IF TIME STOPS 『nico di angelo x reader』

Chapter 5: My Brother Doesn't Know Who I Am

WEEKS LATER

You sat by the shore, watching the sea lap over each other as they enjoy their last swim before they frost into ice. The smell of the sea had always calmed you down ever since you were little, but the smell of Christmas was starting to cover the scent of salt water. On the horizon, the sun was dipping slowly, making the sky look like a meadow of roses and lavenders. You sighed, tugging forward the sleeves of your hoodie — well, Will's extremely big hoodie, that is — to hide your cold fingers. Every breath you let out created a faint puff of smoke, faint to notice but definitely there. Right there, by the sea, you could already feel November ending. Usually, unwanted weather doesn't make it inside the camp (You learnt that three weeks ago when you first came). If it rained, it'd just swerve the other direction beyond camp. But I guess demigods like snow just as much as they like sunny weather. You looked up, holding out your palm to catch a tiny snow flake from the sky.

"When will he come?" You mumbled tiredly. Your nose was red and you had been sitting on the empty shore for more than an hour. Hanging your head low, you let out a sigh. Will probably forgot even though he was the one who told you to meet him here, or there could be an emergency at the infirmary. One of those two cases could be true, but you settled for the latter.

You stood on your feet, brushing away the sand that stuck to you knees and walked back to the common area where most of the campers hang out. You saw Miranda Gardiner trying to wake up Clovis from their porch. You saw Clarisse from the Ares cabin walk around with Chris Rodriguez hand in hand. You saw the famous seven demigods who saved the world hanging out by the tree, all looking extremely happy with each other's company. Two of the seven were missing though, Jason Grace and the girl who provided my clothes for the first day, Piper McLean. Apparently they're both in New Rome at the moment, taking exams for college.Then you saw the Stoll siblings trying to pick the lock of the camp store.

By the door of the Apollo cabin, Will stood on their porch in deep conversation with a kid from the Hephaestus cabin. He glanced at you and took a double take, his eyes wide. Will turned back to kid and talked to him, pointing to you. The kid nodded and took a seat by the coffee table that was outside the Apollo cabin. Will ran to you, huffing. His blue eyes covered in guilt for leaving you unannounced by the beach.

"Hey," You smiled, brushing out the tufts of blonde hair that fell down on his forehead.

"Hi! I'm so sorry!" He apologized, wrapping his arms around your neck in a quick embrace. "Some Hephaestus kids got burned trying to fix Peleus."

You laughed as he pulled away, "It's cool, I understand. You should go do your doctor thing, I'll talk to you later."

He nodded, grinning. "You should go have some fun too. See ya later!" Will waved goodbye, running back to Harley who sat patiently by the porch.

You looked around wondering where you should go and decided to make fun with the brothers. It took awhile for you to realize that they weren't twins, but rather that they look extremely alike. You couldn't even figure out who's who without looking at them individually.

You silently walked to them, planning to surprise them from behind. You were so engrossed with your plan, you didn't see another person coming from the side.

"I'm so sorry!" You gasped, bending down to help the camper pick up the papers that he dropped.

You heard him chuckle, "It's fine." His voice was familiar, but you couldn't quite place it. Then you looked up and almost fell on your back. It was him. Dark hair, tan skin, a mischievous smile playing on his lips, and those familiar sea green eyes.

"P-percy." You stuttered, surprised. "Oh gods, it was you. I'm sorry."

Percy raised an eyebrow, amusement in his eyes. "(Y/n) it's perfectly fine. Am I hurt? No, right? I'm perfectly fine."