Solangelo One Shots

Laser Tag

Nico's POV

I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the laser tag arena, a thick black vest strapped to my chest and my laser gun in both of my hands, the nose pointed down at the carpeted floor. My eyes roved around the room as the team waited for the huge digital clock on the wall, currently reading a minute, to tick down to zero, thus starting the game. Directly in front of me was a steep incline, leading up to a platform stretching high over the enemy territory. Perfect for offense, I thought to myself, if I could manage to shoot at the sharp downward angle. Directly next to me were two pillars, and in the middle sat our target. Five shots to the middle and we would lose, and I knew that defense was vital. Even so I knew that I would be playing offense for the entirety of the game. I yearned for the action and excitement of the offensive side, and I knew that hiding behind a pillar waiting for the enemy wouldn't cut it for me.

 I couldn't see the enemy team, a series of hiding spots and walls blocking my way but even from across the huge room I could just make out the excited murmurs of the other team as the clock reached ten. I watched the huge red numbers tick down and when it finally reached zero and the buzzer started I was off, sprinting up the incline that would give me a stealthy entrance into enemy territory. As discussed Jason, Piper, Hazel and Frank stayed on our side, with Jason and Piper slipping behind the two pillars to act as our last line of defense with the remaining duo straying a little farther from our target, but overall not moving too far away. Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, Leo and I dispersed into the darkness of the room, our laser guns pointed directly in front of and our alertness at its peak. The first minute I could still see a couple of my teammates but as the clock kept ticking, keeping track of the length of our game we quickly moved away from one another and I was alone, keeping my head down as I crept along the platform, keeping my eye on the enemy. 

After a few minutes I began to hear the high pitched sound of a gun going off, and then the groan of someone I didn't recognize as the sound of them losing all of their energy met my ears, and I smiled, knowing that my team had already taken their first person temporarily out of the game. I watched as the shadowy figure of a man began to traipse back to their base, giving time for his energy to replenish itself so he could get back in the game. I wasn't concerned with the man, however. I was concerned with making it safely to the opposing team's target so I ducked my head down, continuing my journey. 

I had reached the end of the platform, the remaining few feet a decline to the heart of the enemy territory. I could see the man from before standing at the target, his energy nearly full. From my vantage point on the ground behind a short wall I couldn't see many defenders, only a tall, blonde haired boy of about my age standing behind the pillar nearest to me, alert blue eyes scanning the scene. His eyes passed directly over my head and I ducked, hoping that he hadn't seen me. His eyes seemed to linger on my spot for a few seconds too long but after a while he turned away from me and I was able to aim my gun at him, left eye closed as my finger hovered just above the trigger. I knew that I should shoot, knocking the boy out of the game for a few minutes so that Annabeth could come out of wherever she had promised she would be hiding and shoot the target. But something inside of me was telling me not to shoot and before I had finished making my decision the boy had somehow moved away from his position behind the pillar to directly in front of me without me knowing. 

He stood above me, his gun pointed directly at my chest. It was difficult for me to stand from my uncomfortable position on the ground so instead I scrambled for my gun but before I could get the nose pointed at him he had already shot me once. One energy point down, I thought bitterly to myself. One down and four to go. "Smart plan," the boy said, his finger on the trigger. "You weren't subtle enough to pull it off, though. Too bad, really. You really could have won with that plan." I didn't know why I was having trouble getting words out, but I was speechless. This hadn't happened with a guy for years, not since my massive and slightly embarrassing crush on Percy. But something about the way his brilliant blue eyes connected with mine, and the way his gently curled hair reminded me of sunbeams, and the way his freckles splashed across his nose and onto his cheeks had me speechless.