Don't Fade Away: A Solangelo Fanfiction 2

Chapter 26: Nail Polish and TV

"So, she remembered that she had a sister because of me?" Rachel asked.

"Basically. I guess you kind of look like Nora." Nico told her.

"Well, I'm happy that I helped her remember, then." She said, adding more paint to her cave wall. "Where's Will at, by the way?"

"Oh, he's watching TV in his cabin, apparently. He said there wasn't anything to do today."

"Really? Well, I was wondering why he wasn't with you. You guys are practically attached at the hip."

"We are not!" Nico argued.

She laughed. "Oh, really? You guys are always hanging out together, it's rare when you're not."

"We're dating! People who date generally hang out together!"

"You're literally the only couple that sit together during mealtimes."

"That's because Chiron let us!"

"Okay, Nico. Anyways, I was going to ask you. Do you have any theories on what happened to her? What has Rosemary told us?"

"Will told me not to suggest anything to her, because it might give her false memories, so we can't say anything to her, okay?"

"Okay."

"Okay. So, the first thing she told me when we met up was that she liked being in the Lotus Casino, that it kept out the bad things, and that she liked forgetting. Then, when she asked me about Bianca, she said that she felt weird. She doesn't like facing away from doors, and she wants to be next to them at all times. When the Hermes cabin had the lights off, she started freaking out and sobbing. Then, when she was talking to you, she remembered her sister called Nora. That's all."

"Hmm." Rachel said, a hand covered in paint touching her chin. "Well, not wanting to face away from doors and wanting to be next to them is a sign of trauma or anxiety."

"I know. I deal with both."

"You could ride the fear of the dark off as a fear of a young child, especially a child of Apollo's fear, but she had such a strong reaction. She remembers general things from when she was from, right? Like the era?"

"Yeah. She just doesn't remember her life specifically, if that makes sense."

"Well, it's good to analyze all the facts, and lay them all out, like what we just did. It definitely does seem like something bad happened to her, though. It's really weird, because even with people who block out traumatic events, it's only the events that get blocked off. Not your whole life."

"Well, she's only 6. She probably would only remember things up to a certain point, anyways."

"Yeah. It's still weird, though....." She looked lost in thought for a moment. "I guess the best thing we can do is wait for her to remember things on her own for a little longer, and if that doesn't do anything, then we can talk to Mr. D. 

"Yeah."

"Oh!" Rachel said, all of a sudden. "I almost forgot! I found something that might suit your aesthetic."

"My aesthetic?"

"Yeah, like your style. The all black thing you got going on." She put her hand in her pocket and dug out a bottle.

"Black nail polish." She said, putting her hand out for him to take it. "I thought it would look good on you."

Nico took it from her. "I thought girls wore nail polish."