Hello dear readers! I'm back with the sequel. I'm warning you now, I plan on trying my best to make this incredibly angsty (but there will always be a huge side helping of fluff) I hope this is as well accepted as the first one was, happy reading x

Chapter 1: Always and Forever

Layla Harris sat in the darkest corner of the Hades cabin at Camp Half-Blood. And that was a very dark corner. Her long black hair shrouded her slim figure in an extra veil of darkness, hiding her from the world around her but not shielding her from her many problems. Nico Di Angelo paced the dark wooden floor of the cabin, running his hand through his floppy black hair in frustration; he wasn't one to easily become stressed but these were stressful times for the children of Hades. Thalia Grace, the only person in the room who wasn't a child of Hades (though if it weren't for her eyes she could certainly pass for one), sat uncomfortably on the edge of one of the dark oak four post beds, her eyes nervously following Nico as he paced back and forth.

"Nico," Thalia said, trying to get his attention. Nico continued pacing and muttering under his breath. "Nico!"

His head snapped up. "What?" he asked, finally standing still and giving her his full attention, somewhat.

"Isn't it a good thing that Jason – and me for that matter – don't actually know what these mystery plans are?"

"But now we know that Zeus is suspicious. Now Jason will most definitely go to Zeus and confirm that there are, in fact, plans that have been made, even if he doesn't know what they are."

Layla finally looked up and allowed herself to become visible for the first time since she'd kicked Jason out. "Now that Zeus knows that we're definitely involved in Hades' plans he won't let us leave camp to carry it out. Then Hades will be mad at us," she stopped to stifle a sob. "And it's not like this stupid plan is our only problem right now. To be perfectly honest with you, I think it's actually the least of our problems."

Nico and Thalia, being unable to think of anything comforting to say in response, just looked at her sympathetically and watched as the shadows began to ripple around her until they seemed to consume her and she was no longer visible.

"Leo can't be mad at you forever, Layla," Nico muttered, though he knew his words would provide very little comfort to his little sister.

A gentle knock at the door made Layla come out of the shadows for a split second until Annabeth's head appeared and the shadows swallowed her up again.

"Hey," Annabeth muttered, raising her hand in an awkward wave. She looked around the cabin until her eyes landed on Nico, her brow creased in confusion. "Where's Layla... I thought she'd be here."

"She is," Nico said, gesturing to the corner she was curled up in. "She's hiding."

"Hiding from what?" Annabeth asked,

"The world," Nico shrugged. "Let's just say you're not the person she was hoping would walk through that door."

Understanding flashed across Annabeth's face. "Right. Leo," she muttered.

Muffled sounds of crying came from the corner where Layla was, earning Annabeth an annoyed glare from Nico. "She just stopped crying," he whispered.

"Sorry," Annabeth said to both Nico and Layla. "I came to see how you were doing, Layla. I thought you might need a friend."

Layla stood up and allowed herself to become visible again. "I'm sorry Annabeth... you're my best girlfriend... actually my only girlfriend... but right now I need my best friend and he hates me."

"Oh, Layla," Annabeth sighed, stepping forward and pulling her friend into a hug. "Leo doesn't hate you; he's just worried about Piper, that's all."

Layla sniffed and angrily wiped away the tears that were still rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm just being stupid, it's just Leo. I shouldn't be crying over him, I'm just being stupid." She gave a humorless laugh and then lashed out, breaking anything she could that was within reach, much like she had when she had first gone to the Underworld. "It's all Piper's fault! She deserved what she got and now she's got Leo wrapped around her little finger!"

Nico grabbed the tops of her arms and held her still until she stopped struggling, much like he'd done in the Underworld- suffice to say, he was used to dealing with her rapid mood swings by now. "Layla. You're upset. I get that; just don't do anything you'll regret."

Layla melted into a bout of tears, a small art of her brain scolding her for acting like a stupid teenager (even though she was one). "You mean don't do anything else I'll regret," she corrected him through her tears.

Nico pulled her into his arms and calmed her down until she was only sniffling again. "We can fix this, Layla. You haven't lost Leo forever. Don't give in to your fatal flaw, Layla. Piper's done nothing wrong and we'll figure out a way to fix her."

"I'll help you with that," Annabeth said.

"Me too," Thalia agreed reluctantly; she had yet to warm to Layla but she just wanted her to stop crying- waterworks made her uncomfortable.

Layla gave a watery smile. "I don't deserve friends like you. I don't deserve any of you."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I spied on you for the whole time I've known you up until now."

Layla laughed. "Maybe I deserve a friend like you then," she tried to joke but her voice trailed off and cracked because joking just reminded her of her situation with Leo.

"Okay," Annabeth said, clapping her hands together, easily taking charge. "First things first, you should apologize to Piper. Tell her everything and that you're going to do everything you can to fix it."

"What if Leo's there?" she asked uncertainly.

"Well then he'll be able to hear your apology too," Thalia offered.

"I don't do apologies," Layla mumbled stubbornly.

"I think you can make an exception this one time," Nico said, leading her toward the door.

Layla nodded and allowed herself to be pushed out of the safe embrace of the cabin. "Will you come with me?" she asked.

Nico grabbed her hand protectively. "You're my sister, Layla. I'll be there for you when you need me. Always and forever."

This would be a moment of fluff but don't be lulled into a false sense of security after a bucket load of fluff there will be angst...

TheGoddessIsAlive: I'm glad you liked Death princess, I hope you took the time to read this and enjoyed it just as much :)

Nightlock64: hang in there, I might get a little Nicoxrachel in this one... I never really thought about them together until you mentioned it.

Nyx811: Thank you, hope you liked this chapter :)

neofly : This is the update on Death Princess but you couldn't expect a sequel straight after the first one! hope you enjoyed this chapter

reviews make me very happy and motivate me to write more so please review please thank you

PM me and we can fangirl over how HOH is coming out very soon ZSDFGHJKL!