Hey guys! Yes I'm new in the Percy Jackson section of fanfiction... er writing wise. I've read tons of these stories. So let me introduce myself. Greetings! I am a daughter of Athena. Or at least I wish I was. Yes I'm a freak and yes I constantly stare at the moon and think Where the hell are you Artemis I'm sick of jerk guys? I am a huge fan of Annabeth and Percy and I cried when Beckendorf died. (WAHHHHHHHH BECKENDORF!) I love Nico he's one of my favorite characters. For my Xiaolin Showdown readers who are going why the heck are you uploading a new story instead of the next chapter of your other story... this is my friend's birthday present. Happy Birthday my best friend in the entire world! I love you and this is dedicated entirely to you. (You know who you are) As for everyone else I really hope you enjoy the story.
Disclaimer: So Rick...my main man... You wanna give me Percy Jackson and the Olympians? No? ...Damn it
Nico's Dilemma
The air was warm and the sun was inviting. After a rowdy night during which a pair of demigods had been chased into camp by a couple of monsters, Camp Half-Blood was surprisingly quiet. But Percy Jackson didn't mind the calm one bit. He was sitting on the beach with his girlfriend Annabeth Chase. They had just finished a delicious picnic and now she was resting her head on his shoulder, their fingers intertwined. His head was resting on top of hers and Percy was enjoying the feel of her soft, golden curls against his skin.
Nothing could ruin this perfect moment. Nothing except…
"Percy!" Percy's head shot up and he quickly looked around to see who had called his name.
His friend Nico Di Angelo was running towards them in a full sprint. His normally neat, almost gothic, clothes were in disarray. His hair was mused from running and his face was bright red, although Percy had a feeling that it wasn't from his sprint.
Nico skidded to a halt in front of them. "Hi Percy, Annabeth," he said looking flustered. "Um, I'm sorry to interrupt you two-" His face turned even redder if that was possible. "-but I really need your help Percy."
"Okay," said Percy looking confused. "Are you alright with me leaving, Annabeth?"
"Sure, whatever Seaweed Brain," she huffed, getting up and walking away.
"Oh great now she's mad at me," Percy said, glaring at Nico, the cause of this anger. "What is it?"
Nico looked down at his shoes and kicked the dirt. "I…umm… I" He seemed to have no idea where to begin.
A look of understanding came over Percy. "Come on Nico, let's go for a walk in the woods." Nico quickly shook his head. "What? What's wrong with the forest?"
"Nymphs," was Nico's reply.
Percy nodded. Whatever was wrong with Nico, he didn't want the gossiping tree nymphs to spread it around camp. "Fine, let's go to my cabin. Tyson'll be down at the forges for the day." The son of Hades nodded and the boys began to head over to the Poseidon cabin. An idea suddenly came to Percy's head and he prayed to every god he knew that this wasn't about some puberty thing. He shuddered at the thought of having to try and explain it all to Nico.
After they had entered the cabin and shut the door firmly behind them Percy turned to him. "Nico, what in the name of Tartarus is this all about?"
"Ok," said Nico slowly. "So you know the new girl, Anri?"
"The daughter of Phobos?" Percy asked. Percy flashed back to the night that he, Annabeth, Nico, Clarisse, and a few other demigods had been on border patrol. It had been past midnight and they were, for the most part, snoozing when a girl appeared in the distance being chased by three hellhounds. The group quickly ran to her aid and managed to fight off the hellhounds and get her across the borderline.
"The one and only," Nico nodded.
"What's she got to do with all of this?"
"Well you see… I…um…I…I…I HATE APHRODITE!" Nico screamed before sinking onto Percy's bed with his head in his hands.
"Ohhhh," the light bulb flickered on in Percy's head. He sat down next to Nico. Unsure of what to do, he put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "So you like her."
Nico nodded, but refused to take his hands off his face. "I've never felt like this about someone before. I don't know what to do. And she'll never like me after I acted like a complete idiot in front of her."
"What'd you do?" Percy asked, horrible scenes of Nico embarrassing himself flashing before his eyes.
"I tried to go up and talk to her. Just say 'hi' ya know? And I was right there in front of her and I couldn't say anything! I just stood there like a moron. And she said 'If you're not going to say something then can you move? I'm late for sword fighting.' so I ran away."
"Aw man, that's not so bad. If it makes you feel any better, the first time Annabeth talked to me she told me that I drooled in my sleep," Percy told him.
Nico chuckled a bit. "It does, a little." Then he turned serious. "So you'll help me impress her?"
"Whoa wait a minute! What gave you the impression that I can help you win this girl over?"
"Well, you've got Annabeth don't you?" Nico answered honestly. "And face it, you must've done something right 'cause there is no way in any universe that a girl like her would date you."
"Duhh, it's called 'divine intervention'." Percy said. He paused until Nico's words registered in his head. "Hey! What a minute! There's nothing wrong with me. I'm a dateable guy."
Nico snorted. "If you say so. So will you help me?"
Percy looked into the thirteen year old's pleading eyes. "Fine," he sighed. "I still don't see why you don't just go to one of the Aphrodite guys for advice."
"Those prissy walking Ken dolls? Hell no," Nico spat. "I don't like them and they don't like me."
Percy ran his fingers through his hair stressfully. Oh how he'd rather be back on the beach with Annabeth. Unfortunately for him, he had to help Hades' son get a girlfriend. At that moment Percy decided that he hated Aphrodite, too.
"Alright," he said. "Here's what you've gotta do…"
Annabeth wasn't mad. She was just ticked off. She had been enjoying their date before Nico had come along. Still, she couldn't bring herself to feel any anger towards him. Nico had looked seriously upset, so whatever was on his mind had to be serious. On the downside, she had no idea what she was going to do with the rest of her day.
"Oh I'll find something," she muttered angrily to herself.
Looking up she saw a girl dressed in black pants and a close-fitting black T-shirt. Her dark hair was shoulder length and choppy, as if she'd cut it off herself with a hacksaw. She wore black boots and skull earrings and her eyes were a yellowish/orange, not entirely the flames that were her father's eyes, but with the same chilling effect.
"Oh hi Anri," Annabeth waved.
She felt herself shudder a little, but was able to shake it off. Being the daughter of Phobos, god of fear, Anri's presence was like standing in the presence of your worst nightmare. Because of this she was often alone, but Annabeth couldn't blame the rest of the campers. Even Clarisse, Anri's aunt-of-sorts kept away from her for the most part. For Annabeth, she felt the fear that she would feel if she were standing in front of a very large spider. But Anri was a really sweet girl and Annabeth was finally able to overcome her fear and talk to her.
"Hi Annabeth," Anri smiled. "What's up?"
"I was on date with Percy until he got called away by Nico," she shrugged. "Some kind of guys-only business."
Anri giggled. "Nico? The cute one?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Nico… the son of Hades."
"Yeah him," Anri sighed. "He's so sweet and funny even if he is a little strange."
Annabeth eyed the younger girl. "We are talking about the same Nico here right?"
Anri turned the full force of her eyes on her and Annabeth couldn't stop herself from taking a step back. Anri's eyes dimmed and she looked down.
"Yeah… I like him, but I think he's too scared to talk to me. I've got an… intimidating presence," she smiled sarcastically. "Everyone's too scared to talk to me and it's not even my fault. I can't help that my father's the god of fear ya know?"
Annabeth put her arm around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze. "It's alright," she comforted the younger girl. "None of us asked for this. But that's what unites us. That's what keeps us together. We're here for you Anri. I'm here for you."
"Thanks Annabeth." She smiled for real this time before walking off. Annabeth smiled at the smaller girl's retreating figure. She really was a sweet girl, even if it did feel like Annabeth was talking to a spider whenever she was around. With that thought she turned around and headed in the opposite direction to practice her knife-fighting.
It was just after lunch time when Nico and Percy had finally decided on a course of action. They were on the outskirts of the forest standing behind a few trees that were near the path. Percy wanted to keep it plain and simple. Anri was jogging up the path a little ways away. Nico was just going to walk out onto the path and say 'hello' to her as she went by and continue casually strolling down the trail.
Percy held up three fingers and slowly counted them down. He thought he heard giggling, but brushed it off as his imagination. Three. Two. One. Nico took a breath and lifted up his foot. Just as he was about to step onto the path he felt something rough wrap around his ankle and pull. Down he went, face first onto the floor. This time they both heard the giggling and Nico knew that a tree nymph had tripped him. Damn nymphs. He never liked those giggling, flirty tree spirits.
Nico didn't even bother getting up. He just lay there on the floor, face pressed into the ground, and prayed Anri wouldn't notice him. He had no such luck.
"Uh…Nico?" questioned the voice of an angel. "You alright?"
Nico felt a rush of fear flood through him. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak. He just nodded into the ground, refusing to look at her.
"Oh… um okay. I'll see you around I guess?" she asked.
Again, he nodded into the dirt.
"Right…" he heard her say before the sound of her feet pounding the earth filled his ears as she began to jog away.
"Dude, are you alright?" Percy asked, stepping out from behind the tree.
"Yeah…" Nico replied, taking Percy's hand and hauling himself to his feet. He watched Anri as she continued down the path, not looking back. Percy followed his line of vision and nodded.
He patted Nico on the shoulder. "Come on man. Let's try something else."
"Alright," said Percy, "Here's what you've gotta do. Just go up to her and compliment her."
They were hiding around the corner of one of the cabins. Nico looked uncertainly at Percy before turning around to watch Anri's approaching form. "Okay, if you say so," but he seemed paralyzed with fear and nerves. Percy felt a flash of pity go through him so he put both hands on Nico's shoulders and pushed him out onto the path, right in front of Anri.
"Hi Nico," she said.
"H-h-h-hi," he finally spat out.
"What's up?" Anri asked.
"N-n-nothing much," was the best he could come up with. He had no idea what was wrong with him, why he felt this scared. Nico looked over at Percy for reassurance. Percy flashed a smile and gave him the thumbs up sign. Nico looked back at her. "You...you look...and you're hair...and um..." His face flushed the color of an apple. "You smell good!" he stammered out at last before turning around and sprinting away.
Anri gave a small "Oh" before walking away with a confused expression on her face.
Behind the cabin, Percy slapped his forehead while shaking his head and slid down the wall of the cabin until he was sitting on the floor. This was going to be harder than he thought.
"Ok let's try this again," Percy told Nico a few hours later. It had taken Percy a long time to track down Nico in the forest and even longer to convince him to try again. It was during his search that Percy noticed a flyer taped to the side of a cabin. It was the thick,
neon orange border that got his attention, but whoever had printed them had had the sense to print the rest of the flyer in black. The white lettering announced a movie night taking place in the ampitheatre. To the campers it would be a fun night out with friends. To Percy it was the perfect opportunity for Nico to ask out Anri.
"Just tap her on the shoulder and ask her if she wants to see the movie with you," said Percy.
"What if she says no?" Nico asked.
"Well then at least you know. Quick there she is," Percy said, seeing Anri exit her cabin and head down the path to the Big House. "Remember, confidence. Don't run away this time."
"Okay," Nico said taking off after her. She was ahead of him, but he was catching up. Percy strolled behind to watch.
Nico saw her enter a building and charged right in without thinking. He was not running away this time. Unfortunately, he failed to read the sign next to the door. "Anri I need to ask you something."
She whipped around and, much to his surprise, her face flushed with anger. "What the hell are you doing in here?"
Nico was stunned. "What?"
Suddenly, Nico heard a girl scream. That can't be good, he thought. Then he noticed the sinks and the showers and the pink walls. "This is the girl's bathroom!" an Aphrodite girl screamed at him. "Get out. Get out. GET OUT!"
Nico turned around and sprinted out the door, past Percy who had realized what building he entered and was trying to get him out, and made beeline for the forest. He didn't stop running until he ran out of breath. Then he just collapsed onto the ground and put his head in his hands. He was never going to become brave enough to ask Anri out.
Meanwhile Anri was really confused. Nico had been acting very strange lately and she wanted to know what was going on. She was wandering around the camp when she ran into Annabeth again. Annabeth had just finished showering after her training and her hair was dripping wet.
"Hey Annabeth can I talk to you for a minute?" Anri called out.
"Sure," said Annabeth. "What's up?'
"Is Nico alright? He's been acting really weird today," she confessed.
"Weird?" Annabeth mused. "Weird how?"
"Well…" Anri recounted all the encounters she had had with the son of Hades that day. When she finished Annabeth was deep in thought. She was thinking over her encounter with Nico earlier that day, as well. Suddenly, something clicked and Annabeth's face broke out into a smile.
"Sweetie," she began, "I think he likes you."
Anri's head shot up. "Really?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Sounds like he's been trying to talk to you about it all day. And there's that movie later. When he said he had to ask you something it sounds like he might've been trying to ask you if you wanted to go with him."
"Like a date?" Anri's eyes glowed with the prospect of being asked out.
"Maybe," Annabeth agreed.
"I've got to go find him," Anri said suddenly and began to run towards the forest, where she'd last seen him heading. "Thank you Annabeth," she called over her shoulder.
Annabeth just smiled and wished her good luck.
It was almost sundown. Nico sat huddled on the ground with his back up against the colossal rocks of Zeus' Fist. He had his arms wrapped around his knees and his head rested on top of them. Never had he been so humiliated in his entire life. And all because of some girl. Nico could picture Aphrodite sitting on Mount Olympus, laughing at him. In fact he could almost hear her mocking laughter.
To hell with it, Nico thought bitterly, to hell with it all.
"Nico!" Anri called as she wandered through the forest. "Nico where are you?"
Exhausted, she stopped for a moment and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Where was that boy? A twig snapped behind her and she whipped around. Nothing was there. By now the sun had almost completely gone down and it was dark in the forest. Slowly, Anri continued her search and tried to ignore her growing feeling of apprehension. Suddenly, Anri heard a low growling coming from the bushes.
This time when she turned around she was staring a pair of hellhounds in the face. She let out a startled scream and jumped back. Putting a hand over her heart she tried to calm herself. When she felt in control of her emotions she turned the full force of her eyes on the dogs, but they just stared back, their eyes twice as cold and heartless and intimidating as hers. Noticing that her powers weren't working as they usually did on monsters, Anri began to back up slowly. The hellhounds just glared at her, growling. It wasn't until she stepped on a twig that they started barking. Anri didn't waste another minute. She turned tail and ran.
The hellhounds chased her deeper and deeper into the forest. By now she had lost all sense of direction. She chanced a glance over her shoulder at the dogs and saw they were gaining. Looking behind her, she failed to notice the log until it was too late. Crying out in pain as her ankle collided with the piece of wood, she was thrown forward into the dirt and leaves. Clenching her fists and teeth, she rolled over and looked up at foaming mouths and razor sharp teeth.
Normally she wasn't afraid of anything, but looking up into those teeth transported her back to the night when she had first arrived at Camp Half Blood. She felt the terror course through her veins and when the hellhounds barked she did what any normal thirteen-year-old would do. She screamed.
She was deep in the forest. No one was around for miles. No one could possibly hear her. Fortunately, one person did.
"Get away from her!" Someone yelled, slashing a sword at the hellhounds. They jumped back growling. "Anri get out of here." Her dark hero stepped into the dying light and Anri caught a glimpse of Nico's familiar face. But she was too frozen with fear to move. Usually Nico had full control over hellhounds, but for some reason these two wouldn't yield.
With a swipe of its giant paw, one of the hellhounds knocked Nico into a tree. Anri saw his head collided with the trunk, but couldn't tell if he was out or not. Instead she began scrambling through the underbrush trying to find a weapon, a sharp stick, something. She whipped around to stare at the hellhounds just as her hand closed around a jagged rock.
She slashed upward, grazing one hound's muzzle. It howled and reared back. The second one growled and pounced forward.
"I said," Nico threatened, shaking as he stood, "Get away from her!"
He lifted his sword high above his head then swung it straight down into the ground. A wall of fire erupted from where he had stabbed the ground and it snaked its way through the grass until it reached the hellhounds, completely incinerating them.
Panting, Nico collapsed to his knees. Calling upon the Underworld powers exhausted him, but he couldn't think of any better way.
"Thanks." Nico looked up into Anri's eyes. She smiled at him. "You saved my life."
"Uh… um… yeah," was Nico's reply. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "No problem."
They both stood there uncomfortably. "I should be getting back to camp," Anri said at last.
"Yeah…right."
"Yeah," Anri looked away disappointedly and began to leave. Nico watched her go and decided that he wasn't going to let her walk away this time.
"Hey Anri," he called out. She turned around and he caught up to her. "I was um wondering… if you would… uh… ya know…umm."
"Nico," Anri said softly.
"Yeah."
"Would you like to go to the movie tonight with me?" Anri asked.
Nico felt relief flood over him. He had done it. He had gotten a date with the one and only daughter of Phobos. "Yeah, I'd like that."
Together they headed back to camp. On the way back, Anri grabbed his hand and held onto it tight. For the first time since he met her Nico felt all the fear leave him. Confidently, he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it softly. She smiled back at him, noticing at once the change that he had undergone.
"Well would you look at that." The couple looked up to see Annabeth standing in their way. She had her arms crossed and was smiling knowingly.
"Looks like you were right Annabeth," Anri told her.
"You knew?" Nico asked.
"She figured it out," Anri explained.
"Nico!" They all turned around to see Percy running towards them. He halted in front of them and stared at the couple's intertwined hands. His eyes widened. "You two?" They nodded. "You're together? Congrats!"
"Yeah and now if you don't mind we're kinda heading out on a date," Nico smiled sheepishly.
"Oh really where?" Percy asked surprised. "Ow!" Annabeth smacked him on the back of his head.
"The movie! Duhh Seaweed Brain." She smiled at Nico and Anri. "Have fun you guys."
"We will," Anri promised before the two continued on to the ampitheatre.
Annabeth and Percy watched them go. "So Annabeth," Percy began. She shifted her attention to him. "Since those two have a date to the movies… you wanna go with me?"
"Absolutely not," she said.
"Why?" Percy whined.
She turned her angry stormy gray eyes on him. "Because you walked out on me this morning! Why on earth would I go on another date with you?"
She began to walk away, but he grabbed her and pulled her into a kiss. At first she seemed to melt and began to wrap her arms around him. Then she got her senses back and pushed him away.
"I'm mad at you, you jerk," she said angrily.
"Because you love me," he said.
"What?"
"You'll go on another date with me because you love me," he said slyly.
She narrowed her eyes while he gave her his best puppy-dog ones. Finally she sighed and smiled. "You're right."
He happily grabbed her hand and began to pull her to the ampitheatre.
"Wait," she said and he stopped.
"What?" he asked. She put her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him close for another kiss.
When they pulled away she grinned at him and said, "Now we can go to the movie." Percy just nodded, smiling stupidly. "Oh and just for the record," Annabeth added. "You suck at romantic advice. Never try and help a guy ask out a girl again."
"Hey I thought I did a good job!" Percy protested and the night was filled with their voices as they bickered all the way to the movie.
Soooooo how was it? Please let me know what you thought. Like I said I've never written Percy Jackson before. My friend wanted a Nico fanfic so I wrote it for her. Again happy birthday... even though I finished this story late. And guys please review!