Percy walked down the old hallway, a hammer in his hand. He knew he had heard something, a pounding, from the third floor. He had been searching for an hour but had come up emptyhanded. Had he really just been hearing things?
He was about to give up when he heard it again, the picture frames on the walls rattling. It sounded like something had ran into the wall itself, so close to Percy that he jumped back in surprise and fell onto his butt.
"Who's there?" he squeaked, his hands rushing to grab the hammer he had dropped.
"Percy?" Annabeth called up the stairs. "What are you doing?"
Percy slowly rose to his feet. "Th...Th...Thought I heard something!"
Annabeth came upstairs slowly, her hair a mess. "I finally go to bed and you aren't there."
Percy paled. "I...I'm sorry...I thought I heard something. I came to check it out."
Annabeth sighed. "Of course he wants to ruin everything."
"Hm?" Percy asked.
"You haven't found out yet?" Annabeth looked around the hallway with her arms crossed. "Thanks a lot, Nico. Now I have to sound like the insane one, here."
"Annabeth..." Percy watched her in confusion. "Who's Nico? Is he who you're cheating on me with?"
Annabeth chuckled softly. "Is that what you've been thinking Percy? Why would I be cheating?"
"Because you...you..." Percy spread his hands out. "Everything. You've acted uninterested in me."
"That's because I'm used to you and I love you." she went and took the hammer from him before kissing his cheek. "And work has been hard. But I'm not cheating on you. I promise."
Percy sighed in relief. "Then who's Nico?"
"Nico is...an asshole, annoying, can be nice." Annabeth looked around. "Nico, you want to show yourself or are we going to be standing here all night?"
Nico sighed as he appeared behind Percy. "You're so needy, Annabeth, I swear. You can't go one night without asking something of me."
Percy seemed to jump out of his skin as he spun around to face the transparent ghost. Nico was holding a lit candle in one hand, no doubt drawing heat from it. "What?"
"You...you...you're a...a..." Percy spluttered. "You're a..."
"A...?" Nico gestured for him to go on. "What am I, Percy?"
Annabeth put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "You bought a house with a ghost in it, Perseus. Good job."
"It...it...cheap..."
"Yes, it was cheap." Nico nodded. "You almost formed a sentence there, Percy."
Percy glared at him. "You...you...ugh!" He put his head in his hands. "Why does this have to happen to my family?!"
"Because you bought my house...?" Nico offered.
"Because life is life." Annabeth kissed Percy's cheek. "Calm down there, Perce. Don't have a heart attack."
"Yeah, please don't," Nico begged. "Then you'd be stuck here with me forever."
"Ha ha." Percy's eyes narrowed. "You better not touch my wife or my daughters."
"I won't hurt anyone." Nico rolled his eyes. His legs disappeared, leaving them with a floating torso to stare at. "It's actually nice having some company. If I intended on scaring you away I would have done so already."
Percy sighed heavily before looking to Annabeth. "I need to go lay down."
"Okay, let's go." she glanced at Nico. "Goodnight, di Angelo."
"Goodnight, I guess." Nico looked to the ceiling. "It's going to storm."
Percy went back to his bedroom with Annabeth at his side, his hands still shaking from the whole ordeal. His wife, however, seemed to be completely calm after seeing a ghost of a teenage boy.
"Annie..." Percy closed the door behind them. "How'd you find out about him?"
"I met him the first night we were here." Annabeth laid on their bed. "He's actually pretty nice."
"He's a ghost..." Percy laid beside her. "I just talked to a ghost..."
Annabeth cuddled into his side. "I know for a fact that he won't hurt us."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because, Percy. I just am." she closed her eyes. "Get some sleep."
"Sleep..." he sighed. "I can't, now."
"Why not?" she pulled the blankets over them. "Nervous? Scared of Nico?"
Percy shook his head. "I'm not scared of him. I'm just..." He sighed. "Okay, maybe I'm a little scared."
Annabeth laughed softly. "It'll be fine, Percy. I was a little freaked out at first, too. But then I talked to him. He can actually have some really intellectual conversations. He's a good kid."
"I wonder how he died..." Percy stared up at the dark ceiling. "He's young."
"Hanged," Annabeth mumbled. "Did you see his neck?"
"Oh..." Percy frowned, suddenly disturbed. "That sounds so painful."
"That's because it is." Annabeth sighed. "Come on, Perce. Let's get some sleep."
Percy nodded. "Okay. Goodnight, Annie."
"Goodnight, Percy." she went to sleep, but nothing could have helped him sleep that night.
