Chapter 11: Oh, Gods.
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Nico's POV
I was kinda surprised when it rained pretty hard after breakfast today. Mr. D must be pretty grumpy (or Lazy. Sorry Mr. D!) . Anyway, another thing that took me by surprise was Dylan touring the camp in a rainstorm. She was sopping wet, despite the fact that her father was Oceanus (A/N: My research says that Oceanus was also the titan of all things related to water, and rain is water, right? Moving on.). I went outside, standing on my porch, when she passed by my cabin. "You do know that what you're doing will most likely get you in trouble." I said. She looked up. "Oh, Hey Nico. I don't care. Mr. D probably won't notice." I shrugged. "Whatever you say. See ya." She continued walking, hopefully back to her cabin.
The day went by pretty fast, if you ask me. Though one thing was strange. I didn't see Dylan at dinner, at lunch, or even around camp. I spotted Katie on her way to the amphitheater and walked up to her. "Hey Katie, where's Dylan." She smiled cheekily. "I think you'd better pay her a visit in our cabin." I frowned. What could be her problem now?
As I got closer to the Demeter cabin, I heard sneezing. When I flung open the door, I saw Dylan, wrapped in a blanket. "Hey." I said, walking towards her bed. Then I saw her face. Her nose was red, her eyes watery. "Hey." She said. Her voice sounded like she had the flu. "What's up?" I asked. "Cold." She replied. I snickered. "Told you so." She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Nico. What are you doing here, anyway?" "I don't want to go to Campfire, so I decided to take a little detour and visit you here." Suddenly, her face paled. "Um, Nico, can you hand me that trash can over there?" I stood up and gave her what she asked for. "You might want to turn around, this can't be pretty." She said. "Why-"I started, it was too late. She had already puked, right before my eyes. She placed the trash can down and wiped her mouth. "Told ya." She stood up, clinging to the wall for support, and walked to the washroom.
A few seconds later, she came back out, looking worse than ever. I felt her forehead. "Whoa, Dyls, you have a fever!" she groaned and buried herself under her blanket. "I'll go get Katie and Annabeth." I said, getting up and walking towards the door.
"Looks like the flu to me, Dylan. Might take a week before you're back to normal." Annabeth said, sitting on Dylan's bed. "Thanks, Annabeth." She replied and sank under the sheets again. "Come on, Katie. Nico, wanna come?" I shook my head. Annabeth stared at me questioningly. "Fine." She and Katie walked out the door. "How, exactly, did you get the flu when your father is Oceanus?" she crawled out of the sheets just to glare at me. "What, just because my father is Oceanus it's already illegal for me to catch the flu?" her remark made me blush a little. "No." I replied. She rolled her eyes. "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm feeling a little nauseous, and you might wanna get outta here."
My daily schedule changed for a week. It was eat, shower, train, eat, train some more, visit Dylan until end of free time, dinner, campfire, Capture the flag, lights out. That's it. Dyl still had the flu, and didn't return to normal until the weekend. And she still needed two more days of rest. Her normal self was back by the start of the week, and that's when I realized that we only had two weeks left with each other. She was going away at the end of the month. I stabbed the straw dummy and pulled out my sword. Straw flew everywhere. "Whoa. Take it easy there, tiger." A female voice said behind me. I whipped around. "Dyls, what're you doing here?" she smiled. "Oh, nothing. I guess I was bored" she replied. I sighed. "Oh, and you do know that we only have two more weeks together." She added. "I kinda figured that out on my own." I replied. She sighed, walked over to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Love you." she whispered. I blushed, especially since I was sweaty and probably really gross. I began to relax. "Love you." She broke away from me and planted a kiss on my cheek. "See you later." She said. I felt a smile tugging at my lips. That girl really is special.
Dylan's POV
"WHAT? School doesn't even start until August, and you want me to go to EARLY ORIENTATION?"I half-screamed, half-said into my phone. "You've GOT to be kidding me!" "Dylan, sweetie, just-"Aunt Carly started. "No, I won't take it easy! Do you even know that I just had the flu?" I replied. "Dylan, just hear me out. You WILL attend orientation, and then go back to your silly little camp after. See, you can still spend the rest of the summer with your boyfriend!" I face-palmed. Aunt Carly might as well be a daughter of Aphrodite. "Fine, whatever, okay. I'll go." I replied. Aunt Carly won't get off the phone until I agree. "Oh, and you do know that attending orientation might just prepare you for your school year ahead. You're a really great student." She was right about that. I'm not dyslexic; I just learned how to speak fluent Greek (I began speaking in it since I was seven. I don't know why.) But I do have ADHD, and even when I was hyper when I was a kid, my dad found a way to handle me all on his own. Oh, and did I mention that my dad knows that my mother was Demeter, since he could also see through the mist? Yeah, that's true. "Orientation's tomorrow, Dyls, don't forget! I'll be meeting you there. See ya!" Then Aunt Carly hung up. I flopped down on my bed and muttered, "How could I forget?" My blood pounded in my ears. I was panting, and I didn't even do something tiring. "Um, knock knock?" a familiar voice said. I lifted my head up and looked towards the door. "Oh hey, Nico. What's up" I asked. I couldn't hide the trace of sadness in my voice. I only have two weeks left with Nico and this Camp, and she wants me to go to Orientation? Ugh. Darn it, Aphrodite! What are you trying to do to me? I thought. Nico walked over to my bed and placed an arm around my shoulders. "Hey. What's wrong again?" He asked. Oh well. He noticed it. Better tell him now. I looked straight at his dark eyes, finding it very hard to breathe. I finally composed myself and said: "Nico, I'll be going to orientation tomorrow, and that means less time with you I'm really sorry but I have to do this to get aunt Carly off my heels and I know you're probably sad, downcast, disappointed or something but you're my boyfriend and I know that you'll understand this and I'm really-"that last part was because Nico cut me off, probably because I had been explaining things to him without stopping. He clamped a hand over my mouth. "There. Now I know that our last few days together might decrease, but hey, if you want me to come, I'll come with you, okay?" Nico said. I thought about it for a while and he removed his hand. "Yeah, but what excuse are you gonna give if they don't let you in?' I replied. Nico smiled. "That's easy. Your aunt Carly's coming, right? I'll just pretend that I'm your brother. Simple." I smiled back. "Great idea' brother.'" I said, punching his shoulder lightly. He laughed. I felt myself blushing. He rarely laughed, and his laugh was really cute. I looked up and suddenly met his dark eyes. He stopped laughing, and we sat there, staring at each other. "Um, I should probably go." He said. "Yeah. See you later, I guess." I replied. He started to get up and walked towards the door, while I leaned down and petted Peewee, who barked just as Nico shut the door. "He's not gonna hurt me, girl. He might even take care of you when I'm gone." Peewee just let out a huge yawn and placed her head in between her paws.
The weirdest thing happened to me at dinner. The other campers knew about my new ability, but didn't know that I'm Half-titan. I realized that Nico, Annabeth and Percy were the only ones who knew about my real father. Well, I guess the secret's out. Here's what happened.
We were all about to give our offerings, and just as my food touched the fire, a sphere of water started wrapping itself around me. I felt stronger, more powerful. From inside my little hamsterball-like sphere, I could see the shocked faces of each and every camper. I was freaking out, because I can't see what they see from inside. When it disappeared, I saw fear, shock, and surprise in every face that I saw. A girl from the Aphrodite table stood up and walked over to where I was. She was an Asian girl, and I've seen her before, but I forgot her name. Probably because I don't pay much attention to the Aphrodite kids. I could hear the click-clack of her stilettos. She said: "You don't belong here, spawn of a Titan." Her words made my blood simmer inside. The last straw was when she dumped her yogurt on my head. (This was pretty stupid, since I'm about two inches taller than her.) Big mistake, Aphrodite girl. Big mistake. I opened my hands, and two geysers of water appeared on either side of me. I snapped my fingers, and immediately, she got drenched. The problem is, the whole camp's population took an instant bath. I'm gonna be in big trouble. I snapped again, and the water disappeared. I saw her expression, and I wanted to crack up. She screamed. "These are designer jeans! You're gonna pay for this, you brat." I scoffed. "Whatever Drew," I said, finally remembering her name. She was the head counselor for the Aphrodite cabin. "You're pathetic."
I found myself in the Big House. Chiron sat in front of us, in wheelchair form. He looked at me, and then at still-sopping-wet Drew. "Well. Since Mr. D isn't here, you two will mop the pavilion clean. The flood you caused there won't immediately dry up, so meet me at 5 a.m. to get started." Drew opened her mouth to say something, but Chiron held up his hand, indicating that Drew keep quiet. I shrugged. "Sure. Can I go now?" Chiron nodded, I turned on my heels and gave Drew a smug smile. "Toodles." I said, mimicking her voice. She stared daggers at me, but heck, I don't care. I won't be here at the end of summer. I slipped my hands in the pocket of my shorts. (Designer, as usual, courtesy of Aunt Carly, but I don't really tell anyone that.) I made my way to campfire, and all was peaceful for a while, until an icy hand clamped over my mouth, and the next thing I know, I began melting into the shadows. This can only be happening because of a certain someone. Nico. We appeared at the other side of the camp, at the canoe lake. As soon as he removed his hand, I said: "What is it again, Nico?" he smiled crookedly. "Nothing. I just thought you wanted some time-you know- together?" I smiled back. "Well, you're right. But you do know that designer shorts and Ecko reds aren't really the best things to wear when you're at a canoe lake." He chuckled. "Whatever. You wanna go or what?" "Fine." I said, loosening my shoelaces. I slipped off the shoes and carried it to where Nico was sitting. We sat there, staring at the bright full moon. Nico's hand slipped into mine. I looked at him. He stared back. Sitting there, under the moonlight, staring into each other's eyes, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. He leaned forward, and our lips touched. His lips were cold, but hey, I don't mind. He pulled away after five seconds. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I felt my cheeks heat up. He smiled. I guess he could still see the bright red tint on my cheeks. I stole a peek at my watch. 10 p.m. yep, I was getting sleepy. I leaned in and kissed him one more time, bid him goodnight and went back to my cabin. Ah, being a demigod-oops, sorry, an immortal demigod-is awesome!
My phone buzzed at 5:45 a.m. I reached for it groggily, and willed myself to get up. A morning with Drew wasn't exactly in my "to-do" list. Yep, might as well get dressed now.
I arrived at the pavilion at six a.m. sharp. Chiron was there with a cleaning harpy who held two mops. I looked over my shoulder. I grunted. Looks like I'll be doing this on my own. "Now, you'd better get started. Drew will continue what you've finished when she arrives." I smiled. Chiron handed me a mop, he trotted away and the harpy followed him. Finally. Alone at last. I peeled off my cardigan and went to work. By the time Drew arrived, I've already mopped the whole place. It was up to Drew to get the whole darn thing dry. Drew looked at me with sheer anger in her eyes. Seeing how she looked right now, I wanted to burst out laughing. "Hey there, Drew." I said nonchalantly. "Let's get this place dried up okay? Breakfast is at seven." "Sure thing, Dylan." She said through gritted teeth. I plastered a fake smile on my face, picked up a dry mop and handed it to Drew. I started walking past her when I tripped on something. I tried to stand up, but instead, all that came out of me was a scream of pain. Darn it, my ankle didn't feel so good. "Oh sorry." Drew said, placing a hand delicately above her mouth. Her mop was placed on where I tripped. I knew it. She tripped me. But a sudden thought popped up on my brain. I felt myself smiling, too. "Oh Drew. You do realize that now that I'm injured, you'll be cleaning up this mess on your own." I said, pulling myself up and took a step forward. Pain shot up my ankle. I winced. "See ya." I limped towards the infirmary. I knew that a few of the Apollo kids were there already, and I also knew that they have no problem in waking up early. I pushed the door open. Sure enough, someone was there. But it wasn't an Apollo kid. In fact, he was Cole. "Hey Dylan. What're you doing here?" he asked. I forced a smile. "Just a little minor accident with the Queen Bug of the Aphrodite cabin." I limped inside and plopped down on a chair. "Ankle?" he asked. "Yeah."
"Lemme see."
He knelt down. He put pressure on it and with a yelp; I kicked him in the shoulder.
"Ow." He said.
"Sorry."
"S'okay."
"Hey-"Minnie Fischer burst into the infirmary. "Oh. Hey Cole, hi Dylan. What's wrong?" she asked. "Dylan here got a bad ankle from Drew. I'm not sure, but it looks like a sprain." Cole replied. Minnie knelt down and examined my ankle. She put pressure on it again, and this time, I screamed. "Okay. It is a sprain. Wait here." She ran off to somewhere in the infirmary and came back a minute later, holding a roll of gauge. She wrapped it around my ankle. "There we go." She said. "Thanks." I replied gratefully. Minnie looked at her watch. "Yeah, I gotta jet. See ya later." She ran out of the door. "Yeah that reminds me, I need to go too. Bye Cole." I said. I limped towards the door.
I made my way back to my cabin, limping. Nico passed me, probably on his way to breakfast. When I took another two paces forward, he appeared at my side. "Hey. What just happened to you?" he asked, his brows meeting at the center of his forehead. I managed a faint smile. "A little run-in with the queen of mean." He cocked his head. Slowly, he began to nod. "Oh." He shoved hi hands into his pockets. "So. You ready?" I glared at him pointedly. I sighed, and then nodded. I tried to take a step on my bad ankle and winced. "You okay?" He asked. I couldn't help but blush. The hint of concern in his voice was enough to make a girl melt. "Yep. I'm Fine." I replied, looking up. I could tell that he saw the hint of pink on my cheeks because he smiled, making me even redder.
"Okay," Nico said as we reached my cabin. "I guess I'll see you later."
Nico's POV
Dylan's Aunt Carly picked us up in the nearest bus station. Dylan sat across me in the back of Aunt Carly's car, tapping away on her iPod. She was now wearing the Clarion uniform, (no complaints on how short it was) high heels sitting beside her. I looked down at my own, um, outfit, which was black jeans, a white shirt, a black leather jacket, black converse sneakers and aviator sunglasses. Because of Dylan, I think I looked… nice. She helped me pull this outfit together, after digging in my closet (which did not contain much). "I can see that you like your outfit." Dylan said beside me, looking up from her iPod and smiling. I smiled back at her. "Yep, thanks to you, I look hot!" she stifled a laugh. "Yeah, right. Try not to be a babe magnet there, okay? Or I'll have to drag you out and throw you out." I couldn't help but laugh too. "Okay then. I'll try my best." Still giggling, she went back to playing Cut the Rope, thumbs sliding across the iPod's glossy screen.
Just before we reached Clarion, Dylan tried wearing her high heels, wincing all the way. "Oh you don't have to wear those, honey." Aunt Carly said. Dylan looked relieved.
I found myself sitting in the auditorium, Dylan's iPod in my hands. I could also hear other girls whispering about me, a few seats behind. Rolling my eyes, I ignored them. Suddenly, I heard a strange hissing sound. I think Dylan heard it too, since she suddenly snapped up, saying, "Did you hear that?" I didn't answer, but I guess she didn't mind, since she started looking around. Then I heard her let out a small gasp. A second later, she suddenly grabbed my arm. "We have to get outta here." I didn't move. She looked at me and added. "Now would be a good time to start moving, Nico." "Fine then." I replied, standing up.
Dylan limp-dragged me out of the auditorium and to a dimly lit corridor. Panting, she flopped down on the floor. To my surprise, she pulled out a bag of ambrosia and popped one into her mouth. "What the hell was that for?" I asked. She looked at me with innocent eyes, and said, "I don't want to limp in case we have to fight." I swear, my jaw dropped straight to Tartarus at that remark. "What? Why didn't you take it in the first place?" She paused to chew and swallow her ambrosia square. "Because it may only help my ankle feel better but not heal it when I was just injured, so I took it now, when my ankle is feeling way better than before."
"You were injured a few hours ago!"
"I heal quickly"
"What?"
At this point, Dylan rolled her eyes. "Whatever Nico. Any more questions on what I did?"
"None."
"Ready."
It all happened in a blur. Dylan immediately landed a stab on its-er, her back. But after a while, something started to go wrong. I, being the idiot, stood near her tail. Dylan landed a stab, yelled something, then a flash of green hit me and I slammed into the wall. My vision blurred, I felt something drip down my cheek, and then I passed out. Nice.
Dylan's POV
Great. Nico was heroically passed out. How am I supposed to handle her on my own? I was cut up and bleeding and my arm was sore already. Well, better finish what I started. When I saw the chance, I stabbed Echidna in the chest, and she turned into dust instantly. Since when did dealing with monsters became this easy? Then I remembered Nico, sprawled out on the schmancy floor of this schmancy place. I knelt down and cradled his head on my lap. There was a nasty cut on his forehead, which was bleeding. "Oh no, NO!" "Here." A voice said, handing me a canteen of nectar. I looked up. "Aunt Carly?" "Get used to it, Dylan. I'm also a Demigod."
I still couldn't believe it. Aunt Carly? A Demigod? Seriously, who's the prankster here? "Aunt Carly," I started. "Are you really a demigod?" she smiled. "Still hard to believe, huh? Well, we just need to face the truth. I am a demigod. Daughter of Athena." I went slack-jawed. "No way." I said, and as you can guess, I'm having trouble believing what she was saying. "Yes way." Aunt Carly replied, grinning. "Does dad know?" I asked. Aunt Carly nodded. "He knew from the start. And he wasn't surprised when I told him." I decided to let it drop. "Okay." I turned my attention on the unconscious Son of Hades. Nico's head was bandaged, a patch of blood clearly visible on the white cloth. I couldn't help smiling. Jeez, this guy looks good at any state.
Nico's POV
My eyes fluttered open, and I immediately felt a shot of pain in my forehead. "Ow." I muttered, and sat upright. I was now in the infirmary. I looked around and saw Dylan sitting on a chair, her nose buried in a Harry Potter book. She looked up. "Oh, hey Nico. Finally awake!"