I donât know what I did wrong.
I stared down at the box in my lap. Inside, I knew, were all my sisterâs favorite candies, organized by wrapper color and taped to each of the four walls. Covered in bright red wrapping paper and tied with a green ribbon, her favorite color. Iâd spent⊠all week, working on it. Sheâd been worried for weeksâsince my twelfth birthday, reallyâthat no one was going to give her anything for Valentineâs, so Iâd made this. Sheâd be so happy, Iâd thought.
She hadnât wanted it. Hadnât even let me explain, just yelled at me to stop embarrassing her and stormed out of our homeroom. I didnât get it. No matter what I tried, it felt like this is how things always went with us. If I knew how to stop upsetting her, I would do whatever it tookâreally, I would. But she wouldnât tell me, and I couldnât figure it out on my own.Â
My eyes prickled, and my vision went blurry.
It was recess, now, though most kids were in the indoor gym because of the fog. Of course, I wasnât allowed to play with the other kids anyways. Too small, the teachers had said, so instead of getting to exercise after lunch, I spent most of my days here. At least, since Bianca stopped letting me sit with her.
Gently, I put the box on my deskâI didnât want to get it wet.
It hadnât been a problem last year, but since Iâd been moved up to Biancaâs grade, everything had been going wrong. Bianca was always annoyed with me, Papa was always stressed, which made Mama and Mama Seph stressedâand I couldnât fix any of it! I was just a kidâjust a stupid, annoying kid, but I tried not to cause trouble. Honest, I did. But I just⊠couldnât do anything right.Â
I pulled my legs up, curling up into a ball and crossing my arms over my faceâwhere, hopefully, no one would notice the dampness and bully me for it.
Maybe it would be better if I just, disappeared? Maybe that would fix everything Iâd messed up. At least, it couldnât make things worse, could it? I let out a wet, humorless chuckle that was half sob, and wondered⊠was this going to be the rest of my life?
The door to the classroom slammed openâand I froze, mortified.Â
âMan, Grover, itâs your Valentine, at least deliver it yourselfââ the unfamiliar boy cut himself off.Â
If I didnât move, maybe he wouldnât notice I was here?
For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, footstepsâcoming closer to me, rather than moving away.
âAre you okay?â The boy asked.
Of course staying still wouldnât work, stupid Nico.
âGo away,â I grumbled at him.Â
âYeah, I donât think I can do that,â the boy said, followed shortly after by the scraping sound of a chair being moved. He was sitting next to me now, I could just tell. âSoâŠâ he trailed off for a long moment. âYou wanna tell me whatâs got you down in the dumps?â I grunted and shook my head. âYou sure? Iâm a pretty good listener, if I do say so myself.â
I shook my head again, but⊠maybe I should just tell him? Maybe that would make him leave⊠just like everyone else.
Before I could come to a decision, the boy spoke up again.Â
âYou donât have to say anything if you donât want to, justââ he paused, an audible frown in his voice as he added, ââjust point me at them and Iâll handle it.â
Handle it? Oh, he thoughtâŠ
âItâs not like that. Itâs⊠my sister,â I admitted reluctantly, discretely wiping away the remnants of tears with my sleeves.
âWhat about her?â He asked, that same frowning tone to his voice.
âDoes it matter? Why do you even care?!â I bit out, guilt hitting me a moment after I said it. The first time someone wanted to help, and this is how I handled it? Maybe I deserved to be alone.
âBecause someone should,â the boy said, voice firm.
Without meaning to, I turned to look at him for the first time.Â
He was older than meâmy sisterâs age, maybeâwith warm tan skin, messy black hair, and the prettiest eyes Iâd ever seen. An interconnected web of greens and blues, winding into and through each other every which wayâwhenever I thought I found a patch of one color, a fleck of the other appeared.Â
I donât know how long I stayed there, silently staring at him, but eventually he broke the silence and asked:
âAny other complaints?âÂ
He was smiling mischievously, and my cheeks burned.
âYouâre weird,â I mumbled, my eyes still lingering on his.Â
âI get that a lot,â he said, before offering his hand. âNames Percy, by the way.â
ââŠNico,â I replied, taking his hand. It tingled. Like when Mama Seph ran her hand through my hair, but better. Warmer.Â
He grinned at me, his blue-green eyes making me feel light and fluttery. It was a new feelingâthey all were. But I liked them. A lot.Â
âIs your sister âBianca di Angeloâ?â I stiffened, and Percy noticed, wincing as he quickly added, âI just meant that you look alike, sorry.â
âNo, you donât have to say sorry. She is. For now.â I muttered the last part under my breath, but Percy caught that too.
âWhat do you mean?â He asked, looking confused. âAre your parents getting divorced or something?â
âPlease donât say that, I donât know how Papa would survive on his own.â
âAlright,â Percy said with a chuckle. âBut what did you mean by âfor nowâ, then?â
âWellâŠâ I mulled it over, but it was a surprisingly easy decision to make. Trusting Percy, that is.
I told him everything. About the gift, the way Bianca had been recently, anything I could think of that might help him make sense of itâbecause I sure couldnât.
âSorry, I donât get it either,â Percy said at length. Well, I hadnât been too hopeful in the first place.Â
âGirls are confusing,â I said, sighing.Â
âTell me about it,â Percy replied with a wry smile. âStill, I donât think you did anything wrong.â
I shook my head instantly.
âI upset her, that means I need to fix itââ
âI donât think thereâs anyway you can fix it, Nico,â Percy insisted. I frowned.
âBut I canât justâŠâ Even I wasnât sure how I wanted to finish that, and when I didnât say anything more, Percy spoke up.
âI canât say I know whatâs going on with her, but I think youâre gonna have to wait for her to figure it out. Then, when sheâs ready, sheâll talk to you.â
ââŠYou really think so?â
âYeah,â Percy assured with a smile.Â
And, maybe it was hopeful of me, but I wanted him to be right.Â
âShame she didnât want your Valentine though,â Percy said, pulling a dark green box out of his hoodie pocketâa Valentine. My heart sank in my chest. âDefinitely nicer than what anyone else is getting.â
âIs that?â I barely managed to force the question out, pointing at the box in his hands. Percy stared at me for a moment, then looked at the box and burst out laughing.Â
âOh, this isnât mine. This is from my friend, Grover. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend⊠speaking of which, do you know which is Juniperâs desk?â
It, wasnât his? That fluttery feeling was back, and I couldnât contain the giggle of relief I let outâeven if I couldnât explain why I was relieved.
âYouâre, umm, sitting at it,â I pointed out once my giggles calmed down.
âOf course I am,â Percy groaned, putting the box on her desk with a sigh.Â
âWhat about you?â I blurted out.
âHuh? What about me?â
âI meanâŠâ I paused for a moment, my cheeks burning red again as Percy waited for me to finish. âDo you have a girlfriend?â
âNope. Just another single guy with no Valentine to call his own.â
âOhâŠâ I turned away from Percy to stare at the Valentine Iâd made, desperately trying to stifle the smile threatening to take over my face. Smiling because he was single would be, mean, right? Still, even with my face turned away, I was still watching him out of the corner of my eye.Â
âYep,â he said, tone teasing as he added, âMaybe I should take that one?âÂ
It was a joke, and I knew that, but I realized that I wanted that. For him to have it, for Percy to be my Valentine. Iâm not sure what expression I must have been making, but Percy looked worried.Â
âDo you?â I interrupted him, voice louder than Iâd intended. He didnât say anything, expression blank, and I grabbed the Valentine and offered it to him. âW-want it, I mean?â
Percy didnât say anything for longer than I liked, his eyes darting between the box in my hands and my face so many times I lost track. Finally, he seemed to come to a decision and shot me a teasing smirk.
âAre you asking to be my Valentine? Awfully bold, Nico.â
It was an out. I could say I was joking, or that I didnât mean itâ
ââŠyes. Yes. I want you to be my Valentine.â
âbut I didnât want to do that. Percy was nice, and kind, and I just, I wanted to be around him. I wanted to keep feeling the things he made me feel.
He looked lost, and I blushed.
âYou, you asked first!â I told him, shoving the box at him.
âI did?!â Percy blurted, still looking confused. âI mean, I guess? Um, a-actuallyâŠâ He took the Valentine gingerly, his own cheeks as pink as mine felt. His confusion faded at last as he smiled at me, blue-green eyes warm. âIf you donât mind that itâs me?â
I shook my head, still blushing furiously.
âRight.â The bell rang. Everyone would be coming back soon. âShould probably be going now.â He mumbled, cheeks still pink as he made his way to the door. âIâll, come by to pick you up after class?â He asked. I nodded, and he nodded back and started out the door.
âWait!â I jumped out of my seat, moving over to him.
He stopped, his head turning to look at meâthen froze, as I leaned upwards to press my lips against his cheek. My lips tingled where theyâd touched his skin as I pulled away, and I knew my face was as red as a tomato.
âIâll see you later, Percy,â I squeaked out.Â
Percy grinned, then leaned down to press a kiss to my own cheek.
ââââââââââââââââââ
Conversations that occurred after:
Bianca: Sorry I was so, you know. I donât think Iâve been handling your transfer the best, but Iâll try to do better from now on.
Bianca: Why are you all smiley?
Nico: I have a boyfriend!
Bianca: âŠYou have a what.
Grover: Did you do it? And why are you so happy?
Percy: I think I have a boyfriend now?
Grover: What? I sent you to sneak my Valentine onto Juniperâs desk, HOW did you get a boyfriend while doing that?
Percy: âŠI have no idea.Â
Grover: Percy, bro, thatâs not an explanation. Bro. Explain yourself!
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jacobvanloon
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