What? You wanted another filler chapter before any action happens? Great!

Hahaha…. I'm sorry. I promise next chapter actions occur and the story progresses past "lets talk about our feelings" gosh I'm just so unhappy with all the chapters on this thing lately agh i could barely post this one but i didnt want to rewrite it and Nico ugh y writing of Nico makes me want to slam my head on a table aghhhhh

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time! I love you all please marry me i will bake mythical cake.

Note: This chapter references a few inappropriate things, including underage drinking, but does NOT include any actual sketchy content like that one scene a few chapters back.

So yah, review?

Pen put the phone down on the table and forced a smile.

"How'd it go?" Bea asked.

"Perfect." Pen responded, "He'll be at the spot tomorrow."

"And we'll be ready." Bea said. "Thanks Pen."

Pen just nodded.

"Dinner?" Cassie asked the group.

There were murmurs of "yah" around the group, except for Pen. "He'll be there early in the morning." She said. "I'm going to hit the hay early- need my beauty sleep." She forced a yawn. "Is there somewhere I can-"

"My room." Beas said before anyone could respond. "Will someone show her to my room?"

"Great." Said Pen. "You know the way, dark and moody?"

Nico shuffled uncomfortably. Fallon piped up, "I can show-"

"Nah, creepers has got it." Pen insisted.

"It's really fine." Fallon said.

"Why?" Pen teased, "Protecting your boyfriend? You a bad boy type?"

"No, I-"

"Wow, you blushing there, carrot top?" Pen taunted. "It's ok, you two can have your dark secret romance."

"Listen, we-"

"The room is this way." Nico said, standing up, "Come on."

Pen smirked. "Coming."

Nico turned down the hall he had been down just earlier that day, Pen trailing behind him.

"What'd you do to piss Bea off?" Pen asked from behind him.

"I don't want to talk about it." Nico mumbled. "Ask her."

"So quiet, too." Pen said. "You going for the strong, but silent thing? Except for you're kind of puny." Nico didn't respond. "You must be fun at parties." Pen quipped.

"Room." Nico gestured to Bea's door.

"Thank you." Pen reached down to ruffle his hair, but Nico caught her hand, swiping it away.

"Don't." He turned and walked away without looking back at Pen.

When he got back to the room with the table, everyone was clearing out. "Microwave mac and cheese and mashed potatoes on the counter." Cassie said, when she saw him. "I think everyone is eating in their room. I can stay here with you though."

"I'm fine." Nico said, "Thanks."

Cassie nodded and left. David left behind her, and Patrick. Nico headed to the kitchen, where Fallon was leaning against the counter talking to Bea. They both were eating food out of the containers on the counter.

"Join us?" Fallon asked, holding up a fork. Nico took it reluctantly.

"I can go-" He said.

"It's fine." Bea grumbled. "Don't leave on my account."

Nico awkwardly stood by them, and grabbed some food.

"Bea was just telling me about her girlfriend." Fallon said.

"Ex." Bea clarified. "I haven't seen her in a long time."

"I don't think she knows that." Fallon said. "Are you saying you aren't getting laid tonight?"

"I don't know." Bea said. "It's complicated."

"I'm going to head-" Nico began.

"Sorry, Nico." Fallon said, "We'll stop girl talking. Don't leave."

"Don't be sorry." Nico mumbled. "You can keep talking."

Bea took a bite of mac and cheese. "So Fallon, you have any ex-boyfriends running around?"

"Changing the subject?" Fallon smirked at her. "So something is going on. Come on Bea, what's bugging you?"

"You know what's bugging me." Bea said.

"She'll be ok." Fallon reassured. "Don't you feel better with Pen here?"

"No." Bea said. "That's just another person I love waiting to get hurt."

"Are you holding back from Pen because of Libby?" Fallon asked gently. "Is that why you're uncomfortable?"

Nico got the feeling he was intruding on something he shouldn't be.

"No." Bea said. "There was nothing between me and Libby."

"Bea,"

"No." Bea repeated. She looked over at Nico, as if suddenly remembering he was there. "I'm just going to go."

"Bea-" Fallon said.

"I'm tired." Bea said.

"Have fun in bed." Fallon teased.

Bea rolled her eyes and left. Fallon turned to Nico. "Sorry, she's cranky."

"It's ok." Nico said.

Fallon picked at her food. "Look, I hope what Pen was saying didn't make you uncomfortable. You know about us…"

"It's ok." Nico said.

Fallon just nodded and took another bite of food. There was a silence. For once, Nico decided to break it. "Are you going tomorrow?"

Fallon shrugged. "I should be able to, shouldn't I?"

"You're a really good fighter." Nico said. "it would help."

"I know." Fallon said. "It's just, I'm scared."

"We're fighting. It's normal." Nico attempted comfort.

"I know." Fallon said again. "I just… don't know if I can do it." She turned to Nico. "I mean, I know I can, right? I just, I freeze. I get scared and I freeze."

Nico could tell she was grasping at him for support, but he wasn't good at this. He wasn't good at talking to people in general, honestly. He needed Percy, or Jason. Not that Jason's comfort had been particularly helpful to him. Or at least, that's what he let Jason believe. "Fallon, you saved my life earlier. You didn't hesitate to take down that cyclops, alone."

"I didn't have a choice. I wasn't going to let you die." Fallon responded.

"And now you won't let your friends die." Nico said.

Fallon turned away. "Don't be so sure."

"You're a good person."

"Doesn't make a difference." Fallon picked up the empty food containers and dumped them in the trash can. "Night."

Nico watched her go.

Pen had already taken up the majority of Bea's bed when Bea wheeled herself in. "I know you're still awake, Pen" Bea said. "And if you don't scoot you can have the floor."

Pen peeked open an eye. "Harsh."

"Move your leg."

Pen obliged. And Bea pulled herself onto the bed next to Pen. "Doesn't this look familiar?" Pen joked.

"Nah." Bea said. "Last time you carried me."

"I can still do that." Pen said. "It hasn't been that long."

"It's been a while." Bea turned on her side away from Pen.

"Invite me in then give me the cold shoulder." Pen propped herself up on her elbows. "So who is it then?"

Bea turned around. "Hmm?"

"Come on, who is it?" Pen prompted.

"Who's what?"

Pen rolled her eyes. "There's someone."

"Nope."

"Fine." Pen lay back down and stared at the ceiling. She was silent for a minute. "Did you think about me?"

"Of course."

"Did you ever think about seeing me again?" Pen asked.

Bea glanced to the side. "No. Honestly, I didn't ever think I'd see you again."

"Because you didn't want to, or because you feel guilty about what happened at the hotel?" Pen said.

"Second one."

"You sure?"

Bea pulled herself closer, leaning a head on Pen's shoulder. "Of course. I didn't want to not see you in the first place. I just didn't want to drag you in."

"Well you didn't." Pen said. "I dragged myself in."

"But you wouldn't have-"

"Did you ever finish Lost?" Pen interrupted. "You can't watch it without the ending."

"No demigod technology, remember?"

Pen looked at her as if she had turned into some horrific creature. "You never finished? You have to finish! You guys have short life spans, you have to hurry."

Bea laughed a little. "You have an obsession. How about you just tell me?"

Pen gasped. "Absolutely not. I do not do spoilers. Lips are sealed."

"You're just as ridiculous as before."

There was another bout of silence in which Bea snuggled into Pen's shoulder. Almost fifteen minutes had passed, and Bea was falling asleep, when Pen whispered. "What do you miss the most?"

"Mmm?" Bea said groggily.

"From before the chair." Pen clarified.

"What kind of question is that?"

"I can't wonder?" Pen said. "Come on, even if all goes well with Ryland, we're still probably taking on an all powerful Earth goddess with an army of monsters tomorrow. So that makes our chance of survival pretty slim."

"That's an optimistic way to think about it."

Pen sat up. "Well, if it may be our last night on Earth, I have to treat it as such."

"We're not pranking anyone."

Pen laughed. "No, I have to make some grand romantic gesture."

"You have to make a grand romantic gesture?" Bea raised her eyebrows.

"Like in a movie."

"You do that. I'm going to bed." Bea said.

"Perfect." Said Pen. "I'll be back to wow you."

"You're ridiculous." Bea murmured into her pillow.

"Absolutely." Pen walked out.

Nico couldn't sleep. Maybe it had something to do with the with all the nightmares he had been having. Or maybe he just couldn't sleep until he had fixed everything with Libby. Either way he was laying awake in bed when be heard a scream. He was instantly on his feet, sword in hand. He was out his door and into the hall in seconds. There, he found David was there too, also armed. "That way." David said and Nico followed. There was another scream, and David followed the noise again. "Fallon's room." He said, jingling the door knob. He pushed the door open, Nico at his back, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Fallon was thrashing in her bed, still asleep. "Just a dream." David turned back to Nico. "I got it, you can go back to bed."

Nico wasn't sure what possessed him to neglect the offer. Mostly he felt guilty about not saying anything helpful earlier. "I can't sleep anyway. I can make sure she's ok."

David looked surprised, but just shook his head. "Ok dude. Night." He closed the door behind him.

Nico hesitantly put a hand on Fallon's shoulder, which she shook off in her sleep. He put a more forceful hand on her shoulder, and effectively shook her awake. Her eyes flew open. She frantically glanced around the room until her eyes fell on Nico. "Not you too." She whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Nico felt slightly overwhelmed. Okay, a little more than slightly. "Wait, stop." I'm fine. I'm okay. You're okay."

Her expression began to switch from scared to confused. "What-"

"You had a bad dream." Nico answered the unfinished question. "There's no actual monsters."

Fallon pushed herself up until she was in a seated position. "Oh. Guess I'm a baby."

Nico shook his head. "Dreams can suck, trust me I know."

"Not so much a dream." Fallon said. "More a memory."

"Well those can suck even more."

Fallon sighed. "Tell me about it."

Nico moved from his awkward standing position to sit not he edge of her bed. "Uh, you, uh, want to talk about it?"

Fallon shook her head. "It's something that happened a while ago."

"But it still bothers you." Nico said.

"I can't let it go." Fallon said. "I want to. But I can't. It feels like I'm betraying them."

Nico hesitated. "Whoever they are, they probably wouldn't want you to still be upset about it."

"Yah." Fallon looked up from her hands. "Same to you, Nico."

He was caught off guard. "What?"

"Whoever is bothering you, I think they would want you to be happy too."

Nico shuffled uncomfortably. "No one. No one is bothering me. I'm fine."

"Because fine leads you to the middle of nowhere, alone."

"I'm not a big people person."

Fallon twirled a strand of hair in between two fingers. "Then why are you in here, comforting me? That's very people-y of you."

Nico shrugged. "I had a friend who helped me out. And I never thanked him. Just ran away, I guess."

"And Libby thought you were too moody to talk about feelings."

Nico was beginning to feel uncomfortable. "I should go-"

"Wait." Fallon said loudly before he could even stand up. "Sorry." She muttered, quieter. "Do you, uh, will you, umm, can you stay? In here, I mean. There's some blankets in the basket over there."

Nico noticed she was still slightly shaking. He didn't say anything, but nodded.

Fallon seemed to relax a little bit. "You shouldn't be so afraid of people." She mumbled. "I know its hard to believe they care, but I know I do."

Nico didn't respond.

"I am tired." Bea complained.

"You agreed to this." Pen responded. "And you're not the one having to carry someone up the stairs."

"I didn't think you were serious." Bea said. "And I told you the elevator didn't work."

"And you think that would stop me?" Pen said sarcastically. "Why, I am fueled by the power of love!"

"How many romantic movies did you watch in my absence?" Bea asked.

"I was angsty, ok?"

Bea laughed. "Just don't drop me."

Pen stopped at the first door they reached, which she leaned against to open it, bringing them into a second floor hallway. "Welcome to the second floor." Pen stated dramatically.

"You left my chair downstairs." Bea said. "So don't act like you can put me down now."

"I would never."

Bea let out a sigh. "What's so grand and romantic about the second floor?"

Pen smiled at her. "It takes less stairs than the roof."

"Of course."

Pen turned to the first room, the lock of which had already been picked, and the door left slightly ajar so Pen could enter, still carrying Bea. "This is where you close your eyes." Pen whispered.

Bea rolled her eyes, but obliged Pen. "If you drop me, I swear to the gods-" She just let the threat hang in the air. She couldn't see Pen's face with her eyes closed, but she had a distinct feeling the other girl was silently laughing at her. She heard Pen push another door open, and felt the transition from the stuffy room into the cool night air. "Is this an assassination attempt? Throwing off balconies is not very nice. I'm afraid of heights. Well, not really, but I am afraid of being blindly thrown off balconies."

"Dang there goes my plan." Pen joked. " and I can tell you are internally rolling your eyes, just so you know."

Bea suddenly felt herself leaving Pen's arms, and her butt settled into a patio chair. "Now can I open my eyes?"

"No."

Bea waited a few seconds. "Now?"

"Nope."

"How about now?"

"Not yet."

Bea sighed. "Are you just saying no to piss me off?"

"Yup."

"I'm opening my eyes then." Bea didn't wait for a response, peeking her eyes open. She found herself sitting on the balcony, which was lit by a scattering of the candles Bea knew were found in the bedrooms. Pen must've broken into the wholes second floor. It was a dark night, but she could see the lights of of buildings in busier areas not too far in the distance. Pen sat in the other balcony chair across from her.

"So on a scale of one to ten?" Pen quipped.

"Hmm," Bea played along, scratching her chin. "I would have to deduct points for lack of a romantic midnight picnic. And there's no cheesy music. Or unicorns. I'm going to have to go with a 4.5."

Pen pouted. "Have you taken into consideration how attractive I am?"

"You're right. Make that a 4.25"

Pen elbowed her. "Well who said I didn't bring a romantic midnight picnic." She pulled a bottle out from behind her chair. "Champagne?"

"Penelope, you naughty child." Bea chastised jokingly. "Where on Earth did you find alcohol?"

Pen leaned back, crossing her feet and resting them on the table in front of her. "Very skillfully hidden in the expired lasagna box in the back of your refrigerator. Your doing?"

Bea shook her head. "Libby's."

Pen twirled the bottle so the liquid sloshed around. "Well she doesn't drink much."

Bea shook her head again. "She wouldn't want to get caught. The others would freak."

"Well she's not very good at being secretive." Pen responded. "Because you know and you're awful at knowing secrets."

"Am not." Bea defended.

"Are too."

"I kept a secret from you the whole time we were together." Bea said.

"I knew you were desperately gay for me."

"No," Bea's face reddened. "Shut up. I meant the demigod thing."

"Oh that." Pen said.. "Okay, but I bet you never knew that I was left handed."

"You're not, and that's not even a secret."

"Or that I secretly used to have a huge crush on Justin Bieber."

"You told me. Several times."

Pen crossed her arms. "Well, you didn't know I liked you."

"I kind of figured that out after you made out with me."

Pen threw her arms up in frustration. "I have secrets you do not know about I guarantee it."

"I saw your bunny rabbit build a bear. In a little mermaid costume." Bea snorted.

"Don't bring Princess Lilypads into this. And wait, how?"

Bea smiled. "I win."

Pen looked decidedly defeated. "Okay, you're better than i give you credit for. But you're not search the expired lasagna boxes good." Pen looked at her suspiciously.

"It is Libby's, I swear." Bea answered the unspoken question. "I was jus the one she shared it with."

Pen raised and eyebrow. "You two weren't?"

"Oh gods, no." Bea replied.

"So she wash't-"

"Who said I cared?" Bea interrupted.

"You talk in your sleep." Pen replied. "Even back then."

Bea tried to ignore the uncomfortable redness engulfing her face. "It's natural to worry about missing friends. And I thought this was your grand romantic gesture. Shouldn't you focus on us?"

"Of course, m'lady. Let's just forget about the champagne." Pen said.

"Good idea. Libby drinks from the bottle too much for my liking."

Pen took her phone out form her pocket. "Let's see if I can raise my 4.75."

"It was a 4.25."

"The attractiveness points went on the wrong end." With a few buttons Pen had soft music playing. "Cheesey enough?"

Bea laughed. "I see a 5 in your future."

Pen stood up and the moved to kneel before Bea. "Dance with me?"

Bea looked at her for a moment. "So I don't know if you forgot this-"

"I'll take that as a yes." Pen reached one hand under Bea's knees and one under her shoulders, and swooped her up bridal style. "This is where you put your arms around me."

Bea wrapped both arms around Pen's knock as Pen spun in slow circles with Bea in her arms. "5.5" Bea mumbled. She leaned her head in on Pen's shoulder.

"Hey Bea?" Pen said after a moment.

"Too heavy for you already?"

"No." Pen stopped spinning for a second. "Tomorrow, you'll you know, stay at the house, right? When the others go to trap Ryland."

"And miss out on everything? No. A routine monster maybe. But this is Libby we're talking about. And the fate of the world."

Pen frowned. "I don't know."

"I'll be fine. You'll be there with me."

Pen nodded uneasily. "I just think it would be best if you held down the fort. I mean, I don't trust this guy."

"Well I trust you."

Pen barely stopped herself form guiltily blurting out the truth. "Then trust me when I say I really think you should just stay back." She bit her lip, it almost physically hurt her to say the next part. "You wouldn't want to hold the others back."

Instead of the anger she was expecting, Bea looked worried instead. "Is something wrong, Pen?"

"No, I-"

Bea continued to eye her. "Pen you don't have to be scared of this douchebag. He's outnumbered and not expecting us."

"I know, I'm not." Pen assured her quickly.

"Did he hurt you while you were kidnapped?"

"Well I think I stll have a bruise from one of the speed bumps we hit, but otherwise no." Pen attempted to lighten the mood.

Bea was stil staring at her.

"I'm fine Bea." Pen exclaimed.

"You just seem off." Bea replied.

"Well, as I said, earlier, it is possibly our last night alive."

"Right." Bea shook away the anxious thoughts. "So how do you want to spend the rest of it."

"Well, I have a few ideas."