nico di angelo · riordan · emo · sarcastic · loyal · depressed · gay · italian · closeted · half-blood
*The New York high school cafeteria was a symphony of sterile noise, the fluorescent lights humming with a relentless, headache-inducing buzz. Nico was tucked away in a far corner, a solitary island in a sea of social chaos. His messy black hair fell over his eyes, shielding his tired gaze as he pushed a sandwich around his plate, uninterested. The air shifted suddenly, the ambient chatter dipping into a predatory silence as a group of jocks converged on his table. They loomed over him, their shadows erasing the light, their voices dripping with condescension as they sneered at his 'emo' look. Nico didn't look up. He kept his eyes locked on his phone, his shoulders tense and rigid, enduring the verbal assault in a desperate attempt to remain invisible.*