The Violin That Started it Again

Part 3) Chapter Three

Sorru for the late update. I've been spending my Winter Break with my PS3, so I haven't really typed a lot. Oops. Well, thanks to peircethesleepingmen, here's an update for you guys since I'm at the eye doctor.

...

Annabeth Chase

It was lunch time. I was sitting with everyone else now. I got over my break-up with Percy, so I was fine being around him and all. Although sometimes, it would get awkward if we were left alone. But, whenever I brought up some topic involving Nico, Percy's expression seemed to brighten as he talked about him. I was glad they were doing well together. It seemed as if they would last forever. Their relationship was definitely better than my relationship with Percy, that was for sure.

"Hey," Jake started, "where's Percy and Nico?"

Everyone glanced around, but neither of them were to be seen.

"I...don't know," Will answered with furrowed eyebrows.

"Percy was acting a bit different this morning, so maybe he went somewhere to be alone?" Jason suggested.

"Different? What do you mean by 'different?'" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you know how he had Calculus in the morning?" Jason asked, and we all nodded.

"Well, he was walking the opposite direction of the math building," Jason said, recounting the memory. "I told him that the bell rang and his class was in the other direction. He laughed it off and apologized, but it seemed a bit..."

"Strained?" I offered.

Jason nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was a bit strained. The weird thing was, he wouldn't look up at me. His gaze was always on the ground. And, I found it weird how he was alone."

"Nico wasn't with him?" Piper questioned.

Jason shook his head. "No, not at all."

"Maybe something happened this morning and Nico went to comfort him during lunch," Miranda suggested. "I mean, everyone has bad days, right?"

"That could be true," Malcolm agreed.

"Comfort him with what? More public sex?" Leo said with a smirk across his face. "Nico could be a bit too horny. Oh softmores..."

Frank rolled his eyes. "Really, Leo?"

Leo shrugged. "Hey, it could happen! Percy can't control all of those hormones, and from what we've heard of their dates, Nico can't control them either. Except, I don't remember him getting so...out of control with Annabeth." He looked my way and smirked, resulting in a roll of my eyes.

"But, Silena isn't here either," Beckendorf pointed out. Everyone glanced around once again, but Silena was nowhere to be found.

"Okay, now that's...weird," Will commented.

"It is," Hazel agreed with a perplexed expression.

"Maybe she went to go find them on her own?" Katie suggested.

"Maybe, but if we're following Leo's idea..." Malcolm trailed off.

"Wait, you guys actually agree with me?!" Leo exclaimed. "Best day ever!"

Jason rolled his eyes and smacked Leo upside the head. "Just be quiet, Leo."

"Ow!" Leo cried, rubbing his head. "Just for your information, that hurt!"

"Information?" I mused. "Biggest word you've ever used."

"Well, gee, thanks." Leo rolled his eyes. "All I know is that Nico's longest word isn't an actual word. Percy should know."

There was a long silence that befell us, until our dirty and perverted minds kicked in.

Jason smacked Leo on the back of his head and he yelped.

"Leo, don't say that ever again," Jason informed, but I could see the slightest trace of a smile.

"Hey, you guys got it, didn't you?" Leo laughed.

"We did," Will answered. "And, I must say, that was pretty funny."

"Right?" Leo chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and stood up. "I'm going to go find Nico."

"No Silena and Percy?" Jake asked.

"I see some love starting to blossom between Annabeth and Nico, don't you think?" Leo's smirk grew wider as he wiggled his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and hit Leo on top of his head, making hin groan.

"Why do you guys keep hitting me today?" Leo whined.

"Because you deserve it," Jason and I said simultaneously, making both of us laugh at our unison.

Leo stared with wide eyes between the two of us. "Remind me to not be alone with you two."

"No promises." I laughed before leaving the group to find Nico. He always managed to find me whenever I was alone, so maybe I could manage to find him too.

...

He wasn't at the tree in the school field where I originally thought he would be. But, I wasn't about to give up just yet. I never gave up, and I had a few other places that I could guess where Nico was.

At our school, you were allowed to leave campus for lunch if you were a junior or a senior. If he was with either Silena or Percy, he would've been able to sneak out with them, since both of them were seniors. If I were to guess where he would be if he wanted to be alone with either Silena or Percy, or even both of them, it would be someplace quiet. Nico despised being around people, so if he wasn't at the school field, I doubted he would've been anywhere else around the school.

I smiled to myself and sighed, glancing up at the light blue sky. I knew a place that Nico would've gone to, and I would bet anything that he was there. Being smart had a lot of benefits.

...

Miles Square Park. A typical place for Nico to pick. We once came here during the Summer with Percy and Silena to hang out. I expected that Nico would be here again, at the tree in the far corner of the park. Wow, Nico really liked being under a tree in the shade. Nico did seem the type of guy to favor the dark.

I walked over to the far corner in the very back of the park, making sure to scan my surroundings to see if Nico picked some other place to be at.

When I heard,"It's going to be okay, Nico," I knew I was going in the right direction. But I was a bit confused. Why would Nico need an comforting in the first place? According to Jason, Percy was the one that was having a bad day.

I stopped in front of the tree to a sight that I didn't imagine would happen. Percy was nowhere to be found, but Silena and Nico were there, both of them sitting on the grassy ground. She glanced up at me with her crystal blue eyes. She looked so depressed, but it was nothing compared to how Nico probably felt.

He was right next to Silena. His back was to the tree, and he was sitting with his legs pulled up to his chest. His arms wrapped around his knees, and his face was buried into his arms so that I couldn't see his face at all.

My eyes widened and I glanced at Silena for an answer. My heart pounded in my chest, and I didn't want to know why Nico was like this. And the thing that kept nagging me in the back of my head was the fact that Percy wasn't even in sight.

She gently took her hand off of Nico's back and came up to me, softly whispering something that I would've never surmised.

"Percy cheated on Nico," she whispered to me.