Nico

"Hazel, wait!" Nico called as he ran towards his sister. "I'm going to come with you. You and Frank. To Camp Half-Blood." He was out of breath from having run so far so quickly.

After finishing his coffee alone in the cafe, Nico had sat there for about twenty minutes, thinking two things: 1. I can't let Hazel down again. 2. I can't leave Jason alone again.

Number 1 had won out, and here he was, running after her.

"You're...coming with us?" Hazel asked, looking confused. Nico nodded, still short of breath. He wasn't exactly in superior shape, not like Jason. Who he was leaving. Again. Like an idiot.

"I just… I feel like I should visit again," he said. "You know, my old home, old friends, etc." What he didn't add was, Because I want you to think that I'm not some loser or horrible brother. Because I want to make you proud of me, for once.

"Well… that's great!" Hazel said, brightening up. "I'm so glad you're coming, Nico." She grabbed an empty bag and tossed it at him. "Here, pack your stuff. We won't be staying too long, so don't worry. Maybe a week, tops."

Nico nodded and went to go pack a few outfits. He rarely ever wore anything different, and all his clothes looked the same, but he wanted to please Hazel.

The next day, they got up at the crack of dawn, which to Nico seemed like it should be outlawed. Why should he be up and moving when the sun wasn't even up and moving?

Nico would have been content to leave later and just shadow travel, but Hazel was intent on travelling together, so they had to take a plane. Frank was fine with it, but if the plane crashed he could just turn into a bird and fly away. Nico was sick with worry the whole time, thinking Zeus would knock them out of the sky just for kicks.

By the time they landed at Newark airport, Nico was just glad to see the ground again, thinking he would kiss it.

They took a cab to the camp, and the driver was a little confused, but dropped them off near the hill nonetheless and took off.

"This is so exciting!" Hazel exclaimed. "I've never been before. I mean, Frank, I know you visited, but this is so cool!" She hurried to the top of the hill and gazed down on Camp Half-Blood.

"Wow," she breathed. "It's so beautiful." Nico took in the sight of the camp with half fear, half nostalgia. He had a wide array of memories here, good and bad.

As they started down toward the camp, a figure appeared walking towards them.

"Is that Annabeth?" Hazel asked, squinting. Her face lit up. "It is! Annabeth!" she squealed, running down the hill towards her. They embraced and started chatting away. Nico and Frank met them down there.

"Hey, guys!" Annabeth exclaimed, hugging them both, which shocked Nico a little bit, since he wasn't much of a hugger, and Annabeth had never really liked him. He had also been bitterly jealous of her for quite sometime.

"I was just leaving, unfortunately," she said. "I've been visiting. But I have to get back to my classes, can't miss too much, you know?"

Hazel nodded sadly. "Well, you'll have to visit again soon!" Hazel exclaimed, hugging her again. "We'll see you!"

Annabeth waved and started towards the pine tree. "Bye!"

"She's doing better," Frank noted. "Less sad, for sure. I think college is good for her." Hazel nodded in agreement, which made Nico wonder how bad things had been after Percy….

Nico had stayed away from all of the seven for a month or so afterwards. He couldn't bear to face them, any of them. He'd had to hold Annabeth back at that last battle, keep her from stopping Percy, and the decision weighed on his heart every day.

They made their way down to the Big House with Nico leading the way, since he actually knew where he was going. Hazel was wide-eyed and staring all around, admiring every aspect of the camp. "Come on," Nico said, tugging her arm as she gaped all around. "You'll have time for sightseeing later."

They dropped their stuff off in one of the guest rooms of the Big House. Nico would be staying in the Hades cabin, but Frank and Hazel would stay in the Big House. They were strangers, after all.

"Hello?" a deep voice called from the front of the cabin. Nico heard the heavy clip clop of hooves. "Chiron," he called, going to meet him. "Long time." Chron nodded and shook Nico's hand firmly. Hazel stuttered out, "Chiron-I, um-I ah, nice to meet you, Hazel Levesque, I've heard so much and-uh, I, ah…"

Chiron shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Hazel. I've also heard much about you. Only good, don't worry." Hazel smiled weakly.

"Frank! Good to see you again," Chiron said, shaking his hand. "It's been a while."

"Well, we're excited to be here," Frank said. "Hazel's been waiting for this for quite some time." Hazel blushed deeply and looked away.

"Well I hope you enjoy your stay," Chiron said. "We have capture the flag later, and a sing-along tonight. I hope you'll all join us." He looked at Nico when he said this, probably because he was the antisocial one. Nico just smiled and shrugged in reply.

"Alright, well, we wanted to go see Leo, so we'll talk later!" Hazel said, dragging Frank away, clearly trying her hardest to get out of the awkward situation.

"Um, I better go with them," Nico said, quickly following them. He could feel Chiron's stare on his back as he hurried away.