Phan/Camp Half Blood AU

Dan

Of all the ways his day could have gone, running for his life with a boy he'd known for five minutes was not an outcome that Dan Howell had anticipated.

His day had started out fairly normally. That is, if you discount the creepy woman who seemed like she'd followed him to school. But growing up in New York City, Dan was used to weirdos, so he'd just shrugged it off. Bad move.

The eighteen year old had gotten ready as usual, trudging past his mom, who was passed out on the couch, jamming his earbuds into his ears, grabbing his favorite black jacket, slinging on his backpack, and tromping out the door. It was a short walk to his prep school, but a strange prickling sensation on the back of his neck made him freeze. He'd felt the stereotypical sensation of being watched before, but this was ten times more worrying. The prickling sensation got more intense, until it almost burned. He had no choice but to turn around nonchalantly and look behind him. What he saw was enough to shock him, which was saying something.

Dan did a double take, because he was sure he'd never seen a woman that tall before. She had to be at least seven feet tall, wearing a long, flowing skirt that dragged on the ground. Her chest and waist seemed unusually large, like the width of three people put together. She had long, thick dreadlocks framing her face...her face that almost looked...green? She was walking slowly, but something about her movements seemed off. Like she wasn't walking, but more...gliding.

He decided it must have been some trick of the light or something and kept walking, putting a little more aggression into his steps. He hadn't looked long enough to make eye contact, but he could've sworn she'd been smiling, and not in a friendly way. He soon reached his school, and after a furtive glance backwards which revealed that she was no longer there, rushed inside.

He never thought that he would actually look forward to being inside the four walls of Eaton Academy, but something about that woman had seriously creeped him out, making him glad to be behind those pretentiously designed brick walls.

Dan hated school. He was intelligent, but his ADHD made it hard for him to concentrate on anything, and his dyslexia made it unbearably difficult to read even the stuff he was interested in. He just felt like he couldn't win, so he'd pretty much given up trying. Not to mention the other kids. He'd always felt like an outsider, and he didn't even mind sticking to himself that much. Still, the comments about his clothes and his mom from some of the richer, more spoiled kids erased any desire he had to socialize. The feeling like he just didn't belong was enough to make anyone bitter, not to mention his family situation. So out of self preservation, Dan kept to himself.

Thoughts of the creepy woman he'd seen swirled around his head, along with the Fall Out Boy lyrics blasting in his ear buds. He was so lost in thought that he realized he'd already walked past his classroom. He immediately turned on his heel- BAM.

He collided with someone who had definitely not been there before. Dan fell backwards, stunned but immediately on the defensive. If he had to start the day with another fight... However, all thoughts were lost as he looked at the kid he'd slammed into. His first thought was, Did I just run into a mirror?

The boy was shorter than him, and a lot scrawnier, but had the same dark, semi long and shaggy hair, along with the completely dark ensemble of clothing that mirrored what Dan loved to wear to stand out from the preppy pastels that plagued the school. The one shocking difference that immediately drew his attention was a sword hanging from his belt. A pure black sword.

"Uhh..." Dan stuttered intelligently. He had so many questions, none of which he could seem to articulate. The more Dan looked at him the more he realized how much the kid unnerved him. While his hair was a similar length, he realized that the boy's was jet black to match his sword, while Dan's was just dark brown. His eyes were a lot darker than Dan's chocolatey brown, and they were ringed with dark circles, with a general hollowness about them. But at the moment they were slightly narrowed, as if trying to figure out a complicated problem.

"Hey Dan! It's me, Nico. You know, the guy who transferred here at the beginning of the year," the boy said assertively.

"Um...what? Listen man, there's no one here named Nico, and trust me, I think I would have remembered you." Dan said, picking himself off the ground. What was this guy's deal?

"No, we know each other," said Nico, "I've been at this school all year. We're friends." His face was scrunched up like he was trying really hard to concentrate on something. Dan could relate, as he made that face all the time. His classmates made fun of him for it.

"Look," said Dan, raising his hands cautiously, his eyes flickering nervously toward the menacing sword. "I don't know who you are or how you know me, but I definitely don't know you. I also don't know how you managed to get in here with a sword, but we can get to that later. For now, how about you just calm down and try to find the person you're actually looking for?"

Nico's face slackened with a sigh. "Dammit," he muttered, "I really thought it would work. Oh well. Screw it."

Dan was utterly confused but still generally petrified by the idea of a scary kid with a sword that he stood frozen in place. He didn't stay that way for long, however, as Nico grabbed onto his arm with a vice-like grip and started steering him down the hall.

"Hey! I have class! What the hell?"

"You'll thank me when we make it-If we make it. Now listen to me." Nico had pulled Dan into an empty classroom and shut the door.

Dan was so bewildered that he couldn't formulate words even if he wanted to, so listening wasn't going to be a challenge. Believing whatever this crazy kid had to say, however... That could be a whole different story.

Nico took a deep breath and fixed Dan with an intense stare. "Look, I know this is weird, and scary, but if you listen to me and do as I say everything will be fine. My name is Nico DiAngelo. You don't know me, but I've been watching you for a while-"

"Whoa what? That's really creepy, also why did you try to act like I knew you?" Dan staggered backwards, the words tumbling out of his mouth.

"I was trying to manipulate the Mist but I still can't do it well, either way that's not important," Nico muttered impatiently. "What is important is that you're in danger."

He must have seen the look of disbelief on Dan's face, because his next words were, "Don't believe me? Look out the window."

Dan had a gut feeling that he knew what he was going to see, but it was even worse. His mouth went completely dry as he followed Nico's sinister gaze.

Not only was the woman he'd seen earlier standing across the street, but she was joined by two similarly scary friends. They all were staring right at him. Grinning.