Chapter 9: Bro, Can't I eat my Burger in Peace?

When Hazel got to school, and about eight people wished her happy birthday, she was a bit surprised. Today was December 17th, and she was turning 14. Although the attention made her a little uncomfortable, she didn't mind it too much. The only question she still had was who told everyone? She didn't feel the need to advertise her birthday, so the only one who knew was Nico. Hazel was sure he wouldn't have told anyone if she didn't want him to.

This morning she walked alone because Nico left for school early, though she wasn't quite sure why. He left her a small silver box on her dresser as a present. It was a charm bracelet with little gems and diamonds like topaz and emeralds. He left her a little note too, wishing her a Happy Birthday.

Hazel skipped over to her group of friends, and as if on cue, they all threw their arms up and yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" She grinned at them and returned the gesture by hugging all of them. "But how did you guys find out?'' She finally asked. "I didn't make a big deal out of it."

In response, each of them glanced at a specific person in the group. Frank rubbed the back of his head. "Well...actually I remember you mentioning the date a few months back.." He flushed and ducked his head. "And I might have said something to Percy.."

Percy shrugged. "Who might have mentioned it to Annabeth."

Annabeth grinned. "Who might have informed Piper, who told Jason."

Jason held up a hand. "Who then might have taken as his responsibility to tell Leo."

"Who in turn thought it would be great if everyone knew!" the curly haired Hispanic boy held up his phone. On the screen was a message that plainly said:

Yo senors and senoritas! IT'S MY BAE HAZEL'S B-DAY TOMORROW! DON'T FORGET!

She also noticed how it was sent to everyone in his contacts. "Whole contacts?" Hazel raised an eyebrow with amusement.

"Yeah." Leo nodded. He slipped his phone into his pocket. "I even sent it to my mom."

Hazel face palmed. Piper put a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Hey... why do so many people know? I thought us six and your mom were the only ones on your contact list."

When the whole group laughed at Leo's expense, he got defensive. "Hey! Not true!" He then began reading off a list of names from his phone. "I even have Coach Hedge's number! I don't even play sports!" He took a deep breath to begin ranting again when Reyna walked up next to him. Leo felt like a twerp next to her. And the bruise on her right cheek wasn't helping either. He assumed it was from getting elbowed or the ball to the face in soccer. She defiantly played for Coach Hedge's team. That man would be proud of her battle scars.

"Happy Birthday Hazel," she greeted quickly before turning away. Leo noticed how she didn't even glance at the others. Before she could get far though, Jason snagged her arm. She turned so fast, she almost smacked the blonde boy in the face with her dark braid. When he caught her eye she hesitated, but aggressively broke the grip. "Umm Reyna..." He coughed. She gestured for him to hurry up, so he said, "As you have noticed it is Hazel's birthday. Piper and Leo have already talked it over with Silena. We're throwing a party for her at Silena's house on Saturday."

Hazel widened her eyes in surprise and turned to Leo for confirmation. He winked in response. "Anyway," Jason continued. "We are inviting you too.''

Reyna held a perfect poker-face. Although Jason and her had been friends for a very long time, he couldn't help but feel like he did something wrong. "I'll think about it." She finally said and turned around. As soon as she was facing the opposite direction, another figure slammed into her. It wasn't hard to decipher who it was considering the dark clothing. Reyna was about to bend down and help pick up Nico's books, but he beat her to it. He muttered a sorry before walking away.

Reyna stood there for a few moments before starting her journey to first period again.

The group redirected their attention to each other again. "See?" Jason said. "Reyna isn't that scary."

Hazel nodded. "Yeah. Nico didn't make some rude comment at her so that's a good sign." She bit her lip, trying to hold in a sigh of disappointment. She didn't know whether Nico didn't notice her next to Reyna, or if he plain out ignored her.

Piper opened her mouth to say something but Annabeth cut her off. "Let's not be late!" She grabbed Percy's shoulder and shoved him down the hallway. Frank and Hazel nodded and followed their lead. Piper reached for Jason's hand and smiled at him. "Walk me to class? Annabeth just ditched me."

Jason beamed. "Gladly."

As they walked, something jabbed Piper in the side which felt like a mixture of getting tasered and tickled all at once. She jumped and let out an unprofessional squeak. "Leo!" she scowled.

The short boy shrugged but Piper could see the mischievous grin he was hiding. "What? I didn't do anything."

Jason looked over Piper's head. "You're still here?" he asked. "I thought you ran off to talk party plans with Hazel."

Piper fake coughed. "Stalk Hazel you mean?"

Jason smirked but Leo didn't seem to catch it. "Oh you're right! I mean the party was on such short notice I hope everyone can come!"

After he chased down Hazel and Frank who already disappeared around the corner, Piper laughed out loud causing Jason too as well. To Piper, when Leo said "Oh you're right!", it sounded like he was saying she was right and he wanted to stalk Hazel.

After the laughing died down, the mood completely changed when Jason looked at her and said "I just hope you're not mad at me. Piper stopped walking but didn't loosen her grip on his hand.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

He shrugged. Piper wasn't too worried. When something was up, Jason's eyes were usually darker and kind of spooky. Right now they were kind and playful. "You know... I just kind of invited Reyna without talking to you about it first. I know were both still a little shaken up about what happened with Drew a few months ago."

Piper's jaw tightened but she faked a laugh. "What? Nah, it's cool. I know Reyna's your friend."

Jason nodded. "Okay. That's good to hear." He gave her a quick hug before saying bye and rushing into his classroom. Piper slowly walked into her class that was just across the hall.

She plopped down next to Annabeth and sulked with guilt. Jason's been bending over backwards to be with her 24 hours a day pretty much, and how does she repay him? She makes him feel nervous with other girls and one of his oldest friends just because she was corrupted with jealousy. She remembered how angry he'd gotten when Dylan harassed her or when Drew set him up.

Piper knew Reyna wouldn't pull a stunt like either of them. But her plan of becoming friends with the Spanish girl was not going to well.

Will Solace was tired. Super tired. He had spent the previous evening last-minute Christmas shopping, and then was up studying for the rest of the night. He wouldn't have even noticed Nico at the end of the hall if it wasn't for Lou Ellen literally smacking him across the face.

"What was that for?" he scolded, rubbing the red spot on his cheek.

She rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "I said your name like ten times. Just saying the emo kid is over there."

Will rubbed his eyes and looked up. Walking down the checkered floors was, in fact, Nico di Angelo. The boy was looking down at his feet, avoiding all eye contact with the other human beings around him, Will assumed. Unsurprisingly, he crashed into another person, that person being Reyna. He quickly picked up his books and escaped the situation.

Nico stumbled down the hall until he was right in front of Will, nearly bumping into him too. It wasn't until that moment that Will noticed Lou Ellen and Cecil laughing their heads off. "What are you doing di Angelo?" Cecil gasped. "Playing bumper cars?!" He sputtered out some other stuff that wasn't very intelligent.

Nico didn't seem amused and frowned. He looked over at Will and his frown darkened. Will wrinkled his freckled nose in response. "What?"

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know. I just feel like glaring at you."

"Glaring at me?" Will resisted to smile. "You just like acting mad at me all the time."

Nico waved his hand and pushed passed Will and his laughing friends. "Nah it's not acting. Your presence just irritates me."

Will crossed his arms and almost slipped on the slush that someone tracked in from the parking lot. He left Lou Ellen and Cecil behind, following Nico. "Hey, you approached me first!"

Nico shrugged. "You're the one following me now."

Will bit his lip. Nico did get him there. He tried thinking of another thing to say so he could roast this kid, but another thought popped into his head. "Oh yeah! Tell Hazel I said happy birthday!"

This seemed to catch Nico off guard because he stopped walking and slowly looked up at him. "How did you find out?"

Will made a 'tsk tsk' sound and tapped Nico's head. "My dear Nico, there's this new thing in our century called technology." He pulled out his smart phone and pulled up the chat from Leo.

"Leo?"

Will nodded. "Yeah, apparently she is having a party at Silena's on Saturday? You didn't know?"

Nico growled under his breath and shook his head. Of course Hazel's friends planned it. "How did Leo even get your number?"

Will stopped at his locker and Nico begrudgingly did too. "I don't even know." He put in his combination and opened his locker, causing a couple books to fall out. When he bent down to pick them up, Nico examined the little pictures held in by magnets. There was one taken in a photo booth, with Will, Lou Ellen, and Cecil, all making silly faces. It must have been a few years ago because Will's face looked less mature and Lou Ellen's hair was much longer.

There was another one where Will was sitting on a couch with his two brothers. The small boys were both busy fighting over a toy while Will had a goofy grin on his face. The one that really caught his eye was the one where a very thin, pretty woman sat at a table with wine glass in her hand. She had on makeup and her light brown hair fell loosely around her shoulders. She had a warm smile and her blue eyes were soft. On her lap sat a little boy about four, with blonde curls falling into his eyes and around his ears. He was half asleep and looked like he was about to drop his sippy cup. His shorts and t-shirt exposed the freckles along his legs and arms. The woman's arms were wrapped protectively around him.

Looking at the picture made Nico's heart ache. Nico lost his mother at a young age and never really had a father figure. Will had told him stories about his mother and how they don't get along. But Will also told him that when he was little, he used to tell his mother he wanted to "Heal peoples' broken hearts." He was probably about the age he is in the picture when he said that stuff. When he used to get along with his mother.

Will didn't seem to notice Nico staring at the photos. He was too busy trying to pull a folder out of his locker without spilling his papers all over, whilst also rubbing his eyes. "What are you doing?"

Will yawned really loud. Like obnoxious loud. "Just tired." Will looked so youthful like he did in those pictures and Nico had to force himself to tear his eyes from him. He thought of the night he blurted out those accursed Italian words and he blushed.

He hadn't noticed Will slam his locker and look at him. So when he heard his voice say "Are you hot?" He had to bite his tongue from saying something even stupider than random Italian words.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

Will put his hand on Nico's forehead. "Your whole face was really red. I thought you might be over heating."

Nico's face reddened more than before at that statement. He felt even stupider now. "Um. No. I'm good."

Will grinned and pointed down the hallway. His converse were covered in slush so he could only assume he was the one tracking it all over the place. "Now get out of here Lord of Darkness."

Nico frowned. "What." he said as his face returned to it's natural color.

Will shrugged. He had a mischievous gleam in his eye which wasn't normal for the cheerful boy. "Well isn't your shadow the only thing that walks beside you?''

"Will Solace what are you doing?"

The clever boy put a hand on his chin and looked at the ceiling. "I think I heard it in a song somewhere."

"Yeah, you idiot." Nico groaned. "You just quoted Green Day, you poser."

The blond began his way to class carrying all his books in one arm. "Shadow Travel out of here little Death Boy."

Nico stood in place but shouted down the hall "What!" He felt stupid saying that for about the hundredth time today.

Will turned toward Nico but was still walking backwards. "Actually, Shadow Travel sounds dangerous. Don't do it."

Nico blinked and rolled his eyes. He ignored Will's stupid smile and walked away.

"I don't think I've heard you say one word all year." a high pitched, nasally voice said in Nico's ear. He chose to ignore it, until she said it again. He decided he might as well glance up, and he did not like what he saw. An Asian girl by the name Drew Tanaka was all up in his face with her dark curls falling around her shoulders and so much makeup she could have a black eye.

Nico glanced up at Will who was sitting across from him. He had his earbuds in and looked as if he was going to face plant into his lunch. They started sitting together at lunch out of habit. Ever since the food fight, Will seemed to think they were 'partners in crime' or something. Which was kind of funny because even though Will was 'Mr. I'm-gonna-be-your-friend-if-you-like-it-or-not', he didn't say much at lunch. He would sit down and eat quietly and usually listen to music or read a book. Then when the bell would ring , he would start blabbing and bickering with Nico like usual. It concerned the the freshmen boy, but he thought it was better not to ask. He wasn't very fond of learning about other peoples' life stories.

When Will didn't look at him, Nico softly kicked him under the table. This got his attention, because in a split second there were two wide blue eyes staring at him in alert. "What!" he sputtered and blinked a few times taking in surroundings. Apparently he was asleep.

Nico nodded his head toward the scowling girl and Will seemed to understand it. He mouthed the word 'oh' and gave a nervous smile. "Um hi Drew?"

Drew didn't looked amused and put her hands on her hips. Will wasn't quite sure why she looked so mad at them, but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. She was loud, and need less to say, extremely annoying. "Well," she huffed, "I asked this little midget kid something and he ignored me!" She glared at Nico from the corner of her eye and he made an equally unattractive face at her.

Will easily kept his cool, but couldn't help but feel offended she was making fun of Nico. ''Well, what did you ask him?" He noted how Nico still hadn't said anything at all.

She rolled her eyes and pulled out a pink compact mirror, adjusting her makeup. "I said 'I don't think I've heard you say one word all year.'" Nico's jaw tightened and he blinked.

When Drew's glower hardened Will flashed her a heartwarming small."That technically wasn't a question." Will pointed out and stretched his arms. In a way, it was a good thing he was dealing with this irritating human being. It was waking him up, and that was quite helpful. Realizing she was still unamused, he reverted his attention to Nico who still looked frustrated. Will winked at him and gave him a half smile. When Nico groaned and rolled his dark eyes, Will knew he got the memo. "Go on Nico say one word for Drew."

After giving him another swift kick to the shin Nico mumbled, "One word."

Drew's eye makeup seemed to darken and she stomped her pink heels on the floor. Will bit his lip to hold in his laughter. Usually he felt bad when he came across this behavior, because obviously this girl needed help. But even he couldn't resist this. She looked like the girl who wanted a gold egg in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. "See? Now you've heard him say two words!"

Instead of screaming, she simply swatted Will's bowl of grapes over and watched them roll down the table. "Frickin' smart ass.." She muttered as she stormed away.

The two boys sat silently as they watched the last of the grapes bounce onto the floor. The silence was beginning to make Nico uncomfortable. "I think your grapes spilled." he commented.

Will blinked and maneuvered himself so he could reach under the table and picked up the unsanitary fruit. After putting a couple in the container he said "You're very observant."

The walking storm cloud shrugged as he watched Will stick his earbuds in his pockets. ''Why did you do to make her so angry anyway?" Will asked him.

Nico raised his eyebrows. "Nothing. Those were literally the first word I've said to her all year. And thank you for making me totally disregard my goal of not talking to her all year."

"Your goal?" Will snorted. Nico's tufts of black hair were sticking up and curling in random places which made him look even more adorable. In the sense of friendship adorableness of course.

"Yes.'' Nico confirmed crossing his arms. The room seemed to drop in temperature and got quieter, so he spoke his next words more softly. "As soon as I heard her voice, I knew that was my new goal in life."

Will did finger guns at him. "Wow. If that's your goal, then you must not plan on having a bright future."

Nico pursed his lips and gestured to himself with both his hands. "Bright isn't really a word I associate with myself. Whether it's about intelligence or anything else."

Will bit his lip and glanced over at Clarisse out of force of habit. They hadn't talked much lately but he still wondered how she was doing. Chris and her seemed to be in an in depth conversation because when she noticed his gaze at her, she just directed her attention back to her boyfriend.

At that, Will looked over at Nico who had already went back to reading his book. His hair continued to fall into his eyes and it was obviously annoying him because he was pushing it out of the way every few seconds. Eventually he just kept his hand up and held up his hair, revealing his forehead. He played with an awkward strand that stuck up on the side. Remembering what Nico had just said, he responded with, "Aw come on Neeks. I was just teasing. You're pretty smart. You'll go far in life!"

Nico chewed the inside of his cheek. How did he respond to that? Did he say thank you? He didn't have a lot of people running around telling him 'you'll go far in life'. "Two things. Do not call me 'Neeks'. And the was the most delayed response I have ever witnessed."

Will scrunched up his face. Did it really take him that long to say that? Now he felt stupid. Well, falling over your own two feet several times a day also made him feel stupid, but this was different. "Hey, I have a lot on my mind."

To his surprise, Nico chuckled. With his lips slightly curled, he did in fact let out a pleasant sound of laughter. "Don't you always have something on your mind Dr. Solace?" Nico mused.

Will wanted to be annoyed, he wanted to scowl at Nico for making fun of him. But Nico's smile was contagious. It was rare. "Aren't you gonna ask me what's on my mind?''

And within a few seconds, the rare smile faded. "Sorry, I don't ask personal questions."

Will frowned and let out a huff. "Well I'm gonna tell you anyway."

Nico rolled his eyes and took a bite of a celery stick. After making a face of disgust he flicked his finger at Will. "Shoot."

Will wasn't quite sure why he said that, because he was literally thinking about how cute Nico was. He wasn't sure Nico would would appreciate him saying 'yeah you're hella adorable and I like the way your hair falls into your eyes.' Instead of delaying his answer again and giving Nico another reason to embarrass him, he blurted out ''Hazel's birthday. Have you heard anything else about it since this morning."

This caused Nico to scowl. "Yeah. I ran into her and Leo in the hall. It's gonna start at 6:00 on Saturday, and because it's Hazel I have to go."

Will nodded. "Fun, fun, fun." He noticed the clock and began packing his stuff up. The bell was about to ring in about three minutes. "So Hazel's gonna be your age huh?"

Nico nodded. "It's weird. But she wont be for long."

Will raised a blond brow. "Really? So when's your birthday Mr. Grouch?"

"Two things." He said again with a frown. "Don't call me 'Mr. Grouch'? I don't even know where that name came from. And I can't tell you that or you'll blab it to Cecil and Lou Ellen. And when that date rolls around, my face will be plastered to every locker and window. And guess what? No one would show up to the party."

Will weighed his hands and flipped some hair out of his own face. He decided he wanted to start a trend: #boyswithrelativelylonghairproblems. "You're right about the first thing. Lou Ellen and Cecil would definitely go overboard with invitations. But you know I would show up to the party. And Lou and Cecil. And Hazel. And probably Jason. And if Jason goes, you know all those guys will come. Trust me, lots of people would go."

Will's encouraging smile almost made Nico want to believe him. Instead he stuck out his tongue and said "And that's why I'm still not telling you!"

As Will pouted, the bell rang. Nico quickly got up and the sophomore followed him. Once they were out the door, Will pushed through the flood of students and planted himself next to Nico, who was still fighting to get past a group of really tall kids. Pitying the short kid, Will grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him through. Although they were past the chaos, Nico found his hand still intertwined with Will's. He tried to break them apart but Will wouldn't cooperate.

"Relax man. You walk so slow. I'm just trying to get you to your locker faster without getting stuck in another traffic jam."

Nico was going to swallow his pride and allow Will Solace to drag him. That was until he heard a dude call "FAG!" at him as he walked past with his friends. The guy had short blonde hair, and Nico thought it was Jason at first. Then he saw how ugly his face was and knew for a fact that wasn't Jason.

Not many people were paying attention except for the guys friends who were all laughing in agreement and punching each others shoulder playfully. Nico felt his face get hot and when he disconnected his hand from Will's, the blond did not argue. He noticed how Will also looked like he got punched in the face. He bit his lip and squinted his eyes. His face also looked red.

Nico wasn't sure what the status was with Will's sexuality(and Nico sure as heck hoped Will didn't know about his). He figured that he was just another straight boy, but it was obvious the comment made him uncomfortable. Nico was tempted to shout "I'm not gay!" at the bullies, but he couldn't get himself to form the words. He has been lying to people about it for years, how long could he go on lying about it to himself?

The guys were long gone by now, but Will and Nico still stood there staring at the floor. The commotion around them went down and Nico felt his hands forming into fists. Will must have took a notice to that too, because he heard his voice say, "Don't Nico. Who cares what they think? It's not like that."

Nico looked up at Will. He knew he was just trying to help him, but in way, Will's words hurt him too. He wasn't quite sure why. He watch Will blink back the hurt in his eyes. For as much of a mystery Nico was to him, Will Solace was equally as mysterious to Nico. "O-ok Will." he found his voice saying.

Will gave him a half smile and Nico could tell he was still hiding some sort of pain, buried deep down in a locked chest at the bottom of his heart.

After all, Nico felt that way everyday.

Frank felt a bit weird shopping with Piper. Of course the two of them were friends, but he didn't know much about girls. Most girls, at least in the stereotypes, are obsessed with pink, make up, and are too sweet for their own good.

But the girls he hangs out with wear varieties of colors, hardly ever wear makeup, and can break your neck with a snap of their fingers. So the question was what do girls like?

He had been following Piper around the mall for about forty five minutes at most, and as of right now they were browsing around Hot Topic. "Sorry Frank," she had said to him. "Hot Topic is the only store in the mall that I like."

After about fifteen more minutes they walked out and Piper showed him the clothes she bought. She held up a blue shirt with the Superman logo on it. "Had to get this for Jason."

"Naturally." He agreed.

She took out a couple more: A Star Wars one for Annabeth, and one that read 'Sarcasm: the bodies natural defense. Against stupidity.' for Percy. Another one said 'I hope you step on a lego' which had to be for Leo. She even got one for herself that had a picture of the kitten from the Aristocats saying 'Ladies don't start fights, but they can finish them.' At last, she finally fished out a white t-shirt with purple sleeves that simply said Pugs not Drugs.

"Gee, you shouldn't have." He smiled as he looked it over. Yeah, it was cute, but he felt self conscious because it looked like it would fit kind of snug. He wasn't a fan of snug clothes.

Piper flipped a braid over her shoulder and shoved everything back in the bag. "Yeah well..." she grinned.

"But what about Hazel?" Frank frowned. "I mean we did come our here to look for something for her after all."

Piper nodded her head and shouldered her bag. "Trust me. I was looking. But nothing in there really screamed Hazel at me.. Maybe we should try something other than clothes. And jewelry. I know Nico already got her a bracelet."

Piper and Frank dodged past all the last minute Christmas shoppers and tried avoid stepping in the slush piles. "But isn't that the only stuff girls like?" When Frank saw the look on her face, he knew he said something wrong. He was preparing himself to get punched, and when he did, he was happy it was just softly in the shoulder and not the face.

"Did you go on or something and make that assumption?" Piper joked.

Franks ears were pink but he managed a smile. "Hey I'm not denying it.''

The Cherokee rolled her eyes and dragged Frank with her. In a way she felt bad. Leo had been her friend for years, she was supposed to be his wingwoman. But Frank was so sweet and considerate, he seemed perfect for Hazel. Still, Piper had no idea how Hazel felt about this. For all she knew, Hazel might not even like either of them, but Piper doubted that.

Piper knew how quickly Leo fell for girls, so she wasn't quite sure why he was so hung up on Hazel. Then she remembered how much better of a person Hazel was than the rest of the girls in their school and she got her answer. She was kind of hoping some beautiful nice girl would descend from the sky like a goddess and fall head over heals for Leo so they could put this conflict to an end.

But she knew it wouldn't be that easy.

The two of them patrolled around the mall until they concluded: Malls are only for makeup, clothes, shoes, and jewelry. Stereotypical girl things. (Also kitchen supplies and stuff, but they were pretty sure Hazel did not want that for her birthday.)

They were about to give up and hit a craft store like Michaels, when they ran into one of the little set ups in the middle of the between walking spots that separates the stores. It has several rectangular tables pushed together to form a circle. On them were shelves so they could fit more stuff in the small area. Covering them were all little glass figures. Some were really small, like the size of Piper's pinky. Some were much larger like the size of Frank's palm. They were shaped like frogs, cats, giraffes. Some were flowers. One was even shaped like two hands holding each other.

"Wanna take a look at these?" Frank asked, already standing in front of the tables.

"Sure," Piper shrugged, but looked equally in awe at all of them. In the center of the circle of tables, the only way out would be to crawl under, sat a girl with short black hair and several piercings in her ears, eyebrows, and nose. She had on heavy makeup. Piper instantly thought of Thalia, but knew it wasn't her. She was on her phone, and when she noticed their presence she looked up.

The girl's smile was warm, unlike the punk aura she had with her. "Hi, how can I help you?"

Frank and Piper both smiled. "Were just looking, thanks." Piper said.

The girl nodded and sat back down in her chair. Piper couldn't help but feel that this girl should work at Hot Topic. The employees there look like they could break your face with their dark clothes and piercings. But they are literally the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Piper examined them and picked up one shaped like a panda. "Look at this Frank!" She held out the figure for him to take but he shook his head.

"I don't wanna break any of them."

She nodded and set it back down. She walked in the opposite direction of Frank so they covered more ground faster. They were all truly amazing, but she wasn't sure which one was perfect for Hazel. She almost did a whole lap around, but stopped when she ran into Frank who was staring at a certain glass figure. It was medium size compared to the others. It was a tinted light blue color and stood on a little pedestal. If you clicked the button, the pedestal would glow different colors. The two of them put their heads together and squatted down to get a better look. It was shaped like a horse.

"Remember how Hazel said it was harder to see Arion at the stables because it's winter?" Frank Zhang grinned at her.

Piper snapped her fingers. "That's the one."

After the nice girl who should work at Hot Topic wrapped up the little horse in bubble wrap they headed for the door. Frank held it carefully in his hands. ''Thanks Piper."

Piper smiled back at the tall Asian kid standing next to her. She patted his back. "No problem Frank."

Tonight was the night. It was now Saturday, December 20th, three days after Hazel's real birthday. She was in the bathroom combing her hair and pulling it up into a high ponytail the best she could. These curls were not the easiest to deal with. She slipped her silver diamond earrings on and stared at herself in the mirror.

She was fourteen. But she still felt thirteen. Then again, when she turned thirteen, she still felt twelve. That's just how it goes, she decided.

She was still standing there playing with a curl falling into her eyes when she heard a knock on the door. Arching an eyebrow she went to answer it. She swung the door open to come face to face with a tall blond boy. "Will?"

"Hazel!" He smiled and pulled her into hug that she happily accepted. "Happy Birthday! Uh, again!"

She flashed him a pearly smile. "Thank you. But you do know the party is at Silena's right?"

Will nodded and glanced over her head into the house. "Hey is Nico here?"

Hazel nodded and gestured for him to come inside. He politely stepped in and waited by the door. "I'm only going to be here for a few minutes."

She went to fetch her brother, and when he came down the stairs, she was not with him. "Hey Will." Nico greeted. His eyes looked like the color of broken glass and sunken. He had a slouch in his walk and his hair was all over the place.

"I like your get up for the party.'' Will mused.

Nico crossed his arms. "Ha ha. So funny." Nico did his best to hide it, but he was still embarrassed over what happened three days ago in the hall. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but it was something he couldn't get out of his head.

"It is funny." Will chuckled reaching into his bag. "Sorry, and tell Hazel too, I wont be able to make it to the party."

Nico tried to go for a simple frown, but he actually felt crestfallen. "What why? You're at least someone I can tolerate." He had a flashback to the last time they were talking at his front door. He shuddered at the thought.

Will rolled his sky blue eyes. "Gee thanks.." In his hands was a little pink party bag. "My mom has a thing? I don't know, but blame her not me. Here. Take this and give it to Hazel later." He shoved the bag into Nico's arms.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he peeked past the wrapping paper and got a glimpse of Sour Patch Kids before getting swatted in the arm. "Hey no looking!" Will scolded putting a defensive hand in front of the bag.

"Candy? Really?" Nico raised an eyebrow holding the bag over his head. "You wont let me eat candy at lunch. But my little sister?"

Will widened his eyes and pouted. "I didn't know what to get her! Besides, your sister looks way more healthy than you. A little candy wouldn't hurt her."

Nico narrowed his eyes but a smile tugged at his lips. Small enough that not even Will noticed. "Okay. Fine whatever."

"Well," Will started patting the bag of candy. ''I gotta go."

"Okay bye." Nico said. When Will didn't turn and walk out the door, Nico got confused. "What are you doing Solace?"

Will snickered and shrugged. "Aren't you gonna tell me to get out of your house in Italian again?"

Nico flushed and stomped a foot. "I'll tell you to in English. Get out of my house!" He once again pushed a laughing Will out the door. This time he didn't turn around and just continue running down the sidewalk. Probably so he could get home before his mom grounded him again or something. As far as Nico could see, Solace hadn't fell yet. But when he heard a short yelp and saw a bunch of birds fly out of the area into the air, he knew spoke too soon.

The party wasn't at all what Reyna expected. She figured since it was so close to Christmas, most kids would be out of town. Boy was she wrong. It's like they all heard Silena was having a party and they all cancelled their holiday plans.

There were kids all over the place and she had no idea how Silena could take all the stress of these careless people trashing her house. She gave her a lot of credit.

Reyna watched as Leo Valdez put a mento in a coke. The coke exploded and all the carbonated liquid shot into the ceiling. Leo didn't seem to notice her, but she hardened her glare at him. She still strongly disliked him for throwing water balloons at her.

Her eyes followed Leo as he left the kids he was sitting with and met up with Jason and Piper who were in the kitchen. Reyna took it as her cue to follow. She pushed through the crowd, not liking the words or smells she encountered. Before she was completely in the kitchen or even looking at him, Jason called her name. She walked over to him and gave a small smile when she saw how happy he looked. "You came!"

Reyna nodded and glanced at Leo and Piper. Leo suddenly took an interest at the marble counter tops. Piper was getting defensively close to Jason. "Yeah. I figured I might as well. Hazel is one of the few friends I have."

Jason smiled sympathetically. He looked down at Piper. "Hey Pipes, mind me going for a walk with Reyna real quick?"

Reyna watched as Piper fought with her inner jealously. Of course Reyna knew what that felt like, she dealt with it all the time! Finally Piper obliged and stepped away. Jason put a hand on Reyna's shoulder and led her out of the room. The house was so big that when they walked down to the end of the hallway all they could hear was the faint music.

It was awkward for a few moments as neither of them said anything. They just walked next to each other with a comfortable amount of space between them. Jason finally broke the silence by saying, "I've missed you Reyna."

This caught her attention. Her facial expression remained the same but her heart was pounding. "What?"

Jason took a deep breath and stopped walking. "You were my first best friend Reyna.''

She nodded. "Well yes."

"And I care about what happens to you," he said. "These have been some weird first couple months of school Reyna. Ever since I started dating Piper..'' Jason watched as Reyna averted her eyes. All this time he has been worrying about how he was making Piper feel, which was his first priority of course, but he never really thought about how this would effect Reyna. He might have felt something very little for Reyna back in the day, but that was minor and lasted about five minutes. He was with Piper, but Reyna was still one of his best friends.

"I get it Jason. It's fine." She held up a hand. She didn't sound mad, but she also didn't sound satisfied.

Jason was leaning in for a friendly hug, but when he noticed she wasn't returning the favor he pulled back. "I just thought I should let you know."

Reyna nodded. "Of course.'' She said with a very faint smile. She turned around and disappeared down the hallway.

Jason sighed and concluded that it had not gone the way he planned. After Reyna had cleared out of the hall he headed back to the main room as well. The house was so grand that when he looked at the walls, it reminded him of a museum. The paintings were so nice, Jason wondered it Silena got Rachel Dare to decorate her house. He skimmed the hallway with his eyes when he spotted a little bench in the far corner. The halls were quite dark and he couldn't see too well even with his glasses, but he could definitely tell there was someone on the bench. At first he thought Reyna had decided not to go back to the party room and to sit out here alone. "Reyna?" he whispered.

"Guess again." He heard a small voice say. As he got closer, he was staring at Nico di Angelo who sat comfortable on the bench with his knees pulled up under his chin.

"Nico." Jason plainly said and sat down next to him. "What are you doing out here?''

Nico scowled in the dark and his whole self almost looked as if they were dissolving into the shadows. "What does it look like?"

Jason didn't look at him. "Being anti social."

"I'm not anti social." Nico scoffed. "I just hate everyone."

"Sounds like a bad t-shirt." Jason commented.

"Those are my favorite kind."

Jason bit back a chuckle. Nico was kind of funny sometimes. But now he wasn't sure what to say. The last time they had a real conversation Nico yelled at him about how he didn't need him or anyone. That's how the rumor of Nico having a crush on Annabeth started amongst the six. Mainly the six because they tried their best not to say stuff like that in front of Hazel. Of course they felt bad, because she was their friend. But they didn't want her getting offended.

Jason didn't want Nico to have another outburst, but he took his chances. "Look Nico, about that night in the restaurant... Leo told me some stuff about you feeling something for Annabeth..."

Jason couldn't understand Italian, but he was pretty sure Nico didn't say anything you would want your mother to hear. "Valdez has no idea what he's talking about.''

Jason mimicked Nico and pulled one knee up and rested his chin on it. "Look, whatever it is.. whether it's about Annabeth or not, you can talk to me okay?"

Nico didn't say anything for a long time. A really long time. In fact, Jason almost decided to give up and was gonna leave when Nico's voice said "It's not about Annabeth."

Jason's eyes gleamed in the dark. He felt as if he could actually get somewhere with di Angelo. "So...?"

Nico scoffed. "Still none of your business."

Jason smiled a little. "Well, remember what I said?"

Nico did the silent thing again, but Jason had faith that if he waited long enough Nico would answer him. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Jason stood up and shrugged, his eyes still fixed on the dark boy in front of him. In all honesty, Jason wasn't quite sure what triggered the need to be nice to Nico di Angelo. The kid used to scare the bageebies out of him, but here he was now. "I guess it's what friends do."

Before Nico could argue, Jason exited the hall.

Jason reunited with all his friends where he left Leo and Piper in the kitchen. Piper gave him a worried look."What happened? I saw Reyna come back like twenty minutes ago."

Jason was tempted to ask her if she was watching for the two of them the whole time but decided against it. He couldn't tease her about serious matters like this.

''Oh, I was just.. talking to some kid.'' He said. He noticed how Piper didn't like his blunt answer, but he didn't want to bring up Hazel's brother with her standing right there. He smiled down her. "Happy Birthday..Uh again!"

Hazel hugged him in thanks. "Is that how everyone is gonna greet me? 'Happy Birthday! Uh.. again'?"

"Pretty much," Annabeth agreed as the group chuckled.

Leo stood into the middle of the circle and glanced around. "Hey this is Silena's house right?"

They all nodded like he was an idiot. "Didn't you and Piper plan it?" Frank rolled his eyes .

Leo blew a raspberry at him then went back to his question. "Well has anyone seen Silena anywhere?"

They all exchanged looks and shrugged. "Maybe she got tired of this music?'' Percy suggested.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him. "Tired of the music? Why would she play music she doesn't like in her own house?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm more of a classic rock guy. This music blows."

Leo nodded. "Something we agree on!" He stood up on a folded chair next to him and held up his fist at the speaker. "No one care about your stupid anaconda!"

The guys all laughed into their fist while all the girls simultaneously scolded "Leo!"

He laughed and pretended to dust off his shirt as he hopped off the chair. "I'm sorry!" He smirked. "But seriously, where is Silena? It feels so weird to be in her house but her not be here."

Hazel smacked her face with her palm as she just remembered something. "I'm so stupid! I saw her go upstairs with Beckondorf about a half hour ago."

She noticed all the smirks on her friends faces and she felt small. "What?"

The rest of their smirks got wider at her obliviousness. She was definitely the baby of the group. They didn't say anything for a few more seconds and let her think about it. When her face flushed and she began fanning herself in an old fashioned kind of way, they knew she got the picture.

Percy and Leo laughed while Frank patted her back awkwardly.

''Subject change!" Piper announced. From the corner of her eye, Piper caught a glimpse of Reyna sitting on the couch on her phone. She wasn't fazed by the sound or commotion or the fact that the people sitting next to her, Travis and Katie, were sitting so close to each other she might as well have been on his lap. Cue the making out in three, two, one...

Two people who claim to hate each other were now making out on the couch next to Reyna. Parties bring out the crazy in people, Piper decided.

Unlike Piper's assumption, the couple making out next to Reyna did faze her. But she wasn't going to let it get to her. She didn't know Travis nor Katie very well, but she had seen the two of them fight. They exchanged insults like they were in 8 Mile. Of course, Reyna had never seen the film, (too immature for her taste), but she could assume that's what it was like.

But the fact that these two "hated" each other but were now making out openly for everyone to see confused her. She knew it wasn't alcohol consumption, she made sure none was being distributed other wise she would have passed on the invitation. She knew they wouldn't have brought their own because Katie didn't seem like that type of girl. So unless they got into some of Dakota's Kool-aid, they should have been completely sober.

Then it hit her: maybe the two of them actually liked each other. The thought depressed her. Sure she was happy these two get a happy ending, but what about her? She never hated Jason and Jason has never hated her, or at least she hoped he didn't. They were best friends, yet they don't end up together?

She was about to literally yell at herself to stop feeling self pity when Leo Valdez's voice screamed "EVERYONE! PERCY'S GONNA DO A BACK FLIP INTO THE POOL!"

Percy was stuffing half of a cheeseburger in his mouth when he heard this and managed an "I am?" before being dragged out by a mob of people. She even heard Annabeth yell "It's December! There's no water in the pool!" But no one seemed to listen.

Next to her, she herd Katie laugh against Travis's lips. "Travis.." She whispered.

His hands still in her hair, he broke away. His voice was soft and uncharacteristically gentle. "Let's go watch Percy look stupid and jump in the pool."

He pulled her off the couch and the two of them followed the crowd. Reyna almost laughed when she saw Connor Stoll peek out from behind a wall and warily followed them.

The room had very few people in it now and Reyna was quite surprised to see Nico di Angelo walking in the room. She wasn't gonna say anything but curiosity got the best of her. "Nico di Angelo?'' She said crossing the room.

He averted his eyes toward her. "Yup." He said bitterly.

"May I ask what you're doing here? Haven't seen you at all tonight."

Nico shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Crazy jerks took my quiet spot in the hallway. There's hardly anyone in here now, so here I am."

Reyna resisted a smile. "I like your logic."

The two of them sat down on the couch together. "You know you are really lucky to have a sister like Hazel.'' Reyna sighed.

Nico stared at his converse. "Yeah. I know."

"I wish my sister was around more. I don't get along with my father."

"Daddy issues?" Nico said.

"Naturally." Reyna nodded, now staring at her shoes as well.

"Yeah, well." Nico sat up and leaned back into the couch. "It seems to be pretty common in this part of New York."

Reyna heaved another sigh. "It's because everyone holds grudges."

When Reyna said that, Nico forced himself to look up at her. Grudges... Reyna's dark hair and brown eyes, her olive skin tone... "Holding grudges could be like your fatal flaw or something.." he heard the voice of his sister say. His older sister that is. And as he looked at Reyna right now, all he could see was the face of Bianca.

"It's a fatal flaw." he whispered.

Reyna seemed to take notice in his change of mood, and he liked that she didn't pry. He could only assume that Reyna went through some dramatic experience too as a kid and that she might even understand his pain. Of course he was just assuming this.

Reyna's phones buzzed and she checked her notifications. "Speaking of family.." she muttered. "My sister Hylla just got in for the holidays. I gotta go. Tell Hazel I said bye."

Nico gave her a one handed. "Sure."

As Reyna walked away, Nico felt a pang of confusion when he realized he was actually looking forward to another conversation with Reyna Ramirez-Arellano.

When Hazel arrived home she was exhausted. It was a long night of ridiculous music, dancing, and the fact that there was absolutely no water in the pool yet everyone still wanted Percy to back flip into it was beyond idiotic.

Nico called it a night and went to bed locking the door behind him, but not before he gave Hazel a sweet kiss on the cheek and told her he loved her. That improved Hazel's night once more.

Hazel walked upstairs and blushed when she thought of Silena. They came down shortly after they noticed the disappearance of the love birds, and Hazel was never gonna at them the same again. Leo would not stop muttering ''Classic, classic," every time he passed them. Hazel cursed when she realized she was never going to look at stairs the same way ever again either.

Hazel walked into the bathroom and undid her hair and stripped off her clothes. She hopped into the shower and cleaned herself off before getting in her pj's and settling down for bed.

She walked in her room and turned on her bedside lamp. When she saw what was sitting on her bed, she held back a sob.

A thick sketchbook with a big container of markers,colored pencils, and oil pastel sat on top of it. Next to it was a note that said, For my dear Hazel, Happy Birthday. Love, your father."

Hey guys how was that! Sorry it's been a while. A long while!

But I was reading Trials of Apollo and that's what 's important! I wont spoil anything, but if any of you wanna talk about it, feel free to PM me.

Note: I'll probably go back and edit some things that became more clear in Trials of Apollo. Like some stuff about Will's mom, how he's from Texas and not California, etc. (I have to edit anyways, I have sooo many errors.)

Also, I want to inform you, the word ''fag'' has been eliminated from my vocabulary. I hate the word. Whether its my brother saying it or kids at school, I hate it. And although I don't know from experience because I am heterosexual, I'm pretty sure all gay kids have had their insecurities to that word. Doesn't matter how open they are about their sexuality, they probably feel somewhat offended. In obviously in my story neither Nico or Will are out of the closet so things might be harder for them.

Another note: I know a lot of people interpret Will to be very open about it. But I feel as if he would have insecurities too obviously. (How his mother doesn't support him and that kind of ruined their whole relationship ya know?)

Oh yeah! Sorry about the adult innuendos! I had to! Flushed Hazel is the best Hazel! Don't worry, I wont make any really with out main group's characters, because I ain't about that life.

The Tratie had to come sooner or later! In fact, I might make a bonus chapter where they are some of the main characters because I love them.

The Jeyna friendship too. I wanted to see more of that in the book. I know Reyna seems a little OOC especially since she was talking so openly about her dad to Nico. But since in this story she didn't ''kill'' her father, I don't think she has to be as secretive.

Oh yeah, I love Hot Topic. I hope to work there one day. The employees are so nice. And those shirt designs were real Hot Topic designs, not mine.

I know, there was not a lot of Percabeth. Sorry.

I know, there was a lot of Solangelo. What can I say?

Favorite and Review!

Until next time~MyLifeIsALie