The Violin That Started it All

Part 2) Event Four

She scowled at me. "Well, little rainbow, I'm about to show you that life ain't perfect.

Her foot collided with my jaw, and my head was hit up so that I was staring at a wall behind me upside down.

She straddled me and lifted me up by the collar of my shirt. Her face seemed to have held a permanent scowl.

Her glare bore deep through me, but I couldn't muster the strength to glare back. Why? The aching pain that I felt would have been less if I could at least fight back.

But, why didn't I? Why couldn't I?

She punched me across the face, sending my head flying to the right. She punched me again in the opposite direction, resulting in a bleeding nose.

Clarisse shoved me down onto my chest, my head harshly hitting the ground before all went black.

The last thing I saw was Clarisse being knocked off my body by somebody.

...

I woke up in a room that I recognized all too well. The walls were white. On one table to my left were many different kinds of supplies that treated wounds. To my right was a door. That bed was extremely comfortable as well.

My vision fully focused and I scanned the area until I found a person with a head full of blonde hair.

He glanced at smiled at me. "I see you're finally awake."

"Wh-who brought me here?" My voice cracked and it sounded hoarse, as if I hadn't talked in years.

Apollo glanced at the sky, his pen tapping his chin as he tried to recall the memory. He soon looked down at me and smiled.

"Percy, Jason, Leo, and Silena," he listed them out. "Although...Percy did seem a bit injured when he brought you here."

Apparently my expression mirrored one that was worried, so Apollo quickly added, "Of course, I treated his wounds so he should be fine."

I sighed in relief, but it hurt. I winced in pain, and Apollo seemed to have noticed.

"Forgot to mention," he muttered, "you're not fully recovered yet, but your injuries aren't serious enough to send you to the hospital. You have a few bruises and your nose was recently bleeding, but otherwise, I think you'll be fine. The medicine I fed to you really helped. It's called ambrosia if you were wondering. You should try it sometime whenever you're in pain."

I slowly nodded while Apollo continued.

"You just need to heal a bit, so lay off of active activities. I wrote you a note that you can give to your PE teacher, saying that you need to heal so you won't have to participate in that class. Maybe it'll just be a study hall for you that period then?" Apollo shrugged, then leaned against the counter that was located behind him. "The point is, get some rest, okay?" You still might be a little sore, so walking might hurt a bit. Can you bear with it?"

I nodded once more. If I've lived through walking around school from my father's injuries, then walking around with only a few bruises and feeling sore was nothing.

Apollo smiled brightly at me. "That's good. Do you want me to inform your dad?"

"My father's dead," I mumbled bitterly.

Apollo's eyes widened, but he quickly regained his composure. "Well that's...quite a surprise. I'm sorry about that."

I shook my dark brown hair side to side. "It's fine."

Apollo nodded apologetically. Get it? Apollogetically.

"What time...is it?" I struggled to ask.

Apollo glanced at the wall, where I assumed a clock hung. "12:45," he replied. "It's lunch right now. So, I'm pretty sure you're friends are waiting outside. You were out for awhile."

Apollo walked over to the door, placing his hand upon the door knob. "I'll just check and see if they're there, alright? Would you like for them to come in?"

I nodded, since it was too hard to actually form coherent words.

Apollo swung open the door, and he seemed to be having a conversation with someone out there. After a short while, he stepped to the side and allowed the people on the other side of the door entrance.

The first to walk in was Percy. He looked extremely nervous and worried about me, and I just wanted to rip that expression off of his flawless face and replace it with his usual cheerful expression.

Following Percy came Silena, Jason, and then Leo.

Once they all entered, Apollo quietly shut the door and made his way over to the counter that he previously leaned against.

"Are you okay?" Silena broke the silence, concern evident in her voice.

I nodded. "It's kind of...hard to-to talk," I rasped out.

Percy approached me, resting his hand along my cheek. "Don't talk if it hurts, okay?"

I nodded, but a question formed into my head that I had to ask. "Are you...okay?"

Percy raised an eyebrow in confusion, but he soon smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm fine. I forgot something in my locker and the teacher allowed me to go get it with Leo. When we found you, Clarisse was beating you up so...mercilessly." Percy's teeth were clenched and his other hand was shaking, forming a fist.

"Dude, are you sure you're alright? Clarisse did beat you pretty hard." Leo said.

I nodded for the billionth time.

Leo smiled, showing bright teeth. "That's good. We'll be here all lunch to confort ya!"

He threw his hands behind his head and he leaned against the wall behind him.

I smiled in amusement, and Percy leaned down to kiss my forehead, surprising me.

"I won't let anyone ever hurt you. Ever, got it?" Percy stated firmly, his forehead resting against my own.

My smile turned into one of sincere, wrapping my arms around Percy's neck and kissing him passionately on the lips. Percy smiled back, kissing me back just as passionately. I didn't even care that Jason, Leo, and Silena were there.

He pulled back after a few moments. "I love you, Nico."

I nodded, struggling to say words through all the pain. "Love you too, Percy."

Percy chuckled at my attempt. "You are so cute, Nico."