Technically, I wasn't supposed to eat with Nico, but Elle was working on something at their cabin and Ash was being annoying, so I sat with him. He blushed and poked his baked potato.

"You should eat." I elbowed him. "You're tiny enough as it is."

He smiled sheepishly and started eating quickly. Cutie..

We didn't say much, though Thalia nodded at me as she walked to the rest of the hunters. Nico blinked, but I didn't offer up any explanation. He went back to his food.

Elle ended up joining us after all, but oddly, she wasn't acting all snappy or anything. She mostly ignored me. Personally, I felt like that was an improvement. But Nico seemed mildly uncomfortable with the slight tension between us.

I was vaguely aware of someone else coming our way, seeing them approaching from the corner of my eye. I didn't pay any attention, until a girl leaned against the table.

Her long golden hair, with ruby red streaks throughout, was pulled back into a flowing ponytail. She was wearing a light grey hoodie over her orange camp t-shirt, and her necklace, with five beads, poked out. Despite her slightly pointy nose and watery purple eyes, she was easily one of the most beautiful people at the pavilion. Most heads were turned her direction.

"Hullo," She said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. As she stood there, it looked like her eyes were changing colour. They went from light violet to a stormy blue.

"Hey, Civillia." Elleanore stood and walked over to her, and the pair of them started off to... somewhere.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Well, bye, then. Don't bother telling us where you're going," he muttered.

"Since when are they mates?" I stared after them. They were the least likely pair of friends I'd ever seen. Elle was cold and pissy and easy to set off. Lia was probably the bubbliest person at camp.

"Dunno..." Nico set down his fork, and his fingers accidentally brushed mine gently. We both immediately yanked our hands back, blushing. "I-I didn't think she talked to anyone but the rest of our cabin..." He ran his fingers through his hair. He often did that when he was thinking. Sometimes, he'd do it so much that it would stand on end, like he'd stuck his finger in the electrical socket.

I reached over and absentmindedly started to straighten his hair out, not really paying attention to what I was doing. It was soft and fluffy between my fingers.

He gave me a look, but let me flatten it out. I felt something hard and painful strike the back of my head. I pulled my hand away from Nico's hair and whipped around. Elle was glowering at me from the lawn, holding a small collection of rocks in her hands. Lia was trying to take them from her, but not before Elle threw another one, with deadly accuracy. It his me right between the eyes. I flicked her off and gave her the dirtiest look I possibly could.

I stood up abruptly, and grabbed Nico's hand. "Let's go. I don't fancy having rocks thrown at my head." He trailed after me, his fingers laced in mine. I pulled him along to his cabin and pulled the door open. Once inside, I flopped onto his cot. It smelled like him. Coffee and peppermint...

My head was resting on his notebook, and I pulled it out from under me, tossing it to him. It grazed his ear.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, sorry.." My aim wasn't very good. Maybe why I was so bad with swords and throwing knives.

He picked it up and dropped it on the desk, which stood in the corner of the cabin. It landed atop Nico's various coloured gel pens. "S'fine.."