I will continue to write this, because I am proud of it! And Nico will do a 180 in the next few chapters, just watch the beautiful transformation of the shadow prince. Also, thanks for the reviews and the ideas . I think I'll use a few of them. Or all of them! They're pretty good.

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Nico's POV

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I realized the next morning how few friends I actually had. I mean, besides Percy (who probably wouldn't talk to me after last night), and Annabeth (only because she was friends with Percy), I didn't really have any other friends. I knew most of the campers, and I talked to Will and Malcolm from time to time, but you could hardly call them my friends. I wanted to get someone else to talk to and be friends with. I did realize that my behavior at the date was not exactly at a thirteen year olds level. Maybe having someone else would fix that?

"Hi," I big guy said, sliding onto the bench next to me. I glanced at him quickly, racking my brains. Leo Valdez, Hephaestus cabin. Great. Oh hey, maybe this could be my new friend. Tone down the childish acts Nico, I said to myself, taking a breath.

"Hi Leo," I said, and I noticed the start of surprise when he realized I knew his name. "I know most people by sight," I explained, blushing slightly. Not like I was observant. Normally I was busy trying to get Percy's attention. Maybe that was part of the problem though. He liked my childish side fine, but last night was… over the top. I needed to tone it down and maybe get Percy's attention in a different way.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked, looking around. I practically jumped out of my seat. "Not your boyfriend?" Leo guessed, smacking his forehead. "Sorry man. Big mouth, you know." He took a swig of juice. I decided I kind of liked Leo. He was a bit clumsy and he was extremely funny. I think he also liked Jason? On that I wasn't sure. I did know they spent a lot of time together.

"That's okay," I said, not quite believing what I was actually going to say to him. "But I want him to be my boyfriend. I tried to date others but… well let's just say it didn't work out that well." Leo smirked and nodded with me. "Don't you like Jason?" I asked innocently, taking just a bit of the childish innocence still in me and using it in a beneficial way. Leo's smile melted right off his face and was quickly replaced with a scowl.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "But your little… Prince of the Sea is it? Or Prince?" I blushed and nodded, waving him onto the point. "He's captured Jason's attention with that date last night. Apparently they actually had a decent time on their own last night and will try it again on another date." I felt my stomach burning with jealousy, but I didn't want to show it, so I covered it up by taking a larger than normal bite of my cheerios.

"Guess that's something we have in common," I replied after I swallowed down the now mushy cereal. "Percy is dating Jason, and I don't like that. Jason is dating Percy, and you don't like that. Wanna discuss it some more tonight, say at my place. I feel kinda lonely there sometimes, since I'm the only one in the Hades cabin."

"You have it all to yourself?" Leo asked in disbelief. "No way! Oh I'm so staying the night with you! Be there after some rock wall." Leo moved off and discarded his dishes. I smiled to his retreating form, finally getting all the puzzle pieces to click into place.

I'd made a friend.

…

Percy's POV

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"Jason, this has been great," I said as we left the little coffee shop. For our second date we downplayed and went out for coffee (or in Jason's case hot chocolate). "It's a nice night," I added, looking up at the black sky. I knew it was clear without actually seeing anything. When you live in New York, you learn to tell when bad weather was coming. Jason smiled and laced his fingers through mine. Even now, it felt kind of awkward, and I wondered if Jason was really as into it as he claimed to be.

"Beautiful," he agreed. "My father is being generous tonight." You'd think the way he said it, all casual like, he'd say "yeah, my dog is brown" or some other shit like that. The very idea was so ludicrous, I began to snicker. Jason smiled at me and rolled his eyes to the heavens. "Percy Jackson, you sure are something," he said.

"You are something yourself, Jason Grace," I replied, grinning. Jason wrapped his arms around me and went in for a kiss, but I noticed the hesitation. "Jason, what's wrong?" I asked. He backed off, looking sheepish. "Oh, don't worry about a kiss," I said around a laugh. "Leo, right?" His eyebrows shot up.

"How'd you guess?" he asked, then shrugged off the comment. "You know everything," he decided. "You and Nico, huh? He's kind of childish…" He trailed off, realizing he might have said the wrong thing. "Oh, I don't mean it's a bad thing!" he said quickly. "I mean he's… he…" Jason appeared flustered, which only served to make me laugh harder.

"Oh relax," I said, standing upright. "I know he's kind of childish. You have to realize that this kid got his childhood yanked away from him. Not only that, but he doesn't remember much of it. He's technically 113." Jason's eyes widened. "It's a very long story involving a casino/hotel. But the point is, I think it's kind of cute. I figure he does it mostly to get my attention. Annabeth says he doesn't put on that quite a show when I'm not around."

"How old is Nico?" Jason asked.

"As I said, technically, he's 113. But in mortal years he's thirteen. I know that's three years younger than us, but still. Nico's incredible. We've been through so much together. I couldn't imagine having anyone by my side except Nico. If I was straight, it might be Annabeth but…" I shrugged. Annabeth liked someone else anyway (although she refused to tell me who).

"You guys had a pretty nasty scrap last night," Jason commented, and I frowned. It was true. Nico had never once told me he hated me, so this one hurt me more than I would've thought. "Hey, I know it makes you sad, but don't look like that. It's not a good look on you, Jackson," I smirked at him. Jason had this uncanny ability to make me smile when I wanted to cry. Reminded me of a certain small, dark son of Hades. "Why don't you try talking to him?" the blonde boy suggested. "You two are obviously close. I'd hate to see you never talk to him again."

"Damn good idea," I replied, smiling. "Damn good idea indeed."

…

Nico's POV

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"He made those marks?" Leo asked, gazing at my arm. The marks were going to stay purplish for a while, but I didn't mind. They would remind me it was time to grow up. "You're pretty brave kid," Leo said. I smacked his arm and dissolved into giggles as he clutched his arm in mock pain. "So you jump into his arms?" he asked, getting back to our original topic. I drew my knees up to my chest.

"Yeah," I said. "He says I'm adorable when I do it, which is why I do it. It gets his attention, and that's what I want. Besides Bianca, I've never really had someone fuss over me." My eyes clouded over and I reached far into my memories. "At least, no one I can remember. Anyway, Percy's always taken good care of me, and he's always said I acted the way I did because I don't remember much of my childhood. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I don't want to act that way anymore. It's not getting me anywhere. I want to be someone Percy would be proud to date, not his…little brother." That was the best word I could use to describe my awful behavior.

"You and Percy are really close, aren't you?" Leo asked, not really prying, probably just curious. "Jason and I can be the same way. Close I mean. We always have each other's back, and we go everywhere with each other. Everywhere we can anyway." He smiled up at me from the floor. I was sitting on my bunk, but Leo said he didn't feel right sleeping in one of the others, so he spread a sleeping bag out on the floor. "You say Percy likes your…adorableness?" I nodded, tilting my head to the side and studying him. Leo was smart in his own way, and I could see him doing some quick calculations. "Don't give it up entirely then. Still act cute, but channel it. Smile more often. You've got a great smile. No one likes a dark son of Hades." I blushed at the sudden compliment. "Giggle and flirt. Crawl onto his lap, but don't stay there. No more temper tantrums, and no more late night meetings. Learn to sleep on your own." That one would be hard.

"I like to snuggle," I protested. "Who doesn't? Besides, I fit perfectly against Percy, making him an ideal cuddle partner." Leo held up his hands.

"Alright, alright, but wait until you're a couple, if that's what you're really after," I replied. "My point is, use that cuteness to your advantage, but don't overdo it. I'm sure Percy can tolerate it, but even the great Percy Jackson has limits. One day, your little cute out will push him over the edge, because you won't be thirteen forever." I stared at him for the longest time. He honestly just said that to me, the kid who's been thirteen for a hundred years?

"Sure," I said, rolling my eyes, reaching over and smacking his arm. I slunk back on my bunk as Leo crawled up after me. I perched on his leg, smiling. Then I slipped off and gazed over my shoulder. Leo chuckled.

"Work what you got Nico!" he whooped, and we both fell back side by side, dying of laughter.

…

Percy's POV

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Seeing Nico with Leo was a double blow. Not only was my precious Prince of Shadows with another boy, but it was Jason's crush of all people. And the worst part was they actually looked like they were having fun. Nico gazed over his shoulder at him (looking sexy as hell), then Leo said something and they both fell over laughing. It seemed Nico was still tapping into his cute, but it seemed…more controlled. Like he was holding back. I knew if he wanted, he'd have Leo wrapped around his finger, but they appeared to be equals during this exchange.

"Whatcha see Perce?" Jason asked me, looking concerned. I turned to study the blonde. This wouldn't hurt just me, I was now beginning to see. Jason may equally be crushed.

"Nico's having a little slumber party," I gritted out, and when he shrugged, I added, "With Leo." Jason seemed to freeze in place and thousand emotions flickered across his face at once. "It seems they have gotten closer. They almost appeared to be… a couple."

"No," Jason said in disbelief. "Leo wouldn't do that. He doesn't like younger boys. No offense to Nico," he quickly added at my best Percy Glare. "But Leo wants someone his own age. At least, that's what he's always told me…" He trailed off, looking a little unsure of himself.

"Nico I'm not sure about," I admitted. "He appears to go for our age group, but that could be just a phase as Annabeth said. All the same, I do not like the scene in there. Have they both given up on us and instead giving each other a try?" Jason shook his head, adamant.

"Nope," he said bluntly. "Maybe they're just friends. You said it yourself, Nico's a bit of a loner, doesn't have many friends. Maybe he's finally branching out. Percy, you knew he wouldn't always need you." He added that in a gentler tone. "He may very well be telling you he's ready to grow up." I glanced back in the window, where both Nico and Leo were getting situated.

"Not too fast, Prince of Shadows," I whispered, resting my fingers against the cool glass of the window. "Don't stop being your adorable self. I don't think I could take it if I lost my little buddy entirely. Also, Leo better be good for you, or I'm going to have to do some serious ass whooping."

…

What do you think of Nico's steps to becoming more like his age, starting with forging a new friendship that may actually help his relationship with Prince (as he called him). Don't worry, that nickname's not gone for good, but it will appear less and less as Nico starts acting more mature. As always, R&R!