A/N: Sorry, this chapter is a shorty. Just more angsty Nico. Im going to attempt to get the next chapter up this weekend, but mi parents are visiting me at college for the first time and i plan on being busy. But i promise ill have it up by monday night at the latest.

Enjoy chapter 8, mi apologies for lazy research, and thank you all :)

Nico looked around at the trees bathed in shadows. Consiglio, the second largest forest in Italy. Nico tended to favor his mother's home country when he was in a particularly foul mood. Consiglio was one of his favorite places to escape because it was quiet and secluded.

He breathed in the fresh air, attempting to calm his racing heart and thoughts. The forest shifted silently around him, the previous presence of animals quickly disappearing when they sense him. Now he was alone again.

'Great,' Nico thought to himself, 'I run away from a dark, silent, gloomy cabin to a dark, silent, and gloomy forest. That makes so much sense.'

Nico shook his head and started walking through the trees, carefully climbing over gnarled roots and fallen branches that barred his way occasionally. He had absolutely no plan as to what to do now. What could he possibly do in the situation he was in?

He remembered his recent conversation with Damen. The man had advised him to talk to his friends. Ugh.

He knew his friends would be understanding. Actually that was the problem. They would be too understanding. And the thought of seeing Percy again made his stomach twist painfully and his head spin in a way that made him want to hurl. How could he ever face Percy again?

He already knew the son of Poseidon wouldn't judge him. He already knew that Nico was... gay. Nico couldn't hold back the shudder of revulsion he felt just thinking the word. Percy should treat him differently, he should judge him. It was wrong. It was disgusting. Men shouldn't have those thoughts about other men.

And maybe that's why Damen gave him that advice. Because he was secretly helping his mom. Because he knew what thoughts would plague Nico when he began to debate said advice.

But it was hard for Nico to believe that. The son of Hades had been around thousands of enemies, but Damen didn't give off a 'bad guy' vibe. Or he would certainly be one of the oddest enemies Nico had ever faced.

He wished he could ask someone for advice about what to do about the strange man. Should he trust him? His advice was probably what anyone else would have given to him.

Nico stopped and looked at his surroundings. He recognized a particular fallen tree that was crooked in a distinguishable 'S' shape. He let out a long sigh. He had succeeded in walking in a huge circle around the forest. He shook his head when he realized how similar it was to the direction is thoughts seemed to be moving.

"Fuck it," he whispered to himself.

The best case scenario for him right now was to go back and pretend like nothing happened. He would keep his head low, and try his best to avoid the talk that he knew Percy would try to make him have. He wished he could spend more time alone so that he wouldn't have to deal with his problems, but obviously that wasn't working. He would go talk to Hazel (Nico's sure she's at least a little worried by now) and then play the rest by ear. At least it was the best he could think of, and he knew from experience that if he spent anymore time alone that his thoughts would just turn darker and darker than they already were. And he knew there was a point where it was impossible to get any worse and he wouldn't be able to take it anymore.

Maybe he would see Damen again soon. The man implied as much. While Nico knew the son of Eris usually only came at true lows in his life, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel better knowing that there was someone he could talk to about his problems that truly understood what he was going through, possibly even better than Nico himself knew.

With yet another heavy sigh, Nico found a dark shadow to disappear in.

And if he happened to take a detours in order to purposefully exhaust himself and ensure that he would sleep that night, no one was the wiser.