Their arrival back at camp was a quiet affair. Nico came and went as he pleased, and Travis had apparently made up an excellent cover story that involved their mother getting sick, emergency phone calls, and a frantic trip to make sure she was okay. Connor got a few questions about his mom, but he was able to easily deflect them. Mr. D made sure he was punished properly for not letting them know. Connor was assigned to work the strawberry fields for a while as penance. It was nothing like he'd imagined a homecoming to be but he kind of liked it.

"I'm glad you're not dead," was the first thing Travis said when Connor returned to the Hermes cabin. "What was it like going on a field trip with the Ghost Whisperer?"

Connor thought about it. "It was fun."

Travis didn't ask him anymore questions. Connor decided he might tell Travis more if he brought it up again, but for now, the things he'd learned about Nico di Angelo would remain in the privacy of his mind. He did show Travis the traveler's card.

"Sweet," Travis said. "You could go anywhere with this thing. We gotta go on a big trip after I graduate."

Connor smiled and nodded. It was nice to pretend that kind of thing was possible.

Of course, the girls from the Demeter cabin were suspicious. They always were. Miranda showed up in the cabin that afternoon. Katie must have been trying to drag information out of Travis.

"Where did you disappear to, Connor?" Miranda demanded.

"Travis told you, Mom was sick. I went to check on her."

"Why don't I believe you?" She folded her arms. "I get the feeling that you snuck out of camp without informing any of the other counselors because you had less than pure intentions. Were you out collecting contraband? Stuff to mess with our cabin again?"

"Believe whatever you wanna believe," Connor said. "I was out doing a good deed. It doesn't matter whether everyone knows it."

Miranda sniffed and tossed her ponytail over one shoulder. "Don't let it happen again, Stoll. Katie and I won't hesitate to report you. There are other campers who could take your place."

It was a blatant lie, but he respected her for sounding so confident. There was a flicker of movement behind Miranda, a dark shape that edged its way into the frame.

Connor noticed Nico hovering in the doorway. He waved for him to come in. Nico shook his head and backed away. Miranda glanced over her shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Nico was here. I thought he wanted something, but he just moved on."

"You should go talk to him. He's probably just shy. That boy isn't very social."

"I will. Thanks, Miranda." Connor got up and moved past her.

Nico hadn't gone far. He was walking back towards Hades cabin, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his bomber jacket. Connor caught up with him without even trying. He was unable to resist ruffling Nico's hair.

"Hey. Did you need something?"

"No. Forget about it."

"You should have come in. I was going to show you my secret stash of contraband."

"I didn't want to interrupt." Nico stopped in front of his cabin. He didn't go inside. He seemed to be working up the nerve to say something. "Um, if you still want to show me your contraband tomorrow, I wouldn't say no."

"Wait a minute," Connor said, a smile stretching his lips. "Are you saying you want to hang out?"

Nico hunched his shoulders. "Y-yeah, I guess. But don't think we're best friends now or anything. I figured that after all that… you know, it would kill time."

"Nico, I'm touched." Connor put a hand over his heart and wiped away a fake tear. "We're finally becoming closer."

"Alright. This got weird and I'm leaving. Bye." Nico pushed his door open.

Before he could go in, Connor caught his arm. "You can come to me whenever you want. You know that right? If you're bored or lonely or want to talk, you know where to find me."

"Well, yeah, you're a camp counselor. That's in your job description."

"I'm also your friend. That's why I'm telling you this."

Nico looked at him for a long moment. "Okay." Then he carefully extricated himself from Connor's grasp and stepped backward into the cabin. He shut the door.

Connor spent what felt like forever staring at that closed door like Nico di Angelo's thoughts would appear on it at any second. He was dazed, his body numb. He hadn't been brushed off or snapped at. Nico had said "okay." He'd accepted that Connor was his friend. He'd agreed to tell him things, to spend time together.

Connor knew he was nowhere near "BFF" status, but as he walked back to Hermes' cabin, he felt lighter than air.

So almost as soon as I finished writing this fic, I realized that I had actually started something much bigger than I'd initially intended. Therefore, I will eventually be posting sequels (which I'm currently working on because I have no self control). I set up too much stuff to leave hanging! Is Travis leaving? How's Connor going to use that traveler's pass? How will his friendship with Nico evolve? So expect at least two more fics from me in this universe.

Thanks to all of y'all for reading!