Chapter 3
Nico knew he should have expected this, his jackass of a womanizer father, was bound to disrupt the small amount of normalcy that Nico had begun to feel. Hazel's entry had changed Nico's outlook of life. Ever since his sister's death, Nico hadn't heard a word from his dad, and so he expected the man to be busy doing his normal underworldly stuff, and decided to let him be.
What he was not expecting though, was for his dad to marry another times, and leaving him with a step-sister, whom he had not known, lest heard of, since the last time he met his dad. Hazel was currently eighteen years old, and if his math was correct (which was silly, since one of the few things Nico excelled at was Math's), then Hazel was exactly three years younger to Nico, and that meant that, either his dad had an affair when his mother was alive, or he met Hazel's mother the same year his mother died, or worse, he had a one-time thing with Hazel's mother, the night he found out that Maria was shot, and then only met Hazel's mother, when he found out that she was pregnant. Taking into account Nico's luck, obviously, the latter was what had happened.
Hazel and Nico's meeting, went something like this:
Nico was sitting next to Percy at their extended lunch table (after the extra people joined, they took a bigger table), and was totally into his food, not really paying much attention to the chitter chatter going on around him. He was so lost in thinking about how he was alone, and that Percy might never take an interest in him, so he should probably move on and find himself a boyfriend, when Frank cleared his throat on entering.
"Guys, I'd like you all to meet my girlfriend, Hazel Levesque, she's a first year Chemistry major. Hazel this is Percy, Nico, Jason, Piper, Leo, Calypso, Chris, Clarisse, Grover, Juniper, and finally Annabeth", he said while he pointed out to each of them.
Hazel appeared really shy, simply waving adorably.
Annabeth, as usual, took charge of the situation, engaging Hazel into a conversation, so she wouldn't feel left out. If Nico had to admire anything about Annabeth, it would be her determination to not let a single person feel left out.
After a while though, Nico kept feeling as though Hazel was looking at him. But each time he'd make eye-contact, she'd look away. However, after lunch, she ran up to Nico, who was making his way to the clinic for his usual chat with Will Solace.
"Nico", she cried out. "Can I talk to you?"
Nico slowed down to let her catch up. "What's up Hazel?"
Hazel seemed really nervous now that she had got his attention. "Umm…. the thing is, what I mean to say is that…."
"Hazel", Nico tried to say as kindly as possible, "I'm not gonna bite you. Just say what's on your mind."
Hazel took a deep breath and then said those words that haunted Nico for a while.
"I'm your step-sister."
OoooO
Nico would've felt so much better if he could've ranted out what Hazel said to Will, but to his surprise and dismay, Will wasn't there. Instead, Apollo was sitting besides the bed, going through something on his phone. Only raising his head, once the door shut.
"Ah, Nico. Come in. Will explained your case in great detail to me. Anxiety and past history of death? That's pretty common."
Nico couldn't help but blurt out, "Will didn't mention that you were returning."
Apollo chuckled, "That's because I wasn't supposed to be returning until next week. Fortunately, the seminar I was attending ended pretty quickly, so I came back here earlier than expected."
"Oh", was all Nico could manage. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel all that comfortable to discuss his issues with Apollo. He wanted Will to be there, he realized suddenly.
"Umm, Dr. Apollo- "
"Apollo is fine."
"Yeah Apollo…. would it be alright if Will continued to take my case? I've gotten quite used to him."
He expected Apollo to be mad, but the older man simply smiled. "I see my son has managed to snag another one of my patients."
Nico gasped, "Son?"
"Why yes, Will is my son. But to your question, it's alright. He'll come tomorrow onwards. Do you still want to complete this session?", Apollo asked.
Nico shook his head. It seemed like he could use a chance to wrap his head around the new information he received today.
"Very Nico. I'll send Will tomorrow."
OoooO
Once Nico reached his dorm, he realized that Frank was out. 'Probably with Hazel', he thought.
He went to his room, and changed into his boxers and a loose shirt. Then he proceeded to take out his headphones and phone, before he gathered his assignments of the day. One thing that Nico absolutely loved was doing homework. He knows that he must be one of the few who actually liked doing school work, but just sitting in his room, with his favourite beverage (a cup of cappuccino with two spoons sugar), while listening to his favourite beats and immersing himself in his subject of liking, just made him feel at peace.
While he was doing his assignment, Nico thought back to Hazel's proclamation. After she told Nico that she was his step-sister, Nico could only ask one thing, "How?"
Hazel responded by telling him that apparently, the night when his dad came to know that he lost Maria, he went to a bar, where he met Hazel's mother. The two talked all night, until they both got terribly drunk, and one thing led to another, and the next thing Hazel's mother knew was that one month later, she was pregnant. She didn't know how to contact Hades to inform him, that was until she found him in the very same bar. That was when Hazel's mother was almost ready to give birth. Hades then moved in with Hazel's mother, after he sent both Nico and Bianca to Lotus Public School.
After Hazel's birth, he moved out, sending Hazel's mother monthly child-support checks. Then after a few years, Hazel's mother got into a bad car accident, and died. She was only thirteen, when she heard of her mother's death. That was coincidentally the same time Bianca died. After that, Hazel was sent to an orphanage, where she was taken up by Hades, and his new wife Persephone.
Nico didn't know why he was finding it so hard to accept Hazel as his sister. He should be happy, especially since he lost his own sister. But instead of accepting her, Nico found himself growing angry and irritated. He decided he'd talk it out with Will the next day.
Will. Nico didn't know why his realization that he wanted Will surprised him so much. It was common, a patient finding one doctor better than the other, so why did it surprise him so? Maybe it was the knowing smirk that Apollo sent him? Or maybe the acknowledgement that he preferred Will, kinda made him feel a little self-aware? What also freaked him out was how he had slowly begun to let Percy go. He seemed perfectly content in his relationship with Annabeth, and Nico knew a couple like them wouldn't break up soon, so maybe by accepting Will, he was letting his feeling for Percy drop?
Whatever it was, it was scarring Nico. He didn't like how his feeling where changing towards Will. He was scared to let Will get closer.
He was mostly scared to see what would happen if he let another person get too close to him. He was scared that they might burn in his darkness.
