And No One Gets Hurt (A Percy Jackson AU)

Chapter 24- Nico

Why Hello, there, lovely readers.

Nico shouldn't have made that promise. He should've known by now. Promises led to nothing but trouble. And he had more than enough of that already.

"Come on!" He waved to them. His voice was barely a whisper but they both understood him. Coach Hedge was frozen, his eyes wide. Nico could see the pain in them, all the confliction he was battling. It was a hard thing to see. It made Nico's stomach twist sickly.

Gleeson Hedge was a teacher. He'd been there since before...Bianca... had come to this school. Nico knew that, even though he'd never had the coach or even talked to him. The same way that the gym teacher knew him--just a name and a face in a sea of names and faces in a pit of despair that had swallowed them all up that morning for real this time.

Nico, like all the other kids (except maybe Leo, now that Nico was vainly thinking about it. Leo was an oddball), had seen a teacher and an adult that could...somehow keep them safe. They'd all forgotten that Gleeson Hedge was just a gym teacher. Not a miracle worker, not a superhero. Nico could bet his short, profoundly miserable existence that the coach was even more scared than all of them put together.

Zoe Nightshade had taken him down with one quick movement and shot kids in the hallway. And Now he was trapped in this nightmare realm and had promised all of the survivors that they would get out.

Bullshit. Nico called it.

"Reyna!" Nico called. Coach Hedge grabbed her arm, and pulled her down the side hallway. Her eyes were narrowed, her mouth a straight line that said everything better than words.

The coach shot a ferrous glance around the corridor, his worn sneakers making surprisingly no sound for a man his weight. "Di Angelo, let me carry him!" He hissed.

Nico shifted Leo's surprisingly light weight in his arms. Even in this askew situation, Nico's face flared up at the thought of his deadweight. This was no time to be thinking about Nico's stupid emotions. And he was thankful that in the sway of the adrenaline rushing his veins, his furiously blushing cheeks could be misinterpreted for his breathlessness.

"It's fine, Coach." Nico huffed quietly, "I've got this."

"Damn, Di Angelo!" The old man muttered, "You're just like your sister!"

Nico's heart stopped, unsure if he'd heard correctly. "Bianca?"

Reyna peeked around the corner, her braid fading over her shoulder. She tried to look like she wasn't paying attention, but Nico could see her almond eyes darting back to them.

The gym instructor wheezed, "Hell, she was just a stubborn as you! I remember this one time she had a doctor's note that excused her a week, and that little cupcake was sneaking off the bench every time my back was turned so she could participate in class! I should've made you all do more laps!"

"No thanks..." Leo coughed, "I'm quite okay."

"Shaddup, Valdez. I should've made you run even more yesterday!"

Nico was at a lost for words. Bianca...her name pricked his heart drawing blood that flooded the floor. With one breath it felt like she was nearby again. And it hurt. It hurt like Hell. Actually he would've preferred to have been shot like Piper. Leo slid out of his arms leaning only on his left shoulder. Though Nico couldn't remember if it was his doing or Leo's himself.

"She...she was brave." Nico whispered quietly.

It wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the truth about his sister. His perfect older sister. Bianca wasn't just brave, or kind, or pretty, or any of the mundane words that the English language had for those things. Nico had honest to goodness looked up to her in every way.