Chapter 2

I looked up to the warm, beaming sun as I reached the top of Half-Blood Hill, feeling my heart race at the thought of crossing the boundary line.

You got this. Just breathe.

Just as I was about to give myself a probably super embarrassing pep talk for just walking a couple more steps, I saw out of the corner of my eye a boy with black hair standing on guard by Thalia's tree. By instinct, I ducked behind the nearest tree, right out his line of sight. I smirked, old habits die hard, and what better way to start "living a happy life" than the tried and true method of "fake till you make it"?

Readying myself to launch a surprise attack, I silently crept closer, stopping about five feet behind where he was standing, looking off towards the Big House. I leaped, aiming to wrap my arms around him in a bear hug from behind. My plans however, as seems to be par for the course whenever he was involved, were ruined when Nico turned around as soon as my foot left the ground. I watched his face change from doubt to shock to joy as I tried to abort my sneak attack now that the cat was out of the bag. Sadly, this endeavor also proved fruitless as, instead of shifting my weight to land sooner a foot or two in front of him, I started to fall head first towards the ground. I stared at the incoming dirt floor, accepting my fate and just hoping I didn't come out of this dumb prank with an injury. Like I know I'm probably cursed by whoever the god of grace and agility is, but falling and getting injured as soon as I crossed the boundary line would be a new record, even for me.

Thankfully he had the decency to catch me so I didn't bash my head in, though not enough to avoid being a spoilsport I might add. Nico had an uncanny ability of always knowing when someone was around him, even when you factor in his special Ghost King-y powers. A fact that took me almost a year to get him to admit was more than just "pure coincidence" and a power that I have been determined to best one of these days.

"Iz! You're back!" Nico said excitedly as he braced my shoulders to help me get my footing back.

"Dammit, what did I mess up this time?" I grumbled. Nico smirked, and looked up to the canopy of leaves above us. I glanced up then back down, and sure enough we were standing directly in the shade.

"Shit, I forgot about shadows…" I muttered. Of course he caught me in .02 seconds. I guess I'd gotten more rusty than I thought to forget such a crucial detail.

Nico burst out in laughter. I looked up at him with a fake pout, about to start in on an age-old lecture of not disrespecting one's elders, when I realized just how we were standing. Damn, this prank is really seeming to be aimed more towards me than Nico. My face flushed as I realized that 1) he still had his hands on my shoulders, and 2) we were facing each other head on from maybe 6 inches away. My brain stalled as I inadvertently had thoughts of how warm his hands felt, and the thought of frosty hands holding me just like this. I flinched and shut down the thought in its tracks. I schooled my expression to look less like I had gotten hit by a truck, and more awkward and embarrassed. I'd much rather Nico think I was acting weird than acting, as Charlie so lovingly put it, mopey.

Nico seemed to also realize just how we were standing, quickly letting go and shuffling uneasily back a few steps. I cleared my throat, silently willing him to not bring up my scarlet face. Thankfully he also seemed eager to change the topic, though this topic didn't feel any safer.

"How have you been? I know why you needed to leave here before, but you know it's double standards to get mad at me for going MIA for a month, but then drop off the face of the world for two years yourself." He said with a teasing smile.

I forced out a short laugh, feeling my face tighten as I struggled to find a way to reply without mentioning anything Dangerous. "You know I've been trapped in the land of eternal rain and boredom for those two years. It's not like I was out exploring, just studying and the usual, ya know? Unlike someone, who I hear went gallivanting across Europe."

He didn't say anything but I could see the concerned look in his eyes at my obvious change in conversation. Damn Nico and his annoying perceptiveness. I held back a sigh. This is exactly why I dreaded coming back to Camp. It's hard enough to grin and bear it in general, and I knew it wouldn't be long until I finally caved and had to talk about it someday. Desperate to not make that day today, I gave Nico a shove and smirk as I started jogging towards the cabins.

"Come on slowpoke, if I beat you to the cabins when I haven't trained in two years, then that loss is on you!"

"Hey- No fair, you cheater!" Nico exclaimed as he chased after me. I sprinted ahead, a small smile on my face.

Nico and I called a truce on our race when he choked out that had to stop by the Big House to switch guarding duty with Clarisse. A lucky thing for him, as I ran a solid 4 feet ahead of him the entire time down the hill.

"Hey there Dollface, finally decided to come back after all, huh?" Clarisse sneered as we stopped just outside the entrance to the Big House where she was sitting on the deck, polishing her axe.

I rolled my eyes, it took awhile for Clarisse to find a taunting nickname that didn't just make me laugh at her. I mean come on, "Beauty Queen"? It just sounded too ridiculous of a description for me to get mad at, which only prompted Clarisse to get more creative. The anger I used to feel at her dig at my, frankly, abnormal paleness despite spending my summers training in the sun faded many years ago, shifting into a "secretly" friendly competition between the two of us to out-insult each other.

"Hey there Axehead. Yes, I've returned to grant you with my almighty presence once again." I said while throwing out my hand in an elaborate bow.

"Axehead? Wow, all that time away from the sun didn't just turn you into printer paper, you sure lost your edge!" Clarisse barked out with a laugh. Sadly I had to agree with her, it wasn't my best work.

"Whatever, you win this bout. Don't you have a tree to go stare at?" I threw back. Clarisse paused for a second, not used to me caving quite this early. I quickly continued, "Come on Nico, you might be impossible to scare but I've got an easier mark to take on."

We headed towards the cabins where I popped in just to throw my bag on my old bunk. Thankfully my cabinmates all seemed to be out so I was able to slip in and out without having a group freak-out announce to the Camp I'd arrived. In my hurry to sneak in and out of the cabin, I didn't even realize just how much the camp had changed until I was closing the door on my way out of the cabin.

"Wow…" I stared at the line of cabins. There must have been over 20, a fair amount more than the previous 12, and signs of even more in the works.

"Yeah we've been a bit busy, haven't we?" Nico replied.

"You can say that again." I replied, taking in the new layout that had Annabeth's name written all over it.

We continued on to the archery range where we came across the scene of Percy holding a bow, attempting to hit the target, and Annabeth attempting to hold back her laughter. Attempting being the key word, as the collection of arrows scattered around the target greatly outweighed the couple arrows around the outer rim of the target, and Annabeth's shoulders shook as she cleared her throat to help Percy line up his next shot. Now I can in no way claim to be an expert shot, the Apollo kids only too easily could run circles around me, but I at least had no fear of losing any shooting competition with Percy.

Nico stayed behind as I silently crept my way towards them. Annabeth's head turned towards me and her eyes widened. I rushed to put a finger over my lips, gesturing my head towards Percy who was deeply focused on trying to line up his shot towards the targets at the end of the range. She smirked and looked back towards Percy to offer some advice, gods bless her. I continued towards them until I stopped a foot behind Percy.

"Hmm, no, I think you are aiming a bit too far to the left."

"Oh, really? Thanks Iz-, Iz?!" Percy replied, turning his head towards me in shock as he let the arrow go. I laughed both at this expression and at the arrow that went straight into the ground 10 feet ahead of us. Percy blushed and scowled as we all started laughing, but eventually broke out into laughter himself.

Finally done with her duty of secrecy, Annabeth rushed over to wrap her arms around me in a hug. I felt my eyes prick as I hugged her back fiercely and held back a grimace. My not so lucky day continued as I felt Nico's eyes on me and Annabeth squeeze my arms in comfort as we parted. Percy, ever the shining and oblivious hero, continued on.

"I can't believe your back! Perfect timing, I was just talking to Annabeth the other day about how it's been too long since we all played cards together. Tonight we have to, we'll get the whole group together, and -" Percy continued on in a rush.

I put a smile on my face as I listened to him plan it all out, torn. Playing cards has always been a source of comfort for me, something where the rules never change and where I could take a break from reality. But the thought of spending time with the whole group so soon filled me with dread. I felt exhausted and like my face might crack sooner rather than later. It had been awhile since I last had such lengthy conversations that didn't mainly consist of replying "Mhmmm" and "Ahh" every once in a while to pretend I was following along.

Annabeth interjected, "Hey Seaweed Brain, time out! Give her time to get settled in before you start planning out a whole itinerary."

I gave her a small smile, taking advantage of the opportunity to put off the inevitable. "Agreed, there's no need to rush into getting utterly defeated you know." I quipped. "Besides I've got my own battle ahead: enduring my cabinmates' piercing screams of hello. I'll see you guys later at dinner." Everyone let out a chuckle, and I waved my goodbyes as I headed off toward my cabin alone.