A/N: I'm despicable, I know. I really did not mean to leave this story unattended for so long. Many thanks for the reviews last chapter :).

"Hey Nico."

"Oh, hey..." My cheeks warmed unpleasantly, and I turned sideways to watch her pass. Gods. Rachel, was... something else. "You're going swimming?" If it was possible to punch yourself, I might have done it then. She was a wearing a polka-dotted bikini - of course she was going swimming.

"Uh-huh. Want to come with?" She extended her hand, and I had this quick thought that maybe she wanted me to take it. I started to reach out, though, and that's when she moved it back. Dammit.

"Um, okay." I couldn't tell if I sounded too eager or not. One time, when Percy made me go to a check up at the doctor's, I read an article about that. In addition to crap about muscle toner and make out positions, it said you shouldn't sound so eager when girls ask you to do stuff. I pretended like I didn't care, but that one piece of advice stuck with me. I'm not really such an eager guy, so my enthusiastic moments really come through.

"Cool." I raced to her side, and that's when I noticed the little um, slit between her... gods, I can't say it out loud. Not to you people, anyway. Holy Rhea, mother of the gods - I'd only seen that in my imagination, before. And now I was going to go swimming with her? Like that? - Oh wait...

"Um, uh, Rachel... one problem..." I stared down at the grass, hoping she wouldn't see me blush. "I have to go get a bathing suit." Never mind that I didn't have one. Gods, I thought only Percy could be so stupid. Why the Hades did I lose my mind whenever I was around her?

She frowned at me, and said, "Wait, but you're a guy right?" Uh... "I mean - I mean," she choked back laughter, and I pretended to do the same. "I mean, I know you're a guy." She wiped tears of mirth from her eyes. "But can't you just wear your boxers?"

The skull pair I bought on a whim last month? "You know, I'd rather not get them wet..." Why not, I wanted to ask myself. What the Hades is so special about your boxers that you can't swim in them? I can be such an idiot, sometimes, it reminds me that I'm related to Percy. "I'll just ran, and, um, get a pair..."

I dashed away as fast as I could, hoping Percy would have a spare pair. I mean, he's son of Poseidon. You'd think he'd be in good supply. "Percy, Percy!" I ran so hard, my chest felt like it would crack open my chest.

"Mmmm." I heard the sound of fishing breaking the water's surface, and I winced. That only meant one thing. "Nico..." Percy said, hastily wiping his mouth. "I thought you'd, um, gone out for the day."

"Hey Nico..." Annabeth peered up from Percy's pillows, and I shut my eyes. I can't believe I used to have a crush on her; now it would be like crushing on a sister. Or a mom. Yuck.

"Are you dressed?" I asked, maybe a little louder than necessary.

Something hit me on the head. "Yes, she's dressed." Percy sounded angry for a second, but then he laughed. "Anyway, what do you need?" I figured it would be okay to look, so I squinted at him. "I need a bathing suit," I replied, bracing myself for the mockery.

"To swim in?"

"Uh-huh."

"In the water?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh my Gods," Percy said, exaggerating the words. "Annabeth, it must be the apocalypse."

"Do I need to tell her..." I tried to think of a good blackmail story, but there honestly aren't any. Percy's a pretty clean guy; or at least, I don't know any of his dirtier moments. "Ugh, Percy, just hand over a swim suit!"

"Any particular reason?" Percy asked. But he went to get me one anyway, so I figured I could fake it.

"Uh... I need the exercise." I avoided Annabeth's eyes, because I could tell she thought she knew something.

"You know who else is swimming today?" she asked, taking just long enough a pause to scare me.

"Who?" I asked, already on the defensive.

"Rachel."

Percy turned around, a big grin on his face. I swear, if I'd been bigger, I would have hit him."Nico, do you like her?"

"Shh... leave him alone, Percy," Annabeth said.

"You like her, don't you?" I couldn't help but notice that the swimsuit he'd picked looked a little... big... in some areas. What can I say? Being a child of one of the Big Three doesn't mean I inherited all of my dad's, um, bigness. Don't ask me how I know that.

"Percy!" Annabeth scolded, giving him a little slap on the arm. "Leave him alone. Anyway, Nico, if you like her, that's up to you." She smiled smugly, and I remembered that she hated Rachel, once upon a time. "But you know, she goes to boarding school in the fall. I don't think - "

"Bye," I muttered, letting the cabin door slam behind me.

"Wait up, Nico!" I let Percy find me on the steps, not trudging more than a few steps. "Here's the suit."

"Thanks."

"Just... don't get your hopes up about the Rachel thing. She's the Oracle, okay? It makes things tough on her."

"Yeah, I know." I suck at picking girls who can actually go out with me.

"And... you really should think about the school thing."

I stalked away, moving in the direction of my cabin so I could change. Would he ever stop trying to be my father? I mean, clearly, my dad wasn't the best. I cringed at the thought of talking about girls with him. But still... it wasn't like Percy could replace that. I don't know why, but it really pissed me off. He wasn't even an adult yet, technically - he shouldn't have treated me like some little brother.

Wearing the suit just depressed me. Putting aside the fact that it didn't really fit me... I had never noticed the skimpiness of my chest. Were abs supposed to be all flat? No, right? That meant they weren't abs. Gods, and I so hated the thought of working out... I was Nico di Angelo, no way could I spend an hour on a treadmill. Feeling pretty low about myself, I headed back down to the lake. I was probably too depressed to even flirt properly; if Rachel hadn't left yet, that is.

"Hey Nico." She was in the water. While it obscured her chest, sadly, it made her hair spread out in such a pretty way... like a goddess, I thought happily. "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yeah," I replied, maybe a bit too quickly. "Everything's great." I slid into the water, ignoring the way the cold split my skin. Once I was in, she'd stop seeing my puny muscles, I told myself.

"You sure?"

"Uh, yes..." Suddenly things felt a bit too cold. I looked down, and... oh gods, where was Percy's suit? "Um, um..."

"What's wrong?" She glanced at me, at the direction of my gaze, and I watched the realization crack against her face. Like Apollo pulling the sun across the sky, she stifled a giggle in slow motion. "Did - did you lose something, Nico?" she asked, polite as can be.

Mortified, I wondered if opening my mouth would produce anything but a stutter. Probably not. "I - I -"

"Hey, I'm a pretty good swimmer," she said, "want me to get it for you? If I can't, we can always go ask Percy."

Suddenly I wanted Annabeth to teach me those Greek curses, just so I could shout them at the sky. Why couldn't one day go by without something terrible happening to me?

"Is it below you?" she asked me.

I forced myself to nod, hoping she wouldn't swim too close. It's not like I had that much of a chance with her anyway, and if I she saw certain things... it might disappoint her. That's all I was saying.

"Don't worry about it," she said, popping up in front of my nose. "I'll have to tell you about the time I lost my bikini top at my school's beach day." Yes, she would have to tell me that story, some day. Feeling slightly cheered, I forced a smile and let her swim down below me. I wished I could have gone myself, but honestly, I probably would have sunk. Swimming is one of those things - one of those many, many things - that doesn't come easily to the son of Hades.

After a second she came back up, the suit in her hands. "Here you go," she said, sounding proud of her diving abilities. I took it from her and put it on, remembering to thank her at the last second.

"So... you want to hear the story?" she asked.

"About your bikini?" Gah, again with the eagerness. I would have to work on it.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Okay, sure."

"Come on," she said, "Let's go to the shore." Then, because her presence wasn't enough to make me lose it, she took my hand. As happy as it made me, it also made me a little nervous. The lake water had made my hand all grimy. Still, when we climbed up, she didn't let go. That had to mean something. Right?

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! :D Reviews would be delightful.