There were some problems the first time I uploaded, so I deleted the entire story and attempted to start over. Hope it works this time.

~ note: the following is all based off of a headcanon I saw on Pinterest. I just wanted to make a story about it because I liked the overall idea of said headcanon. The idea for this belongs to the original person who thought it up, though I don't know who they are ~

Nico glumly walked out of the Hades cabin. He didn't want to talk to anyone. How would they understand? He was so different from them. He was a child of Hades; he could summon the dead. Even if the others tried to include him, he could still tell they were not comfortable with him. Oh well, it was the life he got stuck with, and there wasn't much he could do about it.

He started kicking a medium-sized pebble around the perimeter of the dark cabin, ignoring the looks that the other kids gave him when they thought he wasn't looking. looking down, he watched his tennis shoes shove the pebble forward across the ground. Looking up, he found himself in a secluded area behind his cabin. There were bright leafy trees arranged in an arc around another, smaller tree.

He sat down against the back of the cabin, and looked at the small tree. His thoughts grew darker and deeper as he looked forward and started to lose his grip on the world.

Suddenly, in a moment of rage, he leapt up, grabbing the dagger at his belt, and ran towards the tree. He hit and hacked at the smooth bark of the tree, barely realizing what he was doing. All too suddenly, the world came back to him, and he realized what he had been doing.

"No," he whispered quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't me-," he broke off and started to cry. "I can't do anything right, I can't do anything pleasant. Everything I do seems to be dark. I didn't mean it. I didn't-"

He leaned against the tree and slid down it, still crying. His tears trickled down his face and landed in the dry dirt. "I didn't want to hurt-I didn't-I didn't mean it-why do I mess everything up? I can't do anything right," he sobbed. Curling up into a ball, he continued to speak to himself in the same manner.

After a while, he felt arms wrap around him, and he started. Looking to the side, he saw a young nymph with cuts and bruises on her arms and legs hugging him tightly.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I understand."

Neither said anything for a bit, and the nymph left, knowing that it would be best for Nico to be by himself for a while. When dusk started to fall, he got up slowly, and stumbled into his cabin, flopping backwards onto his bunk. Wrapping himself in his gray comforter, he thought about the nymph. He decided that maybe he could find a friend in her.