A/N. Whoo! My second chapter! This request was from Wonderstruck Pen, thanks for that, and she requested a songfic with Hazel of Taylor Swift's 'Innocent'. Hopefully I can do it justice.

Enjoy!

~Franki

Innocent

Hazel took a deep breath, her eyes closed as she dug her nails into the palm of her hand, scrunching up her face and clenching her hands into fists. She felt something swell deep inside her, a feeling growing in the pit of her stomach, gnawing at her mind and prickling at her skin. She could sense him, she could feel him. He was near. Her brother. She didn't know how or why, but she just knew that it was him. Maybe it was some weird child of Pluto thing. Maybe it was just her instinct. But it was him and she knew it. And she missed him.

Aside from Frank, he was the only person who really understood her. She hadn't known him for long, but they could relate, and she loved having a younger brother. And the feeling she had now, the feeling that he was near and she was stuck on a flying boat, unable to do anything about it, made her sick to the stomach. It was a very maternal, big-sisterly feeling, and she felt so helpless that she couldn't do anything about it.

Her mind was filled with memories. She remembered sitting, with him, on the roof of Pluto's temple, talking together and staring out at the magnificent view of Camp Jupiter. She remembered looking into his eyes, his dark, frightening eyes, and just for a second, she had seen the crimes he had commited, all the dirty deeds he had done, hidden behind those eyes. Yet she knew that he was innocent, she just knew it, despite all the things he had done at age just eleven.

Hazel knew what the other campers thought of him. They thought him a monster, a curse. She knew he probably was. But he was still a person. Things were never easy for a child of Pluto, or in his case, Hades, and with the things he had been through, she wasn't surprised he acted with the ruthlessness of someone beyond his years. Yet despite this, he still had the childlike qualities of his own age – the jokes, the subtle sarcasm, the way he laughed and talked freely and smiled when he was with her, someone who understood him. It made her wonder whether he was like this with his old sister. Bianca. Part of the reason he was what he was.

She had talked with Percy about him often, after he had regained his memories. He talked of Nico like a little brother, and a little one at that. Hazel smiled at the thought of Nico's eyes lighting up as he stared bright featured at a Myth-o-Magic card, and chatted enthuisiastically to Percy about how awesome his older sister was, or collecting fireflies in a glass jar. No matter what people thought about him, no matter how far he strayed from the wrong path, he was still a boy. A young, innocent boy.

Hazel looked up, determination flashing in her eyes. If she found him, no, when she found him, she would be the best older sister she possibly could. She would do everything it took to get him back on track, to help him regain his grip on the tightrope. She knew how hard things were for him, how easy they had been before, and she wasn't going to let him turn into a monster. He was still innocent, and she was going to make sure he stayed that way.

Because underneath all the black and the threats and the dark eyes that spoke of wisdom beyond his years, Hazel knew he was still a child. Still an innocent.

A/N. Daaang. This still came out longer than I meant it to, but I like this one. It was a great prompt, thank you Wonderstruck Pen! I like Hazel's character, and her relationship with Nico, and I enjoyed writing this.

Still, it's shorter than the last one, and hopefully I can get practise at condensing them!

R&R, and don't forget to give in any ideas or prompts. :)

~Franki