Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJ or HoO series by Rick Riodan.

It was around 9:15 when I opened the door. I find Nico sprawled out on the couch, sound asleep. The TV was on, but turned down low. Most of the lights were off with an exception for the small lamp on the table beside the couch.

I walk into the kitchen and put the cheese danish and the slice of lemon pound cake I had gotten in the refrigerator. Then I go back into the living room and drop my bag on the chair and kick my shoes off. I sit down next to Nico. He stirs and turns over but doesn't wake.

I grab the blanket off the armrest of the couch, where I had left it last night, and unfold it. I lay down next to Nico and spread the blanket over us.

He turns back over again, mumbling something inaudible, and throws an arm over me. I sigh and close my eyes, quickly falling into the darkness of sleep.

Screams are all around me and it sounds as if there's a fire alarm going off. It feels like I'm laying on the floor. I squint open my eyes only to see that everything is blurry. I feel dazed and confused.

It felt like I was in a large room, the floor beneath me felt cold and slick, like a gym floor.

There were flashes of colors rushing past me. I finally come to the conclusion that these "colors" were people. My vision was still blurry and it seemed to be getting worse.

I hear laughter. An insane type of laughter. One I recognized. It sounded like Callie.

Just as I get to my feet, I feel something, or someone, tackle me to the ground, knocking the air right out of my lungs.

I sit up, gasping for breath. The whole left side of my body felt like something was trying to pry it's way free from under my skin.

I look around to see I'm in my room. This was weird because I remember falling asleep on the couch next to Nico. Then I look and see my balcony doors are open.

I slide out of bed and over to the doors. Nico was out there, yet again. This seemed to be his favorite place to be when he couldn't sleep.

"Hey, did I wake you up?" he asks, turning around to look at me.

"No, a dream." I say, gazing up at the stars.

"Bad dream?" he asks.

"I couldn't quite tell. I mean, there were people screaming and it also sounded like Callie was laughing… But my vision was blurred and I felt disoriented." I say.

"Hmm. Weird." he says.

"Yea. Oh, how exactly did I get up here?" I ask.

"I carried you." he says.

"You carried me?" I ask, a bit surprised.

"Yea. Didn't we have a conversation similar to this one a couple of years ago when we were in the Underworld?" he asks.

"Yes, we did. And if I recall correctly, you said you'd sing to me sometime." I say, a smile playing on my lips.

"I-I don't recall that." he says.

I smack his arm and say, "Well, you did."

He chuckles and I start laughing too. He comes closer to me and wraps his arms around me.

Nico and I had come back inside a while ago. We had just been laying on top of my bed, talking. Nothing specific, just random stuff.

"So, how was Will?" he asks after a while.

"Hmm? Oh, he was fine. The reason why he transferred is pretty funny." I say, giggling.

"Oh yea? What happened?" he asks, turning over on his side to look at me.

"He shot another student with an arrow because he thought he was a monster." I say, my giggles increasing.

"How in Hades did he not get arrested?!" he asks, bewildered.

"He almost did. He told the cops that he had been practicing archery and missed his target. Apparently the Mist didn't cloak the arrow to look like something else." I say.

"That's odd." he says.

"Yea, it is." I say, yawning.

"Oh, and something else." I say.

"Yea?" he asks.

"The god Leonas is following me as a favor to Apollo." I say.

"What?" Nico asks, sitting up and looking at me.

I begin to tell him about Walker, and seeing him at the mall earlier today. And then finding him following me on my way to Starbucks a few hours later.

"I'm not sure about this, Kyra." he says, an uneasy tone in his voice.

"What do you mean? He seemed fine to me." I say.

"Never mind. It's nothing." he says, still sounding bothered, laying back down.

"You must really mean something to Apollo though if he's having another god follow you around to make sure you stay safe." he says.

"Either that or I play an important part in the future." I say, still not quite sure why Nico seemed so bothered by the subject.

"We all have important parts, Kyra." Nico says.

"I guess you're right." I say.

I turn over and bundle under the covers. Nico moves closer to me and lays an arm over me. We fall asleep again in an instant.

A/N:

What do you guys think Kyra's dream is about? And why do you think Nico is a bit wary of Walker?

Man, I haven't hardly written anything at all this week! But there's no need to worry. I have a rather large back-stock of chapters for this story. It's not that I have writers block, I've just been so busy and by the time I actually have time to write, I'm too tired to do it.

Part of this is because I've been taking a 4-day fashion design class up at the studio since Tuesday. Yesterday was the last day and we got to pick up our stuff today! Omg, I made two MCR shirts and they are so fucking awesome! They're one of a kind, so no one else on the entire planet has one like them!

Well, today we had studio clean up and it didn't take nearly as long as it did last time because those two idiot bothers weren't there! We actually got done about 20 minutes early!

So, on Monday I'm getting my hair cut reeeeeeally short! I'm kind nervous because I'm not sure how it's going to look, but I think it will be fine. I'm really excited because my mom gave me permission to dye my hair cheery red or electric blue! Just as long as I don't keep it that color forever, which I won't because I'd get bored of red or blue hair.

XOXO,

Mrs-diAngelo25