I sat at the Apollo table, as per usual, barely eating my fruit salad as I listened to several different conversations at once. The Aphrodite table kept talking about 'Brangelina', whatever that is, and how they are no more. The Demeter table was talking about climate change, which is excessively boring. I honestly didn't think they'd actually talk about something that directly relates to their demigod parentage. I don't constantly talk about death, do I? Okay, that was a bad example.

Today, Percy and I were going into town to look at new furnishing for the Hades and Poseidon cabins. Seeing as I was completely unsatisfied with the décor, and Percy had a driver's license, Chiron figured that we could both get some new ideas for our cabins, as long as we stuck to a relative theme relating to our godly parentage.

The drive into town was uneventful, filled with only the low buzz of music from Percy's old radio. It was on some morning talk show named after a letter, barely even playing any music. The road between Camp Half-Blood and the room & décor store we were going to was mostly empty, until we got closer to Manhattan. The highway got much more packed, the radio station saying to expect delays because of two left lane closures on the stretch of highway we were going on.

"You've got to be kidding me," Percy mumbled. "Someone always gets in a fucking accident here. Always."

I snorted slightly, watching out of the corner of my eye as Percy swore under his breath. We sat practically standing still in traffic for at least an hour, moving about three feet maximum. For the majority of that hour, the radio was on commercial. Percy spent a good ten minutes talking to himself about how sucky the radio was.

"Wanna listen to some music?" Percy asked, turning to him.

"It's on commercial," I pointed out.

Percy smirked, his expression with a mischievous gleam. He pulled out a small, rectangular object, as well as a black cord, plugging one end into the rectangle and the other into a port on the car. Almost immediately, music began to play from the speaker loudly.

I gave Percy a confused, slightly amazed look. "How the heck? Where is that coming from?" I asked loudly.

Percy laughed, his head falling back. "Dude, it's an iPod," he said.

"No it's a rectangle."

"An iPod holds a bunch of songs you can listen to after you download them." Percy explained. "Annabeth's brothers use the same Apple ID as her, and she lets me mooch songs off of her."

I stared at him blankly, making him laugh once again. The song, which had been playing, suddenly went into a different language, something different from English.

"What is this? What happened to the song!" I exclaimed.

Again, Percy laughed again. "It's a remix. It was originally a Spanish song, and then Justin Bieber came in and it was just, it was fucking amazing."

"You people, nowadays always listening to such strange music." I said.

"It's good, it's a really great song," Percy said. "It's about sex."

I stared at him in horror. How could he blankly say such…such vulgar things so casually. How could someone make music about such vulgar things? Something so…so crude and…and it shouldn't even be discussed so openly. I can't even fathom something so crude. Percy saw my expression and burst into laughter, his head falling back.

"Welcome to 2017," is all he said. "We've got tons of songs about sex."

He picked up his silver rectangle, pressing a button that cause the music to cut off. "So there's this part, that's in Spanish, and it's like I wanna see your hair dance, teach my mouth all your favorite places. Let me surpass your danger zones until I make you scream and forget your name. Slowly, I want to breathe on your neck slowly, let me whisper things in your ear, so that you remember when your not with me. Slowly, I want to undress you with kisses slowly—"

"Stop it!" I exclaimed, my face a bright red.

"Wow, you've really been missing out." Percy said, shaking his head. "This guy, Zayn, made a song about literally about rolling around in bed, fucking and—"

"How the—how could anyone just talk about these things? Your language! Ugh!"

Percy gave me a toothy smile, shaking his head. "We gotta get you an iPod, fill it with like at least two songs from every year you missed to get you up to date on the times."

"I don't think I even want to be caught up," I said.

"Dr. Chase spends good money on the music I steal from him, so you'd better enjoy," Percy said.

"What? Dr. Chase?" I asked.

"Were you not listening? Bobby and Mathew use Annabeth's email for their Apple ID—"

"You're gonna have to break it down a lot more, Sonny," I interrupted.

"Okay, so it's an iPod, made by a technology company, called Apple. Apple has a bunch of products, so you can connect all of them you've got an Apple ID. So Annabeth's brothers use her Apple ID, which means she can see anything they download or buy. Their dad, Dr. Chase, uses his credit card for the Apple ID for purchases. Annabeth gave me her password, so I can download whatever songs that her brothers have."

I still didn't understand. I nodded anyways. Percy picked up his silver rectangle, turning the music back on. He hummed along, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. After the Spanish song, there was another very vulgar song. On the screen of the silver rectangle—sorry, iPod—was a picture of a white lady with bleached hair in a white bikini, very exposed, white some blue fuzzy thing on her arms, with the song labeled Bad Bitch. Sure, it was alright. I was more focused on how music went from nice jams for the whole family to curse words in the title.

We made some progress, making it at least three car spaces forward in an hour.

While we were in Manhattan, we made a visit to Percy's mother. Apparently, there was a small child now living there, so I'd have to be extra quiet and less old man-ly, whatever that means. A baby! Mrs. Blofis had had a baby, and no one told me! I mean, what would I do with that information? I'm the child of Hades, lord of the underworld. I'm not supposed to be excited about new life. I'm supposed to be all dark and gloomy and deathlike.

Yet, the minute I laid eyes on the adorable dough-eyed baby I found myself under the spell of the newborn. She had big blue eyes, just like her mother, and a little tuft of brown hair. Sally Blofis was holding the baby, reclining in a chair by the television set when we first arrived. The baby was wide awake and seemed excited to see her big brother.

"Hi Mom," Percy said when we first arrived. "Look who I brought."

Sally turned to use, smiling widely at us. I cast my eyes down, letting my excessively long hair fall in front of my eyes.

"Nico! It's been too long since I've last seen you." Sally exclaimed. She got up, moving toward us. Percy held his arms out for a hug, and instead got control of the baby.

"Go out her down for a nap for me? She seems tired." Sally said to her son.

Percy nodded, taking the baby and disappearing down the hall. Sally turned to me, immediately drawing me into a hug. Hesitantly, I hugged her back, awkwardly patting her back.

"It's so good to see you again," Sally said. "How are you? How have you been? You're so thin. Have you been eating enough? Come, I can have lunch ready in a jiffy."

With that, she pulled me into the kitchen. She had the same persistence of Piper McLean. I had met Sally Blofis once before, at Percy's fifteenth birthday party several years ago. She was an excellent mother and cook, forcing plates of food in front of me. I had also seen her during the events of the Titan War two years ago, although we hadn't had a long conversation. Although I knew it would help anything, I denied I was hungry at all.

"Nonsense," Mrs. Blofis said, already rummaging through the refrigerator. "Your so skinny, Nico. I don't know what they feed you at this camp but Percy and Annabeth always come here looking for food. Oh! How about a BLT? Percy loved BLTs. Or maybe a grilled cheese? Oh! We've got some left over macaroni from dinner last night? You want some pasta? Your Italian, you probably have pasta all the time."

She talked excessively fast.

Percy came back in the kitchen, still holding the baby girl who was gurgling nonsense. "She threw up on me," Percy whined.

Mrs. Blofis' head appeared from the refrigerator. "Percy, go toss your shirt in the wash. Nico, do you mind holding Gabrielle for a minute?"

I nodded mutely, watching as Percy came over, gently depositing the small baby in my arms and instructing me on how to hold her. Support the head, etcetera etcetera. I kinda just stared at the baby, who was staring at me. I had once met a little girl in the Hephaestus cabin, barely nine, who cried when she met me, saying that just being near me scared her. I was sure that this baby would burst into tears any second. She did something really surprising.

She laughed.

Her gooey little gums showed as she let out a bright laugh, spit gurgling from the corners of her mouth. Her chubby little hand reached up, barely brushing against the bottom of my nose. I was a little startled, giving Baby Gabrielle a startled look. She laughed louder.

"I…I think I broke it," I said, slightly startled.

Mrs. Blofis laughed from the stove. "She's laughing, Nico. Make faces at her."

"I don't make faces, I'm a son of Hades!" Cue laughing baby. I think Baby Gabrielle thought my deathly presence was funny.

"You're still a person, Nico. You were once a baby and your Mommy and your sister made cute little faces for you to laugh at. As a mother, I'm asking you to entertain my child while I feed you." Sally scolded.

I nodded, turning my attention back to the baby. "Uh…you're a very cute baby." I said awkwardly. "You have a very pretty Mommy. And a very cute big brother. Have you seen his butt?"

"Nico!" Sally exclaimed.

Baby Gabrielle giggled, her eyes shining brightly.

"You like it when I talk about your big brother, huh?" I asked. "He's funny, don't worry. Although don't tell him I said that. I don't understand why you think I'm funny, though. Everyone is scared of me."

"They don't realize your just a cuddle kid, do they?" Sally asked.

"I am not cuddly," I stated, making Baby Gabrielle giggle again. Her little pudgy fists swung up. "Okay, so occasionally I can be cuddly."

"I bet your boyfriend most definitely agrees."

I looked at Sally, slightly startled, because I didn't tell her, or anyone really, that I was in a relationship, or…or interested in men. The only indication would be my early fascination with Percy's adorable butt. But honestly, have you seen it? Honestly, Annabeth was so lucky to get to play with that all the time. Well not all the time, they were in public a lot. But still.

"What? I know everything, Nico." Sally said. "Don't think Percy sold you out, either. But I wasn't expected that, you know. Maybe a Hephaestus camper, or some mortal. But you know, it's incredibly cute. Dark and light, healer and death. And he's not to bad on the eyes either."

"Mom, your making him uncomfortable," Percy whined, once again, as he reentered the kitchen. Instead of his Orange camp shirt, he had on a blue tee shirt that's seemed worn out.

Sally looked at her son, most likely to scold him, but instead laughed. "Percy, that shirt is so old."

He rolled his eyes, saying, "I know. Annabeth took literally all of my shirts with her to California. I think she likes them more than me."

I snorted while Baby Gabrielle giggled. I was really warming up to this baby. Percy looked at me, his face breaking into a grin. "Oh my gods, I need to get a picture of this. Show Will how domesticated you can be. I should put it up on every cabin door, show everyone how you can be a softy."

"No," I moaned.

Baby Gabrielle gurgled in my arms as Percy took the picture. Mrs. Blofis set the table with still steaming macaroni, probably a day old, as well as four sandwiches, three bags of family sized chips, and a carton of lemonade.

"Yum," Percy said. "I love coming home."

He slid into a chair at the table, narrowly missing a playful slap from his mother. "You get one sandwich, young man," she said. "Nico, you can have two. The other one is for me."

"Mrs. Blofis, I don't need two—"

"You very much do. You're all skin and bones. It's amazing that you survived that Giant War, and even made it this long. I'm surprised your doctor boyfriend hasn't force-fed you until you were the appropriate weight for a boy of your age, weight, and height. You probably have such a low BMI—"

"Mom, leave him alone," Percy whined, his mouth now full of food. He seemed to whine a lot.

Sally took Baby Gabrielle from me, instructed me to sit at the table. It is considered excessively rude and disrespectful to be invited into someone's house, have them cook you food, and you not eat it. I managed to get through half of a sandwich and some a glass of lemonade and several Fritos. Seeing as this was his house, and this was probably a norm, Percy had managed to eat much more then me. It's not like I set the bar high or anything.

Sally had put Baby Gabrielle down for a midday nap, leaving just Percy and I in the kitchen. "Your sister's cute." I muttered.

"I know, runs in the family." Percy said. I snorted.

"You look nothing like your mother."

"Thank you. I enjoy being told I resemble to the god of the seas."

"That's not—no I—not—"

"Ssh," Percy said, cutting me off. "It's already been decided."

We got back to camp well past dinner time. Everybody was in their Post-Dinner Activity, which for me was tending to the infirmary. Unfortunately, Percy was still in a good mood, which meant that I was suffering from Happy-Percy Syndrome. We were walking up Half-Blood Hill, when Percy decided to be a jerk. He lifted me up, tossing me over his shoulder and jogging to the infirmary.

"Hey! Put me down!" I shouted, as he laughed, running across camp.

"Never!" he shouted victoriously.

"No! Stop it! Percy!"

He laughed, speeding up as he past the volleyball court. The Demeter and Hypnos cabins were playing a game, pausing as they watched the strange scene.

"Percy Jackson I swear to Hades—"

He just laughed, again, as he rounded the corner, approaching the Big House. He literally dropped me on the floor of the infirmary, smirking proudly at the startled look Will had. "I've brought him back in one piece, aren't you proud?" Percy declared.

"Ow." I groaned from the ground. "Rude."

"Had fun today. We should do it again sometime." Percy continued. "Later Will. Adios Neeks."

He was gone by the time I was on my feet again. I looked at Will, seeing him looking at me questionably. "What was that about?" Will asked.

"Just Percy, being a jerk." I said.

"How was your day?"

I shrugged.

"You gonna ignore me now?"

"I'm tired, Will." I said. "I just fell on my ass. I thought 'my doctor' was supposed to make sure I was okay?"

I glanced at Will, who was frowning significantly. "Don't get all butthurt about it."

"Butt—what? Since when did you say things like that?"

I shrugged. "Percy says that all the time."

"Percy, huh?"

"Do you need my help, or not?"

"You can go and take your stupid nap." Will said in a slightly angry, slightly hurt, tone.

"Whatever."

Seeing that the infirmary was my Post-Dinner Activity, I was left to go back to my cabin. I wasn't sure if what just happened counted as a fight, but I was still pretty pissed. I'm sure my sour mood was affecting camp as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Demeter campers leaving the volleyball court, muttering about dying grass. I could feel eyes on me as I walked through camp. I would've Shadow traveled back to my cabin, if my father hadn't restricted it, to like never until I was 'more in touch with reality.'

I'm sure someone had attempted to talk to me while I walked. I got back to my cabin, slamming the door shut for no one in particular to hear my frustration. I lay on my bed, replaying my conversation with Will in my head. He was definitely mad at me, seeing as he wasn't his usual patient self. I don't even know what I did! But it was most definitely a fight.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew it was morning, the conch horn blaring loudly through camp. I groaned, getting out of bed, dressed, and heading to breakfast. The whole aura around my cabin was death-like, the usual overgrown grass wilted and the air gloomy. It was like a cloud of darkness hung over my head as I made my way to the dining pavilion.

Instead of my usual place at the Apollo table, I figured I'd better sit at my own table, even though 'weird stuff' was bound to happen. I was still pretty full from dinner at Mrs. Blofis's, as well as lunch, seeing as she made lots of food for us. Heck, I'm sure Percy brought some back with him. I managed to eat some grapes before pushing my plate away, resting my head on the table.

Pretty much the entire day, I avoided Will at all costs. It wasn't hard, seeing as he usually spends all day in the infirmary. I most stayed in the Combat Arena with Percy, watching him train the young campers while I sulked. Two and a half hours after breakfast was lunch. I stayed in the arena, slashing through straw dummies while I relished in the emptiness of the place. There were no demigods running around, causing a muck, and there was no Percy Jackson, either.

The more time that went by, the more upset I got. All I could think about was how pissed Will sounded. He was being a total jerk-wad. The conversation was twisted in my mind by now. The way I remember it, Will was getting all pissy because I was tired from hanging out with Percy, spending time with people like he'd wanted. Pardon my language, but he's being a dick.

After I'd finished destroying several dummies, I returned the practice sword to its rack, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up. Sure, I did have manors (occasionally), but I could just blame this on the Hermes cabin, who'd been in the class before. It was well into lunch, close to the end, so I made my way to woods, the only path the avoid seeing campers. I wandered through the woods for what felt like five minutes, but was really hours. The trees in the southern woods were so full of leaves, they made a canopy of darkness over the whole forest.

The dryads in the southern woods were pretty gloomy. Or maybe nature was just reflecting my current mood. I was no child of Demeter, but I did have a negative effect on nature, and most things living. I got sick of the woods, though, after a while. I found my way back to the actual camp, and it was creepily dark. There was some smoke in the air, meaning it was campfire time. I went past the Pegasus stables, walking behind the armory and forges to get back to the cabins.

Someone was sitting on the porch of my cabin. The closer I got, the more I was able to make out. It was a tall person, most likely a guy, leaning against the doorframe without a care in the world. Soon enough I recognized it was Percy Jackson. Instead of his usual smirk or brooding look, he was frowning significantly. He had a gash running from his forehead to his mid-cheek, not deep enough to be worried about but still looked gross. The eye on the other side of his face was swollen, probably bruising. In the entirety, he looked like he had gotten into a fight with a gang of thugs, and lost.

"Where the heck have you been!" Percy snapped.

I was taken aback by his sudden outburst. So naturally, I fired back. "My whereabouts are none of your concern, sir."

"I'm your friend, dude! You can't just run off without telling anyone!"

"I didn't realize that having friends meant that I'd have to tell you where I am constantly!"

"It's called being worried!"

"Stop worrying about me! I'm not some fragile paper that'll crumble with the blow of wind."

"That's exactly what you are!"

"I didn't ask for you to be be my friend! You just decided that I need you! News flash, Jackson, but I don't! Not everybody likes you! Not everybody wants to know the 'oh so awesome Percy Jackson'!"

Percy's face was red, with anger most likely. In a bitter voice, he said, "This is why everyone hates."

I seethed with rage, shouted for him to get out. I could feel my forehead pounding, darkness on the edge of reality. Hundreds of voice filled my head, wandering souls floating aimlessly around the camp grounds. I pulled on my hair, crouching down as the voices became louder, the pounding harder. Everything went dark.

I was in the infirmary. When I opened my eyes, I was met with the curious gaze of Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I grunted in displeasure, making her crack a smile. "And he lives!" Rachel exclaimed with a laugh. I sat up, grimacing at the bright morning light.

Kayla Knowles came over, pushing me back into laying. "Sitting isn't such a good idea," she said. "You've been out for quiet some time, now."

"Huh?"

"You totally ruined our campfire, dude," Rachel said. "We spent all night fighting off demon skeletons and undead spirits that had manifested a body. By we, I mean our brace children warriors. I don't fight."

"You unleashed a pretty powerful sonar of darkness, that nearly killed you."

The first thing I thought about was Percy. He had been close to me, what if I had killed him? Gods, Annabeth would kill me.

"Wah—whe—Percy?" I managed to asked.

The two girls looked at each other, exchanging something I hadn't known. "He's at home, dude." Rachel said.

Seeing the confused look on my face, Kayla picked up the conversation. "Him and Will got suspended two days ago—that day you passed out—cause they were fighting. Not like verbal or combat, like a stupid high school fight. Percy got sent home until Friday for disorderly conduct, and Will is on cabin arrest until the weekend."

"The…they were fighting?"

"Yeah." Kayla said. "Percy was asking where you were and Will snapped cause he's a jealous little shit."

"It was insane," Austin Lake chimed, coming into the room. "I can't believe Will punched Percy. I didn't even think Will could fight."

All I could hear was that Will and Percy had fought, because of me. Sure, I should probably be pissed at one or the other, because fighting 'was bad' and all that. But all I could think about was Will being jealous of Percy. And he even resorted to violence, something he hated, trying to show the Percy Jackson that I was his. I don't usual get this-this warm, gooey feeling in my chest, but it felt good. Weird, but good.

Austin Lake continued his explanation, Kayla turned to the cabinets while Rachel entertain the young demigod. Seeing the perfect opportunity, I let the shadows envelop me, slinking into the darkness. In an instant, I was on the ground in the Apollo cabin, groaning at the full throbbing behind my sinuses. I looked around the mostly empty, very bright cabin, spotting Will sitting on his bottom bunk along the wall, a book in his lap.

"Will," I croaked in a weak voice. I didn't think I was loud, especially with the indication that I just fell on his floor out of nowhere. For some reason, he seemed to snap out of his trance, jumping slightly as he looked around the room, we made eye contact, and I smiled sheepishly.

"I tend to have a bad habit of breaking out," I said with a shrug.

Will scampered to his feet, rushing over to kneel next to me. "Aren't you supposed to be in the infirmary? You—"

Whatever he was about to say (probably calling me a doofus or something stupid), was cut off. I grabbed him by his shirt, kissing him hard on the mouth. He let out a startled squeak. It barely last a second, before I pushed him away. I could feel all the blood in my face as I put on my usual frown, glaring at Will's still startled look. He was stuttering all around, his face beet red.

"Look, I heard about what you did a couple of days ago. It was really sweet. In a totally gross and horrible way." I said. "But you were very brave to try and fight Percy and whatever."

"A-are you trying to say thank you?" Will stuttered.

"What do you sent me to do! I broke out of the infirmary, I-I give you a freakin' kiss!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "You know I'm bad at these things."

Will chuckled, a smile gracing his lips. Then, those same lips were on mine again. I wasn't usually keen on PDA and such, but we were in his cabin.

A/N: So the songs they were listening to/talking about. The first was Despacito by Luis Fonzi and Daddy Yankee, the remix with Justin Bieber. The song they were talking about was Pillowtalk by Zayn. The last song was obviously Bad Bitch by Bebe Rexha. I like the lovely Solangelo fluff in this chapter. This is probably the last light and fluffy chapter in this four part series. Already working on the third piece, which is a lot darker. There's a lot of —well, let me not spoil it for you.

For Nico, I thought about how he's from the forties and junk. He's probably pretty sensitive to our shameless cursing of these days. And all our songs about sex. To be honest though, we have a lot of songs like that. I just think that Nico would be the type of person to not know what an iPod was, or a bunch of our popular songs, things like that.

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