Shoot an Arrow Through His Heart

Look, a Hot Blond Boy

"That's not going to happen," Piper assured me. "Things aren't that bad with Nico. I think he just needs a friend."

"I've been telling him that for years!" I reminded her. "I know he needs someone else to look out for him, but he won't put himself out there at all." I sighed. "Even if I find someone for him, what if they enable it? I don't know everything about everyone in the school! What if he ends up on meth or something because I picked a drug dealer?"

"You need to stop worrying," Piper said. "We know who the crackheads are. And, let's be real, I don't think Nico's going to start doing anything hardcore."

"That's the thing," I said, pushing down a lump in my throat. "After yesterday, I'm not so sure that's true anymore. You didn't see the-- the look in his eyes. They were so empty. Even Papà's given up, stopped sending him to therapy, any of that. He's been getting worse this summer, he knows I'm leaving, and I think it's killing him."

Piper pulled me into a hug. "We'll figure it out," she whispered in my ear. "Nico's our friend, too. We're not going to let him fall."

She lifted a stray tree branch for me to crouch under. I ducked through, pushed back some more leaves, and there it was: Half-Blood High. Three lanes of cars zoomed past at the bottom of the hill, stopping every now and again at a crosswalk to let students through to the other side. The high school was a blocky, three-story brick building surrounded by stone paths through the college-like campus. Various sports fields hugged the side of the road, sprawling into the distance. Let's just say the school got plenty of funding.

I shot a quick text to Jason that Piper and I were on our way to the dining pavilion, then made my way down the hill to the crosswalk. Five minutes later, we were back in the white tile halls of the suckiest place on earth. I missed summer already.

Twenty feet from the dining pavilion, Percy and Grover assaulted us in the hall. "Piper!" Percy said a little too loudly. "Let's go to English together! Now!"

Piper looked at him, confused. "But we still have ten minutes--"

Percy cut her off. "We might get lost! Or... something... come on!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her back the way we came. She had no choice but to follow, stuttering as she tried to get a grip on the situation while Percy rambled about nothing.

I turned to Grover. "Let me guess, Golden Boy's having another freakout?" I deduced.

Grover nodded.

I pushed the doors forward and walked into the open-air pavilion. Jason was leaning on a table, head hanging over the side, heaving like he was about to throw up. Leo, Annabeth, and Rachel stood beside him, Leo with a hand on his back.

"Please tell me he didn't puke," I asked as I rushed over there.

"Close, but no," Grover informed me.

As we got closer, all I could hear was Jason repeating "I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this," over and over again as he hyperventilated.

"If Percy could ask Annabeth out, you can ask Piper out," Rachel said. "Annabeth's a million times scarier than Piper."

"You ask her then," Jason said. He stopped retching. "I'm good, I'm good," he panted. "All good."

"Crisis averted," Grover announced. "Piper's on the other side of the school."

Jason groaned. "Why can't I do this? She's just a girl! A really cute, smart, better-than-me-in-every-way-- ahh, dammit!" He threw his glasses onto the table and rubbed his temples.

"Look at it this way," Annabeth said, sitting next to him, "if you don't do it, I'm pretty sure seaweed brain's going to do it for you."

Jason groaned again. "I'm a weak human being," he moaned.