Fatal Flaw: Empathy (Nico di Angelo)

Chapter Eighteen

Namjoon nodded in understanding... well, I mean comprehension. "So you don't talk in front of people unless they accidentally hear your voice? What's the grand total of people you take in front of?"

"Jin, Nico, Clarisse, Yourself, Annabeth, and... actually, that's all the people who've heard me speak. Or in Nico's case, sing. That's how we met. I was showering and he shadow travelled into the bathroom right outside of my curtain. While I was singing."

Nico has the good grace to turn pink. "And you healed me in nothing but a towel." He shoots a dopey smile at me, and Namjoon fist bumps him.

I stick my tongue out, and Clarisse rolls her eyes. "Perv." She comments. Nico shrugs.

"Only for you, Gamberetto." He winks at me, and I find myself turning red slowly as well. Nico smirks. "Say, you remember yesterday?"

Jin jumps in protectively. "What happened yesterday!" He doesn't say it like a question, it comes out as a command.

Namjoon snickers. "Did you use prot-?"

"No! That is most definitely not what happened last night! I just... Percy accidentally locked me out so I slept in his Cabin on Hazel's bed,. But when I knocked on the door..." I brazenly lift his shirt up: "I saw his abs. Why does this scrawny kid have abs?"

Nico pulls his shirt down and grumbles a bit. "I'm not scrawny, you are, Shrimp. Not to mention the fact that I am older than you so I'm not 'kid' to you. And anyway, I have abs, because I'm irresistible~!" He starts jamming out to Fall Out Boy, murmuring lyrics under his breath as he fanboys a bit.

"You were never this open before we were dating. So until about five minutes ago. You even called me 'bae.' What, are you the flirty type now?" I bend over to him and he smirks a bit.

"Don't tempt me, Aletha, or I will flirt with you in front of Jin, Percy, and Clarisse."

"You got a death wish?" Asks Jin, and then realized what he did. "A death wish? Get it Death Breath?" And he starts cackling, a sound like a windshield wiper on the front of your car. Namjoon groans at the horrible joke, but smiles.

"Do you guys want to go see what my brother is up to? And your sister, Namjoon?" I grab Nico's hand. "And let's tempt you into flirting in front of Percy."

Nico scoffs, and apparently he has a very out of control ego. "Percy has nothing on me. You saw this morning, that Fish-for-brains couldn't outsmart me if he tried. Besides," he pulls his shirt off and heads into his cabin. "I've got abs."

"Oh, get a room, Nico." Shouts Clarisse. She's stomping up the stairs and slamming the door shut for Nico. "And deflate that ego while you're at it."

When Nico comes out, he's red and scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah... I'm sorry about that. I just... I don't actually know, but umm..." He looks up at them. "I kind of forgot that you guys were there, Namjoon, Jin, Clarisse... I would appreciate it if you don't tell anyone about this..."

He looks up again, suddenly more powerfully. "Because you guys seem like nice people and you wouldn't want a skeleton army to accidentally come after you, I think."

Jin and Namjoon nod, and Clarisse does, too begrudgingly. "Yeah, whatever Death Breath."

We walk to Percy's crowd of friends: Annabeth, of course, Grover, Will Solace, and a cyclops. Wait. A cyclops? And they're... talking to each other? I walk towards them cautiously.

Percy notices me, with my friends. "Hey, Shrimp!" He smiles, waving me over. When the rest of my friends walk over, they seem to know this is perfectly normal. I'm confused. I wave to the big cyclops a bit. "Aletha, this is our half brother, Tyson the cyclops! Umm... Tyson, this is our half sister, Aletha. She can't talk, so don't be offended if she doesn't respond, okay?"

Tyson immediately wrapped me up in a bone-crushing hug and I'm smiling joyfully hugging him back full force. "Sister!" For someone so... large he's still a very childish guy. I find it refreshing and somewhat sweet.

"Wow." Percy scratches his hair. "I wasn't sure how well you two'd get along, but, I guess Aletha gets along with literally everyone."

Nico and I share a look, and make a few complicated eye movements before Nico and I sit at the water's edge. I hold his hand, and smile at him. He whispers in my ear. "So... to keep the anger of Percy to a maximum, should I peck, you or-!"

I rolled my eyes and then I slammed my lips onto his. Jin sighed, and looked at Namjoon (who was looking at Jin like a kicked puppy. He wanted his kisses too!) before pecking him. Clarisse stood next to Will Solace as the two rolled their eyes at the 'disgusting couples.' Though, I'm pretty sure Clarisse has a crush on Will's brother, Hobi (Jung Hoseok, a ray of sunshine on earth) and Will had a thing for this kid in the Hermes cabin.

After a good five seconds, I heard a blasphemy-wreaking gasp, erupted from Percy's mouth. I pull my daggers off my arms so I can bend the water around me into a sphere and freeze it into clear ice. "Aletha Harrison! Why are you kissing Nico!"

Nico's deep cracky voice reverberates along the wall of ice. "I'm her boyfriend, fish face. Couldn't you tell?" He smirks to me, and I facepalm internally before pecking him and nodding to Percy.

"Why would you guys start dating?" Percy doesn't seem to get it. "Aletha, you're way too young to date!"

I look at Nico and at Percy, and I shrug before flipping Percy off. Nico nods to me saying he's ready, and I take down the bubble for him, attaching the band-daggers back to my arms.

Percy barrels toward Nico, tackling him into the water but before Nico can do anything about it, he's being pummeled. Percy is more powerful near the water. I look to Namjoon and Jin, who are trying to hold Percy back, and I have had enough. I pull Charybdis and Scylla off my arms, and use water and to separate the two.

I slap Percy, and I hit Nico's shoulder. I hug Nico first, whispering 'stupid' as quietly as I can and peck his cheek. Percy, I hold my hand up to for a pen. He doesn't have one that's not a sword but Namjoon does, and hands it to me. I write down the words onto my wrist.

'I love him, Percy. Support me, please. You're friends with him, so trust that I've made a good,' I turn my hand around so that I'm writing on my palm: 'CHOICE.'

I leave, pulling Nico behind me. He smiles at me proudly as I walk away without tears because I know:

Percy'll APOLLOgize.