Finding Home

Chapter 26 - Finally

"Nico! I just made a huge mistake!" I shouted as I burst into his room, knowing he was alone because Will was off world.

He popped his head over his nest and sighed when he saw the panic on my face. "Sit. Talk to me. What happened?"

"I kissed him! Gods, I am such an idiot!" I exclaimed, running my hands through my hair.

"Whoa! Hold up! You kissed him?" Nico asked, shock written all over his face.

I nodded. "I mean, on the cheek, but still! He's gonna hate me, Neeks! What do I do?"

"Maybe talk to him," Nico suggested. "You can't just kiss someone and then ghost them."

I bit my lip nervously. "I don't think I can stand another Annabeth," I said quietly. "I can't see the hate."

Nico sighed. "How about we ask Bianca if he hates you? Then you talk to him."

He didn't give me time to respond before leaving the room. He came back a few minutes later, Bianca following close behind. "What," she asked, "is so important? I was talking to Loki."

I started to hyperventilate at his name, my eyes squeezed shut, and my hands gripping my head.

"Oh," she breathed quietly as she noticed me having my anxiety attack. "Nico, panic room. Now."

His eyes widened and the next instant, I was sitting in the center of my panic room, my powers reacting to my emotions. Bianca sat in front of me calmly. "Percy, look at me."

I looked up, tears falling from my eyes. "He hates me, doesn't he?" I asked quietly. "I screwed everything up."

She looked at me sadly. "No, Percy, he doesn't hate you."

My eyes widened in surprise and I wiped my eyes. "He doesn't?"

"No. You should talk to him."

I nodded slowly. My tears stopped falling. My powers calmed down. I stood up and flashed back to the common room, where Piper and Luke were knocking on my door worriedly. When they saw me, they rushed forward and Piper gave me a huge hug.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "We heard about what happened and we were so worried about you!"

"What, why?"

"We knew you were probably overthinking everything," Luke said, while Piper just continued to squeeze the life out of me.

"Oh, right," I said. "Look, Pipes, I've got to talk to Loki, so could you please let me go?"

She released me and pushed me lightly in the direction of Loki's room. "Go get your man, Blue," she said, a teasing lilt to her voice.

I rolled my eyes and hesitantly knocked on Loki's door. He answered immediately, his expression brightening when he saw me. That is, until he saw my tearstained eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, leading me into his room.

"You don't hate me, right? Bianca says you don't but that doesn't mean you actually don't." My voice was quiet and timid, afraid of rejection.

He shook his head with a soft smile. "Never."

I sighed in relief.

"What happened in your past to make you scared of love?" Loki asked.

"I never said I was scared," I mumbled.

He just laughed softly. "You ran away from me after showing a small amount of affection."

I sighed. "Before I became immortal, I was a demigod son of Poseidon. I led two wars, winning both of them for the gods. After that, however, my friends turned on me. I had a fiancée. She broke up with me. If you would've seen the look on her face, you would've sworn off love too."