A/N; If anyone who reads this could help me with ideas, I have the next chapter planned out but nothing beyond that. Some help will earn you virtual cookies~
The car ride was uneventful. It was barely half an hour from camp to downtown New York, and most of it was spent in silence. Both Mrs. Jackson and Percy attempted conversation with the son of the underworld, but to no avail.
"We're here!" Mrs. Jackson finally exclaimed.
"Yes!" Percy yelled, leaping out of the car. Nico silently crawled out. He was not happy with the situation, he would much rather just stay on his own. If that Hecate girl hadn't put that curse, erm, spell, on him, then he would have shadow traveled out a long time ago.
"Sorry we have a small apartment, Nico, but you'll have to share a room with Percy." Mrs. Jackson explained as she unlocked the door.
"It'll be fun." Percy assured.
"Sure." Nico grumbled. He looked anxiously at his watch, it was already past ten here in New York. He hoped that Percy was right about the different time zones.
"Paul! We're home!" Mrs. Jackson called. She opened the door and Nico saw a couch with a guy on it. Paul. Nico had met him a couple times, had helped him fight monsters even. Sure, that had been a year or two ago, but who's counting.
"Hello, Sally, Percy. And Nico, you've grown since I last saw you!" Paul smiled, ruffling Nico's hair. This was met with a glare. Like most things, these days.
"Don't worry about him, he's just mad that he starts school tomorrow." Percy said, also smiling. Yeah, sure, Percy. That's the reason I'm angry, Nico thought to himself.
Mrs. Jackson pulled out her cell phone. "I need to call the school." She said, walking into another room.
"Are you excited?" Paul asked.
"I am a demigod. From what I know, school doesn't mix well." Nico deadpanned.
"Well, Percy seems to be getting along fine." Says Paul.
"Yeah, it's not as bad as you might think." Percy comments.
"Alright." Whatever people might think, Nico was actually trying to be polite. He just hadn't had that much experience in talking with things that weren't dead.
"Well, if you need anything i'm going to the store." Paul said, and stood to leave.
"C'mon, Nico! My rooms this way!" Percy said, tugging Nico's wrist and dashing down the hallway.
It wasn't anything special, just a bedroom with blue walls, carpet, and bed. There was pictures of fish on the walls. Nico was only slightly worried for his cousin.
"You can… um, sleep on the floor over here, I guess." Said Percy, flashing an apologetic smile. "I'll go find some blankets." He dashed out of the room.
At this point Nico really wished he wasn't cursed with people who cared about him. It's cool that at least somebody actually cares, but then of course that somebody has to act upon it and mess everything up more than it was.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Nico knew he was just being stubborn and this really wasn't so bad, he could sleep with some blankets for once, and he could relax and not worry about monsters or his dad. At least for a little bit, he was safe. But, the teenage boy inside him was not going to change his attitude any time soon. He could take care of himself, and anyone who didn't agree should just watch him be him. They'll see. Nico wasn't some little kid who needed to be coddled, and he was independent. Had been for four years.
He kicked at a stray shoe on the floor, and thought of an escape. He needed to escape before school tomorrow. Because he really didn't want to go to that awful place. Then again, if Nico were to attempt to be positive about it, if he was at school then Percy and Mrs. Jackson and Paul couldn't watch him constantly.
Yes, perfect. Escape tomorrow, deal with a couple hours of school, and live as a mortal on the run until this all blows over. Flawless.
"Blankets!" Percy yelled, and Nico got a faceful of soft fuzzy stuff. He nearly fell over, suddenly holding at least three really thick comforters.
"It's summer, you know." Nico said, peering around the pile. Percy was grinning, like always.
"Then don't put all of them on. Put a couple on the floor, and make a mattress." Percy explained. Nico dropped the blankets onto a roughly clean part of the room. He glanced around, eyes finally landing on Percy.
"What now?" He asked. It was almost eleven in the morning. This day was dragging on forever.
"I dunno, something." Percy shrugged.
That night, Nico found it hard to sleep. He didn't mind being on the floor, he had slept in alleyways before. This was a step up.
No, he was just tense. He could hear Percy breathing. And shifting. Rolling over. Nico was also constantly worried about the shadows. Three reasons: His father's helm of darkness, fear of nightmares, and, well, Tartarus. It had been pretty dark and scary there, too. Nico really liked to avoid that subject.
So, anyway, after staring at his watch in the dim light for a couple hours, he drifted off around four in the morning.
To his surprise, when he woke up, he couldn't remember his dream. Neither a nightmare, or a vision. He was pretty much mortal.