Urgent Author's Note: Ok, Seeing Katie readers. This next chapter is ready to be posted and complete. Except for one crucial piece of information that I need for this chapter, and that is, the ratings that they give cabins when they inspect them. It might seem unimportant, but I need to know this to have all of my information be genuine, and the only books I remember cabin inspection being in are the Last Olympian and the Battle of the Labyrinth, both of which I allowed my friend to borrow. So, here's the next chapter, but I just put it a number that I thought would be a number for the cabin inspections. If you know what the ratings and numbers are, please let me know! Sorry for the long author's note, please enjoy the update!

-Scars

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Chapter 6:

Bonding with Death

Nico stomped back to his cabin. His grief and hopelessness from finding out that Katie had a secret admirer was soon replaced by anger.

Why had he been so stupid?! Katie was… lovely. It wouldn't take long for someone to notice this girl and sweep her away from her horrible boyfriend, just like he had been planning on doing.

He had been arrogant to think that she would only be his. He hadn't acted soon enough, so he had lost his chance completely now.

When he made it to his familiar black stone cabin, he marched right in, closing the door behind him. He strode over to his bed, but before he could even do anything, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said, still flustered and distracted.

The door swung open, and in stepped Annabeth and her younger brother, Malcolm. Annabeth was clutching a clipboard in her hand, looking around the cabin closely.

"Cabin inspection," Malcolm explained at Nico's distracted and partially angry gaze. "This'll only take a second," he reassured him.

"Right… cabin inspection," Nico muttered, standing by his bunk as he waited for the two siblings to finish examining the cabin.

As Malcolm looked for any sign of mess in the room, Annabeth peered at Nico. He looked sidetracked enough….

She made her way to Nico's bunk. He stood with his back facing the bed, so he couldn't see her. Now was her chance.

"Annabeth?" Malcolm shouted faintly from the other side of the cabin. "Everything seems to be fine over here. I'll go check the bathroom."

"Okay, Malcolm," she replied, looking at her clipboard absentmindedly. "But, hurry up! We've got four cabins left to check."

Annabeth slid slyly closer to Nico's bunk and shifted her clipboard slightly to the side. There, beneath the wooden board, was Nico's black journal. She put it in her right hand as she held the clipboard with her left. Slowly, she tossed the journal softly on the ground, so it barely made a sound. Annabeth looked around the cabin to be sure that neither Nico nor Malcolm were watching her before placing her foot gently on top of the little book and moving it under Nico's bed, where she had first found it.

Annabeth heaved a deep sigh. Finally, she had put the journal back. Nico had not noticed that it had been missing for the past two days, Thank the Gods, but carrying it around or having it at all felt like a burden to her. Almost like she was hiding something, holding the journal in her possession. She didn't need it anymore, since she had copied enough entries from the journal to send Katie a letter everyday for about a week. Besides, when the week was through, Annabeth would need more material to send Katie.

She turned back to her clipboard and went back to work, now that the journal was back where it was supposed to be.

"Ok, everything seems to be in order here," Annabeth said, scanning the room with her eyes, moving away from Nico's bed, and hurriedly made some notes on the clipboard.

Nico looked up at her from the side of his bunk for a second, his eyes hollow and empty, as if hopelessly disheartened and looking to her for answers and help. Annabeth feared for a second that he had noticed his journal's absence and knew what she was doing, but was determined to keep cool, just in case he didn't yet know.

She smiled at him, attempting to cover up any panic she had revealed, even if it was only for a split second. "Well, it shouldn't be so hard to keep your cabin clean, when you're the only one in here."

Nico laughed dryly, returning only an empty smile that meant nothing more than a grimace. He suddenly thought of Katie, all of her siblings, and how much fun they all seemed to have. He felt a pang of emptiness inside, being the sole in habitant of the cabin. He wished he had at least one sibling… or, that Bianca was still alive. Then he'd have someone to talk to about… well, about pretty much everything.

"Yeah… I'm the only one here," he replied, his voice filled with blankness and slight irritation.

"Malcolm!" Annabeth shouted after her younger brother. "Did you find anything?"

"No!" he yelled back. He stepped out of the other side of the cabin and declared, "I think it's safe to say that we can give this cabin a six."

"Alright then," she muttered, writing down Nico's cabin inspection results on the wooden clipboard in her hand. "A six… that's a first for you… not that bad for a Hades boy…."

Nico barely attempted to muster a weak smile at this odd praise.

"Ok, well we better get to the other cabins. Chiron will be expecting these cabin results to be turned in soon," Annabeth continued, making her way to the door with Malcolm just ahead of her.

When Malcolm stepped out and stood at the steps of the black stone cabin, Annabeth turned around and stated, but not loud enough that Malcolm would hear, "Oh… and, Nico?"

He looked up only slightly and nodded to show that he was listening.

"I wouldn't worry about those bumps in the road that you're having with Katie; I have a feeling they'll be worked out soon enough."

And then she left, without another word, leaving Nico to stand there, wondering what she meant by that.

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After Annabeth and Malcolm had gone to inspect the other cabins, Nico hurriedly grabbed the journal under his bad and wrote a quick entry about his feelings for this "secret admirer" of Katie's.

He wrote fast, barely able to contain his still blistering rage.

His entry read:

Katie,

So… I see you have a "secret admirer." Well, that's just great. Really. I'm happy someone finally noticed you, like they all should have earlier, and had the guts to admit their feelings for you, even if they didn't reveal their name.

But, I only wish that person could have been me. I know… I was arrogant and idiotic to think… to think that your heart was only meant to be mine. Someone else, someone who has more guts than me, could easily sweep you off your feet and away from me. And they did. So… maybe it wasn't meant to be.

Katie… I just want to know one thing: If you didn't have a secret admirer or if I have acted sooner, is it even remotely possible that you could have fallen for me?

I feel so angry at myself for not having at least talked to you more, or told you something. If I could go back and do it all over, I would, believe me. As long as I'd have at least a small chance to actually win your heart.

Now, all of that is gone. And, I'd like to inform you, that I feel depressed and angry. I think I'll begin to write dark poetry in here, since these letters are probably useless now. But I'm not too sure, since all this writing really helps me control my emotions.

The only bright side of all of this? Pollux will hopefully be removed from your life now. But the down side is… maybe I will be too.

* * *

After Nico had completed his entry and was done cursing his stupidity, he went outside. He needed time alone. He didn't want to think about anything right now.

He was walking by the forest, his eyes on the ground, kicking a pebble along with him and grumbling under his breath with his fists shoved into his pockets. The only thing he gave his attention was the forest floor beneath his feet. He refused to think of anything, even though his mind was full of thoughts, all screaming for attention.

Nico walked into the vast tree-covered area, seeming like he was strolling through a maze, having to change his path every now and then to avoid running into a tree.

The shadows in the woods clung to him, as they all usually did, all of them seemed to whisper in Nico's ears. He merely swept his hands around his ears in attempt to brush away the spirits and shadows from murmuring to him. Now was not the time for a conversation with the dead.

Instead of stopping and paying them any attention whatsoever, Nico continued to walked, outwardly unaffected by their presence. He weaved his way through the forest, the only sound that surrounded his was the sounds of the forest and his own breathing. He enjoyed his moment of solitude, just himself and the woods. Now, he could finally relax and unwind like he had never had before.

After walking for a while, the silence almost becoming a part of him now, Nico suddenly heard a disturbance in the quiet forest. Someone seemed to be calling him.

"Nico! Nico, is that you?"

Nico whipped around, seeing the one figure he didn't really want to see or think about right this instant: Katie.

She was running toward him, her legs interlacing through the forest and the trees. Her hair was in a ponytail, just as it had been at dinner last night. She was honestly the last person he had expected to see there, just when he was looking for time alone.

"Hey, Nico," she said when she finally reached him, breathless from her run. She stopped to catch her breath, then said, "I've been looking for you everywhere."

Nico looked up, a little surprised. Didn't she have a secret admirer already? Why was she looking for him?

"Really?" he voiced out loud.

Katie only nodded, then looked at him in concern. "Yeah. You looked pretty upset when you left dinner yesterday, and I didn't get a chance to talk to you at all."

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Nico scrambled, attempting to catch himself and make her unwary. "It… must have been something I ate."

Katie smiled and shook her head uncertainly, having experience using that old excuse to avoid a problem. "Really, Nico, what's wrong?"

"N-Nothing's wrong," he said again, surprised she had seen through his fake excuse. "I just left early, that's all."

Katie narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but didn't ask any further questions.

Nico kept walking deeper in the forest, turning his back on Katie to walk into the woods. But, unexpectedly, she was close on his heels, following him in the wooded area.

"So," she started off, now right at his side, shifting uncomfortably. "It's been a while since we talked, Nico."

"Yeah," he said, "what has it been… a couple of weeks, right?"

"Yes, about over a week, Nico," Katie said, grinning a little bit. "It's good to talk again."

"The same to you," Nico said, a little uncertain. He still kept his eyes on the ground, refusing to look at her. Now that she had a secret admirer, she was beyond his reach. It was bad before when it was just Pollux, but now there was another guy. But still… he couldn't lie that he enjoyed talking to her. Even if there was no chance he could win her heart.

"Glad I finally found you," she said with a smile, making Nico's heart skip a beat. Why did that simple statement make a blush rise to his cheeks? "This way, we can talk again. Now, what are you doing out here?" she inquired.

"Oh, just… walking around. Nothing much, I guess," he scrambled, unsure of what to say. "Thinking."

His fists that were once tightly jammed into his pockets loosened a bit at the sound of Katie's musical voice.

"Yeah, you seem to do a lot of that. Well, you know why I'm here… looking for you." Katie fumbled with the edge of her orange camp t-shirt, staring at the ground just as Nico was.

They both walked in silence for a while, the wood nymphs whispering and giggling around them.

Nico shook his head. He always disliked this part of the forest. The nymphs always giggled and chatted quietly, but in the hushed woods, it was enough to fill his ears and drive him insane.

"Nico," Katie suddenly spoke up, looking up at him, "so… how have you been lately?" She knew it sounded cliché, but Katie still suspected that there was something wrong with Nico, and expected t get it out of him sooner or later. But, of course, she was starting with casual questions to get him to open up a little more to her.

"Me?" he asked, still a bit doubtful about her question. When she just grinned and nodded, Nico kept going. "Well, you know… the surprises of life can be pretty harsh on a person."

"What do you mean?" Katie asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

Nico shrugged. "You know that sinking feeling you get when you discover something awful?"

She nodded, looking at him with her brown eyes full of concern.

"I am a victim of that feeling," he said, sighing. "I guess everything happens for a reason, right?"

"Nico, I get what you're saying," Katie said, her eyes never leaving his face, "but… do you think you could be a little more specific?"

Nico turned away and suddenly stopped walking. Katie stopped abruptly too when Nico stopped walking. She stood right next to him, searching in his face for an answer. Nico just stood there, breathing hard, attempting not to get angry at the thought of losing Katie. He stared at the ground and refused to meet her eyes.

"What's the matter, Nico?" Katie asked, suddenly grabbing his right arm and clinging on to it, desperate to know what was wrong. "Please tell me."

He stopped, a warm tingle going up his arm at Katie's touch. His eyes became wide when he realized just how close to him she was standing. Nico swallowed and still didn't look her way.

Remembering her secret admirer and Pollux, Nico gently took Katie's hand off of his right arm, and said, "Katie… I really don't want to talk about this right now."

He was surprised when, even though he had moved her hand off of his arm, she still kept her hand in his. Surprised as he was, he didn't fight it. Butterflies stirred in his stomach, but he didn't give in and look at her.

"I-I'm sorry if I touched a sensitive subject," she said, "but… why don't we forget about that now and just talk?"

Nico couldn't stand it anymore. He turned and looked at her. His eyes went from angry and dark to soft and forgiving when he met her eyes. He released her hand and look back at the ground.

"Ok," he said, "sounds like a plan."

Katie smiled a little bit and brought her hands back down to her sides. "Good. Well… let's keep walking, shall we?"

Nico gave a small grin. "Yeah, let's go."

The two kept walking, but this time they walked backwards, since they had reached the part of the forest where there tended to be a lot of creatures that yearned to take a bite out of a half-blood. The creatures that were mainly used during battle and camp activities.

"Enough about me and my boring dull life," Nico stated. "What about you?"

Katie laughed at this. "You don't have a boring life, you're a half-blood. Unless your standards of boring are far more different than mine."

Nico smiled, then asked again, "No, really, what about you? How have you been?"

"Well, I've been doing pretty good… most of the time," she said, grinning and jumping over stubborn twigs and tree roots that stuck out of the ground. Nico followed her, his mood becoming more eased by the second. "My siblings are good, no one's been hurt since the war last year… and I'm glad about that. Um, I got a letter from my dad, my stepmother and my two younger brothers last week--"

"I didn't know you had brothers that weren't half-bloods," Nico said, genuinely interested.

"I do, they're both nine and their names are Drew and Charlie. I love them, but they can be annoying at times," she finished with a smile.

Slowly, as Katie continued to talk for a little longer, Nico felt an easy, wide smile forming on his face. It was easy to relax around her. She was so easy going and laidback, she was easy to talk to. He nearly forgot that she was taken. They kept easily strolling through the woods until the trees seem to form a distinct path, which was fairly easier to walk through.

"Can you believe that the first two weeks of camp are already over?" she asked in a voice of awe.

"No," Nico said in disbelief. "It seems like only a few days." He sighed, now feeling the summer slipping away from him, and his chances of winning Katie's heart. But, there were still two months and a half left of the glorious vacation from school, so there was still no need to worry.

"Yeah," Katie said as they made their way to the edge of the forest, where Nico had began his walk. "Times flies." She smiled. "Look at me, I sound like my dad."

Nico grinned and opened his mouth to say something, before he looked around him and realized that the sun was close to setting.

"I think we should go now," he said, both of them walking back toward the cabins.

When they finally reached the cabins of Zeus and Hera, Nico headed to the Hades cabin on the right side and Katie headed toward the Demeter cabin on the left.

"Goodbye, I guess," Nico said, his cheeks burning at the sound of his added 'I guess.'

"Bye, Nico," Katie said, retreating back to her cabin and waving after him. "Nice talking to you."

"You too," he threw over his shoulder, smiling to himself, now feeling a lot better than he had before.

Katie gave a sad smile as she watched him walk away. Well, at least she had gotten some time to talk to and bond with the son of the death.

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Author's Note: So, what'd you guys think of this chapter? I felt like my writing was a little off. Was it really that horrible?