Heroes of Olympus (The Throne of Stone)

Chapter 45 Twin Monks

Chapter 45

Twin Monks

 

Nico

They seriously need to understand that I’m a very busy dude. Like, I can’t even sleep anymore without being interrupted. Like tonight, I had just gotten into bed, collapsed is the right word. And then she appears in my window. And yes, she freaked the heck out of me. I’m pretty sure that what I first said was not very nice. She ripped open the window.

“You’re so not going to bed right now are you?” Gwen said peeking in my room. “Whoa, it’s weird when you’re the only person here.” Her eyes were on the edge of being bloodshot, and I thought I needed to sleep.

“You do know that there is not a McDonald’s sale right now, so coming to my window just to wake me up is not a valid reason to wake me up.”

“Hola Nico, I would think that you were naturally nocturnal or something funky like that. I thought that you wouldn’t even need sleep, that you were some kind of vampire. You certainly look like one.” Gwen teased smirking at me.

“Okay then, unless there is a bomb that will detonate in the next 30 seconds, leave me alone. Please, oh gods, just let me sleep.” I fell back on my bed. “Just..go away.”

“So you tell me you’re not worried in the slightest for your sister?” Gwen glared at me.

“Of course I’m worried. That’s completely normal, but that should not mean that I should waste my precious sleeping time on talking to you. Honestly, don’t you get tired?”

“I have gotten used to the weird tired feeling but it has started to become normal for me. Even breathing makes me tired now. Like taking air into my lungs takes effort.” Gwen shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter. Hazel should be able to come home soon.”

“I don’t think that that’s gonna happen. I have a feeling we’re gonna have to go after them. No doubt they’ve buried themselves up to their necks in trouble, we’ll just have to dig them out again.” I sighed. “But I’m getting tired of doing this. I have no idea how Percy does it.” Seriously he must have some other power of like….I dunno, self control. Which can’t be right because he’s such a weirdo most of the time.

“Percy’s a derp, just have to say it. He probably is so hyped with being ADHD he doesn’t notice the fact that he’s being a derp anymore. And that adds on with the fact that he’s a boy, which automatically makes you that much weirder.” Gwen analyzed.

“I could say the same for you, girls are weird.” I closed my eyes, staring into the backs of my eyelids. “What do you want from me anyway?”

“I dunno. I was bored. Sam’s gone so there’s no one to annoy anymore, you were the next best thing. There was another reason but I can’t remember it right now…. Please hold…” Gwen tapped her temple, deep in thought. “Um, let me get back to you on that one, okay?”

“Sure, fine. Whatever.” I said,with my eyes still closed. Gwen crawled over me and laid down next to me, “What are you doing?” I opened my eyes again.

“Copying you.” She said, closing her eyes. “I’m trying to remember what it’s like to sleep.” She sighed, “It’s a release, not having to think about multiple things at once. Not worrying, is this what those funky monk dudes do? Maybe I should have shaved my head earlier. Or maybe it’s the whole having your head shaved that gives you all this calmness.”

“I’m still not going to shave my head if that’s what you’re trying to do.” I said closing my eyes again. Gwen laughed.

“Aw, come on! We could be twin monks together!” She smiled. “Just the two of us off in some weird resort place, where we could wallow in the boredom of it all. I would much rather be bored than almost dead like I typically am.” Her smile disappeared, “You know what’s funny, if I could magically not have cancer, I wouldn’t change a thing. Having cancer made me separate from other people, make me take a step back from the world. It made me understand so much more. I think being closer to death, makes you understand what death really is.” That gave me a chill. Was she talking about me? You know, me being a son of Hades, a son of death? Was that what she was implying? Or was I really overthinking everything again? I decided not to mention it. “You being a son of Hades, you have to know what it’s like to let go right? To let go of life? You have been through so much, in fact all of us demigods have been so close to dying for the last couple of days, there are so many who are undergoing the shock of growing closer to the realization of death."

“Jeez, you’re deep Gwen!” I joked about it. But she was probably right. All of the blank faces of the campers must be them undergoing the shock. This was their realization. Mine was years ago, after Bianca died. I understood the cruelness of this world. That there was no mercy for the innocent, no matter how deep it sounds when you think it, it’s true. It’s always there, like a shadow, whether you accept it or not. I really didn’t want to talk about it, death is depressing after all, and I was growing to like the happy Gwen. She was always smiling, and trying to get on my nerves, but it was like taking off the wig, when you got to see what  was underneath her disguise that you figured out what she was really like. I still liked her that way, but was it wrong to love what she wasn’t?

~

Sunlight panned from outside my window, illuminating the darkness of my cabin. Warmth was covering my right side. Then I realized that the warmth was breathing. Gwen had fallen asleep next me. I looked over at her. She was curled up, lying on her side, her hands resting under her head. Her wig was crooked and I straightened it for her. She flinched and started laughing. Laughing really hard.

“Wait, you’re ticklish?!” I grinned. Her eyes flew open.

“No I’m not!” She said in between giggles. “I didn’t give you permission to tickle me to begin with!” I touched her shoulder and gave her another fit of giggles. Her laughing seemed to make me smile, I don’t know why. But her face smiling and laughing...made me happy too.