Hello my Treians! I apologize for taking a bajillion years to post! Thanks for reviewing, guys! It makes me SO HAPPY! When you make me happy, I write, when I write I make you happy, when I make you happy you review, when you review you make me happy, and the cycle continues. So REVIEW and FAVORITE!
xD ENJOY!
Ever:
"I hate you so much."
"That's nice."
"Seriously, you're ruining my life."
"Do you want me to teach you or not?"
"C'mo-on Nico! I'm so tired!"
"Ever, Capture the Flag is tomorrow night, you need to be ready!"
"Why? It's just capture the flag."
Nico face-palmed, and Ever rolled her eyes. Seriously, it was just capture the flag. It wasn't like she was practicing for the Olympics. How hard could it be?
"Exactly, Ever." Nico said with a roll of his eyes. "It's Capture the Flag demigod style."
"Which means…?"
"There will be weapons, magic, and possible maiming."
Ever snorted and smacked the wooden dummy with her 'sword'. It wasn't really a sword; it was a wooden thing that Percy made for her in wood shop—turns out Percy wasn't really good at carving. Nico was prepping her for what he called 'Extreme Capture the Flag, Demigod Style'. ECFDS for short.
"We've been practicing for days, I think I'm prepared."
Nico sighed and roll his eyes at her. "Fine. You can stop."
Ever breathed a sigh of relief and threw the offensive sword at the dummy. Nico yelped when the wooden surface hit his leg.
"What was that for?"
"Oops, I mistook you for a dummy. I think all this exercise has made my eyes blurry."
Nico rolled his eyes and walked over to stand next to her. He gave her a withering glare, and Ever grinned cheerily in the face of imminent death.
"You are impossible." He muttered when her eyes didn't leave his. Nico looked down and blushed beet red. Ever laughed and swatted his shoulder teasingly.
"Gosh Nico, no wonder no one hangs with you. The first step to making friends is eye contact."
Nico glared at her. She smirked and gave him a look.
"Not that kind of eye contact, doofus."
He rolled his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted up slightly. Ever stuck her tongue out at him.
Seriously, Nico meeds to smile more. He reminds me of a Frankenstein with pale skin.
"You should get some rest." Nico said after a moment of silence. Ever frowned. She knew she probably should get some rest, but whenever someone told her to sleep, she usually wanted to do the opposite. Nico noticed what was in her mind and gave her a slight shake of his head. "Seriously, you need sleep. I don't want you running around a battle field half asleep."
Ever groaned.
Why does capture the flag have to be so far away? I just want to do it right now!
Nico glanced up at the darkening sky and frowned. "In fact, you should go back to your cabin."
"Naw, I'll wait a while."
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the forest near them. "What about the harpies?"
"Pub-Lease. Those chubby chickens couldn't catch a grasshopper."
Nico rolled his eyes. "Well, if you want Chiron to suspend you from Capture the Flag that's fine with me."
Ever raced back to her cabin faster than you can say 'harpy'.
~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~
Ever's helmet was itchy. It lay on her head precariously; it was two sizes too big. The leather chin strap scratched angrily against her skin, and her whole body felt like it was going to crash to the floor. The heavy armor made her teeter and hobble as she walked the small stream's perimeter.
Stupid border patrol. I'm stuck here guarding a river while everyone else is trying to grab the flag.
Ever walked around the stream silently until shouting reached her ears. A boy was running for her full throttle. With the other team's flag.
"EVER! Behind you!" The boy yelled. It was then that she recognized Percy. Ever threw caution to the wind as she turned around and punched the first thing she saw.
It was a girl with Ever's team flag. The girl fell to the ground in surprise and snarled angrily. Percy laughed and ran closer to the creek, the red flag whipping around in the wind.
Before Ever knew what was happening, arrow after arrow flew to intercept Percy. He yelped and dodged countless close calls. Kids from all around the forest screamed and ran over to rush Percy.
Wait—it's a trap! They were trying to overpower whoever took the flag before they got to the river!
Sure enough, the mob came after Percy and knocked him to the ground. He fought tooth and claw; well, tried to. They hoisted him on someone's shoulders and slowly took him into enemy custody.
"What the heck?! LEMME GO!" He howled as they marched off, a couple of they staying behind. Those that stayed back turned to Ever and brandished their swords. They looked at the girl with the flag, and Ever gulped.
If I die now, Nico gets my snow globe collection.
An explosion came from behind her, and Ever was flung all the way across the creek. She rolled into the cool water and splashed around angrily. Water spilled into her mouth, and she came to the surface, coughing.
Another explosion.
This time she was thrown all the way where the other team's members were. Her ears ringed and the sound of yelling was muffled. With dizzy vision she pushed herself up and glanced backwards.
The trees were on fire. They burned with a fiery brilliance, and Ever was in awe. The heat was so intense that she felt it from far away. Smoke billowed up into the sky, and demigods ran around in a frantic. Then…she spotted something in the fire. It bubbled and churned like molten lava. Ever squinted her eyes and peered closer…
BOOM!
Her head felt like it was splitting open. The sound was ear piercing, and she cried out as her body was flung farther than both times combined. Her back hit the rough bark of a tree, and the impact made her head spin. A dull throbbing blossomed in her stomach, and she felt like her legs were hanging in mid-air.
Ever groaned and tried to move the hair out of her face. She looked down and nearly fainted.
She was skewered. On a tree branch.
The branch jutted out of her stomach like a shish kabob, and blood seeped from the wound. She was suspended over the ground.
I-I-I-I-I Her thoughts rambled randomly, and she couldn't comprehend what had happened.
"EVER!" A voice yelled from somewhere. Ever looked around frantically and jerked her body painfully. She cried out in pain and blacked out.
Nico:
Nico was not expecting Ever's first Capture the Flag to end with her hanging from a tree with a branch coming out of her stomach. It was bloodied and splintery; no doubt very painful. Her head hung limply as did her arms and legs. The fire made Nico's skin feel red hot, and he coughed when the smoke reached his lungs.
"EVER!" He yelled as he raced towards her. She groaned. The sounds of yelling came from the fire, and Nico felt it start to dim. Before long the fire was completely put out, and Apollo medics carefully moved Ever to a stretcher. The whole time she groaned, moaned, and made pained noises. Soot stained kids shuffled slowly to their cabins, and Nico hurriedly followed Ever and the medics.
They placed her on a table in the Big House. The table cloth grew bloody as the Apollo kids worked on Ever's gaping hole. Although he was used to gruesome images, Nico could barely look at Ever without wanting to puke. An hour passed before the Apollo kids filed out of the room, leaving Ever breathing heavily on the table. Half her shirt was ripped off and the largest bandage Nico had ever seen hugged her stomach. Blood slowly started seeping into the material.
"What happened?" Nico asked once Chiron entered the room.
"A machine malfunction. Faulty prototype."
"Hephaestus kids?"
"Yes. It was an automated nitrogen gun."
"Nitrogen…" Nico racked his brain to see if he knew what that was. "The stuff that freezes upon contact with air?"
"The very same. It was created with the purpose to be shot at the ground. It would freeze over and cause their enemy to slip."
Chiron left, and Nico was left alone with Ever. He stared at her pale, pained face and sighed. All the tubes and needles stuck all over her arms slightly freaked Nico out, but he was thankful that they kept her alive. The Apollo kids had given Ever a sedative, and it wasn't long before the side effects kicked in.
"Erm…" Ever muttered drunkenly. Her voice was slurred exaggeratedly, and Nico immediately suspected the sedative.
"Ever?" He whispered calmly.
"Urg…Nico? Whyz ur face sso wobbly…"
Nico blinked in surprise. "My…face?"
Ever giggled. "Yeeeeeeeah. Iz so haaaaaaandsum!"
His eyes widened. Nico's cheeks reddened and he gulped shyly.
Stupid sedative.
"Thanks?" He muttered with a grimace. Ever giggled.
Talking with someone under sedatives is stranger than I thought. I didn't even know Ever was capable of giggling.
Ever giggled again. "Niiiiiico!" She sang with a bubbly laugh. "Such a pwetty name!"
Nico blushed ever redder. This was probably the strangest situation he had ever been in.
Aren't injured people supposed to be, I don't know, sleeping?
"Ever, I think you need to rest." Nico muttered as he moved towards the door.
"Nooooooo! Niiiiico! Don't leeeeave me!"
He paused and blushed even more. Ever's call ringed in his ears. Although he knew she was talking nonsense, everything she said made him feel like his heart was being shot with Cupid's arrows. She was just so—dare he say it—cute.
Kill me now.
Nico face-palmed and shuffled back towards Ever with a sigh. She giggled and flashed him a winner's grin. Involuntarily, he smiled.
"Niiiiico, you're so pweeeeeetty!" She murmured happily. Ever giggled and winked at him sluggishly—if you could call her flirtatious double-eyed blink a wink. "Your hair looks ssso fluuuuuffy!"
Nico cleared his throat and looked at his hands shyly. "T-that's nice."
"Can I touch it?" Ever asked seriously. She gazed at his hair, looking completely transfixed by it. Not even bothering to wait, she reached out a hand and ran her fingers through Nico's hair. His eyes widened and the blush on his cheeks grew red-hot. He was slightly ashamed to admit that it felt good to have her fingers running through his hair. Her fingers on his skin felt like electricity, and she moved them in a way that caused a calming chill to run through his body. His eyes started drooping and he visibly relaxed.
I swear, if anyone sees this I will dig myself a hole and hide for eternity.
"You have very soft hair." Ever muttered, her voice still slurred slightly. She brought her hand back to her side and closed her eyes contently. "I like you."
"Wh-what?" Nico stuttered in confusion.
"I liiiiiiiike you!" Ever sang joyfully. She giggled. "I like your haaaaair, your eeeeeeeyes, your voooooooice, your niiiiicenessss, your weeeeirdnessss, your—"
Ever was asleep before the list was finished. Nico blinked in surprise when she fell asleep out of nowhere. He knew she was asleep because she started muttering randomly.
"Pwetty hair…"
Nico blushed and cleared his throat. He walked towards the door and looked back. Ever lay, sleeping, on the table with a satisfacted smile on her face. Her happy face made Nico ecstatic; he smirked and walked out of the Big House.
Ever will never believe me when I tell her what happened.
Nico smirked and breathed in the fresh Camp Half-Blood air. Already kids of Demeter and nymphs were working on rebuilding the burned forest, and Apollo kids healed camper's various injuries. The smell of smoke was gone, and it was almost impossible to tell that there had been a fire.
"Nico Nico Nico!" Percy yelled as he ran towards him. "Is Ever alright?!"
Over the week Percy and Ever had grown close. They both shared the love of blue food. When Percy gave some blue coke to her a few days ago, Ever immediately started following the way of the Blue Food. They both refused to eat normal, un-blue pancakes. In addition to loving blue, the two of them had a strange way with horses.
"She's fine." Nico muttered absentmindedly. He was still trying to process everything Ever had said. Percy breathed a sigh of relief and looked like he wanted to check up on her. "You might want to wait to see her."
"Why?" Percy asked in confusion.
"She's a little bit…loony."
Percy gave him a blank look. Nico rolled his eyes. "She's under sedatives and mutters strange things."
"Like what?"
Nico blushed. Slowly, Percy pieced together things and grinned. "Whoa, she said those kind of things?"
"Wh-what do you mean, those kind of things?"
"Oh, nothing." Percy smirked and started sauntering away.
"Percy!"
"You know, if Ever keeps saying things like 'I like you' then you'll have bigger things to worry about."
"Wait—how do you know she said that?!"
Percy looked back at him and smirked evilly. "You should go back to your girlfriend."
Nico's face was practically steaming. He clenched his fists and stormed away. Ever and Percy's voices rang in his head as he threw himself into the shadows.
"I like you."
"You should go back to your girlfriend."
"Iz so haaaaandsum!"
"You'll have bigger things to worry about."
"—your niiiiicenesss,"
"You know, if Ever keeps saying things like 'I like you'—"
"—Your vooooooice—"
"She said those kind of things?"
"I like you."
Nico appeared in the forest. Birds chirped and calmed his nerves. He sat on a mossy rock and put his head in his hands. With a sigh he rubbed his eyes and relaxed his shoulders. Ever's happy face appeared in his mind, and Nico smiled. Although the whole situation had been strange at the time, he was glad it had happened.
~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~
The next day Nico visited Ever. She sat on a couch in the Big House and munched on ambrosia. He asked her if she remembered anything from yesterday, but she gave him a blank look.
"Why, what happened?" She asked suspiciously. Nico smiled and stared off into space.
"Nothing, no need to worry."
Ever nodded and continued to munch on her food. Nico, still staring into space, waited for her to finish. Before he could tell her about what happened, she started talking about the strange dream she had while asleep.
"We were in a room, and I was rubbing your hair. Seriously though, it was super soft! Then you turned into a horse and we went searching for the Leprechaun's put of gold—"
Nico smirked and looked at his hands.
I'll just keep what happened to myself. It'll be my memory of us. I can look back on this moment and smile. Plus, it could be some great blackmail material.
Nico's smile caught Ever's attention, and she asked him what it was for.
"Nothing."
"C'mon! Tell me!"
"I was just thinking happy thoughts, no need to worry."
"Go ahead, say it."
"Say what?"
"You know…about training."
"I told you there was possible maiming."
"Well—"
"I told you so—"
"Shut it."
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to favorite and review!
Hayden: That was really dramatic.
Me: Mission accomplished, YAAY!
Hayden: That poor idiot is gonna fall in love with a walking caution sign.
Me: In what universe is someone a walking caution sign?
Sonic: I think he means that disaster follows her.
Hayden: Sonic understands me.
Me: Why didn't you just say she was a walking disaster?
Hayden: That's so clicky.
Sonic: You mean cliché?
Hayden: Same difference.
THANKS! REVIEW AND FAVORITE!