Everyone forgot about the entire debacle at the museum. Everyone except Bianca, Adrestia, and Nico.
They spent countless hours video chatting about that moment and rationalizing it. Their theories ranged from "Maybe our ADHD was acting up?" to "It's the end of times!". The topic of the kids who had seen it happen and were now saying Adrestia had pushed Nancy into the fountain came up.
"It's like their memories were messed with or something," Nico had said.
However, Grover couldn't fool them.
During a meeting with the principal, Grover confirmed Adrestia had pushed Nancy and had lied about it. When the two were alone, Adrestia asked him if he had seen the water pull Nancy in. Grover hesitated. His body stiffened and his mouth parted slightly, his eyes looking away from hers for a second before he answered, "That didn't happen, Addie. You're just making it up to avoid getting in trouble."
It had caught her off guard. Grover had never lied to her before.
Out of the blue, he stopped being friends with them, stating "collective differences". Nico and Adrestia thought, "Good riddance." They'd never admit it, but they would miss Grover. He was the first person to actually want to be friends with them, the first person who chose to see past their reputation, and had made them believe he'd stay.
Then, Nico and Adrestia noticed how Grover would cower in their presence, always glancing in Mrs. Dodd's direction.
He was hiding something. They could tell. And whatever it was sounded extremely important. They decided not to talk to him about it.
For now.
Nico was in Adrestia's dorm room, changing into his prom clothes. One of the disadvantages of being gay was his dormmates being uncomfortable changing around him, often barraging him with hateful speech. He could handle it, but tonight is prom night. He deserves one night of being able to change without someone accusing him of ogling them.
He adjusts his tie in front of the full-length mirror, tugging at his collar.
He never liked suits. They felt stuffy, and a few reminded him of the kind of outfits men wore centuries ago. Nico only wore them because his biological father sent them on special occasions like this, and his mom wanted him to at least try them on. He was lucky his father had good taste and sent suits made of breathable fabric.
"What do you think, 'Desti?" Nico calls out, combing his hair back. "Messy or not messy hair?"
Adrestia stood by her bed, shimmying her glittery, navy-blue dress up her body. She stares at Nico, her imagination shifting between 'This is what he looks like in the outfit with messy hair' and 'This is what he looks like in this outfit without messy hair'. Finally, she bluntly states, "You look hotter with messy hair."
Nico nods, putting down the comb. He runs his fingers through his hair and shakes his head, undoing the somewhat neat hairdo.
Adrestia gets the bodice around her torso, reaching around to grab the zipper. "When did you start caring about how you look?"
"I don't, but mom asked us to look nice for the photos and I can't really say no to her."
Nico folds his cuffs, side-eyeing his younger sister as she grunted in frustration, her hands relentlessly trying to zip up the back of her dress. With a roll of his eyes, he went over and helped her. "Thanks," Adrestia mutters.
"You're welcome."
Nico slumps on her bed, his arms resting on his legs, watching as she styles her hair and puts on her jewelry. Much like his suit, her outfit was tailored specifically to her. It was not only a shade of her favorite color, but the flowy skirt ended right at the ankles, making running a breeze.
"Hey, where's your necklace?" Nico asks, craning his head as she clasps on a silver chain lined with metallic flowers and a pear-shaped sapphire.
"I tied it around my wrist," Adrestia answers, raising her left hand. The silver skull shone ominously in the moonlight, each facet of its red eyes highlighted. "It doesn't look good with this dress, but I really don't want to know what happens if I keep it off."
A few days after Adrestia was born, her mother received a package from the man she made her daughter's godfather, who is subsequently Nico and Bianca's biological father. In the box was a black Cane Corso – who is sixteen years old now and named Orthrus – and the pendant she's wearing around her wrist, along with a letter. Sally had never specified what the letter said, other than that Adrestia was strictly forbidden from taking the pendant off her person. The same went for Bianca and Nico once they received their pendants. It was never explained to them what would happen if they didn't have the pendant on them, and frankly, they're not willing to find out.
After slipping on black flats, Adrestia joins Nico at the full-length mirror to take a picture. She takes out her phone, her index and middle finger around the popsocket, and presses the camera app, turning off the flash.
"You ready?"
Nico scans his outfit. Then, slides his hands in his pockets and his face returns to its normal indifferent expression. "Ready."
Adrestia turns the camera, her thumb hovering over the red button as she lowers her phone to be near their waistline. A troublemaker smile graces her lips, and she took the picture. The first was for her godfather to thank him for the outfits; she took a second, sillier one for social media.
"Do you want me to send you the picture?" Adrestia asks as she types out a caption.
"Nah," Nico shakes his head. "I don't like posting personal stuff on my account. We get enough hate in real life, I don't need it from people we've never even met."
Adrestia posts the picture to Instagram, nodding and mumbling in agreement with her brother. She turns off her phone, stuffing it between her breasts and lodging it into her corset. Nico raises a brow, a look of judgment leaving as quickly as it came. Adrestia turns off the light as she leaves the dorm, Nico closing the door behind them and strolling to the dimly lit gym.
Yancy Academy had gone all out this year.
Circular tables enveloped by black tablecloth sat in rows of two along the wall, cups and plates lined neatly in a fancy way. Accompanied by fairy lights, white and gold streamers hung from a beam, trailing down the wall. In one corner, students took couple photos under a gazebo with fake flower vines encircling the columns, a few lingered near the food tables located in the middle of the gym, and several danced to music; the kind that overrides the control of your brain, making you dance when you don't want to.
"Looks less stupid than last year," Nico remarks in a bored tone, striding to a table alongside Adrestia.
"Probably got a larger budget," Adrestia guessed, sitting beside him. Her eyes darted from the decorations to the couples laughing and dancing.
A knot settles in her throat, her smile twitching into a wistful frown. She'd been hoping she'd finally get a boyfriend this year, but something about her made men look the other way. Adrestia had no idea what it was. There was a list of possible reasons: she had a short fuse, a criminal record, several school expulsions, she drooled in her sleep, she's reckless, she's obtuse, she once accidentally dispatched a gun on Gabe – although, Adrestia doubts anyone besides her family knows that. Plus, her criminal record wasn't anything terrible; it was petty stuff, like trespassing and disorderly conduct. Sometimes, she'd wonder if Nancy or someone else was spreading rumors about her being a whore or having some kind of STD. Adrestia wishes someone would just tell her what makes her unattractive.
"You have that look again," Nico says, sympathy softening his features.
Adrestia fidgets with the silver skull, turning it over and over. "What's wrong with me?" she asks, her voice soft, strained by the tears she was holding back.
He puts his hand on hers, his voice firm. "There is nothing wrong with you. The guys here are just too stupid to see how amazing you are."
Cue Nancy and her friends.
"Oh, look, little miss poor is crying," Nancy jeers with a smirk. Her friends laugh.
All sadness Adrestia feels vanished, her jaw clenching and eyes narrowing. "You know, it's sad that you have such an ugly soul. Makes one wonder how far you'll go in life."
Nancy scoffs. "I'm beautiful. I can snag a rich husband with that. That's how far I'll go."
"Oh, Nancy." Adrestia places her hand on her chest, feigning sympathy in a sickly sweet voice. "One of these days that husband will have to see what you look like without makeup."
Nancy's face falls, irritation flashing in her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That your au naturel look isn't as natural as you think."
Nico hides his chuckle behind his hand, a proud smirk tugging at his lips. "Really, Nancy, if my sis can look drop-dead gorgeous without makeup and you have to plaster your face with it until you're a human version of a massive wedding cake, who do you think that rich guy is going to choose?"
Adrestia snickers, fistbumping Nico.
Nancy was practically seething. The people who had overheard were starting to laugh. Her mouth puckered, embarrassment reddening her cheeks as her fists clenched.
"At least, I didn't buy my breasts," Nancy retorts, her voice rising in anger.
Without missing a beat, Adrestia calmly replies with a confident smile, "Actually, God gave me these for free. Looks like he gave me yours too."
Nancy's eyes bulge out and she takes a step back, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. She sputtered and stammered, incomprehensible words rolling off her tongue, her attempt at a comeback failing miserably. Nico and Adrestia simply sat back, arms crossed, locking eyes every few seconds with raised brows. What Nancy lacked in smarts, she made up for in a hilarious display of fighting for dominance.
Getting bored, Adrestia turns to her brother. "I'm getting hungry, are you?"
"Yeah. Let's get some McDonald's," he says, the chair scraping across the floor as he stands. "I'm aching to eat something other than the slop they serve here."
The two exit the gym, casting a sideways glance to a fuming, red-faced Nancy.
"When will she learn to not out-sass us?" Adrestia muses, shaking her head with a chuckle. "She always looks stupid when she does."
Nico smirks. "That's for damn sure."
Nico and Adrestia sat on the bleachers in the pool room for roughly two hours, eating McDonald's and chatting about life, before calling it a night. They bid each other goodnight, then headed to their dorms.
Exhaustion rolled in like the morning fog. With a yawn, Adrestia removes her earrings and necklace, setting them in black boxes and shoving them under her mattress along with her phone, right beside the illegal stash of candy. She unzips her dress, shimmy's out of it, and crawls under the blankets. Unconsciously, Adrestia presses her back against the wall, the cold sensation seeping into her worn out muscles. Since she could remember, Orthrus never missed an opportunity to jump into bed every night. He'd cuddle beside her, she'd cover him with her blanket and kiss the top of his head, and they'd fall asleep. His fur was so soft and smooth, his presence bringing a sense of comfort and security, and his tongue was wet and warm. Adrestia chuckles with a smile, recalling the many times Orthrus licked her face any time she had a nightmare. She never knew a dog could sense that.
Adrestia's body sinks into the covers, imagining her dog laying beside her, guarding her like he did every night. A wave of nostalgia washes over her, and Adrestia drifts off into sleep.
Minutes later, a ferocious thunderstorm brewed outside her window, obsidian clouds looming over the school. A flash of lightning streaks through, obliterating a tree as a crack of thunder shatters the skies – and the King of the Gods, Zeus, materializes at Adrestia's bedside.
Author's Note: I didn't want this to get too long.
