Secrets....

𝐂 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐮𝐭𝐬

'Sᴛᴀʀs,' sʜᴇ ᴡʜɪsᴘᴇʀᴇᴅ. 'I ᴄᴀɴ sᴇᴇ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀʀs ᴀɢᴀɪɴ, ᴍʏ ʟᴀᴅʏ.'

«🇵 🇪 🇷 🇨 🇾 »

"So was he bad or good?" A boy asked.  Son of Nike, probably.

"He plays the role of the good guy. Or the 'hero'. But he is actually.... bad? I don't know. I'm not good at explaining these things," I explained. "Hercules did heroic things but his personality stops me from seeing him as a hero. He did what he had to. Anybody would've done the same if they were in his place. But just happened to be heroic to listen to. So he was just lucky. Now you tell me, is he good or bad?"

"Depends on whose side he is. If an enemy arises and teams up with them then he's bad. If his loyalty would lie with Olympus then he is good," The boy answered.

"That's it? Geez. You should see more of him. Like, his honesty, kindness and so on. By what you said, even Octavian would be good!" I told him.

"So he's good? Got it." He deadpanned.

I just sighed and dismissed the class. Nike and her children insist on classifying everything. For them, the world is black and white. No gray.

I sat at the poseidon table and thought about Lee. He was good at explaining things to kids. Man, I miss him.

As I ate my food, I noticed that Nico wasn't there. I've got to check him. I quickly finished lunch, did the dishes, recieved a couple of 'thank you's from the nymphs and headed towards the Hades cabin.

For a second, I was confused. Should I just knock? Should I check for some noises to make sure Nico was really there?

No. Not that. What if Nico was masterbating or something?

So I knocked.

Knock knock. No reply.

I gently opened the door and took in the scene.

Nico was was sobbing mess. His eyes were red and puffy. His face was sticky with tears. His whole body was sweating.

I grabbed a blanket and wrapped him in it like a burrito. Then I hugged him. Tight. Super tight.

The blanket was there because if he had a panic attack by direct touches blanket would help. A lot.

We stayed like that for a minute. I could feel his breath against my chest. His heartbeat racing. Silent tears falling on shirt but I didn't bother drying it.

"Why-why are you here? Like here?" Nico asked.

"Because I care. I'm here for you Nico. I'll always be." I replied.

"You weren't there when I needed someone the most. You weren't there when I wasn't over Bianca's death. You weren't there when I was suffering from the nightmares of Tartarus. Sure, I didn't fall. But even being near it gave me nightmares. You weren't there when I needed-" Nico weeped but I zoned out.

More like, faded into a flashback.

Fʟᴀsʜʙᴀᴄᴋ~

Annabeth and I were dangling on the cliff. I held Annbeth on one hand and held on to the cliff with the other.

My fingers started sweating. I was losing hope. Memories flashed by my mind. Grover. Tyson. Mom. Paul. Rachel. They were counting on me. And so many more. I couldn't give up.

I gathered all my last strength and gave it a go. I had never done it before. I didn't even know if it would work. Now would be the worst time to figure out it doesn't.