Nico's point of View

'Hell. No. Just no. I am going to have to whoop some ass today, aren't I?' I was seeing red as I squatted next to a bush. Coming back from the idiotic and irrational fight with Percy, I decided to try to solve it. I mean, with Mr. Superman/ Mr. Perfect/ Mr. Praetor there, nothing bad could happen. I had swept back, and had heard my name in the conversation. Darting behind a bush ( I know, not the best hide out… ), I had listened to the whole conversation. I heard mutters of my name, the struggles of the Eros situation, and the word love. I nearly threw up. Love wasn't real. Freaking Aphrodite was the most useless goddess ever, right up the alley with Dionysus.

I had a feeling that the all-powerful gods were going to zap me for the disrespectful rant. I shifted from one leg to the other. I was getting bad cramps. Not that my small, black jeans helped. I had outgrew them a few months ago, and hadn't had the time to buy new ones. I smirked. I imagined myself strolling into Death-Kids-R-Us and asking the clerk, 'Hi, do you happen to have baggy black jeans that are Greek Fire resistant and don't attract monsters at all? And they have shadow traveling powering jets?! Awesome. That will be 4 drachmas, right?' I sat quietly, almost invisible. Jason murmured things to Percy while I saw him grow more impatient. Then I heard Jason finish lamely, " -he loved… you." Jackson's eyes grew wide.

A sharp gust of wind snapped my hair around and I was blinded for a second. I cursed. Having 3 of the most powerful demigods in a 10 feet radius of each other wasn't the best way to keep calm. Jason clenched his teeth. He gripped his jeans when the rain started becoming heavier. 'Was it like this while I wasn't here? On and off storms?' I struggled to stay in my crouched position. Jason's blue eyes darkened and he concentrated. The winds stopped a bit but that didn't stop the pounding rain and crashing waves.

"Jackson. This is my territory. Stop messing with it." I heard Jason mutter. Percy seemed shell shocked. He sat there, back slumped, completely lost. He seemed totally fascinated in Jason's praetor cape all of a sudden. Jason snatched it back and snapped, "Dude, get a grip. It's Nico. He was never going to tell you. Now that I did, you better not crush him under your stupid Reeboks." Jason stood up, and his close cropped hair fluttered uncontrollably in the wind. "Bro, I gotta get back but… don't hurt Nico. He's been through enough." My vision tunneled. He told Percy.

Even though he said he wouldn't, he did. I shook. I felt like killing everything near me. I flushed. Percy knew. Percy freaking knew. I scrambled backwards. I imagined the Camp laughing at me, looks of pity, Hades zapping me for being the laughingstock of Olympus. My vision blurred and I controlled my will not to wilt everything. Jason whistled, a sharp, taxicab whistle. He waited before a clap of thunder echoed. I mirage of thunder and bolts descended before Jason. Tempest reared and a string of mist trailed behind him. Jason swung himself over Tempest. "Easy boy…" he muttered.

Percy glared at the horse. "Your horse needs to get his thoughts washed in soap. That is one messed up mind." Percy tugged on his white T-shirt and a vaguely remembered a memory from Calypso. He had on a thin sweater. "Jason!" he shouted, before the blonde headed leader could break away. "Are you joking around with me? Or is it true?" Percy yelled, but it seemed softer, more depressed. Jason's hair zipped around chaotically. "It's true! Talk to him!" and with that, the Superman was gone.

Percy's shoulders slumped and my heart thudded. The waves on the beach whiplashed with a violent force. Percy tangled his hands in his hair. I could see him mouthing something. 'Does he know the damage he's doing? Or can he control it?' I pondered what to do. The rain was soaking my newly washed clothes, and I itched to call on the dead. Shaking the water out of my hair, I stood. He hardly seemed to notice anything. He looked so broken, even worse than I looked after Bianca left. I felt a twinge of sympathy.

I had to listen for the unearthly sounds of death. The little popping in my ear that told me when someone died. I had to tune in to Annabeth, for the sake of the trampled demigod with green eyes. I breathed in. I jogged up to Percy and saw that he was wet. I stopped with a screech. The son of the water god was wet. I sputtered. He shouldn't be wet. 'Again. Can he even control what's happening?' His black hair was limp on his forehead. I saw the gray tendril of hair from when he held up the sky. His eyes were closed.

I shook out my shoulders and winced. "Hey Percy!" I screeched unnaturally and my voice cracked. He looked startled and he spluttered, "NICO! HEY!" It was the most energy that i've heard from him since I came here. I clenched my silver ring. "Um. So about before. I swear, um, I just wasn't thinking-" he cut me off, "No, I mean, that was harsh of me, and I didn't-" "No, I feel bad because-" "Nah, it's totally my fault for being-" we both kept stopping and then starting. I slid in front of him. I tugged the collar of my shirt. Although it was almost 50 degrees, it was growing increasingly uncomfortably hot. Percy held a hand over my mouth. His irksome smile gave me the juvenile urge to lick his hand.

My heart was pounding. He knows but he's doing it on purpose! His eyes softened and he removed his hand. His vibrant green eyes bore into mines. "Jason, you know, said something about you." He tried for the natural look and failed. I nodded and tugged my T-shirt closer. His eyes flickered to my pale skin raised with goosebumps and shrugged off his jacket. I gaped. Was this some kind of elaborate joke?! The mess hall was deserted except for a few stragglers, staring at Percy and I. Waiting for a fight to break out. I sneered at them and they scattered.

He threw the jacket around me. Although the jacket was thin, the action warmed me down to my toes. And I was never warm. I noticed that he was slowly drying out. His eyes were staring at me, but seemed to be distant. Theres was a small puddle of water below his seat. I leaned back in surprise. He was draining the water out his clothes. Handy. The rain died down but I doubted that it wouldn't come back. I glared critically at the clouds. They looked suspicious. "I can't control it." Percy said softly. His hands had found a stray blade of grass and it looked dull compared to his eyes. He twisted it in his hands.

"I don't know how to stop the storms. It just depends on my emotion, and I can't stop." He trembled. "She's not coming back, is she, Nico? She's not. I can feel it." I felt so horrible. I gripped his shoulder. It was awkward as ever, but I managed not to run away screaming like a flirtatious girl. "I don't think she's dead." I didn't have the nerve to add 'yet'. He shuddered. "Nico? I can't freaking control myself. If I find out that she's dead, then I don't think that this place will stay in one piece. I already feel the power draining out of me. I need help." He barked out a laugh.

I could feel the madness strain through him and my lungs clenched. It was so hard not to grab him into an awkward one hand man-pounding-macho- it's-okay motion. "You have help. According to the prophecy, i'm supposed to help." I whispered, burying my nose in his sweater. It smelled like a little bit of salt and the ocean waves. I closed my eyes. I felt like I was on the beach. Breathing out slowly, I thought. I didn't want to like him. I didn't want to love him. I honestly didn't want to like. But I was just like Percy. I couldn't control myself. I couldn't help but fall for the man with emerald eyes.

!

We were in the Big House, huddled between blankets and pillows. Well, at least I was. Percy seemed content with his blue donut. I sat in front of the fire, shivering. Percy's eyes seemed a hazel color as he stared in the fire. They look tired and glassy. His eyes snapped to me and I looked away, blushing. I clenched my teeth. I needed to stop doing all these lovey dovey movements. I had a feeling that Aphrodite was going to float with a chariot of doves and deer and float rose petals down to us. "Jason said you loved me." Percy said nervously and laughed.

"Can you believe him? He is such an… an… idiot." He laughed an uncanny uncomfortable laugh. I sat rigid under the mass of blankets. His raucous laughter died down when he realized I wasn't laughing along. I crumpled the shirt under my hands. I had taken off my wet clothes, which had left me in black boxers. I wrapped my blanket closer, self conscious. Percy sucked on his fingers, licking the blue glaze off.

"Is it true?" he said, completely quiet. I wondered about his thoughts. What was he thinking? Did he think I was weird? That I was a freak? I stretched my arms out and said casually, "And what if it was true?" I said, pausing to pull the blanket back over my shoulders.

He looked taken back. "I'm not sure what I think." I paused again. I felt like the walls were closing in on me. This was supposed to be a secret. I never wanted him to know, but damn Superman had to tell. So much for loyalty. I snorted. "Whatever. It's fine. I don't expect anything out of you. I am -was, actually- being irrational." I turned back so he couldn't see my scarlet face. I punched my pillow angrily. Flipping it over, I said, "I'm sleeping here tonight. Good night. And bye." I huffed and hugged the blankets over my shoulder. The storms heaved and I could hear Percy's breathing suddenly pick up. I bolted up. "Percy! What the hell?! Are you freaking dying while i'm trying to sleep?" I dropped the blankets and untangled myself from the plush couch.

Percy was hunched over, and his arms were clenching his gut. His eyes were rolled back and the whites were showing. "Too much… storms drained me… I can't…" he wheezed. The rain pounded on the glass panes and the wind peaked.

He dropped to the ground. "What the hell!" I ran to the random cabinets. I didn't know where anything was. I was still new here. Percy let out a laugh. It sounded delusional. "Woah… the world is going kinda spinny, Nico boo…" In other circumstances, I would've slapped someone if they gave me a nickname. But this guy's energy and life force was being drained by a storm he couldn't control.

I cursed, strings of profanity escaping. I considered yelling for Chiron. I didn't even know where everyone was. It was already late. I was nearly 10:00. I slammed drawers and cupboards open. "Where the bloody hell is the freaking ambrosia?!" I snatched open a Ziploc bag. Ripping it open, I ran over to the almost knocked out Percy.

His long eyelashes were fluttering, on the brink of passing out and being conscious. I opened his mouth. And then here's the idiotic part. Where this guys was slowly dying, I actually hesitated to save him. Not on purpose. He was just sitting there, with his perfect pink lips heaving, and his ultra white teeth grinding together. Like I was actually considering to… kiss him. I imagined his response to that and I shuddered. A child of Hades could not love. A child of Hades would not be caught in repulsive, distracting, nonsense such as love. What in the world was I thinking?

"Nico... " he groaned. The winds picked up and the rain quickened. I fished a clunky square of ambrosia. The little cube of gold glinted in the fire light. I gently pulled his chin down and cradled his head in my lap. I was surprised of how light he was. I forced it into his mouth and made him chew. I muttered, "You better swallow that crap, Jackson. I didn't get out of bed for you." Then it hit me. I swallowed. I was in my boxers. Only my boxers. I felt like my mind tripped down the stairs, broke its neck on the way, and fell straight into a hole so deep that it decreased to work.

Percy smiled an insane smile while chewing the healing cube. He murmured with a deadly but serene smile on his face. "Annabeth… we should go to college…. where are you? Nico is taking good care of me… he's very gentle and he blushes a lot…" I felt my face drain in embarrassment. Color returned to his face. He hooked his arms around my neck.

"Carry me to bed." he muttered simply. I nearly dropped him. He pouted. An almost-knocked-out Percy was a demanding Percy. "But… but- your c-cabin is all they way across the Camp, I just can't carry you across, and i'm naked." He teasingly slapped me gently across bare chest. This was worse than a drunk Percy. "No, silly, the couch right there!" I winced.

Hooking his frail arms and legs around me, he hung on, almost cutting off my air supply. I stumbled around, before tossing him onto the couch. He dreamily swept the blanket around his shoulders and peeled off his socks. I grabbed my shirt and muttered. I was about to shove my numb feet into my sneakers until he said, "Nico? Where are you going? Don't leave. I'm lonely." I couldn't believe this was happening. A few hours ago, we almost killed each other in a brawl and now we were sleeping with each other.

He patted the spot next to him and waited for me. His pout seemed increasingly annoying. "I swear to god Jackson, you are never going to reach daylight if anyone hears about this." I begrudgingly threw off my midnight shirt and dipped into the couch. Almost like dipping into a pool, I went slowly and carefully. He smiled. "Now I am not lonely, Death Boy. Thank you." The rain pattered relentlessly on. I slammed the lights off.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Don't call me Death Boy." His eyes popped open. He laughed, a deep chord. There was a huge gap in between us. I flipped my pillow. Grumbling, I noticed his warm toes. I inched towards them. They were like a natural heater. I hesitantly touched his toes. He smiled, a real beaming smile.

"Okay, Angel." I froze and slowly turned around. "Excuse me? Angel?!" He laughed and suddenly ruffled my hair. He twirled a strand of my dark hair around his fingers. He seemed to be petting me. "Yeah. Like, Di Angelo? Doesn't it mean Angel?" I muttered something about 'touche' and felt my head tingle.

We stayed like that for a few seconds. Just there in the dark, breathing softly. We had a pattern. He breathed in, I breathed out. And vice versa. He was still twirling my hair, but he seemed to be falling asleep.

I shifted, and my nose was inches from his chest. His muscular build was illuminated in the moonlight. I willed myself to freeze and shrink away, the normal procedure when someone tried to make physical touch with me.

But I stayed there. Just with his hand weaved through my hair, and his chest slowly rising and dropping. My hand shook. I raised it slowly and rested it between us, the mere inches separating us. My eyes drifted shut.

I really didn't want to wake up to the too bright sunlight, or the other campers, and to the loss of the salty ocean smell. I wanted to stay here. For the first time in forever. I had no idea how to help this broken man. I couldn't just charm him into loving me. He loved Annabeth.

'We already went through this. You can't have this. He's planning to go to college, get married, and make babies. Gag.'

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about it anymore.

!

I bolted up, straight up. My heart ran wild. It was pounding and my head thundered. I clenched my bare chest. My breathing was rapid. I didn't get a nightmare. I didn't get hurt. I didn't get waken up abruptly. Something else happened. Something not natural. Not that anything in my life was normal.

I glanced over to Percy. His white, pristine, shirt was crumpled. He had a little tiny line of drool coming out of the corner of his mouth. He had a supreme bad case of bedhead. The huge mop of hair looked untameable.

Noticing that I didn't have a shirt nor pants on, I darted straight up and out of the couch.

I had actually fell asleep with him. I had actually had the little foolish thought that I could sleep with him. I felt the inside of me rot a little. I was literally tearing myself down, not helping at all.

I sighed, and felt the dreaded notification ring back.

"Nico?" a panicked Percy said. He slapped the covers, like I could be somewhere there. "Here." I said, dreading his response. Was he going to freak out that he and I were literally 2 inches from each other last night? Nope. Apparently not. "Thanks bro for staying with me last night. I felt horrible for the past 5 months. I felt so empty, so lonely. You know what I mean?" I shrugged. He rolled on with the rant. "-and like, how you feel- or felt- about me. It must have been horrifying to sleep with me. I'm sorry for that, dude."

I sighed. I shrugged again. I wanted to seem laid back. I didn't want to know how tempting it was. Not in the perverted way, for all you dirty minded people out there. I meant how tempting he was, just vulnerable. Not protections. No storms. Not even the "Omg it's the PERCY JACKSON!" I glanced out the window. Over night, the rain had stopped. The grass outside looked suspiciously wet and soggy. Puddles were everywhere. Sighing, I was searched for my shirt and jeans.

"I think the harpies took it to the wash." I screeched to a stop. I freaked. "What the hell! What am I going to wear! I'm not going to just prance around naked!" I screeched.

He smiled in amusement. He sat up, his shirt looking flawless with his tousled hair, even though he just woke up. I combed my hair with my fingers, deep in thought. I had forgotten the troublesome visit last night.

FLASHBACK

'POP!' I bolted up. My heart was rapidly beating. The blanket started slipping off. Grappling for it, I heaved it back on the bed. What the hell was that noise. I considered investigating. Shaking my head, I made my way back into the comfy little spot, right next to the Percy Jackson.

I frowned. I had recognized that from somewhere. The little pop. Always… something… really weird. I shrugged and drifted off slowly. Then my eyes popped open. I knew what that was now.

My ear had popped.

That meant that someone had died.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading the next chapter! Sorry it took so long to update! Thank you to those who reviewed! I will probably update in about 1-2 weeks. Thank you! Read On! ~NicoDiAngelo32