A/N: Welcome to chapter eight, fellow demis! A big thank you to all those who left a review on the last chapter! It's always hugely appreciated! On to the next!
Warnings: None for this chapter
Percy awoke to see sunbeams glistening brightly through the window. It looked to be around one or two in the afternoon. He wondered how he managed to sleep so late. Then he remembered, he'd stayed up most of the night, thinking about things. . . many awkward things.
He stretched and looked over at the couch to check on Nico- and was surprised to see that he wasn't there. He stood up and wandered into the kitchen, assuming maybe Nico was making breakfast, as he usually did.
"Nico?" Percy called, softly, as he entered the kitchen threshold. It was immediately clear, he wasn't there either.
Percy's heart began to race. Where was he? What if Cupid took him and left Percy here all alone? Nico was the only companion he had in this place. . . he couldn't do this alone. He just couldn't. He ran around the house like a headless chicken, busting down doors and shouting Nico's name.
When he couldn't find him inside, he darted out the door and began calling his friend's name through the streets. He stopped when he heard Nico's voice echo from the backyard of their house. Percy let out a deep sigh of relief and ran up the driveway and through the back gate. He found Nico, sitting bolt upright in one of the chairs around the gazebo, looking like a startled meerkat.
With a small smile teasing the corner of his lips, Percy ran over to the gazebo and took a seat beside the son of Hades.
"What are you doing out here?" Percy asked, a little out of breath.
"I just wanted someplace quiet, you know, to think," Nico replied, a quizzical twitch in his brow, "Were you. . . worried about me?"
"Well, I mean. . . I was just afraid maybe Cupid teleported you somewhere. . . or something. You know how the gods can be," Percy admitted. He tried to ignore the tingling sensations in his stomach and the small crooked grin on Nico's face, that made him look like an adorably shy but mischievous elf.
Nico had to imagine that Percy's biggest concern was being left alone in this Stepford nightmare. Not that he could blame him- as used to being alone as he was, even he wouldn't be okay trapped in the loop by himself. He'd admit that the neighborhood was beautiful; the multi-story houses all immaculately kept, with flourishing gardens and perfectly paved streets. The driveways were all filled with nice cars and minivans. If you didn't know better, it would just look like a peaceful little suburb on the surface.
Somehow, that made the whole neighborhood all the more unsettling. The place was a ghost town- no, not a ghost town, there weren't even any of those there. The loop didn't feel like a real place. It was more like a dream. A nightmare in some ways, but a very good dream in others. Nico recalled the previous night, as he took a short glance over at the swimming pool. That memory would stay with him for the rest of his life- no matter how hard things got, he knew he could always look back on those few hours with Percy and remember how happy he'd been. That was a great comfort to the son of Hades. He honestly didn't have too many happy memories- at least not anymore.
"So, did you have any breakthroughs?" Percy asked, breaking Nico's train of thought. He'd almost forgotten what they'd been talking about.
"Not really," Nico replied, with a small laugh. It really was remarkable, Percy thought, that despite their situation, he'd seen Nico laugh more here in the loop, than he ever had before. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of it. But he decided that he liked seeing Nico laugh, it was a good look for him.
Something in Nico's voice told Percy that he wasn't being completely truthful. He was a smart guy, smarter than Percy, that's for sure. He'd probably been out here for hours, just thinking about things. It was pretty unlikely that he hadn't come to some sort of conclusion. Percy only hoped it was the same one he'd come to.
He couldn't just come out and tell Nico about his plan; if Cupid heard, he definitely wouldn't fall for it. So, Percy had no choice but to just give his plan a try and hope that Nico understood.
Percy just sat there, letting the silence fall between them- aside from the birds playfully singing in the distance. He was surprised by how comfortable this particular silence was. He and Nico's relationship had always been a little strained, especially in recent history. But something happened in the pool last night, something that Percy couldn't place. Maybe it was some sort of unspoken understanding- Percy could see now that he and the son of Hades weren't quite as different as they seemed.
'Well,' Percy thought, 'I guess now's as good a time as any to give this a shot.' He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over the table between them.
"You know, I had a lot of fun last night," Percy began. It wasn't a lie. Actually, he'd had more fun with Nico in the pool than he'd had in a very long time. Nico allowed himself the slightest grin.
"Me too," he said, softly. He turned his eyes to the bright purple flowers blooming beside him.
"We should do stuff like that more often. . . you know, when we get out of here," Percy replied, with a big grin. Nico grimaced for just a moment. As amazing as last night had been, Nico couldn't make a habit out of having that much fun with Percy. It hurt too much. 'But why should it hurt so much still if my feelings for Percy are gone?' He shook those thoughts away, they were too much to handle right now.
"Yeah," he said, solemnly. Percy could tell the conversation was already taking a turn for the worse. But he was determined to make some strides with his plan.
"You know what, let's do something fun today," Percy insisted, once again grinning from ear to ear. Nico just stared at him, confusion painting his soft features.
"I thought we were going to figure out a way out of here today," the ghostly demigod replied. Percy's heart sank a little. He was almost certain that Nico had been thinking the same thing he was- that if this was Cupid's doing, the only way he might allow them to leave is if he believed they were in love. But now he wasn't so sure. And he definitely didn't want to hurt Nico. . . again. But he was kind of pressed for options.
"We've been stuck here for about a week. We've scoured this whole neighborhood for a way out. Apparently, we're not going anywhere anytime soon. We have plenty of time to think of a way out of here. It couldn't hurt to have a little bit of fun," Percy concluded, winking at his companion, in hopes that he'd understand that he had a plan.
At first, Nico seemed confused. Percy darted his eyes around the yard, as if to imply someone was listening to them. Nico's bewilderment was replaced with understanding. Clearly, Percy was up to something. The best thing he could think to do was just play along. Percy had a talent for coming up with crazy ideas, but more often than not they seemed to work. Nico had learned to trust in Percy's madness. He couldn't help but feel a little hollow inside though, knowing that Percy was just saying these things for the sake of a plan. He didn't mean them- of course not, why would he?
"Okay, what did you have in mind?" Nico relented. He wasn't going to complain, he did love spending time with Percy. Well, he loved it and hated it at the same time. But right now, he didn't really care if he'd regret it later. Maybe, just maybe, he could have one more happy memory to add to his growing collection. Even if it was all pretend.
"Let's keep it simple, how about some TV and snacks?" Percy said. His sea-green eyes glistened in the sunlight, shimmering with a sort of playfulness that Nico couldn't help but swoon over. He had to force himself to look away from those hypnotizing oceans.
"Sure, that sounds kind of cool," the son of Hades shrugged. The two of them got up and headed inside. Percy immediately began rummaging through the cupboards, noting that they seemed to be stocked with various foods that weren't there the day before. Which told him that they were definitely being monitored by someone.
He grabbed a big bag of barbecue potato chips and poured them into a large, blue bowl. Snacks in hand, he rushed over to the couch and leaped onto it, spilling a few chips in the process, which he promptly picked up and munched on.
He noticed Nico, still standing awkwardly in the living room doorway, and patted the cushion next to him- signaling for his creepy friend to take a seat. Nico obliged and sat cross legged on the sofa, the bowl of potato chips was the only thing between him and the aquatic demigod beside him.
Percy grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. It was still kind of early in the afternoon, so he was met with some of the worst programs on the face of the planet- nothing but daytime talk shows, soap operas, depressing news stories, and douchey reality shows, all of which turned Percy's stomach just a little bit.
Eventually though, after flicking through about fourty channels, he happened upon a show he recognized- and one that he (maybe unfairly) assumed Nico would like; The Walking Dead. He wasn't that well acquainted with the show, and he hadn't seen it in years, but he remembered that he enjoyed what he had seen of it.
"Are you interested in watching people argue like toddlers and occasionally smash a zombie's skull to pieces?" Percy asked his friend.
"I would very much enjoy that, yes," Nico replied, already feeling better about this whole scenario, even though he knew he shouldn't.
The two boys sat there, completely immersed in the show, for hours. Percy was so caught up in the program that he'd almost forgotten he was supposed to be convincing Cupid he was falling in love. Against his better judgment, the son of Poseidon decided to try a move that always seemed to work in those cheesy romance movies.
He waited until Nico reached into the bowl to grab a chip. He tried to make it look as natural as he could, when he placed his hand atop his companion's, as though he was just trying to get a chip. He felt Nico's hand flinch at the contact. His skin was so cold, Percy had to briefly question whether or not Nico was a zombie himself.
"Oh, sorry about that," Percy said, softly, pulling his hand away. He kept his piercing green eyes fixed on Nico's, trying not to think about the very real butterflies in his stomach; especially when he noticed the light dusting of pink that decorated Nico's cheeks.
"It's fine," Nico insisted, once again averting his gaze from Percy. The older demigod was a bit surprised, he'd never known Nico to be shy. Evasive, sure. But not shy. Nico always spoke his mind and he was never afraid to look you in the eye when he had something to say to you. At least, that's the Nico Percy knew. This side of him was something the son of Poseidon wouldn't have expected.
They carried on, watching a few more episodes of the show. They found it more amusing than scary or provocative. They cracked jokes about the various dumb decisions the characters made and their frustratingly inconsistent behavior. They also had a laugh about the very distinct lack of zombies for a show supposedly about zombies.
Percy noticed that he had, at some point during their marathon, knocked the empty bowl onto the floor and was now sitting significantly closer to Nico. He shrugged it off. It could only make this whole plan more convincing. Granted, he wasn't sure when it had happened or why he had subconsciously scooted closer to his friend. But it didn't matter.
By the time the network stopped playing the show, it was dark outside. Percy couldn't believe he'd actually managed to sit in front of the TV for a whole afternoon. TV was never able to hold his attention for too long- nothing really was, except maybe monster fights. He'd not only watched TV all day, but he'd enjoyed it. Nico seemed to be having a really great time too.
With nothing else of interest on the channel, Percy grabbed the remote and began flipping through the stations once again. Now, it was late in the evening- which meant that the programs were still garbage, just a different variety of garbage- infomercials, late night talk shows, toilet humor cartoons (okay, honestly those were actually pretty funny). Percy passed a classic movie channel, playing some sort of musical in black and white.
"Wait, go back," Nico said, leaning closer to the TV. Percy flipped the channel back. He recognized the guy on the screen- everybody knew about that gaudy drawn-on mustache. It was some old Marx brothers flick- which one, Percy wasn't sure. Nico let out a little disbelieving scoff.
"I think I remember this film," he said finally.
"You remember it? You mean, from when you were younger?" Percy asked. He was a little distracted by the fact that Nico had used the word "film." It was really easy to forget that the younger demigod wasn't from this era. He'd adapted himself so well to the new millennium, Percy often forgot that he was born well over seventy years ago. It was truly impressive.
"Yeah. I saw it when I was maybe six or seven," the son of Hades replied, slightly lost in the movie. Percy stared at the monotone picture, struck by the fact that it was new the first time Nico saw it. He kept his eyes fixed on the screen, taking in how dated it was. How different it was from what he was used to.
How did Nico do it? How could he just find himself in a new world- almost completely different from the one he knew, and just be okay? Everything had changed so much. Most of the people from his time were gone now, including his own family. The whole world had evolved so much. Hazel was the only other person who understood what that was like.
It seemed like every day Percy spent with Nico, the more he appreciated him. He was beginning to understand his struggles, the way his mind worked. He was almost positive now that, out of all of the demigods he knew, Nico was by far in the way the strongest. Maybe not his powers, but his strength of will was almost inhuman. His resilience bordered on godly. Actually, it surpassed the gods- because Percy had never actually known the gods to be particularly resilient.
He smiled down at Nico, full of admiration. His companion was scrunched up on the couch, his knees tucked under his chin- his dark eyes reflecting the glow of the TV. Percy turned his attention back to the movie, but found (after only a few minutes) that it couldn't hold his attention. After about a half hour, he was fast asleep on the sofa. Nico quietly sat through the film, trying to piece together any remnants of his past- long forgotten from his bath in the Lethe.
Eventually, he gave up on that and just immersed himself in the silly story. He made it through half of the film that followed, even though he didn't recognize that one. Until he felt sleep overcoming him as well. He closed his eyes and was asleep within minutes.
A/N: Well, that's all for this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading! Please review & favourite if you enjoyed it!
Notice: There will not be an update next week. Nor will I be able to get back to writing any more chapters until after the holidays are over. Expect chapter 9 to be up sometime in early January. I apologize for delay, but I have many other obligations to worry about. I hope to see you all again in January.
