College was ok. Nico decided he wanted to study History since he could get help from all the ghosts he ruled over. He was actually good at it without their help anyway. He had always loved history and mythology and stuff, until it turned out that the myths were actually true, then he started to hate the myths a little but he still knew a ton about them. Hades palace had a massive library too so before he went to college, whenever he wasn't training, he read. He read fantasy and crime and fairy tales and information books and romance and biographies and history, anything he fancied. He'd gained all his knowledge from reading those books, as he had never been to school before that, apart from his short year at Westover hall.

He didn't really know anyone at college. He kept to himself most of the time, only talking to people when they talked to him. People were often astounded by how much he knew, although he wasn't good with maths and science, he knew a lot about literature, history and especially mythology. There was another guy in his class that knew a lot about mythology and would sometimes even correct the teacher, with what Nico knew to be the correct answer. Nico wouldn't dare correct the teacher; he didn't want to be found out, that he was a demigod. It was a stupid fear really but he had it.

One day, the teacher decided they had to do a project in pairs. In pairs. A stupid decision really. Anyway, Nico got put with this really smart guy who always corrected the teacher. He was quite cute and he had a smile like sunshine. He looked kind of like the sun god, Apollo, who Nico had met briefly when he was ten, but that could have just been a coincidence, it probably was.

As Nico walked out of class, just being told who the pairs were, the boy ran up to catch him. He was called Alex. 'Hey. I hear we're partners for this project.' He said, out of breath. Nico could move fast when he wanted to.

'Yes.' Nico replied. 'Did you want something?'

'Well, do you wanna go to the library and do it or do you wanna come to mine or go to yours?' He said, flustered.

'I don't mind, though I doubt my father would appreciate me bringing friends back often.' Nico smiled to himself because he knew his father's exact reaction, and the said friends reaction too.

'Why?' Alex asked. 'Sorry' he said after a pause. 'I shouldn't have asked that.'

'No, no, it's okay. My family's kind of complicated.' Nico laughed, his family was really, really, really complicated.

'Tell me about it.' Alex smiled.

'Yours too? I doubt they're as complicated as mine.' Nico smiled back.

'Oh really. I've never met my dad, he knocked my mum up and disapperead but my mum still acts like he was the most amazing person in the world. You're probably not gonna believe this, but, well infact you'll probably think I'm crazy but.' Alex was rambling but Nico listened. He took a deep breath. 'My dad's a Greek god.' He exulted. 'I don't know why I'm telling you this, you just seem like the kind of guy I can open up to –' Alex kept on rambling but Nico shut him up.

'I think I can beat you.' He said.