Reyna
Reyna had heard a lot weird music. But a song about a grandma putting on her armor? That pretty much deserved a whole category of weirdness.
Carved into the side of the hill were the amphitheater steps, facing a stone-lined fire pit. Both Greek and Roman campers (still smothered with desserts) filled the rows. Six Apollo kids, including Reyna's recruit Will Desjardins, were leading the songs. They were playing lyres, guitars and ukuleles, standing in front of the fire which changed color as the energy heightened.
They didn't have a sing-along back at Camp Jupiter, but the Romans joined in like they'd been doing it since forever. They were doing a demonstration with their cream-covered armor as the parts get mentioned in the song.
"Welcome to our new campers and our friends!" Chiron the centaur loomed over them as he toasted marshmallows in a spear. He had a pie wedge dangling on his beard, but he didn't seem to mind. "I hope you'd all have a happy stay."
"Oh yeah!" Megan yelled, jumping. An Hermes camper produced a mini-electric fan and made his chiton billow. "Hey! Don't play with my skirt!"
Several campers snickered. Even Reyna had to crack a smile.
She was sitting in the front, alone. Calypso and Leo, Annabeth and Percy, Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel were all sitting in different places. The couples seemed to want to spend some alone time.
Reyna couldn't help feeling that certain melancholy again, seeing her friends. They looked so happy in love. She felt like she was missing on something.
The corny (but surprisingly fun) song about the grandma ended. Will Solace strummed his lyre and started to belt out a song that sounded suspiciously like a ballad, but Will Desjardins nudged him and played his ukulele. Soon, the two Wills were arguing.
"And that," Leo said, "Is what you'd call a battle of Wills. Get it?"
Will Solace stomped impatiently while Will Desjardins tried to reason with him, looking miffed.
The campers didn't seem to care. They just continued their own wackier version of the Grandma-Armor song, their out-of-tune voices breaking into the night. They all seemed pretty occupied, but not Reyna. She was looking at two figures in the distance shouldering each other off.
The first figure was a little shorter than the other, with some sort of a skirt fanning behind him as he struggled to hold his ground. She recognized it easily as Megan. Nobody else was wearing a Greek man-dress, so it was pretty much a giveaway. Even in the dark, Reyna could see that he kept on turning his head towards her. He seemed to be heading in her direction, but the other figure was fighting him off. She couldn't make out the features of the other guy, and she had no idea who he could be.
Oh well, it might be one of Megan's stunts to get noticed. The guy did a lot of those.
The battle of the two Wills seemed to have been settled. Solace (it's better to call them by their last names, so as to avoid repetition and migraine) was shooting Desjardins a nasty look, but Desjardins just played his ukulele, looking absolutely pleased to have won the argument.
"I'll hold the door, please come in and just sit here for a while
This is my way of telling you I need you in my life. . ."
Reyna didn't know the song, but she found it pretty catchy. She started swaying to it, but then, she heard the second line of the lyrics. She stopped swaying immediately.
Great. A love song. Nothing could emphasize being forever alone better than swaying to a good old love song all by yourself.
"It's so cold without your touch
I've been dreaming way too much. . ."
For some stupid reason, that made Reyna think about Nico. She felt like listening to a love song with no one to relate it to wouldn't be so bad with him around. Well, he'd never leave her alone, for an instance. She'd have someone to talk to. But Nico going to a sing-along would be too good to be true. It wouldn't happen in a gazillion years. . . But what if?
Pluto's pauldrons, what was that all about? She hastily pushed the embarrassing thought away.
Over the distance, the unknown figure finally pushed Megan, and the son of Aphrodite fell pretty hard. He almost rolled back, showing his underwear.
Thank gods for the darkness, Reyna thought.
The tall figure then turned and started to sprint towards Reyna, which freaked her out a bit. She almost transferred to another seat, but when the firelight shone on the guy's face, she found herself unable to move.
". . .Can we just turn this into reality?"
"Hey." Nico di Angelo smiled breathlessly as he skidded to a stop and sat beside her. Very closely beside her. "I hope I'm not too late?"
Reyna was surprised that the fire didn't turn red and shoot twenty feet into the air, because that's exactly what she felt like doing. Going red and shooting high into the air.
Nico was all cleaned up but still fully dressed. And he was sitting so close to her, she could feel his warmth and smell a mix of vanilla candles and fresh mint coming from him.
Reyna's cheeks started to ache, and that's when she realized that she was smiling too widely. Her face just might rip in two.
But the thing was, she just couldn't believe Nico came.
"I guess not," she said. The scent coming from him was pleasant and quite addicting. "But I remember you said you'll pass?"
"I did." He shrugged and glanced at Megan, who got to his feet, glaring at him. The sight seemed to please Nico. "But I changed my mind."
Reyna smirked. "And here I was thinking you're not the singing type."
"I'm still not the singing type, I'm afraid," Nico said. He was still smiling at her, his eyes a little glazed. Then his voice dropped to a whisper. "But it's different with you here."
"Maybe you can save me from this crazy world we live in. . ."
Nico flinched, his eyes wide with panic. He looked absolutely startled with what he just said. He averted his gaze and went still.
The fire crackled and turned bright scarlet, sending sparks spiraling into the night sky. But Reyna was vaguely aware of it. Her ears were buzzing. She was staring at Nico, whose head was turned sideways to avoid looking at her. He was in danger of an extreme stiff neck, but he didn't seem to care. She was tempted to shake him, but even without looking at his face, she could tell he was embarrassed.
She knew for a fact that the son of Hades was not a touchy-feely kind of person. What he said probably just slipped out. It even sounded like it came from his nose for all the volume it had. So to avoid embarrassing him further, she just decided to play dumb. "What?"
Nico turned to her, still startled but obviously relieved. "Nothing. It's just that. . ." A pained expression flickered in his features. He seemed to be having some sort of an internal struggle. "Nothing. Never mind."
"And I know we could happen
'Cause you know that I've been feeling you. . ."
For Reyna, it was definitely not nothing. Considering how awkward Nico was with words, feelings and pretty much everything social, that counted for something. That was good progress.
Nico
Great. What was Nico supposed to say now?
He had wanted to just lie low and act normal for a while. That had been the plan. Sleep like a zombie. Do what he does every sing-along. But when he saw Reyna heading to the amphitheater on her own (yes, he was spying on her), he realized how dumb he was being. She would be staying at Camp Half-Blood for a few months. That's an awful short time. He might as well make the most of her stay.
So, in the middle of getting dressed for bed, he just went out of his cabin and headed straight for the amphitheater. Straight for her.
Along the way Nico had another encounter with pretty boy Megan. He was going to Reyna as well, no doubt to flex his biceps in front of her and wink incessantly or something. Nico had to get the guy out of the way, which was kinda easy.
Everything was going fine. Nico was sitting beside Reyna, they were talking, a good song was playing. . . And then that slips out of his mouth. It's different with you here. Good thing she didn't hear. If she did. . .
Gods. He didn't even want to think about it.
Beside him, Reyna cleared her throat. The fire, which had turned red for some reason, was casting a scarlet glow on her face. Nico couldn't help staring at her. With her perfect posture, high cheekbones and brooding dark eyes, she looked so much like royalty. He was almost tempted to curtsy in front of her or something. But he also noticed that she was eyeing Jason and Piper, who were huddled in the topmost row. Jason had one arm wrapped around Piper's shoulders, their heads pressed close.
Reyna's expression didn't look pained. It was wistful. Was she thinking of what could have been if Jason hadn't gone over to the Greek camp? Of what it would've felt like if she was the one wrapped in Jason's embrace and not Piper?
Strangely, the thought made Nico's throat constrict. He looked at Reyna closely and saw that she was sad, alright. But maybe a little hopeful too.
"Storms, they will come
But I know that the sun will shine again. . ."
"So. . ." Nico started. Reyna turned to him, her melancholic daze gone -- or hidden. "This song is nice."
Probably the most stupidly obvious thing to say, but he didn't really care. Anything to keep a conversation running.
And besides, he wanted to make her happy. Or at least feel good.
"Very nice," she agreed. A smile formed slowly on her lips, but it still had a hint of sadness. "You like it?"
"Yeah." He pressed his hands together. "Makes me want to sing in the shower. Really work out my vocal cords, you know."
Reyna laughed, and Nico was surprised by how much he liked the sound. "I'm having a hard time imagining you singing, much less in the shower. And believe me, I've seen it."
His cheeks burned (Did she really see him in the shower?), but he just raised an eyebrow at her. "Want me to prove it? I'm going to sing right now, Praetor RA-RA."
"Bring it on, Captain Corpse," she challenged, folding her arms over her chest.
"That nickname is worse than Death Boy, but okay." Nico cleared his throat loudly and tried to sing along with Reyna's recruit, Will Desjardins. He ended up stating the lyrics in a stiff and robotic way.
But after one and a half line, he gave up.
"Alright, I therefore conclude that I really can't sing," Nico said, raising his palms in surrender. Reyna just clapped him in the back.
The campers started to clap along with the song, swaying. She broke into a smile and started doing the same. The sadness in her eyes completely vanished. She elbowed Nico gently, laughing. "Don't just sit there. You look like a floorboard suspended on some cables. Sing!"
"Uh, that's probably not a good idea."
It wasn't, really. For all the skill he had (or did not have), he might just make the whole amphitheater collapse or something.
But she was pretty persistent. She touched his arm, which sent shivers down his back. "Come on! I'm singing, too. What's the point of this sing-along?"
"I still don't think it's a good idea." Nico winced.
"Chorus, everyone, here we go!" Desjardins called out, grinning widely.
"Just sing, Nico! Let it all out!"
"Oh, alright," he grumbled. The son of Apollo strummed away happily, and Nico joined in with the chorus of voices. He glanced at his side and saw that Reyna was still clapping along, singing, if you can believe it.
Their voices were not completely drowned even with Leo screaming the lyrics like a rock star, which bothered Nico. She, however, didn't seem to be bothered at all. She kept swaying and tapping her feet along with everybody else with a big smile on her face. He was plenty worried that his horrible singing would make someone pass out, but seeing that she's happy, he didn't really care anymore.
Anything to keep Reyna happy.
"I've been thinking 'bout you lately
Maybe you could save me from this crazy world we live in
And I know we could happen
'Cause you know that I've been feeling you
I know you want me too. . ."
The song finally ended, and everyone broke into applause. Some were even catcalling. Desjardins bowed deeply and went to join his brothers. Solace didn't look so pissed anymore.
Chiron the centaur was starting to say something, and the fire was slowly dying out. But somehow Nico didn't notice any of these.
All throughout, he was watching Reyna, taking in the sight of her laughing at some joke he failed to hear. They locked eyes, and soon he was smiling too.
That smile didn't fade even after the last embers in the ash died out and as they walked back to their cabins.
The stars were glowing merrily like streetlights in a distant city, lighting their path along with the moon. Reyna and Nico talked about random things, the way they did when they were transporting the Athena Parthenos. And this time, their chosen topic was the time after he and his sister Bianca got out of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.
"You seriously haven't gone to a mall yet?" Reyna asked incredulously, wrapping her arms around herself. Though Camp Half-Blood didn't experience winter, cold wind still blew in pretty hard.
Nico wanted to hand her a blanket or a jacket (or just hug her, for that matter) but he didn't have any. (And as for the hug, he didn't even know why that crossed his mind.)
"I've seen plenty of malls from the outside. New York is full of them," Nico answered. "But yes, I actually haven't gone in. I could bring Jules-Albert with me, but I doubt he'll make a good tour guide. We'll probably get lost together."
She let out a tiny laugh -- almost a giggle, but not quite. "And seeing a French zombie in a department store would probably earn any mortal a trip to the mental ward."
"True," he agreed. "The world changed a lot, and well -- I'd like to be a part of these changes. Or get to know them, at least."
They walked a few steps before Reyna spoke. "When we get the chance, I'd be glad to show you around. And I promise not to get us lost," she said. Then she quickly added, "All of our friends can come. We'll be like regular kids on a day out."
She sounded so pleased with the idea that Nico tried really hard not to get disappointed. For a moment there he thought she was asking him out.
Not that he wanted that, of course. Duh. "Yeah. That would be fun," he just replied.
"Oh, here we are," Reyna announced. They were already facing their cabins. She turned to him. "I'll clean up these dessert bits first. Good night, neighbor."
"The same goes to you, neighbor." Smiling all the way, he watched as she climbed to her porch and disappeared behind her cabin door.
And that's when Nico noticed the shadow beside the window of Reyna's cabin, leaning as if peering inside.
His smile faltered. He reached for his sword, but it wasn't there. With one blink, the shadow was gone. Must be my mind playing tricks on me, he thought. It's nothing.
But little did he know that the night only just got started.
[Photo: Cody Christian as Jason Grace]
[Song: We Could Happen by AJ Rafael]