Another mini chapter, sorry! More action in later chapters, I promise! :) And the long-awaited "Locket" chapter! A little insight on what our favorite couple is thinking about their predicament right now. Enjoy. Nico might be OOC, I dunno. You decide. Also, the quote about love is by H. Jackson Brown
Disclaimer: same as last chapter's disclaimer, don't own PJO
Chapter 14
Nico's POV
Laying back on my bed, I had only one thought on my mind: why does Aphrodite hate me? I hadn't seen Aphrodite or anything, but she was obviously messing with me. It had been almost three weeks since I had last seen Posy Felrose. I had only known her for a few months and I thought going back to the way I was before I even knew her would be easy. Because that's just who I was; Nico di Angelo, ice-cold son of Hades who sees dead people on a daily basis and doesn't give a damn.
Imagine my surprise when I found it increasingly difficult to just revert back to how I was after saying goodbye to her. Suddenly, every single girl in my school looked exactly like Posy, and suddenly, every shade of brown was exactly the same color as her eyes. Every time a girl so much as looked at me, the only thing I saw was her similarities to a certain mortal girl. Even Sally! Every time I saw Percy's mom, the only thing I saw was her brown hair. It was starting irritate me, but for some reason, it was good kind of irritation. I'm still trying to find out how that's possible.
At night, when it was dark, my mind kept going back to that one night in her bedroom. I kept seeing her face, trying to keep from crying. And suddenly, whenever I was wrapped up in bed, the blankets served as a reminder of when she hugged me. Her arms wrapped around my chest, not wanting to let go. If I concentrated hard enough, I could still feel her arms around me and her small body pressed against mine. And her smell! Gods, I could still smell her on me no matter how many showers I had taken! I just couldn't get her out of my head.
Girls really can drive you crazy. I believe that now. And that's why I think Aphrodite hates me. A couple years ago, I would have shunned all female companionship whatsoever. I was going through an "I Hate Girls" phase, but it's a wonder what the teenage years and a few hormones can do to a boy in so little time. It's enough to really drive him up the wall with all these girls.
I had known a few girls in my lifetime; the ones I encountered at the Lotus Hotel & Casino whom I don't remember at all. Thalia, Silena, Juniper, and Annabeth, to name a few. But I wasn't allowed to like those girls, at least I didn't think so. They were my friends, yes, but for some reason I always thought of them as off-limits, not that I ever thought of pursuing any of them. And I'm not allowed to look at Sally in any way other than as a motherly figure. Persephone who dislikes me and Demeter, the crazy one.
And then there was my sister, Bianca.
When I thought about it, she was the only girl I really loved. I mean really loved. My angel.
I was all messed up, I decided. I had a distorted vision of real love because the only girl I loved was my sister and she died. How could I expect to love anyone, I mean truly love them, after Bianca's death? Exactly. Maybe I couldn't.
But for my own sanity, I decided to at least pretend that I could love. Gods, I was starting to sound all sappy and emotional. It was Aphrodite messing with me again. I could just hear her high-pitched voiced in my head: "Let's mess with Nico's feelings, make him see how tragic his love-life is! Teehee!"
I let my mind travel through the stars that night back to Posy's house. I wondered what she was doing. I really hoped that she wasn't missing me too much, as sappy as that sounds. I saw the look of hurt on her face when I told her we couldn't be friends anymore; I just wanted her to be okay after that, I wanted her to forget me. And as cynical as it sounds, I wanted her to remember me, too. I don't know how that can be, either. I should be wanting the best for her, right?
I read somewhere, a quote, that said, "love is when the other person's happiness is more important that your own." I forgot who said that. Jackson Brown or something like that. At that point, I shot up in bed with a realization of some great truth. Love. In love. How on earth did I fall in love with Posy?
Posy's POV
Love!
I stared at the word with wide eyes, my feelings a mix of horror, disbelief, surprise, and just a small, barely traceable, hint of delight. I dropped the magazine page onto my bed and covered it with a pillow. Backing away from it, I fell seated onto my desk chair, still looking at the pillow covering the magazine.
Love! Can you imagine it? The magazine quiz had graded my answers and came up with LOVE! I thought about taking the quiz over again, but it was no use. I'd already taken the darn quiz five times and I still came out with the same answer: love.
There's no way. There was no way possible that I could be in love. And with Nico, too! It was just unimaginable. Or was it? The magazine was mistaken. That's what it was. I don't think it's possible to be in love with someone after just a few months of knowing them. If it is, then that was awfully quick.
It's just a magazine quiz, right? It didn't mean anything. Magazine quizzes were what gossipy girls took when they were bored and were just curious to see what they would get. Right? It was highly plausible that the magazine was wrong. So what if I got "love"? It was only a magazine quiz and it didn't mean anything. On a magazine quiz, "love" is just a word.
But even I couldn't deny that the thought of being in love was somewhat attractive to me. Every girl dreams of meeting her prince and falling love, of being swept off her feet, of taking a boat ride with the boy she likes, romantic candlelight dinners, picnics in the park. And like the rest of the female population, I wanted it, too.
I thought back to when I was a kid and I saw Peter kissing his girlfriend in front of the house. But in my head, the faces of my brother and his girl were suddenly distorted and instead of Peter and Evangeline, I saw Nico and myself. I got up from my desk and retrieved the magazine from under the pillow and stared at it again.
Was it possible?
TBC
Another shortie chapter, I'm sorry. But could you still review. Actually, I don't mind not getting that many reviews on tiny chapters like this, but it would be appreciated. Thank you and have a happy new year! Disneyland tomorrow! :)