memory (hiatus)

Chapter 18: I'm Gold!

Hazel's POV:

Hazel squirmed a bit as Nico helped her put the white comb in her dark curls. "Done?"

It was October 20th, after their self defense class, and time for Chicago.

Nico gave her a rare smile. "Yeah."

"Thanks!" Hazel said, dusting off her flouncy pink dress. "Who knew you were so good at this? You should do mine for homecoming too."

Nico froze. "Homecoming?"

"Yeah, homecoming is a thing you know. It's Friday, the 26th." Hazel had seen it in the homecoming committee flyers all over the school. 

"Five days before Halloween?" Nico looked annoyed by that. 

"Yeah. And they still haven't decided on the theme," Hazel said. 

"Mm." Nico started to walk her to the door. 

Hazel paused and turned back. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

Nico's eyes darkened. "No. Have fun!"

He practically shut the door after that. 

Hazel was confused. Why didn't Nico want to come? She couldn't figure him out. He could be caring and kind, then suddenly brooding and sulking. 

Hazel knocked on the Zeus mansion where they were all supposed to meet up. Annabeth greeted her at the door, her blond hair tucked into a bun, with a delicate pink flower. She wore a grey blazer and pants. 

"Hi Hazel," Annabeth said, letting her in. 

"Hi," Hazel said. 

Piper almost toppled off the stairs, her high heeled boots sending her down. She wore a green dress, and her hair was curled fancily. "Hi Hazel. As you can see, these boots will be the death of me."

"Well they'll probably be good for stomping on somebody," Annabeth remarked, bringing Percy out of the kitchen. 

"Why are you wearing them?" Hazel said. Piper tended to wear simpler things, and Hazel wouldn't have pegged her as a heels girl.

Piper smiled bitterly. "They're another feeble attempt of my mom to get me to Aphrodite land. It's going to take way more than that for her to be in my life."

Hazel wanted to point out that Piper didn't have to wear them.... but she figured Piper wanted a real mom, and Aphrodite was the closest she had. Hazel could sympathize. Her mother definitely wasn't the best mom either. In fact, after Gaea had started to give her those pills, she'd made Hazel mine for jewels, jewels that would coax her son Alcyoneus out for her schemes. Due to Hazel's extensive knowledge of archaeology (what she wanted to some day), she'd been able to find all sorts of things. She'd destroyed them all before she left, so hopefully Alcyoneus wouldn't come out. 

She hadn't yet told her friends, because, well? It was likely the phone call Leo'd gotten was Gaea, knowing how much she hated the Olympians, but... Gaea still had her mother. And the woman who'd raised her was still somewhere in there, she knew it! So she couldn't, just for the sake of her mother. 

"Agh!" Crash! 

"What was that?" Annabeth called up. 

"I accidentally knocked over a globe," Jason said, coming down the stairs. 

"Another one?" Annabeth said. 

Jason straightened his tie. "Unfortunately."

"Why do you have so many globes?" Leo said, adjusting his tool belt.