It was getting towards the end of April when Piper paid a visit.
She came to Camp Half-Blood via airplane. Nico thought it was nice she was able to do that. Because of Zeus, Nico would never be able to ride in an airplane. Just another reason to hate him.
Nico was in his cabin when she came. He was still trying to figure out what the voice was, and regretting telling Will about his new friends, when he heard Will talking to someone.
"How is he doing?" Said a voice. Nico knew immediately that it was Piper, which just pissed Nico off more. Why could he recognize her voice, and not the other?
"Not great." Will told her.
There was a knock at the door.
"It's me." Will's voice said. "Guess who dropped by? Piper! Can we come in?"
"Yeah."
The door opened, and the two stepped inside. Piper's hair was shorter and choppier than the last time he had seen her.
Piper looked around the room. "Wow, they did a good job on your cabin, huh?" She tried to give Nico a smile, but her eyes filled with tears.
Nico didn't know what made him decide to do it. Was it the fact that Piper knew exactly what he was feeling, for she had been even closer to Jason than anybody, including him? Did he want to comfort her? Regardless, Nico gave Piper a big hug.
"I know how you're feeling, Nico." She said crying. "I'm really sorry."
"No, I'm really sorry." Nico was crying now, too. "Jason was your boyfriend and your best friend."
"Ex-boyfriend." She corrected him.
"What?"
"We broke up before...." She started crying harder.
Nico walked her over to his bed and invited her to sit down. She accepted, and Nico and Will sat next to her.
"I broke up with him because our relationship just felt so forced. Hera was the one who had made us start dating in the first place. And I think my mother just loved that I was dating him. So we broke up. Now I wonder if I should've, because maybe I could've given him happiness in his last few months."
Nico rubbed her arm. "It's okay. There's no way you could've known. If you felt that you wanted to break up, then you made the right choice."
She took out a tissue out of her bag and blew her nose. "I've been carrying these around with me a lot lately. I feel like I'm always crying.
"It just sucks, because things were awkward with us towards the end. I still love Jason. I think a small part of me always will. If I would've known what was going to happen I wouldn't have been so awkward, so stand-offish with him."
"Hey, that's what happens most times people break up." Said Will. "It's completely normal you acted that way."
She wiped her eyes. "I'm really sorry that I acted like that."
"Don't be sorry." Nico told her.
After a long silence, Piper cleared her throat. "I wanted to tell you guys that I want you two to go through Jason's stuff."
"Why not you?" Will asked her.
"I don't think I can. And I don't feel like I have the right anymore. Not after we broke up and I distanced myself from him."
"I'm sure he would still want you to be the one who looked through his stuff." Nico told Piper.
"Look, I get it if you don't want to. I really do. But I'm telling you that I've made up my mind about this. I don't want to go through his things for a multitude of reasons. I've already gone through his dorm room in California, anyways. I talked to Leo, and he said he doesn't have the time, but even if he did he wouldn't want to. We were able to get a hold of both Thalia and Reyna, and both of them can't. So that leaves you, Nico. If you say no, then we'll ask Percy and Annabeth.
"You're next because I know how much Jason cared about you. I'm sure he would want you to do this. But as I said, if you don't want to, it's perfectly fine. Since you live at Camp, you can do it anytime. Keep anything you want, and throw out or donate the rest."
"Okay." Nico said. "I'll do it."
She gave him a small smile. "Thank you. It means a lot to me. And I know that this would mean a lot to him."
"Piper?" Nico asked tentatively.
"Yeah?"
"Were you there?"
Nico didn't have to specify to make Piper understand what he was talking about.
Fresh tears formed in her eyes. She nodded her head slowly.
"I suppose you want to know what happened?" Piper asked him, her voice shaking.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable." Nico said.
She shook her head. "No.....you deserve to know."
So she told them what happened.
She told them about Apollo showing up to her house, and about going to Jason's school, and everything after that. At one point, all three of them were crying.
"That idiot. Of course that was how he was going to go out." Said Nico finally.
"I'm so sorry." Said Will.
They sat in silence for a long time. Nico was still trying to process what he just heard.
Then she sighed. "I guess I should tell you guys, since I'm here." She paused. "I'm bisexual."
Will smiled at her, rubbing his eyes. "Twins!"
"Well, it's cool that you figured it out. Good job." Nico told her.
"I just figured it out not very long ago. You guys are the first people I've told."
"We're honored to be the first, then!" Will said.
A little while later, Piper left. Nico and Will said that she could stay in the Aphrodite cabin or in the Big House, but she refused. Being at Camp was too painful. So she said hi to the people she knew, and headed out.
She waved a little goodbye, and she walked up the hill.
It was so different from how she had left only nearly 6 months before. Before, she had been happy, being flown in Jason's arms. Now she was all alone.