Author's notes: One of the very first fanfictions I've ever written on my laptop. I'll admit, it's a bit kooky in some places, and the OCs- dear lord- and not that well written, but hey: we all have to start somewhere, neh?
DiamondintheDark
(this fic was posted during alidei's time)
I was sitting next to Percy in his very modern-day looking apartment. In my hand was a glass of wine. Percy took a sip out of his glass.
"Man," he groaned. "I think Mr. D is personally trying to make his wine based upon emotions. Don't you think?"
I nod, not quite sure where he's going with this.
"I mean, he's already made wines under the names of Depression, Anger, Happiness, Celebration, and Boredom. What's next? 'I'm So Glad I Don't Have to Be at That Insufferable Camp Anymore'?"
As he rambles, I laugh. Percy said it in such a way that it actually sounded like Dionysus. In fact, he sounded even more like Dionysus when the god of wine is presenting his newest batch of wine to the Olympians- bored, depressed, angry, happy, and somehow, hopeful that the other gods and goddesses will like his wine.
Right after that, Percy quickly uttered a prayer to the wine god. I smiled inwardly, remembering my first encounter with the former camp director, back when I was about 10 years old. I called him the 'wine dude'.
So what exactly was I doing at my dear cousin's humble abode on this cloudy Sunday?
WAIT.
It's a Sunday. Which means, there should be sun.
Why isn't there sun? Percy had said when I mentioned to him that it was a Sunday. I didn't reply. Obviously, he doesn't check the weather forcast. Oh well. Sucks for him.
I, on the other hand, have a little birdy inside my head that told me that Apollo was a bit too busy with his latest golden object. What golden object? The golden object isn't the sun, it's his newest - I mean 'raddest', as he calls it- trend.
Well, whatever it is, I'm kind of glad he decided to not shine himself today. The sun sometimes pricks against my skin, and I, being a son of the lord of the Underworld, am not all too used to sun, even though I've been alive for about 82-ish years. Man, I'm old...
That was unexpected.
Nevermind. Forget that.
That's not the real reason why I chose to bunker down in this very posh apartment with Percy. He tends to get a wee bit miserable whenever he undergoes the daily arguement with Annabeth. It's constantly like this. Yes, I love my cousin, and his very wise girlfriend, but seriously. If Percy was planning to propose to her when they turn 25, jeez. If I were him, I'd rather not. Yes, he gets moody everytime he fights with his "love owl"- blech, even at 22 years old I'm still grossed out at their romance. 'Sides, 'love owl'. Really Percy? Dude, you need to get a lesson on what to call your girlfriend. Even I won't call a girl that. So what if her mother's animal is the owl? That's just... way too cheesy.
Then again, there are times when he's not cheesy. Like, for example, when they have these "meetings". Some meeting, huh? Shoot me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty certain that these 'meetings' are just their word for 'make out- sessions'.
No pun intended.
As how he's been going the last few days, whenever they argue, Annabeth would leave the apartment- well, storm out of the place. Even I can see her quietly seething and muttering under her breath as she stalks out of the building, mostly to go to Olympus to just let her anger out. Or Camp Half-Blood to release her anger on something. Percy, on the other hand, just grabs one of Mr. D's wines and drinks the whole thing. I really do not know whether or not this is normal behavior for couples. Key word: normal. Percy and Annabeth isn't a normal couple.
"Life sucks, doesn't it, Nico?"
I turn to look at Percy. He looks tired, like he hasn't been getting enough sleep. Hm… looks like I'll have to have a little chat with the chief of the New York Police Department. After all, I'm sure sir chief wouldn't want his most hardworking, must successful crime dealing officer's lack of sleep affect his job, would he? What to do, what to do…
If this was a texting conversation, I would have added a smiley face at the end.
Luckily, this isn't.
I thought about Percy's question. Does life suck? Eh, not really. I mean, it has its ups and downs- that's usual. No, not normal, but usual. We demigods may not be normal, but we may be usual. Same thing goes for monsters. They're definitely not normal- but in our world, they're usual.
I sound like a fortune teller. Gods, someone kill me now.
Not literally.
"Nico?"
Percy had that confused look on his face, the one that, for some reason, Annabeth gloats over all the time. I wonder why that is…
Eh, it's not my love story to know. I'm not interested in girls, and I'd rather spend my time doing more important and interesting things than ogling one girl. Screw girls.
I shrug. "Depends on how you look at it, dude. Life doesn't suck; you're just in a bad mood right now."
Percy looked at me.
"What?" I cried. Wasn't that useful, informative information?
Annabeth's rubbing onto me way too much. We really need to leave her with Katie Gardner and Juniper whenever Percy, Grover, and I go on a guy's night out.
"I know this sounds really weird, considering you're the son of the god of the dead and the Underworld, and I know that you're nowhere near to being a child of Apollo, but have you ever considered becoming a fortune teller?"
I stared at him. "Seriously? Really, Percy. I know you're girlfriend calls you a 'Seaweed Brain', and that's because she's a daughter of Athena, but can you really, truly imagine me being a cookie cutter fortune teller? 'And I predict your future shall be a lonely son of Poseidon without your girlfriend.'" I dramatized, moving my arms for effect.
He snorted. I smirked at him.
"So," he said. "Life sucks, and then you die, huh Nico?"
I smiled wryly at him. "Very funny. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I have to be somewhere important right now." And if I don't make it to the Underworld fast, I thought, Cerberus' is going to go look for dead spirits to play with. Of course, no dead spirit will want to play with the big boy. I needed to get there, pronto, to give the three-headed dog his daily biscuits, NOW.
Percy nodded. "Go ahead man; don't let me stand in your way."
Even when Percy's moody after a usual fight with his beloved, he's still thinking of others. Give the man an award, why don't we?
I said bye to him, then went down the stairs to the ground level of the Big Apple. As I walked through the crowds of New York, I found a dark alleyway. I was about to head into it when I crashed into someone. Instinct caused me to reach for my sword, when I realized it was a girl. Brunette, round eyes, and the 'down –to –earth' vibe she was giving off met me.
"Sorry," I said. "I wasn't really looking where I was going."
I wanted to smack myself so badly. Of course I was looking where I was going. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been heading for the alleyway, would I? Even worse, the girl was cute.
Good job dude, I could hear Grover saying. Way to make a fool of yourself in front of a pretty girl.
She voiced exactly what I was thinking. I man, the fact that I probably was looking where I was going.
"Sorry," I said again.
"It's okay." She said, smiling faintly.
Only then did I realize that there was an awkward silence between us. I coughed hastily. "Well, I better get going. I'm so sorry I crashed into you."
She laughed. "I'm pretty sure it was the other way around."
I smiled, nodded, and walked out. Now, how much farther is another alleyway I can find without the girl being too close to me?
"Hey!" she yelled. I turned, raising my eyebrows.
For a spilt second, it looked like she blushed. Like as if she was embarrassed. I would know, after all, my cousin tags me along every time he and a certain daughter of Athena go on a date and they decide to get cute and cuddly. Bleh.
"Um… you forgot this." She handed me a drachma which must have mysteriously fallen out of my zipped up pocket.
"Oh… thanks."
"No problem."
When our hands touched- and note that I do not like cheesy romance *cough*Twilight! - it felt really weird to me. Warm, but soft. Tender, but…what? I don't know. I felt something really weird…
"Kyla."
"Nico."
Another awkward silence.
"Um…"
"Yeah…"
"Well, bye." I finished lamely. I turned on my heel and walked away, my mind buzzing. Wait… why would my mind be buzzing? It was just some random girl. Some random New Yorker. So why would my mind be buzzing?
I shook my head. Think about that later. Right now, I needed to stop Cerberus if he feels like rampaging the Underworld.
Still, I had to smile. Maybe I should take back what I said about girls…
Kyla frown as she watched Nico walk away. Usually, she isn't one to pry, but exactly who is Nico? He seemed… strange. Interesting. Like a news article.
"Oh, stop it." She chided herself. You already told Mackenna that you'd give up boys for eternity. 'Sides, he's probably like all the other boys in New York- rude, conceited – sweet, kind, her mind intruded.
Still, he was a mystery. A puzzle. She smiled. She may not know who he was, but he was definitely one to look out for if she ever saw him again.
Probably not, her better half argued.
I should get back to work, she thought, as she headed for the subway. I've stretched my lunch break long enough already.
As the subway whizzed through the tunnels, Kyla opened her phone.
"Kyla?"
"Hey Mackenna."
"Are you coming back to work, or decided to ditch completely?" Mackenna joked.
Kyla smiled. "I'm on my way back. But I wanted to tell you something."
"What?"
Kyla looked all around her, at all the different people in the train. "I'm taking back what I said on guys."
All of New York City could have heard Mackenna's happy shriek from Kyla's phone.