The monthly counsel meeting is a bore, as usual. I sit between Percy and a Satyr named Grover. Though, I'm not classified as the head counselor of the Zeus cabin, since Thalia isn't present, I have to take over. I am going back to Camp Jupiter in the morning, to start construction of the Temple of Nyx.
"Hmm..." I say, whatever Chiron is saying flying right over my head. I look around the room, but something feels...off. Like there's something that doesn't belong present in the room.
I look over at Piper, and her new boyfriend. I'm really happy for her. I'm glad she could find someone. I was more upset about the breakup a few months ago than I am now. I've accepted it.
"You okay, man?" Percy asks, tapping my shoulder.
"Yeah," I answer. "Something's up with this room...is something missing?"
I look around once again, counting all the counselors. Eleven counselors, plus Grover and a few others. Eleven? Wait, how is there only eleven?
I count through them again, until I realize. Nico isn't here.
"Where's Nico?" I ask, aloud. Percy looks at me, furrowing his eyebrows. Grover takes a bite out of Percy's can.
"He hasn't been around all day...he's probably just snuck off to some food court or something...he disappears a lot, but don't worry! I bet he's fine," Grover says.
I sigh. This isn't enough for me. "I'm gonna go check on him." I stand up, asking Chiron if I could be excused. After a minute, he allows me to, and I slip out of the room, and down the path to the cabins. I find the Hades cabin immediately. I walk right to it, trying the handle, but it is locked. So, I knock on the door.
And to my surprise and disbelief, Hazel Levesque answers. This comes as a shock to me, because Hazel never leaves Camp Jupiter since she became a Centurion. Either I have completely missed a memo, or something is very wrong with Nico.
"Jason?" She asks, a faint smile appearing on her face. She slips out of whatever mission she's here for, giving me a tight hug. "It's great to see you! It's been so long!"
I smile back at her. "Yeah! I was coming back tomorrow, but you know. Is Nico here?"
Hazel's face grows grim as she pulls away. "Yeah...he is. You want to talk to him, don't you?"
"Well, yeah. He wasn't at the meeting or anything," I say, with a shrug. "Is he okay? What happened to him? No one hurt him, right?"
"I need to go get some clothes for him, since he is running a low on them, so I'll let him explain it himself...keep him company, Jason. He's not in good shape. He needs a friend."
I walk right passed Hazel and into the room, in concern.
"Nico, I'll be back in a minute! Jason is here to keep you company!" Hazel calls.
Nico is in really rough shape. He's in his pajamas, his hair looking like he just rolled out of bed, his skin paler and bags under his eyes darker. He lies on his back, as if he has given up on humanity. He looks dazed, gazing up at the ceiling, letting out a sniffle like his nose is clogged.
"Nico?" I ask. Nico turns to look at me, glaring.
"Get out, Grace," He demands.
"Huh?" I ask, taking a step forward. "What's wrong, man? You look terrible! What happened to you?"
"I said get out!" He says, though doesn't raise his voice much.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong," I say, putting a hand on my hip. Nico sighs, throwing his hands up into the air, almost making a choking gesture. He look forlornly up at the ceiling as a tear trickles down his cheek.
"Fine...you're a stubborn idiot, Jason..." He muses.
I ignore his comment, sitting down on the foot of his bed. "What's going on?"
"It's Bianca's birthday..." Nico says. "Or...it would be...and I can't celebrate it with her...it's my third year...without her..." He breaks between words, as if it's hard to say.
I put my hand on his shoulder. "Oh gosh..." I say, sympathetically. "That's really rough...are you feeling alright?"
He pushes my hand off his shoulder. "I hate being touched...why are you even here? Hazel was supposed to be here..."
"She's coming right back," I say.
"Fine..." Nico murmured.
"You...you need some cheering up," I say, matter-of-factly once I figure out what I want to say. Nico glares at me.
"No thank you," He says, crossing his arms.
"Oh, c'mon! We could celebrate it for real. Go out get some cake...talk about her," I say, gently.
Nico looks like he's about to punch me. "And how will that make me feel better? How will talking about her make me feel less like crap?! Just...bud out, Jason. Talking about her isn't going to bring her back..."
"But honoring her could be some closure for you," I say.
Nico grunts. "I don't feel like it..."
"We'll go straight home if you start feeling too upset...but come on, she'd want you to have fun...from what Percy's told me, she really loved you," I say.
"Oh what do you know?!" He says, his fists clenching. "I wasn't good enough, Jason! She left me for the Hunters..." He looks surprised those words even came out of his mouth, hidden resentment laced underneath those pained eyes. I want to hug the poor guy, but I'm afraid he'll sacrifice me if I do.
"I don't know anything about this, really..." I say. "We can take Hazel, though...I just don't want to see you so sad..."
"I hate you," He spits. "...I'll go if Hazel goes..."
I smile at him. "Great. I'll step out so you can change."
Just as I say that, Hazel walks in through the door.
"What's up?" She asks, the question directed at me.
"We're going out to eat. For Bianca," I say, nodding to her.
"Just you two?" She asks, somewhat disappointed.
"Nah, the three of us. If you want to come, I mean," I say. Hazel smiles at me.
"I would love to come."
I look over at Nico. He looks helpless, like the smallest thing could break him. I want to lean down and hug him, but I'm afraid he'll cry if I do. Hazel and I walk out of the cabin so Nico can change. I don't hear him say a word.
Hazel and I make small talk about the camps. Hazel is fun, and easy to talk to. I've always enjoyed my interactions with the daughter of Pluto. I seem to really love the children from the Underworld, regardless of who they are.
After a few minutes, Nico walks out, his hair brushed a bit, and wearing a new pair of clothes. He sighs, looking down to his side.
"So what...?" He asks. "Are we just gonna 'fly' there?" He glares at me, as if to say 'don't even try.'
"Nah," I say. "There's some food left. Lets go to the strawberry fields and have a picnic." They both agree, though Nico more hesitantly. We walk and grab a lot of food and a table cloth, quickly sacrificing a bit to the Gods, and walked to the strawberry field.
We sit down and begin to eat. Though, I've already eaten, and my stomach is packed, I don't say anything, and eat a sandwich slowly. Hazel, for someone as tiny as she is, can eat like a horse. It's kind of funny. And I wish Nico would eat more...he doesn't even touch anything.
"So...tell us about her..." I say. Nico doesn't send me a glare this time, he just looks down at his lap and gives a sad sigh. It's less angry, though there is still anger laced in it, as he starts.
He tells us a lot of stories. Both Hazel and I are amazed by the end. Who'd have known Nico has so many amazing stories to tell? The boy is fascinating. This Bianca seemed like she was awesome, too.
He tells us all about his life, right up until Bianca joined the hunt. He looked like he was even smiling for awhile. He looked happy to talk about her. Happy to tell us about his life. And I was happy to hear about it. His voice falters quite a bit when he reaches the part about Bianca joining the hunt, turning his head away from us, sighing to himself. We've reached the part where Percy comes in. He hates this part. I hate it, too. Percy pisses me off in this instance...but at the same time, I really care about Nico, so of course he does.
Hazel eventually has to get back. She kisses Nico's cheek, and walks away back to her cabin so she can pack to go home with me tomorrow. In the time we spent, she laughed, cried a little, and smiled. She really was a bright girl for such dark powers. Nico looked happy occasionally, but not as much as I'd have hoped. I wish I could make him happy...
"Well...that's all," Nico say, with a sigh.
"Thanks for telling me!" I say, happily. "It was good to hear about!"
He looks away from me, giving a weak nod.
I sigh a bit. This didn't improve his mood at all. "You really miss her, don't you?"
After a minute, Nico gives a weak nod. "Hey...Jason...?" He asks after a few minutes.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"Do you think...you could hug me...?" He asked, sounding completely embarrassed to have even thought of it. I smile widely at him, nodding my head, opening my arms to him. Nico quietly wraps his own arms around my torso, burying his head in my shoulder. I know he's holding back tears. I gently brush my fingers through his hair in an affectionate way. I just wish he could be happy.
"Thanks, Jason..." He murmurs.
"No problem," I said.
AN. It's been like a year, but you guys said you wanted B's B-day, so here ya go! Sorry, it isn't very good. I tried very hard! I love Jasico still, but it isn't as cute. Anyway, yeah...sorry for posting this way too late...I bet I don't even have readers anymore...oh well.
Coffee