Nico's POV

     I woke up on Saturday morning around six. I sighed, feeling as though I'm forgetting something. Think, think, what did you do yester- Percy!

     I ran out of my room, not caring that I wasn't wearing a shirt. I stopped in front of the door to his room and rapped on the door lightly. I heard muffled footsteps and took a step away from the door. It swung open inwards, revealing a tired looking Percy. "How did you sleep?" I asked, then added "Did you even sleep?"

      "I tried. I got maybe half an hour  of sleep in all." He answered with a shrug. "Dem- My kind don't really sleep."

      "Hmm. Well, you want to take a shower? I can get your hair fixed up, since it probably hasn't been cut, brushed, or washed for years." I told him. It was true. His hair was touching his shoulders at the sides and even longer in the back.

      "Yeah, that would be nice." He admitted.

      "C'mon, I can lend you some clothes. I think they'll fit you, you're quite scrawny." I started to walk to my room and Percy followed. I opened the door to my room and headed to the dresser, opening the top drawer.

      I looked over and saw Percy standing in the doorframe, watching me as I got him some clothes. I got him a simply outfit, black skinny jeans and a black T-shirt. I cursed under my breath. "I'll be right back okay? I need to grab something. You can just hang out in here." I told him.

       He nodded and hesitantly walked into my room. I trotted downstairs, passing him on the way. I went onto the closet and grabbed a pair of new boxers. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to wear my used ones. I ran back up the stairs, stumbling on the way up, but I caught myself and ran into my room. I grabbed all of the clothes and walked over to Percy, who hadn't moved the entire time I was gone. I offered them to him and he took them gingerly, as if they were going to explode. "You can use my bathroom, right in that door." I pointed to the door to the right of the door you come in.  "There's everything you need in there. Comb, soap, the works." I told him.

      He nodded once. "Thanks." He told me and walked over. He opened the door and shut it behind him, and sure enough I heard the soft click the lock made.

     I ran back down the stairs, but this time into the kitchen. I saw my dad sitting at the table eating a pomegranate. No idea why but he's obsessed with them. "Morning dad." I greeted, throwing the freezer door open.

      "Morning Nico. How's Percy doing?" He asked.

      "Good. I got him some clothes to wear for now. He's taking a shower upstairs." I responded, pulling out a waffle from a box. I popped in into the toaster and put in on two, pulling the lever down.

      "You know Nico, he's kind of cute." My dad teased. I groaned as I got butter out of the fridge and he laughed a bit.

     "He'll probably look even better when he's dressed and got a haircut." He said.

     "Probably. A bunch of us are taking him out today to go shopping." I told him. I heard the ding from my waffle and pulled out a paper plate, grabbing the waffle out of toaster and putting it on. I grabbed a butter knife and put a large chunk on my waffle, melting it almost immediately.

      "You're going to die of a heart attack at twenty if you keep putting that much butter on a single waffle." My dad told me, raising an amused eyebrow.

      "I'd rather die than give up butter." I told him, shoving half the waffle in my mouth. My dad shook his head at me and I smirked through my mouthful of waffle.

      "You should go check on Per- Speak of the devil!" My dad cut himself off when Percy walked in the room. Percy cringed at the word devil, but it wasn't noticeable unless you were paying close attention.

      He really did look better when he was showered. His jet black hair was smooth and silky, his skin no longer covered in grime. He was still pale and unhealthily skinny, and his veins and dark bags under his eyes were still visible, but you can't improve everything at once. "Morning sir. Thank you again for letting me stay." He told my dad, who smiled warmly at him.

     "No problem kiddo. And don't feel bad when these kids spoil you, they got money to burn." Hades told him, still smiling. Percy didn't smile but I somehow knew he was amused by the joke.

      "Alright, you want something to eat Percy?" I asked, shoving the rest of the waffle into my mouth. He looked at me weirdly then shook his head no.

      "Demons don't eat much Nico." My dad said, flipping through the newspaper. We both spun around, wide eyed.

     "W-What are you talking about!?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm. Let me tell you a secret. I didn't do to well.

     "It's fine." He said, waving it off. "But I'm warning you Percy, keep control of your demon side, okay?"

      Percy nodded. "I'm surprised you are letting me stay. Thank you sir."

      "Call me Hades, or Mr. di Angelo. Whichever you prefer. Now, you need a haircut and new clothes. So shoo. The others are already outside." He told us. We nodded and walked out of the house, and sure enough, all of our friends were here.

     "Hey Percy, Nico. You ready?" Thalia asked.

     Percy stiffly nodded, still not used to large groups I suppose. "So Percy. You're going to look like the hottest man on earth once we get that hair cut and you into some new clothes." Leo said with a cheeky grin.

      I could have sworn I saw Percy's cheeks tinge with pink, but it must have been my imagination because it was gone the next moment. "Let's a go!" Piper shouted, taking Jason by the hand and dragging him down the street.

     "We don't live far from a mall, it's small but will get everything you need." I told him. He nodded and we followed the others down the road.

     We all laughed and joked as we walked down the main road to the mall, except Percy of course, who looked tense.

     "You okay?" I asked. I resisted to grab his hand, but I figured he would just shy away.

     "Huh?" He seemed momentarily startled by the question. "Oh. Yeah, I guess. I just can't remember the last time I've seen someone who didn't run away screaming from the murderer in the Asylum." He admitted sadly, gazing longingly at the joking demigods.

     "Percy?" I asked, looking up at him. It was kind of embarrassing that everyone was taller than me, but oh well. He looked down, humming in response.

      "Would you smile?" I asked. He looked startled at the request.

      "Why do you want me to smile?" He asked.

      "I saw a glimpse of it at the house." I admitted. "And I really liked it."

      This time I was sure he turned red. "I don't know if I can. Not on purpose, at least. It would probably turn out to me the smile of a killer tracking down a victim." He said with a slight shrug. "I remember way back, when I was five, before I ran away..." He hesitated, as if not wanted me to know.

       I looked up at him expectantly and he continued. "I was bullied, but I always smiled. I had a childhood crush, and I know it's foolish, but I really liked him." He said with a sigh.

       "Him?" I questioned. He turned bright red again.

       "Uh... Yeah." He murmured.

       "Hey, no problems here. Leo's bisexual, I'm gay, Thalia's a lesbian, ad Reyna, someone who isn't in this group, is bisexual as well. We're a pretty weird group." I told him, refocusing my gaze to our group in front of us, who were now running. A race.

        "Hey Percy." I asked with a smirk. "You can outrun them, right?"

        "Easily." Percy admitted. "Why?"

        "You should catch up to them and run by them casually. We may be weird, but we are known as one of the most athletic groups in school. That'd give them a shock." I told him, still smirking. He saw the corner of his mouth twitch up a bit.

     "Alright. Ready?" He asked.

    "Ready." I confirmed, then he took of like a bullet. Literally. He was so fast he was almost a blur as he took long, quick yet graceful strides. He passed them by about twenty feet before he stopped, panting.

     "Man I'm out of shape." He panted.

     "Out of shape?! OUT OF FREAKING SHAPE!? Bro, you could almost outrun a bullet!" Leo yelled.

      Percy frowned. "I used to be able to run from a bullet as far as it would go, sometimes a few hundred meters, sometimes miles, before it would fall to the ground. BARELY being able to outrun a bullet it nothing." He said, suddenly breathing normally.

      "Sheesh, what else can you do?" Jason muttered.

      "I used to be able to do a lot. I need to get myself back in shape." He said, frowning at his pale and skinny body.

      "What's next? You can bench press a thousand pounds a hundred times?" Leo muttered.

      Percy frowned. "You can't?" We all gaped at him but he just shrugged.

      "Let's just go shopping. Percy, you need to tell us ALL of your powers when we get back, got that?" Thalia demanded.

      "Not all. I'm keeping a few to myself. But agreed." He nodded.

      "Good." Thalia nodded, happy with her conclusion, and we walked the rest of the way to the mall.

     *In the mall*

     Percy looked around with wide eyes. "C'mon, I got a store I think you'd like." I told him.

     "You're talking about-?" Thalia questioned, her eyes wide with excitement.

     "Hell yes." I told her with a smile.

     "HOT TOPIC! LET'S GO!" Thalia squealed, running towards hot topic. We all laughed and followed Thalia, Percy at my side.

      Percy stepped into the store and looked around. "I don't know what half this stuff is." He admitted, then pointed to a Pokémon shirt with Pikachu on it. "What is that weird yellow thing?"

      I laughed lightly. "That's a character from a card game. It's called Pikachu." I told him. He furrowed his brows in confusion but nodded.

     "Guys! They added a new section!" Thalia yelled, dragging me by the arm. Percy followed.

     "Oh... my... God..." I muttered in amazement, looking around.

     It was a room full of gothic-emo looking stuff. I'm not emo, but the stuff looked cool none the less. Leather Jackets, ripped black jeans, chains, and skulls all over the place. "I know right?!" Thalia yelled, picking up a pair of black jeans.

     I fingered some chains, while Percy simply looked around. (Nico is like, super into stuff like this, and Thalia, now. Deal with it.)

     "Don't forget Percy." Thalia chimed in, throwing a shirt over her forearm. "You can get anything you want."

      The corners of him mouth twitched, giving me another taste of his mysterious smile. About thirty minutes later I realized something. I had like, twenty items of clothing over me arm, as well as Thalia, but I didn't spot Percy in the section we were in. "Err, Thals?" I asked. "Where's Percy?"

     She looked around. "Hmm. The others must have stolen him while we weren't watching...." She said.

      "Should we go looking for-" I was cut off by Percy walking into the room. I had to force my jaw not to drop, and I saw Thalia reach up and force her jaw to stay in place.

       Percy had got his haircut. His hair was a little lower than his eyebrow, and looked naturally windswept by the wind, like when you stand in front of the ocean. (Percy dresses like a badass in this story. Deal with it. Once again.) He wore a black T-shirt with a pair of ripped blue jeans, chains dangling from the pockets. He had a deep black leather jacket, which hugged his chest. He wore simple black Nike sneakers.

     "I got him fixed up!" I heard a voice say proudly, stepping out from behind him. Of course it was Piper.

      "Wow...." Was all I could say. I could see Thalia nodding in agreement out of the corner of my eye. He blushed, looking down slightly.

      "So you like it?" I asked.

     He shrugged and nodded. "Sorry if I worried you. I was kind of kidnapped by Piper here." He said, nodded his head in her direction.

      "Well you two were geeking out about the new section so I decided to take him." Piper said with a shrug. People in our group like to shrug apparently.

     Piper laughed, then I saw our group with bags and bags of clothes. "Hey! McShizzle man is in the house!" Leo yelled.

     "Shut up repair boy!" Piper snapped back. Leo pouted and everyone laughed. But Percy. BUT he had a twinkle of amusement in his sea green eyes that I could see now that his hair wasn't in the way.

      "So... Is Nico going to stare at Percy the entire day or are we leaving?" Bianca asked, smirking. I hadn't realized I was staring and adverted my gaze, blushing.

       "Right. Let's go." I cleared my throat, replacing my blush with a small smile.

       "Let's a go?" Thalia asked hopefully. I nodded.

        "Let's a go. After we pay." I told her. She whined and walked up to the front desk wit our clothes. We all waited in silence until she got back.

     "How much I owe you?" I asked her.

      She looked at the receipt. "You owe me.... 217 dollars. And 17 cents."

      "How about I just give you 220?" I asked, pulling out my wallet.

       "....Fine." She agreed and I handed her two one hundred dollar bills and a twenty.

       "Alright. Now, let's a GO!" She screamed, running out the door. I shook my head and looked over at Percy.

       "You want anything else?" I asked.

       "Nah. Piper already spent about a hundred on my outfit. I feel bad enough." He told me, tugging at his leather jacket nervously.

        I raised an eyebrow at him. "Only a hundred? That's nothing. C'mon." I grabbed him arm, ignoring his flinch, and dragged him to another store.