Hi everybody. Okay, I know I have another story up and going right now, but I'm not going to stop it. If you haven't checked it out yet it's called What Lurks in the Shadows (the first being My Prince of Shadows). I think I can handle multiple updates. I've dealt with more before. Whaddya say we all see how this goes.

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Percy's POV

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~Two Months Previous~

I slipped into my red swim trunks and white lifeguard shirt, then slipped my whistle over my head. I took a deep breath and smiled at the mirror. It was my first day as a swim instructor for the YMCA, and I was sure I was going to enjoy it. I'd been in love with swimming ever since I was little. I excelled at my own swim lessons when I was about four, and at ten I was assigned to assistant lifeguard at the YMCA. Now, at fifteen and almost a freshman, I was going to do one on swim lessons with kids three times a week, in half hour sessions, for three hours every night. My first person should be waiting in the pool now. I checked my schedule. Yep, three o'clock appointment.

I pushed my way into the pool and grabbed up my clipboard, staring at the sheet of the kid I was supposed to teach. There were a few people doing laps on the other side, but at the shallow end, sitting on the steps, sat a nervous looking kid about my age. He was handsome in a rugged way, with his olive skin, sweep of dark hair, and dark eyes. He looked nervous and almost fearful of the water. He sat with his legs drawn up to his chest and his arms around his legs, gazing down at the crystalline water. I set my clipboard down and approached him, resting my hand on his shoulder. He shifted his gaze to look up at me.

"Hey," I said softly. "You must be Nico. I'm Percy. I'll be your instructor today." He looked me up and down, and those dark eyes didn't portray much. I had no idea what he was thinking.

"Aren't you a little young to be an instructor?" he asked, almost accusingly. But behind that was an edge that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I observed him for a couple of seconds. His body language didn't change much, but his eyes darted from place to place, looking at the window where parents and others could observe to the people at the other end of the pool minding their own business. It then all clicked into place. I gently squeezed his shoulder as I slipped passed him and made my way into the cool water.

"Don't be embarrassed Nico," I said, smiling kindly at him. A small smile began to form on his lips as he continued to study me. God, he was handsome. "Are you embarrassed to be taking lessons from someone who's your age? Are you worried others are going to judge you because you're, what, about fifteen, and you don't know how to swim?" That wasn't exactly the thing we were supposed to say to our new clients, but I felt compelled to try and comfort Nico. He slowly untangled himself until his feet dangled in the water.

"I guess," he said after a while, refusing to look at me. "Swimming's never been my strong point, and now my dad finally said that I'm supposed to take lessons. I just never realized that my lessons would be by another teenager." I got out and sat beside him, close enough that our shoulders touched. Nico stared at his feet for the longest time.

"I know it might be weird to be taught by somebody who's close to your age," I said slowly. This also wasn't in the program, but I felt compelled to say it nonetheless. "But you'll see it's not so bad." I shed my shirt and whistle and set them at the edge of the pool. Nico's eyes roamed over my body before he flushed red and looked away. I smiled and dove in, so to speak, surfacing and watching Nico as he slowly peeled his tank off and slipped in, paddling his way to me slowly. His technique was sloppy at best and he struggled to keep his head above the water. When he finally stopped and stood, he bowed his head in shame.

"I told you I wasn't good," he said quietly. "I don't think I'll ever learn." He sighed and his shoulders sagged. I moved and brushed my shoulder against his, smiling down at him (I was shocked to find that I was a good two or three inches taller).

"You just need some practice," I said, glancing at the clock. "Unfortunately you only have about ten minutes now. So we'll work on something else. How's your diving?" He glanced at me questioningly as I hauled myself out and reached into our little plastic cabinet, producing three green plastic dive rings. "Let's work on this," I said, hurling them to various locations across the shallow end. A huge grin broke out on Nico's face as he chased them down. I sat on the edge and observed him. Underwater, he did better. He had a grace about him as he maneuvered around, retrieving the rings. Finally, he popped up in front of my, holding up the rings and grinning triumphantly. "There you go!" I whooped, pumping my fists in the air. The look on Nico's face was priceless.

"Maybe this won't be so bad," he said, wiping the hair out of his dark eyes. Now that his hair was back I could really appreciate how gorgeous he really was. I would definitely look forward to seeing him on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at three. He was the one student I saw more than once a week. I was going to enjoy this a lot.

…

"That's it!" I cried, paddling after him, after just a couple days of practice, Nico had proved to be quite the fish. His technique had improved quite a bit, and now he swam in front of me, looking proud. His dad and his sister, Bianca, were watching us from the viewing window, and I knew he wanted to impress them. He dove underwater and I lost sight of him until he popped up behind him, spraying me with pool water. "Oh you," I said teasingly, chasing him around the shallow end. He laughed and swam away, twisting and diving under me as reached the spot where he'd been previously. "Little trickster you," I said with a laugh, grabbing him around his waist and wrestling with him in the water. With Nico I couldn't give formal lessons. He didn't learn that way. He learned best by doing it himself, so this was nothing new. This was our normal lesson.

"Uncle! Uncle!" he cried, twisting away from my grasp and brushing his slicked down, wet hair out of his dark eyes. I glanced at the viewing window and noticed his father and his sister weren't there anymore. He looked back and his face fell. "They didn't see that," he said sadly. His lower lip trembled slightly, then he shrugged. "Well, I'm more nimble in the water anyway. Maybe I won't need lessons anymore!" He pumped his fists in the air and my heart plummeted. Nico wouldn't be taking lessons anymore?

"Well, I guess not…" I said quietly, turning to face away from him. "That's good." I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I glanced back at him. He looked about as troubled as I felt. "It is good that you don't need lessons anymore Nico," I said honestly, turning around fully to face him. "It's just…" I couldn't exactly form the words to describe how I felt about all of this. I felt... almost sad about the fact he was going to leave to me and the lessons (mostly me).

"Really? Well and truly good?" he asked me, his dark eyes wide and pleading. I smiled and ruffled his hair. He almost like a little brother to me now. I glanced at the clock. I had ten minutes left with him. I set my jaw. If this was really our last lesson, I was determined to make it a good one. I grabbed his hand and propelled him forward. He swam ahead of me on his back, gazing at me questioningly as I followed behind him. When we reached the deep end, I pinned him against the wall.

"Wha?" he asked. "Percy, what are you doing?" I crashed my lips to his. I couldn't take it anymore. I'd wanted to do that the first day I'd met him. "No!" he cried, twisting free of me and swimming away. "Percy, I don't like you that way." Heart shattered into a million flesh, tearing, gut wrenching pieces, I hauled myself out of the water and sat on the wall. "I'm sorry Percy," he said, and the strangest thing was he did sound sorry. "But I just don't like you that way. I… I think I should go." He scrambled out of the water and made a beeline for the changing room. I stared at the water for the longest time, and I was sure water was dripping out of my hair and splashed into the pool. But I couldn't be certain. After awhile, everything became one giant blur. And even in the water, where I'd felt as weightless as a feather, I now felt as heavy as lead, and I felt myself slowly sinking deeper and deeper.

~Present~

"Percy, time for school!" my mom called from down the hall. But of course, I was already ready. I'd been up since five because I'd had another "nightmare" about the day I'd made a move on Nico and he'd rejected me then ran away. I hadn't seen him since, but that was probably a good thing. I hadn't been able to get him off of my brain since. I'd be starting at New Haven High School in downtown and I was stoked. New Haven was were my cousins, Thalia and Jason, went, and were Annabeth and I were going to go. Annabeth had been my friend since we were in preschool (Thalia and Jason would be sophomores this year).

"Hey mom," I said as I emerged from my room. "I can't wait to get to New Haven! I haven't seen Jason and Thalia since middle school!" That was a slight exaggeration. I'd seen them at Christmas. "And Annabeth and Grover and Will and Jake and…"

"Percy!" my mom shouted around a laugh. "Calm down sweetie. I know you're excited to be going to high school, but you don't need to bubble over with excitement." I laughed as she kissed my cheek and handed me my backpack. "My, don't you look nice," she said. I swung around in a quick circle to show off my entire outfit. New Haven was pretty lax when it came to dress code, but all the same I was dressed in my Sunday best and coolest. I wore tan shorts, a maroon polo with a black vest over the top and an untied black tie around the collar, and white sneakers. I felt cool and confident, which was good because it helped mask the fact I felt like throwing up. "You're going to miss Thalia if you wait much longer," mom commented lightly. My green eyes widen as I snatched my backpack from her and ran down the hallway of our apartment building. I burst outside just as Thalia pulled up in her black Mercedes. Yes, she actually drove one.

"Hey cuz," Jason said as I slipped into the back seat. Jason and Thalia are twins, but you wouldn't know it. For one, Thalia is about three or four inches taller than Jason is. Aside from their blue eyes, they didn't look anything alike. Jason looked like he stepped right out of a 1950s surfer movie with his sweep of blonde hair and light blue eyes, and the fact he was wearing white cotton shorts and a loose light pink tank only seemed to add to the affect. Thalia I would almost call Goth (though not to her face, she would break every bone in my body) with hair jet-black hair and hard, dark blue eyes, and today she was sporting a short, black skirt with black leggings underneath, and a motorcycle jacket over her white concert shirt.

"Hey cuz," I finally replied as Thalia pulled away from the curb. I watched my building fade in the distance, feeling a stab of nervousness. I was officially a freshman, which meant I could be ripe for the picking if I dealt the wrong hand. "Are you guys ready to be sophomores?" From behind the wheel, Thalia tisked at me. "And I said the wrong thing," I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

"Don't sweat it Percy," Jason said, turning around to look at me. "Don't forget, all your friends are going to be there. High school is so much better than middle school!" I smiled at my cousin's lame attempt at trying to cheer me up. I was feeling better though. I couldn't wait to see Annie and Grover and all my friends. "Are you trying out for football?" Jason asked me. "It's New Haven's proudest sport. Everyone goes out." I shook my head.

"Nah man," I said. "Swim team's for me. Always has been." Jason shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the front. Thalia pulled into the parking lot, and before she was fully parked, I bolted out of her car like it was on fire. There it was. New Haven High School. My high school for the next four years. "Annie!" I called, catching sight of her. She was lounging on the school steps, talking with Katie Gardner, Travis and Connor Stoll, and Malcolm. But when she saw me she abandoned her group and came over to give me a hug.

"Hey Perce!" she said bubbly, excitedly. "Welcome to paradise on earth."

"Hey girl!" I replied, flapping my wrist in the gay-best-friend way Annabeth loved so much. She giggled and pulled me along to talk to our usual group. Grover and Jason filtered over and began talking with us as well. But movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and any words I would've said died on the tip of my tongue. Heading our way was a familiar sweep of dark hair and dark, almost calculating eyes. "Nico?" I whispered.

"Di Angelo!" Jason called out, flagging him down. "Come here you rascal." A huge smile broke out on Nico's face when he spotted my cousin, and a flash of jealousy began to burn on my chest. What made Jason so special? "Guys," Jason said, slinging one arm over Nico's shoulders. "This is Nico di Angelo. Nico, this is Annabeth, Katie, Travis and Conner, Malcolm, Grover." With each name he pointed out who was who, and everyone mumbled a quick hi. "And this…" Jason said, pointing at me.

"Percy?" Nico gasped, his dark eyes widening. "You go to school here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I retorted. Jason glanced uneasily from Nico to me. Nico backpedaled fast and stumbled into Jason, who'd moved behind him. "Paws off him," I growled at my cousin, who was so startled he let go of Nico and the ravenette went tumbling to the ground. "Bye," I said stiffly, turning on my heel and going inside the building. I made my way inside the boys' restroom and slumped against the wall.

This was certainly going to be an interesting school year if I had to face Nico on a regular basis.

…

This is obviously the prologue. The real story will begin momentarily lol. R&R please!