What If Three Days Meant Forever?

Compromise

Nico POV

"So, your boyfriend was stalking me today."

Monique says this to me as her, Hazel, and I begin to settle in for bed. Monique was nice enough to give her bed to Hazel and get herself a blow up mattress, though for a few moments was confused on the concept, assuming it would explode in the middle of the night.

I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"We were at the park at the same time today and I'm giving him a hard time about it. No biggie." She answers as me and Hazel laugh.

"That's something you would do." I say.

"Yep." Hazel agrees. "So how has everything been so far?"

"Not too bad." I report. "How were things at camp?"

"We still send out groups to try and find Leo." She answers glumly. "Nothing yet." Monique and I nod at the information.

"And things with you and Frank?" Monique asks, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Hazel blushes with a smile. "We're doing good. He's doing amazing at being praetor. I'm really proud of him."

"And?" I ask, noticing some hesitation in her voice.

She looks up for a moment before looking back down shyly. "It's nothing, really. Just... I don't know, sometimes I feel like I'm a little... boring."

I frown at her words. "You're like, the most interesting person in the world. What do you mean boring?"

She shakes her head slightly. "I guess just... Me being from the 1930s makes me less likely to... Do things, like, sexually." She says, trying to look anywhere but our faces.

I frown again, feeling my cheeks heat up, giving way to how awkward I feel about this. "Is Zhang pressuring you?" I ask, unintentionally deepening my voice, making Monique snort.

"No, of course not!" Hazel says, fanning her face slightly. "Some of the other girls at camp were just talking and I got to thinking maybe... Maybe we should be doing more."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Haze." Monique chimes in gently. "Plus, Frank seems like he would be fine with anything you're fine with."

"He just wants you to be happy." I say, throwing her a friendly smile.

"Plus it helps that he's scared of Neeks." Monique adds.

"That too." I agree. "And Hazel, you're only thirteen. He's not going to make you do anything. And if he does, he knows the consequences."

"Oh, hush." She says with a smile. "Let's just go to bed."

"Ah, ah, ah," Monique tuts, turning around to face me. "What's up with you and Prince Charming?"

"Prince Charming?" I ask in incredulously.

"Well, yeah. He's white and basically sweeps you off your feet, so he's Prince Charming. Perfect Disney Prince material." Hazel and I laugh at her logic.

"Nothing really. A bit of a, ah, disagreement." I say kind of quietly.

"Sticking with the Disney theme of the conversation, I can't understand you when you mumble." I roll my eyes at Monique's words.

"We're just disagreeing." I say, this time a little louder. "Sort of. I'm okay with whatever he's okay with, you know? As long as he's comfortable, but I wish he'd stop tiptoeing around his mom so much and just talk with her. Not even come out, just talk."