Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝔸 trip down memory lane

Resting her head against Travis' shoulder, Nicki sipped her coffee with closed eyes.

Keeping their voices hushed so as to not disturb the girl, Travis and Connor bounced giddy ideas off of one another of potential pranks.

"Didn't you already do that last summer?" Nicki asked her uncles, peeking one eye open. "I distinctly remember Percy telling me how Katie chased you with poison ivy for putting shaving foam in her bed."

Connor's smile didn't falter. "Yep! And it'll be even funnier the second time."

For some reason, Nicki doubted his logic but she was far too tired to bother correcting him. "Well, it's your funeral, just remember the rules."

"Yessir!" Mockingly, Travis saluted his niece.

"No Percy, no Annie, no Ethie, or Travie and Connie get stabby." Connor nodded his head solemnly as he spoke. It was if he was saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

"That, and Nicki will get her Granny."

At her words, Connor's face fell. "No. You can't turn Marilyn against us! She makes such good enchiladas!"

Nicki laughed softly. "I won't have to if you follow the rules."

Cecil looked up from his cereal. "Besides we all know I'm Marilyn's favourite."

This comment started an all-out brawl between the Hermes campers. Each teenager began clamouring at the same time as to why Marilyn liked them more.

Travis said nothing, resting his head atop Nicki's.

"It's okay, I know I'm Hermes' favourite. The cat, of course."

Hermes, the cat, was safely living his best life with Marilyn and George back home in Salem; much to the Stoll's disappointment. The brothers had adopted the cat like their own baby and found every excuse to kiss, cuddle, and adore the furry cat.

Giggling at his comment, Nicki twirled her goblet between her fingers. The light brown liquid swirled around the inside of the cup, like its own whirlpool.

The daughter of Hecate was not a morning person leading to a soft resting frown staining her face.

Ethan sat alone at Nemesis's table. Both black-haired demigods avoided the other's gaze. Annabeth's stormy grey eyes danced between Ethan and Nicki from her table. She couldn't figure out what caused the pair to stop speaking to each other.

The knowledge that it was over her, would be too much stress for the already overworked girl, so Nicki kept her mouth shut insisting it was a silly little disagreement.

Nicki's mind was elsewhere as she watched Piper and Leo make their way up the hill, led by Nyssa.

"Leo?" Nicki's voice sent a hush across the pavilion. The campers' conversations halted instinctually at the witch's slightly raised voice. Piper reacted faster than Leo, shooting Nicki an uneasy smile, before nudging the boy next to her and muttering something to him.

Leo's face lit up as he began jogging over to the Hermes table.

Swinging her legs over the bench, Nicki made her way lazily toward her empty table. Her coffee was clutched in her hand like it was a lifeline. Floating alongside her was her breakfast plate coated in a soft purple haze. With a heavy sigh, Nicki dropped into her usual seat.

She motioned for the boy to take a seat opposite her, offering a perpetually empty seat.

"No one's gonna say anything, they don't care anymore."

"Why? Can't you share tables?" Leo's laughter quickly stopped as Nicki shook her head. "Right... So why am I breaking the rules? Not that I don't love to break them, of course, but I don't know. You don't strike me as a rule-breaking kind of gal, ya know? Maybe you are if the stories I've heard are true but—"