This is NOT going to plan (a TMI/PJO fanfic)

10 (Alec)

DONG! DONG!

The doorbell echoes through the Institute, rousing me from sleep. I brush the sleep from my eyes and look at the time.

10:30 am

Ugh. I'm still so tired. Even after four days asleep and sleeping over 12 hours last night.

I drag myself out of bed and dress sluggishly, putting on a grey sweater and jeans. It's really hard to get dressed when you can't really stand up. But I decide to forgo the wheelchair, and make my way to the kitchen.

What I see from the doorway stops me short. Nico stands by the stove, cooking pancakes (he's really good at cooking, surprisingly). But what stops me isn't the delicious smell. It's what he's wearing.

Gear.

And he looks amazing in it, too. The fabric clings to his muscles in such a way that he looks, well, amazing!

As he turns and slides a crepe onto Simon's plate, his eyes meet mine. He blushes slightly and glances self consciously at himself. I give him a pleased smile and shake off my daze. Walking into the kitchen, Izzy notices me and immediately fills a plate with crepes and passes it to me. I sit down and begin to cover the first crepe in Nutella. As I take a bite Izzy begins to talk. "Did the bell wake you up? It was just Catarina Loss. She wanted to congratulate me on-" She falters and looks at Simon. He gives her an encouraging nod and she picks up from where she stopped. "she wanted to congratulate me on some demon slaying that she'd seen me do when I helped her clear out an infestation of them. This happened while you were asleep the other day." She adds, seeing my confused look. "So are you good? Like with the walking?" Swallowing, I nod, and scan the room. Jace and Clary are missing. And of course Mom and her husband are in Idris. Izzy talks to Nico and Simon, going on and on. I tune her out and concentrate on eating, until Jace comes into the kitchen.

"Mmm. Pancakes. Can I have a plate? Clary's tired, and I want to give her breakfast in bed."

"Sur-" Nico begins but Izzy cuts him off, a devilish smirk on her face.

"Not so fast, Lover Boy." Jace looks at her, with eyebrows raised. "Up for some hunting later?" I almost choke on my crepe. She never mentioned this to me. Her smile broadens. "A whole herd of them has been found down by the Long Island Sound." Nico makes a small strangled noise. I turn to look at him. He's looking at his hands in despair.

"Yeah. Sure." Jace says, determined to leave the room. He's gone before we can protest, not that we would.

"You- Don't need to go. Trust me." Nico says, in a strangled tone of voice. Izzy looks at him in astonishment.

"Why not? We're perfectly capable of handling them, if that's what you mean!" Nico shakes his head.

"I'm not insulting your ability to wield a sword. Just- Please, trust me. You don't have to go. My... Friends have it under control." Nico's voice is stronger now. Izzy is about to say something but Simon, perhaps seeing that Izzy might kill our guest, places his hand on her arm.

"C'mon, Iz. Let's go, and you can continue teaching me how to use a sword." Izzy sighs, takes Simon's arm, and strides out of the kitchen.

Nico turns off the stove and starts cleaning up, as if nothing had happened. When he's done, I offer to show him our training room. He shrugs.

"Sure. Not really like we could do anything else."

I lead him through the Institute until we reach the training room. Behind the door I can hear Simon panting and Izzy stamping her foot. Nico looks at me with a small grin and pushes the door open.

Izzy is holding a broadsword and trying to demonstrate the correct moves to Simon but he keeps on stuffing up. Nico walks over to Simon. "Not like that. Like this." Izzy watches him in... I'm actually not quite sure what that emotion is. Fascination?

While Izzy and Nico try to teach Simon, I walk over to the throwing knives. I pick one up and throw it with all my strength at the target. It hits just off the bullseye, but punches right through the wood. I pick up another blade and throw it. I lose myself in the throwing until I hear the sound of something dropping. I turn and am greeted with a comical scene. Simon's sword is at his feet, and he has a scowl on his face. Nico stands next to him. His arms are crossed, and he doesn't look to happy. Izzy stands a few feet away. She's poised for fighting. "Why doesn't HE show me! If he's good enough to teach me, then I want to see it!" Nico scowls and stalks away from Simon. He turns away, then turns back, holding his sword.

"Care to spar, Isabelle?" I snort quietly. Izzy is one of the best sword fighters of our generation. She just prefers other weapons, like her whip.

"Certainly." She replies, a devilish smirk on her face. Simon picks up his sword and retreats to a corner to watch this match. They circle each other, ready to pounce.

Izzy makes the first move.

A/N There you go! A mini cliffhanger for y'all. Thanks goes to _Lord_Hades_ , who posted like ten chapters of her book to get me to update. Who wants to hear my excuses?
So first off, school's being a pain and I have a crap load of homework like every night! Second, my cousins *cough_Lord_Hades_cough* have come for a week long visit and I've been spending as much time as I can with them, including an epic sleepover! But anyways, sorry for not updating for like two weeks.
And the other thing I wanted to say is RIP Michele Ferrero, creator of the best things in life. I know I'm a little late, but this amazing man created Nutella. He created NUTELLA! FREAKING NUTELLA! And Ferrero Rochers, and Bueno Air chocolate bars, but I'm focusing on Nutella. But yeah. RIP the best man in the chocolate industry, except maybe Willy Wonka.
-Apollo