Chapter 14:
Forged
Despite Ava's initial excitement over the snowfall and Nico's arrival in camp; the next day had her feeling incredibly sullen. Some part of her knew that she was acting like the mellow- dramatic brat that was so common for her age, but she just didn't care. It all started with the council meeting in the Big House… The head councilor from every cabin was allowed to attend every meeting, and help Chiron with any large decisions that would affect camp, Olympus, or the fate of the world… The last council meeting happened when Percy and Annabeth set out on their first quest (seeing as Tantalus didn't care for them).
Council meetings had never bothered Ava that much in the past. Sure, she thought it was slightly unfair that one person from each cabin got to decide the outcome of a decision that would affect everyone, but it was still essentially democracy. The thing that recently riled Ava up though, was now that she was claimed; she felt that she ought to have a seat on the Council. Sure, she lived in the Hermes Cabin, but that was only technically because Eros didn't have a cabin. Chiron tried explaining to Ava after he announced the meeting at breakfast that only the councilors for the twelve Olympians got to sit on council. Ava swallowed back her nasty retort, imagining that her father probably shared some of her frustration at not being a part of the Olympian Council.
And to top everything off, Molly couldn't make it for Christmas holidays! Right after the oracle had announced the newest doom and gloom, Ava had turned around to see Molly's morose face staring back at her via Iris Message. Molly regretfully informed her that there was a blizzard in Michigan and all the flights were cancelled, along with the major highways being closed. Ava had stomped all the way back to the Hermes Cabin, ignoring Nico's questioning about Halloween, the Iris Message, and what was going to happen to Artemis…
So all in all, Ava's holidays thus far sucked. She just wanted to put on her ugliest, yet comfiest flannel pajamas and crawl into her bed with a book. Hell, she would probably even tolerate one of Molly's sappy romance novels, she was that grumpy. And to top it off she felt slightly guilty, as Nico had glowered at her all through lunch. A part of her wanted to apologize for breaking her promise to tell Nico about her birthday, but a larger part of her sneered right back- it wasn't his business anyways!
Ava was in fact lazing around in the Hermes Cabin when a frantic knocking, along with the sound of the door opening, and hasty footsteps clattering in came to her attention. She watched with narrowed eyes, as the figure seemed to hesitate from the other side of the curtain.
"Ava?" came Percy's breathless, yet unsure voice.
Ava sprang out of her bed and pushed aside the curtain, "Yes?'
"Where have you been?" Percy questioned. For someone in such a hurry, he seemed to be stalling.
Ava's brows furrowed. Ever since the girls that the Council had decided should go on the quest started packing, she retreated to the Hermes Cabin. She was slightly miffed that Nico's sister, an untrained girl, was allowed to go on this quest, but she wasn't.
"Here," Ava gestured to the room behind her with raised eyebrows.
Percy fidgeted and then blurted out, "I'm sneaking out of camp to follow the girls on the quest so I can find Annabeth."
Ava bit her lip to stop the amused smile. She knew that Percy had a crush on Annabeth, but she didn't think he had quite figured that out yet. She wondered what Percy would do when he found out about Annabeth considering joining the Hunters. "Okaaaay," she said, gesturing for him to continue.
"I just thought I should let you know before I go," Percy said with a lopsided grin.
Ava smiled, Percy was one of the most considerate people she knew. "Thanks, I wish I could come with you…"
Percy studied her suddenly hopeful eyes and grimaced, "I'm sorry Ava, but I don't think it's a good idea if more than five people set out. One of the only reasons I'm going is because that Phoebe girl can't. The prophecy said-"
"I know what it said," Ava huffed. But she conceded to his point. You don't mess with prophecies.
"Besides you can keep Nico company," Percy said with a sly grin that did not at all suit his goofy face.
Ava cocked her head, "Percy you are not capable of subtly, so spit it out."
"Oh nothing," Percy said with faux innocence, "he just hasn't shut up about you."
Ava hated herself for flushing, "We have sort of been friends for a while."
"Sure you have," Percy smirked, his green eyes dancing with amusement. "I heard that he has even been dreaming about you…"
Ava's face now resembled a fire truck, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Percy Jackson, if you want to save Annabeth then I suggest you run before I end you."
Percy's full bellied chuckle was all Ava heard as he ran out the door. Her amused smile fell after a moment of standing in the doorway, and her mood abruptly dampened, as she realized that now another friend was gone. She turned around and went back to bed, after making a quick detour to raid her and Molly's emergency junk food drawer. She needed chocolate, and a lot of it.
Ava flopped back into bed and popped a chocolate mint in her mouth before reaching over to grab one of Molly's novels. She was in such a pathetic a mood that she was willing to read a book that had a Fabio-esk man on the cover grasping some scantily clad read head with massive corseted boobs. Ava idly flipped through the book, stopping on one random page.
'Sicily watched with a nervous reverence as Hans pulled down his breaches and released his throbbing manhood.'
Ava's eyes grew to about twice their normal size, as she stared at the sentence before she heard for the second time, a set of clomping footsteps, and panicked. She just managed to hastily shove the book under her pillow as Nico parted the green curtain and walked right into the girls' room.
"What are you doing?" Nico carelessly questioned, his broody face taking in the girls' side of the cabin.
"Nothing," Ava hastily said.
Nico's dark eyes immediately zoomed in on her, "Are you sure? You look kind of flushed…"
Ava frantically nodded her head, "I'm fine! Is there something you wanted?"
Nico eyed her suspiciously before sighing dramatically and slumping on her bed. He absently took a chocolate and shoved it in his mouth.
"Sure, help yourself," Ava said dryly.
Nico turned to her and smirked, "Don't mind if I do."
Ava's lips twitched. "Why are you really here?"
Nico shrugged, as he remained lying horizontally at the foot of Ava's bed, his long legs grazing the floor. "You're the only person who I know here."
Ava nodded, "So they finally departed?" She felt a tiny bit guilty for not wishing the group good luck on their quest.
He nodded and an unreadable look appeared on his face.
"Ava, why do we have these dreams about each other?" Nico finally asked after a moment of comfortable silence.
Ava popped another mint chocolate into her mouth, and chewed on it while Nico's heavy gaze rested on her. She finally swallowed, "I don't know. For the longest time I didn't tell anyone about the dreams. But then one day Annabeth saw one of my drawings of you-"
"Drawings of me?" Nico questioned, sitting up and turning to face her.
Ava felt her face flame for what seemed like the thousandth time that day, as she shifted under her bedspread, "I like to sketch all sorts of things. I sometimes draw what I dream of, and I have dreamt of you since I was nine years old."
Nico nodded and offered her a shy smile, before reaching for another chocolate and asking, "So what did Annabeth say?"
Ava sighed, "She asked me who you were and then I explained the dreams. How I seemed to be catching little snippets of your life. But Annabeth had never heard of anything like that before. And if Annabeth doesn't know what's going on with us, then I doubt anyone does…. Did you ever ask Bianca?"
Not that Ava thought Bianca would know anything enlightening about their situation, seeing as she just recently found out she was a half blood, but a new perspective always sheds insight. And she would probably know more than Percy!
"I asked Bianca about you when I first started having the dreams. At first she told me that you were my guardian angel." Ava found that very amusing, as she had always thought her father to be one. "Then she eventually told me that you were just an imaginary friend that I created so I wouldn't be so lonely," Nico said, his gaze pointedly focused out the window.
"What did you see when you dreamt of me?" Ava asked curiously. A part of her had always wondered this ever since he told her that he shared those dreams last summer. A large part of her was also dreading that he saw something horribly embarrassing.
Nico's gaze refocused on her, "All sorts of things really. I saw you with a shorthaired blonde girl breaking into a store, and you training with bows and knives. I saw you swimming, and rock climbing. I saw you kissing some guy," Nico said, his eyebrows pinched together and his mouth a firm line. Ava flushed and went to speak, but Nico continued, "Then I saw you on a ship, and an island."
"I went on a quest last summer. There was an explosion, and I was knocked out, that's when we met."
Nico nodded, "On Halloween I dreamt of you." Ava closed her eyes and felt tears bubbling beneath her lids. Nico took her hand, "Then I dreamt of this 'transformed' you.
She felt a tear slide down her cheek and Nico' cool fingers follow it's path until he caught it at her chin. Ava opened her eyes and saw that Nico appeared to be studying her. His dark eyes flitted from her now narrower cheekbones, to her dark eyes, and finally her deep red lips.
"What happened?" Nico whispered, as if he knew how fragile Ava was feeling.
"It was my thirteenth birthday. Everything was going normal," Ava started shakily. "Then during cake time my father showed up."
Nico seemed to know this wasn't just a regular visit, "Do you not get along with your dad?"
Ava smiled and shook her, "No, I actually had never met him before. I was unclaimed until then."
"Oh," Nico said, rubbing the back of his neck. He could certainly relate. "So… you mentioned your father was Eros?"
Ava bit into her lower lip nervously, "Yeah, the god of love and desire."
Nico's eyes widened. And even though her father was not one of the twelve Olympians, Nico seemed to know who he was. He stood up for a moment and dug a deck of cards out of his back pocket, before sitting back down. He shuffled through the deck for a moment before pulling out a card and passing it to Ava.
Ava took the card and looked at the worn and faded gold letters proclaiming it 'Mythomagic.' She turned the card over and looked a figure that closely resembled the one that was on the front of the romance novel hiding under her pillow. The man had long blond hair flowing in the wind, a loose white blouse and cheeky grin. The cartoon figure's wings looked like a goose's and he had a harp perched on his hip. The card proclaimed him 'Eros' and that he had '50 magic points' and '20 fight points'.
Ava's gaze returned to Nico, and he shot her an abashed smile.
"He doesn't really look like this you know," Ava said smiling in amusement.
Nico laughed, "I doubt any of them really look like these cards."
Ava nodded before the amusement drained from her face, "When my father claimed me, I received my full powers… It was a very painful and humiliating experience."
Nico watched her for a moment as she picked at her blanket, "It looked like you were burning up."
Ava nodded, "I was. My body was undergoing the rapid changes, and my hormones," she said with a wince, "went crazy."
Nico nodded and then clenched his fist, "I saw what happened with that guy. He was touching you," Nico practically snarled.
Ava's eyes locked on his with frantic worry, "I swear I didn't mean too! I just wasn't in control-"
Nico cut her off with a frown, "What do you mean? It wasn't your fault that guy was acting ungentlemanly." He couldn't stand the thought of someone disrespecting a female like that, especially his friend!
Ava stopped her spluttering at Nico's odd wording. She dismissed it quickly though, "Nico, I made Taylor do that. When I lose control, I can provoke desire in anyone."
His eyes widened, but he didn't look at her with the disgust or suspicion, like she half expected him to.
"You control desire?" he questioned, a little red in the face.
Ava nodded, "I can manipulate emotions easily enough, but desire is such a powerful force. Because Eros is my father, my pheromones are naturally elevated, but when they are out of control, it creates a sort of frenzy. People will um… mate with anyone, but usually they go after the one that's releasing the most pheromones, which is me… That's how Chiron explained it anyhow…"
Ava gave Nico credit, his face didn't flame, and hands didn't fiddle the way hers did when the ancient centaur gave her the same speech.
"But you're okay right?"
Ava nodded, "I'm okay, I just have to learn to control it."
Nico nodded, "So who is that blonde guy that I sometimes see you with?"
Ava was astounded by the drastic change in conversation, but answered him nonetheless, "Oh, that's my friend Austin."
Nico arched an elegant eyebrow, "He certainly seemed like more than just a friend…"
Ava considered his statement. Sure she and Austin had shared a few kisses, but they have never talked about if they were actually, like, boyfriend and girlfriend. She knew that she liked him though.
"He isn't my boyfriend," was what Ava finally answered with.
"Whatever you say," Nico replied not looking very convinced, but obviously not wanting to delve further into that conversation. "But back to my main question, why do you think we dream about each other? Why us?" Nico asked.
Ava furrowed her brow and bit her lip as she thought. It was a question that she had spent many hours pondering on, but still had no real answers to.
"When is your birthday?" Ava finally asked.
Nico looked confused as to why that was relevant but answered, "February fourteenth."
Ava smirked- Nico's birthday was on Valentines Day. He shot her a little scowl.
"I thought that maybe if we shared a birthday than that could explain why," she answered his unspoken question.
"Maybe we're related," Nico offered.
Ava rolled her forest green yes, "Of course we're related, everyone at camp is!"
"No, I mean like brother and sister related," Nico, said with a grimace on his face.
Ava wasn't sure if her face reflected her horror at hearing that statement, but she was sure it did. She had always been bad at masking her emotions, which was why she was such a terrible liar. Thankfully she knew that Nico was wrong. "We can't be siblings, Eros told me that I'm his only child."
Nico also looked greatly relieved at hearing this, and Ava felt slightly offended. She had somehow forgot her own bad reaction, as she internally sniffed that she would make a wonderful sister.
"Maybe we are involved in a prophecy," Nico suggested, bringing Ava out of her slightly sour thoughts.
Ava shrugged and reached for another chocolate, "We will never know unless the oracle says something I guess."
Nico sighed and laid back down again, "This is just so frustrating," he said, his palms rubbing over his eyes.
"Sorry, that getting dreams of my life is such an inconvenience," Ava said scathingly after she swallowed her chocolate.
Nico's head turned to look at her, "That's not what I mean. I just want to know why us…"
Ava sighed and nodded. She didn't know what it was about Nico that brought out the PMSing bitch in her, but she was acting like Drew, and that bothered her. "Sorry I'm such a mess right now."
Nico smirked, "That's okay, you don't look too terrible…"
Ava's lush lips fell open into an unattractive gape, "You better run," she said, and sprang out of bed after Nico as he bolted out of the cabin.
Ava did not seem to either remember or care that she was wearing her ugliest pajamas- the worn out ones with dancing hippos on them, as she hastily shoved her feet into her boots and grabbed her mittens and hat before running out of the door. As she ran outside and past the cabins, Ava paused, her eyes scanning the boarders of the woods.
After a moment, she tested the air out for any nearby emotions and was surprised to feel anticipation and amusement from right behind her. Ava turned around and was met with a face full of snow. Nico laughed uproariously as Ava stood in her hideous pajamas and crooked hat, spluttering as snow slid down the front of her shirt.
She calmly reached down to the ground, as Nico continued shaking in laughter, and gathered her own pile of snow. Ava rolled it into a snowball and made it slightly hard. Lucky for her, she was awesome at archery- meaning she had pretty good aim, and her target was fairly close range. She swung back and let her snowball fly, watching with triumph as it hit Nico right in the gut.
Nico winced, stopped his laughing, and looked up. Dark brown eyes met forest green. Smirk met smirk, and eyebrows rose in challenge.
Ava laughed as she moved out of the way when Nico dove for her. She darted behind a tree and started rolling another snowball. Ava peeked her head out and saw Nico doing the same thing by the bathrooms. She grinned devilishly, and launched a sniper snowball at him. By some miracle Nico seemed to know it was coming, and ducked. The snow pellet ended up hitting a passing by Beckendorf in the knee.
Ava ducked back behind the tree, and had to cup her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. She giggled even harder when she heard Nico's outraged voice proclaim he was 'innocent'. Ava did begin to get a little nervous though when the voices by the bathrooms stopped talking. She poked her head out and her eyes widened in surprise, as she noticed that an automatron tank was rolling in her direction, shooting snow pellets.
Ava ran out from behind her tree towards the amphitheatre, only getting hit once in the shoulder. She ducked behind a table, much to the bewilderment of Clarisse's brother Vinny, who was polishing his weapon.
"Ava, what are you-" Vinny began, but was cut off when a snowball hit him in the arm.
Vinny dropped the scythe he had been holding and ducked down beside Ava, who was making a pile of snowballs. Vinny grabbed a snowball and launched it over the table without looking, like it was a grenade. Both of them burst out laughing when they heard the loud cry of, "Ouch, who did that?"
Ava peeked her eyes over the table to see Conner swearing as he danced around, his arms holding his shin.
"It was Ava," Nico yelled from across the yard. "She's over there, hiding behind the stone table!"
Ava and Vinny just managed to shared a giddy look, before they took off in opposite directions. Ava ran left, right onto the basketball court where a group of Hunters were playing. Snowballs whizzed by her, but two hit some of the Hunters. The furious girls spun around to see Nico, Beckendorf, and Conner holding snowballs, looking stunned.
Ava cackled, as the Hunters dropped the basketball and ran off the tarmac court to gather snow and pelt it at the boys. Travis ran by Ava and passed her a snowball with a devious wink.
"Traitor!" Conner yelled in laughter.
Soon the entire camp was involved in the snowball fight. Even some of the Aphrodite girls took the time to chuck snowballs at the Hunters. It was not exactly 'each man for himself', but each team seemed to trade members a lot. At times it would be boys against girls, Hunters versus campers, or whoever pissed each other off.
Ava laughed as she ran to avoid Nico, who seemed to make it his personal mission to hunt her down. She was weaving through the masses of people, trying to avoid being hit by stray snow, and being caught by Nico, when she looked over her shoulder and no one was there. Ava skidded to a halt and fully turned around, her eyebrows pinching in confusion, when someone tackled her from the side.
"Finally, I got you!" Nico cried victoriously.
Ava rolled her eyes, but grinned as she looked at Nico's flushed skin, and sparkling eyes.
Nico stopped grinning after a moment and is eyes widened as he finally took in the position the two were lying in. He hastily scrambled to his feet and offered her a hand, muttering about 'propriety', his already frost bitten cheeks becoming even pinker.
Ava just laughed and impulsively kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go put something dry on, I'll see you at dinner!" she said before flouncing off to the Hermes Cabin.
When she finally parted the curtain in the Hermes Cabin, and went over to her suitcase, fully intending to change out of her dripping clothes, Molly's face was hovering above it. Her expression was somewhat quizzical as she observed Ava's soaking pajamas and giant smile.
"Hello?" Molly muttered from her Iris Message, making it sound like a question more than a statement. She watched as her friend's impossibly large smile managed to grow even bigger.
"Oh gods Molly I wish you were here, we just had the most amazing snowball fight!" Ava gushed, as she stripped off her damp socks.
Molly's lips pouted, "Yeah, I wish I was there too! Now tell me what's going on? I saw a ton of new people on your end last night, but didn't get time to question you on who they were."
Ava thought back to last nights Iris Message. Molly had picked the worst possible timing, as her message appeared right after the prophecy had been told. Everyone was also tired (or pissed off) from the fight with the Hunters, and in Ava's case, she smelled like sulphur.
"Apparently Grover was scouting for new demigods when he discovered two in Maine." Molly's hazel eyes widened. "Yeah, so he called in Annabeth, Percy, and Thalia for back up. Long story short, they got into a fight with a monster, and the Hunters of Artemis had to rescue them, but Annabeth got taken by the monster. So the Hunters are now staying at the camp while Artemis tracks the monster. Oh and the two new demigods are here as well."
Molly's face reflected a full on gape of disbelief by the time Ava finished. "Who are the new demigods? Are they claimed? How are the Hunters?" Molly rapidly fired off once she regained her wits.
Ava sighed, as she pulled on a warm woolen sweater and yoga pants. "The new demigods are Bianca and Nico di Angelo. Bianca actually joined the Hunters. They are both unclaimed. And as for the Hunters- they are, well… intense. They all seem to dislike me because of my father, and some are downright rude, but they have amazing fighting skills. We played capture the flag against them last night."
"The Hunters of Artemis," Molly breathed out. "Were they any good?" Molly questioned, as she wiggled in her beanbag chair.
Ava grimaced at the memory, "They were really good; we lost." Molly shook her sandy blonde head sympathetically, but gestured for Ava to continue, "That's not even the biggest news. After capture the flag, the oracle actually managed to run outside into the woods and deliver a prophecy to the lieutenant of the Hunters."
Molly's mouth once again dropped open in shock, "The oracle actually left the attic?"
Ava nodded seriously, "Yeah, so now two Hunters are on a quest to find Artemis because she is in some kind of trouble, with Thalia and Grover. And Percy snuck out to follow them, so he can find Annabeth."
Molly blew a strand of her short hair out of her eyes, "That boy is head over heels for her."
Ava nodded and grinned, "Yup."
They two were silent for a minute before Molly spoke up, "So, is this new 'Nico' guy cute?"
Ava flushed, "I don't know…"
Molly smirked like the cheshire cat, "He is, isn't he?" She started giggling madly, while Ava rolled her eyes. Molly suddenly sat straight up in her chair, "What about Austin?"
Ava frowned, "What about Austin?" she questioned, not understanding her best friend's train of thought.
"Well do you still like Austin or do you like this new guy?"
Ava rolled her eyes, "Molly you're being ridiculous."
"Am I?" Molly questioned, a singular eyebrow raised.
Ava thought about the two male in question for a minute. Austin and Nico were as different as day and night. Austin with his tousled blonde hair and easy smiles, and Nico with his silky raven hair and broody looks… wait did she just internally call Nico's hair silky! What was wrong with her?
Ava shook her head, as if trying to clear the thoughts from it, "Look, I still like Austin, Nico's just a friend."
Molly looked at her skeptically, but seemed to accept the answer. "I have to go now," she said, as the image faded, "But I.M. me on Christmas!"
"I will!" Ava called, as Molly's pixie face faded into mist.
Ava sighed and slumped back on her bed. She thought about what Molly just asked her… Did she like Nico? Ava scoffed, of course not, that would just be absurd. Nico was her friend; she had known him since she was nine!
Nico's image seemed to drift into the forefront of her mind though. He had grown in the year since she had last 'seen' him. He was still lanky, but his face was losing some of its baby fat, and his voice was marginally deeper. She could barely admit it to the privacy of herself, but Nico was an attractive guy. With his shaggy black curls, pale skin, and dark eyes he looked like he could fit in on one of those vampire romance movies.
Ava then immediately thought of Austin in comparison. It was a gut instinct- he was the first boy she crushed on after all. Austin was tall, yet slightly shorter than Nico (even though he was a year older). He had tanned skin, blonde hair, and bright golden eyes. Austin was like a real life ken doll, but without the creepy androgynous genitals (she assumed).
And if they're outer appearances couldn't have differed more, then their personalities did. Nico was sarcastic, broody, and playful. He would switch emotions so rapidly that Ava felt like he was also experiencing PMS. Austin on the other hand was serious, caring and sensitive.
They were black and white as far as Ava was concerned. And though Ava could somewhat admit to herself that Nico was good looking, she didn't think she had a crush on him. He was just a good friend, whom her mind sometimes thought about. He wasn't like Austin who melted her body into a puddle of goo after a sweet kiss.
Ava sighed as she heard the conch shell and got off her bed to trek up to the Dining Hall.
Over the next week Ava and Nico were rarely seen without each other's company. Both of them were so caught up in the fun they were having together, that they didn't notice the gossip the year rounders were trading about them. It was common knowledge that Ava Summers and Austin Flynn were an unofficial 'item', so everyone eagerly followed her progress with this new mysterious demigod.
Everyday the two would eat breakfast together, and then separate for a couple of hours. Ava would usually find some cozy corner and curl up with her sketchpad. Now that she had a real figure to mimic, Ava's sketchbook was filled with many more drawings of Nico. Ava wasn't exactly sure where Nico would go in the hours they separated, but she had a strong suspicion that he would wander off to the music hall. She had never actually witnesses Nico playing any instruments in her dreams, but she had noticed how he always played a rock band game at the hotel he stayed at.
After their scarce hours apart, the two would meet for lunch together and then go to the training arena to spar. So far Nico had had difficulty finding the right weapon to fit him. He wasn't very talented at archery, but he was adequate at everything else. But Nico complained about all the weapons he had tried out in the vast arsenal the camp had thus far. Spears were too long, swords were unbalanced, and daggers were not long enough. Regardless, the two still managed to work on his technique. Nico was a fast learner; he picked up on things almost instantly. Nico's movements were also a sight to behold. He was very lithe and agile- every movement made him look like a jungle cat waiting to pounce.
After training, the two would built snow forts or try ice-skating. Ava tried to introduce Nico to the pegasi, but they were all rather weary of him for some reason. Ace didn't seem to mind his presence so much, but Ava got the feeling that it was only for her benefit. Dinner would have the two joking around with Travis and Conner and occasionally starting food fights. At night, Nico would usually sneak into the girl's side of the cabin and the two would stay up late, having discussions about everything from their pasts, to their futures.
Ava did manage to note something very odd about Nico though. Every time they would mention their personal histories, Nico would have trouble remembering things. Ava would recount stories of dreams she had of him, and Nico would adopt this puzzled expression, like he couldn't quite remember doing any of those things. And the things he did remember, confused Ava even more. Nico said that he lived in D.C., but he didn't remember simple things like the Hirshhorn Museum. Even though Ava had never been to Washington, she knew about these monuments. That, and Nico sometimes mentioned things like the Jefferson Memorial like they were brand new. It confused her beyond belief, but something always held her tongue from asking.
On the fifth day after the party had departed on the quest, Ava had closed her sketchbook with a distracted sigh, and dragged herself over to the music hall. She poked her caramel coloured head in and could hear solemn plucking of a guitar.
Ava nearly jumped when Nico's voice rang out. His back was facing her, and she had no idea how he noticed her entrance, "Something bad is going to happen, if it hasn't already," he said.
Ava sighed and shuffled over to sit on the bench next of him. Nico put the guitar gently on the stand and stared off into nothing. Ava studied his aristocratic face and saw the faint blue bags under his eyes, his pinched brow, and the slight downward curl of his mouth.
"What do you think has or will happen?" Ava whispered.
Nico's frown became more pronounced, "I don't know. I just have a feeling that something bad has happened on the quest. I just hope Bianca is alright," he said closing his eyes.
Ava rested a hand upon his should, "She's a smart girl, and very brave. I'm sure she will be alright."
Nico nodded, but his face did not change, "I was so mad at her for joining the Hunters. I said some things… things that I shouldn't have."
Ava shrugged, "People make mistakes, and say stupid things. I'm sure she knew that you didn't mean it."
Nico sighed before rising to his feet, "I hope so," he said holding out a hand to her.
Two days later though, Nico's ominous feeling was proven right, and Ava's heart wept for him.
The quest had been successful in the harshest aspect. Artemis had been rescued, and Annabeth was safe. But the cost was unimaginable. Biance di Angelo and Zoë Nightshade were dead. When Ava looked back on that day, bitter tears leaked out of her eyes.
Nico and her had been working on their snow fortress. Ever since Conner and Travis had declared a snowball war on them, the two had been building up their fortress. Ava remembered how she was laughing so much that it hurt because Nico had just finished packing together the main wall, when Conner had let a firework loose and it hit it, melting the entire thing. And that was when Percy showed up.
Ava remembered turning around and screaming in happiness when she spotted them. She ran happily towards Percy, but picked up the pace when she saw Annabeth beside him. Ava flung her arms around Annabeth and hugged her closer whispering, 'I'm so glad you are okay!' It felt like such a happy moment, that when she finally realized it wasn't, it felt like ice had filled her veins.
Nico had approached the group at a slightly slower pace, watching with amusement as Ava hugged the older blonde girl. His face lost his casual smile, when he scanned the group and didn't notice his sister in it.
"Where is my sister?" Nico questioned Percy, not caring that he was ruining the happy reunion.
Percy shared a look with Grover, and the group's faces turned solemn. He tried to put a hand on Nico's shoulder, but Nico shrugged it off.
"Where is my sister? I asked you to look after her, now where is she?" Nico demanded.
Percy's sea green eyes lost the sparkle they had, and turned downcast, "I'm sorry Nico, but she sacrificed-"
Tears were streaming down Ava's face as she heard Nico shout horrible things at Percy. It was like she could physically hear the sounds, but her body was paying more attention to the gut wrenching anguish that was filling him. So when Nico turned around and ran, leaving a crack in the floor, Ava ran after him. As he darted in the to forest, she strode after him.
Nico suddenly whirled around, tears streaming down his cheeks, his dark eyes appearing almost black in his torment and rage. "I have to leave."
Ava nodded and felt her lips quivering. She knew that she looked like a mess, but didn't care. Her heart was bleeding for him. She wanting to muster up some kind of calm and send it to him, but his sorrow was like a tidal wave that eclipsed her empathetic abilities.
Nico walked up to her and took her hands in his, staring down at her dark green eyes, that were hazy with unshed tears. "I will see you again, I promise."
Ava didn't even try to hold back the sob, as it ripped from her chest. She didn't try to follow Nico either, as he placed a feather light kiss on her cheek and turned around and walked deeper into the forest. She stood there, as the shadows seem to embrace his figure, until he disappeared entirely.
A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I didn't get a lot of feedback on the first interaction between Ava/Nico, so i'm just going to assume you all liked it!
On a side note, a lot of people are saying how they wish they could write better or comparing their work to mine. Never do that! Everyone has to start somewhere! I have been writing for years, and sometimes when I look back on my original works, I cringe at how bad they are! But I keep them, and I keep cultivating my own style. so never discourage yourself- everyones writing is different!
Please Review and let me know what you thought about anything from this chapter!
-Nyx!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Percy Jackson series, only 'Ava'.