Chapter Six

                                    

                                          
I walked with Will to the cafeteria, and joined him as he waited in the queue for lunch. I didn't actually need to buy any food, since I had a sandwich and a packet of crisps with me. Not that I was going to eat that anyway. Dad had forced me to bring some lunch to school, as he does everyday, but I hardly ever actually eat it. Only if I am literally starving to death. And even if I wanted to buy lunch from school, I couldn't, since I didn't carry money with me to school unless I needed it. Still, Will wanted me to wait with him, so I did. I wasn't sure if it was because he wanted company, or because he wanted to formally introduce me to the rest of his friends. Hopefully the former, but if it was the latter at least that would give me an excuse to not speak.
                          
After buying his lunch, Will led me to a table in the corner of the hall, where four people were already sitting. I recognised them all - there was Jason Grace (thank God, someone who I could actually talk to), Annabeth Chase (I had History with her, and, as far as I knew, she was one of the smartest students in the entire school), Leo Valdez (he was the class clown in my form), and... Oh, God, Percy Jackson was there.
                          
I had met Percy all the way back in my first year, and, well... I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on him since day one. He was probably considered as the hottest boy in school, but even before he became immensely popular I knew I had no chance getting with him. As much as I wanted to kiss those gorgeous lips, I knew that he wouldn't want to kiss me back. Besides, he had a girlfriend. Probably. Most likely. I had moved on from him.
                          
"Hey, guys! This is Nico Di Angelo," he informed them, "and I was hoping that he could join us?" Nobody complained - in fact, they seemed quite welcoming. I sat down next to Will, and he told me the names of everyone else. Not that I needed to know, but I was glad anyway.
                          
Jason smiled at me. "Nice to see you again, Nico."
                          
"You know him?" Will asked. What? Did he think I didn't speak to anyone?
                          
I nodded. "Yeah, I used to be friends with his sister," I explained.
                          
"Friends?" Leo repeated. I gave him a confused look.
                          
Jason laughed. "I can assure you, he did not date my sister. They were just friends. Thalia showed him around the school when he moved here, and they began to hang out. I sometimes joined them as well." He had explained it all, thankfully. The rest of the table had no need to ask any more questions about it. 
                          
"So..." Percy began. "If you didn't date Thalia, who have you dated? Have you ever had a girlfriend?" I shook my head. "Ok then... Do you have a crush?"
                          
I hesitated. Why would he even ask that? He only just met me! And I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell him that I had crush on him, nobody could know that. I had never told anyone that. And now, I... Well, I wasn't sure whether or not I had a crush on someone. I was incredibly confused with my feelings. "I, uh, erm..."
                          
"If we tell you who we have a crush on," Leo said, leaning in, "will you tell us who you do?"
                          
"I-"
                          
"To be honest," he interrupted, "I kind of have a crush on the new chick, Calypso. I believe she just moved here from Greece."
                          
"I have a crush on Piper," Jason whispered, also leaning in. 
                          
Annabeth glanced at Percy, smiling. "I'm already dating with dork."
                          
I sunk further into my chair, hoping that they would get the idea that I couldn't tell them. Of course, they didn't, and instead they just kept trying to encourage me to admit it. I noticed that Will hadn't said anything yet, and found myself wondering if he had a crush on anyone. Why are you thinking about that? I asked myself. It's not like you care whether or not Will has a crush on anyone.
                          
Will took a deep breath, and looked at his friends.
                          
"I have a crush on Nico."