Being Nico
Nico di Angelo paced around the Hades cabin at Camp Half Blood. Ever since summer started, he had been working with Annabeth Chase on the renovations. As an outstanding architect, she offered her wisdom and creativity to him as an "early birthday present". It was only June; Nico's birthday was in August.
The demigod let his eyes drift from his wooden bunk covered with a red bedspread, to the pit he had dug as a way to summon and communicate with the dead. Above his makeshift shrine was a mantle, with each of the figurines from an old game he used to play; Mythomagic. In the center of the mantle was Hades, the figurine his sister Bianca had lost her life for. On the opposite end of the room was his sword. It was made of Stygian iron, forged in the River of Styx. It could kill monsters, but not harm mortals.
Nico fingered the skull ring on his hand he took in all the details of his newly refurbished cabin. Come to think of it, he had never really been intrigued by skulls of death, or anything typical of the underworld. Hell, he found all the Emos and Goths kind of creepy! But, after Bianca's death, he became more sullen and solitary, believing that only the dead respected him. So, his outward appearance evolved, probably influenced by the time he spent with his father in the underworld. Nonetheless, he gravitated toward v-cut sleeveless undershirts topped with aviator jackets and black skinny jeans, his skull ring and necklace.
He looked toward the plate of scraps left over from lunch, and tossed them into the pit. Nico briefly considered summoning Bianca, but decided against it. In one smooth motion, he slipped out of his jacket and flopped onto his bed. In all honesty, he had everything he wanted. A new home, surrounded by people who thought he was a hero ever since he obliterated the Titans with an army of dead people. But still, something was missing. Sure, he had great friends in Percy, Annabeth, Grover and some of the Gods, but he didn't exactly feel loved. After all, his mom and sister were dead, and his dad wasn't exactly all lovey-dovey, barring the fact that they didn't have the best relationship. Nico looked at the dart board directly across the room, decorated with pictures of his father. He snatched a dart off his nightstand, positioned his arm to throw, but with the shake of his head, set it down dismissively. Once again, Nico laid down on his bed with a sigh, and attempted to sort out his feelings. No, he wasn't mad at his dad, even though holding grudges were his fatal flaw. He wasn't all that mad at the world, even though most of society viewed him as an outcast. "Fuck them" he thought. "They wouldn't understand."
Perhaps he needed to spend more time training so he would feel better about himself. Yeah, um, no. After about 20 minutes of trial and error, he placed his finger on a possibility. Maybe he needed a relationship, like a girlfriend or something. He noticed that ever since Percy had been dating Annabeth, Percy seemed like a much happier person. He could tell from accidently walking in on them kissing, that Annabeth didn't hate it either. "Yeah," he thought to himself. "A relationship." But how the hell was he, the Son of Hades, going to get a girlfriend? Sure, he had had a few crushes, but nothing worth carrying on with. There was a girl in the Aphrodite cabin, however. Her name was Jessica, and she was just about the finest thing Nico had laid his eyes on. Her body would make any supermodel jealous, and her luscious blond hair was almost as pretty as the Golden Fleece. Her face was flawless and her complexion was impeccable. But how was someone as drop dead gorgeous as her supposed to notice someone like him? He was damn well gonna find out.
