Hi, guys! So this isn't the first PJO story I write, but this is the first one I'm actually into. It isn't exactly Halloween-themed, and I know it's the time of the year where everyone is excited for Christmas, but I kind of need this to be in Halloween. Well, if this story gets enough love, I'll continue it. Most importantly, I hope you enjoy this story.
"What about the magician costume?" Percy asked excitedly.
Jason rolled his eyes. They were out shopping for Halloween costumes, but every time Percy saw something he liked, he'd get jumpy. Even though Percy was twenty-three, he was still as childish as he was when he was thirteen.
"You don't want it?" he asked, a frown forming on his face.
"No, it's fine. It would be perfect for our party. It's you who's annoying," he said.
Percy flashed a smile on his face. "What are friends for?"
So they made their way to the cashier. While Percy was throwing all of their items on the counter, Jason decided to take a look at the costumes one more time. Nothing caught his attention but one costume, but he tried to take his attention away from it. That was impossible because his eyes would always drift back to it.
It was an Angel of Death costume. The picture showed a man wearing a leather jacket, a black shirt and pants, and a huge pair of wings behind him. This reminded him too much of Nico and it hurt.
They both made their way outside when Percy was done with buying, but Jason wasn't paying attention. He was too busy thinking of Nico. His boyfriend. Well, he used to be.
When Jason realized his feelings for Nico, he broke up with Piper and rushed over to the fourteen year old and told him about this. Before he knew it, they were together. They were happy together. It reached the point where Nico would smile constantly even when Jason wasn't around, as he was told.
That only lasted for a month. They were both in Camp Jupiter, and since Nico was officially the messenger between the two camps, he had to leave to Camp Half-Blood. What surprised him was after a few weeks, Nico didn't come. Percy and Annabeth did instead. They were worried since Nico never showed up to their camp. No camper had seen him, and just like that, he was declared missing.
Everyone who cared about him searched, but no one could find him. No one was sure he was alive. Most had given up, but Jason didn't, even though it's been six years.
"Thinking about him again?" Percy asked. He knew him too well. When he got a nod as a response, he gave Jason a side-hug. "It's okay."
But it wasn't. He could be dead and he wouldn't know about it.
"Anyway, come on, dude. We should hurry. We didn't even decorate the place and the party starts in four hours."
That snapped him out of his thoughts. Percy was right. They had not much time. Thankfully, the girls will be in their apartment in fifteen minutes to help. Well, that was what they said when they Iris-messaged, at least.
Staying true to their words, Piper, Annabeth and Hazel came to help them. Leo, who they found out was very much alive after a few weeks of defeating Gaia, was going to come later with Frank.
The girls' presence made things less boring. But their tasks were too exhausting, so when they were done decorating and preparing the food, they got their costumes beside them and sat down for a few minutes.
Then the bell rang. "Ugh!" Jason got out. "Who could it be now?" He went to open the door. It wasn't really surprising to see Leo, Frank and Calypso standing there.
Leo didn't even say hello. The first words that came out of his mouth were, "You guys look dead."
It was true. Half of them were lying on the couches, their eyes half-closed, unintelligible words coming out of their mouths.
"Leo," Calypso said. "If you could form smart sentences, that would be great."
Then they sat down, and the girls, plus Percy, sat up straight, ignoring the tiredness.
"So, guys," Frank said, looking worried. "Heard anything of Owen lately?"
Owen was some kind of threatening person. They didn't know if he was a demigod, or a monster but they knew it was "he" and, and that "he" was a danger to demigods.
Jason mentally shuddered at the memory of encountering Owen. He wore a hoodie, which was too casual, if anyone asked him, and his face wasn't shown. It was too dark to see, anyway. He had asked about Reyna, but being the good friend, Jason said nothing. Owen threatened him and was going to attack him until Frank showed up. Maybe he was too afraid of Frank since he was huge, or maybe he didn't want to risk exposing his face, so he backed away. And he never came back.
"Not much, Annabeth said. "I only heard he hadn't attacked anyone lately."
"Maybe he wants to party, too," Leo said, smiling, waiting for the laughs, but only sighs and eye rolls came. Only Hazel laughed at how lame he was.
The rest of the day was boring, and no one did anything. It was only the last minutes that everyone started to ready their costumes and their food.
Then their demigod friends started coming in groups until the place was packed in thirty minutes.
It was nice, Jason had to admit. The food table looked a bit fancy with the food arranged by Piper, who was a perfectionist now when it came to those things. The decorations they had put around were worth the effort because it gave a nice, spooky look. The skeleton tied up to the ceiling was the best one. Half of their friends were hyper enough to dance to the fast-paced songs and gather a crowd around them, and half were standing and talking. It was a good thing nothing was out of control, but that didn't stop it from being noisy.
Jason didn't know what to do, so he stood by a corner, waiting for something to happen so he wouldn't be so bored. He put the top hat he wore on the small table. He would do something, but he didn't know what to do, really.
Just then, Piper appeared by him. "Why are you so lonely? Come on! Have fun! Socialize!" They broke up, but that didn't mean they weren't good friends with each other.
Today, she was wearing a mermaid costume because Percy couldn't find a suitable merman costume at the last minute. This was just to tease him. Though, she wasn't wearing seashells only on the top part of her body. Her clothes were a bit decent and not showy.
"Socialize with who?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Her eyes moved to his hat. "Well, certainly not with that stuffed bunny you have in there."
He chuckled. "Okay, but-"
She didn't let him continue. She just pushed him. For a second, he thought he was going to fall. But then, with his quick reflexes, he grabbed the couch that was luckily on his right side. The boy – or maybe the girl – in the ninja costume who was going to sit took a step back, scared Jason would fall on him.
A nervous laugh came out of his mouth. "Sorry." With a smirk, Piper left him alone.
"It's okay." That was definitely a guy.
Okay. Socializing. He can do this. "I'm Jason Grace, by the way."
"Heard of you. Used to be praetor for Camp Jupiter."
"You went there?"
"Nah. I'm Greek."
"Greek, huh?" He wished he could see his face, but he couldn't just tell him to show his face, could he. But this way, he couldn't know how he looked. Not that it mattered all that much, but it would be nice to know. "Mind if I join you if there's no one specific you're waiting for?"
"Not at all." His eyes moved left and right. "Though if we want to sit, I suggest we go somewhere else. I hate sitting and talking to people near occupied places."
They looked for a place to sit in, after Jason suggested they take some food, but nearly every seat was taken. They had to go to the hallway, but they didn't mind. It was empty, but they still had a nice view of the party.
"So, you still in camp Half-Blood?" he asked.
"No. I'm older than seventeen."
That made him curious about his age. "How old are you?"
"Twenty. Why?" So he was two years younger than him.
"Just wondering, is all. You're not that young."
The boy sighed and closed his eyes. Did Jason say something wrong? Was he too awkward? The boy once again looked at him, but this time, his eyes seemed to hold seriousness. "I need to tell you something, Jason."
"Is there something wrong?" The boy was just a stranger, but he was making Jason worry a little.
"Actually, I'll just show you. Take off my mask." He was facing away from the crowd now.
"Why?"
"Please." His eyes were pleading, begging for him to do this.
"Alright." This was a bit strange, but he reached for the cloth on top of the boy's mouth and nose and pulled it down. When he did that, he froze in his place.
There, in front of him, was Nico. He never thought he'd see him again. He looked more handsome, but he also seemed so sad. "Nico," he whispered.
Nico only once hugged Jason while they were together. He wasn't really the optimistic, cheery kind of person, so when he hugged him this time, Jason was surprised but he was also happy.
Nico was here again. He wasn't dead. He was alive, and he came looking for Jason. That joy and warmth he felt being around Nico, touching Nico, felt good, but it also made Jason want to cry. But he couldn't. Of course he couldn't. This wasn't the time to be sad.
"I missed you so much," he continued to whisper. "I never stopped looking for you."
The son of Hades backed away a bit, but only a short distance. His arms were still wrapped around Jason. He wasn't smiling, but there was a hidden happiness behind. He just knew it.
Jason put his hand on Nico's cheek, caressing it. The first thing that came to his mind that second was to kiss Nico. So he did. He was hungry for him, and he wanted to deepen the kiss so badly, but he had to make this short. He needed an explanation.
The look of sadness Nico gave was too painful for Jason. If this hurt him, then the words Nico spoke next were blow in his guts. "Help me."
"What happened, Nico?" he asked.
"I'll explain later. Right now, I need to go somewhere. I need to be locked in a room."
"Why?" Jason asked for the second time.
"I promise you I'll explain, but you need to lock me somewhere. Now." Jason hesitantly agreed to do that.
With Jason intertwining his fingers with a scared Nico, he felt glad yet worried. Glad that finally, he had Nico once again. And worried because he didn't know if he wanted to hear Nico talk about what happened. It seemed too horrifying if Nico, the son of Hades, the demigod who could make zombies do as he wanted, was afraid.
At least now, he had him. And he wasn't going to let him go any time soon.
And that is it for chapter one. Hope it was good. :)
Until the next chapter, I hope…
-TEM
