Yes it is named after a taylor swift song and no it is not part two of my last chapter. SRYYYYYY I got carried away :) This takes place when Percy and Annabeth are still in tartarus btw so if u see me writing abt how nico wonders if they r okay, thats what i'm talking abt
Nico's POV:
I was running. Running from the darkness threatening to suffocate me. All my fears and doubts mixed together couldn't compare to this. Memories flashed by me. Bianca smiling at me and wiping the gelato off my face. My mama holding me while a storm raged outside. Playing mythomagic with my friends at school. My 4th birthday when Bianca made me tiramisu and we ate it all in one night, under the stars. I smiled for a moment before it all turned red. Violent, terrifying visions filled my mind. Memories I wanted to bury forever. The storm finally winning, killing my mother and killing my innocent 5 year old mind with it. Excited when I heard Percy and Bianca were finally returning, only to learn that only one of them made it out alive. All those restless nights alone and scared in the woods. Learning about a prophecy that intended to destroy the only person I cared about. Percy. His ocean eyes glitched through my dream. Reminding me of that hopeless crush I'd had on him a few months ago. Then. Finally. The source of my worst nightmares. Tartarus. The monsters I had faced, all the terror meant for more then just one puny kid to handle. And yet, I had been forced to take it on my own. My guard always up, sword always slashing, eyes always open. Watching. The shadows that etched themselves on the walls. Terror clouding my mind, wanting to rest for one sweet moment, but every, single time I tried, a new monster appeared. Each one more difficult to escape then others. Then when I finally made it out, the burden was still heavy on my shoulders. Like the sky, weighing me down. Horrifying images haunting my every thought.
Suddenly I heard a scream coming from the void behind me. "NICO!!!" The voice was so shrill I almost didn't recognize it. But then I realized. Will. "NICO HELP!" I froze in place. I had to save him! He isn't dead yet, so there's a little hope there I guess. I ran into the cloud of darkness. I felt claustrophobic. Like I was in a black hole that was crushing me with bad memories. "NICO? WHY AREN'T YOU HERE?! DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?" I slashed the inky tendrils with my sword. "WILL! I'M HERE!" Why can't he here me?! "COME BACK!" Will cried. My eyes filled with tears. "NICO HE-" his voice cut off. I heard the swoosh of a sword then a thud. I screamed "NO! WILL!" I fell to my knees. "Will." The darkness parted and I saw his lifeless body laying in a pool of red. A sob ripped through my chest and I tried to reach him. But suddenly I was being pulled back. My point of view changed. I looked behind me and saw my ankle was wrapped in spider web. It was leading to a gaping hole in the ground. "Annabeth!" I heard someone yell. I whipped my head around to see Percy running towards me. A piece of blonde curly hair fell into my face. I realized I was living the moment Annabeth and Percy fell into Tartarus, In Annabeth's perspective. Oh great. More things to witness. Without my consent, My/Annabeth's voice ripped out of My/Annabeth's throat. "Percy!" He dove forward and caught My/Annabeth's hands. But I was already going too fast so the momentum pulled him with me. I heard Hazel's voice "NICO! Help them!" I looked over and saw myself hobbling towards me. This is so confusing. But Nico/myself was too late. My legs got dragged into the pit. Pretty soon my whole body was in. I started falling but then we suddenly stopped. I looked up and saw Percy hanging on to a ledge. He looked down at me. Suddenly my POV changed back to myself. I heard Annabeth's voice. "Percy let me go! you can't pull me up!" He said something back to her that I couldn't hear. Then he looked back up at me and said the words I never wanted to hear again "Lead them there! Promise me!" My vision blurred and something inside me snapped. All my fear and rage exploded. And every thing went dark for a split second before everything turned blinding white and I jolted awake. Nothing seemed different physically, but I felt mentally like a scared 10 year old again. That nightmare opened old wounds I though had completely healed already. Before I could process what I was doing, I threw on a coat and ran straight for the woods. I'm pretty sure I left a trail of dead grass and skeletons but at the moment, I couldn't care less. The stars were still shining brightly in the night sky, lighting the way. Here I am again. Running from my fears and away from camp. Twigs smacked my arms and legs, but I didn't stop. Until my foot clipped a rock and since i'm the luckiest person ever, There ended up being a hill in front of me. When I finally came to a stop, I laid in a heap in a pile of dead leaves.
The silence of the forest gave me too much time to think. And thats never good for my mental health. I was too weak to save Percy and Annabeth, Bob, Bianca, my Mom. Myself. I should just leave forever. I don't deserve joy. Will shouldn't have to deal with me, he'll end up getting hurt like everybody else I was ever close to or loved. Silent tears streamed down my face as I started to stand up. But then I heard a twig snap in the distance. "Nico?" Will. My eyes widened. I panicked for a second, then realized I could just shadow travel to Italy or something. Just as I was about to sink into the darkness, something knocked me over. yelping in surprise, I tumbled down a hill that was so conveniently there, while trying to get whatever was clinging onto me off. The rough ground ripped up my clothes and scratched at my face. When I finally came rolling to a stop, my face was bleeding and my shirt was in tatters. "What the hell?!" I looked down and saw tanned, freckled arms wrapped around my waist. "Will, what are you doing?"
"I could ask the same of you." I stood up and he did the same. "I was going for a walk!" I lied. Will raised an eyebrow. "In the woods in the middle of the night?" I winced but nodded. "And let me guess, while you were on your 'walk' " He air quoted walk "You got lonely and summoned a few skeletons to join you?" My cheeks heated up "Yup! Exactly! I needed someone to talk to. You know what they say, you have to talk to someone while you walk to boost you socialness!" Will nodded slowly, I knew he wasn't buying it. When I didn't say anything he sighed. "Nico, I know you weren't going for a walk. something happened that upset you, I know you well enough to understand that much. I'm not forcing you to tell me , I just want you to know that I'm here for you if you want to talk or just need a shoulder to cry on." My lip quivered. No! No Nico DO NOT cry! I looked down to hide the treacherous tears that were slowly filling my eyes. Will tilted my chin up with his finger and brushed a tear off my face. "It's okay neeks." and thats where I lost it. Because that nickname was the exact one Bianca and Mama always used. Will wrapped me up in a hug. I felt his chin rest on my head. "I'm s-sorry. I had a nightmare about my Mama a-and Bianca and Percy and Annabeth and Tartarus and you and I didn't k-know what to d-d-do so I ran l-like I always do! And I was s-so mad and sc-sca-scared that I raised a bunch of skeletons and z-zombies and killed a bunch of g-gra-grass! I didn't mean to i'm s-" I got cut off by Will's lips on mine.
I've never kissed anyone before, but it's like my mind went on autopilot. My arms wrapped around his neck, and my lips moved against his. Too soon, we pulled apart, gasping for air. "That was nice" Will breathed. "Yeah. Yeah, it was." I was suddenly aware that it was still the middle of the night, and Will looked absolutely exhausted. "You look tired. We should probably head back to Camp." He nodded, but looked a little disappointed. "You could sleepover at my cabin if you want?" His eyes lit up, then he played it off. "Sure, but only if you want to." I laughed for the first time in ages. "Lets go Sunshine."
And we walked Out of the Woods. Nightmares left behind in the trees.
word count: 1,549
OMG!!! I'm so sorry I haven't posted for a really long time! This chapter took forever to write. (Probably because I started writing didn't touch it for like a month and then started again) Hope you enjoyed! See you next time!
