Author's Note: So, I ultimately failed at trying to maintain a writing schedule. Instead, since I'm updating at random times and the wait may be extremely long, I'm trying to work on making my chapters super long again like I used to back in the good old days in the early The Violin That Started it All chapters. Let's see how that works out this time... Maybe the wait for update might actually be worth it now that the chapters are longer. If I have enough inspiration to keep them this long at least.

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

Warning: Homosexuality, language, child abuse, death, bullying, breakups, sexual themes (I'll add more along the way)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I am definitely not Rick Riordan. Also, I got the "Hades abuses Nico" idea from some fanfic… Though which fanfic I got it from I don't remember. Ciao!

The Violin That Started it Again

Author: Loving Healer

Part 4: Percy Jackson & Silena Beauregard

Chapter Thirty

Percy Jackson

I decided to call Annabeth and ask her where they were taken to by Silena instead of running around in circles because apparently there was more than one fountain at this outdoor mall and I had no idea.

I was sitting on the edge of one of those fountains actually. It was a very long and narrow fountain that sprayed water upward into the air and created rainbows in four different places in the fountain. The water was a magnificent, sky blue color, and it was absolutely clear. I could detect the various coins thrown into the fountain without a problem. I could even tell the difference between a nickel and a quarter in the fountain from where I sat.

However, instead of Annabeth answering her phone, Silena answered in her place.

"Percy!" She exclaimed into the other side of the phone. "Did you ever find your phone yet?"

"Isn't he calling from his own cell phone though?" Annabeth's voice sounded distant in the background.

"Oh yeah." Silena laughed lightly. "Right. Forgot about that."

"Obviously." It was as if I could hear Annabeth rolling her eyes at Silena's antics.

"Is that Percy?" Nico's voice called from somewhere wherever they were. "Tell him to get here and fast! Please, Percy, please."

I furrowed my eyebrows which was kind of weird because no one that I was talking to could see my reaction. "Where are you guys anyway?" I chuckled to myself. "I was actually supposed to ask you that before anything else, but I guess it's too late for that now."

"Just a little bit late." Silena giggled. "Also, to answer your question, we're at the ice cream store! Do you know where it is?"

"We've been here four times already!" Nico yelled from wherever he was suffering on Silena's side of the phone. "I'm so sick of this place! And of ice cream! It's fucking September isn't it too cold for ice cream?"

"It's never too cold for ice cream!" Silena cried in response. "How do you not see the greatness of ice cream?!"

"I probably would have a while ago if we haven't eaten here four times!" Nico retorted.

"But there's no such thing as too much ice cream either! I heard Silena stomping her foot against the ground-probably out of frustration.

"There is now!" Nico yelled back. "Damn it, Silena, if you eat ice cream so much, then how in hell do you stay in shape?"

Silena laughed. "Nico, there's something called exercise."

"What?" Nico asked. "What is this term that you speak of? I have never heard of such a horrifying word.

"Nico, Nico, Nico," Silena chided. "When was the last time you actually ran a mile?"

There was a short silence. I was debating on whether or not I should intervene and ask them where they were instead of listening to their quarrel in one ear while the other ear heard the conversations of all of the shoppers and tourists around me.

Why tourists came to New York in the beginning of September still remained a mystery for me. Then again, there were a lot of interesting and somewhat unique people all around New York.
When I opened my mouth to interrupt their unnecessary fight about the "greatness" of ice cream, Nico interjected.

"The last time a ran a mile was probably a few months ago in the last school year when I was running away from Clarisse." Nico chuckled faintly. "After all this time, I still can't believe she hates me. Even Luke stopped hating me, but that was probably because of Annabeth."

"You're welcome then." Annabeth laughed lightly. Her voice sounded closer than Nico's, so I assumed she was sitting next to Silena who held the phone while Tyson and Nico sat somewhere farther. They were probably sitting in some booth or something and Nico and Tyson were across the table from Annabeth and Silena.

"But still!" Silena groaned. "You haven't run a mile in at least a few months? That's crazy, Nico! How do you stay in shape?"

Nico scoffed. "I don't."

"Nico!" Silena wailed. "We should start some exercise regime for you! Then you can fit even more ice cream into your body!"

"I'm pretty sure the purpose of exercise isn't for more space for junk food," Nico stated with slight amusement lacing his voice.

"And I'm quite surprised Silena actually used the word regime in a sentence and actually made it work," Annabeth pointed out, causing Nico to have the sudden realization to who congratulated Silena on expanding her vocabulary.

"Hey!" Silena mocked offense. "I can be smart."

Nico hummed. "Sure you can, Silena."

Annabeth chuckled. "Definitely."

I could faintly make out Tyson laughing at the argument taking place right before my very ears.

And no, it wasn't right before my very eyes because I wasn't even there.

"I'm... just going to ignore everything that just happened within the span of five minutes," I muttered, but a smile sat upon my lips. "But anyway, I know what ice cream store you're talking about. I-uh-don't know where it is actually."

"Oh, well that's fine!" Silena replied cheerfully through the phone. Seriously, how can one stay as optimistic as Silena Beauregard? Actually, there was a simple answer to that question: It was impossible. There was absolutely no one in the world that could be as optimistic as Silena Beauregard.

Silena hummed. "Maybe Annabeth could go get you?"

"Can I go get Percy?" Nico pleaded. "I'm so tired of this ice cream store. Just being near this place makes me a little bit sick."

"At least it's only a little bit sick," Silena remarked. "See? It's progress! And, no you cannot go to get Percy! You haven't even tried every single flavor that this place has on their menu yet!"

Nico groaned. "Oh, and Annabeth has already done that?"

"She did actually!" Silena giggled happily.

Annabeth sighed exasperatedly. "Unfortunately, yes, I did try every single flavor that this ice cream store had on their menu in under an hour."

"You had to eat every single ice cream flavor in under an hour?" Nico repeated incredulously in the form of a question. "Did I just hear that right?"

"Unfortunately, once again, you heard right." Annabeth sighed. "Never again will I eat so much ice cream in under an hour."

"Oh fuck," I barely heard Nico murmur. "If Annabeth couldn't even handle Silena's surreal amount of ice cream, then I probably don't even stand a chance." There was a short pause before Nico cried, "Wait, all the flavors of this store in under an hour?! I actually heard you right?"

Annabeth laughed lightly. "This is probably my fourth time saying it, but yes, unfortunately, you did hear me right."

Nico groaned. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect," he grumbled. "Can I go get Percy please?"

"No!" Silena demanded. "Annabeth, go get Percy since you've already done the challenge. After Nico's done, your next, Tyson."

I couldn't really see what Tyson's reaction to that was since I was on the opposite end of a phone call, but I had a feeling Tyson was very excited about eating all of the store's ice cream flavors in under an hour. I remember when Silena made me do that a year or two ago.

Jeez, has it really been that long since then? It was before I met Nico, that much I definitely knew.

"Okay, okay," Annabeth said. "Since I'm going to get Percy, I need my phone back."

I heard a few shuffling noises before hearing Annabeth's voice again, but it was much clearer than before.

"Did you hear that Percy? Where are you?" Annabeth questioned into the phone.

"In front of Wetzel's Pretzels," I simply replied.

"So your phone really was there?"

I debated on whether to tell her about finding my dad and him handing it to me. Should I tell her about what he said to me about my mom?

I came to the conclusion that I would tell her on the way to wherever this ice cream store was. I've been there tons of times thanks to Silena how did I forget where the ice cream store was located?

"Uh," I stuttered momentarily, "to simply answer your question: Yes, it was there."

"And what's the complex answer?" Annabeth asked with puzzlement obvious in her voice.

"I'll tell you when you get here," I said. "I think it's just going to be easier saying it to you in person."

Annabeth hummed. "Okay, if you say so. I don't know the story yet so it's not like I can judge your decision. Alright, I'll be there soon, so just wait a bit for me okay?"

"Yeah, sure Annabeth." I thanked her before pulling the phone from my ear and hanging up. I heaved a deep sigh before watching my surroundings for awhile as a source of entertainment.

Many different types of people passed by the various stores that I sat by in the edge of the fountain. People of old age, young couples, loud friends who wanted to hang out over the weekend before school started up again on Monday, family, kids who wanted to grow older a lot faster, workers who worked at this mall on their short break, and so many more people came through the area that I was in. It was kind of fascinating watching the different people who trudged by.

I had heard from somewhere that I couldn't recall at the moment that the brain held memories that you couldn't even remember yourself. Everything that you saw was recorded and kept somewhere in the brain, and it was why some of the people in your dreams were people that you didn't recognize. Some of those unrecognizable people in your dreams were actually people that you've seen with your own eyes but you didn't concentrate on that person for very long because that person probably passed by you on the sidewalk or you saw them driving through the car mirror or something. It was pretty cool thinking that the strangers in my dreams were actually people that I had seen in my lifetime but I just didn't remember them. My brain definitely remembered them, but I certainly didn't.

There was a light breeze in the air now that summer was fading away and fall was beginning to make an appearance. It had been a week or so since school had started, and I'm must say, now that the supposedly two hardest years of high school-sophomore and junior year-were over, being in high school wasn't all that bad. Maybe it was because I wasn't taking the crazy, hardcore classes that Annabeth was taking, but at least I didn't have to deal with the SAT and ACT anymore. I hated those tests. Annabeth obviously passed with flying colors, and fortunately, I managed to pass as well, barely.

I tugged at my jacket as a sharp wind blew by, messing up my hair even more than it should have been. The trees rustled, and some brown leaves drifted away from their original place up in the branches. The ground was beginning to be blanketed in multiple hues of orange, yellow, and brown. It was actually a beautiful sight to see even if it did actually happen every year. I could just never get tired of watching nature slowly change as time passed.

Nico had been talking to me a long time ago while reading To Kill a Mockingbird for his English class about the symbolism of the sun cycle. At first, he was just mumbling what he was typing for his fifteen page assignment, but then I spoke up and asked him what he was even writing about. Then he told me he was talking about the symbolism demonstrated in the sun cycle that English teachers made up. Nico still held the belief that authors made stories for people to enjoy the plot instead of being analyzed by psycho English teachers. Then again, I believed that too.

The sun, according to Nico, represented life. The sunrise would indicate the beginning of someone's life, the morning would symbolize the adolescent years of a person, the afternoon would indicate the middle of someone's life, and the sunset showed the end of someone's life. Even if it was probably something that English teachers made up, it was still kind of nice thinking about such an idea. Ever since then, I had always liked watching the sun.

Oops, I accidentally tuned into a philosophical English teacher while waiting for Annabeth to come and get me. I guessed she took too long; apparently I became a philosopher because someone kept me waiting.

Note to self: Never let anyone keep you waiting.

The thought of Nico then sent my mind spiraling downward as I thought of the complicated relationship between Nico and me. I still had no idea if we were actually dating again or not. I mean, he kissed me and actually gave me the privilege of seeing him smile, so I had thought our relationship was okay. But ever since the incident of Nico's father's death was enlightened, I felt as if our relationship status was the least of his worries. I wanted to bring it up to sort out all of the crap about it swirling around in my head, but I didn't want Nico to deal with anymore than he already has. Silena and everyone else were already trying to cheer him up, so why should I bring his mood down by bringing up what was going on between us? I wasn't that cruel no matter how much I wanted to know what Nico thought of me at the moment.

And Silena... What was that kiss in the coffee shop all about? That was the second major question that kept jabbing me in the brain. I couldn't think of any answer that actually satisfied me. Did Silena like Nico? Or did Nico make the first move? What would I do if I learned that Nico made the first move?

My head pounded harshly and I gritted my teeth out of sheer frustration. I hated not knowing answers. It was just like my calculus homework except they actually gave you the answers to all of the odd answers in the back of the book so you could check and see if you got the right answer and were actually doing the homework right.

This, my dear readers, was why I did not like to think at all.

"Percy!"

I saw a pair of fingers snap in front of my face and I blinked momentarily. My gaze trailed upward before my eyes met startling gray ones.

"Annabeth!" I laughed lightly. "You sure took your time."

Annabeth shrugged with an amused smile. "Silena told me to go as slow as I could so she could make Nico eat more ice cream."

The questions were beginning to reappear at the front of my mind and I couldn't even push them away. I narrowed my eyes at Annabeth's answer as I held distaste at the thought. I didn't really like this feeling though; I was losing faith in my own friends. Could I really not trust one of my own friends anymore?

Another snap in front of my face caught my attention once more. The hand recoiled onto Annabeth's hip who appeared extremely impatient with me.

"Why do you keep zoning out? Did I really keep you wait for that long?"

I chuckled. "I may have turned into a philosopher in my head while you were on the way here."

Annabeth blinked blankly at me. "What are you even talking about?"

I shook my head, a smile gracing my lips. "Nothing, nothing. Not important."

Annabeth couldn't help but grin at the reference I made to an old memory. "Oh, you are not bringing that up again. The last time someone said 'Not important' ended up sitting in the nurse's office at school because he didn't bother telling us that his dad beat up his thigh and he couldn't even stand."

I laughed heartily. "And then that was when Silena demanded him to be our friend and we gave him the most awkwardest group hug to have ever existed. It was so awkward I had to disregard grammar rules to describe how weird the experience was."

Annabeth nodded slowly in approval. "Disregard... I like the new word. But anyway." She took a seat adjacent to me on the edge of the fountain. "Mind tell me what's going on in that head of yours? I feel like something very important is going through your mind right now."

I shook my head. "It's not important."

She nudged me lightly in the side with her elbow. "Oh come on, just tell me. You also have to explain the complex answer about where your phone was."

I sighed exasperatedly, glancing up at the darkening sky. "This is going to be a long conversation."

Annabeth chuckled. "We have the rest of our lives for this conversation. Now, come on." She nudged me again as a sign of extra encouragement. "Spill."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you do, do not tell anyone."

Annabeth nodded firmly and confidently. "I promise I won't."

I exhaled deeply. "Do you know what happened back in that café where I was yelling at Silena?"

Annabeth nodded a second time. "At first, I had no idea what was happening at the time. But Silena explained it to me later on." Sympathy clouded her eyes, but she averted her gaze.

"Yeah, well, I'm just" - I ran an exhausted hand through my messy, black hair- "I'm just overthinking things. What even happened back there? Why did Silena... Why did she do it?" I growled. "I can't even say it out loud." I scoffed. "How pathetic."

"Percy," Annabeth whispered, before turning to me with a newfound determination in her eyes. "It's not pathetic. We, as humans, experience a lot of different emotions throughout our lifetime. It's not your fault for not being able to say what happened out loud. At least you've actually accepted the facts instead of turning them away and believing that it was all a hallucination." She turned her head away to watch more people window shopping. "I learned something a few months ago, and it was that you can't control your feelings. Feelings and emotions weren't meant to be controlled in the first place. They're this... unnatural force that takes whatever path it wants.

"But you know what, Percy?" Annabeth rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "You've got to learn to accept it. I applaud you for already accepting it though. But you know what else also leads to absolute disaster? Miscommunication. The more you assume things in your mind without talking it out to Nico or Silena; you'll most likely end up believing something that isn't even true at all. It might not even be close to the truth, but because you were overthinking it so much, some new, random answer appeared in your mind. Miscommunication often leads to disaster. Do you remember reading Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade?"

I nodded silently in response. I felt like my own voice would ruin Annabeth's wise advice.

"Romeo and Juliet would've lived in the end if it wasn't for the miscommunication. Because Friar John was helping the sick and he didn't send the letter containing Juliet's success in drinking the potion inside, Romeo was never informed on the fact that Juliet wasn't actually dead, but it was just the effect the potion has that Friar Lawrence made. So, Romeo drank poison right next to Juliet and killed himself because he thought she was actually dead and the news of what actually happened couldn't reach him in time, and he died minutes before the potion wore off and Juliet woke up only to find her husband lying dead next to her. Along with Paris somewhere in there but that's irrelevant to my topic."

"Wow, poor, rejected Paris." I chuckled, and Annabeth joined in shortly after.

She waved her hand dismissively. "But do you see my point? You have to talk to them, like, really soon before you think too much again." Annabeth punched me lightly in the shoulder. "I didn't think I'd find the day that I would have to tell you to stop thinking too much."

I laughed. "Gee, thanks for that unnecessary comment, Annabeth."

She grinned innocently. "No problem. Do you feel better now?"

I had to admit, I definitely did feel better now. I mean, my headache was still there, but only faintly. And I felt more enlightened, and the questions filling my brain were now longer making their way to the front of my mind. It was weird, but it literally did feel like a weight was completely lifted off my shoulders. Then again, I had always wondered what carrying the sky would be like.

Annabeth pushed herself up from her seat in the edge of the fountain, and she held out her hands which I graciously took. I thanked her once she pulled me up, and she only nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now that that's settled." Annabeth turned toward me. "You have to tell me the situation about where your phone was."

I groaned tiredly. "This really is a long conversation," I grumbled under my breath.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Get used to it, Seaweed Brain. Tell me."

I sighed heavily once more before recalling my tale.