Warning: Character death; mentions of blood. Read with caution.

Part 1: Tiny Dancer

1.4: You had a busy day today

Nico managed kept it together for about 2 days. But what really drove the point home wasn't the blood on the rearview mirror. It wasn't seeing the paramedics haul her body into the ambulance. It wasn't his dad staring at him like a dead man living. It should've have been him, that was clear in Hades eyes.

No, it wasn't any of those things.

It was her absence. She no longer knocked on his door in the mornings to tell him to 'wake the hell up,' and no longer refused to share eggs with him anymore.

And Thalia wasn't making it any better. "Nico! How did you not see the 18-wheeler? You were distracting her, weren't you?" Nico knew she wasn't doing it on purpose, that was her way of managing grief. But it still hurt. Her words cut deeper than the shards of glass that pierced Bianca when— no. No use in thinking about that.

Nico pushed Thalia away. He couldn't come up with a witty comeback. He started stumbling to the bus stop. The same one he had gone to a few weeks ago, the night he missed the bus.

He could almost laugh at the irony.

It was as if Bianca's absence was a dark hole, sucking in everything in Nico's life. He couldn't even sleep well. It was as if someone in the sky had planned the whole thing out. First, killing Bianca. Next, sending him cruel images of Bianca coming back, as if she had just left for the weekend. Then, making him dream terrible dreams of her death replaying and her blood splattering on him.

Well, to whoever is up there, Nico di Angelo hates you.

- V –

[El – 5:36] sorry bout your sister

[El – 5:37] too bad she deserved it

[El – 5:42] hows her girlfriend?

[El – 5:42] haha

- V –

Nico did something he should've done the second he got a text message from Elgin Copperfield. He blocked him. He laid on his bed again and grabbed the pillow besides him. He buried his face in it, further messing up his hair. He sobbed openly into it, almost exploding when the pillow smelled a bit like Bianca. He remembered, once when he was really little. . .

Mama had just died, and Nico wasn't taking it very well. If Bianca wasn't either, she certainly didn't show it. Especially one night, when Nico had a nightmare. It was about the man who had come to take her away. He started yelling, and Papa certainly wasn't coming. He thought he was alone, but then Bianca creaked the door open. She looked like an angel, in her white nightdress, simply a silhouette against the dark room. She got into his twin bed besides him and started to weave her fingers through his hair.

Bianca used to sing to him; in Italian. He liked it a lot. She did it this time, and he slowly fell asleep. Right when he was between asleep and awake, he could've sworn he felt a teardrop on his forehead. Later, he dismissed it. Because Bianca was stronger than steel, and was always there at the end of the day.

But those days were gone, and so was Bianca. He mushed his face into the pillow further.

- V -

Nico's days are no longer counted by hours, minutes or even yoctoseconds. The sun rises, it sets, and the world fits the gap Bianca left behind like spring after winter. One day, the forest is in flames and the next it's acclimating and adapting, bringing new life forward. How could the ecosystems move on, as if nothing had happened? Was Nico supposed to do the same, and move on, just like that? If so, the ecosystem has another think coming.

In order to avoid interacting with the rest of the species in his little ecosystem, Nico stayed in his room. He pulled his curtains in front of the windows, and now no one pulled them open, because Bianca used to do that, and Bianca's not here anymore. And Nico refused to fill her species' niche.

It was on one of the mushed-together days (a clump of yoctoseconds; actually), that Bianca's girlfriend - ex-girlfriend - came by.

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano strolled into his dark room, ripping the curtains open. Her eyes were sunken, and her braid was disheveled. She still looked better than Nico. He shielded his eyes with his hands. "What the fuck, Reyna?" She strolled over to him, and sat on the fluffy chair Bianca used to sit in. She clasped her hands together.

"I'm taking you to the park."

"I'm mourning."

"I'm still taking you to the park," she said, picking at her fingernail absentmindedly.

"How can you act as if she never was here?"

"I'm not. I miss Bianca too, so I'm doing her a favor by keeping you company."

Nico glared at her, tears forming in his eyes. He hated looking weak, especially now. Reyna stood up, and sat on his bed next to him. "You haven't left your room in 2 weeks." Nico nodded, slightly surprised. He didn't think that much time had passed. Reyna fiddled with her braid, plucking at loose strands. She hung her head. "I loved her, I really did."

Nico wiped at his eyes with the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I miss her a lot." But how am I supposed to act as if she never hugged me when I was scared, or cried with me after she broke up with Thalia?

Nico could do without Reyna and her tactics of moving on, just like that, forgetting her memory. He grit his teeth and looked at Reyna. "How can you live as if she never walked here, with us?" he repeated, mirroring his words from earlier. Reyna looked at him, turning her head up from where she was crying. She cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm not. I told you, I loved her."

"You can't talk."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You only dated for four months, I've known her my whole life."

Reyna stood up, and bowed down until her face was level with Nico's. "I get it, you're mourning. But you can't invalidate my feelings. I loved her, so much it hurts. And yeah, maybe it doesn't hurt me as much as it hurts you, but I still feel pain. I think Bianca loved me too, so I'm going to keep living for the both of us. You have my number. Call me when you're ready to be reasonable." She started walking away, and Nico stared after her, guilt blossoming once again. When she reached the doorway, she turned around. "Oh, and for the record, you're basically my brother. I care for you , and so did she. I'm doing you a favor."