Nico's POV

Reyna, Coach Hedge, and I finally dropped the Athena Parthenos off at Camp Half-Blood. Hopefully we prevented a war between the Greeks and the Romans. I didn't stick around very long, and just as I had promised Jason, I will leave- forever. I have no plans for visitin either camps again, especially Camp Half-Blood. I can't stand being around Percy and Annabeth, it hurts too much.

Anyways, now I'm wandering aimlessly around Long Island, I'm not sure where im going to go. The Underworld, maybe? Something loud interupts my thoughts. I can't quite tell what it is, but it sounds somewhat human. As I walk down the street the noise gets louder. Its clearly a girl singing- scratch that- screaming a song. It seems like It's coming from one of the alleys up ahead. I pass one alley. Nope, not that one. I pass another. No dice. Finally, as I walk towards the third one, it was obvious that the female voice was coming from it. I blend in with the shadows and make my way down the side street.

The girl looked to be around my age, probably 14, like me. She was wearing ripped black skinny jeans, a black band tee, and black studded converse. She had blonde hair that was flipping every which way as a result of her headbanging. She was currently holding a spray can, so I'm going to guess that she was graffiti-ing (is that even a word?) and had earbuds in her ears. She actually isn't half bad and I recognize the song as I'm Low On Gas and You Need a Jacket by Pierce The Veil, and my favorite part should be coming up soon. I can't help but join in. "But last night you said you ended up in Palm Springs dancing on tables, almost fought some bitch at the club, got kicked out of your hotel, and lost your shoes. Well, fuck what am i supposed be impressed? You're just another set of bones to lay to rest. Guess it's time to say goodnight, hope you had a really good time. Good tiiiiiiiiiime. But I will soon forget the color of your eyes, and you'll forget mine."

I notice that I am now the only one singing, and the girl was staring at me with wide eyes. I rub the back of my neck "uhhh.."

"You sing reeeaally good!" She says, too enthusiastically.

"Uh, thanks." I can feel my cheeks heating up in embarassment.

"No problem." She replied, smiling. "Who are you? I've never seen you around here."

" Nico.." I wearily answer her. "Who are you?"

"Blake, I know it's a dude's name but I actually like it."

I just nod, this is pretty awkward. I'm not quite sure what to say. I mean what do you say to a girl that you've just snuck up on and randomly starting singing with her? But I don't have to say anything, she does. Gods she talks a lot.

"So you obviously knew the words to that Pierce the Veil song, so you must be pretty awesome."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Why not?"

I'm starting to get pissed and I think she can sense it. "I don't want to talk about it." I say through gritted teeth.

"Fair enough." Her facial expression had darkened. "I understand."

No, she didn't understand. No one does. I manage to get out "okay" without biting her head off.

"I ran away from home, abusive parents."

"I left too." If this girl ran away from her home then where did she stay? "Where do you go?"

"I just walk around during the day, listen music, wreak havoc, stuff like that. At night I usually sleep on park benches, if I'm lucky I can find abandoned buildings to crash in. I usually shower in rest stops, I get most of my food from there too. What about you? Where do or are you go or going?"

"I'm not sure, today's my first day."

"Ohhhh... I would not recommend the Cow Meadow Park... it's called that for a reason."

I chuckled, "alright thanks."

"Welcome. Ya know, you could hang with me today, if you want."

Gods I don't know if I can put up with much more of her, but then again, I have nothing better to do. "Okay, I might take you up on that."

"Really?! None of the other street kids talk to me that much. Thank you!"

"You're welcome?" I say uncertainly.

She unplugs her headphones and sticks them in a purple bag leaning against a nearby dumpster. I'm guessing that's where she keeps all of her stuff. She turns to me with an inquizitive look on her face. "What bands do you like?"

"I dunno, what bands do you have?" I ask pointing to her IPod.

"Uhmm.. Pierce The Veil, Sleeping with Sirens, Mayday Parade, Panic! At the Disco, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Allstar Weekend, The Cab.." She went on naming bands, most of which I knew and liked, scrolling through her music.

"I think I like most of those. You can just set it on shuffle if you'd like."

Next thing I know, we're laying upside down, hanging somewhat off the edge of the dumpster's lid, singing random songs.

A/N:

Sadly, I do not own any of the bands mentioned in this chapter or the Percy Jackson series.