Percy Jackson: Genderbent

Chapter 6

Nico's POV:

I sat in the corner of the Zeus cabin while all the other boys talked. Apparently, they were having a 'get together' night tonight. Jason insisted I come, though the only real reason I was here was because I couldn't find Hazel. "So." Jason said while they were playing video games (don't ask me how he got those, I honestly have no idea). "What do you think of the new girl, Perci?" He asked the others. At this, my ears unwillingly pricked up. I had conflicted emotions about that girl.

"She's so much like Percy." Leo said, his tongue protruding from his mouth with the effort of the game. "Come on, man, you had to do that?" He said, turning angrily at Frank. Frank grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that." Leo looked unimpressed with the apology. "But seriously, she's a lot like Percy." Jason nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. I wonder why she was at the Poseidon table?" "Well, because she's a daughter of Poseidon? Duh?" Leo said as he continued the game. Jason paused it. "Seriously, man! I was doing good there!" Leo said angrily to Jason. Jason shrugged while I hid a smile. Sometimes, these guys were more entertaining than a movie.

"Yeah, but when did she get claimed?" Jason asked as if he'd never paused the game. Even Leo stopped complaining to think about that for a second. "And why didn't Chiron say anything?" "Maybe she got claimed when she and Annabeth went to Chiron's office?" Frank suggested. But Leo was already shaking his head. "If she did, Chiron would have told us. Nobody knows who she is, and only a handful of people know her name." Everyone paused to think about that. The only sound inside the cabin was Leo crunching on chips (again, no idea how they got those).

"But seriously, even her name is like Percy's. How the Hades did that happen?" Jason said after a silence. "Maybe Poseidon has a thing for that name?" Leo joked, but no one laughed. "Maybe." Jason mused. "Anyway, as cute as that girl is, I want to play my video game. So if you will just unpause it, I would gladly continue." Leo said. Jason reluctantly agreed and Leo continued playing. I sat back in the corner, thinking over what the guys had just talked about.

Who was Perci? How was she so much like Percy Jackson, a guy she's supposedly met once? She looked and acted like him, despite the fact that she was a girl. How did she know she was a daughter of Poseidon? How could she be Percy's age, and no one find her until now? A demigod that strong would have been fighting monsters for a while. And today was her first day at camp. How did she become such good friends with Annabeth and Piper in such a short time? 

I noticed Jason stand up and walk over to me. I scowled in his direction, but he just smiled. "Hey." He said, plopping down next to me. "You aren't saying anything." Jason noted. "No, really?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. He smiled. "Aww, come on, Nico. You aren't alone anymore." He said. I sighed. "Maybe so, but no one's really made me feel... welcome." I decided to keep the fact to myself that no camper on their first day has been as nice to me as Perci was. I know it wasn't much, but she didn't hand me over to the Aphrodite cabin. That's something. 

Jason seemed to read my mind. "Thinking of the new girl? I am too." I let a ghost of a smile touch my lips. "Dude, you've got a girlfriend." "I know, but still. There are so many unanswered questions about her. Who is she? Why's she so much like Percy?" "How did she get claimed? How could she survive in the moral world alone for this long, being a child of the Big Three? How did she become such good friends with Annabeth... on her first day? No offense to her, but she isn't exactly the friendly type. Most campers are afraid of her at first." Jason cracked a smile. "That's true. And I was right... you have been thinking of her." He smiled mischievously. I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Stop trying to play matchmaker, Grace. You've been spending too much time with your girlfriend." 

Jason smiled again. "Come on, Nico. I've got an extra remote somewhere." He said, smiling. "I don't like video games." I told Jason as he rummaged around for the remote.  The game paused. "DID YOU JUST SAY YOU DON'T LIKE VIDEO GAMES?!?!" Leo shouted. "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" I sighed, and face palmed myself. "Good night, guys." I said, walking out. As I left the door, I heard Jason shouting at Leo. I smiled to myself. I just started walking, not sure where my feet were taking me, with only my thoughts for company.

"Hey, Nico." I looked up from my thoughts to see that I had walked to the beach. I cursed myself. Why did I have to come here? Why? Coming to the beach reminded me of Percy, and... well... that was never good. "Nico? Hello, Camp Half-Blood to Nico, do you read me?" I looked up to see the new girl waving her hand in front of my face. She had a lopsided grin and a hint of humor in her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, and turned away. "Good." She said, and smiled. I turned back to look at her. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your cabin?" I blurted out. She shifted her feet uncomfortably, and I checked myself. "Not that it's any of my business." She smiled at me, and replied. "No, it's fine. It's just... I needed to escape the torture." I did a double take. "Torture? Who could be torturing you? You're lucky, you don't have to sleep with Percy yet. He'd probably make you stay up all night watching Finding Nemo for weeks." She looked offended. "There's nothing wrong with Finding Nemo." I cracked a smile. "What is it about Poseidon's kids and Finding Nemo? And the name Percy? What's up with that?" I asked her. 

"I guess Dad just likes that name?" She said, looking nervous. "That came out as a question." I noted, narrowing my eyes. "Oh, I don't know. This is the gods we're talking about." I nodded. "Fair point. Speaking of which, you don't seem so shocked about that or anything. Most campers can't wrap their heads around the idea that the gods are real for a week or something." I said curiously. "Yeah, well... it just makes sense, you know? So many things in my life have been weird, that this... it's an explanation for everything. Plus, it's always good to have someone to blame when your life goes wrong." She joked, and I gave a short bark of laughter. "You got that right." She smiled. "I haven't heard you laugh before." She said, and I scowled again. "Yeah, well, in a world of greek gods and monsters, there isn't much to laugh about." "Yeah, but the others are laughing and joking." "They're all idiots." I said, and she laughed. I felt myself crack a smile against my will. "Even Annabeth?" She said once she recovered. "Eh... Percy is a bad influence on her." I said, and Perci pouted. "He isn't that bad, is he?" "He's not bad, but there's a reason she calls him Seaweed Brain." I said, smiling. "He took forever to realize Annabeth liked him." Perci looked uncomfortable at the mention of that. 

"Yeah... I guess." I smirked. "But seriously, every camper is afraid of her their first week, and even after that. I've never seen someone become friends with her so fast, besides Piper." This time, it was her turn to smirk. "I have that effect on people." She smiled, I just scowled. She sighed. "Come on, Nico, lighten up." She said, taking my hand. I felt some heat rise up in my cheeks, but was thankful that she was looking the other way. We started walking on the beach in companionable silence. "Nobody new has ever been this nice to me before." I said, and she looked down on me. "Thanks." I said, and she just smiled. "You, out of all people, deserve it." I let myself smile, then looked down, my cheeks heating up again. Stop it! I chided myself. 

"PERCI!" Someone shouted, and Perci blanched. "See ya, Nico! If anyone asks, I was never here!" She said hurriedly before running down the beach. I smiled to myself. "PERC- Nico! Have you seen Perci?" Annabeth asked, coming over the rise. "No." I said carefully, hiding a smile. "She's missing all the fun." She grumbled to herself, but the wind carried the words to me. Missing all the fun? What fun? Then I remembered her words when I asked what she was doing here, I needed to escape the torture. Yeah... sounds like a lot of fun.

I saw Annabeth walk over the rise, and I sighed. I sat down on the sand and stared at the sea, thinking out the daughter of Poseidon. Her sparkling sea green eyes, her raven black hair, her smile, the way she wasn't scared of me like so many other people were... I stopped myself. We all know where this is heading. Remember having these thoughts about a certain green-eyed black-haired son of Poseidon? Not happening again. I sighed. What was it about the children of Poseidon? But despite that, the thought of her smile made the night less cold. I walked back to my cabin with a small smile on my face.