Hey! I haven't really made any author notes before but I wanted to say Happy New Year! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and for liking and following. I do plan to reply to reviews at some point but I keep forgetting. Sorry. But thank you anyway and if you do see a mistake please feel free to point it out cause I'll probably make a few mistakes and I'd rather they were corrected.
Also I just want to say that future chapters will have various disorders such as pyromania or kleptomania but I will always do research before writing that into the story. As I'm not an expert and I'm mainly using Wikipedia please tell me if I do portray a something incorrectly and I will try to fix it so it fits with the story.
Once again thank you all so much for reviewing/liking/following and you are all amazing.
Nico opened his eyes. A scream bubbled in his throat but it didn't escape his lips. There was something heavy on his chest, squatting there. He couldn't breathe; it was squashing his lungs. Nico tried to lift his hand to swat it away but he couldn't. He was paralysed. Again. There were sounds as well, growls, bumps and scratching sounds that would have made him flinch, if he could have moved. Couldn't Leo, who Nico could just about see asleep, hear it? It was deafening for Nico. He was trying to gasp for breath but whatever was on his chest didn't move. Nico was terrified, he was going to die. He couldn't breath of move and there was something in the room. Something evil, coming for him like it had come for Bianca. He was going to die. He had to move but he was stuck. He was going to die.
Nico sat up, gasping for breath and shaking. He grasped the sheet with both hands as a suppressed sob shook his body. A scream had begun to build up in his throat but he swallowed it with a deep breath. He glanced over at Leo and was relieved to see that the boy was still fast asleep, frowning slightly. He didn't want to wake Leo in the middle of the night as the Latino boy had always been kind to him. He didn't want to force his problems onto Leo. He had already helped Nico enough, standing up for him when Cal and Zethes had decided he'd be a good punch bag a few days ago. He could still remember his heart pumping and face stinging as they ran along the corridors, Leo's hand around his wrist, dragging him into the ventilation system. He could remember the closeness and warmth of Leo, their breaths mixing as Zethes and Cal wandered about down below.
Nico quietly slid of the bed, still shivering as he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He usually had nightmares or sleep paralysis but they hadn't been this bad for a while. This time, instead of just darkness, there had been things in the shadows. Things that hated him and were coming for him. People he had known. He wasn't scared of shadows and darkness but the clawing malice he had felt resonating from the things terrified him.
Nico made his way to the door, quietly so not to wake Leo, and found his aviators jacket with shaking hands. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was behind, creeping up to grab him. As he stepped forward to find his shoes he tripped over a bag of Leo's stuff lying on the floor. He cursed loudly as he fell, crashing into the dresser with a loud crash while the scraps in the bag made a loud clanging. Leo sat up suddenly, his eyes wide and confused. He looked around startled and still half asleep and said worriedly, "Calypso?"
Nico groaned. The night just kept getting better. His foot hurt from where he had stubbed it and his shoulder ached from slamming into the dresser. Now Leo was awake as well, with his questions and stubbornness on getting a proper answer. Leo looked down to the foot of his bed where Nico was sprawled on the floor awkwardly. His brow furrowed and he asked, "Wait, what's going on? Nico?" Nico sighed and clambered up, clutching his bruised shoulder. "Nothing," he replied nonchalantly, " I'm just going out and I tripped. Sorry I woke you up." Leo glanced at clock, checking the time before saying in a disbelieving voice, "You're going for a walk at 4:07 in the morning?" Nico shrugged and didn't offer an explanation. Leo yawned and swung his feet out of his bed, "Okay then. Mind if I come too? I won't be able to go back to sleep and anyway, if I did I'd just dream again and I hate that dream."
Nico stared at Leo, suprised. He had expected the boy to try and stop him or just turn round and go back to sleep but here he was, his hair comically messy, looking at him expectantly. Nico didn't really want Leo to go with him but he felt bad saying no and he knew what Leo meant about not wanting to go back to sleep because of the dreams that waited for you. He also remembered how Leo had pretty much single handedly stopped him being beaten to a pulp. So he nodded and said nothing, waiting as Leo pulled a jacket on and slipped on his ridiculous panda slippers.
They crept along the corridor not speaking so they wouldn't wake anyone in the rooms. When the pair finally reached the stairway Leo turned to Nico and asked, "So, do you usually go on early morning strolls about the decks?" Nico kept silence for a moment but then replied cautiously, "Sometimes. I have nightmares and I just need to get out into the fresh air. You know." The last part was said to cover up Nicos confession but Leo nodded seriously, "Yeah, I know."
The two fell silent as they emerged into the cold sea air. Nico shivered and pulled his jacket closer but he noticed Leo didn't seem to be affected. Instead the boy had produced a lighter from one of his many pockets and was flicking it on and off. "Aren't you cold?" inquired Nico staring at the flame that was flickering in and put of existence. Leo shrugged, "No. I don't really feel cold much. I've got a ridiculously high metabolism. I spent most of my childhood being sent home from school cause the teachers thought I had a fever." Nico glared jealously at Leo who hadn't even bothered to do up his jacket. He was the opposite of Nico who was always cold, temperature-wise and attitude. There was no way a friendly guy like Leo could understand Nico. "You are so lucky. I'm freezing," he muttered.
Leo made a sympathetic noise and bumped his arm into Nico. Nico jumped away startled but he saw Leo chuckling and reluctantly returned to the warmer area near Leo, smiling slightly at Leo's infectious laugh. Leo, seeing the slight grin, feigned shock, grasped at his heart and dramatically announced, "Good heavens! You can smile! A true miracle!" Nico scowled but he wasn't really annoyed. It had been along time since anyone had joked around with him, not since Bianca's accident. He didn't really know how to react. "Do you ever take anything seriously?" He asked Leo who tilted his head to the side, pretending to think seriously about the question before replying, "Nope. I have a policy everything is better when it's funny." Nico thought about Leo's words for a moment and shrugged. The conversation lapped for a moment before Leo pointed out casually, "but you take everything seriously. Can you even make jokes?" Nico glanced at the other boy, a bit insulted. "Of course I can. Sort of." Nico raised his eyebrows and Leo sighed before amending sullenly, "Not really."
Nico had to snigger at that. Leo groaned and rolled his eyes, purposely veering into Nicos path causing him to jump back into a puddle. Leo laughed at him and dodged away from the faux blow Nico sent his way. He had to laugh with Leo, it was nearly impossible not to. As the two sniggered together a realisation suddenly hit Nico. He hadn't laughed properly like this in months. Not since his father had married evil bitch stepmother Persephone at least. Hazel had been able to make him laugh earlier on but when Persephone had moved in with their small family he had been too sad for too long. He stopped laughing suddenly, causing Leo to glance at him in concern. "What's wrong?" He asked. Nico opened his mouth, about to reply but he decided not to. Shutting his mouth he shook his head, slightly disgusted at himself. He had promised himself ages ago not to dump his problems on other people. He didn't know why but something about Leo, maybe the warmth or sense of humour, had almost made him want to tell Leo about he felt, things he couldn't even tell his family or one of his many councillers.
To his suprise Leo didn't push the issue, just asking casually, "Nightmares and stuff? They really take it out of you, huh?" It was nice of Leo to offer Nico a way out but he just gave a short bitter laugh. "If only," Nico replied maliciously, "but not only do I get awful sleep I wake up to sleep paralysis. I can't move and my nightmares follow me. It's like the worst dream you can imagine but I'm awake and it physically feels like I'm dying." Nico stopped short, realising he had just gone and done exactly what he had been thinking about not doing; confessing some of his darkest problems to someone who was pretty much a stranger.
Noticing Leo had pulled out the lighter again and was flicking the flame on and off, Nico snapped at him, mainly out of irritation at himself. "Will you stop that?" Leo grimaced and pocketed the lighter, holding his hands up in a surrender gesture, "Fine, calm down. It's a habit of mine. Pyromaniac, remember?" Nico mumbled an apology, flushing slightly. Something in the casual way Leo had spoken reminded him that he wasn't the only person in the world with problems. Everyone on the ship had issues of one kind or another. It made him feel selfish and less wrapped up in himself than he had been in ages. It seemed to be a common theme of hanging out with Leo.
The pair walked in slilence, Nico quietly freezing. As Leo and Nico reached the main mast, where Nico had dropped his book next to Leo weeks ago, an angry male shout came from the darkness. Leo cursed under his breath in Spanish before muttering, "Coach Hedge. If we're caught, we're dead. Come on!" With that he grabbed Nicos wrist and sprinted in the opposite direction.
Running away from people seemed to be another common theme of life around Leo.
I would like to take this moment to remind you all that Leo was wearing panda slippers this whole chapter. Thank you.