He didn't like the light - he never had. That's why he hated mornings, the time of sunrise. He usually slept right through them. The other campers weren't too loud when they awoke. But today was different from all those other mornings, because his eye's flickered open as sunlight poured in the window of the Hades cabin, shining right in his face.

Nico groaned as he realized he was awake. He rolled on to his other side, away from the sunlight that kept him from sleep. But it was useless. After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, Nico finally scrambled out of bed and threw on his clothes, which consisted of an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a black t-shirt with a skull and crossbones design. His "usual" was complete with his 3 foot Stygian iron sword, hanging on his belt as it did everyday.

As Nico walked by the arena, he saw Percy Jackson practicing swordplay on a stuffed dummy that was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. He sighed. Doesn't Percy ever just want to chill? Nico wanted to chill all the time.

Nico knew he was one of the most powerful demigods at camp. He didn't need to practice fighting anymore; his battle skills were perfect. He barely even used his sword since he had the power to radiate the dead, and all. But that didn't stop him from carrying it around. Everyone wants to feel intimidating once and a while. Right?

Without warning, someone called, "Hey, Nico! Wait up!" He stopped dead - ha-ha, get it? - and turned his head to the right, where the voice was came from. Percy was jogging towards him, dressed in jeans and a blue and green tye-dyed shirt. Ah, no! Nico thought. He was always grumpy when he woke up early, and he didn't want to take it out on his only friend. He searched his mind for a believable excuse to get away.

But it was too late. Percy was already ten feet from him. . . five feet. . . one foot.

"Hey, Nico. Where ya goin'?" Percy asked casually, wanting to spark a conversation.

Nico managed a smile and tried to cool his mood. "Just walking."

Just walking. Today would become much more than a walk.

"Cool. So, uh. . ." Percy hesitated. "Can you do me a favor?"

This got Nico's attention. He was surprised Percy even had the guts to ask for anything from him. "Depends on what it is."

"Well. You know I really like Annabeth, right?"

This made Nico laugh. "Who doesn't know that?"

"She doesn't know it." Percy practically yelled. "Can you talk to her for me, drop some hints? If I talked to her in person I'll probably say something stupid."

"There's a surprise." Nico muttered.

"Will you do it or not? You're friends with Annabeth, right?"

"Um, not really. But, sure, I'll talk to her when I see her." Nico already regretted that he agreed. He'd never even had a real conversation with Annabeth, much less talked to her about relationships.

"Thanks, man." Percy punched Nico's shoulder and jogged off. Nico sighed. What had he gotten himself in to?

He had spotted Annabeth at the campfire later that evening. She was sitting on a log, her curly blond hair tied back in a pony tail, talking with a bunch of her siblings and other people Nico didn't recognize. He walked around for a few minutes, watching Annabeth closely, waiting to get her alone. Okay, so it was more like an hour. But whatever. Nico finally saw his chance, and walked up to Annabeth. He sat beside her on the log. "Hey, Annabeth. How's it going?" I am so lame! Nico thought to himself.

"Uh, hey, Nico." Annabeth said, like, why are you sitting with me, freak? "What's up?"

"I needa talk to you about something." Nico said quickly. He just wanted this to be over with.

"Really?" Annabeth asked. She seemed to notice him for the first time. "What is it?"

"It's about, uh, Percy." Nico told her.

"Oh, boy. Do I wanna know what it is?" Annabeth laughed. Nico laughed, too, and he didn't even know why.

"It depends." Nico said. "Do you like talking about love and romance and stuff?"

Annabeth gasped and looked at him.

He was on a roll.

"I don't understand." Annabeth said, sounding confused. Nico sighed.

"He likes you. Okay? He wanted me to tell you. Can I go now?" He was beginning to lose his temper. But why? Annabeth wasn't being mean like most people were to him.

"Uh, if you want." Annabeth looked at her shoes, the fire, the trees. Everything but him.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's just, you like him and he likes you. What are you guys waiting for?" Nico asked.

"Hey. I never said I liked him."

What? "What? Yes you do." Nico insisted.

"No. No, I really don't." Annabeth said.

"What?" He asked again. "Why not?"

"Because-why am I telling you this?" She asked, sounding more annoyed than she was suppose to. It made Nico nervous, and he felt his cheeks turn red.

"I don't know." He mumbled.

Annabeth seemed to forget about her question. "He's just not my type."

She has a type?

She has a type.

Huh.

"Oh." Nico suddenly felt uncomfortable.

After a minute of silence, Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, anyways, thanks for telling me. That was probably really awkward." It was like she was reading his thoughts.

"Yeah." He got up and brushed off his jeans, ready to end this conversation.

"Nico. . ." Annabeth. He met her eyes, and in some silent agreement, sat back down. She put her hand back on his shoulder. What did she want from him?

As her cold hands wrapped around his neck, he suddenly knew the answer.

No. No, no, no! He couldn't do this to Percy. It wasn't right. This was Annabeth.

Their lips collided before either one could comprehend what was taking place.

Annabeth's mouth was soft and tasted like strawberry Chapstick. Nico wondered if he was equally pleasing.

She continued to kiss him, lightly at first, then harder and more passionately. Nico kissed back, just as strong.

They broke apart, both breathing like they had just ran a marathon. Their faces were less than two inches apart. Nico looked into her eyes for the first time, those beautiful gray eyes. . .

"I should get going." He said, and Annabeth smiled.

"You probably should." She said, observing that there were people all around. No one seemed to notice what had just occurred.

"See ya around." Nico grinned.

"I'd like that." Annabeth waved as he walked back to his cabin.

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that's what she's given him. That was what he hoped to give her.

Decisions.