A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long, I got really distracted (by other fics) and this just slipped my mind. But don't worry, I could never abandon this fic, I love it too much!
Lil Miss Mysterious- Mac and Cheese does smell good! Thanks for reviewing!
HpHgPjGone- That's so cool you live near a bakery. That must smell great :D I haven't read Light, I kinda stopped after Lies, but I might read it eventually. Have you seen Catching Fire yet? And thanks for the tips. Hades is a bit… different in this chapter, but I'm out of practice writing him, so hopefully you still like it. Thanks for reviewing!
JEC00k- I'm glad you think I'm awesome :D You're awesome too. Thanks for reviewing!
Creamtherabbit77- All good smells, although honestly I don't like the smell of rain. It's too rainy. Thanks for reviewing!
Mariepc- That was a beautiful review. Thanks so much!
Hestia'sDaughter- I'm so glad you think I'm amazing! Thank you so much! I love all your favorite smells, they're great :D Thanks for reviewing! And please tell me what your username means, it's really cool!
InsanityUnleashed- Awesome penname (though just a little terrifying…). The reason everyone's messed up isn't explained very well, so I'll just tell you here. Basically, Nico's death caused Hazel and Percy to have some sort of depression and/or PTSD that just affected them in different ways, that's all. I'm glad you like the story. Thanks for reviewing!
Awesomeness- Thanks for reviewing!
Lily Pulitzer- I got this review awhile ago, but I'm pretty sure this is my neighbor stealing my phone… So thanks, dear. But either way, thanks for reviewing!
Siciscio- The questions were asked to me by my Youth Group leader. They didn't have anything to do with the story… But they're definitely going to now. Thanks for reviewing!
Kittyhawk09- Oh, don't worry, dear. I could never stop writing :D Thanks for reviewing!
PJO rulz- PJO does indeed rul. Thanks for reviewing!
Tabbynerdcat- Thanks for reviewing!
Angel of Darkness will get you- Your penname is totally not creepy at all… Anyway, I'm really sorry this took so long, but I am updating now! Thanks for reviewing.
Crisp Snow- Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!
YourFan- I'm so glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing! (And I absolutely love your penname lol)
Me2000- I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing!
Starwatcher27- Thanks for reviewing!
Bibliophilic12- I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!
HunterofArtemisThalia- I will never stop continuing, I promise, I'm so sorry life took over for a couple months. Thanks for reviewing though cause you reminded me I kinda had to write this story lol.
Annabeth- Nico is my first fictional boyfriend too! I'm trying to make the chapters less depressing, but as my friend says "It's not a fan fiction if it doesn't make you cry" so I feel successful. Thanks for reviewing!
Again, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed and answered my questions, I'm officially gonna use your answers in the fic now. Eventually. Theoretically that'll happen. As for my answers to the questions, I like orange juice without pulp, I wet my toothbrush then put the toothpaste on, and my favorite smell is the vent outside the laundry room when the dryer's on.
Explanation time. I am sooo sorry this took so long to get updated. One of the reasons was that I knew I wanted to introduce Bianca in this chapter, and I didn't know the best way to do that. Mainly cause she's loosely based on my mom, and that could become a Mary Sue so easily, so I had to be careful. But I have it now so don't worry!
I hope you all like this chapter. It's a little short, but I didn't think I could successfully continue without losing myself on a tangent, so I stopped where I did.
Another thing about this chapter AND PLEASE READ THIS: Because I love this fic and I really don't want it to become AU, I am trying to keep up the canon of Heroes of Olympus. The main plot twist of House of Hades (I won't spoil anything in case any of you haven't read it yet, but I'll give the rest of you a hint: Cupid) will come into play soon, but it won't be a major plot point so don't worry if you're not a fan of it. I also have made some minor changes to a scene in chapter two, due to a plot device I'm trying to introduce based on Nico's eating habits after getting out of Gaea's prison. So check that out if you want, or ignore it until you're confused and then check. Also, this chapter has a topic that delves a bit into the T rating of this fic- it talks about homosexuality. If you have a problem with that, I feel sorry for you. If you don't, congrats! But I just wanted to warn you about that, so no one would flame me about it later (not that you would, of course; you guys are awesome). This chapter also expresses some of my (interesting) thoughts about the future of America, so bear with me.
Anyway, I'll finally let you get to the chapter. I hope you like it, and let me know what you think of Adrianne. Also please continue to tell me how I'm doing with adult Percabeth, as well as Hades and Persephone (cause I don't even know what happened with them this chapter, it got weird).
And finally, Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, Walkmans, Miley Cyrus, American Idol/Simon Cowell, or any of the altered details based on my mother's childhood. I do own Adrianne, technically.
And now on to the chapter. Please review!
Chapter Five
Her name was Adrianne. She lived just about as far uptown as you could possibly get in Manhattan- practically in the Bronx- on the fifth floor of the building next door to Percy and Annabeth's. She spoke three languages. She was the youngest of three- she had an older sister and a half-brother- and had a black lab named Duchess who only stopped running when American Idol was on (and yes, by the way, American Idol was still a show 15 years in the future).
Nico stood on the fire escape outside her bedroom window (in a completely non-creepy way, thank you very much), cloaked in shadows, watching as his sister perched on her bed reading a book.
Except she wasn't his sister. Not really. Adrianne had frizzy hair the color of dark chocolate that seemed to disobey the more she tried to deal with it. Her eyes were brown, just like Bianca's had been, but Adrianne's eyes were… different. Nico couldn't explain it, but they were.
It was also a little disconcerting to see the lack of floppy green cap Nico was so used to, but Adrianne didn't exactly need it- her hair covered her eyes 98% of the time already.
Still, Nico could definitely see his sister in the girl. In the way Adrianne smiled at her brother. The way she talked to her friends. The way she sang…
Nico turned away from the window as the lights went out in Adrianne's room. He climbed onto the railing of the fire escape, looking down at the hustle and bustle of New York City, and jumped.
Straight into the shadows.
"So what else did I miss?" Nico asked as he leaned against the wall of his father's throne room, rolling a pomegranate seed between his fingers. "During my fifteen years in paradise? Any major world events? Vampiric takeovers?" Nico suddenly paused and frowned. "None of my friends… died, right?"
"No deaths," Hades confirmed from the table where he and Persephone were eating dinner. "Although Frank did have cancer for awhile but Mars convinced Apollo to heal him. Oh, and Reyna came out as a lesbian and joined the Hunters. She and Thalia are, like, besties now."
"Huh," Nico managed, shocked by both the news and the fact that his father had said "besties".
"No vampires, either," Hades continued. "Although there was almost a zombie apocalypse."
"It was his fault," Persephone let Nico know.
"I apologized," his father returned.
Nico found himself smirking at the two of them. He'd never really seen his father and stepmother bicker before. Not that he'd ever spent enough time with them to try…
"Anyway, as for world events, there was a period of time when all American presidents were actors," Hades told him next. "And then the United States decided to become a monarchy, but that only lasted for about a month and a half because the king- another actor, but no one you'd know- got assassinated, allegedly by the twin sons of Miley Cyrus. And then everything went back to normal and the US went into a semi-peaceful state of evolution where it was pretty much a technologically advanced version of the 80s."
Nico nodded. "That would explain Adrianne's holographic Walkman…"
"Yes, how did that go, by the way?" Persephone asked. "Did you find your sister?"
Nico raised an eyebrow, honestly surprised that she cared, but answered nonetheless. "I didn't have to do much looking, since we knew where she lived," he nodded thanks to his father, "but once I got there, I didn't really know how to confront her… mostly I've just been watching her from out the window."
His parents both stared at him.
Nico rolled his eyes. "I was cloaked in shadows, don't worry- she couldn't see me."
Persephone slowly raised an eyebrow.
Nico glared at her. "It was in a completely non-creepy way!"
"I'm sure it was, Nico," Hades assured him before turning back to his dinner. Persephone snickered.
"Anyway," Nico growled, glaring at them both. "Adrianne has school tomorrow, so I'm gonna figure out a way to talk to her then. Until then, I think I'm gonna head back to Percy's- make sure he doesn't hate me for leaving in the middle of the night."
"Stay for dinner first," Hades suggested, gesturing to the banquet in front of him.
Nico eyed the food with disgust and made a grunting noise. "Nah, I'm good, thanks. See you guys tomorrow."
The son of Hades plopped the pomegranate seed in his mouth, then shadow-traveled away without a second thought.
It was weird talking so casually to Hades and Persephone, he had to admit. But then again, everything was weird nowadays.
It was the future, after all.
"How was Rachel's?" Percy asked as soon as his wife came through the door.
Annabeth leaned against the wall with a hand on her stomach and took a deep breath before replying. "Not important. You know that girl Adrianne from next door?"
Percy frowned. "The one with the dog obsessed with Simon Cowell?"
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, her. She works at Isham Pharmacy down the street, and when Rachel and I went in there on the way home, I overheard Adrianne telling one of her coworkers that she's been seeing a guy outside her window who disappears every time she goes outside to look."
Percy's eyes widened in realization. "Nico was looking for Bianca."
Annabeth smiled. "I think he found her."
A/N: I hope you guys liked it. I PROMISE I will update sooner next time! I won't leave you for so long again! But I hope you guys didn't give up on me, you're the best readers I've ever had. So please review!
Question of the Update: Pick one or answer both-
1) If you could play any part in any musical, on Broadway, who would you want to play? (does not have to be a show currently on Broadway)
2) If you could permanently transport yourself into any fictional universe, which one would you want to live in?