I have nothing much to say about this fic... Enjoy? :)

Disclaimer: Rhia owns none but my characters.

I woke up to the Naiads singing today, and rolled out of bed with a smile on my face. The sun hadn't risen yet, but it still felt good to be up and to hear them crooning to the camp. It made me happy, and that was supposedly saying a lot considering the reputation of gloom, doom and death that had clung to me since word got out that I'm the son of Hades.

Yeah, well. It's a moment in the life and times of Nico di Angelo, and all that. Of course I was a hero—I got like, a camp bead and a battle souvenir and whatnot, but still. People tend to stare.

Then of course, it had to end. Not the Naiads singing—no, that went on for longer than I cared to hear. As I listened from the window of my cabin, watching the sun rise, all the sleep left me and all of a sudden I realized what they were singing and more importantly, why they were singing.

Styx, I realized, Happy singles awareness day, everyone.

That's when the insistent knocking started.

"Di Angelo. Di Angelo, get up! It's a big day today, buddy!"

Oh, gods. Not this early.

Nevertheless, I put on something semi-decent and answered the door. The person on the other side barged in without waiting for me to invite him in, but I guess I didn't really care by now. After the first few weeks of that kind of behavior plus the constant embarrassment Adam Gallagher could put a guy through, it kind of stops stinging after a while, just like when one's standing in a bucket of ice and it hurts at first and then it's numb. (Um, yeah, don't ask)

"Jeez, why is your floor always so cold?" he hissed as I closed the door. He stood there, rubbing his arms and stamping his skater shoes all over the pristine black marble. "I can feel it through my shoes. It's like the Ice Incident all over again!"

I winced at the mention of the Ice Incident, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he smiled at me like a madman and spread his arms wide. "Happy Valentine's Day, Nico!"

His use of the V-word got my hair standing on end. "Adam…"

"No, I'm not going to listen to you today, di Angelo!" he beamed. Really? Just today? Because he never really listens any other day. "Today—yes, you, yes, today—are getting the girl of your dreams: Zar—"

By this time I'd tackled him and had my hand firmly across his motor of a mouth. "Ssshhh! Ssshhh! Shut up, Adam, shut up! All of freaking China can hear you!" I let him go and he sat up on my bed, grinning like an idiot.

"As I was saying," he continued, "Today, you are getting the girl of your dreams: Zara Parks!"

My gods. I thought Adam was crazy before, but now… Now, he just didn't make any sense.

See, Zara Parks is a goddess. Of course, I don't mean this literally. She's a daughter of Persephone. What I mean is just that she's probably the hottest thing at Camp, but 1) she doesn't know I exist (well, she does know, I mean, everyone does and it's kind of uncomfortable. I guess I should say that she doesn't really care that I exist) 2) She's way, way, way, way to the power of infinity out of my league, 3) No one really wants to hang out with the son of the Lord of the Dead, 4) Did I mention she's out of my league? And 5) Well… There's this rumor going around that she has the biggest, most epic crush on none other than my cousin, Percy Jackson. There would be a six, but I feel sad going past five, although if you'd really like to know, 6) is that she apparently doesn't see the family resemblance. (Um, neither do I, actually, but there's got to be some there)

"Nico?" Adam said. "Nico, am I speaking Chinese?"

I looked at him, but my look of utter mishap faded when I saw he was dead serious about that question. "Has it happened before?" I asked.

He nodded. His tawny eyes were cloudy as if he were looking into the past. "The Ares cabin figured our 'speaking-the-truth' thing would be less annoying in another language. Don't know how they did it, but we got them in the end though. Chinese is not a good language to declare prophesies in."

We sat there for a while, me nodding slowly. After a bit, Adam said, "Percy", naming the gay baby born in that awkward silence.

"Anyway," he ploughed on, suddenly all businesslike as he paced in front of me. "For Valentine's Day, you are going to give Zara some—wait for it—some moonlace!"

I stared. "Like, glow-in-the-dark-in-a-perfect-world-every-one-would-have-some-but-it-belongs-to-Percy moonlace?"

Although I thought it wasn't possible, Adam grinned even wider. "Like, Percy-Jackson's-Valentine's-gift-to-Annabeth-Chase-glows-in-the-dark-like-a-freaking-light-saber moonlace!"

I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming or not. Unfortunately, it hurt, and left a little red mark. "H-h-how?" I stuttered.

"There's this rumor going around that he planted some in the forest," Adam explained. "Like, right in the middle where there are the most monsters or something."

Something tickled the back of my brain right there and then, like I needed to be remembering something right now. I squished it temporarily though to answer Adam. "Isn't that enough to tell us to stay away?"

"Naw, man, it's enough to tell every other half-blood to stay away, but it practically yells, 'Big three kids and company, this way'. You and Percy are tight, man, I'm sure he'd let you have some."

"I…" I considered the idea. My head was telling me that I'd be stupid to trust Adam with information like that, but this crazy little thing called love just shoved that all away. Percy's at his place for the school year, but he's never hard to reach. "Er… I guess I could IM him?"

"'Atta boy!" Adam yelled, punching the air. He smiled at me blankly for a while before saying, "You have to do it right now, though."

Blinking, I said, "What?"

"Oh, um, you know. The monsters never attack before lunch time and all that."

I groaned, but negotiated so that Adam agreed to let me call him after breakfast. This was going to be a long, long day.

"Dude, did you see Fiona? She was giving you the evil eye the whole breakfast."

I grunted my agreement. It's hard not to notice when some Demeter kid is staring at you like you're the spawn of the devil. I mean, yeah, technically I am the spawn of the devil, but the devil Hades, not the red one, Beelzebub. Just because my dad dragged her mom's godly daughter down to the Underworld doesn't make me the bad guy too. "Angle that a little more this way," I told Adam.

We were supposed to be washing out the canoes, but punishment for skipping a few chores would be totally worth it if we got the moonlace. Besides, don't canoes get washed in the lake, anyway? Now, we were trying to contact Percy, and as Adam angled the hose better to make a nicer rainbow, I deftly tossed the golden drachma into and watched it disappear.

"O, goddess, accept my offering," I prayed. "I want to talk to Percy Jackson. In Manhattan."

The scene materialized in the mist, and I recognized it as Percy's bedroom. The White Stripes were playing loud over the speakers that he told me Paul had gotten him for his birthday. He was sticking his tongue out while writing something, probably concentrating on getting the spelling right, a feeling I knew very well. Or, you know, maybe he just liked the taste of the wind.

He looked up when I said his name. "Hey, Nico!" he smiled. Yeah, smile all you want, Percy. You look like Logan Lerman and you're going to marry Annabeth Chase someday and you have Zara Parks crushing on you. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Uh, Singles Awareness Day, Percy," I managed. "Anyway, there's this thing going—"

"Percy!" Mrs. Jackson's voice chimed in the background. "Paul's parents are here, come meet them!"

NO. No, no, no, no, no, NO.

Percy cursed violently and thunder rolled outside. "Coming, Mom, just a minute!" he called back. He turned to me then, green eyes and freckles and everything. "Hey Nics, bad timing, man. I'll call you back, okay?"

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no--

"Percy—"

Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't--

"I'm really sorry!" he squeezed in, just as the door behind him opened and he waved his hand through the image.

.

Adam dropped the hose, dejected. "Um, how about, shortest, most one-sided IM conversation ever?"

I stared at the little puddle the IMing had made on the ground. Stupid Percy. When I looked up again Adam was grinning at me. That was always bad news, but being the love drunk little fool I was…

"What is it?"

"We don't need Percy Jackson. Imagine what Zara will think when she hears you found the place yourself."

That was all I needed to get to my cabin and begin packing a backpack.