but belonging to the band I had seen them with all those weeks ago, where they were apparently dating someone else. I didn't know them now – I had apparently never known them. Not their gender, their name, how they identified, who they loved, how they lived. I had known nothing.

Sunshine – no, Alex – saw me staring and turned away, blushing slightly. They hadn't tried to talk to me after the last time we spoke, after the argument we had in the school corridors, where I had said I don't need you anymore. Where I had lied.