Y/N's POV
I touched my tingling lips. His lips were pressed to mine. That couldn't have happened. Nico looked over at me. I didn't notice until he looked forward and spoke out loud.
"It was Aphrodite," he said.
"What?" I turned to him with a confused expression on my face.
"She made me kiss you. She made me agree to let you hold my hand," he continued. "I like you, Y/n, but I don't want things to be sped up. I want to take things slowly."
"You-you like me?" I asked.
Nico's face tinted with pink. His head hung deeper, his eyes looking around at the ground.
"Y-yes." His face seemed to be glowing with red. He quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject. "We have to discuss the prophecy. But first, in order to work together, we have to know more about each other. We'll shadow-travel to North Dakota, for I already know where we're going first."
Nico held out his hand. "Now you have to hold my hand."
I hesitantly took Nico's hand. I was pulled against his chest while we went into total darkness. The shadows whispered aimlessly, calling to pull anyone in them to be apart of them.
I stuffed my face into Nico's chest. I whimpered with fear. Soon, the shadows separated and we were in a forest. I let go of Nico and looked around. The trees were tall and the grass was a bright green. Small twigs and piles of leaves stacked the dirt floor. Next to us, a large log was blocking our path.
"We'll set camp here," Nico said in a very tired voice.
"Are you ok?" I asked, turning to face him.
Nico's eyes were half open. He needed a nap. Good thing it was nighttime too. He nearly fell to the ground if it wasn't for me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he put his left arm around my shoulders.
"You need to sleep," I said.
"Nooo!!!" he groaned. "But, can you set up camp?"
I chuckled and set Nico down on the log. I grabbed a few sticks and rocks. I put the rocks in a small circle and put the sticks into a mini teepee. I made a fire and sat next to Nico.
"So, you wanna talk?" Nico asked.
"Sure. You first."
"Well, I was trapped in a casino for 40 years and stayed the same age with my sister, Bianca. I was saved by Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Grover. My sister and I were sent to Camp Half-Blood. Bianca was part of Artemis's hunters at the time. Percy was on a quest too. Bianca went with Percy and died, sacrificing her life. I wasn't myself after that. I pushed everyone away, ate less, and even did things I regret to this day. Since then, I've been the Ghost King, Shadow Freak, Death Breath, and many other names that represent me."
I felt tears sting my eyes. I scooted next to Nico and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a comforting hug. He hesitated to hug back, but he did. We stayed like this for a minute until he pulled away.
"Your turn," he mumbled.
I took in a giant breath. "Well, when I was a baby, my mom was murdered by some doctor when I was young. I was sent to a foster home. My foster parents were abusive. I was bullied and-and..."
I broke into tears. I felt cold arms wrap around me. Nico pulled me against his chest and held me in his lap. I pressed my hands to his chest and cried until I fell asleep, only to wake up to a gigantic...