Hey everyone! A quick note that this chapter was requested by , and that I did take inspiration from the online website World of Olympians (really cool, you should definitely go check it out).

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Ellis ducked down, letting slip a yelp as a rubber ball flew over his head. Dodge ball in his class was always unreasonably aggressive, and it didn't help matters that he wasn't the sportiest kid in class, either. Dodge ball was basically just an excuse for athletic kids to ambush kids who didn't participate in class with the closest thing they had to weapons. Ellis picked up the ball that had narrowly missed his head, and spun around, gaze locking onto one Nico di Angelo, who had his hands outstretched, subtly beckoning at Ellis. Nico wasn't exceptionally enthusiastic in P.E, though at least he could win a game.

Ellis looked around, gnawing on his bottom lip before hurling the ball away from himself, and right into Nico's waiting hands. Without a second's hesitation, the shorter boy had turned to the other team and launched the ball into Aurelia Diaz's side, who groaned and dropped the ball in her hand, dragging her feet to the side of the gym, where a couple other kids stood.

"Hey di Angelo!" called Matthew Kings from the other side of the gym, two rubber balls in each hand. Ellis swore, turning to see that Nico had turned his head just as Matthew flung the two dodge balls at him with full force. Matthew was captain of the netball team that year, and for good reason, too, He had excellent aim. Ellis turned to Nico, to see that the Italian didn't seem alarmed in the slightest, despite the fact that he had no dodge balls near to distract Matthew with, on the contrary, he seemed almost excited. Well, as excited as you can look without smiling, anyway.

Matthew threw his two dodge balls at Nico, three other kids spread out across their side of the gym doing the same not a second later. Ellis jumped forward, stumbling as he caught a ball about to hit Nico's side. The Italian had sidestepped, avoiding making contact with two dodge balls, and caught the third. He gave Ellis something that seemed almost like a thankful smile, though Ellis couldn't help but think that he should be the one thanking Nico for not getting out—he was one of the only players on their team good at aiming and dodging, and clearly, Matthew knew that as well. Get the good players out, and it's an easy win after that.

A whistle blew, followed by a yell from Coach Hedge, bringing the game to a pause. "Alright, cupcakes! Gather 'round!"

Ellis dropped the ball in his hand, moving with everyone else to the right side of the gym, where everyone towered over Coach Hedge's small stature. It was almost comical, a perpetually angry-looking coach seeming ready to throw hands at anyone in front of him, no matter the size difference of the potential victim. He swung his baseball bat—god knew why he had one in a dodge ball game—and rapped his sneaker point against the ground. "That was a decent game, at least by your standards," he admitted begrudgingly. "Mystery and Force both performed well, and as for cluster points," Coach's voice faltered, and he glanced down as his clipboard, reading out from the piece of paper. "759 points to Force, 400 to Nature, 800 to Might, and 687 to Mystery! Now, that's a very pathetic number, so if you want to get the most cluster points, you better get off your butts and start playing the game!"

• • •

"And a reminder that we have a test next Monday!" called the teacher whose name Ellis couldn't pronounce for the life of him. The students all ran out of the classroom at a speed that made Ellis wonder if they were actually running from something, and he tried his hardest to stay at the same pace as Nico, and not get pushed away from the shorter boy. The two of them always walked together, save for the days that Nico wasn't returning to where he lived—a place that Ellis had only ever heard of as 'Camp'.

"Hey, do you think you're ready for the test? I've been studying, but I don't think anything's actually going into my head." muttered Ellis, jumping on the balls of his feet.

Nico raised an eyebrow, tapping his pale fingers on the strap of his bag. "I can help you study later, if you want?" he proposed. "I know this place near that road we always say bye at, a quiet cafe at the intersection." Ellis paused, and nodded eagerly. He had been in Nico's class for mythology that year, and knew that even though the boy never actively participated, he always knew the right thing to say if he was ever picked on or if nobody knew the answer to the teacher's question. If anyone could help Ellis survive mythology and get a good grade on his test, it would be Nico.

"Okay then," said Nico. "I'll meet you at the hill right after from where we split everyday, you know the one?" he waited for Ellis to nod before continuing. "Just bring whatever materials you think you would need—I'm not going to bring anything."

• • •

"I'm going to kill you. Both of you." vowed a voice. Ellis stopped in his tracks, turning his head to where the sound had come from. The voice sounded a lot like Nico's, though it also sounded a tad bit. . .livelier than what he was used to. Ellis moved to a small bush behind a tall tree, peering over the side to see three boys standing in a small clearing, two of them looking like pink trolls, with their paint-stained orange shirts and pink-tinged hair. The other boy was indeed Nico, who had a hand held up to his face, as if trying to calm himself.

"We don't doubt that," answered one of the two pink boys, the one that was slightly taller. "But could it wait? There's still so many pranks we have to pull first."

Nico opened his mouth to answer, when another boy stormed up behind Nico, hands clenched into fists. He looked a mix between angry and amused. "Stolls, did you two paint my cabin rainbow?" The boy had dark hair and eyes a weird yet familiar shade of green. "The Iris cabin thinks I'm trying to join some cult of theirs or something now! I've seen a lot, but Butch is whatever hippie gown is something I do not want to see."

That seemed to be a trigger for Nico, who glared at the 'Stolls'. "These two painted my cabin pink, and now the Aphrodite kids think I'm all about love and whatever the Hades it is they talk about when Piper's not here."

There was silence, before the new guy burst into stuttered laughter. Nico scowled and punched his bicep, resulting in a wince and a cease to the laughter. Nico turned back to the Stoll brothers. "If no Stoll is killed at my hand today, I am no son of Hades." announced Nico, before charging at the two brothers, who shared an almost scared look before taking off running around the clearing, not nearly far enough from Nico's outstretched hands to be safe.

Ellis turned back to the green-eyed boy, who at some point, had waved a blond-haired boy over. The new kid was dressed in a plain shirt and khakis with flip-flops, a stethoscope hanging around his neck. "Did he see it?" asked the blond, to which Percy responded with a single nod. He then jerked his head towards the three running figures, eliciting a snort from the blond. Nico had stopped running a while ago, and was inching towards a shadow beside him, when Will reached out and grabbed onto the shorter boy's arm, an amused frown on his face.

"What did I say about that, Neeks? The only exception now is for Harley's crazy games and quests." lectured Will, still keeping Nico uncomfortably close to him. Ellis shifted his weight, eyeing the two. If they were a couple, they would've seemed quite cute, what with the sunshine and gloom-and-doom dynamic, but Ellis didn't remember anything about Nico being attracted to boys or having a partner of any kind, so he wasn't about to assume the two were dating, as cute as that would've been.

Nico opened his mouth yet again to say something—most likely an innocent insult of some kind—when Will leaned down and pressed his lips against the shorter boy's, hand still clasped around Nico's wrist. It almost seemed like they were moving from being comfortable to intimacy to PDA, but not overstepping that line just yet. Ellis didn't know if he wanted to whoop or let his jaw drop. The green-eyed boy, however, had apparently decided on taking a picture. He had an old-fashioned camera out, and snapped a picture of the two boys seconds before they pulled apart.

Nico seemed unbelievably flustered, and he seemed ready to say something, but chose not to at the last second. Instead, Nico just gave the blond another quick peck on the lips before stepping away with a soft murmur that included the word 'study', fixing a glare on the Stolls that said 'I'll deal with you later' before walking away from the group, the blush quickly leaving his cheeks.

Ellis grinned, quickly moving to where Nico would've expected him to be. The Italian clearly led a very different life outside of school, and had a very cute relationship as well.