It was a pale day. A depressing one really. With the wind blowing at speeds so rapid that it seemed as though a cyclone was approaching. But for Nico di Angelo? It was the perfect day. The perfect day to do what he was supposed to. The perfect day to do what was expected of him. The perfect day to try and make a change. To leave behind all pain and let his soul have the freedom it deserved. It was the perfect day for him to be finally free. He looked down at the busy streets from the rooftop of his school as he thought about how perfect the day was. How his ultimate goal would be achieved at last. He would be reunited with the ones he loved. He would. Hopefully, sometime that very day.

Jason Grace had always been thought of as the ideal son, ideal friend, ideal leader, ideal everything. He was so sick and tired of having to live up to people's expectations. His father wanted him to be the best sportsman and student. His step-mother wanted nothing more than for him to get settled in life with a nice young girl, aka, Piper. His sister expected him to be the good child she never was able to be. Even his friends demanded things of him, and that frustrated him the most. Weren't his friends supposed to support him no matter what? Oh well. There wasn't much he could do about it apart from living his life to the best of his ability and living up to their 'expectations'. He was really beginning to get tired of that word.

"So... Um. I heard that you as Piper broke up, dude, what happened?" Inquired Leo.

"I'm pretty sure you've heard everything from Piper..." Replied Jason, rolling his eyes. Trust Leo to be poking his nose into his business.

"Yeah but..." "What?" "You didn't give her a valid reason and it's killing her. She really cared about you, you know? You were the ideal couple... We never expected this to happen."

Those words. Ideal. Expect. Those words again. The anger inside of Jason was bottling up but he'd always done his best to hide his feelings. To put the needs or rather 'expectations' of others above his own wants. This anger could be suppressed. Leo was only a concerned friend right?

"We?" "The whole group! Percy, Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Reyna, me (of course) and even Octavian. Then there's Thalia too."

"How does Thalia- oh. Piper."

"Yup. They'd grown close, right? After that incident in the E.R. when you almost died because of you stupidly waking onto the road without looking?"

"Yup. They had."

"So... You guys gonna make up or...?"

"I really don't know Leo. I'm doubting that this relationship was ever a real relationship or just some fabrication that my step-mother wanted me to believe. Of course, I like Piper and want to continue being her friend... But I need a break from girlfriends and drama for a while, you know?"

"Not really. Since I've never had a girl. I'm so alone." He wailed over dramatically.

Jason chuckled. Leo and his expressions were going to be the death of him some day.

"So we're all going to Hazel's today. You coming?" Asked Leo.

"Cool. I'm in. But if I receive glares from Hazel and Annbeth, it's totally your fault."

"I'll take full responsibility."

"You'd better."

"You've never met Hazel's brother, have you? You might meet him today."

"Hazel has a brother?" Jason exclaimed.

He'd known Hazel for a little longer than Leo had and he didn't know that. How had he not known? This was really frustrating. Why was he always the last to get to know things?"

"Yeah. He's a year elder than her, so our age, I guess?"

"Hazel has a brother?" He repeated, still unable to believe what Leo had just said.

"Yeah, dude."

"I didn't know that."

"How didn't you? The dude is pretty creepy and scary. Whatever you do, don't get on his wrong side."

"Okay. Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem..."

"Why do you think he's creepy?"

"He never speaks. Quite literally. Not even to Hazel and he's the closest possible to her. We know that because he smiles at her." Leo shuddered.

"Smiles at her? What kind of-"

"The dude never smiles either!"

"I doubt that's possible..."

Leo continued, ignoring Jason's side comment, "Not many of us know much about him, though. Percy does. He's known Nico for longer than Hazel."

"How's that- you know what? I don't want to know. I've got a ton of homework to finish. I gotta head to the library."

"Jason Grace. In the library? Um, do I see a pig flying there?"

"Ha ha ha. Very funny," Jason said sarcastically.

Why was there a stereotype that said jocks couldn't go to the library? Jason was pretty studious too but no! He was always thought of as a jock. He was tired, 'weary' of the shallow image that people made up of him. Worse thing is, that people who didn't know him, actually believed it.

"Well I gotta go too. I've got this blind date set up..."

"Oh."

"That's it? Just oh?"

"Yup. That's all you're going to get from me."

"How encouraging you are my Lord!" said Leo with a mocking bow.

"Yeah well, bye." He said, as he took off in the direction of the library.

"BYE!" Leo screamed, from the other end of the hallway.

"Look, we've been waiting for an hour, hon. Could you give it up now?", came a voice from the other end of the library. The end which had the computer and Internet facilities.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" yelled another someone.

This last voice Jason was quite familiar with... He walked up to the crowd around the computer and asked, "What's going on?"

He was right. The voice he'd heard had been of none other than Octavian.

"Jason! What are you doing here?" Said Drew, batting her long, dark eyelashes while doing so.

"Um. The history project was due tomorrow?"

"Oh, silly me," She giggled, "I should've known you would've come here for the same reason I had!"

"Um..." Jason really didn't know how to deal with Drew when she spoke with no logic whatsoever.

"But look here," she said, pointing at Octavian, "he's been hogging the computer all the while! That's just not fair, is it? The rest of us have been waiting for 'so' long. You'll do something about it won't you?"

"Um... Sure?"

"My hero!" She said, giving him a light peck on the cheek.

It took all of his willpower for Jason to stop himself from wiping his cheek. He didn't like Drew. Why couldn't she just get the message?

"Hey, Octavian," he said, approaching the blond. He was greeted with yells.

"NO! DONT LEAVE! NOT NOW! I REALLY-"

"Sh... This is a library," chided the librarian.

"Um, okay. Sorry," mumbled Octavian, clicking the mouse a few times and then getting off the chair to leave.

"Jason," he said, when he saw him, "I didn't know you came here..."

So he hadn't heard him? Great. His time had been wasted for- for nothing.

"Um... I don't generally come here but the project-"

"Oh shit! I have to finish my work! Damn you Omegle!"

Jason just stared at him with a blank expression on his face as Octavian continued cursing. After a moment or so he decided to speak up.

Cocking his head slightly to one side he asked, "Omegle? What's that?"

"Oh. It's this new site I came across accidentally and it's so addicting."

"Oh?" "Yeah! And you get to speak to these random strangers around the world or spy on them while they answer your question or..." He continued ranting but Jason had long stopped listening. He was now thinking about why someone would want to spy on another person halfway across the world.

"So you should totally try it out!"

"Okay..."

"I'll send you the link too! In case, you don't remember the name of the site, actually, I'll do it right now!" He said taking his phone out.

Before Jason could kindly decline the offer his phone buzzed in his pocket.

"There! It's sent. Now check it out okay?"

It was rare to see Octavian excited about anything except slaughtering stuffed toys. No, Jason wasn't joking.

When they were all younger (and they knew each other) Octavian had a crush on a girl named Gwendolyn. Of course at that age he didn't really know what to do, so every time Octavian saw Gwendolyn carrying a toy he'd rip off its head. This was the way he showed his affection but it always caused Gwendolyn to end up in tears. Octavian never really understood why Gwen was crying though because he thought of it as a sacrifice to a beautiful goddess.

One day, Gwen had started crying again and Octavian decided he didn't like her anymore. While walking home, he saw a boy (Percy) with a panda pillow pet. He got excited and ran to the boy, snatched the panda, and ripped its head off. Only then had he realized that ripping off toys' heads had now become a hobby of his. One he enjoyed a lot, as he later came to realize.

"Okay..."

"Good."

"Um..."

"I've got to go. Will is going to kill me."

"Okay?"

"Bye," he said speeding off.

That was... Weird. Octavian's never spoken to him cheerfully before. It's always scowls and frowns. Well, he had to check this site out, if it got Octavian to smile, it had to be something awesome.

"Jason!" called Drew, "Do you want to finish that project with us?" she said, gesturing to the table full of friends.

Jason shook his head to say no. He was no longer in the mood. He needed to get home. Thalia would be waiting. Picking up a book to finish his project later that night, he walked towards the librarian to issue it. Once that was done, he headed out.

Hmm... This site was pretty confusing to Jason. Why would you want to speak to strangers? Why would 'anyone' want to do that. Every conversation that passed, he learned some new sort of short form. Asl was the most commonly used. People who asked for nudes on kik were especially frustrating. Like why, again, would anyone do that?

Though he was getting annoyed with the site, he did realize that it was addicting. Each conversation that ended, made him want to have another one. Yet, he still couldn't see why Octavian 'liked' the site so much.

He finally decided to try out question mode. He didn't want to spy on two random strangers talking about something so he volunteered to be one of the stranger who speaks on the matter (question.).

'People who use mysterious acronyms deserve to be shot. "Hey what's your favourite cfptwz?" *BANG!'

What. The. Hell. He'd come across worse questions (mostly sexual) and this was a decent one but...

[#Stranger.]

[%-Jason.]

#um. What are we supposed to answer here?

%Honestly, I'm not so sure myself.

#Ah. So I guess we disconnect?

%No, we can always continue talking.

#...

%I'm astounded by your great use of the English language.

#...

%So... Asl?

#Asl? Now what on earth is that? The only 'asl' I know is the American Sign Language and I'm pretty sure you don't mean that...

%Asl= Age Sex Location.

#You're one of those mysterious people in the question. Just wait for me to find my gun. I'm sure I put it somewhere around here.

%lol. But seriously, Asl?

#Is this some sort of dating site? What will you do knowing my, and I quote, 'asl'?

%Just makes it easier to speak to you. I mean I might treat you like a five year old when your actually a thirty eight year old pedophile or something...

#Oh.

%Wait, you're not a thirty eight year old pedophile are you?

# Of course not!

%Thank god.

#Whats there to thank god in that?

%You're one impossible person, you know?

#You don't even know me.

%I'm Jason.

#And you tell me that because...?

%I just felt like. Your name is...?

#Statistics show that it isn't the wisest thing to give out personal information to a person you've never met, aka, a stranger. (Yes, I'm speaking to you Omegle founders).

%uh.

#what now?

%Nothing really.

#Alright alright, I'll tell you.

%Tell me what?

#I'm fifteen going on sixteen.

%TOTALLY UNPREPARED ARE YOU, TO FACE A WORLD OF MEN!

#...

%TIMID AND SHY AND SCARED ARE YOU OF THINGS BEYOND SOMETHING...

#Wth.

%YOU NEED SOMEONE OLDER AND WISER TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO~

#No I don't.

%I AM SEVENTEEN GOING ON EIGHTEEN, I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU~!

#Um, I doubt you will.

%Dude. Way to kill the mood.

#Plus, you just quoted the sound of music AND you missed out on the lyrics between.

%I didn't remember them.

#You shouldn't have sung (typed?) at , the song is 'I am sixteen going on seventeen'. Not fifteen going on sixteen.

%Uh. Aren't you the walking talking encyclopedia of songs.

#Well you just ruined an amazing classic song.

%I bet you're some sappy old girl who's sensitive about this stuff...

#Im not. I'm a perfectly decent 15 year old guy who respects songs. Unlike you.

%YES! I GOT YOUR AGE AND GENDER OUT OF YOU!

#Pedophile alert?

%Shut up. I'm sixteen.

#Not pedophile then. Horny gay teenager alert?

%Dude! Stop that... I'm- I'm neither of those.

#*sigh* Denial is the first symptom of guilt you know?

%...

# I'm astounded by your great use of the English language.

%Why do I have a feeling that I'm being mocked?

#Because you are.

(A minute later.)

#So...

(Another minute later.)

#Hey? You there?

%Yeah. My mom called me.

%Step mom actually.

#Oh. I was afraid I frightened the first person I chatted with on Omegle.

#Im sorry? Step mom... Must be tough.

%Not really. Life's complicated though.

#Yup. Same here.

%How so?

#My mum and my sister died a few years ago.

%Dude. Shit. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to pry.

#Nah. It's okay. Completely fine now.

%WHEN DID THIS CONVERSATION TURN SERIOUS?!

#Are you high or something?

%So, Mum.

#? You're extremely weird.

%I meant you used 'mum' so I was wondering...

#Stop playing games. I'm not in the mood. Say what you want to say.

%I was wondering. About your nationality and I believe that I'm right.

#Go ahead then, guess.

%You're British?

#lol no.

%Who are you and what have you done to Stranger, who is indeed, my dear friend?

#?

%You never used any abbreviations except 'Wth' before this.

#oh.

% Well, if you're not British, you are...?

%Im American. I live in Manhattan.

#oh?

#American. Living in Manhattan.

%Cool! Maybe we go to the same school or something.

%We could meet up!

#Um. And be the next victim of a potential kidnapper/terrorist?

#No thank you.

%*hurt look* You think that low of me? I'm disappointed. I thought there was something between us!

#Yup. There is something between us.

%Really, what?

#Anonymity.

%*starts wailing*

#Wailing? Very macho. I approve.

%*sarcasm* Ha ha. I can't stop laughing.

#Dude, what do you want me to say? "You're too loud, I can even hear you from my house! So, please stop laughing"?

#I honestly don't know what else to say to you...

%lol. I gtg.

#okay. Bye?

#It was nice meeting you.

%WAIT!

#I'm going to disconnect now...

#Oh?

#What now?

%I'd really like to stay in touch with you, Stranger.

#Oh really? I'm honoured 'Jason'.

%Its not fair that you know my name and I don't know yours.

#I never asked for your name, you gave it to me.

%WELL GIVE ME YOUR NAME? PWEASE?

#That puppy dog face ain't helping buddy.

%Pretty pwease?

# no.

%PLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE?

#Nico says no.

%*grins* That's a nice name.

#I never said it was mine.

%Denial is the first symptom of guilt you know? *grins*

#I don't like being imitated.

%Well I don't like being mocked. So ha.

%I guess we're even now...

#I thought you were leaving?

%You want me to leave?

#Yup.

%Can I have your email id or something? You're the first person on here I enjoyed talking to, Nico.

#No.

%I'll give you mine, if you change your mind, you can shoot me a mail, okay?

#Whatever.

%Don't judge me okay?

#Alright.

%Not many people have my email id.

# Okay! Now get on with it!

% iAmABrownieLover (at.) superheromail. com

#lmao.

%you promised-

#yeah, yeah.

#But seriously? Dude!

%=_=

#Thats one creepy emoticon.

%=_=

%=_= =_= =_=

#STOP!

%Lol.

#now even I gotta go for stuff. Bye?

%Bye.

%WAIT!

#What now?

%Um. How will I know whether it's YOU that has sent me the mail.

#I thought not many people had your email id.

%Yeah but some do...

#You'll know, trust me.

%But-

#Bye.

#Ps) I might not even send you a mail.

%I like to keep my fingers crossed.

%bye. :)

-You have disconnected.-

Jason walked downstairs with a slight bounce in his step and a goofy grin drawn on his face.

This kid. Nico. There was something refreshing about him. He liked the kid. He just hoped that 'nico' or whoever he was would care to send him a mail. But how would he realize whether or not it was him?

"Jason! We've been waiting for you! We'd begin to wonder if you'd ever plan on coming down here," said Thalia, "What's with the lost dog face? Love struck? I knew you'd want piper back! I just knew it!"

"You broke up with Piper?!" Asked Hera his step-mother, her eyes darkening and a foul expression appearing on her face. "You didn't tell me."

"Well, I was planning to but Thalia..." He trailed off.

"I'd told you to stick to her! You'd made a lovely couple! Oh the dreams I'd had of your marriage! Zeus, don't you have a thing to say to this- this stupid little boy?!"

"Focus on your academics and sports," was Zeus's comment.

"Zeus! What?! You're supposed to knock some sense into him not encourage him!" Yelled Hera.

"I never thought I'd agree with her, but Hera's right. Jason should get back together with Piper," inputted Thalia.

Jason was about to protest about the fact that it was HIS life, HIS ex-girlfriend and HIS decision when he was interrupted by a familiar buzz in his pocket.

I hope it's not Pipes. The last thing I need is more drama. He thought.

He was surprised that he'd received an email. All the drama had made him temporarily forget-

Ghost King [ nicosaysno (at.) iloveim .com ] wrote:

...

Do you always use emoticons at the end of every conversation?

Sent from my iPhone.

With a grin even wider than the one he was wearing before he typed down a quick reply before sitting down at the table and tucking into his Mac and cheese.

A/N:

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