Haha...well, whoops. This took way too long...and honestly I just procrastinated a lot. But fear not, school is starting up again for me tomorrow, and that'll put me on a legitimate schdule, so updates will actually (probably) come more frequently. So please don't hate me too much, and enjoy!

I didn't stay in the infirmary very long.

I mean, there wasn't much I could actually do. I could sit there, of course, and stare at Nico until he woke up. I wanted to, but I knew it would make people worry about me more than they already did. They would think I was insane, throwing a fit about needing to stay by his side.

They didn't need any more reasons to think I was going insane.

And I'd talked to the Apollo girl at the front desk myself, still distrustful of everything people had told me. But she told me all the same things she'd told Hazel and probably Jason. I, apparently, had nothing to worry about so there was no point in staying.

But despite all the assurance I'd been given, part of me wanted to stay. I wanted nothing more than to just sit there and hold his hand in my own. I wanted to be there for him when he wakes up. I wanted a chance to be alone with him, to talk. Aren't people supposed to be able to hear you when they're unconscious? Regardless, I just wanted to be alone.

But I couldn't. Nobody would understand because at this point he wasn't really in any danger. He was going to live for sure, there was nothing to worry about. All he needed was a little nectar, some sleep, and time to heal properly. He was in great care, there was really no better save the god of medicine himself. He wasn't even going to wake up any time soon. It would be days before he would regain consciousness at all, let alone be able to hold a conversation or recognize the people around him.

So I should be able to leave his side. I couldn't be allowed to spend my day moping in the infirmary, disturbing the order of things.

If Nico wasn't doing well, if it looked like he wasn't going to make it, I would be allowed to stay without question. They would've given me the time to be with him, to say my final goodbyes. Everyone would've understood my wanting to stay until his last breath.

But he was going to be fine, and I couldn't just shirk off all my responsibilities because of him. People got sent to the infirmary all the time. They were always getting hurt and knocked out, but nothing ever really changed. You were expected to move on with your daily routine no matter what happened. That is, unless someone died, but that didn't happen often.

And I'd already been shirking off my responsibilities enough as of late. It was just hard to get out of bed, to deal with people. They always wanted something from me, and most of the time it was just too much. So if I even managed to leave my cabin, I'd usually spend my days in the woods, avoiding everything. That, or I would sink down to the bottom of the lake just for some peace. But today I had chores and training of my own, and I'd even promised Jason to help with training the little kids. I had to go talk to Annabeth too, even though I wasn't sure what she wanted.

So much to do. It's not like I can take the day off. I'm sure Jason would just come find me if I didn't show for lessons.

So I couldn't waste hours in the infirmary, even if I wanted to.

I spent most of the day trying to distract myself. I couldn't think about Nico for long, because if I did I would just want to run back to see him. I tried to convince myself that there was someone at his side, probably Hazel, that he was hardly alone and that he wouldn't be waking any time soon. He was fine, I kept telling myself. Nothing to worry about, nothing can go wrong, nothing will happen to him.

It didn't always work.

But at least I was busy. I didn't have much time to dwell on the topic myself.

After I left the infirmary, I had to do rounds for cabin inspection. It went off fine I guess, just like it always did. I know people always preferred my inspections, since I was pretty lenient, and it was pretty simple to begin with. It should have been easy. Or at least there would've been, if it weren't for the everyone else.

Camp was always full of gossip, a near constant buzz that covered every imaginable subject. No secret was safe within the camp borders, and it was only a matter of time before it made its way into circulation. Most people just accepted it.

Who was hooking up with who was a particularly popular piece, since flings and even long-term relationships were common. Those rumors were usually started by the Aphrodite cabin (of course, Piper rarely participated). I was rarely the subject, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched, like people were talking behind my back. Whenever I entered a cabin, some campers would just go silent before huddling back together.

I tried to ignore it, but it was a bit difficult. Obviously it was the worst in the Aphrodite cabin, but t least I had Piper to distract me.

Even still, I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about. Probably something to do with Nico and I. If I would crack up again if things took a turn for the worse. If I was truly crazy by now.

But the most surprising thing was the amount of people that asked about Nico. When I was making my rounds, a few kids would come up, maybe one per cabin, and ask. Most of them were younger kids, but I was honest with them anyway. We all grew up fast around here. Weirdly enough, they actually registered some sort of relief when I told them, and it was all I could do to mask my own shock.

It really wasn't that many people in the grand scheme of things, but it was insane to have people outside The Seven asking about him. Most people at camp ignored him, and plenty of people hated him, but nobody ever really seemed to register any level of care for him. A handful of kids out of hundreds might not seem to matter much, but...it had to be significant, right?

Maybe it could mean something when he woke up. I could tell him, and...and maybe it would help, maybe it would change things. I mean, I didn't exactly know the campers that were worried, but they seemed like nice people. Maybe having a few friends at camp would be enough to get him to stick around while I was back in the city. I worried about it, about leaving him alone again. I felt like I was the only thing really keeping him here, and that he would just leave when I was gone. I hated the idea of him being alone in the Underworld, just like before.

I didn't want everything to go back to the way it was. I didn't want him to be alone anymore.

But maybe a few new friends could change that, maybe they could change him. He really was an amazing person if you had the privilege of getting to know him. If I could just convince him that people actually cared about him, if I could convince him to give it a shot...things might turn out alright. He could have friends, maybe even a girlfriend if he could just manage to open up.

It was strange to think that he could really, honestly have a normal life. He could stay at camp, or maybe spend time at Camp Jupiter. He didn't have to hide in the Underworld anymore. He could be accepted, even if it was only by a small group of people. After all, being at camp wasn't so bad and plenty of people had happy lives living here year round. He could have as normal a life as a half-blood could hope for.

I was still thinking about Nico and all the weird encounters when I walked up to the Athena cabin, hoping I'd be able to talk to Annabeth. He had occupied my mind all day, but maybe Annabeth could find a way to distract me. She'd always been able to before, whether we just ended up talking or...well, doing other things.

Nobody else had been able to keep my mind away from Nico today. I'd only been able to manage a few conversations with my acquaintances, but I hadn't really be counting on them. The people I'd been counting on to distract me had failed too. Jason had been too busy with the kids, Piper never seemed to have much to say in situations like this, I'd barely talked to Hazel, and I hadn't even seen any of the other Seven.

So yeah, I had my hopes up pretty high.

Like usual, I didn't even bother knocking. It was mid-day, so most of the Athena campers were probably at activities. Annabeth would probably be the only one in the cabin, working on architecture plans or something of the nature. Some alone time would be nice. It had been so long since we'd been able to just sit down and talk, and I knew there was a lot to talk about given the looming end of summer.

There were only two other people in the room when I entered, just Annabeth and her brother, Malcom. He was holed up at a desk as usual, scribbling notes in Greek and reading off some dusty old scroll. Annabeth was sitting on her bunk, surrounded by scrolls and leather-bound books and her laptop. Her blond hair was tied up in a messy bun, stuck through with a pencil. Her brow was furrowed, and the corners of her mouth were turned downward. She looked oddly distracted, so much so that she didn't even react when I opened the door. Malcom did react though, and his head shot up before he realized it was me. He went back to his work, but I knew he would probably be listening intently when Annabeth and I started talking.

It was weird.

While all the other bunks were clean and made up tightly, Annabeth's was a mess. She almost never worked from her bed, preferring to claim a desk and spread all her work out. Even then, her notes were always tidy. She was usually only like this when she was really, really busy, but her behavior was way off. When she was frantically busy, she was messy, sure, and distracted. She often wouldn't have any regard for what was going on outside of her work, and she would ignore food and the usual commotion of the Athena cabin. But this distraction was different. She wasn't totally absorbed in her work like she should be. She looked like she was thinking about something else, using her work as a distraction, a reason for nobody to talk to her.

She seemed strangely idle. Her hands weren't flying at a fast pace on her keyboard, her eyes weren't darting between scrolls and books and screens.

I walked closer, praying she would notice me and make this whole thing less awkward. No such luck. It wasn't until I got up behind her and tapped her shoulder that she even knew I was in the room.

She twisted around quickly, gray eyes widening before she noticed it was only me. I expected her face to relax, for her to be glad I was there. But no, of course not. If anything, her scowl got even more prominent.

She didn't look annoyed though. Just...sad.

It was almost impossible to hide my own nervousness.

She glanced up at me quickly, her eyes darting away before I could even open my mouth.

Instead, she looked over at her brother and spoke up, "D'you think we could, um, have some...alone time?"

Malcom looked over at her skeptically, knowing full well that campers weren't supposed to be alone in cabins. But he sighed at the frankly pleading look on her face, and gathered his notes, walking out the door.

We were alone, finally, for the first time in a long time. As the door shut, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blowing it out through her nose.

None of this seemed right. She was avoiding my eyes, twirling a stray piece of hair with her finger (a nervous habit of her's). Something was wrong.

"So, um...you wanted to talk about something?" I started hesitantly.

She looked up at me again, still just as fleetingly, her mouth opening a few times before she closed it. She patted a spot next to her on the bed, and shifted so her feet were dangling off the edge.

I sat down, one hand in my pocket and the other out, reaching tentatively for her knee.

She flinched almost imperceptibly when I touched her, but she just let it happen.

After a few seconds, just sitting there. Me looking at her while she stared at the floor.

Finally, she took my proffered hand in hers, and began in an uncertain and strained voice, "Look...Percy. I've been thinking a lot lately and...and I-I think we need to take a...a break. F-from this, from us..."

*cue dramatic music*

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