𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 | 𝐩. 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

Nico's a runner, he's a track star

Trudging up Half-Blood Hill to Thalia's tree where the golden fleece was glittering brightly. Argus had come to pick up Grover, Annabeth, Evangeline, and Percy from Manhattan.

Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about what happened in New Mexico. Within an hour, the satyrs were running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Chiron talked with the trio for a while before Evangeline went up to talk to Landon, she hadn't seen Nico yet and was kind of glad but she knew she would have to tell him eventually. Just as she suspected Landon was in the Hermes cabin sitting on his bunk staring at a wall.

"Hey," Evangeline sat down on the opposite end of his bed.

"You're back," Landon said, snapping out of his stupor. "And what happened to you?"

"Long story," she shrugged. "We got Annabeth back, but we lost Zoë and Bianca."

Landon nodded. "Bianca was the sister of that kid, right? Nico?"

"Yeah," she spoke softly. "This whole quest was something else, it was tiring, to say the least."

"What's up with the white hair? You go to a salon or something?"

The brunette smacked him in the arm. "very funny," she grumbled.

"What? I'm just saying it looks cool, it makes you look more terrifying."

"You need better jokes," She said as she rested her head on the pillow.

"I would ask if you're okay but, we all know the answer to that." Landon patted her on the back. 

She said something but it was muffled by the pillow, she didn't have it in her to get up she just wanted to stay here on the bed and sleep her problems away.

"You know you can't hide in here forever right?"

"I can always try," she mumbled.

"When's your birthday?" Landon suddenly asked.

"What?"

"When's your birthday? You know the day you were born."

"January 4th." She told him, twisting her ring back and forth.

"That's not far."

"Yeah," she mumbled. Evangeline never celebrated her birthday she never understood the big deal about them not like she celebrated them, her mother never had the time to get her a cake or a present, she only let Evangeline not do any reading or practice on her birthday so she never understood why people consider them so important. "Why?"

"Just remembered you never told me even though we've been friends for years." he shrugged.

"I never told anyone, I don't get the big deal about them it's just a day when you were born. What's the need for that to be celebrated?"

"Only you would hate on birthdays, grumpy."

"I'm not hating on them I just don't get why you get a cake and presents for being born, you know how hard it is to stay alive, I need a will to live instead of presents." She ate another chip.

Landon shot her a look. "Have you ever even celebrated your birthday?"

"No," she muttered. "But, it's just a reminder that yay look at you another year closer to death, especially because I'm going to turn sixteen in two years."

"You have a point there," Landon said. "Did you talk to your dad yet?"

"No, he's been ignoring me for some reason," she grumbled.