Chapter 18

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Nico's P.O.V

Percy walked away swiftly, his cloak bellowing behind him.

Was that really Percy?

Where had the cocky, sarcastic and sassy Percy go?

What had happened to him in these 7 years?

I had to find out. But how? Oh yeah. Bianca had granted me access to the Chaos cabin. Right. I figured Percy, or the team for the matter, didn't want people banging on his cabin door, so I shadow-traveled in.

My first thought was: wow. Even though I had been here before, it still looked awesome. I saw the team there, discussing. Probably about Percy. I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there until they noticed me. Then, Luke turned around, as if sensing my presence. "Oh. Smart boy. Shadow-travelling huh?" Beckendorf said. "Thanks, that is very considerate of you." Luke continued.

I shrugged,"Figured he didn't want people to bang on the cabin door."

"So what brings you here?"

"I wanted to visit Percy." I said firmly.
Silence washed upon us. They looked at each other, as if considering whether to let me visit him. After a long silence,"okay," came out of Luke's mouth. "But don't blame us if you get frozen by his glares." I could tell he was trying to sound like he was joking, but it was failing terribly. I knew Percy had changed. One of the females, Eagle or something, led me to his room.

She used a pen-like thing and carved a beautiful looking shape onto it.

The door opened. That was rude. As if hearing my thoughts, she said,"Even if you knock, he won't answer. Ask Luke." Okay. Sure. I will ask him.

Inside the room sat Percy. He was on his bed, his hood down and a book on the bedside table. A book? Okay. Oh well. He was currently holding a syringe that was filled with a transparent liquid. When the door opened, he merely ignored us. He inserted the liquid into his very visible vain. He hissed at the after effect of the liquid.

I carefully took in his appearance. His cheeks were hollow, all baby fat gone. His wrist was bony, bonier than I remembered.

The good things, though, were his eyes. They were a mixture of black, dark blue, purple and white. But even his eyes seemed to be laced with a layer of raw pain and sadness. What happened to my cousin?

Percy moved. He stood up and placed the syringe into a pouch. He put the set into the cupboard beside us. He dusted the bed a little and set back down, this time allowing space for a person to sit next to him. I was so happy. He allowed me to sit next to him!

What I didn't-never would have-expect was that he was the one that broke the silence with a simple,"hi."

Percy's POV

Nico's not an enemy. Nico didn't betray you. He is innocent.
What happened with Order was fake. Nico's not an enemy. He is not. He was never.

I kept telling myself that since he came in.

Don't glare at him. Okay, Percy. This is so simple. It's just a hi. Can't be difficult.

No! What am I thinking? I haven't said hi for ages.

Come on Percy.

"Hi." There it was. The good ol' special hi. I saw Hayley raise her eyebrows. "Oh look at you! All grown up and talking!"

And the flashbacks kicked in.

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I know I didn't do anything like scream because I saw them all at the same positions as they were before. The flashback was horrible. But it made me remember something.

If I didn't mask my feelings, people were going to hurt me, no matter what I do.

Nico's POV

Wow. Okay. That was weird. After the girl said that praise, he just froze.

His eyes flickered slowly but surely into a white. A pure white. His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something, but then it closed again. And then, his eyes closed and a tear slipped out of it. I knew he was having a flashback, but I couldn't help him.

His eyes slowly regained their colour. I was frozen. Right there and then. He started breathing heavily. And then, he hunched forward and the hint of what he had done disappeared. He clammed up and retreated to the further end of his bed. He seemed to shrink in size. When he reached the end of the bed, he glared at me. If looks could kill, I would already be in...elysium, probably.

His glare was terrifying. I was terrified. It was like looking at Medusa. I couldn't move, not even my eyes. And I hated it. I was paralyzed. That moment had me scared.

And then he looked away. I could slowly feel myself be able to move. "We're talking later." I heard the girl say. Her voice sent chills down my back. She held my hand and led me out of the room.

"Ah, the glare appeared." Luke and Beckendorf said. "You have been there for quite some time. What happened?" Silena asked. "Nothing. He said hi. And then he glared." "He said hi? So unfair." Luke said.

"I think I'm gonna leave. I'll come back tomorrow." I said. They all looked shocked. I guess they didn't expect me to come back after the glare. But the glare didn't make me not want to come back. It just fueled my curiosity.

Besides, he didn't answer my question.

What happened to him?

A/N is this a cliffy? I don't think so... Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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