As usual, Nico was sleeping.
He spend most of his time in his cabin, trying to get a vision of the monster Hades wanted him to fight. He didn't even know what it was supposed to look like, do, or pretty much any information about it. His father promised that beating it would make him a better person. His father had been awfully silent about the monster and what would become of Nico after he beat it. Nico's dreams were just as silent on the subject. He had nightmares, of course, but never the right ones.
Nico's eyes sputtered open. He sighed and sat up on his bed. Late afternoon sunlight was drifting in from the single window on the far side of the room. An empty bed sat under it. Hazel's bed. Nico missed her more than he'd like to admit to anyone but Hazel. She was at Camp Jupiter, happily being there with Frank. Without him. The other campers have had an obvious change in emotion towards the children of Hades and Pluto, but Nico still felt strange. He figured it was because this had never happened before; he had always been on his own. No one had accepted him before.
There was a knock at the door and Annabeth stuck her head in after a tired "come in". "Hey, Nico," she said. "New recruit. Show her around?" Nico nodded and she closed his door. He climbed out of his bed and picked up the guitar pick Will had given him from his dresser, a smile spreading over his face without his consent. He put it back in its place, strolled out the door and began walking to the Big House. He spotted Will up ahead and he brightened. Will turned around and spotted him. He smiled and waved and Nico did the same. "Hey," Nico said casually.
"Hey Nico! There's someone I've been wanting you to meet." Will said, the happiness in his voice making Nico's heart sink. He felt in his gut this couldn't been good news. Will gestured to the girl next to him. "This is Audrey. She came here about three weeks ago. Daughter of Hermes. My, uh, girlfriend." Will's ears turned red, still smiling. Audrey stuck out her hand and smiled as much as Will was. "Hi Nico, it's so nice to meet you! Will's been talking about you since I got here, and I couldn't wait any longer!" Nico shook her hand and tried to sound as happy as they did. "Yeah, hey, nice to meet you." he said, trying not to sound bitter. He studied the girl. She was pretty tall, dark brown hair, light green eyes, and looked like she could be playing tennis in Florida. Nico had been so sure Will had liked him back. He was positive this time. He guessed wrong, obviously. He was always wrong.
"Well, sorry, I gotta go," Nico said, glad to have an excuse. "Annabeth asked me to show a new camper around." Will nodded. "See you around, man." he said, turning back to Audrey, who waved. Nico walked briskly on his way. His dark hair was hanging in his eyes, messy from sleep, but he left it there. What more did he care?
He burst in the Big House and found Chiron and a girl sitting there. She had straight, choppy blonde hair a few inches past her shoulders, with either blue or green eyes, Nico couldn't quite decide. He couldn't read her expression. She had freckles across her shoulders, nose, and cheeks that looked almost 3D against her skin. She was chewing on her bottom lip like the action was important enough to stop the destruction of the world. Chiron smiled as Nico entered. "Ah, Nico." he greeted. "Thank you for helping us. This is Riley." She gave him a nervous smile he did not return. "Ready to go?" he said, sticking his hands in his pockets and feeling something hard and plastic. He glanced down at it. Will's guitar pick. He cursed internally. He must of absentmindedly stuck it in there instead of putting it back on his nightstand. He swallowed and nodded Riley on. She got up and followed him out the door.
"So, did Chiron explain the whole 'gods' thing?" Nico asked. Riley nodded. "Good," he continued. "It'll save me a lecture." They walked on, past Will and Audrey. Nico nodded at them. They apparently took it as an inclination to come over, and introduced themselves to Riley in an annoyingly cheerful and irritatingly happy way. Nico hastily said they should move on and gave a short goodbye to the pair. As Riley and Nico walked away, Nico felt himself relax. He hadn't even realized he had stiffened. Riley seemed to notice, but didn't say anything. Gods, she's quiet, Nico thought. "Any questions?" he asked. "Just two," she replied quietly. Nico was slightly surprised. Usually newcomers to the camp had a million questions, which was understandable. Nico remembered how confused he was when he found out who his father was.
"Who's your godly parent?" Nico glanced at her. "Hades," he said, pointing to his dark, lonely-looking cabin. Riley nodded. "When will I know my parent?" Nico shrugged. "They'll claim you pretty soon. Probably at dinner. That's a pretty popular time to be claimed." Riley nodded again. Nico shot her another glance. He suddenly realized how nervous she was, even if she wasn't showing it.
"Hey," he said. She looked at him. "It's going to be okay. Sorry, I probably wasn't the most sunny choice for your tour guide." he ran a hand through his hair. "You'll make a great hero." Riley looked surprised. "How could you know that?" She asked him. Nico gave a small smile, for the first time since talking to Will. It was the first smile he had given her, and it gave her some relief. "I didn't even realize how worried you were until just now. You have a great brave face, which usually comes from being brave, obviously.." Nico awkwardly finished. This earned him his first true smile from Riley, exposing even, white teeth. She looked like the daughter of a god. "Thank you for the tour, Nico," Riley said, walking towards the basketball courts. "I'll see you at dinner." Nico nodded, even though her back was to him. He felt the flat surface of the guitar pick in his pocket.
