chapter 24: trời ơi! (heavens!)

Annabeth stepped into the Big House attic, drinking in the sight in front of her. Even after nine years, the place still gave her the creeps. It was a dark room filled with various possessions from quests, like Aphrodite's scarf and a Drakon Head. But she didn't come for any of that.

She swallowed as she approached the corpse. She was sitting on a tripod stool wearing a tie-die sundress, her many beaded necklaces, and a headband over her long, black hair. Chills went down her spine as she locked eyes with the glassy white slits the Oracle had.

A voice spoke in the back of Annabeth's mind.

'I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.'

Annabeth took a deep breath. "What must I do to stop Luke Castellan?"

Green light swirled around Annabeth, sending shivers down her spine. A raspy voice sounded as the Oracle spoke.

'You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,

'The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.

'You shall rise and fall by the ghost king's hand,

'Flower and Athena child's final stand.

'Destroy and create with a hero's final breath,

'And lose a love to worse than death.'

~•~•~

A few days have passed since Percy left. After Nico's breakdown, the two definitely became closer. However, Hoa could occasionally hear things from him in the backyard. It sounded like he was talking to Minos again.

Hoa stared at the clock on the wall.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

She watched as the tiny hand representing seconds slowly revolved around, starting and ending at 12. Such insignificant things could take her attention so easily because of her ADHD, especially after days of sitting in bed and doing nothing. Occasionally, she'd make Nico spar with her, but he would always get tired quickly.

She sighed as she wrapped herself tighter in the sheets, staring at the shadow-covered clock. It's not like there was anything she could do, anyway.

The need to just do something was overwhelming her. She thought about asking Eurytion if there were any training grounds on the farm, as Hoa and Nico just battled on some random, flat terrain.

Knock, knock.

"Dinnertime, Hoa. C'mon," she heard Nico say before he walked away.

Hoa sighed as she grabbed her red hoodie and went out of the room, grabbing her necklace with tia chớp and strapping lửa to her belt that she just put on.

She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the different lighting. Maybe she shouldn't have kept the lights off. Squinting, she grabbed some of the pasta that Eurytion generously made for them.

She took her place next to Nico, setting her plate down as she rested her head on Nico's shoulder. Hoa closed her eyes, trying to not feel tired.

Nico patted her shoulder. "Wake up and eat."

She blinked at him. "You're one to talk."

"Shut up and eat your food."

Hoa rolled her eyes as she removed her head from Nico's shoulder, setting it on the table instead.

He playfully glared at her. "Eat, you ragazza irritante."

She narrowed her eyes. "Did you just call me an irritating... girl? "

Nico rolled his eyes. "Annoying, but same difference." He turned away, but Hoa caught the slight blush on his cheeks. She cooed inwardly at the sight.

"You con trai khó chịu," she said, then hesitated. "I... thích anh." I like you.

He frowned. "I can guess what that first part means, but could you translate that last part for me?"

"Không."

"...Is that a yes or no?"

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Trời ơi." Heavens. "If you know me well enough, you can guess."

Nico huffed. "Eat your food."

"Whatever. Fine." After picking at her mushroom Alfredo for too long, she twisted it into her fork and stuck it in her mouth. Her eyes widened in delight at the delicious flavor. "Oh, this is good! Where's Eurytion? I gotta thank him for this later."

"He finished eating because you were taking so long. He's actually napping right now—maybe. I don't know."

Her shoulders slumped. "Fine. Whatever."

He ruffled her hair. "Finish eating, and then I'll tell you what's about to happen."

She looked at him with surprise. "Wait, what? There was something happening?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, there was. Come on, let's get going. Eat faster."

She narrowed her eyes at Nico. "Nico di Angelo, I know you're only done because you barely put shit on your plate. Eat more."

Nico groaned. "No."

Hoa glared, grabbing her fork and getting some pasta from her plate onto his. "Eat. I'll get more for myself later."

"Fine."

They ate together in a comfortable silence, relishing the peace that flowed in the atmosphere.

Until Nico decided to break that silence.

"Why do you do that?" Nico asked.

Hoa, who did it unconsciously, frowned. "Huh?"

"Why did you put more food on my plate?"

She glanced over to Nico's plate, finding that she had, in fact, placed more food on his plate. "Oh," she said. "Um... Sorry, it's instinct at this point. Do you want me to stop?"

"...I mean, why do you do it?"

"It's kind of manners," she said. "You're supposed to treat others before you treat yourself and to always be watching for those who need help. So when a person that you care about has a plate or bowl getting empty, it's proper for you to refill that bowl."

"Oh." He nodded. "Well, in that case, you may keep refilling my bowl. I'm getting a bit full, though, so maybe slow down."

"Okay."

It was weird how he was close to her, unlike anybody else. If anyone else were to touch or hug him, he would flinch away quickly. But her? He'd let her hug him all day long.

What was different from her and the rest of the world?

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hi im madi, your loyal author ♥️

i am not satisfied with this chapter at all but i havent updated in a long time and i really needed to get something out

ok enough of my complaining onto the other books

check out muse! its a jax x reader (from tadc--the amazing digital circus) and doesn't have many chapters yet, but still! plsplspls take a look.

and that one murder drones book is (still) popping off.

anyways

how was the chapter?

also, what are some questions of your own?

anyways, tysm for reading this crappy book! 😃