Chapter Text
Nico di Angelo was about to lose his shit.
It was 8:45 on a Monday and he had stayed up the whole night before helping Hazel deal with her most recent breakup with an asshole named Aiden-whatever. On his way to work at his crappy part-time job at a dingy cafe (the only job he'd been able to get after 6 months of job-hunting with the begruding help of his father, yay nepotism) he'd stepped in three puddles, almost gotten run over by a semi truck and gotten yelled at by a middle aged businessman for 'taking his seat' on the bus. Suffice to say, by the time Nico made it to his morning shift, he was already over it.
He'd already downed three expressos fifteen minutes into his shift when the bell rang, notifying a customer had just walked through the door. Nico, bracing himself for the nth aggitated office worker who would rush him to make another vanilla matcha or double espresso, wasn't looking up from the register as he went to the customer, which was the biggest shit mistake to top up the shit day he was already having, probably.
"How can I help you?", He asked without looking up. " we've run out of vanilla and pumpkin syrup but we still have strawberry, blueberry and raspbe-"
"Nico? Is that you? "
Nico's head snapped up.
His body froze, brain struggling to process the sight that was Jason Grace, his high school best friend who he hadn't seen in 3 years, since he moved away and left all his friends, and 𝙝𝙞𝙢.
"J-jason, what a-are you doing here? "He couldn't help the voice cracks in his voice that was now trembling, and he hated it, how weak and pathetic he still feels after all this time. How weak he feels for not being able to face his former best friend, even though he was the one who pushed him away, all of them.
He couldn't stand how much of a coward he's always been.
"Nico! Is that really you, where have you been all this time? You 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵. For three years, why? Why did you run away from us, from me? "
He didn't have an answer, or more like he couldn't explain it in a way that would make up for three years.
"Jason, I, I didn't have a choice. I couldn't stay there, not after what happened. "
"Nico I get you were going through things, but you didn't have to block everyone out. You could've let us help, let me help. Three years Nico! "
Nico was lost for words, the pit in his stomach falling deeper the more Jason spoke. He knew he deserved it, but it still hurt to hear it from Jason, of all people.
"-I mean we haven't seen you in three years, what have you even been doing all this time? What about college? Are you still living with Hazel? Are you eating okay? Oh shit, did your eating disorder creep up again? And you-" Jason sighed, running his hands through his hair exasperatedly as he tried to calm himself down.
"Look Jason, I know I messed up and you have every right to be mad at me right now, but I had my reasons okay? I know I shouldn't have run away from everyone but I just couldn't deal with it and-" His throat felt tighter and his stomach was starting to cramp up. The room was getting smaller and more cramped and he couldn't breath and his eyes were starting to water and-
He barely heard the sound of footsteps rushing behind the counter before he felt large, sturdy hands wrapping tightly around his shoulders and encasing him in a tight hug.
They somehow stumbled together until they were both hunched over on the floor, and Nico would be grateful that there were no customers coming in to watch his mess of attempting to be a functioning human being if he weren't still currently freaking the fuck out.
"Hey Nico, it's okay. Your having a panic attack right now, and you need to breath okay? Just breath for a bit, its okay. " He listened to Jason, slowly breathing in and exhaling, heartbeat starting to slow down as the air felt breathable again.
They stayed like that for a while, just leaning against each other as his lungs began to fill with air again. He forgot how easy it was with Jason, how comfortable he was able to feel with him after it took so long for them to become friends in high school.
Eventually when his throat started to clear up and he felt like he could speak again, he found the courage to try and face his friend. "I really am sorry, and, I've missed you. All of you." It was silent for a while as they both tried to figure out three years of missed conversation between the two of them.
Luckily or unluckily for him, just as Jason went to say something the bell rang again, signalling who was probably an actual middle-aged business worker who was about to be severely disappointed with the lackluster selection of syrups, and guiltily Nico felt happy for the excuse to run away from the conversation, for now at least.
Jason looked as awkward as he felt as they quickly tried to get up off the floor just as a gruff looking man in a stuffy suit started to approach the counter.
"Look Nico, I don't want to disturb you when you're working but I really don't want you to run away again. Not after so long. If I give you my number will you promise to call me after you finish work? I know I seem angry now and I kind of am, but I really just miss having my best friend. Please, just don't shut me out again." Jason pleaded, which just made Nico feel even more bad. He should be the one apologizing, not him, and he couldn't even bring himself to do that. Jason even thought that he would run away again, and the worst part was he 𝘸𝘢𝘴 thinking of doing it.
He hung his head in shame as they quickly exchanged numbers, Jason dashing off just before the next customer came up to order. After the cafe became empty again, Nico turned around and slowly slid down the counter, pulling out his phone to text Reyna as he muttered to himself.
"Fuck me. "
.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :-
Forty minutes after he sent a series of texts that grew more concerning and morbid Reyna pulled up to the store, just three minutes into his break. She burst into the staff room with the authority of a school principle who was about to rip you to shreds, but the look on her face was nothing short of sympathetic, lips quirking up slightly into a small smile as she found him on a nearby bench, his head in his hands. Naturally, he started tearing up after seeing her face for 0.3 seconds and she strode over to sit close next to him.
She already knew the gist of the relationship with his previous friends and how he had ghosted most of them after he moved here. She had originally been assigned as a sort of guard for him by his father after he had briefly moved back in with him, but that position hadn't lasted long, neither had their relationship and pretty soon Nico was moving out again after constant arguments with his father. Reyna however, had been a constant and even though she had quit working for Hades and now had her own place as a coach for self defence classes, she and Nico had remained close friends, family almost, something that he'd always been grateful for, especially now. She had seen him at his worst which was why he trusted her to not judge him now. Not that he didn't trust Hazel or anything-he loved her, so much. But she had just been through a bad breakup and, unlike him was actually trying to progress in life by going to college. He just didn't want to distract her from her life with his shitty problems. He didn't realize he had started slowly crying until he felt warm splatters on his hands where Reyna was now holding him, not saying anything, just letting him speak when he was ready. It took a while, but he eventually managed to expain what happened this morning with Jason and how helpless and guilty he had felt. She was mostly silent through this, offering a comforting stare but allowing him to get all his emotions out. By the time he was finished his break had already finished but one of his coworkers, a kind girl named Valentina, had walked in on his state of distraught and assured him that she would be okay by herself for a while.
"Nico." She stated, causing him to pause slightly in his ramblings and wait for her to elaborate.
"I know this is a lot for you and whilst I don't know the extent of what happened when you were at that school I do know how much you miss all your friends, and I think that you need to confront this for yourself, aside from the fact that you feel so obviously regret it." Nico nodded numbly, raising his head slighty as he started to wipe the salty tears that were slowing to a stop down his cheeks.
"Just call him. You don't need to explain all the reasons why you did what you did because you don't owe him that, even if it was the wrong decision. Just talk to him again and maybe hang out, become friends again. For both of your sakes, you owe it to yourself. "
"Thanks Reyna, I don't know what I do without you." He laughed a bit hollowly.
"You do know Di Angelo, your smart, you just need a little reassurance to do it, that's all. I'm proud of you, okay? "
.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :- -: ✧ :-゜・．.・゜-: ✧ :
Nico breathed in and out slowly, staring at the phone on his bed. It was 6pm now, he'd picked up another shift after his had ended to make it up to Valentina even though she'd insisted it was fine and he was staring at the glaring screen which displayed Jason's phone number, the call button just below his finger. He was scared, and ashamed, and embarrassed-but he also really missed his friend. Just this once he could be brave.
He clicked the call button and held the phone up to his ear. After the third ring it picked up.
"Hello?"