The Dark and the Light

by Death Itself 101

Jacqueline and Nico hate each other. Period. But the thing is, they are going to be engaged by force... To each other! That is the worst thing possible- being engaged to your mortal enemy, you know?

? P.O.V-
I hate having him as my dad! Everyone always expects you to be bright and cheery! They don't think for a minute that maybe one of us is different. Okay, maybe you are confused. Let me introduce myself.

I am Jacqueline Autre and I am 14 years old. I love to play my guitar and sing some of my songs... that I write on my own spare time. I am not a very cheery looking girl and I am easily thought of as a daughter of Hades, whom I think is a better father than him. I am a tomboy and my best friend is a guy named Ross, a child of Nyx, along with most of my friends. Oh, and I absolutely hate Nico DiAngelo.

So, I was in the theater and I was minding my own business, when I suddenly pulled out of this world to talk to my infuriating dad. He was pretty cool sometimes, but right now he was being an ass.

"Hello, Jacqueline. How are you, child?" my dad said. "Dad, cut this shit out and tell me what you need to tell me. I was busy you know. I have to finish this song by this Friday." He looked at me nervously before composing himself. "Jacqueline, you are going to be married and- "I cut him off. I mean, I'm being married to someone and he didn't tell me sooner?! "Dad, when am I going to be married and to whom?" I said in my calmest voice I could muster.
" Well, you're going to be married when you are going to turn eighteen and to whom you're being married to- well, that is what I am afraid you are not going to like. You see you are going to be married to… Nico DiAngelo." I don't know how I did it but I managed to pull out of our conversation. I took a pillow and screamed into it.

And this was the point when I started to ramble.

Nico's P.O.V-

Father told me to stop by at the Underworld today. I have no idea why. As I walked by, I saw the dead walking about. As I walked, I saw Bianca. "Bianca! It's me Nico! Come over here I need to talk to you!" She walked- er, floated- towards me giving me an airy kiss on the cheek. I gave her a small smile. "So, do you have any idea why Father called me today?" She looked around and sighed. "I'm sorry, Nico, my il mio fratellino. I think that Father wanted to talk to you personally. I am sorry." I gave her a curt nod and walked toward the big castle *cough, cough jail cough, cough* which I always dreaded. Since its fall, I usually don't come here due to the fact that she is here. The 'she' is Persephone, the most annoying goddess ever to be known to man. She was so annoying and I usually stay my distance from her.

Anyway, while I pondered about my very horrendous step-mother, I realized that I am at the doorstep of Father's home. I took a deep breath in, jut to calm my nerves. Then I swung the giant obsidian doors open. It took a while to get to Father's throne room, but when I got there, I was greeted by the sight of Persephone and my dad making out. I gagged a little and knocked on the door, but not before closing the door. When I heard Hades say," Come in, son." I opened the door and I gave him a bow. He nodded and Persephone looked at me like she wanted to kill me and scoffed. Internally, I would have smirked and said something to offend her, but since I do not wanna be turned into a petunia... again... I said," Lady Persephone, Father. Now, might I ask why I am here?" Persephone smirked right after I said that. Uh-oh.

"Son, I know that in the past, I would make you come down here to the Underworld only if I needed you to do work for me. But now I have something to tell you. This might be a little... uncomfortable... but you are going to be married. Now before you say anything I need to tell you that you are being married when your bride is turning eighteen. Son, you are a mature man now, so please take this in a mature manner. You are being wedded to… well… Jacqueline Autre. Now, before you say why... well... Aphrodite said that you two will be a very strong couple, and will help the world… and me… Trust me, she was very serious when she said this, ever more serious that I thought she would ever be. Everyone, even Athena had to take her seriously. Once again, I know your hatred towards the girl, but please try and be kind towards her. She is very powerful. We need her. Nico, please do it and please do not mess it up. Try to be like your sister.

I was so mad! At my father, at Jacqueline, at Bianca, at myself. But most of my anger was directed towards Hades and Jacqueline. Hades- I have to be married to the girl that is in my nightmares and he expects me to be okay with that? No. And my anger towards Jacqueline is reasonable. I hate her; she hates me, that's just our cycle. The weird thing is was the fact that Percy tried to play matchmaker and it ended up with me with a broken arm and Percy just having a bruise on his arm. Huh, she is reeeeeal nice. Note my sarcasm. I nodded my head, as if I was totally cool with the fact that I am going to be married to the girl who hates my guts, and vise versa. But I can't disappoint my dad. I just can't.

Jacqueline's P.O.V-

My siblings gave me sympathetic looks when I came back from the theater. I guess dad told them about my soon-to-be-marriage. This is another reason why my dad is a dick. He didn't even ask me if it was okay if he told basically the entire camp (a lot of the campers are my cabin siblings)! Ugh!

Anyway, I went to my bunk which was on the top (thank the gods!) and just wrote in my diary:
Dear Diary,
Let's just say that my 'father' is a douche-bag. I don't care if the gods themselves tell me it's important to marry... him... I won't do it! They expect me to-

After that I heard a knock on the door to our cabin. I looked up from my writing. One of the younger kids opened the door... to show the devil himself (A/N: Pun intended!). He bent down to the girls level and said in a surprisingly nice, soft voice," Hello, kid, is Jacqueline here?" When he said my name, I saw him shudder, and I smirked. Huh, am I that scary...Hell, I'm your worst nightmare! The little girl pointed at my bunk and I ducked my head. But it was too late. He saw me. I could literally hear him smirking when he said," Oh, well, I was going to bring her to a coffee place, but I guess she doesn't want any coffee. Well tell her that I dropped by." Noooo! He used my weakness on me! I am, like, addicted to coffee! "Wait! Nico, I am here. Just get me some coffee and then let me come back here. No tricks, got it?" He nodded his head. Little did I know, he had his fingers crossed behind his back.

~ Time skip ~

He got me my favorite coffee- black coffee- and, surprisingly, he liked black coffee, too! After we drained our cups, we went somewhere. Nico grabbed my hand (boy, was that awkward!) and we shadow-traveled there. It was pretty cool. I'm not admitting it, though, that I enjoyed one bit of the ride.
Well, when we arrived we were at an abandoned house/store. The yellow paint looks like it was being peeled away. The roof was worn and disgusting, and the wood looked like it was being eaten. Man, I can't wait to explore this place! Then I heard a cough behind me. I suddenly remembered that Nico was here. I turned around and said," What in the name of Hades do you want!? "

Nico's P.O.V-

What in the name of Hades did I want? I don't know… maybe I wanna know why she hated me! I mean, when did our war of hatred start? I said this exactly to her and she gave me a confused look."Don't you remember? You told me that you 'liked' me and then you were kissing another chick- I think it was one of those bimbo Aphrodite girls…" I thought really hard, but I couldn't remember it. Okay, dad said to be kind to her so let's start small…
"You know what? Let's put the past behind us and try to be friends. I mean, we are going to be married… no matter how much we don't want it to happen." The last part I kind of mumbled. She looked at me like she was offended, but then shrugged, as if understanding my logic. She nodded her head and looked away.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, we reached the stairs to the stairs. I grabbed her hand and we went up the stairs. Okay, this is going to sound cheesy, but when I held her hand, it was like it was made for me. Cheesy, right? Well, when we reached the top, she yanked her hand out of my grip and walked towards the edge. It seemed like she wasn't scared at the fact that she was like 25 ft. up from the ground. I guess that's a good quality in a girl… fearlessness. I looked at her and cautiously sat next to her… at the edge.

Jacqueline's P.O.V-

I looked at Nico. He was looking at something in the distance and I tried to see what he was looking at, but I couldn't. Then I looked at the ground-about 30 feet down below. I wasn't scared, I was actually pretty cool with the fact that I might fall to my death. Suddenly I heard a voice," Hey, you wanna hang out later? I mean, we got to know each other a little better, right? We are going to be married soon…" I looked at him and he actually meant it. I nodded and noticed how good he looked with the wind blowing his hair effortlessly. Wait… WHAT?! When did I think that Nico looked good…? Yeah, I must be going crazy!

Nico's P.O.V-

She asked me a very interesting question suddenly after a while: "Why do you hate me?" I really thought about it. Then it hit me… hard. "Remember? You were sucking this guy's face off while you two were making out. Before that, you said that we could go on a date…" I tried to hide my blush that came on towards the end, knowing that Jacqueline would tease me endlessly.

Finally, after some time, she answered,"No, I don't… Hey don't you think it's weird that we can't remember why we hate each other? "Now that I think about it, she's right! Huh, Vanessa, being right in my eyes, never saw it coming. Well I thought about it and I decided to ask Dad about it. I shrugged and then it hit me! I need to make her trust us and make her stay with us. "Hey, follow me."

Jacqueline's P.O.V-

"Hey, follow me." I shrugged and got up. He grabbed my hand and then I felt a little shaken up on the inside. I really was in deep thought, I guess, because Nico shook me and then I woke from my thinking. I looked around and saw that we were in a small room with a dim candle light. This would have been romantic… if I wasn't claustrophobic! I started to breathe really fast and the walls made it feel like I was being squished into a little ball. I started banging on the door and then I the last thing I saw was Nico turning around trying to catch me. After that, I was out cold.

Nico's P.O.V-

I heard banging and I turned around to see that Jacqueline was slumping on to the floor, tears slipping out of her eyes. I knew by heart that she wasn't scared of the dark, but maybe she was… Oh no! She is scared of small spaces! Ugh, I ran towards her body. Then I really looked at her. And no, not like a pervert, just… features that I've never noticed before… Yeah that's it!

She was short, but curvy. She was part of her hair dyed to a reddish color at the tips of her hair. She has extremely pale skin, even paler than mine, and doesn't look anything like her siblings. She has a dark and dangerous aura that just needs some love, I guess… just like me. I guess we're both troubled souls. She always covered her body with long sleeves and jackets. Wait does she… I lifted up her sleeve and saw no cuts- thank the gods! I picked her up bridal style, and I shadow traveled her back to camp, to my cabin. I am very sure that everyone would question this…

I took out some ambrosia and I muttered, "C'mon… What in the Hades did I do?!" I then slowly looked up and I thought, 'What! When did I start caring for a girl…? Especially this girl?!' I went back to work and I said, "Help your daughter from this… Whatever it is…"

Jacqueline's POV-

After I was out cold, I felt strong arms pick me up. Carrying me bridal style, I felt the cold air of the shadows. 'Shadows… Shadow travel… Nico?!' I thought incredulously. This person who saved me from my fear of tight spaces-claustrophobia-and… might be bringing me to my utter doom or to camp. I'd like the latter, you know.

After we arrived, I just knew that it was camp, though, he wasn't bringing me to the infirmary. He brought me somewhere with a dark aura. 'It's probably is freaking cabin.' I snorted, mentally though. Then, while feeding me ambrosia he said, "C'mon…What in the Hades did I do?!" I'm pretty sure everything in my body just stopped. Did he care for me? What happened to our mutual hate for each other? I realized he stopped helping me out. Finally, he went back to work and I heard him loud and clear, "Help your daughter from this… Whatever this is…"I wanted to tell him that this is a temporary coma. I don't t know how long this will take, but you know what? I don't care. I have a feeling that this is going to be very interesting…

Nico's POV-

I, for some reason, took care of Jacqueline. I know, weird, right? But it's true. But while Jackie (yes I called her a nickname… shuddup…) was resting a bit, I went down to the Underworld and learned a really interesting fact- our hate for each other? Fake. All of it, fake. I asked my dad and he just said, "Aphrodite put this curse, which she called a blessing at the time, on you guys. At first I refused, but then she said that it'll come in handy, and cause a-and I quote her- 'cute, funny relationship that all love stories need. I was confused. A love story? For my son and a girl that has the best attitude ever? I agreed after I heard that you guys will become a powerful couple. Now, after a few years, she told me about you getting married to her."

I looked at him with disgust. "So you agreed to let us hate each other with no good reason? You could have just let us go out together naturally… I did ask her out and were going to go out- that much I remember. But then you had to bring this stupid curse along and now, the one girl that I actually liked like a crush hates me. What type of good father lets this happen?" Hades looks down and said, "I'll ask Aphrodite to lift the curse, and return her original memories." I looked at him expectantly. He sighed and said, "Ugh, fine and I'll ask her to freaking explain it in her dreams someway…"

I then spat out, "If you ever decide to toy with my feelings, thoughts, and emotions, please refrain from that. You wanna get involved in my life? Be a positive father figure. Be helpful when I have a crush. Oh, and how about you respect, love, care, and actually be there for me! Plus, don't make me change, and don't try to bring me down. That'll be way better than the way I'm treated now."

That was all my pent up anger from the years out in one big jumble. I showed loyalty, understanding, love, and compassion for my father, but did he show any of that? Only when it benefited him! I am so sick and tired of his antics. But he is my father, so I'll stay loyal to him, no matter how annoying he can get.

Jacqueline POV-
I have been out for a couple days, and I hope I can wake up soon. It's hot and I don't like it all that much. I figured out that this a cabin, most likely Nico's, because I can faintly hear the sound of the shower, and knowing him, he won't stay at another place for anything.

One night, when Nico was asleep, Hades came to me through my dreams of course. Then he sighed and said, "Ugh, doing one favor for Nico, and this is how it has to be done. Whatever. Ok child, I am Hades, blah blah blah, all your hate for Nico is fake, he actually likes you, Aphrodite put a blessing/curse on you and my son. When you wake up, you'll have your real memories and the memories of when you thought you hated him. Alright, goodnight child rest well. I think tomorrow will be interesting."

Nico's POV-

I woke to groaning and curses being thrown everywhere. "Ugh… Nico… Help me up…" There was the voice that has argued and screamed at me. I got up and helped her up. She was slightly leaning on me and I heard a faint, "I'm sorry." I looked down and she slowly looked up at me. She then sighed and said, "Look, I'm sorry for always yelling at you…" I shook my head. "No, don't be. Be sorry that I am going to kick Aphrodite's behind whenever I get the chance." She chuckled and said, "So all our hateful memories of each other is fake?" I nodded and grinned. "That means that if I do this, I won't regret it."

Jacqueline's POV0-

He swooped down and kissed my lips, softly. We just stayed like that, kissing while I was still trying to process what was going on. 'Nico Di Angelo is kissing me… Freaking kissing me!'

He pulled away and looked down, "Oh… Sorry, I, uh, didn't realize you didn't return the feelings…" He looked away, and he started shaking. "Nico… Are you ok?" He turned around and said, "Who is it? There has to be someone else… Who is it?" I smirked a tiny bit and decided then and there that I was going to tease him and just play along with this. "Yeah… It's… It's Ross. I mean, he has this dark aura, he knows freaking magic, and I'm very sure that he likes me back." I looked down and tried to look like I was a bit guilty. He looked furious and I then said, "Are you… Are you jealous of Ross?" His face was all red and then he yelled, "Of course I am! The girl I like has a crush on someone else and I'm her fiancé as well!" I smirked and said, "Nico… He's my best friend and I don't like him like that. I do like someone, though."

bHe looked as if he were to explode right on the spot. "WHO IS IT!" he thundered. I gave him an innocent smile and said, "I'll give you hints, ok?" He huffed, but agreed. "Ok, he's pale, mysterious, cute, funny, caring, and… I love him…" His face became all red again. "You freaking love him! What in the name of Hades is his name!?" I smirked and said, "I'll give you this hint, and it's your last." I leaned over and kissed his lips, putting one hand on his chest and the other in his hair, and in shock he just sat there. Finally, we pulled back and said, "So now do you know who I like?" He grinned and said, "Nope, can you repeat that last clue again?" I looked down and blushed a bit. But when I leaned over and was about to kiss him again, he basically tackled me and kissed me and I kissed back, smiling into the kiss. He 'hand-cuffed' my wrists with his own hand and held them done. He was practically on top of me.
I looked down after we pulled away and blushed. I have to admit, he does kiss pretty good.

Nico's POV-

After we pulled away, Jackie looked down. I myself blushed and thought, 'Best. Kiss. Ever.' Not that I kissed anybody like that… Ok, let's move away from that… But really, I think that because of the curse, we didn't- couldn't- realize our feelings for each other. And I guess our subconscious realized that we like each other and we internally loved each other, but didn't realize it ourselves.

I grinned and I got down on one knee and said, "Jacqueline Carter Autre, I want to make sure you really want to marry me, so… Please be my wife by choice, not by force." Jackie looked shocked and said teasingly, "Where's my ring?" Then she smiled and said, "Just kidding, of course." I then decided to just pretend to put on a ring and I whispered, "I'm going to get you the best, and beautiful ring ever, I promise." She grinned and said, "How do we seal the deal?" I didn't answer; I only dove in for a kiss.

~OoOoOoOoO~

*2 years later, on Jackie's birthday*

Jacqueline's POV-

I tugged at the wedding dress my aunt picked out for me. Since my mom was dead, she was like a mother to me. So she decided to help me out. I had a dark black dress fading into a light grey towards the end. The shoes were black sneakers that had pumps that were put on. I had a golden tiara that has white jewels which held up the train. The train was a very nice silk that my dad had to bargain with Hermes a lot. It was grey with black and white mixed in. The veil was the same, except more see-through. My aunt applied minimal make-up, and my bridesmaids did my hair. In the end, I looked utterly gorgeous.

I suddenly thought about all the bad things that can happen. 'What if Nico doesn't like this?' 'What is I mess up at some point?' 'What if I trip when I'm walking down the aisle?' But these were all pushed away when my dad came. He looked at me and gave me a warm smile, not a cocky one, but a warm smile. I smiled back nervously. Dad hooked his elbow with mine and he whispered into my ear, "You look gorgeous sweetie. Don't worry, you'll do just fine, I promise. And trust me Nico will love the way you look. By the way, happy birthday sweetie." I smiled and said, "Thanks dad, really." He smiled and we started to walk down the aisle.

That music that they usually played when the bride walks down the aisle was replaced with one of my favorite songs, Shut Up And Dance. My heart started thumping and I think I was shaking. I walked down the aisle and I got closer and closer to Nico. He looked handsome, and I can't believe he was in a suit and tie. Whoever got him into this suit is a miracle worker. He looked a bit uncomfortable, but he still smiled. I smiled at him and I just thanked the gods that I look this gorgeous.

Nico's POV-

Jackie looked gorgeous. She smiled, but I could tell that she was nervous. Truth be told, so was I. But I stood there, gazing at my soon-to-be wife. She looked right at me and I could tell that she wouldn't want to be married off to anybody else. I am just lucky that she's going to be my wife. The gods don't even know how much I love her.

Finally she reached the stage (I think that's what they call it) and she just looked down. We said our vows, and though they were short and sweet, I couldn't think of a more beautiful way of explaining how much I love her. It's funny how just 2 years ago we hated each other immensely, and now we are getting wedded with no problem. Finally the minister (who was Percy, because why the hell not?) and he grinned saying "Nico, do you take Jacqueline to be your lawfully wedded wife, whom you will love and take care of through sickness and death?" (A/N: I am a Muslim and this is not how we get married, so I am trying my best, based on other fanfics and stuff.) I said, "I do." I could tell that Jackie was smiling. Percy then asked her the same question and she nodded as she said, "I do." I grinned as Jackson said, "You may kiss the bride." Then he leaned forward to my ear and said, "By the way, don't take too long, Di Angelo. You have an audience, just remember that." I rolled my eyes and kissed Jackie with all the love, passion, care, and lust I can put into it. I dipped her and we stayed like that as the guests (which were the entire camp, a few gods, and a couple mortals) clapped, whooped, and whistled.
When we broke apart, I put my forehead against hers and said, "I love you." She smiled lovingly and said, "I love you too."

Jacqueline's POV-

*after the wedding*

Nico and I decided to stay at camp and help around. We went to his cabin after the wedding and I said, "So is my name going to be Jacqueline Carter Di Angelo? Or Jacqueline Carter Autre?" He grinned and said, "You're a Di Angelo now, so that's going to be your last name." I laughed and said, "OK, you got it!"

I am really lucky to have him as my husband. I love him, and I know he loves me back.