Nico was ticked off, although he wouldn't ever admit that to anyone.
He'd just shadow-traveled across the country from California, and when he collapsed on the border of Camp Half-Blood, no one even noticed or came to help him.
Not even Percy Jackson. Especially not Percy Jackson.
As the boy stumbled down the hill, trying to ignore the nausea, he realized the son of Poseidon had been too busy with...other things, specifically a blonde girl whose name started with A, same as acid or annoying.
The happy, perfect couple was going for a nice evening stroll, twittering like those really irritating songbirds in Disney movies. Annabeth had her hand on his elbow and he was laughing at something she'd just said.
Nico scowled. It didn't matter. He was completely fine, didn't care at all. After all, a boy who could speak to the dead shouldn't have been affected by something as simple as...
He shook the thought away.
He'd just come back from Camp Jupiter, the Roman demigod camp on the other side of the country, to drop off his half-sister Hazel. He'd been hoping more from her, but that'd been silly.
Stop, he told himself. Hazel's not Bianca. She wouldn't understand anything. It's unfair of you to expect that of her.
"Hey, Nico!"
His head snapped up. So finally Percy had noticed him. Feeling warmth creep up his neck, he managed a feeble wave. "Uh, hi."
"Where've you been?"
Up close, Nico could see the dark green flecks in the guy's eyes. Heart pounding, he muttered something random. The other boy nodded, but Nico knew Percy hadn't really heard or understood what he'd said.
"Hi, Nico," Annabeth said softly, pushing back her blonde hair.
He winced. He knew the daughter of Athena thought he had a crush on her-there'd been a rumor going around.
He forced himself to look at her. Well, she's pretty, he told himself grudgingly. Golden hair, stormy grey eyes. And she's really smart and brave. Why don't you fall for her? Good choice. Better than...
But he knew it was no use. His emotions didn't work that way. And it wasn't like he hadn't tried before, with pretty much every girl in camp. Well, except for the current head counselor of Aphrodite cabin, Drew. Drew was just too not his type.
If he even had a type, that was.
He mumbled some excuse and walked away, suddenly unable to be in the presence of the couple a second longer. So obvious they were totally crazy about each other. He felt so exhausted, like his legs were made out of lead, and his head pounded.
Stupid, he scolded. You're so stupid, di Angelo.
Somehow, he managed to drag himself back to his cabin. The outside looked wicked cool, with skulls and obsidian bricks and other Hades-type stuff, but that was mostly just to creep the other campers out so they wouldn't try to approach it, so they'd leave Nico alone. So far, it'd mostly worked, besides for some stupid prank Connor and Travis Stoll had pulled earlier in the month. The ghost skeleton soldiers had caught them before the twins had managed to replace Nico's aviator jackets with pink furry bunny suits.
He fell into bed, but his dreams weren't peaceful, not like they ever were.
First there was Percy. Percy smiling, Percy fighting in battle. Percy staring at Nico, face devastated when he'd realized that he had been tricked down into Hades's palace back in August. Percy with his sword Riptide up against Nico's throat, sea-green eyes fierce with rage. Percy and Annabeth embracing...kissing...
Stop, he screamed in his mind.
Being a child of Hades, his dreams often included lost things or people, what he couldn't have, due to the River Styx. Often the nightmares included Bianca and his mother, but recently...recently there'd been other people too.
I just admire him like a big brother, he insisted. After all, Percy did save the entire world more than once. Who wouldn't look up to a hero like that?
Sure, but it's creepy how you're jealous of Annabeth, another part of him sneered. Disgusting. You think just because you live in this modern era, you're safe? Please. Remember where-when-you come from. The nineteen-forties aren't nearly as forgiving.
Maybe I have a crush on Annabeth, another voice inside of him said hopefully. Yeah, that's probably it.
But the idea was so stupid, so ridiculous. He knew it was.
No, no, no. No! NO!
Nico jolted awake.
He laid there gasping. His forehead was slick with sweat, and his sheets were twisted around his neck, like they were trying to strangle him.
Sitting up, he felt dizzy. A cold, tingling sensation pricked up his limbs. He knew that feeling. It meant someone close by was shadow-traveling.
But...who? That was the million-drachma question.
He jumped up, stuffing his feet into his shoes and running his fingers through his hair hastily. Most kids thought he didn't brush his hair at all, but the truth was, he just couldn't make it lie flat no matter what he did.
Outside, the fresh cool breeze assaulted him. It was painful to breathe. Nico stumbled.
Night was his favorite time. No one else was around to bother him. The darkness was quiet and brooding. It was easy to hide in the blackness.
But are you hiding from the other campers, or yourself?
He pushed the thought away.
The son of Hades hides from NO ONE, he retorted back silently.
Yeah, right.
He heard a twig snap. Whirling around, he saw only the green glow of the torches on his cabin.
Walking slowly across the clearing, he scanned all the cabins. All the doors were shut, with the lights off. Even the Hermes cabin was completely dark and silent, which was a bit weird given that it was usually overcrowded and there'd always be someone clunking around in there looking for a stuffed animal or nicking someone else's wallet...
His heart dropped like a rock. Of course. Ever since the Battle of Manhattan, Hermes cabin was only half-full.
"Hey, di Angelo!"
He spun on his heel so fast he nearly lost his balance. "Wh-wha?"
It was Percy Jackson. Nico scowled. "What is it?"
"What are you doing? It's, like, two in the morning." The son of Poseidon pushed back his messy black hair.
"I just...uh..." Nico paused. He didn't want to raise any unnecessary concerns about another Hades demigod possibly shadow-traveling into the camp. "...wanted to see the stars," he finished lamely, borrowing from something he'd heard Bianca say once while they were at the Lotus Hotel in Las Vegas. She'd been staring up at the beautiful night sky, face shrouded in silver. The memory pulled at his heartstrings hard.
Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh. Okay. Cool." Obviously, he had no idea how to reply to that.
Great, now he thinks you're even more of an idiot, Nico thought.
"Well, uh, I was just out here 'cause I couldn't sleep," Percy said awkwardly. "So...um...do you always do this? Wake up and stare at the sky?"
Ignoring that question, Nico turned. "I'm going back to bed," he snapped without looking at Percy, suddenly annoyed for some reason. He walked away.
He looked around his cabin. His ears buzzed. At that moment, he knew Camp Half-Blood wasn't right for him. Sure, it was a pretty decent place, but he didn't belong here. He should've stayed at Camp Jupiter. Maybe there he'd be better off.
At least Percy Jackson wouldn't be there.
That did it. Nico was leaving at first light in the morning for California. Moving swiftly, he grabbed his clothes out of the closet and threw them into his bag.
His fingers hesitated over the Mythomagic figurine that he kept hidden in the back. It was a gift from both Bianca and Percy, years ago. He'd still kept it, all this time.
He wanted nothing to do with it. He desired it so bad.
He'd burned all his Mythomagic cards and thrown away all his figurines except this one. This one...it was different.
"I'll decide in the morning," he mumbled, collapsing on the floor and squeezing his eyes shut.
When he woke, the crack below the door was already a light blue, signaling that it was dawn. Outside, there was lots of yelling.
So much for the cabin being soundproof was Nico's first thought.
His second thought was What in Hades's name is GOING ON?
It was that thought that got him up and moving. He'd slept on the hard floor, so his shoulders and neck were sore, but he ignored that. Running outside, he saw the Hermes and Athena kids dashing about. A kid with curly blonde hair and grey eyes was barking tactical orders. A Hermes kid had taken advantage of the Athena cabin being empty and was slipping inside, no doubt to loot stuff-everyone knew Cabin Seven had a motherload of cool electronics.
He stared blearily, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Nico!" Percy ran up to him, his eyes wild. "Have you seen Annabeth anywhere?"
"What?" Startled, Nico stepped back.
"Annabeth and Connor Stoll-they're gone!"