I'm going to try to go back to my schedule of at least one chapter a week, but bear with me, I've got a lot of homework and projects to do so no promises. I just did a Spanish video project that turned out really fun, although we had to wait for a long time because one of our group members showed up four hours late and she's the one with the camera, but we should be alright. It's not due till the 29th anyhoos. I also just watched The Clique. I thought it was cool. Anyways, enjoy the sixth installation of "Locket". I've got the whole story planned out in my head, so I'm positive I can get this story finished. Sorry, but I'm going to skip out on the mom giving birth part, partly because I'm lazy to write and partly because I don't think it's relevant to the plot-line and I don't want to slow the story down, which is a pity since I think it would have been a very funny scene to write. But oh well. I think I will switch over to Nico's point of view for a while so people can get inside his head and see what he's thinking. I'm also planning to bring Tyson in, if possible.

Disclaimer: I do not own

Percy Jackson &The Olympians

Chapter 6

Posy's POV

What happened in the past few days was all a blur and so far the only thing I remember really really really really clearly is that the vending machine in the hospital ran out of cool ranch Corn Nuts and I pressed the buttons for that one so I didn't get my money back. But for your sake, I'll try to provide a small recap of what happened.

Dad went hysterical after mom's little announcement and started hyperventilating and if you were there you probably would have thought he was the one giving birth, which is a pity since Dad had rehearsed his reaction to this announcement a whole bunch of times and when it finally does happen he freaks out. No one screws up an emergency quite like Dad. Since our car was out of gasoline, we drove mom to the hospital in Uncle Chris's car, and by the time we got there, Dad was a sweaty mess.

You would think that he's be used to this by now, especially since he's already had 3 other kids. I fell asleep on Frankie's shoulder after a few hours of waiting and then we were woken up by a nurse named Harriet with red hair and pink glasses. She told us it was okay to see Mom. When we got in, we saw Mom on the bed, Dad sitting next to her, and our new baby brother in Mom's arms, sleeping soundly and wrapped in white blankets. As I stood there looking at him, I heard Grandpa's voice in my head telling me: When one thing dies, another is born. Sometimes not what was there before, but something wonderful all the same.

I looked at the little baby, my brother, little Sebastian, and I finally understood what Grandpa meant. It really was wonderful. Life, I mean.

Mom asked Peter if he wanted to hold Sebastian, but he said no because he was afraid of dropping him. Mom asked me next and I nodded nervously. I hadn't held a baby since my cousin's baby, Cole, was born about three or four years ago and I was afraid that I had forgotten how to hold one. I didn't want to be the first one to drop him. Mom reached out and placed him in my arms and I heard him breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe.

I felt his heart beating. And I felt like the world was perfect.

His skin was warm and moist and soft the way a baby's skin is supposed to feel like and I felt like I was holding something totally new and totally clean. I almost felt dirty holding him, getting my filth on his cleanliness. I'd been living fifteen years, and it was apparent that in those fifteen years I had lost some of the cleanliness I was born with, and seeing Sebastian for the first time sort of reminded me of that. So, I bonded with my new brother that very first time I held him. I knew that I would be closer to Sebastian in a way unlike the way I was close to Frankie or Peter; he was born under different circumstances: in the midst of a death.

I think Sebastian was trying to send us a little message: that even though things don't look like they're going to get any better, they eventually will. Even in death there's still life. Every cloud has a silver lining. Those uplifting sorts of messages that you find in calendars or tacked to a wall or find on online photo albums. And I had a feeling that the message wasn't just for me.

Nico's POV

Here's my typical day at school: I wake up around 6:30 and then I'm at school by 7:30. When I get there, I go to my locker (which, by the way, I share with a spider about the size of a lima bean. I named it Arthur. Just thought I'd let you know) and get the books I need for first and second period and always, without fail, one of my textbooks is missing. For the next ten minutes I walk around the school and ask if anyone has seen it, and I usually discover that Brenda Sloan, a girl bully who looks a little like a sailboat (I don't know why), has stolen it and has run into the girls' bathroom.

I usually don't bother to fight for my book back. It's just a book, not like I can read anyway.

Then first period, or homeroom. This is English class. My teacher is Mr. Fits and he's this short stubby guy with exactly nine strands of hair on his head who reminds me of the Santa Claus at the mall. We called him Mr. Zits and I'm sure you can imagine why. He always wears sweat patches, too and every once in awhile, when he's lecturing (I have the misfortune of sitting up front) he stands right in front of my desk and pats his man-boobs. It's sickening. And most of the time, this is all he does, he doesn't even answer questions or anything. The only time he ever really pays attention to us is if somebody farts. He probably wouldn't even notice if Alex, the kid next to the door, up and left the room.

Then second. This is spanish. Most of the kids in this class do not speak spanish at all and they spend they entire class time waiting for the bell. They want out, basically; they're practically freaking out because of how much attention they need for this class. This is one of those classes where I'm usually misbehaving and the teacher, Miss Mann (how funny), gives me this dirty look and says, "Nico! Don't be an asshole!" Can't you tell I'm her favorite? She doesn't call anyone else that but me. I'm special. Don't be jealous.

Break. This is usually when I look for a friend or something and then complain about my hellish classes while they pretend to care when they're actually staring at some girl behind me, which I don't get since the girls here aren't much to look at, and honestly I think I'm still half in that stage. You know, like in fourth grade when all girls thought boys were icky and yucky and guys thought girls had the cooties. In high school, cooties have a scientific name and that's STD's.

Third period math. This is one of my favorite classes, mainly because I like my teacher, Mr. Jenkins. He used to play football for the cowboys, but a knee injury ended his sports career. He hates kids, that's why he became a teacher: to makes kids' lives miserable, or so he claims. Personally, I think he's the coolest teacher here. He's always trying to get our attention and when we start talking or goofing off, he turns around and has this crazy look on his face. Then he points at the kids talking and says, "Dude! Shut up! If you talk, I will kill you!" He's awesome, isn't he?

Fourth period. I forgot which class this was, but this is usually the period when a couple of kids looking for trouble hijack the P.A. and declare a "30 minute dance party!" and play loud music. No one ever dances, though, so their plan fails. I don't know why but whenever something wacky happens it's always during this period. Once we found a guy who didn't even go to our school wandering the halls. The dean tried to give him a violation but didn't know his name. See how awesome my school is? Kids from other schools ditch to come to MY school.

Then, Lunch. We have a snack bar at our school, and since all the kids in the building are just determined to be the first one in line, when the bell rings the ground shakes because there's so many people running, like a wildebeast stampede. "FOOOOOOOOOD!"

After lunch I have just two more periods to go and then I'm outta here. But I've recently added one more thing to my already-packed schedule: when I get out of school, I look out for Posy since she's recently decided that she'll show up at my school whenever the hell she wants without telling me first, which might be a problem because I haven't exactly told anyone at my school about her, and I don't want anyone getting any ideas about us.

On a lighter note, I learned CPR today.

Anyway, getting back to Posy. The bell rang finally and I went over to my locker in a not-in-a-hurry fashion and grabbed the books I need: math and english. I had a horrible feeling that Posy was already outside, near the back wall - waiting for me to walk over there so she can pull me into another one of her question/answer sessions. Not that I had anything better to do, but answering questions was not my forte - especially Posy's questions. My gut feeling seemed to be right, once I've shoved my books into my bag and slammed my locker shut. I walked toward the exit, that also served as an entrance, and as I was walking into the sunlight, I noticed that posy was, in fact, not at the back wall where she usually waited, but rather she stood right in front of me... on the steps leading to my school... in plain sight.

"Of course," I said with a hint of sarcasm in my tone. I push past her and start walking as if I were going home, but I knew she would be following me. I'm correct, once again, when I turn around and see her falling into step behind me.

"So, um.." she started. "H-How's school?"

"Fine."

"Oh, really? That's, uh... That's good. Learn anything new today?" She was beginning to sound like Percy's step-dad whenever I walk in the door after school.

"No."

"Oh. Well, maybe tomorrow. Are you... busy... today?" I stopped walking and turned around to face her, and that seemed to have caught her off guard; we were face-to-face by the time she realized I had stopped and turned.

"Are you seriously trying to have a casual conversation with me?" I asked, still staring her down. Her face was a mixture of confusion and hurt at first, but it softened up after a second or so. Then it was just plain curiosity.

"Well, why shouldn't I?"

"I don't know. Maybe because just a few days ago you were spitting angry at me, didn't want to talk to me, I haven't seen you in forever? You are weird, Posy, really weird. You're pissed one day and the next time I see you, you're all happy and trying to make casual conversation with me like nothing happened. Wouldn't you want to talk about it or something, like a normal person would?" I turned around and started walking again, slouching, and with my hands in my pockets. I thought my little speech would make her go away, but instead I heard her laughing and then running up to catch up with me again.

"So what you're saying is," she said, moving up to stand in my path so I couldn't walk away. "I've been gone for a long time and you missed me, is that it, Nico?"

"What?" I said with slight disbelief. "Of course not. Why would I miss you? I'm trying to get rid of you. Jeez." I turned around and started walking the other way, but she caught up with me again. "So are you stalking me now?" I asked.

"I wouldn't call it stalking."

"Oh really? What would you call it? Following? Creeping? Pursuing? Spying? Hunting? Tracking? Trailing? Doesn't matter what verb you use, Posy, the action of following someone to the point that they're annoyed as hell with you is called stalking. What do you want from me, anyway?" I dodged a trash can as we were walking, and then turned around and walked the other way, seeing if I can lose her. No such luck.

"To stalk you, of course." she said.

"Excuse me?"

"I was just kidding. I actually need you to come with me, today."

"Where? What for?"

"To my house. I want you to see my new brother."

"To see your new brother? Why?"

"Well-" she was just about to go on, but the light changed and so I crossed the street hurriedly. Posy caught up to me and pulled my sleeve, making me jerk backwards. "I was talking. As I was saying, I want you to see him because-"

She was interrupted once again when a car honked at us and the man inside shouted at us to get out of the road because the light was green again. I told him to shut up and then went o the other side of the street, dragging Posy behind me by her shirt sleeve. She didn't seem to like that and slapped my hand away as soon as we were back on the side walk.

"OK, like I said, before we were rudely interrupted, I want you to-"

"Look, I've got a life, ok?"

She gave me a funny, almost comical, look. "Yeah. I've noticed. That's why you go straight home after school, right? And go to random funerals on weekends."

"Whatever, but I'm not about to go see you're baby brother just because you think he's so cute and you want to show him off to the world, this ain't show-and-tell, you know."

For the next few seconds we were both silent, and I thought she would leave me alone now, but she kept tagging along. "Still following me, eh?"

"C'mon, just for today and I promise I won't ever talk to you or bother you again. Just come in, see my brother, and walk out, it's that easy."

"OK, it's not it's hard for me, that I don't want to do it. Your house also happens to be in the opposite direction of where I live, so it'll take me a lot longer to get home from your house."

"Is that what you're worried about? I could just ask my parents to drop you off or something. It's not that big of a deal."

I turned around and put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Read my lips, Posy. NO." We both sort of stood there frozen for a second or two, but it seemed longer than that. I noticed that her hair was longer now. Not as long as when I first met her, but longer, and that her shampoo smelled fruity. I always used to think her eyes were brown, but I could tell just at that moment that they were, in fact, hazel-colored, and that she was shorter than me. Not by a lot, but enough that she had to tilt her chin up to look my in the eye. All of this I was able to notice in those few seconds, as well as the fact that I was standing really really close to her.

My face started getting hot, so I dropped my arm from her shoulder and stepped back. "Well, then," I said. I continued to step backward and pretended to tip the hat I wasn't wearing. "See ya." I turned around and started my walk, and when I looked back, Posy, thankfully, wasn't following me. A small smile of triumph crept up on my face knowing I had finally gotten her to stop following me. She had promised not to talk to me or bother me, and I sort of hoped that she would hold onto that promise, but I admit that I felt a little saddened by the thought of her never talking to me again, the thought of her hating me for this. I got worried; what if she did hold onto that promise?

My thoughts were broken when I felt someone ram into me with enough force to knock me down.

"Watch it!" I yelled, and by some instinct, my hand fell down on my hip and felt for my sword. It wasn't there. With a burst of energy, I was back on my feet and realized that whoever rammed into me had taken my sword. But how? It couldn't be seen by mortals, unless they could see through the- Posy. All the clues pointed at her. I looked up the street and she stood about twenty feet in front of me with the Stygian blade in her hand, waving it around triumphantly and just plain taunting me. She could stalk me, bombard me with questions, but when she steals my sword... well, now it's personal.

I was going to yell "my sword!" but I thought the other mortals would think it out of place for someone to lose a sword. I started running toward Posy, who whipped around and started running as well. And I admit that she was faster than I thought she would be, and I would have to use all my strength to run and keep up with her. She ran across the street and I followed her. Up the hill, down the hill, down the street, dodging cars, and pushing violently past people. My breath started to come out in tufts of air and I felt like my heart would burst through my chest if it pounded any harder or faster. My legs were starting cramp and to wear down but I pushed onward. Soon we were on her street and to her house. Damn her.

"Give it back, Posy!" I yelled. "GET BACK HERE!"

"So are you stalking me now, Nico?" I heard her laugh, and by the way she talked I could tell that she wasn't tired at all. Stupid track runners. And I immediately hated her for using my line. She dashed onto her lawn and I was just about to slow down as I neared her house, but she ran back to me and pulled me toward the door. There was no fighting it now. I lost.

"C'mon, Posy, seriously? All this just to get me to see your stupid little brother?"

"He's NOT stupid, ok? And desperate times call for desperate measures."

"Yeah, but isn't stealing a little... you know, extreme?"

"Well, you have yourself to blame. You weren't cooperating so I had to force your cooperation, and stealing your precious sword apparently did the trick. You were being stubborn, so I had to be extreme."

"Ugh. I hate you for this."

"You won't in a second." She took my hand, and although at first I winced at the contact of our skin, she didn't let go. She pulled me up the stairs. I heard some music blaring from one of the rooms, and the door swung open and I saw what looked like an older, more muscular, shorter-haired, male version of Posy and I drew the conclusion that he was probably her brother. And he didn't look too happy to see me.

"Posy, wait!" He yelled and Posy stopped just as she was about to take another step.

"WHAT, Peter?" The brother, Peter, pointed the finger at me with a demanding look in his eye. He seemed like a menacing type of person. Someone I would never have guessed was related to Posy at all, despite their common looks.

"Who is this? You're not allowed to have boys over, Dad's rules!"

"Shut up, Peter. I'm on important business here, and I'd appreciate if you just get off my back. You're not my father!"

"And just for the record, she and I aren't-" I started to explain, but Posy pulled me up the stairs again while Peter lingered in the doorway some more before deciding to put on a half-decent shirt and follow us.

"Posy, seriously; babies cry, poop, and eat, what is so important that I need to see a baby? And your brother; he seems kinda mad. I really don't think-" Posy pushed me into a room where the walls were painted blue and glow-in-the-dark stars were stuck on the ceiling. In the corner was a white crib and some song was playing, like those baby lullabies that come from little wind-up toys. Posy walked over to the crib and looked in it with gentle eyes. Then she looked at me, still lingering awkwardly in the doorway. She gestured for me to get over there, and I went. Standing next to her, I looked down in the crib, too.

Posy's POV

I don't know what caught my eye first; the look on Nico's face when he saw Sebastian, or the look on Sebastian's face when he saw Nico. Either way, it was really something special. Nico was neutral at first, but then I saw something on his face that showed a little... what? Understanding? Awe? Wonder? Curiosity? I think it was a little of all of those. Sebastian, whose eyes were closed at first, almost opened on instinct when Nico came into view. And he, too, was at first neutral, but after a second or so of just looking at him...

He smiled.

Nico did, too. Sort of. At least it was as close to smile as he could manage. I saw peter, from the corner of my eye, leaning against the doorway. He didn't look mad anymore, but a little... interested... in the situation, I guess.

"Do you wanna hold him?" I asked Nico. Nico whipped his head around to face me and he looked at me like I had just grown another head.

"What? No, I can't."

"Of course, you can." I reached down into the crib to lift Sebastian up, while I saw Nico turn his head around to look at Peter, asking permission with his eyes. I picked Sebastian up and turned around and placed him in Nico's arms, and taught him the correct way to hold a baby since he obviously never had before.

"Put your arm under here, and use the other one to supports his head and back. Don't drop him!"

"I won't."

I stepped back and looked between Sebastian and Nico as a more comfortable silence settled in the room. Peter left the room, and then it was just me, Nico, and Sebastian. I smiled.

"My grandpa told me, just before he died, that when one thing dies, something is born in it's place. Maybe not what was there before, but something wonderful all the same. I didn't really get it at first, but I think now, with Sebastian and all, I kinda understand it better. I mean, considering the circumstances and all, he, I mean Sebastian, kinda is like what my grandfather was talking about. He may not be my grandfather, but I love him all the same. I was sad at first because I thought I didn't get to say goodbye to him, you know, no closure or anything. but I think this is all the closure I need... for now, at least."

Nico was quiet at first, and he kept his eyes down, and then I heard him whisper, "yeah". We didn't know what else to say after that, so we decided not to say anything, respecting each other's decision not to speak. after a minute or two, I saw a shadow in the corner of my eye and I saw my mother standing in the doorway, looking at us. She didn't seem mad, either. Like Peter, she just seemed sort of interested. Nico seemed a little panic stricken and quickly handed Sebastian back to me. I took him from Nico and smiled at my mother.

"Umm," I laughed nervously. "H-Hi, Mom. You're home early."

"I don't have work, sweetheart. I'm on maternity leave, remember? Give me the baby." I handed him to her. "So. Who's your friend?"

"Oh. Ummm." I looked to Nico for some kind of explanation, but he just hurriedly shook his head at me and gave me a look that seemed to say, "Why are you looking at me? She asked YOU! Don't look to me for an explanation!"

"Well?"

"Mom, this is Nico. He's... um... a... friend of mine... actually he's Robbie's friends, and Robbie is friends with Min and I'm friends with Min, too and that's how we know each other. I just brought him here to see Sebastian because... he's doing a science project on the growth and development of human beings and he needed a baby to observe, and look here, we have a baby!"

I wasn't sure whether or not my mom would buy my explanation, because I'm sure peter already told her of my breaking Dad's law about bringing boys home. But then again, it wasn't like Nico was a boy boy, he was just a friend that I wanted to meet Sebastian. Mom seemed quite taken with my explanation.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Nico. I'm Posy's mother."

"You, too." Nico answered, walking towards the door. after giving a final nod to Mom he fled down the stairs and I followed him, leaving Mom alone with the baby. We met up again in the living room. Nico was standing toward the corner, near the wall, fingering a plant.

"So, um, that's all I really wanted for you here. You can leave... if you want."

"I did what you wanted," Nico said. "So does that means you're going to keep your promise and never ever talk to me again?" I felt my heart sink. I had forgotten all about that.

"If you don't want me to-"

"It's ok, you don't have to. Besides, you wouldn't do it, anyway. You're way too stubborn to do something like that. Now where's my sword?"

"Huh?"

"My sword. the one you stole?"

"Oh... right." I went back upstairs and got the sword and brought it back down for Nico, who took it and slipped it back into place on his hip. "Thanks," he said. "No problem," I answered.

"Well, see ya. For real, this time." He walked out the door, and for some strange unfathomable reason I chased after him, again.

"Wait!" I yelled. Nico turned around, but he didn't look annoyed like I thought he would look. He just looked curious of what I would say.

"What?"

"Umm... I, uh..."

"Yes?"

Just spit it out, Posy!

"What are you doing on this weekend?" The question caught Nico off-guard.

"I don't know. Why?"

"Well, um. Maybe we could meet up or something. And just hang out. You know, like friends usually do."

He was quiet for a while but then he spoke again. "Friends?" I couldn't believe I was doing this. I just didn't want him to disappear and I'll never ever see him again.

"Yeah, friends. Maybe we could just go for a walk or something."

Nico still had that look of doubt plastered plain on his face, like he wasn't taking me seriously. Which sort of angered me; I was dead serious about this!

"Look," I said with more seriousness that time. "If you don't want to, you can just say no, like earlier today. You don't have to stare at me like an idiot, I can take a rejection, you know. Just say no, if you really don't want to."

"No." He said. My breath got caught in my throat, and I suddenly realized that not enough oxygen was getting into my lungs. He said no.

"No?"

"No, what I meant was... No, as in 'no, I'm not going to say no''. Sure, whatever. Umm. When?"

"Oh." Truth is, I hadn't actually thought about it. I almost half expected him to say no, and when I thought he did, I couldn't even breathe. "How about Saturday? I'll just meet you... in central park, or something."

Nico nodded. Then he turned and was finally on his way home. When I got inside, I felt sort of relieved, and not until I got in my room and closed the door did I realize just how serious my situation was. Hello! I have a date with Nico!

TBC..

Okie doke, so there it is! Finally, chapter 6! I'm sorry for the really long wait. I just get interested and uninterested with the story a bunch of times and I end up writing and not writing and stuff, so forgive me if this story takes a long while to finish...