We Olympians (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 1

Chapter 18 || Nico

Nico sat in the Starbucks café, working on his essay for English.

Independence is something most teenagers long for their whole lives during adolescence. It is something a human should have. However, some forms of independence may not be so joyful. Instead, it can tear apart lives.

He frowned, shrugging, before continuing. After Bianca died, independence found him in the worst possible position. Nico didn't want independence to come at all. In fact, he wanted to stay away from it. To cling to Bianca forever and ever. But that was his mistake. Because for the years Bianca wasn't there, Nico didn't cope well. Whenever he tried to cling to her leg, he clung to nothingness.

Being independent at a young age is especially terrifying, as it can lead to maturing too fast, meaning a child can't live their childhood peacefully like normal children do. In fact, the word 'independent' is stating that you stand alone with no one to help you, which isn't always a good thing, as it promotes the idea that by yourself, you are invincible, which is never the case. However, there is no reason to be afraid of independence. Instead, it should be accepted.

Nico winced as he thought about Percy. How he was now. Independent. And he didn't like it.

People who turn independent often tend to leave what they call "immaturity" behind. This often involves their childhood friends, some of which they may think are immature. Especially if they leave, change, and come back expecting their old friends are exactly the same, when really, they've been changed by what happened. Often, this will lead to relationship tears that can never be fixed, killing what is now a useless childhood.

The cold iced coffee touched his lips as he sipped from the cup, setting it down. Thalia and Annabeth walked in.

"Hey, Neeks," Thalia said, sitting down at the table.

"Hey," Nico replied, still typing on his computer.

Annabeth fingered her charm bracelet. Nico always felt a little jealous of Annabeth. Because Percy didn't give any of them something like that. It was special. And it made Nico feel unimportant.

He was unimportant.

She fingered the Nemo charm, the orange and white like tiny specks against her evenly tanned skin. Next to it was a gray owl, shimmering in the store lights. There were the words Wise Girl and Seaweed Brain on it. And, of course, Percy had to make a charm that looked like a blue cookie. But what made Nico the most envious was the two charms that held meaning. The large, flat, silver rectangles.

I'll always be near you, wherever you are. Imagine the charm bracelet is me, and you'll be fine.

And on the other flat rectangle? A picture of Annabeth and Percy hugging each other while they were at the beach, Percy in a hoodie and jeans, Annabeth in a crop top with jean shorts. Nico didn't know why, though. It wasn't like Annabeth was his girlfriend and Nico had a crush on Percy. That would've been a different scenario. And Nico was sure he wasn't the other girl a song would showcase.

That's when the door opened and the last person they expected walked in.

Perseus Achilles Jackson.

"Hey," he said.

For some reason, he seemed to be panting hard. That's when they realized he was talking to someone else. Piper McLean was in the café, seeming like she knew he was coming. What puzzled Nico was that they were wearing similar outfits. The same black tight sweatpants with the same combat boots. Except Percy was just wearing a black long-sleeved shirt whilst Piper was wearing a tight long-sleeved shirt, tucked in.

"You've seen Mark?" Percy was asking Piper.

"You really think it's safe to talk about this stuff in public? You never know when Code Red could strike."

"Jason saw quails walking through the alleyways ten minutes ago," Percy said, "The second marshmallows are moving towards the fire."

For a second, Nico thought Percy had hit himself in the head. He was muttering gibberish. That's when Piper's eyes widened and she spotted them. She nudged Percy and he glanced over at the group of three. They whispered a few words to each other before putting on jackets, hoods up, walking out of the store. What puzzled Nico was that Percy owned a blue Bugatti Chiron, and Piper owned a baby pink vintage Mustang convertible.

"Did you just see that?" Annabeth asked, staring at the two people as they got in their cars and drove off.

"Where the f**k did they get the money for those cars? That must've cost a fortune!"

"I don't know but something's weird." Thalia frowned. "And did you hear the part about the marshmallows and the quails? It's like Percy bumped his head against something and he's hallucinating!"

"He might be." Annabeth shrugged. "Remember that time when we were in first grade and Percy literally walked right into the lamp post and knocked himself out? He doesn't look where he's putting his feet!"

That's when Annabeth stared in shock at the two cars as they sped off.

"What?" Thalia asked.

"The cars don't have license plates," she said.

"What?!" both of them exclaimed, catching the attention of some of the other people in the cafe.

They all exited outside.

"Their cars don't have license plates on them!" Annabeth hissed. "They just have an empty plaque that has a few smudges on them, but they don't have a real license plate!"

"What?" Nico whispered.

"I don't know what that seaweed brain thinks he's doing, but he's breaking the law!"

"We can't rat him out," Thalia said. "He's our friend."

"Was our friend," Annabeth corrected, wincing. "But we're not ratting him out. I'm giving him a piece of my mind."

"That's not gonna work," Nico sighed. "You guys broke it off. Running back to him's just gonna make him annoyed. He didn't even flinch when I yelled at him on the first day of school."

"So we just let it rest and let Percy get arrested?" Annabeth crossed her arms, giving Nico a look.

"It's the best plan so far..." Thalia shrugged. "Until we come up with another plan, it is what it is."