Disclaimer: What? Me? Own PJO or HP? No.

~Scents and Snakes~

000 Alisa 000

My mug of butterbeer sits untouched in front of me as I stare at the dark-haired boy I.. l-l-love. I'll probably never get used to thinking that. After all, a demigod usually always wonders if true love exists. Having half of something that should be a pair does that to you. Parents that should be there aren't. Love that should be there isn't.

Bitterness that shouldn't be there is.

Gods are cruel like that.

Nico turns around, holding another mug for himself. He sits across me, grinning in such rare goofy way that my thoughts stop cold and a smile slips sneakily onto my face.

"Your drink will evaporate if you keep staring at me." He says teasingly, but the faint blush on his olive-tinted skin gave away his feelings.

I take a sip from my glass and, as I put it down, I retort, "You'll turn into a tomato if you keep blushing around me."

He was too adorable, how couldn't I tease him?

"I don't mind." he says, grinning, "As long as I'm around you."

I roll my eyes to hide the heat that was coming to my face, "But I would, I hate tomatoes."

He laughs and we lapse into a comfortable silence. Completely fine even though we're doing absolutely nothing.

I'm absolutely freaking happy, and I'm not doing anything! Happy. After a disturbingly long amount of time. With the guy I used to want to kill.

The world's freaking insane.

But who cares?! I'm H-A-P-P-Y.

For now... sssilly child...

I freeze internally. Wh-who the hell are you, anyway?! I yell shakily in my mind.

A soft hiss echoes, I... I am the person that can make your nightmares come true...

What are you talking about? I ask, trying not to show my emotions on my face.

The child in front of you... he hisses softly. He will die if you don't do as I say.

I growl internally, Lies!

He laughs, an eery kukuku... kind of laugh, I am in your head child. I healed you. Don't you think I can just as easily destroy anyone you have a connection too? You might not feel it child, but I can feel the thread that ties you two together. What do silly mortals call it? The red thread of fate? Here... I'll show you... kukuku...

Suddenly, my head pounds lightly, and I close my eyes involuntarily.

"Alisa? You okay?" A worried Nico asks.

I open my eyes and I try to keep from yelping in surprise as the world turn into a black-and-white movie, "Fine, just... a headache."

My eyes drift down and everywhere threads of every color appear. Threads that connected people.

My eyes follow a short red thread that curled around my pinkie to the person directly in front of me. Nico.

The thread glowed pink and pulsed in tune to my heartbeat.

Watch, girl... let me show you what I can do. He whispers.

He pushes his consciousness forward and a greenish glow appears at my end of the thread, moving quickly towards Nico. I pull back my hand, trying to keep it away from the olive-skinned boy, but the green sped along.

As soon as the glow touched Nico's end, he flinches and coughs lightly. The fact that he flinched is what really pushes me over the edge.

No, no, no, no, no...! I moan, and my head throbs in tune to the voice's laughter.

See, child? he says tauntingly, I can do anything to him.

His laughs grow louder until it's the only thing that I can hear. My head throbs, growing more painful as his laughing assaults my brain and bounces in my head.

I feel a glass push against my lips. The smell of the whatever is inside is familiar enough to me for me to know that it's alcohol. I push it away instinctively, the throbbing sharpening at my body's movement.

I don't know what's happening, I'm sure I'm moaning because my throat hurts and I feel my vocal chords vibrate but I can't hear anything except for the voice's eery laughter.

Flesh presses against my lips and a flow of liquid is forced down my throat.

The throbbing pain dulls significantly.

A glass is pushed to my hand again and I accept it this time, gulping down the contents. My mouth's burning and I realize it's firewhiskey. The drink leaves a bitterness on my tongue and I reach for a bottle of clear liquid, gulping down whatever it was.

My mind's blurring but at least the pain stopped. I feel myself giggle and I collapse in the ready arms of someone familiar. I can't think but the only thing I know right now is that this smell is something I need. I pull my sluggish arms around the lean body of the owner of the scent and purr contentedly as I nuzzle the soft cloth the owner's wearing.

I feel my body being lifted, for a second, a growl escapes my lips at whoever dared remove me from the scent, but I realize it was the scent himself. He wrapped an arm around my waist and my arm around his shoulder, half-dragging me. I rub the skin of his neck... I think.

Suddenly, it's cold and I shiver, rubbing my face deeper into the folds of his clothes.

Just as suddenly as the cold came, I think we slam into a pair of bodies. Both scents are familiar, but I think I babble something to the one closest to me.

I trip and land on the ground, my fingers curling around soft... soft... snow!

I laugh and babble something again as the snow wraps around my fingers.

My arms are lifted and they land on the shoulders of the familiar scents. I feel very cold against their warm bodies and that same warmth makes me feel sleepy.

I slip into unconsciousness just as a solid piece of wood appears beneath me.

A/N: Again, not as late as usual since I updated in the same month (unlike before), next week are finals so I might not update again 'till Friday of the week after.