Color Therapy

~Soren~

 "That was mean." I said softly and pouted.

"Yeah." Will nodded. "I'm sorry about him. Ever since he got here, he's just had this shell. It's really hard to break. I was the only one to ever get him to open up, and I was sworn to secrecy about everything he told me that night." Will explained.

I nodded. "Yeah. He is quite a hypocrite." I said, turning around and taking my seat in between Nico and Annabeth. Will took a seat next to Nico, but leaned over him to continue talking to me.

"How so?"

"He called me out for not acting like a son of Hades, but look at him, he's the son of the sun God, and he acts like that?"

Will nodded. "True. Don't worry, I'll talk to him."

I nodded, and Will got back into a normal position, but this time with Nico's head resting tiredly on his shoulder. I yearned for something as beautiful as their relationship, but I knew I hadn't found the right guy yet. I'd dated plenty of boys, but no one really seemed to hit home with me.

I had only just got here two days ago, and I'd only been claimed about an hour ago, but I had a goal for my time at Camp Half-Blood.

Get Bastien to open up more, and, hopefully, see if he's the one to hit home.

---

After a while, the campfire ended. I'd had a really good time. Nico, although he was kind of unenthusiastic, was pretty cool. It's good that I don't hate him, really, because if I did, I'd end up with a cabin mate that I hated.

We all headed back to our cabins. I followed Nico there through the dark.

We all got into bed. I was pretty tired, so I was half asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

"Soren?" a voice said, just as I was about to fall asleep. It sounded like Nico.

"Yeah?" I said, rolling over so I was no longer staring at the wall.

"Why don't you act like a true child of Hades?" Nico asked.

"My mom always taught me to stay positive, so that's what I did."

"How? You were born out of death."

"My mother knew I was a demigod after a while. Her step brother had been one. He was a son of Aphrodite. Anyways, once she caught on, she knew why I was always so depressed and hopeless. She started teaching me how to be happy. Through color. She was a psychologist, and had done some weird test to see what colors affected my brain the most positively. Pastel colors came out as the highest scoring, so she took action. This all happened when I was about seven, so it's been eleven years of me living like this; she painted the house in pastels, and showed emotion through color. She rehabilitated me completely, and even though I know she's not, I sometimes wonder if she's secretly a daughter of Iris."

"Wow." Nico said, like that was all he could utter.

"Wow, indeed. Now, let me sleep." I laughed softly. He didn't say anything, so I turned back to face the wall and fell asleep.

---

I woke up the next morning to the sound of banging on the cabin door. I rolled over.

"What?" I said groggily.

"It's Will, can I come in?"

"Why hasn't Nico gotten it yet?" I called back, half to Will and half to Nico.

"I don't know, just open up, Soren."

I sighed and got up, padding over to the door and pulling it open. Will was standing there, in a bright orange T-shirt and jeans. And cowboy boots.