Out of Nowhere

Chapter 10

"Where am I?" I whisper, opening my eyes. "You replaced your brain with kelp, so you and Percy fought on water. You both passed out." Nico explains in a board voice.

I laugh and look over at Percy in the next bed, Annabeth sitting beside him.

He slowly wakes up, "Did I win?" Is his first question.

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth says, then kisses him. I turn to look at Nico, feeling too uncomfortable to watch.

"Actually, Who did win?" Nico looks at me with those black eyes that send shivers down my spine.

"Well, there was a lot of water. I'm sure you won, though." I smile, "Thanks."

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After lunch, of course, Nico and I head to the sword arena.

After I beat him for the fifth time, I notice some Aphrodite girls giggling to the side. I glare at them knowing exactly what it was about.

When they giggle more at that I sigh in exasperation and advance on them. "Would you like to fight me?" I question. They flinch back, but I just roll my eyes and walk back towards Nico.

They start giggling again when Nico smirks. The water fountain explodes behind them, soaking their perfect clothes and make up. They all shriek, finally giving me some satisfaction.

This whole event almost leaves Nico in tears he's laughing so hard. I laugh a little too before saying, "I don't know about you, but I'm going swimming."

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I sprint to the beach and dive into the water, splashing Annabeth and Percy who are sitting on the beach.

"Hey!" They yell at the same time.

"So cute!" I yell back before diving back under the water. I resurface near the dock and glance back at Percy and Annabeth. They're back in their own world. No danger there.

I look back at the dock and see Nico casually strolling toward me. He has a smirk on his face and I suspect the Aphrodite girls aren't just wet anymore.
"What did you do?" I ask once he gets within earshot. His smirk grows wider.

"Let's just say those girls won't interrupt our training again." I laugh as Nico finally gets to the end of the dock.

"Do I need to pull you in again?" I ask sweetly.

He steps back, "No!"

"Awww, come on, Nico. Get in the water!" I plead. He seems to contemplate it, but I just dive back under the water. I'll get him in somehow.

I see a splash and quickly resurface to find Nico in the water and the Stoll brothers laughing again.

I help Nico get above water with the currents. He spits out a mouthful and glares at the Stolls. "I'll help you get them back later. Let's go get a drink," I say.

We head back to shore and once on dry land I turn back to face Nico.

"Would you like to be dry or wet?" I give a careless grin at my own stupid question.

Nico looks at me as if to answer, but stops and just stares at me for a moment. I dry him off in a split second then grin at him again, just feeling happy. "So... Up for a Coke?" I ask.

"Don't do that!" Nico says, seemingly angry.

My face falls, "What?"

"Grin like that! It- I- Ugh!"

He tries several more times to explain, but remains at a loss for words.

"Um. Why does my grin bother you?" I ask tentatively because I don't want him to be mad.

"It just makes me want to-! Well... I'll just show you." He grumbles.

At this point I am totally confused. Why would my grin make him want to do something?

"It makes me want to do this..." Nico says. He grabs my arm and pulls me into a kiss. I melt into it, but my brain goes nuts.

Why would he kiss me! I'm not all that pretty. I just got to camp. I'm sure I'm usually annoying. He hates physical touch. I knew he liked me, but didn't really believe it. Cool it, Ames and enjoy it.

He pulls away leaving me flabbergasted. I can dimly hear the cat calls and wolf whistles, but all I can think about is Nico. He just kissed me. He kissed me because of the way I grin.

Slowly, a grin takes over my features, matching the one from earlier. I turn to the people who saw it and yell, "Show's over, folks. Have a nice night!"

I grab Nico's hand and run into the waves.