"No, no, no," Thalia collapsed on to her knees beside Nico. "Oh gods, no."
Nico managed a half-grin up at her. The ragged gasps coming from his heaving chest made hot tears roll down Thalia's cheek. "I'm glad-" Nico drew in a rattling breath, "I'm glad you completed your dream."
After glancing over at the Eifel tower, her battered bike, the bottle of water, and the knife that the ruffian had left behind, Thalia realised just how insignifacant that was. Smiling through tears, she stroked his hair away from his forehead. "Don't worry, we can- we can- I'll call the ambulance! Oh no, gods, I don't have my cell-phone, I'll just stop a passerby-" The world's youngest cycler to France didn't care she was sounding hysterical. All that mattered was her best friend was dying.
"Thalia," Nico wheezed. He put a cold hand on top of hers. Even that effort made beads of sweat roll down his face. "Don't- don't fight fate. Please. I can't make you do this."
Thalia blinked tears. "And I can't let you die."
The blood was now soaking into his hair.
What scared her the most was when he coughed and blood stained the ground next to him. Gently, Thalia kissed him. Bloody prints were left on her lip, but that didn't matter. Now Nico was shaking like electricity was shooting through him.
"Thalia?"
"Yes, Nico?"
"You were my new dream."
By then his eyes had glazed over and he'd stopped breathing.
But she was crying, but in the words she whispered, she found comfort. "And you were mine."