When You Were There

Chapter 7:A Story Tears Me To Shreds

A/N: The song "Demons" by Imagine Dragons would go great with this chapter.
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Well, Nico's story just about ripped my heart to shreds.
You don't think someone that dark and brooding could have EMOTIONS and tear your heart to shreds just by telling you why he was CRYING! But somehow, Nico di Angelo had done it....
When he started his story the very first words ripped my heart out, and it seemed the longer he went on the more an more remorse my heart felt. How does the kid do this!? Is is like some magic only Hades kids posses? Or is it just him? Either way, his story really dug in and wouldn't let go.
He started, "As you may already know, most kids around here are afraid of me, intimidated by me." Yep, there went the first piece of my heart. "I was never always like this. I was actually normal when my sister Bianca was alive. But when she joined the Hunters, i had already lost her..." Second piece gone. "But when she went on that quest and Percy promised he would take care of her, and she didn't come back... I was shocked at first. Then that turned into depression, and the depression turned into anger. Anger towards Percy, he promised to get her back to me. He promised! My anger got the better of me and i made the crack through the dinning pavilion. I ran off, found the Labyrinth. I was lost for a bit... And everyones' feelings about me changed." Third piece gone and lost somewhere never to be rediscovered.
"I came back after helping Percy and them win the Titan war. Everyone pushed their new feelings about me aside, and for the time being... They liked me. Time changes things though, and soon enough, their feelings from when i left came back. Suddenly i was the outcast. I was the creepy death kid. I was the one everyone needed to avoid..." It's safe to say by now my entire heart is shattered in a million pieces and scattered across the galaxy. "So when i left, i figured everyone would either be glad i did, or not even notice i was gone. Then i found Hazel in the underworld. I brought her back to life, showed her Camp Jupiter and she's been grateful to me since then, for giving her a new chance."
"After that, you know how Percy came to Camp Jupiter and saved me and all that. Right?" He looks at me and I can't meet his gaze, so i stare at the lake instead and nod. "Well i came back after i helped them with Gaea, after surviving Orion, an old goat with a baseball bat, a praetor with a wicked attitude, and really well trained Amazons." I decide to not laugh at the funnier ones and raise an eyebrow at the lake instead. "Well, people still felt the same way about me. One second I'm the hero and everyone knows me, and the next I'm a nobody who lost his sister..." I cringe and i don't know how but now this story is eating at my soul. "And here we are now. Me confessing to the new big shot here, after just dealing with an Ares kid trying to beat me up..." He rubs and arm and cringes like just tapping it hurts.

Well now I'm in need of a heart and a soul after that story.
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The next words he say are not what I expect, though I expected him to get up and leave without saying a word.
"Go ahead. Laugh, mock me, say hurtful things, try and punch me." He looks away. "Sooner or later you're going to be the new hero, and this is what they're going to expect from you."
I shake my head and speak for the first time since he started his story. "I'm not going to do any of those things."
"They're gonna make you sooner or later. Like i said, they're expecting it from you now. Might as well practice..."
"If this is what they expect of me, I don't want them to expect anything from me. It's my life, and I'm living it the way i want. If that means losing their approval by talking to you instead of hitting you.... I can deal with it."
He turns and looks at me like I'm crazy. I look back at him with a, "what?!" face and shrug.
"What? My life not theirs. If i wanna talk to you instead of hitting you, i can do that. I'm my own person, they can't control me. Just like they can't control you."
He looks like he's thinking and when he speaks again his voice is soft and barely audible. "Well you're right there...."
"Duh! Of course i am! Would i be wrong about some like this? Ah, no!"
He smiles a bit and almost laughs. I smile back and put a hand on his arm, he sort of jumps from the contact but doesn't move away.
"Look I'm gonna break it down for you. You are Nico, son of Hades, Ghost King, and Death-Boy. Your father is the lord of the Underworld. And let me tell you a secret. You can use that as leverage. Threaten, bargain, or just intimidate people. But that's beside the point. If they're trying to shut you down... Don't let them. They want you to fear them, so they can control you. Don't let them control you. They just want power and you can't give it to them."
He nods and looks at me through his dark brown eyes. Instead of looking away, i stare deeper into them.
"Show them they can't make you fear them. Prove them wrong, shut THEM down. And don't you dare say you can't, because i know it's in you. It's just waiting to come out. And when it does, all of them will know they can't shut you down..." A dawning look of understanding crosses his face, as if i just showed him the light in a pitch black room. He looks at me again.
"Wow. Never knew someone actually believed in me..." He looks away but I look at him and is it just me or is he closer? "Never thought someone cared..." He looks back at me. "You really proved me wrong..." Uhhhh, he is definitely closer. "I guess you believe in me, now i have to believe in you. Believe that you are telling the truth, that you do mean it, that you are different from the others... I now know what i have to do. Thanks to you. And now I probably owe you as well..."
"Uhhh, my advice is free of charge, thank you very much."
"Yeah, but i hate feeling like i owe people."
"I already said. You don't owe me any-"
My words are stopped due to the fact that he has pressed his lips against mine. My eyes widen for a few seconds, but i relax the longer he kisses me.
And soon, my eyes are closed and I'm kissing him back as well....

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A/N:
Mwahahaha! Cliffhanger!
Nah! I hate cliffhangers too, don't worry. Soooooooooooo. The big question.....*dramatic music* What do you guys think? Dun dun dun! Hahahah! No but seriously. What do you guys think? Don't forget to comment about what happened in this chapter. I love to hear your guys' opinions so i can make my updates better and better. Don't forget to vote as well and.... Yeah that's about it. I'm actually starting to get mad at myself for leaving you guys in a cliffhanger. So I'm just going go update this real fast before i go back and change it. 😬 Bye peeps!
~christmas_girly