Pernico - Survivor

Ch.8 Wanna Spar?

I put a bit of Jiper in there because I ship them so hard!!!

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Percy's P.O.V

I silently turned the door knob and looked up. There, sitting on the floor, was Nico. He had his head in between his knees, and was sweating. The way he had his eyes closed told me that it was most likely from a nightmare.

"Hey, Nico. Calm down, it's going to be alright." I sat down beside him and began rubbing circles into his back. The second that my hand made contact, he whipped his head to face me. His eyes stared strait into my soul, giving me the rare opportunity to see into his a little bit. There were many different memories and experiences hidden deep in the puzzle that was Nico's eyes, but the most prominent thing that I could see was pain. Nico was hurting, and I wanted to know why. I raised my eyebrow at him, only for him to quickly lower his gaze to the floor as of he wasn't allowed to look at me or something. What was going on?

"Nico? What's wrong?" I asked, cautiously. Nico slowly brought his eyes up to meet mine again, but only for a split second before dropping his gaze again.

"Nothing... Just a nightmare." He muttered and began to unsteadily get to his feet. I grabbed his arm and helped him up. He carefully took a few steps before gently lowering himself onto his bed.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"Yeah..." He muttered, before wrapping himself up in blankets. He looked exhausted, with huge black bags under his eyes, which he could barely keep open. Maybe I should just let him sleep and try to find answers in the morning... I walked over to his bed and pulled a second cover over his now shivering frame. Then I did something that I wasn't even expecting; I kissed his forehead, and then walked out of his cabin, shutting the lights off behind me.

Once I was outside I smiled at the split second decision that I made. I was feeling pretty good about myself, that is, until Clarisse had to ruin it. She was standing over by her cabin putting up a big poster advertising a tournament. Sure, I love tournaments, I just didn't love the little picture she taped up beside the picture. It was a blurry picture of me with Nico in my arms from when he passed out on the beach. She wrote beside the picture something about me going soft, and not being able to beat her anymore. That made my blood boil! Just because I was helping out someone who I cared for, doesn't mean I'm going soft! I needed to win this tournament, to show her that I'm the same as before, if not better. I let out a huff, and then made my way down to the training arena to get some practice in before I had to go to sleep. Plus training will help me think over my decision about taking my dad's offer. Right now, I was leaning towards accepting it, because I don't think II'll ever be offered something this important from my dad ever again. But there's a little voice in the back of my mind telling me to stay. I don't really have anyone to keep me here anymore, and the tournament will be over by the end of tomorrow, so why should I stay?

I had just slashed through another practice dummy when I heard footsteps. I looked over to the entrance to see a smiling blond kid who responded to the name of Jason.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"Same as you, I assume, getting some practice in before the tournament tomorrow." He smiled.

"Wanna spar?" I raised my eyebrow at him. His response came so fast, I knew that he was expecting the question.

"Duh!"

I grabbed a sip of water from my water bottle as he flipped his coin into a sword. Then we began. I came out strong, on the offensive side. I slashed at his sword arm and just managed to nick it before he spun out of my reach. He then smirked at me as he snuck a hit it on my leg. Yeah, it stung a bit, but it would hurt my ego more if I lost to Jason. I quickly took on the offensive side again and faked slashing at his sword arm again and swung at his shoulder. I knew I had hit my mark when a grunt escaped his lips. Now it was my turn to smirk. We carried on for a few hours, him getting a few hits in, and then me getting a few in. It was a fairly even match, like it usually was, until he began to tire. I could see his movements getting slower and slower. I made a wide swing at his legs and then quickly jabbed at his sword hand and twisted my sword. The arena was suddenly filled with applause as Jason's sword hit the ground. We both looked to the stands to see Piper sitting there calmly with her legs crossed.

"Great fight! I love the way you stick your tongue out a bit when you concentrate." She smiled at me.

"Wow! You complement him, but not your own boyfriend?" Jason pouted playfully.

"I will complement you..." She started.

"Will?" Jason asked.

"When you finally win." She stated. Jason held his hands to his chest in fake pain. Piper began laughing as she descended from the stands towards us. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before taking a few steps away.

"No hug?" Jason teased.

"Not when you're sweaty." Piper smiled and pinched her nose playfully.

"How long have you been sitting there?" I asked her.

"An hour and a bit. I really do enjoy watching you guys spar. It's... interesting." She replied, as she glanced lustfully at Jason, who was madly drinking from his water bottle. I decided to leave the two love birds alone, so I grabbed my stuff and started back to my cabin. I was going to need all the rest I could get for tomorrow.

Nico's P.O.V

I was pacing my room until I got too dizzy to continue. It felt as if my heart was being stabbed repeatedly and then stomped on. Why am I doomed to die alone? I sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at myself in my mirror. My hair was a mess, my skin was so pale I was starting to look like a vampire, and my bones were sticking out. Overall, I was disgusting. I stood up quickly and grabbed my aviator jacket before leaving my cabin. Maybe some fresh air would help clear these dark thoughts out of my head... Or maybe not, but at least I would b moving. My ADHD has gotten really bad lately. I began walking towards the beach but some movement in the woods made me change my course. I stealthily snuck through the trees and bushes until I was close enough to clearly see what it was that I was up against. It was a hell hound, just a small one, it shouldn't be too much trouble. I quickly jumped out and stabbed at it's chest. It turned to dust easily. That was actually kind of boring... I was a little tired out just from the walk here, so I climbed the tree and leaned against the trunk. I felt my eyes closing and this time, I didn't even have the energy to stop them...

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There is chapter 8! Thanks for the reads and votes! (My iPod didn't let me see the amount of comments, but that's beside the point.) Anyways, I hope to get another update done before next Friday, but it is exam time to I'll try my best. :) -T