Author's Note: Sorry for making chapter 24 so short... I'm also sorry that this chapter is so short! I don't really know why they're both so short. I guess I'm just running out of ideas?

Note: Thank you, Pleonastica, for editing and beta reading my chapters and all of that. I really appreciate it!

Warning: Bullying, violence, language (I'll add more along the way)

Disclaimer: Pshh, you think I'm Rick Riordan? Please. Also, "Yancy" for the school name is from the first book The Lightning Thief. The actual school name is "Yancy Academy."

Depression

Author: Loving Healer

Chapter Twenty-Five

"So, what do you even do here?" Nico asked me when I dragged him along to look at a bunch of stuff like the park fountain.

I frowned. "I just hang out with my friends here I guess. It's a pretty neat place. I'd rather go here than any amusement park."

"Don't you have bad experiences whenever you're up high?" Nico questioned, and I nodded.

"Yeah. I dropped a lot of stuff when I was up high. And my mom's parents died when they were in an airplane."

Nico's gaze flickered toward the floor. "Oh."

I chuckled. "Yeah. I have a lot of memories here. I never got the chance to take you here because my mom was always busy by the time I was in fifth grade. But I'm glad we got to be here now, right?"

He glanced up at me, and sent me on the verge of a heart attack when he smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

I swung my arm around Nico's tiny shoulders and guided him to various places. My heart beat even faster from being in such a close proximity to him.

I loved the park fountain; it was my favorite thing there. There wasn't necessarily a statue spitting water or anything. There werearcs of water ascending from the middle of the fountain. The water was so clear, you could identify the difference between the quarters and the nickels at the bottom. And that's a pretty great accomplishment for me because I could neversee the difference between a nickel and a quarter. I always got the two mixed up.

"It's a pretty fountain," Nico stated as we stopped in front of it.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It's where Annabeth asked me out."

He turned his head to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "Really?"

"Nah. Iwas the one who asked Annabeth out here."

Nico sighed exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "Is there even a difference?"

"There is!" I exclaimed. "Obviously!"

I tore my gaze and saw two young teenagers in eighth grade. A boy with black, windswept hair and sea green eyes sat upon the rim of the fountain. The other was a girl with dirty blonde hair tied up into a loose ponytail, and she had gray eyes instead. The boy looked so nervous, he looked as if he would scream if a leaf fell on him. It was weird, because I smiled at the fond memory of how nervous I was then. Maybe this whole "making your bad memories into a good memory" would actually work out.

"What are you smiling at?" Nico stared up at me with a puzzled expression.

I laughed lightly. "It's nothing. I just... Saw myself trying to ask Annabeth out in a third-person perspective like those movies where the main character sees all of his experiences with some old dude."

Nico blinked blankly up at me. He didn't even bother saying anything.

I smiled sheepishly. "Do you even know I'm talking about or do I just sound absolutely crazy?"

"Yeah, I do," Nico replied.

"Then why'd you look at me like I was crazy?"

Nico's face became a tint of pink. "Er, no reason. No reason at all."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Nico muttered. "I was just... Thinking."

"About what?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, Perce."

I sighed. "If you say so."

I tugged him away from the fountain so we could explore more areas of the park. We strolled along the stone path that weaved throughout the park.

I eventually guided him toward a pond full of mallards swimming happily in it.

I almost laughed to myself, recalling the memory in my mind. "This was where I accidentally pushed Grover into the pond."

"Accidentally," Nico repeated with a roll of his eyes. "I hardly believe it was an accident."

"It wasan accident!" I cried.

"Of course," Nico replied sarcastically. "I totallybelieve you."

I pouted. "Well, you should be believing me!"

Warmth spread all throughout my body when I heard Nico chuckle beside me.

"Should I reallykeep believing you?"

"Yes!" I yelled. "Okay, look." I removed my arms from his shoulders and turned my back toward him. "I was playing with a Frisbee with my mom. She threw it toward me, and when I was trying to catch it, I took a step back." I took a step back, careful to not bump into Nico on purpose. "I jumped to catch the Frisbee, but Grover fell into the pond instead." I turned back around to face Nico, and I screwed up right then and there.

When I turned around, my foot accidentally kicked Nico's foot. Nico took a step back to give me space, but it turns out that the pond was right behind him.

"Nico!" I yelled as my hand shot out for is wrist.

Nico's eyes were wide as I pulled him back against my chest. My heart was beating fast from how close I was to Nico and how Nico almost just fell into the pond.

Nico glanced up at me with a relieved expression. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The world seemed to freeze around us, and time felt like it stopped.

I was coming to a realization then when I stared into Nico's chocolate brown eyes. My relationship with Annabeth stopped when I found Nico again.

Here goes nothing,I told myself. But, did I reallywant to do this?

Hah, sure I did.

I pushed my lips against Nico's.