Percy Jackson. The name itself invoked fear in the hearts of monsters everywhere. Yeesh, I've been hanging out with Annabeth too much. Saying "Invoked" is not normal for me. Who am I? Well, I am Percy Jackson. Ya know, Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Hero of Olympus, boyfriend of Annabeth Chase? Well, the last one might not ring a bell, but the other two should.

It's been a few months since me and a few friends of mine defeated Gaia, mother of the earth. After a long and hard battle, we came out victorious. Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, and Hazel were the other six demigods that helped. Let's just say that the battle was epic, and the losses, minimal.

While we kicked Mother Earth's butt, Nico, a shadowy friend of ours, had traveled with a satyr friend of ours and Reyna, praetor of New Rome, to bring the Athena Parthenos back to Camp Half-Blood to stop the war between the Greek and Roman camps from happening for the sixth time. They were successful, landing the statue right between the front lines and nearly squishing Octavian, who we could've done without. Sadly, he did not go splat under Annabeth's mom, and he made it out, leading the rest of Camp Jupiter back to their home in California.

Now, let's talk about what's really interesting. After the huge congrats party on Olympus, the rest of the seven decided to split up. Jason and Piper decided to leave CJ (Camp Jupiter) for CHB (Camp Half-Blood.) Leo had finally convinced the gods to let Calypso out of her sentence. But, with the rest of the gods so busy, Leo had to sail the Argo II out to Ogygia to find her. He's been in a storm for a few days, but the son of Hephaestus is making great time and will get out of the hurricane within a few hours. Frank and Hazel decided to remain at Camp Jupiter as did Reyna, who really didn't want to leave CHB in the shambles it was in. Annabeth and I decided to do a little bit of both, staying at each camp for a few months, leaving for a week on assignment to find more of the Greek demigods, and then going to the other camp.

It had been nearly two years after the battle, and we were in one of the in-between weeks of searching when my dad decided to pay a visit. I don't really want to go into the details, seeing as how much more important things need to be said. The whole thing consisted of catching up and cracking jokes before he dropped the bomb on me.

The whole "Percy, you have a sister" thing didn't really settle well with me. I, of course, responded with a relatively calm response of passing out. Before you go laughing, it was a lot better than inadvertently creating a hurricane in the middle of Tennessee. Now, ends up that dear little sister was going to turn sixteen the next day, way past the claiming age of all Greek demigods. That means that I had to find her, convince her that Poseidon was our dad, and get her to camp before the monsters found her.

Annabeth was extremely happy that I had a sister. "Finally! I can finally talk to a girl that you like and have no problem with me ditching you for!" she had said. I soaked her for the ditching part, which in turn made her mad enough to ignore me for the rest of the pegasus ride to Arkansas. Dad told me that she would be here.

We got their the next day. Blackjack and his buddies landed outside a cabin. It was in the shade of a mountain and had a huge, stream-fed lake right outside the front door. It was so hard not to jump into the crystal clear water. I fed my black pegasus a sugar cube before telling him to take off but hang around in case of monsters.

You got it, boss.

Annabeth and I stood around for a while, taking in the beautiful scenery before she screeched and ran to the house. It was a regular cabin, but it did seem to have a touch of Greek architecture, which was Annabeth's kryptonite. The pillars were carved with wave symbols up and down it. Even though it was in the middle of the mountains, it still managed to smell like the ocean. My girlfriend ran her hands down the wood, murmuring about the craftsmanship when my sister barreled out of the lake, clutching a long stick with water trailing behind her.

What a sight. She looked a lot like me, only she was about four inches shorter, landing her at about five-ten or so, wearing a swimsuit with only a t-shirt on over it. She had the signature sea green eyes, lush black hair, and tan skin of a seaweed brain, only she had a dusting of freckles along her nose. Let's just say that I probably would've said she was a daughter of Aphrodite if it hadn't of been for the fact that she had just ran out of the lake bone dry.

When she was about ten feet from us, she stopped and looked at me. I gave her a small grin, opened my arms, and said, "Hiya, sis,"

That made her drop her stick, but the water stayed behind her. She narrowed her eyes at Annabeth, but her hard gaze softened when she looked at me, as if she knew who I was. "You're the one from my dreams, the one who defeated Gaia, aren't you?" she asked, taking a few steps closer.

"Well, when you're the son of Poseidon, you gotta do what you-ow!" If you're wondering where the ow came from, ask Annabeth who slapped me in the back of the head. Sis walked up to me and squinted at my necklace. She picked up the bead with the trident on it, examining it closely before she ran inside, yelling at us to follow. "My name's Maria Lunabell by the way. Call me Maria."

We walked into the smallish cabin, Annabeth gaping at the paintings on the ceiling. They were of me, my quests, starting from the day I fought Ares and ending when I put my sword, Riptide, through Gaia's ugly chest. They were all done in detail, each of the scenes and colors done down to a T. "How did you do these?" Annabeth asked in wonder. Maria just pointed to the ladder and paints sitting in the corner as if that held all the world's answers.

The room itself was about the a quarter of the size of one of our cabins back home. It had a single bed and open windows. The whole place was filled with plants and small fountains. Some shells and starfish decorated the bed I presumed was my sister's.

Maria was rummaging through her overflowing jewelry box, looking for something she must've thought was extremely important. "Aha!" she said a few seconds later. She pulled out a necklace, a bronze one with six pearls and the symbol of Poseidon hanging in the middle. "I've always had it. Uncle Hermes said that Dad gave it to me when I turned one. I've never met him," she explained.

She put it on, sighing when it slapped against her chest. "It seems like something bad happens when I put it on. The last time…the last time I wore it, well, lets just say that I'm banned from Little Rock."

"Why did you stay here, all alone, instead of moving into town?" Annabeth asked.

"Because the monsters can't find me out here. It's something to do with that lake. They can't cross it and they're too stupid to come down the mountain." Maria said, smirking slightly. "The minotaur has a serious grudge against us, you know that?"

I laughed till I was red in the face. Annabeth just smiled and shook her head. Finally, I was able to talk again and explained everything. Maria seemed glad to be getting out of there. She set to work on packing, pushing me out so she could change.

She explained that she had seen most of our adventures through her dreams. It wasn't an odd thing for demigods to have dreams like that, and it did make things a lot easier on Annabeth and I. Soon, Maria was ready to leave for her new home.

Blackjack tumbled out of the sky, followed by his two new lady friends, Carrie and June. Carrie was silvery grey with a silly personality while Kelpie was white and had a serious tone. Annabeth preferred Kelpie, of course.

Hey, boss, they chorused.

I explained the situation to them, each one of them excited to have someone else to talk to. Speaking of the someone else, Maria walked out of her cabin with a leather backpack. Her hair was done with a braid along the top of her head and a thick fishtail landing on her right shoulder and trailing to her waist. She had on cutoff blue jean shorts and a blue shirt with the saying "Mortals don't even know" in black letters. I laughed at the writing, seeing as how it was hilariously true.

Apparently the leather backpack she carried was enchanted to hold any amount of items without ever loosing space or weighing more. She walked up to Kelpie after greeting the horses. I like her, boss, Blackjack said.

Finally, we all mounted up and kicked off the ground. For some reason, Maria seemed to like flying a lot more than I did. She yelled and cheered with a smile on her face. We were in the realm of our uncle, and Zeus wasn't very partial to children of his brothers.

It took a few hours of flying before we reached the place I called home. CHB was the same as always, though, I don't remember Peleus the dragon being that large. Oh, wait, that's just the Hephaestus kids fixing Festus's body. Leo was still using the bronze head as the prow décor on the Argo II. They were making quick work, already done with the huge chest and most of the tail. I saw Tyson, my one eyed brother, down there manning the forge. Finally, we reached the rest of the camp.

It's me, Maria. I didn't want to go without telling you my first reaction to the camp. It was huge compared to the little valley and cabin I usually stayed in. The big house and surrounding cabins were amazing. Most of the cabins were finished, those must've been the older, original ones. Some, like the Nemesis and Iris cabins, were still under construction. We landed in the courtyard, campers crowding around us, making Kelpie and I a little nervous. I patted her when she told me goodbye.

Eventually, Percy explained that I was just a new edition to the camp, leaving out the fact that I was his half-sister. Chiron was a centaur, which didn't creep me out at all. He introduced Jason, son of Jupiter, and Piper, a beautiful daughter of Aphrodite. Both were the cabin leaders. "She's definitely my sister," Piper said after one look.

Clarisse happened to be a daughter of Ares, the only daughter to receive her father's blessing in battle. She seemed to like me a lot more than Percy, calling my brother "Prissy."

Tyson immediately became one of my new best friends when the first thing he did was hug me. It was nice to find someone so accepting of me. "If my brother has a new friend, I do too!" he had yelled after crushing me. I smiled at him. Percy pulled him aside to tell him that I was actually their sister which made Tyson give me another bone-crushing hug, whispering that I was his new favorite sister. That sweet notion and the pain of the hug made a tear spring to my eye.

When he finally let me go, I got an eyeful of my new favorite demigod. And holy Hera was he something. He was what you would call tall, dark, and handsome. His pale skin seemed to glow slightly and his dark hair and eyes were breathtaking. He had a runner's build. Flat stomach, long and lanky muscles on a tall body. His outfit was different than most. Grey shirt, leather jacket, black jeans, chain belt, skull ring? Definitely a bad boy. He radiated power but his stand-off attitude puzzled me. He sat in the shadow of the big house, watching me with a curious, crooked grin that made my heart drop to my feet. A little squeaking sound was heard in the back of my throat.

Percy caught me staring and said, "Ah, that, dear sister, is Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, and one of the most powerful demigods you'll ever meet. He's stronger than Jason when it comes to using his father's gifts." Annabeth waved him over, making my heart beat faster and faster.

You can tell a lot about a person just by how they walked. Percy was confident and strong while Annabeth had more pride and smarts in her step. Nico, he had a mysterious gait. He was cautious about his surroundings, but sure of himself. He had a brisk pace, one that nearly matched my own.

"Nico, this is Maria," Percy said, grinning at Nico's expression. "Maria, meet Nico, the resident antisocial."

You can also tell a lot about a person by their hands. So when Nico stuck out his hand in greeting, I immediately clasped it in mine. He had large, cold, callused hands. This guy had a hard life. Most likely a swordsman. His eyes held curiosity, innocence, and also a hint of pain.

"Maria Lunabell Chure. Pleased to meet you," I said. He responded with something really intelligent like "Uhhhuh. What he says,"

That caused Percy to snicker. Annabeth hit him on the back of the head for the second time that day. The slapping seemed to be a normal part of their relationship. I laughed at my brother's expense. I blushed when I realized I was still holding Nico's hand. He dropped it and turned away, looking behind him. That didn't hide the fact that his ears were bright red also.

It was nearing sunset when they took me around for the tour. Nico stuck around, following us and cracking the occasional joke. Apparently, Nico had been a major part of the last adventure. I didn't ever see him in any of my dreams though. Odd. Each of the cabins were unique. The one that I was most fond of was the one I would call home.

Cabin 3 was open, letting the sea breeze blow through the cotton curtains. There were shells, starfish, and little, mechanical seahorses hanging around the room. The bunk beds were covered in sea-green sheets and matching comforters. I inhaled, taking in the place. It smelled like the sea. It smelled like home.

"Well, we know who her father is," Nico murmured. Percy laughed a little before explaining that since today was my sixteenth birthday, it was way past time for me to be claimed. Apparently, Percy wanted it to be a surprise for the camp. My tour was cut short when Piper ran in, screaming about how the Hephaestus kids had set half of the forest on fire. Percy and I sprang into action, following both Piper and the smoke to the fire.

The blaze was huge, springing across the creek in the woods with not problem. Tyson was running around carrying buckets to put out the dryads while their cousins the naiads were shooting water at the burning trees. Most of the camp was also there, carrying buckets of water.

Percy looked at me and nodded. It was my cue. Together, he and I summoned the water of the sea, seeing as how the creek was already in use. I felt a tugging feeling in my chest. It was normal for me to feel it when I used my powers. I closed my eyes and pictured a large title wave slowly pushing past the beach and canoe lake and into the forest.

"Everybody hold onto something!" Annabeth yelled. I didn't bother to open my eyes when the wave came crashing through the forest. I felt Percy put a hand around my waist and Nico's cold hand grab my arm. The physical contact with Mr. Gorgeous was not good with my concentration. Between Percy and I, we managed to stop the fire and soak the whole camp population in the blink of an eye.

He nudged me when it was over, saying, "Good job, sis,"

Soon, the rest of the campers were gathered around Percy and I, everyone still thinking that it was all Percy who put out the fire. I didn't correct them, not really wanting all that attention. Everyone was still soaked, even Nico, who looked mighty fine with his shirt plastered to him.

"Hey, why isn't the new girl wet?" Clarisse asked, finally pointing out the obvious. I mean, seriously, didn't the necklace and talking to the pegasus give it away? Yeesh, these people haven't spent enough time with Annabeth. Then Dad decided to make it official by claiming me. A rotating, circular hologram glowed above me. It was sea green, the same color as my eyes, and had the same bronze trident as my necklace.

"All hail Maria, daughter of Poseidon, the Earthshaker and god of the seas." Chiron said, kneeling at my feet. Everyone followed the suit, even Clarisse, who didn't seem happy about it.

I felt someone pick me up, and, judging by the height, it was Tyson and Percy. They sat me on their shoulders and walked back to the big house. Tyson was chanting, "I have a new sister, and she is better than yours!" Percy laughed and joined in on the chant, both of the boys causing quite a ruckus.

I had my eyes closed while we walked through the forest. Turns out, that wasn't a good idea. Soon, the boys walked under a low-lying branch which knocked me off their shoulders and into someone's arms.

In the evening light, Nico's skin glowed. I knew why he always stayed in the shadow, but the light suited him well. I had landed in his arms bridal-style, and he sure looked happy about it. He had a crooked, slightly nervous grin plastered to his face with a slight blush creeping into his cheeks. Mine, on the other hand, were on fire. It was really, really nice to be this close to him, but in front of the whole camp, not so much.

And, when he realized that everyone was staring, Nico stammered, "Happy birthday," and shadow traveled somewhere over the rainbow, leaving me to fall flat on my butt. Connor and Travis Stoll were making kissy faces at me and made the heart symbol with their hands. Clarisse was snickering and Piper had on a perfect "awwwww!" face. Percy helped me up and almost drug me back to the cabin. Tyson was still walking towards the big house, not noticing the sudden absence of weight on his shoulder.

When we walked into Cabin 3, Percy looked mad enough to bite through steel. I sat on the bed I had claimed and watched my brother. His face was all red and his eyes were dark with anger. I almost laughed, seeing as how the green eyes and red face were a funny contrast.

"You will not-just-don't-you're too young-I mean-grr!" Percy stammered in frustration. I snorted a little under my breath and bit my lip, an old habit of mine that I thought I had kicked way back when. He was stomping around the cabin and waving his hands furiously in the air.

"I might have only known you but for a couple of hours, but you're still my little sister! And you won't-Not now, Piper!" In the middle of his tirade, Piper had peeked her head in and was about to say something. Percy didn't even turn around to look when he told her to go away. Piper looked away from Percy and gave me a silent thumbs-up before having the door slammed in her face.

"And you will NOT get into a relationship with Nico di Angelo on your first day of camp! Matter of fact, you won't get into a relationship with him at all! Zip, nada, no mas, lack of churos!" Percy began to spout nonsense, making me bite my lip even harder.

He was still stomping around the cabin when Annabeth called us for dinner. I grabbed my backpack and ran out of the door, stopping beside Annabeth. "That bad?" she asked. The sound of Percy kicking a bed and then yelping in pain answered for me.

"Percy's fatal flaw, well actually all of Poseidon's children, is loyalty and protectiveness. Nico is one of those people you can count on when you need them, but he tends to disappear for long periods of time. You guys-" I cut off her rambling with a hand.

"I get where you two are coming from, and Nico is gorgeous, but I just got here, and I don't know the first thing about boys. I was stuck in that cabin with only the occasional monster to keep me company. Well, Hermes brought me this backpack, but still." I said, hopefully making a point. Annabeth nodded, saying that that was wise.

"Hermes brought you that backpack?" she asked a little while later. I nodded and bid her goodbye as we reached the tables.

Tyson was already at our table and patted the bench beside him. I sat down and watched as a steak salad with ranch dressing was brought to me, along with a Monster drink. I know, I know, Monsters aren't good for you, but hey, yolouyaeacr (You only live once unless you achieve Elysium and choose rebirth.) Yeah, it isn't as catchy as the original.

Percy joined us a little while later, still a little peeved. We had finished and were about to go to the bonfire when Tyson asked me about my home. As the plates were whisked away, I felt someone appear behind me. I sighed and said, "Connor, I don't care what kind of love potion you've brewed, I'm not-"

A cold hand wrapped around my mouth. Percy looked up with a furious expression, about to start screaming when my vision went black.

For the record, shadow traveling was awesome, just a little dizzying. When I could finally see again, I was on Half-Blood Hill. I turned around to find myself inches from the devil himself.

"Thanks for dropping me," I said with a smirk, staring straight into the dark brown eyes of Nico. We were inches away from each other, inches away from kissing.

"Sorry about that," he said, turning away sheepishly. He was running his fingers through his hair. Geeze, I wanted to do that for him. Wait, did I really just think that? I sure do hope that Percy didn't have a friend who could read minds.

I bit my lip when the silence ensued. It really wasn't awkward, but it wasn't normal either. Nico had turned back around and cocked his head sideways. He looked like a puppy dog when he did that.

"Why do you do that?" he asked.

"What?"

"Bite your lip,"

"Oh," I really didn't know why. "Um, well, I don't know. I used to read a lot and I guess the suspense of the books just made me pick it up." I shrugged nonchalantly.

He smiled for real this time, not a nervous grin but a full, gentle, sparkling smile. If the last grins made my heart drop to my feet, then this one sent my heart straight to Tartarus.

"So, you're a book nerd?" he asked, still smiling.

"Yep. Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Divergent, you name it, I've read it." I say, throwing my hands in the air for emphasis. He leans in really close, making my eyes widen and my breath hitch. His breath tickles my ear when he says, "I think that's adorable,"

I was still having trouble breathing when he shadow traveled me back to my cabin, kissing my hand as a goodnight before he walked deep into the forest, in the opposite direction of the campfire.

Still having trouble breathing, I walked right to the bathroom, showered, and got dressed for bed. By the time I finally got my heart rate back to normal, I was lying in bed, about to go to sleep when Percy barged in with Tyson in tow. I tried to hide under the covers, but Percy yanked them off of me.

"MARIA LUNABELL CHURE YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!" Percy yelled. I stifled a giggle at Tyson's confused expression. Percy began to stomp around, muttering gibberish and throwing his hands into the air. Tyson began to tinker with a few gears and metal pieces, making me wonder what he was making. I was about to ask when Percy kicked the fountain in the middle of the room. He began to hop around on one foot, and I couldn't smother my laughs this time. Tyson and I were practically rolling on the floor by the time Percy calmed down enough to construct a sentence.

Eventually, Tyson had laid down to go to sleep, wrapping the gears and such in an oilcloth. Percy sighed and sat down beside me, smelling like the sea. I'm sure I did too, but still. He didn't say anything, just sat there like a bump on a log. I was scrolling through my playlist on the iPod when a light erupted in the center of the room.

When the light finally subsided, our father stood in the remains of the fountain. He had a black beard and the same black hair and sea green eyes as we did, but he had on a despicable Hawaiian tourist shirt and khaki Bermuda shorts. "Percy!" Poseidon yelled, opening his arms for a hug. Perc relented and gave Dad a hug.

"How have you been? How's Annabeth? Have you killed any monst-" Poseidon was cut short when he spotted me. He smiled and dropped his arm which had been around Percy's shoulders. I immediately got up and walked over to him. "Maria, gods, you're beautiful," my father sighed. I hadn't ever met the god of the sea, since the little lake and mountain cabin wasn't really his style.

I hugged him tightly, the sounds and smell of the ocean overwhelming my senses. I felt a tear come to my eye. I knew that this was my father and Percy and Tyson were my brothers. And this was where I belonged.

Dad pulled back and examined me, turning my face from side to side and poking my ribs. "You can tell that your grandmother was a daughter of Aphrodite. And her dad was a son of Apollo," he said, catching me by surprise. "Thank you,"

Percy sighed and said, "Yep, Nico's noticed her looks too, you know,"

I expected Poseidon to go crazy and make a hurricane or something, but he just grinned and nudged my shoulder. "She's a chip off the old block,"

"Daaaaadddddd!" Percy whined, "You're supposed to be on my side! She's too young! And you hate your brother!"

I grinned and said, "I'm sixteen and I think that Dad likes Hades way more than he likes Athena,"

Poseidon burst out laughing, causing the ground to shake under us. "She's got spunk! Thata girl!" he said, still chuckling slightly.

Percy threw his hands in the air again and said, "I give up!" Tyson finally woke up after Percy's outburst. Soon, we were all talking about our lives and how things were going. It was around 10 when Dad finally had to leave.

"Happy birthday, Maria," he said, tossing me a sapphire and bronze ring. "Percy has Riptide, so you need something for yourself. Twist the gem and it turns into Tsunami, your new sword. Its enchanted so that it will show up on your left middle finger if you lose it."

I did as he said and out popped a bronze sword. Then Percy, being a competitive boy, had to uncap Riptide and compare them. Tsunami was also Celestial Bronze, but it was lighter and slightly thinner than Riptide. The hilt was wrapped in white leather and had the same sapphire gem on the hilt. "Thank you," I said before turning the hilt-stone and changing it back into a ring. I put it back on my finger, admiring how it sparkled in the moonlight.

"I'll be checking in every now and then, you three," he said, throwing me a wink before slamming his trident on the ground and disappearing in a ball of light. Tyson went to work on repairing the fountain and Percy laid down to sleep.

I didn't do either. I walked out on the back porch, the one facing the ocean. I went to the ocean once. It was when I was about ten. Artemis and her Hunters showed up and tried to recruit me, taking me on one of their journeys to Florida. I had loved the way the sand felt under my feet and how the waves lapped at my legs. They took me back after I made it clear that I was ok with being alone.

Mother had died when I was born, according to Hermes. Other than the occasional monster and boxes of food from the Hermes Express, I didn't have much interaction with the outside world. I did hike to Little Rock one time. It was ruined by the minotaur chasing me through downtown and wrecking the city. The police thought it was my pet cow I had brought to the market and banned me from the city limits. I told them that I lived in a cabin with my Uncle Hermes. I was twelve ok? I was doing good to keep from bawling.

Anyway, the back porch was open and had hammocks swaying in the wind. I collapsed into the closest one and closed my eyes, only to dream about Nico di Angelo and those amazing eyes.

In the morning, I woke up to Tyson presenting a little trinket to me. It was a beautiful watch. Made of bronze and small shards of crystal, the timepiece was waterproof according to Tyson. I thanked him before putting it on. A perfect fit.

I walked inside to see that Percy was still asleep. I couldn't pour water on him since we were both waterproof. I could put makeup on him though. Thank gods he is a hard sleeper. I managed to put on eye shadow and mascara while Tyson painted his fingers and toes turquoise.

Soon, we were done. I had also gotten ready in the meantime, slipping into another pair of blue jean shorts and a navy tank. Percy finally got up and stumbled into the bathroom. I was putting my necklace and ring on when he sauntered in. "You know, that nail polish really brings out your eyes," I said as I admired my own silver nails. And then Perc looked in the mirror. Well, all I can say is that the cleaning harpies will have one heck of a time this fall.

Percy managed to get the eye shadow off, but the mascara and nail polish were waterproof. Since he had dark eyelashes anyway, you really couldn't tell that the mascara was on there. The nails were a problem. I wasn't going to let him have my remover, and Tyson refused to give Percy hydrochloric acid. Oh well, he couldn't get the nail polish off, I couldn't date Nico.

I manage to change his mind about that last part. "I do have some remover, but it'll cost you," I said in a singsong voice.

"How much?"

"Oh, just a little promise,"

"Just get to the point, Maria,"

I had him now. "You have to let me and Nico hang out and/or date without you or anyone else getting in the way."

Percy's eyes turned dark again and I heard the waves outside become a little more violent. "Not…..happening," he said. I shrugged and told him that seeing as how only the Aphrodite girls and I have remover, it seemed like he would just have to deal with it. "And that polish is guaranteed for sixty days," I said, turning around to walk out of the bathroom.

"Wait," he said, defeated as always. "You can hang out and/or date Nico."

"Swear it on the River Styx!"

Percy complied and thunder rumbled outside. I handed over the remover, smiling as if I just won the world in a poker game. Soon, I walked outside to be met by Piper. She gushed about how her and her siblings were up all night making bets on how long it took for Nico to kiss me.

"I have my own horse in the race, you know. I'm betting that he'll kiss you before the summer's over," she said smugly. I laughed and asked what she bet. "A weeks worth of our Mom's special chocolate. You can eat as much as you want and not gain a pound!"

We finally got to the pavilion and parted ways. I sat down after scraping some of my bacon and eggs into the fire only to be met by the Stoll brothers. They sat on either side of me.

"You know," Travis started.

"If you really wanted to," Connor said.

"We could slip a little potion,"

"Into Nico's coke,"

"And then-"

They were cut off by Nico himself, "And then I'd set my skeleton army on the both of you,"

Connor and Travis shuttered and left, but not before they both landed a kiss on either of my cheeks. Nico growled behind me. I didn't turn around, because turning is too mainstream. I just tilted my head backwards until I saw the world, and Nico, upside down. "Hiya, Nico!" I said happily. He smiled and shook his head before walking to his table. He had a pen and a piece of paper in his hand. I saw him scribbling furiously before sending it to my table with shadow travel. It went like this (bold=Nico; italics=me)

Hi.

Hi. Didn't we already go through this?

Yes, but I figure hi is the best way to start a conversation. What did you do to Percy? He looks ticked.

I didn't notice that Percy had walked up and was talking to Annabeth at her table.

Well, me and Tyson kinda put make up on him and painted his fingernails while he was asleep. He still has the mascara on,

I dropped it on the ground and watched as Nico transported it back over to him. When he read it, he laughed, drawing stares from most of the other campers. When he noticed them staring, he growled a little. Everyone went pale and then turned back to their food.

Oh my gods, that's absolutely amazing. Do you feel like skipping camp today?

How about tomorrow? I really want to show some people up today with my totally awesome demigod skills. plus, my dad gave me a new sword for my birthday. J

Nico smiled a little when he read that and told me that we'd go to the arena as soon as I got some free time.

I had the obstacle course featuring a snake pit and lava wall for the first activity. I wasn't that great at walking the tightrope, but I could scale that wall as easy as Clarisse could. The next activity was archery, and boy, did I love that.

When I first walked to the range, all the Apollo kids were messing around with their own weapons. I followed a golden-haired girl named Amy to the bow racks. She handed me a white one with black grips and green feathered arrows. Holding the bow felt natural as did pulling the string back. I was really surprised when I hit bullseye on my first try. All of the chatter stopped as the whole Apollo cabin looked at me. I explained that my great-grandfather was a son of Apollo. Everyone watched as I emptied the quiver and split each arrow before it.

Amy whistled and said, "Well, I'm taking this off of your schedule. You're too good as it is." She then shooed me away, telling me to keep the bow and that she'd bring me some new arrows.

I finally had free time and I didn't plan on wasting it. I sprinted to my cabin, put up the bow, and ran to the arena. Nico was in there sparing with Percy. And they were shirtless. I sat there watching, okay, gawking, silently as Nico began to get the upper hand. Just as he moved in to disarm my brother, Nico noticed me and lost concentration. Percy slipped under his arm and kicked his legs out from under him.

Annabeth came over to me, winking when no one was looking. I blushed as Percy came over and hugged the two of us. "How are my two favorite girls doing?" he asked. I rolled my eyes as he spun Annabeth around before kissing her. I saw Nico wince out of the corner of my eye and I looked over to him. The hurt was evident on his face. I didn't know why, but I walked over and kissed him on the cheek, right there, in front of my overprotective brother and his girlfriend. And Piper, who was trying, and failing, to hide behind the weapons rack.

Percy began to stomp over but I shook one finger and pulled out Tsunami. "Remember your oath," I said with an evil grin on my face. Annabeth ran over to ooh and ahh at my new weapon. Nico still had his Stygian iron sword in his right hand. I noticed that he and Percy were on one side of the ring, and Annabeth and I were on the other side. She had also noticed this and pulled her dagger out.

The boys were in for the beating of their lives. Of course they couldn't beat us, I mean, we were girls, but they couldn't beat us….also because we were Greek demigod girls. Let's just say that it ended up with Percy toting Annabeth towards the canoe lake and Nico and I laying side by side on the arena floor. We were both panting when Nico asked, "Would you like to go see New Rome with me?"

I nodded, only for Nico to whistle and have me tackled by the hellhound I had seen so many times before in my dreams. He helped me onto Mrs. O'Leary and whispered where we wanted to go. Before our friend ran into the shadows, I saw Piper talking to someone on her cell phone and screaming, "It's code blue-and-black! I need you and the rest of the Roman dovelies to watch these two! I have divine chocolate riding on it!"

New Rome was a sight to see. Annabeth had done a great job remodeling. As soon as we got off, Mrs. O'Leary ran to play with an elephant who had a Kevlar bodysuit on with the name Hannibal written on the side. A girl I recognized as Hazel ran up and hugged Nico. Frank walked up a few minutes later along with Reyna. We gave them the run-down about who I was and how we were hiding from Percy. Reyna seemed happy to have someone to stay here for a while. I assured her that it would only be for a few days.

Octavian was found in his temple, surrounded by teddy bears and such. I did notice that he had a new mini-statue, this one of a certain Greek oracle. He had it hidden under the mountain of stuffing, but I saw it before he could do anything about it. Sadly, no one else did.

They gave me the whole tour, showing me all of the barracks and my favorite part of New Rome: the bakeries. The smell of peanut butter cookies made me want to faint. Thankfully, this was our last stop. Reyna and Octavian left us with Frank and Hazel. We sat down outside of the bakery, the smell of a thousand different pastries still wafting out into the street. Nico saw this and went inside, bought me a huge peanut butter cookie, and brought it back out with a big, goofy smile on his face. Hazel looked at Frank and grinned at the look on his face. Frank did have a hilarious surprised face.

The rest of the evening was spent talking and eating various cookies. I felt the presence of other demigods. I figured, by listening to the giggles every time Nico and I looked at each other, they happened to be Piper's Roman sisters. They might be Roman, but they're still children of the love goddess.

Eventually, Nico showed me to the place I would be staying: the temple of Neptune. It did happen to have a four-poster, veiled bed. The place also smelled like the sea. I guess it was a Poseidon/Neptune thing.

I laid down, wondering about how bad Percy was freaking out. I hadn't seen Nico since we parted at the bakery. I felt safe around him. I felt safe around Percy too, but Nico was a different kind of safe. He was like security, while Percy was more protective. It didn't make any sense then, or now.

Just before I fell asleep, I saw a dark someone leaning over my bed. My last thoughts of the day were of that someone, the same someone who I had come to need.

I didn't get to vacation in New Rome as long as I hoped. After three days, Percy Iris-messaged me, asking if I was ok and how everyone over there was doing. After thirty minutes, Annabeth walked in and judo-flipped him, asking why he didn't meet her in the arena an hour ago. I canceled the message and went to packing, missing my brothers and crazy friends.

Nico and I had spent each day either training or putting some of the soldiers to shame with my swordsmanship and archery. He had also given me a few little gifts like a rose….from Turkey. It was black as night and was gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as me, according to Nico. Speaking of Mr. Suddenly Romantic, Nico walked in right as I put on my necklace.

"I knew you'd want to leave this morning." he said, watching me as I braded my hair across the top of my head and throwing it in a ponytail.

"And how did you figure that out?" I asked turning around to face him. He was sitting at the base of the saltwater fountain, twisting the skull ring on his finger. Nico shrugged. I jumped when Mrs. O'Leary came bounding in with Frank and Hazel behind. I had came to like the two of them in the time I stayed here. I had gotten better at my swordsmanship and managed to teach Frank a thing or two in archery.

We said short goodbyes and shadow traveled back to Camp Half-Blood. We found Percy and Annabeth down on the beach, my brother surfing without a surfboard and his girl laying in the sun, reading a book.

I ran inside to change into my swimsuit, yelling at Nico to do the same. With a sigh, he walked back to his cabin, a playful grin on his face. I changed into a white bathing suit that had navy blue anchors and wheels on it. It just so happened to be my favorite.

Grabbing a towel, I ran outside. When we got to the water, Percy was trying to convince Annabeth to get in the ocean. "Seaweed brain, you know that I'm not a water person," she said, hitting him with a death glare. I snuck up behind her before I took a running start and tackled her, sending her straight into the open arms of Percy. Annabeth wasn't lying when she said that she didn't like water. She was practically sitting on Percy's head, which the idiot seemed fine with.

I was about to jump in and join them when I felt Nico's cold hands life me onto his shoulders. I did the obvious thing and yelped like a scalded dog. Nico just laughed and waded out to meet the other two. Percy didn't look happy about the arrangement, but he was excited when we began to play chicken. Annabeth was stronger than she looked, but years of mountain climbing made me much stronger. I pushed her off of Percy's shoulders which made Nico dump me off. I know that it seemed strange, but this was only the second time I had been in the ocean. And, boy, did it feel good. I made an air bubble around me and swam out into the ocean. At least I tried to swim out into the ocean. Nico grabbed my ankle and pulled me back to the beach.

He drug me to the shore where Percy and Annabeth were already gathering up people for a volleyball game. I grinned but declined; I really wanted to sit here in the shade with Nico. Sadly, my…friend? Boyfriend? Person I occasionally hold hands with? Meh, friend seems best right now. Anyway, Nico actually decided to play. Percy, Nico, and Piper were on one team. Jason, Annabeth, and Clarisse were on another. For some reason, Clarisse seemed to like me. I didn't know why, but I kinda found her funny. Violent, sure, but funny.

After thirty minutes, the score was tied. Annabeth set it for Clarisse who jumped up and prepared to spike it. But Annabeth hit it more over and not up, meaning that it was a perfect set…for Nico. He jumped up and spiked it right into Jason's chest. I couldn't help but laugh when Golden Boy hit the dirt. Nico looked at me and grinned. I clapped for him, still smiling. Annabeth called for a truce. Percy apparently didn't think a truce was necessary. So, brother toted his girlfriend deep into the ocean, before dunking her and then submerging them for underwater kiss part two.

Nico instead went to sit beside me in the shade. I was lying back on the towel, looking up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves. No wonder Grover wanted to save the wild. Of course, I couldn't focus very well. Nico was sitting beside me, playing with my hair. He was undoing my braid and attempting to braid it back.

"You know, Nico, I really don't know all that much about you. Tell me about yourself." I said, sitting up. Nico shrugged, going back into silent mode. He wasn't getting away with that. He laid back down, taking my place. I really wanted to know more about him. I never saw him in my dreams, so I didn't know a thing about him other than he was strong and silent and really good with a sword.

I instead decided to go with bribery, seeing as how I'm not very good with threats. I laid down beside him, putting my head on his (Noted: very muscular) chest. I felt him stiffen up. I laughed quietly and put my hand on his stomach. I then proceeded to poke his rubs. I heard him groan a couple of times before grabbing my hands.

"Ok, ok. What do you want to know?" he asked, exasperated. I leaned over and whispered right into his ear, "Everything,"

And so, Nico launched into his life, from his mom dying to being stuck in the Lotus Hotel to Percy saving him from the manticore. I did get a speech from Jason that that Nico used to like another camper. And by the way his voice hitched when he was talking about Percy, I could tell who it was. He was trying to move around the whole Cupid confrontation. I looked up at him, my chin on his chest.

"Nico, I get it," I said.

"You're not upset?" he asked with wide eyes.

I laughed a little and said, "No, you were young and impressionable. I'd have a crush on Percy too…well, if he wasn't my brother. And," I said biting my lip, sitting up, and folding my hands in my lap. "I'd say we're even,"

Nico raised one eyebrow and asked me to elaborate.

"Well," I said in a squeaky voice, "let's just say that I used to have a HUGE crush on Luke…funny, right?"

Obviously it was hilarious. No, seriously, Nico laughed. Hard. "I'm sure that Percy likes me way more than he liked Luke," he said, still shaking from laughing so hard. I pushed him over.

"So, what are we?" I asked him, taking my guy friend by surprise.

"We're demigods. Children of the Big Three-"

"No, Nico. I mean us. Are we friends or…?" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"We, Maria, are friends, but friends that occasionally hug and snuggle. So, I'd say we are…complicated." he said, earning a few giggles from some nearby bushes. We rolled our eyes, both knowing who it was. We sat there in the shade, holding hands and watching the sun set until Percy pulled us apart for dinner.

I ran in and changed into the outfit I had on earlier, shorts and a navy top. When I finally made it to dinner, everyone was already eating. I was craving a good plate of spaghetti. I received it and scraped in a portion of it for Dad. "For Poseidon, thank you for giving me a peaceful day."

When I walked back, Percy offered me a slice of his blue cheesecake. Apparently, Tyson had gone back to Dad's palace to forge in the mines. I missed the big lug and his snoring. But at least I still had Percy…and Nico. I grinned at the thought of my "complication" and his weird ways.

"What are you smiling about?" Percy asked in a mischievous voice.

"Nothing," I said in an equally impish voice. Connor and Travis would be proud. Before Percy could con it out of me, Chiron raised his voice to call our attention.

"Campers, we all know that this Saturday is the two year anniversary of the day The Seven defeated Gaia. Last year, we had a feast, but this year, we will have a cotillion."

The whole camp, except the Athena cabin and I, all asked the same question, "What is that?"

Mr. D stood up, "I believe you insects call it a formal dance."

That got the camp talking. They informed us that every day, he would accompany a few campers to go into NYC to find acceptable attire. After dinner, Connor and Travis cornered me. "Will you go with me to the dance?" they asked. Then they began to bicker over which one got to take me. I felt someone grab my hand and pull me aside from the two brothers now shoving each other. It was a boy from the Apollo cabin who read me a poem about my hair and then begged me to go with him. I didn't have to tell them no; a skeleton man and the whole Aphrodite cabin did it for me. Gods, I loved my complication.

Piper and the skeleton man both had a hold of one of my hands, tugging me in opposite directions. "You can't have her yet! I have to fix her makeup!" Piper screamed, "LET HER GO!" I forgot about her charmspeak, and obviously she did too. Our bone friend let me go, the momentum throwing me into Piper and onto the ground.

She drug me to the Aphrodite cabin where she and her siblings proceeded to pluck my eyebrows, curl my hair, and reapply my makeup. They also waxed all the hair off of my legs and arms. I felt like Katniss at the remake center. They let me wear the outfit I had on, saying that it totally complemented my skin tone. Then, they shoved me out the door, Piper yelling for them to get on the roof and commence Plan 36c.

I shook my head before seeing the candles. They were in two rows, framing out a path that I was obviously meant to follow. They led me to the beach, with the waves crashing in the moonlight and the sound comforting.