A/N Again, sorry for the wait, but my obsession with tumblr is far too unhealthy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, and I'm kind of glad I don't... I mean look how long it took me to write that last chapter! The fandom would KILL me!

I stared at Nico's awkwardly outstretched hand.

"What are you doing?"

"It's a handshake..." he said, confused.

I couldn't help it. I laughed. I'm pretty sure there was no real reason to laugh, but I did anyway. Nico slid back in the chair and eyed me carefully.

"What?" He asked.

"It's just..." I chuckled. "We met on the street after these monster things tried to kill us, you yelled at me to get away from you, I was chased down by Bigfoot's evil cousin, and now you just politely introduce yourself."

Nico didn't look like one to smile often, but I was sure I saw his mouth twitch.

"So you do remember me." It was more of a statement than a question.

My mood changed, and I glanced down and scratched at my arm.

"Yeah, I... I remember a lot of things."

He must have sensed me being upset because he moved his chair closer to my bed, not saying a word. I glanced up and got my first good look at him. Honestly, he didn't look any better than when I met him. His hair was still tangled and shaggy, as if he had just gotten out of bed after a long night of tossing and turning in his sleep. Just like last night, he was wearing dark jeans, although now he had on an orange t-shirt, which he was trying to hide with a black sweatshirt. I felt him looking at me and I furrowed my brow. I reassured myself that I was not staring. I was just taking advantage of being able to see him without getting attacked by a strange creature.

Slightly embarrassed, I glanced up at him, and I found his eyes. They were brown, dark brown. I felt myself grow cold as I was pulled into them. They held a frightening wild look, as if a madman was trapped behind them. A furious shiver ran down my spine, and I couldn't look away from him. His eyes made him look so old, even though he couldn't have been older than twelve or thirteen. I could almost see all of the memories and emotions he was hiding. Even though his eyes seemed tired, they also looked dangerous, and I felt threatened and alone.

Suddenly, I felt his hand on my arm and I heard him talking to me. I flinched and pulled back from his hand, my focus snapping away from his eyes. When I looked back up at him he was rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He looked weary, as if he made people feel uncomfortable like this often and he was upset that it had happened again.

"Sorry..." I muttered.

Nico cocked his head slightly and cleared his throat, not looking at me. Looking at him, I relived the past night. My stomach felt like it had been emptied out and then vacuumed. Zane. They had him, didn't they? Not Nico. Nico saved my life, twice. He wouldn't do that... would he? I debated bringing up Zane, but I knew whatever the answer was, I didn't want to hear it. Not now. Instead, I asked, "Where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood? But-"

"I'll explain later," Nico cut me off before I could finish. "The important thing is that you're safe."

Safe?

"First..." Nico seemed to have realized something. "What's your name?"

I hadn't even thought about telling him my name. To be fair, though, we never really had an opportunity to talk. "Christina."

"Christina what?"

"Jones. My name is Christina Jones." I know it might not have been smart to give a stranger my name, but I didn't have anything to lose.

"Well Christina, why don't you go ahead and tell me happened last night?"

I shook my head. "You're asking me? I don't know what happened."

"You said you remembered a lot of things," Nico pointed out.

"I do remember. I just... don't understand any of it."

"We're going to help you understand. But what happened before I met you in that alley? What were you doing just strolling around in New York at night?"

A lump formed in my throat. "I was out. On my way home from a coffee shop," I made up. "And this... thing appeared and attacked me."

If Nico sensed my unease, he didn't show it. "Thing?" he repeated. "What 'thing'?"

"That monster. You... you were there, weren't you? You were the one who saved me from it?"

He seemed to take his time thinking about it. "I never saw the monster, not up close, anyway. We escaped before it came close enough for me to get a good look at it. It was probably just another Greek monster."

"Greek?"

"Yeah. Greek, ancient Greek, like the gods. You know, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc., etc."

"But those things don't exist."

"Of course they do. You little mortals," he tapped my forehead. "are just blinded when it comes to unnatural things."

"Y-you believe in gods? Greek ones?"

"Yeah. Everyone here does."

I stared at him for a few moments, even risking a quick glanced at his eyes. There wasn't a single sign that showed he was kidding. "The... the gods?"

"Mmhmm."

"You''ve... got to be joking."

"No," Nico shook his head. "I don't joke."

"Then you're... you're mental! And monsters? You believe in monsters, too?"

Nico raised his eyebrows at this. "Of course. Don't you?"

"I- Uh... No!"

He leaned in closer to me, his voice becoming more serious. I noticed a certain scent coming of him. It was sort of a cinnamon and peppermint smell, although I wasn't sure whether it was his breath or his actual scent.

"Christina, you saw them last night. You were face to face with some of the ancient Greek monsters, and it's only the beginning."

"But I- they couldn't have been real-"

"What do you think they were, then?" I could hear in his voice that he was becoming defensive. His words began to sound slightly harsh and aggressive.

"A dream. They weren't real, it didn't happen. Nothing last night happened."

"It did-"

"It didn't! It's not real. It's not real!"

"Christina, be reasonable," Nico started but I wouldn't let him finish.

"Reasonable? Reasonable? You, a complete stranger who has me locked up in some camp, are trying to convince me that gods, and monsters, and... and... these things are real, and you tell me to be reasonable?!"

His hand found my arm and held me tight. I realized I had gotten up into a sitting position, and I was leaning forward, nearly off the edge of the bed.

"Christina, please. If you'd just let me go get Chiron, he'll explain it to you. It's all real, though. You just have to-"

"You're lying," I whisper.

"Christina-"

"You're lying!"

Deciding I wasn't going to cooperate no matter what he said, Nico sat back in the chair and sighed. New tears sprang to my eyes, and I tried to rub them away without him seeing. He glanced in my direction and a new look appeared in his eyes. Whether it was suspicion or curiosity or realization, I couldn't tell.

"C-Christina? Was there... was there someone else with you last night? Someone who... wasn't there after you were attacked?"

I didn't answer him. He continued to stare at me until I slowly shook my head. I knew he wasn't convinced.

"Are you sure? There was no one else?"

Suddenly, I felt like I was going to throw up.

"Christina!" He repeated. "Was there-"

I gritted my teeth, forcing the lie out. "No."