NICO'S P.O.V. 

I woke up to someone shaking me displeasing once again.

"Neeks, wake up! You need to go to school."

I groaned and shoved my head farther into my pillow. I really didn't feel like going this week. You would think Chiron would make an exception since I had family across the country visiting, but no. And besides that, I doubt Will would be very happy after finding out I had skipped school. Or perhaps he would.

"Nico, seven of your alarms have already gone off! I'm going to throw them in the trash if I hear them beep one more time."

"Fiinnneee."

Very sloppily I throw the blanket off my body and my legs over the bed. This time Ias careful to wear long pajama pants and a long sleeved shirt. I take a minute to regain consciousness and rub the sleep out of my eye before getting ready.

Hazel was already on the couch with a cup of coffee. I didn't bother to ask her how exactly she got it since breakfast wasn't till eight. Beside her held a tray of eggs, sausage, and a biscuit. Perhaps she snuck into the kitchen.

"Eat up, you're late!"

"I'm older than you, you can't tell me what to do." I joked. She truly felt older for her age. I went inside my trunk and pulled out a fresh outfit for the day. It was just plain blue jeans, a black tee, and the baggy aviator jacket as always. I brushed my hair as well as my teeth and then exited the bathroom. The small tracker laid on top of the dresser very temptingly. I shrugged and quickly shoved it inside my backpack.

Hazel nodded appropriately before shoving the platter towards me. "I don't have the appetite for that right now sis," I said truthfully. I never ate much before school knowing that it might be projectile vomited later. The anxiety of the school day was just too heavy to bear it. "But I promise to eat a big lunch, okay?"

"Fine, as long as you eat. You're too skinny," she laughed.

"I will." I pulled her into a bear hug and kissed the top of her head. In a brotherly way of course.

"Have a good day."

"You too. I heard they have some pegasi in the stables." I walked out the door before she could respond and shadow traveled into the small section of woods. I hadn't really had no reason to go out the door beside dramatic effect. It runs in the family I guess.

Dead branches and leaves crunched under my feet when I regained my balance. I wasn't ready for a new day in hell. The forecast, aka my gut, predicted it was not going to be a good day despite the warm welcoming of the morning.

One step at a time, I told myself.

~~~

Will's P.O.V.

My mind was swirling like the upcoming storm. They resembled its dark and gloomy nature too.

The cold September wind was blowing against my skin like small, piercing daggers. I pulled my thin red jacket closer to my shivering body. I could've been inside the school and enjoying the heat, but it was the fault of Zack and Izzah that I was sitting on the steps of the building. They had argued that it was a perfect time to get back at Nico for 'running away from me' on Friday. Of course, I never told them what actually happened, I would never trust them for anything, but it had been the only excuse that I had thought of in time when they bombarded me with questions.

"There he is," they whispered evilly. "What a freak..."

I looked up to follow their gaze. A small, pale boy was walking on the sidewalk towards the school. He had his head down and a black hood covering his messy raven hair. Sometimes It truly felt like the boys beside me actually believed that they were better than anyone else just because they had a little bit of money. That truly made my stomach sick. At least I knew what I was doing was wrong, them? I'm not so sure.

Beside me, the two started dying of laughter. Nico had just run into one of the light posts on the sidewalk and was currently holding the side of his head while sprawled out on the ground. Even from a distance, you could see the incredibly pained expression on his face. My heart throbbed.

Izzah jokingly punched my shoulder and smirked, "Let's go" He hopped up from the steps and started taking intimidating long strides towards Nico. I didn't want to do this. It left me hollow and a small broken shell of my former self. I knew I technically had a choice, to stop saying such crude things, but it just didn't feel that way.

I begrudgingly stood up and followed them. By the time I caught up to them, they were already spitting insults at him. Zack looked at me as if he was expecting me to make the first move. I closed my eye and took a deep breath.

"Did the fag never learn how to walk? Wouldn't be a surprise." I spat with an ugly distaste in my mouth. My 'friends' smirk and nod, telling me to go on.

Do it yourself fuckface, I thought. My hands drifted upwards, and before I could stop myself, went straight towards Nico's jaw. Zack and Izzah took the moment to yank his bag off and dump its contents on the ground.

"Where did you go yesterday?" I continue. His head was down but you could still see his hands shake in fear. I couldn't help to imagine the days that I spent exactly in his place. I pause to think carefully reconsider my next words. "It's almost like you...disappeared."

His head shot up. So he did know what I was talking about...

"Hey! Look what found!"

I glanced over the small boys head and over to see the brunet, Zack, holding up up a rectangular device. It looked like a normal phone until he showed the screen of it. Two bright, glowing red dots were shown on a map. On closer expectation, it was clear it was of the school grounds.

"What the fuck...?" I whisper to no one in particular. I took it from his hands and looked at it in confusion. Nico's face paled even more than it already was.

"Are you following us or what, freak." Izzah pushed both Nico's shoulders causing him to stumble back and onto the ground. I wasn't paying attention though, I was focused on the map. I took a few steps back and the dot moved with. Four feet left, five feet right, ten teet forwards. It became clear to me that it was following me. But the other dot.....

Nico stepped backward causing the other to go the same direction. I filled with anger. It was a tracker.

I gripped the device in my hand and slammed it down to the ground. The glass shattered with a bang. He cried out in freight and threw his hands over his face.

"Tracking me? Who do you think you are?" I walked up towards his poor frame of the ground. He backed up with every step.

Not now Will, I told myself. Don't take your anger out on someone else.

How so the ironic the self-to-self advise was, I decided to take it anyways. I unclenched my fist and counted to ten in my head. He didn't deserve this.

"Come on, let's go," I say surprising everyone and myself included.

"What? Dude! He was tracking you!'

"I said let's go."

"Fine jeez, ruin the fun, buzzkill..."

It's not fun asshole. Can't you see that? That it hurts people?

"What do you mean, you're the 'big guy' dickhead. Of course, it hurts people!"

"Wait what?"

"I said, of course, it hurts people! That's the FUN. OF. IT."

It was my turn for my face to go pale. Did I happen to think out loud? Panic starts to eat me alive.

"No, I uh, was reciting some lines....from a book."

Nico was staring at me intensely. I couldn't quite explain the way, but just a little, he looked hopeful. He hadn't believed, unlike the other two doofuses.

"Oh."

I turned hurriedly in the direction to escape, forgetting about the device momentarily.

~~~

Nico's P.O.V. [TIME SKIP]

My feet swung back and forth with the beat of the music coming from my headphones. The rest of the courtyard was either eating their lunch or talking with friends. I stayed content with my small, yellow bench in the corner by myself.

I munched slowly on my sandwich and overlooked the traffic of cars to my left. Why they thought of putting a highway next to a high school was a good idea is unfathomable to me. I thought back to the morning and shivered. It was impossible that he was a demigod. He was to old, wasn't he? Some monster surely would have killed by now. The device had to be messed up from the fall when they tore off my bag. I rubbed my jaw at the painful memory. It would definitely leave a bruise. His words confused me more than the physical part, though.

"It's not fun asshole. Can't you see that? That it hurts people?"

What was that supposed to mean? 'Quote from a book' my ass, you don't just say that shit randomly. Just thinking about it made my headache worse.

"Arrgg," I groaned and pushed my head in my hands. I knew I had a bottle of Advil in my bag but didn't want to take it out right here in case someone saw and started calling me a 'druggy' as well.

With just my luck, Will decided to walk out of the school cafeteria just then. My body went cold when he made eye contact with me. His ice-blue eyes held more emotion than I thought was possible from him.

That's it, I thought. Time to go. He knows where you sit, nope. Not again.

I threw my bag over my shoulder quickly and hurried away through the opposite exit. I didn't know exactly where, just not within a twenty-foot radius of him.

My hands gripped the handles of the backpack in anxiety as I swerved between the human traffic. The library, maybe? No, the librarian was nice but probably wouldn't take so nicely on the commotion of my upcoming panic attack.

I started to feel faintly dizzy and my hands started to sweat. Was he behind me? I turned my head rapidly to make sure but no one was there. Only my own worries and thoughts.

My headache only worsened. Not so bad I couldn't see, but still hurting like hell. "Fuck this," I whispered.

I swung myself in the nearest bathroom to take the medicine before I realized all the stalls were occupied. One kid, he looked like a freshman, looked at me and asked if I was alright.

"Yeah," I responded. "Just peachy."

My feet took off towards the only other one I knew was on this level. It was an outside one, and as far as I knew, not many people liked to go to it. It didn't have any smoke alarms which brought on the name 'junkie corner'. But at the moment, I didn't really care.

Fifty 'excuse me' and 'sorry's later, I was finally there and I let out a sigh of relief. Relief that was sadly short lasted. I threw open the door in a dash without thinking and closed the door.

"Thank gods," I whispered and turned around.

My face paled when I saw the sight in front of me.

Edited 2/7/19