The Wants of a Young Demigod Heart (Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez x OC)

Sadness and Happiness

Nico POV

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We are all silent as we watch David take his last breath. I could feel his life force waning ever since we got to the arcade. The simple way he walked earlier. The look in his eyes. They were all signs! How could I not have known? After all, I'd seen them before. He'd been carrying a heavy weight ever since we'd entered California.

I look around me at all my friends. Merrily is sobbing onto David's blackened, burnt body, on her knees. My heart goes out to her. Leo simply sits in silence, silent tears streaming down his tanned face. Abigail's mascara is running and she doesn't care. Ryan is giving the gods the middle finger. Chey is silent. Is she sick? I see Leo try to place a comforting hand on Merrily's back, but she roughly pushes him away. I feel a twinge of happiness, though I don't know why.

"Guys," I say, my voice thick with emotion. "We have to go. I'll shadow travel David's body to the Underworld. Meet you at McDonald's?" Everyone nods, too sullen to speak. Before I leave, Merrily takes her fingers and closes David's eyes, then leaves.

I have an idea, but I can't allow the campers to go off and bury David's body just yet.

After I had placed David's body down in Hade's special morgue that would make sure the bodies wouldn't rot, I shadow traveled back up to the surface. I felt slightly dizzy and walked through a tree at one point, but besides that, I made it back to the McDonald's in one piece.

When I walk through the door, I see all my friends sitting sullenly at a corner table. It looks as though Merrily is still crying, but it seems like Chey is trying to cheer her up with a Chocolate Oreo McFlurry milkshake.

"Hey everyone," I say sullenly. Nobody really meets my eyes and we all sit there in an awkward silence for a few minutes, the sounds of happy customers in the background.

"Okay, we have to talk at some point," Chey blurts finally, sitting up in her seat. "Let's go back to Festus. I stink." And with that, Chey grabs Leo's wrist and pulls him out of the restaurant. We have no choice but to follow; and anyway, we weren't getting anything else done.

The walk to Festus takes forever. Merrily is clutching my arm like it'll disappear any second. Chey is leaning on Ryan's shoulder, which is the most I've seen her admit they're related. Abigail is quiet, long mascara streaks running down her face and Leo has his hands stuffed in his pockets with his back hunched over.

When we reach the clearing where we'd landed Festus, we all sit in a circle. And there's a small area that we'd all automatically left open. Nobody fills it.

Suddenly, an Iris message pops up out of nowhere and Chiron's face appears. "Hello, children. How is your quest going?"

"David's gone," I say. Merrily sobs and buries her face in my shoulder.

Chiron looks saddened, but not by much. "I see," he says quietly. "Well, I just called to give you all some news. The gods have done two things. One you will be pleased with, the other, not so much."

"Tell us the bad news first," Ryan says, rubbing Chey's shoulder. She stiffens but doesn't move.

"The bad news is that the gods have given you a deadline," Chiron frowns. "You have two weeks to complete your quest."

"Or what?" I ask.

"Or the gods unleash their fury on you," Chiron explains. "The good news is, is that after Hera saw the hellhound attack, she convinced the gods to cover your scent so monsters wouldn't be able to find you."