Solangelo 4

Part 28

NICO

Will and I walk arm in arm to Thalia's tree where Percy, Leo and Annabeth wait for us. I'm still not sold on the jacket.
'Nico, you clean up well.' Annabeth says, 'you guys look amazing.'
'You look great, Annabeth.' Will says, 'blue suits you.'
'Yeah well, seaweed brain here likes his blue.' Annabeth says, nudging Percy lightly. He's smiling, clearly in love with her.
'You do look great.' He says.
'Leo you look amazing too.' Leo says to himself, 'now that that's all done, let's go so I can figure out why I don't remember my amazing, hot girlfriend.'
We load into Percy's car and drive to the school. It takes about an hour. I spend the entire journey with my head on Will's shoulder, half asleep.
When we finally get there, it's easier to sneak in than I thought it'd be. We load into the gym with a hundred kids our age. All dressed up and dancing.
'I take it back, this is my worst nightmare.' I say, staring ahead.
'I think it's fun.' Will says, smiling.
'You recognise anything, Leo?' Annabeth asks. She stands next to me, looking st the crowd of kids.
'No.' He says.
'It looks weird us all standing here.' I say, 'we've got to split up.'
'We could dance.' Will says, and I shoot daggers at him, but it's too late.
'Good idea.' Annabeth says, 'we'll be able to see faces then. Leo, you come with me. Percy you double check there's no one in any classrooms or corridors.'
'Yes ma'am.' Percy says, hurrying off.
'And you guys...just stay close.' Annabeth says. She and Leo start dancing their way to the middle of the floor, leaving Will and I alone.
'May I have this dance?' He asks, jokingly.
'Are you actually serious?' I ask. I feel my cheeks burning red.
'Deadly.' He says. After a moment I take hold of his hand and lead him onto the dance floor. It's a slow song and I keep it easy. My arms rest on Will's shoulders. His are around my waist.
'You look really pretty.' He says.
'Pretty?' I ask.
'So pretty.' He says. I kiss him quickly. Lightly.
'You look pretty too.' I say.
'I remember the first time I saw you. You crash landed with my dad.' He says.
'In his bus.' I agree.
'There were so many people, and it was the first time I'd seen my dad in person before, but I still saw you.' He says. I like listening to him, 'you were small and you were moving about a lot. On your feet. You couldn't keep still.'
'Still can't.' I say, 'ADHD. We've all got it.'
'It was more excitement though. You just seemed so...excited.' He says.
'A lot's happened since then.' I say, looking off into the distance.
'Sometimes I still see you like that. Just for little moments. Like when you're really into capture the flag. Or on the verge of figuring something out. Or when you try to explain things to me and I just don't get it.' He says.
'I hate thinking back to that time. With Bianca... Gods...it's so long ago.' I say, 'I didn't realise how long it's been. I wish you'd met her. Properly.'
'Me too.' I say.
Just then Annabeth and Leo show up. Leo has his arm around Annabeth and hobbles towards us.
'What happened?' I ask.
'Twisted ankle.' Will says before they say anything, 'you guys keep dancing, I'll deal with this.' Annabeth hands Leo over to Will and they hurry off the dance floor.
'He's that bad at dancing?' I ask.
'Worse.' She says. We stand opposite each other for a moment, awkwardly waiting for the other one to initiate something. So I do. I hold out my hand, and she accepts. While before I Let Will lead, I'm now the one leading.
'You're not actually bad at this.' She says, impressed.
'That's a weird compliment.' I say.
'Sorry. You're good.' She corrects herself.
'My mum used to teach me and Bianca.' I explain as I continue to lead, 'Bianca was always much better though.'
'Well it's a lot better than Leo.' She says, 'and Percy is an amazing fighter, but he can't dance for his life. I'm usually the one leading him.'
'Well I'm happy to be of service.' I say. I look at her and find she's smiling at me, 'What?'
'Nothing.' She says quickly.
'No, what?' I ask again.
'You just seem really happy.' She says, 'and so much more confident. I can't imagine you ever dancing with me before tonight.'
'Somehow it never felt like quite the right time for dancing.' I say.
'Not when I was falling into Tartarus?' She jokes.
'The mood was off.' I joke back. We keep dancing for a bit longer.
'I really like Will.' She says.
'I like him too.' I say, 'he makes me better.'
'You make each other better.' She says, 'I know this is going to sound patronising, and I'm sorry, but I have to say it...it's just...it's amazing how much you've grown. Even just from the war. You're just so much more confident and self assured. It's amazing to see.'
'Thank you.' I say, smiling. It's odd talking so candidly with Annabeth, but it doesn't feel wrong, 'I definitely feel better.'
'So do I.' She says.
'Maybe we shouldn't have been fighting in a war while we were still kids.' I say.
'Maybe not.' She agrees.
And then, interrupting our dance and conversation, Percy comes rushing into the dance floor.
'Go, go, go!' He says, taking my arm in one hand and Annabeth's in the other and leading us away as quickly as he can.
'What's going on?' Annabeth asks.
'Percy, What the hell?' I say.
'No time, no time.' He insists, 'come on.'
'I need to get Will.' I say.
'You and me need to get out of here.' He insists, dragging us out the room and into the corridor, 'Will and Leo will be fine, they won't be able to find them. They'll be able to find us though.'
'What do you mean they'll be able to find us?' I ask.
'We're Hades and Poseidon.' He says quickly.
'Percy, who are we running from?' Annabeth asks. But before he can answer, we grind to a halt. We've turned the corner, and at the other end stand six girls in tattered dresses.
'Hiya Percy.' One of them says, waving, 'introduce me to your friends.'
'Kelly.' Percy says, under his breathe. And in an instant all three of us have our weapons out, ready to fight.