Dead in Love (Nico x Reader)

Haunted Memories (1)

This is inspired by Heathens by TOP, and almost every Halsey song. This is a Dark! CHB headcanon thing I've had in my head for over a year. Will is the evil mastermind because I can't stand him, don't try to change my mind, you won't.

  Nico's P.O.V.

  I lay, sprawled on my back, in one of the many unoccupied beds in the camp infirmary. Will had asked me to wait, so like the semi-obedient person I was, I didn't have anything else to do, I waited. After pulling out my phone and scrolling through it with no goal other than to pass the time, Will emerged from the only part of camp I didn't know like the back of my hand.

  The pure white door didn't look ominous or threatening, but whenever I was near I sensed uneasiness. The only thing blotting out the purity of the door where the cold steel handle and 'authorized campers only' sign smack in the middle of it. I don't know how I could get 'authorized' to go inside the door, but I wanted to badly.

  "Hey, Will," I pushed myself into a sitting position, "what's happening behind the door?" I always asked him that and I never got a satisfactory answer.

  "Just helping campers," Will smiled his sunshine smile and offered me his arm. Sighing, I took Will's said arm and let him lead me into the bright world outside.

  We walked our usual path around the cabins, but my mind was elsewhere. Pictures of someone I used to know almost as well as camp suddenly popped into my head. 

  Her name was (Y/N). She'd helped me through countless bouts of depression and the likes. Almost every morning for 1 year and 6 months she'd meet me outside my cabin before breakfast just to make sure I went and then she'd watch me like a hawk until I ate something substansioal. Through the rest of those days, her smile graced every turn, and her arms would always be held open for me.

  Describing her like that makes her seem like the most optimistic person you'll ever meet, but she wasn't. She was as problematic, if not more, than every demigod, and when she wasn't helping me she trained like a demon. Even Percy wasn't very confident about winning against her and her daggers.

  "...Nico?" Will shook me out of my memories.

  "Hm?" I hummed absentmindedly.

  "What are you thinking about?" Will asked.

  "Do you remember (Y/N)?" I answered with a question.

  Will stopped in his tracks and visibly flinched.

  "You know," I didn't notice his obvious body language, "(Y/N) (L/N)."

  Will nodded tensely. "I remember her."

  "Didn't she come to you for some medical stuff a week or two before she left?" I pressed.

  "Yes." Will's voice was tight.

  I then noticed the tension in every aspect of Will's normally relaxed and light features. "Will, are you okay?"

  Another rigid nod from Will.

  "If you say so," I unhooked my arm from his, "Anyway, can you think of any reason (Y/N) would have left. It was so sudden and she never said anything to me, which was weird because by then we had been dating for a year."

  "Maybe she -um- she just went to Camp Jupiter," Will tried to brush it off.

  "Knowing (Y/N), she would have gotten in contact with me at least once," I stayed firmly on the subject. "You know, she always talked about how she was suspicious of that one other bunker in the woods. I think it was about a mile away from Bunker 9. Maybe she left something there-" the gears in my head started turning- "I can't think of anyone who's ever been inside there either."

  "Maybe you should just -um- just not go in there...." Will butted in, clearly on edge and nervous.

  "Why?" I shrugged it off, "I've been on too many life-or-death quests, I can handle one possibly haunted bunker."

  "Nico-" Will protested.

  "See you later, Will, I need to get my sword before I go," I had already turned and started to leave, "If anyone asks about me you know where to send them."

---------To the Bunker----------

  Finding Bunker 9 was easy, but finding the 'haunted' other bunker was a different story. Thankfully, I remembered that there was a strong aura coming off of it, so all I had to do was follow my senses. I found the bunker in good time with a few encounters with thick weeds and vines. The sun was still up, but a few colors tinged the sky, hinting at nearing darkness.

  The bunker looked like an over-grown version of Bunker 9. It took only a little inspection till I found a little keypad that needed a code to open the garage-type door. On a whim, I typed in my birthday; 1/28.  The door started opening.

  Jumping back, I took up a defensive position. Better safe than sorry. I squinted through the darkness of the bunker, expecting nothing. Against my expectation, there was something.

  A girl sat in the middle of the darkness, her legs curved to one side. Chopped short (H/C) swept across her face, concealing it from me. Her hand was cradled in her lap and she appeared to be studying them. Of all the things that I expected to recognize were her clothes. A black and white striped dress hugged her body in a shockingly familiar way. The long, dark green sweater that grazed her thigh just below where her dress ended looked exactly like (Y/N)'s favorite thing to wear. She could almost be wearing the last thing I remember ever seeing (Y/N).

  As I watched, people started emerging from the darkness around the light let in by the door. All of them looked filthy compared to the still perfect white on the girl's dress. Not a single one of the ragged people had long hair. All the girls' hair just brushed their shoulders, and the boys' had army style haircuts.

  I took a tentative step forward, and the girl's head shot up.