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"Paris?" Annabeth touched my arm lightly.
"Hmm?" I didn't even bother to glance up at her. I was sitting beside Nico's infirmary bed, holding his hand and waiting for him to open his eyes. It had been twenty-three hours and forty-eight minutes since we'd been transported from Hades' Palace by the god of the dead himself.
"Hungry?"
"A little."
"Why don't you come eat something? Connor and Travis have been dying to plan a new prank with you," She tempted me.
"What if he wakes up and I'm not here?" Okay, how corny did that sound?
"Why would that matter? He's not, like, going to forget who you are when he wakes up and fall in love with the first face he sees, you know," Annabeth teased me, grinning mischievously. She had good right to. I was being stupid, I realized.
"Sometimes I wonder how you're not a child of Hermes," I shook my head and playfully sighed at her.
"Annabeth is right," The tall daughter of Apollo, who had been caring for Nico since we gotten back from the Underworld, reasoned. She was truly pretty, I thought. Long, dark chocolate hair that seemed to shimmer (though in a natural way, not like Thalia's), deep brown almond eyes, full rose colored lips and skin of alabaster. She spoke in a calm, smooth way that I admired, wishing I could pull it off, but I figured if I started talking like that the Stolls' would laugh at me and that always drove me insane since I was supposed to be the one laughing at them....
"He'll be fine with Ava," Annabeth pointed out. "It'll only take half an hour...."
"I guess it couldn't--NICO!" I gasped, all thought of a greasy gooey slice of supreme pizza with extra green olives evaporated as his eyes opened and he blinked in the sudden sunlight.
"Hey," His greeting was slurred. He smiled up at me blearily, giving my hand the tiniest, fleeting squeeze that could've just been a twitch.
"Hey," I smiled at him. "It's nice to see you awake again."
"S'nice to see you again," His half-grin was lopsided.
"Ah, young love," Ava sighed dreamily.
I shot a look in her direction. She held her hands up in mock surrender. I stuck my tongue out at her. She imitated me.
"You guys!" Annabeth chided. "Knock it off!"
"Are you going to your evening swim lesson with Percy or not?" I brought up a touchy subject. Oh, teasing Annabeth was so entertaining. Her face got all angry and red, and her eyebrows glared in a way that made me want to burst out laughing.
"Why? So you and Nico can--"
"You have to take swim lessons?" Nico smirked impishly at my sister. I'd forgotten how much I missed the scorn in his voice.
"Shut up!" She blushed and glowered at Nico.
"It's okay, Annabeth. Everyone has to start somewhere," His tone implied his continued ridicule of her.
"And where did you start, oh godly one?" Annabeth has got to be the queen of sarcasm. Well, except for me. I'm the king...uh, god?
"The River Styx," He smiled smugly. His dark eyes were sparkling with humor.
