Poseidon Is My Daddy (Book #1 of the Daughters of Olympus Series)

I Have a Brother

   'Wait, what?! How in the flippin' flip is he my brother?!' I asked 'My dad can't be a god! It's just been me and my mom...my whole life.' realization dawned on me. That's why I never met my dad. Now he was claiming me by very painfully embedding a turquoise miniature trident into my abdomen. I buried my face in my hands and broke down in sobs. I was scared,it was too much and I couldn't take it. Nico put his hand on my shoulder, which sent a jolt through me (not relevant), looked right into my new eyes and said gently 'Hey, I know it's a lot, finding out you're a demigod. But you're definitely not alone. We're all here for you.' 'Thanks Nico.' 'No problem' he said smiling at me which also sent a jolt through me (still not relevant). We were just there holding each other's gaze until I finally looked away. Percy looked between me and Nico and smiled slightly. 'Hey Nico,' Percy said, 'Why don't you go show Julie around and I'll catch up with you guys at dinner. I gotta do some stuff.' 'Um, okay.' I said. 'Cool.' agreed Nico. 'Ok. Later guys.' Percy sprinted away.

    The tour Nico gave me was great. It turns out that I was at a safe haven for demigods called 'Camp Half-Blood' in Long Island Sound. The camp offered a home for demigods during the summer or all year long. They had a climbing wall with lava pouring down the side (cool), their woods were infested with monsters (fun) and they had stables with even more pegasi (awesome). 'I'm still trying to process this. So my dad is the god of the seas. It's weird because I don't even like the ocean.' Nico looked puzzled. 'That is weird. Why don't you like the ocean?' 'Long story that involved catfish and buckets of ice .' I said shuddering. Nico laughed. 'Hey!' I said, playfully shoving him. He shoved me back. 'What? It's funny.' he said, still laughing. 

    He took me down to the beach and we watched the ocean. 'It's beautiful.' I marveled. 'Yeah, we always get quite the view here at camp.' Nico said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him staring at me. 'What?' I asked. 'What, what?' he responded. 'You're staring at me.' I said. 'Oh.' he looked away blushing. 'Nico Di Angelo, you like me!' I said dramatically. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. 'Oh man... you really  like me!' I teased. 'Fine. I like you' he admitted. he gave me a sideways smile. 'Well then I guess I should spit it out.' I said, 'I like you too.' 'Really?' he asked surprised. 'Yeah. Why are you so surprised? You're cute, you're a good listener, you're funny and you're sweet.' I said. Then I looked around and whispered, 'Can you keep a secret?' 'Yeah' he answered. Then I got up on my toes and kissed his cheek. I could tell he wasn't prepared for that because his eyes were as wide as quarters. I laughed and he blushed. 

   After that, he took me into the woods, which were full of scary shadows. As we got deeper into the woods, my irrational fear of the dark got the best of me and I slipped my hand into Nico's and held fast. Every little sound made my heart flip. He led me to a creek and we walked over to a girl in a gossamer dress. She had pixieish features and her skin was tinged green as if chlorophyll ran through her veins. 'Juniper.' called Nico. The girl turned around 'Hey Nico. Who's this?' the girl responded. 'This is Julie, she's new. Percy "kidnapped" her after a gryphon attack.' Nico answered, 'Julie, Juniper here is a tree nymph.' he told me. 'Cool.' I said smiling. Then I looked up at Nico, 'You dragged me out into these scary woods, to meet a tree nymph?' Nico smiled awkwardly, 'Well, that and I thought you should get familiar with the battlefield for capture the flag tonight.' 'Okay.' I said. Then I looked down at my school uniform.' Can I change by and chance?' 'I think so. I'll get you to your cabin.' offered Nico. 'Alright.' I agreed, 'Bye Juniper.' I called, waving. When we got to my cabin, I reluctantly let go of Nico's hand and slipped inside.