A/N: Wrote all of this today, but got it done. Review please! It really does help!
Once the day was over, Rowan turned to face Nico.
"So you still wanna come over, right?" Rowan asked.
"Yeah." Nico replied.
"Alright, I should probably tell my mom though." Rowan proceeded to pull a phone out of his pocket, and tap some buttons. Nico wondered if he should call Mrs. Jackson, but decided against it. Percy was sure to come and find him anyway.
Laughter behind him startled Nico. He turned, and saw that the hallway was filling up, all of the other kids were about to go home. It was strange, and kind of overwhelming, seeing all of those people suddenly appearing behind him. He had been so lost in thought all day, and hadn't been paying much attention. He wanted to kick himself, being a demigod meant that you couldn't zone out even for a second!
He took a good look around, saw that here there was mainly older kids. Maybe all of the freshmen had gotten out as soon as they could? He could see groups of guys in strange leather jackets, and girls giggling and putting on makeup. There were lots of different groups, and it was strange to Nico that they stayed so separate. Nico wasn't in one of those groups, he was just awkwardly standing next to Rowan while he talked on the phone.
"Good news, she said yes!" Rowan said, grinning. "Do you need to call your mom?" He asked. Nico cringed a bit.
"Ah, no. I'm just going to see if I can find Percy." Nico grimaced.
"Oh, your cousin? Are you staying with him for the school year?" Rowan asked.
"Maybe, I'm not sure." Nico answered.
"Well, let's go find him then." Rowan said. Nico nodded. He started down the hallway, weaving between the many people.
Eventually, they reached the end of the hallway without incident, and still no sign of Percy. Nico would rather leave without telling him, but he knew that his best chance of escape was if Percy thought Nico was at a friend's house, instead of MIA.
Before they could resume the search, Percy found them. "Nico!" He said. "I've been looking for you. Ready to go?"
"Well, Rowan invited me to his house, so can I go home with him?" Nico asked. He hated having to ask in the first place, normally he would have been able to do whatever he wanted. But, he figured Percy would respond better to a question rather than a demand.
To Nico's displeasure, Percy narrowed his eyes. "I'm not an idiot."
"Oh, come on. It's just normal stuff, going to a friend's house. Are you suddenly against me having friends?" Nico glared back.
Percy sighed. "Fine. But," He looked at Rowan, who had been staring at the floor uncomfortably, "I'm going to need your phone number." Rowan's eyes widened.
"Um, yeah, okay." He said nervously, then gave the number while Percy wrote it down on a piece of paper.
"I'm going to be checking up on you." Percy said, pointing to Nico. Then he turned and walked away. Nico rolled his eyes.
Rowan raised his eyebrow. "Tensions high?" He asked.
"No, he just doesn't trust me." Nico said. It was strange how he could talk to a random mortal boy more openly than to another demigod. Well, the mortals didn't know who his father was. That could be one reason.
"Well, we should probably start walking." Rowan said.
"Walking?" Nico asked.
"Yeah, I live pretty close to the school." Rowan shrugged. They found the nearest door and stepped outside. "This way." He said, turning left. They walked almost a whole block before Rowan decided to speak again.
"So, why are you living with your cousin?"
"I'm, um, my aunt thought it would be a good idea." Nico forced out. He had no clue what to say, was he supposed to say that he had been kidnapped against his will? Ok, that was exaggerating a bit. Only a bit, though.
"Why aren't you with your mom and dad?" Rowan asked innocently.
"Drop it." Nico growled.
"I- ok." At least Rowan wasn't pushy. Silence descended. Well, as quiet as it gets walking next to a busy highway in New York.
A couple minutes later, Rowan said, "I don't live with my dad."
Nico turned to look at him. "Divorce?" He guessed. Rowan just shrugged.
"When I was little, maybe. Don't really remember." Nico was suddenly intrigued in this annoying kid. What if he was a demigod? Doubted it, he seemed pretty calm for a demigod. And he was fourteen, probably, so he should have definitely been claimed by now. Besides, mortals did get divorced, and didn't always stick around.
"I'm sorry." Nico said simply. Rowan shrugged again.
"I have a step dad, and he's really cool, so I don't really care. Don't feel sorry for me." Rowan's voice took a darker tone with this. "Turn here."
"What?"
"Turn, we're almost there." Rowan pointed down a road. The two turned, and walked down a side street into a nice neighborhood. And by neighborhood, he meant apartments. Because it's New York. Does everyone in New York live in apartments? Seemed like it.
"Seems nice." Nico commented.
"Yeah. Come on, up here." Rowan led the way up some stairs on the outside of the building. A couple floors up, they stopped in front of a door. Rowan opened it, and stepped into a large living room, filled with a large couch, big flatscreen TV, and a piano in the corner. Towards the left there was a transparent door leading presumably to the kitchen. There was a hallway leading elsewhere to the right.
They stepped around the couch, and Rowan started down the hallway. "That's my room on the right." He continued to the next door, and poked his head in. "Mom, I'm home." He said.
"Oh, how was your day? Is the school as good as the name?" A woman's voice laughed. Nico peered his head around Rowan, and saw a normal lady sitting at a desk next to a bed.
"Well, it was pretty much just like middle school, except everyone's older." Rowan commented.
"Oh, and is that your new friend?" Rowan's mother asked, walking over to the door. Just then, Rowan's phone started to ring.
"Yeah, he is, I'll be right back." Rowan exited the room, leaving Nico behind.
Extending a hand, Nico said, "Hello, my name is Nico di Angelo." The lady shook his hand, mildly amused.
"Janine Bryant. Nice to meet you." Rowan walked back into the room.
"Nico, it's for you." He said, obviously hiding a smile. Nico raised his eyebrow, and took the phone.
"Hello?"
"Oh, Nico. So he wasn't lying." Nico grimaced, it was Percy. Checking up on him, just like he said he would.
"Lying about what?" Nico asked.
"I asked if you had run off yet. Turns out you haven't." Percy said, probably laughing.
"Oh, right. Are we done here?" Nico asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I'll call again later." Percy said.
"Bye." Not knowing what to do, he handed the phone back to Rowan. Rowan pressed a button, then looked at Nico questioningly.
"Come on, we can go play games now." Rowan tugged Nico's sleeve, effectively pulling him out of the room and back down the hallway, and into the room Rowan had said was his.
"So, this is my room, and more importantly, what did Percy mean when he asked if you had run off yet?" Rowan asked, with a strangely serious face.
"Oh, inside joke." Nico lied. "Speaking of that, he also mentioned that I have to go soon." More lying.
"How soon?" Rowan asked. He looked as if he knew, or at least suspected that Nico was lying.
"Really soon.
"Do you need a ride?"
"No, it's pretty close from here." Nico really had no idea where he was, but it didn't really matter. He probably couldn't even get back to the school if he had wanted to. Yet again, it didn't matter.
"Are you sure?" Rowan asked, not breaking eye contact.
"Positive." Nico said, with maybe a hint of reservation. He looked away.
"Alright. But let me get you a snack, you didn't eat lunch." Rowan said.
"If it makes you feel better." Rowan darted out of the room to get some food. Nico figured that some food wouldn't hurt, since he wasn't sure if the ambrosia he always carried would be of use with being mortal and all.
Rowan came back with a bag of chips and a couple of granola bars. "Sun chips. Good for being in the sun. Also granola bars because they have good stuff in them."
It almost felt like Rowan knew. "Why so much food?" Nico asked.
"I dunno." Rowan shrugged. "You are kinda skinny." He smiled.
"Alright, I have to go now." Nico said, accepting the food and stuffing it into his jacket pockets.
Rowan nodded, looking right into Nico's eyes.
Nico left the apartment building, and started running.