Nico's POV
I jolted awake from the nightmares that I was used to plaguing my sleep, flashbacks from when I was in Tartarus, nightmares about the Titan war, about the giant war, being stuck in that bronze jar. My most recent addition was the explosion in the sky, a world where Leo never found the Physician's Cure.
Leo. Thinking of him made me so calm that I fell into a dreamless sleep.
When I woke from my sleep, feeling rested for the first time since the Titan War, for the first time since shadow-traveling around the world, I felt hungry.
My head lifted from the blood-colored pillow, (Seriously, who designed this cabin?) and I did the normal things I do in the morning. The only thing I did differently was I packed my backpack up for my quest with Leo. We had to report to the Big House immediately after breakfast.
On my way to the Breakfast Line I er… "bumped" into Leo. Okay, I ran into him, literally.
"Oof, sorry," I mumbled, not bothering to look up to see who I ran into.
"I would be nicer to the person who is going to save your life on this quest."
"I think I'm the one who will save you, thanks," I say with a smirk on my face.
"Why do you think that?"
"I have a sword and you have a hammer that you pull out of your tool belt."
I saw his face turn red, probably embarrassment from being put in his place. Then his nose burst into flames.
"Man, I need to learn how to control that," he said as he extinguished his nose.
"At least you aren't at risk of turning into a shadow forever."
"At least you don't have to worry about burning buildings down."
"Okay, let's talk about something, I figured that since we're going on a quest, you should know that I'm gay."
"That's completely fine," Leo said, not even fazed by the situation.
"Are you still Okay with going on the quest with me?"
"Of course, I'm not homophobic."
"I wasn't saying you were, I just thought you might be weirded out."
Then the loudspeaker blared.
"Leo Valdez and Nico Di Angelo, please report to the big house immediately."
"That can't be good."
Leo's POV
"There are parts of the prophecy that concerns me deeply. It states that you must find the land without rain, or you will feel Bianca's pain. If you don't find the land without rain, you will die," Chiron said as he paced around the room nervously.
"So, we're going to Arizona?" asked Nico, who had tears in his eyes with the mention of his sister.
"Yes, but there are some restrictions. I believe you will find a clue to where the Hunters are in there. But you cannot take it with you. If you steal anything from this junkyard, you will die. Now, I've ordered that your breakfast is sent here. There's no sense in you eating and then coming right back here."
We ate our breakfast in awkward silence until I broke it.
"I think I know what maybe something more means."
"What?", Nico snapped.
"Actually, I don't I was just trying to start a conversation. What's wrong?", I ask when I see shadows emerging around them."
"My sister died trying to take something from there, and now they expect me to go in there without thinking that I will have the same fate.", he said, a tear trickling down his cheek. The shadows started to get darker around him, and I became scared that he was starting to slip away into the shadows again. The shadows started to disappear.
"Dude, you're on fire, and I mean that like, you're going to need a new shirt."
"Oh crap," I say as I put the flames out and realize that I was still wearing the fireproof cloths Calypso made me. I burst back into flames when the anger starts to take over me. Then I see Nico pour his orange juice on me.
"Thanks, I can usually control that but I've had a difficult few months."
"Tell me about it."
"Okay, well it all started when I died. After I came back to life, I went back to Ogygia to rescue Calypso, and she was making out with another guy."
"She didn't."
"She did, but I realized I didn't like her like that, I like someone else, but I still felt betrayed because I swore on the River Styx."
"I'm sorry, but you know, I was being sarcastic when I said tell me about it."
Chiron walked into the room right before I was going to put scrambled eggs in his hair.
"Are you guys ready for your quest?"
"Yeah, we're ready as we'll ever be."
Once he started to escort us out, it dawned on me what something more meant.
Nico Di Angelo likes me back, just like my dad Hephaestus said. I also think he got that information from Aphrodite.
A/N - I'm not able to update every day now for three reasons.
1. I'm studying for finals right now.
2. I'm working at my local library this summer.
3. I'm entering high school next year.