Child of Time

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Why Did I Decide to Name My Chapters?

NICO

"Okay, what happened to him?" Bianca whispered in my ear as we sat down on Percy's couch. He was hanging upside down as usual but he had this dopey grin on his face.

"I have no clue." I couldn't tell her that we went to see Luke and Will today. Nothing out of the ordinary happened that I know of. Unless something happened in those two minutes I was with Will and left them alone before we left.

"You two were gone for a while earlier, where were you?"

"Skate park." I answer simply. "But nothing happened there so I have no idea what's up for him like that."

Percy grabbed onto a remote and tried to figure out how to work it. I sigh as I watch him struggle.

"Think we should help him?"

I shake my head. "He should learn by himself." I grin. "And this is just too amusing."

His face lights up when the TV turns on. He presses another button and the screen goes to static. Perseus growls – he actually growls and puts down the remote.

"That's it! I hate technology! It's stupid and wack and should burn in hell with all of those useless rocks!"

I put a fist over my mouth to stop from laughing. Perseus rolls his eyes at me.

I share a look with Bianca. Then we look back at Perseus.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What? You mean the rocks?"

"No! You would have yelled at us for laughing at you. So what's up?

Perseus went red and backed up. "Uh, nothing. I'm perfectly okay. Just great."

I roll my eyes. "You better tell me soon, Perseus."

He waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

*******

"He did what?!"

"Keep your fucking voice down, dipshit." Perseus slaps his hand over my mouth.

"I'm going to kill him."

"What? Why?"

"Because!" I exclaimed. "What if you stop hanging out with me and Bi just because you miss him too much."

Perseus stayed silent and put his head down. "I won't leave you guys. It's not like I'll be able to see him anymore anyway. It was a one time thing."

"One time thing? What are you talking about?"

He looked at me in the eye. "Neeks, I can't go back to New York. I have to stay here. I can't just risk Luke's life because we couldn't stay away from each other for a few months."

"But Perseus, you don't know what could happen to him. He could think you don't want to see him."

"And he shouldn't!" He yelled. I stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm a bad person, Nico! Someone like him shouldn't hang out with someone like me. And now I've strung him into this whole mess along with Annabeth and Thalia! It'll be my fault when they have to go against their family members."

"Is that what you really think?" I frown. "That them siding with you is your fault? They chose this of their own free will. And you aren't a bad person, Perseus!"

His eyes flashed as he looked at me. "Yeah. I am. And I'm not going to be the one that gets Luke six feet under the fucking ground. So I don't care if he hates me after this. As long as he's not dead at the end of it." And with that he shadow-travelled away. I sighed and slumped to the ground.