Chapter 4: where to hide from everyone
Great! This is exactly how I wanted to spend my day. Being chased around by obsessively in love campers. We made to the dining pavilion and found only Percy eating a burger. Thank the gods Percy didn't have a crush on me. "Percy! I need your help. Somethings happened!" He turns to look at me in concern, but the second he sees my face his eyes flash pink. "But I thought….." "Nico. Oh gods, Nico. Will you go out with me?" Ok! Now I have officially lost it. I had a crush on Percy for almost three years, then he starts going out with Annabeth and I'm heartbroken. Then I realize Percy's not my type and I had only thought he was cute. I had moved on. And now this. Percy had, even for a millisecond, thought of me in a romantic way. The fates Were cruel! Percy stepped forward and grabbed my hand, placing it on his heart. "My Heart beats only for you Nico." My mind officially melted into a puddle.
That moment Annabeth ran into the pavilion. She stopped when she saw us and gawked. I pulled my hand away from Percy's chest, but Percy grabbed it back. "What's going on," said Annabeth walking over, "and why is Percy holding Nico's hand? Also why do you both smell like wine?" Smell like wine! Oh thank gods Annabeth has a one tracked mind when it comes to love. I yanked my hand away from Percy. "Annabeth! You have to help me. Drew needed stygian iron to make a love potion and I asked if I could use it to see if Will liked me. But I accidentally mixed up the concentrated love potion and the pure obsessive love potion. Now anyone who had even the fraction of an attraction for me are falling in love with me." I spoke quickly, stepping away from Percy as he tried to grab my hand again. Annabeth looked like she had swallowed a sour bug. "Why would you purposefully mess with love potions. Hat more dangerous than fighting a drakon with one hand." She said. Percy couldn't take it any more and through himself at me. His eyes flashed pink and smashed his lips to mine. Oh gods! Percy's kissing me. Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods! I pushed him off me before I lost myself and hide behind Annabeth. Percy's eyes flash once again. He spun around with the same expression Will had had on when I had run for it. "Run!" I yelped, grabbing Annabeth and Drew by the arms and hightailing it out of there. Percy was running after us yelling, "hey! Don't you take my boy toy!" Annabeth's eyes widened. "What did he just say?!" she fumed. "It's the love potion. Everyone has a few stages of obsession to go through before they all try to rip me to pieces. First they say they love you, then they ask you out on a date . Depending on if you say yes, they instantly go to the next phase. If you don't say anything it takes a little longer but they still do it." "And what's the stage after the date?" We had locked ourselves inside the empty Athena cabin. Percy was banging on the other side of the door. "The next phase is where they try to sleep with you. And over time it gets worse." as if to demonstrate this, I heard Will asking Percy if he had seen me and Percy replying, " puddin's in here. But he won't come out!"
Will's arm went through a window by Annabeth's bed. Drew screamed and backed into a bed, "I knew the potion makes people obsessed, but this is ridicules." I grabbed Annabeth's hand and rushed over to Drew. I grabbed her and said, "Prepare yourselves!" I felt the pull of power as the shadows descended. They wrapped around us as Percy and Will busted down the door. The next minute we were flying through shadows. We landed in a cave. I looked up and found that the cave in fact belonged to Rachel. It was modernly furnished and very colorful. I saw Rachel come around the corner, her eyes widened. "what are you guys-" her eyes flashed pink. Really! Rachel too! This is getting ridicules! She came over and helped me up, completely ignoring the other two. "I love you Nico. Will you go out with me?" I didn't mean to get upset, but my day was just getting worse. "No! I won't go out with you. Everyone wants to go out with me and it's starting to make me crazy. Not only is it torture, but everyone will soon want to kill me!" After I said that I wish I hadn't.
Her eyes flashed pink then stayed pink. They got brighter and started turning red. Her expression went from that of adoration to seductive to pure hatred. She grabbed my shirt collar and lifted me off the ground. Green mist was swirling around her feet. I mean, I was light, but this seemed unrealistic. Rachel wasn't the strongest person in the world. She could barely lift a heavy box, let alone me. I couldn't breath because of my collar constricting my neck. Before I could pass out from the lack of oxygen, Annabeth jumped at Rachel and took her down, pinning her to the floor. Rachel began to lift her in the air and Drew jumped in to help. Annabeth turned her head to me and said, "Nico! We'll hold her down. Run!" she didn't need to tell me twice. I ran out the cave entrance and heard behind me, "Get off me! I'm gonna KILL HIM!" I ran faster.
I ran into Chiron's back end. I stumbled and fell over. He turned around, looking surprised. "Nico! Are you alright? And why do you smell of wine?" he reached down and helped me up. Oh thank gods. I couldn't handle if Chiron had had feelings for me. That would have scared my life horribly, and I've been to Tartarus people. "Uhh. Do you want the whole story or a summary?" I asked, jogging towards my cabin. I look around but everyone that were following me had left the Athena cabin and were off looking for me elsewhere. "Looking at how you're making sure there's no one around, I'll go with the summary." "Well. Drew wanted to make love potion. I wanted to see if someone liked me. I used the wrong potion. Everyone that has ever had feelings of romance for me is falling in love with me. And…..did I miss anything? Oh yeah! If the potions curse isn't removed people will go from loving me to wanting to screw me to wanting to kill me." he looked at me like I had grown another head. "Why would you willingly use love potion. Yes, ok, it gets results. But it also tampers with the affects mind. Answer me this, all the people now after you, did any of them ever give you a hint that they wanted to be more than friends?" he asked. Well when you put it like that. "No." I answered honestly. "no they haven't."
Now that I saw what I had tried to do to Will in a whole new light. I had tried to manipulate him into loving me against his will. I had done what almost every Aphrodite child since the dawn of the gods had done. I felt unclean. Horrified by the realization of what I had done. I had manipulated not only will but almost half the camp. They had been forced to be engulfed by their insignificant feelings for me and made to literally go love crazy. The obsession potion wasn't a love potion. It is justice in a bottle. Yes you bend people to your will for a while, but in the end you get what's coming for you. As I think about this I hear a noise behind me. I jump half a mile before realizing it is just Leo and not a love crazed mob. That is until he look in my face and his eyes flash pink. Seriously! Does everyone around here first think about me in romantic terms before they get over it or what! Leo looked at me lovingly but then frowns. Then he looks like he's in pain. He clutches at his head. "I love you, Nico….. Wait, no! I love Calypso….No, Nico….Calypso…" he seems to be fighting with his emotions. He must really love Calypso to be able to fight an obsession potion. But apparently that's not good for me because his eyes start glowing red and his face is a mask of pure hatred. His hand ignite and he screams, " they won't decide!" he starts throwing balls of fire my way. Chiron pulls a shield out of his quiver. Wait, what! How'd he do that. "Nico, run. I'll hold him off as long as I can. Go, go!" I sprinted away as Chiron started deflecting fire. I ran to my cabin and locked the door behind me. It's a good thing this place is made of fire resistant materials. I hear a noise behind me and I freeze.