Nothing Left To Say (Percico)

#2. Just Lost Control

"Not really, but hey, I'm really tired, Annabeth..." I mumbled drowsily. "See you later, okay? I'll find out what the mechanic broke eventually."

"Okay." She smirked. "I'll talk to you next time you're wearing a shirt, Perce. Little piece of advice? When you're running out of your cabin after hearing an explosion and you have no clue what's going on or who's out there waiting-- make sure you're wearing all your clothing before rushing out like a half conscious loon!"

"Got it." I winked and began my little trek back to my cabin.

On my way there, I passed all the other cabins and made my way down the line but stopped dead in my tracks. A group of demigods were gathered around one of the Big Three cabins, whispering and frowning at the big mushroom cloud rising out of the roof. I watched as I saw a couple naiads taming the fire. Gods, Leo... What the hell did you do? Wait... Who's cabin did he set fire to? I remembered Annabeth's face when she tried to tell me...

I took a couple more steps and froze once more. When I realised who's cabin it was, my eyes shot wide open. Okay, I was awake now. I felt something twist in my gut, but I decided to push that away and find out what's going on. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and jogged down to Jason and Frank. They had hard looks on their faces. Once I reached them, I put my hand on Jason's shoulder, getting his attention.

"What in the name of Poseidon happened to the Hades cabin?" I asked him with a hint of bewilderment.

He sighed and shrugged. "Leo practically blew it up. By accident, of course."

"I know that, but was, you know, anyone inside?" I asked him as I looked back at the piles of flaming black wood in concern.

Frank shook his head. "No, he wasn't there, Percy. I don't know why, but..." He sighed. "He just wasn't there."

I frowned. "Oh, well, I guess that's a good thing then."

Jason was silent. Frank shrugged again and left to go back to bed. I pursed my lips. Why wasn't he there? Where could he have possibly gone? To make matters worse, Jason seemed to notice this, too, it seemed. His eyes flickered deep in thought and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, but what confused me the most was his expression. He looked anxious, maybe even concerned.

I cleared my throat and shuffled on my feet. "Hey, Grace?"

"Yeah, Jackson?" He looked over at me.

"Do you know where Nico went or why he would have possibly disappeared overnight?" I said warily.

He took a deep breath, shifting his weight on his feet. He crossed his arms and frowned, lost in thought once more. He knew something. He must have known something. He glanced back over at me, although this time his expression was guarded, and sighed deeply.

"I don't know, Percy. He's an unpredictable guy, you know that. He could be gone for weeks and nobody would know where he is. Maybe he shadow-traveled somewhere in the Underworld or something. Or maybe he's somewhere in camp. I really don't know. He's tough, though, I'll give you that." He said honestly.

I nodded and left Jason to his thoughts. My eyes began to droop again. I needed sleep... As soon as I opened my cabin door, I shut it and clumsily made my way over to my bed. Deciding I wanted to be more comfortable, I slipped off my pyjama pants and jumped into my cozy navy blankets in my underwear. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I passed out, fast asleep... But who ever said that it would be a dreamless night?

*
"Hey, Jackson." A voice called behind me.

I turned around with a smile, knowing I was gonna see one of my good friend's faces. But when I turned around, the face looked desperate, miserable, pained, and covered in blood. Just plain broken. I frowned and stepped closer to the younger boy, reaching out to touch his strained pale face, but he turned away from me, wincing as if I'd hurt him.