Sorry for the annoying wait! There was no internet where I vacationed. Enjoy, and keep those reviews coming' xD

Nico:

The days went by slowly. Nico woke up to Ever's failed breakfast attempts, Andrew's meditating, and a gallon of water dumped on him. Then, Ever forced him to teach her the 'art' of sword fighting. Afterwards they grabbed lunch at some well-known chain restaurant and Nico shadow traveled away. He usually stayed unconscious for hours. Ever always had lunch's leftovers ready for him. Nico and Andrew then went to the nearest town to see where they were and how much longer they had until Camp Half-Blood was in their sights. Five days passed before they got to camp's borders.

"Here we are, Camp Half-Blood!" Andrew exclaimed as he danced past Thalia's tree. Nico leaned heavily against Ever, and the two of them stumbled up the hill. Fatigue washed over him, but he forced himself to stay awake. He wanted to make sure Ever got safely to the Big House. And Chiron still needed to be destroyed.

"Is this camp?" Ever asked in awe as they went under an archway that led to Camp Half-Blood. Nico nodded.

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." The monstrous centaur said as he walked over on hoofed feet. "I am Chiron. Who might this lovely young lady be?"

Ever adjusted her grip on Nico and grinned. "I'm Everett Jeremy Elwood. Ever for short."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Ever. I must say, you are handling my appearance very well. Have you, perhaps, encountered any monsters in the past?"

"Well, one. On the train ride over here we were attacked by empoosay or something like that."

"They were empousai, Mr. Chiron sir." Andrew said politely. Nico and Ever both glared at the satyr.

Why couldn't he be polite to us?

"Ms. Elwood, how much has Nico and Andrew told you?" Chiron asked Ever. She frowned and thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, Greek gods are real, monsters are real, the gods had kids with mortals—hence the demi in demigods—and I'm a demigod. Oh, and there's some really yummy stuff called ambrosia that heals demigods, but I can't have too much or I'll disintegrate very painfully."

"Everything of importance, then."

"Yup, basically."

Chiron took a deep breath and pointed to the black-haired figure walking towards them. "That is Mr. D, I'm sure Nico told you about him."

Oops. I knew I forgot something…

Mr. D walked up with a glass of coke and eyed Ever in complete uninterest. "I really don't see what the fuss was about." He said once Ever was thoroughly inspected. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Everett Jeremy Elwood; Ever for short."

"Whoa, try saying that five times fast." Mr. D laughed at his own joke, and Ever rolled her eyes.

"I'm guessing you're Mr. D?"

He nodded and sipped his coke. Ever smiled and thrust out her hand.

"Nice to meet you!"

"I'm not that friendly."

Ever shrugged and adjusted Nico. His consciousness seemed to be holding up, but he still felt a little shaky.

"Andrew, would you mind taking Ever to the Hermes cabin?" Chiron asked. The satyr nodded and started galloping off. Ever and Nico followed him slowly. When they got near the Hades cabin, however, he pushed himself away and started walking inside.

"Nico, where are you going?" Ever called to him somewhat nervously. He sighed.

"My cabin."

"But—I was kind of hoping you'd walk with me the whole way." She said with a slight blush. Nico stared.

She wants to walk—with me?

"What about Andrew?"

"I kind of lost him…"

He rolled his eyes; although he wouldn't admit it, Nico was very happy that Ever asked specifically for him. Even though she was loud and stubborn, there was something about her—

No, it's nothing. I'm just making something out of nothing.

Nico smiled at Ever and nodded. She grinned and looped her arm around his.

"On to the whats-his-face cabin!"

"You mean the Hermes cabin?"

"What he said!"

Nico couldn't stop himself from snorting in amusement. A wry smile graced his face, and Nico felt like he could burst out laughing. Ever seemed to do that a lot; when he was around her he wanted to laugh more than ever before. He always thought it was hard to make him laugh. Ever somehow managed to ignore Nico's walls, beat up the heavily armed guards, and worm her way into his life. Not that he minded.

I can actually see her beating up brain people, though. Which makes me want to laugh even more.

He somehow managed to keep in his feelings and manage a strait face.

When they got to the Hermes cabin, Nico stopped and gestured for her to go inside. Her face fell.

"You aren't gonna help me out?"

"All you need to do is get settled. The councilor can help you with that."

Ever nodded and watched as Nico walked off. Before he could get far, She yelled his name. He turned around, and she waved good-bye. Nico smiled when he saw her ecstatic grin.

He waved back.

Nico turned back towards his cabin only to find Percy and Piper gawking at him with slack jaws. They reminded him of fish-out-of-water.

"Nico…" Piper started with wide-eyes. "—who was that?"

The two of them stared at Nico as he mentally face-palmed.

"No one." He grumbled. Percy and Piper shared a look.

Oh gods.

Ever:

The Hermes cabin was basically Awesome Central. Ever knocked hesitantly against the door when Nico was dragged away by a boy and a girl—she was surprised to find that she was actually worried about him—and it opened with a BANG!

"Who're you?" A brown-haired boy asked with a silly grin.

"I'm new." Ever replied somewhat shyly. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Well duh. Your name, I mean."

Ever rolled her eyes. "I'm Everett Jeremy Elwood. Ever for short."

The boy whistled appreciatively. "Whoa, long name."

"Right? It's such a pain sometimes."

"Why do you add your middle name, then?"

"'Everett Elwood' just doesn't have the same effect."

"I like how you think."

The boy smirked and offered his hand for a fist bump. Ever grinned and bumped fists, sealing the eternal, manly bond.

"I'm Connor, Connor Stoll." The boy's blue eyes twinkled as he added, "The cabin councilor."

Whew! That saved me a lot of awkward searching.

"You gonna let me in, or what?" Ever demanded jokingly. Connor opened the door, and she was shocked to see a dozen boys and a dozen girls with the same sly smirks and energetic eyes.

"I'm guessing you're all related." Ever couldn't help saying. They all laughed and swatted each other on the back.

"Most of us." Connor said from the other side of the cabin.

How'd he get over there so fast…?

Ever heard the door close behind her and turned to see Connor right there. She blinked and looking back towards the end of the cabin, where Connor sat on a bunk bed.

"Either you have an identical twin, or you're a really good magician."

Connor—the one behind her—laughed and pointed at the other Connor. "That's my older brother, Travis."

"Welcome to the Hermes cabin!" Travis exclaimed, grinning. A chorus of 'welcomes' came from the others, and Ever felt like she was right at home.

"We're out of bunks, so you'll have to share the floor with Travis."

"You let your own brother sleep on the floor?"

A boy, about Nico's age, sat on a sleeping bag in the corner of the cabin. His brown hair was long and shaved on the sides. The unshaved hair on the top of his head thrust forwards and blocked one of his blue eyes. He was probably the most handsome boy in the room. Well, he was until Ever noticed the tattoos all over his body.

He looks like a tall Josh Hutcherson with a new hairdo and tattoos.

"Connor, what have I been telling you?" Tall Josh Hutcherson said with a roll of his eyes. "Call me Trey when you introduce newcomers."

Connor stuck his tongue out at 'Trey' and turned to Ever with a smirk. "This is Trey. He's a Roman son of Mercury. Apparently he wanted a 'change of scenery'."

Trey shrugged his tattooed shoulders and nodded. Travis—Connor's brother—pointed to a sleeping bag on the opposite side of Trey.

"That's where you'll sleep." He said. Ever walked over to is and plopped down tiredly. Although the floor was hard, she was used to these types of situations.

Hopefully I'll enjoy life here. Hopefully.

Nico:

Being abducted by Percy and Piper was not Nico's idea of fun. Percy and had his hand over his mouth, and Piper dragged him behind her.

I should have seen this coming. Nothing good comes from friendship.

Percy and Piper somehow found a dark alleyway, which wasn't very smart considering he could shadow travel away. They seemed to realize that because Nico was whisked away into a brightly lit room.

Where in Hades am I?

He was about to say his mind when Percy spoke up:

"This is a super-cool, hidden room we found underneath the Hermes cabin. It's filled with pranking do-higgeys and whatnot." Percy said with a silly grin. Nico looked around, and sure enough, hundreds of fake fingers, clown noses, and hand buzzers littered the floor, walls, and shelves.

"Really Percy? Do-higgeys?" Piper snorted out. Percy pouted and crossed his arms.

"Hey, it's a word."

"Where? On Mars?"

Percy refused to answer, and Piper stuck her tongue out at him. Nico rolled his eyes at their childish behavior. Before he could squirm away, Piper and Percy stopped sticking tongues out at each other so Piper could drag Nico to a chair in the middle of the room. She pushed him down, and Percy shone a desk lamp right into Nico's eyes. He all of a sudden felt like he was being interrogated. Nico squinted and tried to glare at the two kidnappers.

"What are you—"

"Shh!" Piper put a finger on his mouth, and Nico stared at it cross-eyed. "We ask the questions here."

Percy angled the light so Nico had to squint even more.

"Now, who was that?" Piper questioned with a serious look on her face. Percy nodded and adjusted the lamp.

Nico was, honestly, slightly scared of Piper. Her no-nonsense face reminded him of Hades on Taco Tuesday (his dad really loved tacos; anything that stood in the way of Hades' tacos was obliterated). Nico had never seen this side of Piper. As stated earlier, it was slightly frightening.

"Who was who?" Nico countered innocently, slightly angry. Why were they making such a big deal out of it? He had only waved. It wasn't like he had actually hugged her or anything. Next thing you know they'll lock him up in prison because he talked to someone voluntarily.

Piper rolled her eyes. "You know who I mean. That girl you escorted to the Hermes cabin."

Were they following us…?

"Ask your genie-with-a-lamp. He was supposed to bring her instead of me."

Percy was in the middle of adjusting the lamp when he paused and stared wide-eyed at Nico.

"That girl is the mystery demigod?" He exclaimed in surprise. "How do you know her, then?"

Does he really not know? Figures.

"Because you had 'something to do', Chiron forced me to bring her to camp."

"Gods, I'm sorry Nico."

Piper tapped her foot impatiently as Nico glared in Percy's direction, which was hard to do considering that a blinding light was blocking Percy from his view.

"Who cares about that?" She said in irritation. "Percy, fix the lamp."

Percy nodded and adjusted the lamp. Then he frowned and glared at Piper. "Hey, why am I the lamp boy? I want to ask questions!" He whined. Piper sighed and gave him a withering look. She gestured for him to ask one, but Percy clearly didn't have a question to ask. Nico rolled his eyes when Piper stuck her tongue out at Percy.

"Now, back to business." She said with her no-funny-business face. She leaned in close; so close that Nico could smell her minty breath. The smell, combined with the bright light, made him want to hurl and say anything they asked just so he could escape.

It's not like I have anything to hide. I probably won't see her again now that she has a cabin.

"Her name is Everett, but she goes by Ever." Nico started hesitantly. "Andrew and I found her in a small town in California. She was adopted, and her mom is a lawyer. Ever really likes marshmallows and is a horrible cook. Happy now?"

Nico stood up to leave, but Piper stopped him. "But what is she to you?"

"Nothing!" He snapped angrily. Piper's face softened, but he only got angrier. Why couldn't they just mind their own business? Who cares if he finally found someone he actually enjoyed being with? He wasn't going to see her again. She wouldn't want to see him. "She means nothing! I will never see her again! Why would she want to? Once she makes friends with the Hermes cabin, she'll forget all about me!"

Just like everyone else.

With that said, Nico stormed out of the basement and melted into the shadows.

Ever:

Ever woke up early in the morning and set off to find Nico. Well, first she went to breakfast. The Hermes kids were awesome; Ever fit in perfectly. They stuffed their faces with food, and after that, everything else. She left the dining hall with eggs in her nose, bacon in her hair, and BBQ sauce in her nose.

Once breakfast was over, Ever washed up and wandered around camp until she found the Hades cabin. Although she got a couple strange looks, Ever knocked loudly on the door. She waited, and when no one answered, she knocked again.

Maybe he left…

"Are you looking for someone?" A voice said from behind her. Ever turned and came face-to-face with the boy that kidnapped Nico the night before.

"Hey, you're the guy that stole Nico!" She exclaimed and aimed an accusing finger at his face. The boy blinked, and a grin slowly appeared. He looked like he was about 20. Black hair jutted out of his head and looked like it hadn't been combed in days. His sea-green eyes looked at her happily, and Ever felt like he knew who she was. Which was not a pleasant feeling.

"You're the demigod from California!" He said loudly and happily. Ever took a step backwards. His over-friendliness was starting to creep her out.

"How do you know that?" She demanded suspiciously. Carefully, she made sure the knife from breakfast was still in her pocket. If everything went south, she'd be ready.

"Nico told me."

He knows Nico? Maybe he'll be able to tell me where he is!

Ever grinned and stuck out her hand for a shake. "I'm Everett Jeremy Elwood. Ever for short."

"Whoa, he didn't' mention that your name was so long. I'm Percy."

Percy shook her hand, and Ever tried to remember if Nico had mentioned someone called Percy.

Percy, Percy…nope, no Percy. Then again, Nico never really told me anything about his life…

"Nice to meet you, Percy! You wouldn't happen to know where Nico is, would you?"

"Yes, actually. I can show you!"

Percy started walking, and Ever hurried to catch up. She had a little bit of trouble when trying to keep up with him; he was reasonably taller than her. Although she wasn't short, she wasn't tall, either.

"So, why do you need Nico?" Percy asked curiously.

"He's teaching me how to use a sword. I'm guessing he forgot, but I'm not gonna let him off the hook that easily!"

Percy looked slightly surprised, but he grinned and gave her a thumbs up. Immediately, she saw a plan begin to hatch in the boy's brain. Ever, slightly wary, decided to get a better idea of who this Percy really was.

"Hey Percy, who's your godly parent?"

"Poseidon, god of the seas."

"And earthquakes, floods, and droughts." Ever added. Percy frowned.

"Huh. Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

Ever rolled her eyes. How could you forget part of your parent's magical powers? Immediately, Percy's name popped into her head. She grinned evilly.

"Well, Minnow Man, let's hope your daddy doesn't blast you out of the sea for forgetting his awesomeness."

Percy snorted and looked at her sideways. "Minnow Man? Where did that come from?"

"I give everyone nicknames! For example, Nico is Gloom Guy and Connor is Doofus Dude! You're Minnow Man because a minnow is a teeny tiny fish and it has a teeny tiny brain."

Percy laughed, and Ever grinned in triumph. It's always an accomplishment when people approve of their nicknames. "Where exactly is Nico, anyway?" She asked him. Percy pointed at a circular arena where Nico sat. He was on a bench, alone, with his head in his hands, staring into space.

"Hey, EJ," Percy said, smiling a little bit. Ever grinned and waited for him to speak. "He's afraid that you'll forget about him and leave."

Ever nodded solemnly and gave a salute. "Don't worry, you can count on me."

Percy laughed and saluted before he started to jog in the opposite direction. Ever silently walked over to where Nico sat and scooted into the seat beside him. She was amused when he didn't even notice her.

"Yo, Gloom Guy, miss me?" Ever yelled into his ear. Nico jumped a mile and started at her in astonishment.

"Wh-what? Ever? What are you doing here?" He stuttered with surprise. Nico stared at her like she was a ghost. Or, more accurately, like he hadn't expected to see her again. Ever rolled her eyes and bumped shoulders with him.

"What do you mean? You still need to teach me to fight with a sword!"

Nico blinked and looked startled. "You still want me to teach you?"

"Of course! Who else would teach me?"

"I know someone. He can teach you!" Nico stood up suddenly and startled Ever. "He's kind of stupid at times, but he's really good with swords. He'd be a better teacher, I'm sure. I'll go ask him—"

Nico rushed down the stadium steps. Rejection washed over Ever, and she felt a weight settle on her heart.

Am I really that bad of a student? I thought he didn't want me to leave. Now he's trying to push me away as fast as he can…

"Wait, Nico!" Ever called to him. Nico paused at the last step, and she quickly ran to him. Once she got there, Ever earnestly looked him in the eyes and started babbling desperately. "I'm sorry that I'm such a bad learner! I try my hardest to do exactly what you say, but it's so hard sometimes!"

Nico's eyes were wide, and he looked like he wanted to interrupt her. Before he could, Ever started talking again. "I guess I've just never been good at listening to people." She confessed. "Sword fighting is harder than I thought! I really don't know why I suck so badly at it, really! I must've been dropped on my head too much—"

"SHH!" Nico yelled. Ever stopped immediately and watched Nico in surprise. He almost seemed…angry.

Of course he's angry. He probably just wants to be done with me. They always do.

Always.

Nico:

Nico was mad. Very mad. What did she think she was doing? There was nothing wrong with her learning abilities; she picked up everything like a toddler learns 1-2-3. The problem was Nico. He was trying to save her from being the girl that hung around Death Breath. Didn't she understand?

"Ever, what are you talking about?" Nico demanded angrily. "You're a great learner!"

Ever shook her head and sat down on the nearest bench. She put her head in her hands and sighed. Nico suddenly felt guilty for yelling at her, so he sat down beside her and patted her back awkwardly.

"Hey, I-I'm sorry for yelling at you." He said, trying to sound calm and comforting. He was too nervous to be calm, let alone comforting.

"S'okay, I freaked." Ever said when she straightened up and looked Nico in the eyes. He squirmed under her gaze and looked at his hands.

"It's just…you aren't a bad learner. You don't need me, Zombie boy, to ruin your social life."

Ever grinned, then laughed, which was the opposite reaction of what Nico was expected. He expected a little bit of screaming, a little bit of crying, and a whole bunch of rejection towards himself. He was extremely confused with her reaction.

Did I say something funny? I thought this was supposed to be a serious moment.

"Nico, you don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

Ever leaned close and wrapped her arms around Nico. His cheeks grew red hot, and he felt embarrassed at being so close. Nico knew he shouldn't get close; she would unknowingly—or knowingly—break his heart in the future. Everyone did. However, he couldn't resist.

Let Future Nico worry about it.

He smiled, despite what his mind said, and hugged Ever. Her sweet, strawberry shampoo reminded Nico of the fields in camp, and he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't want your friend to teach me, I don't want a professional to teach me, I want you."

Right then and there, Nico came to a decision. Here was Ever, stubborn and amazing Ever. Whenever she was around, he felt happy, like he could be himself.

From now on, I'll do just that. I'll be myself. With Ever, I know she won't judge me because of my parent. I will teach you, I will.

"You do realize that I'm going to be tougher than ever." Nico commented, enjoying the pained look that came onto Ever's face. She hated working hard.

"Well, as long as we're friends, everything will be just fine."

Thank you, Ever. Thank you.

I hope you enjoyed! Remember, review, follow, and all that fun stuff!

Hayden: That was a cheesy post.

Me: Well excuse me for being a Fangirl.

Sonic: I thought it was quite pleasant and heart warming.

Hayden: ^^NERDS

Me: ^BUTTFACE

Sonic: Yelling names at each other won't change anyone's mind.

Hayden: ^GOODY TWO SHOES

Me: ^BOOGER

Hayden: ^FISH FACE

Me: ^WATERMELON

Sonic: I think you're giving me a migraine.

THANKS! REVIEW AND FOLLOW! xD