Hey guys, so I'm in the mood to write because my city just went into lockdown again, so please comment if you can of someone I should write a chapter for, or someone you just want to see more of. Scenarios (plots) are also welcomed, thanks if you comment or see this!

___________

Nicole jogged on the spot, hoping to keep warm in the cold weather. She glanced over at her only friend at the trip; Piper McLean, the only other student in her class able to pay the ridiculously expensive fee for the ski trip. And the only other person willing to pay for it.

With a fashion designer for a mother, Nicole was forced into a ski outfit that while was fashionable, wasn't very warm. Piper was wearing a stylish ski outfit that was very against the girl's style, Piper's defence being that she has a mother who gets a little too involved in her personal life.

Nicole pulled her beanie further down till it covered her ears, which already felt like ice. There were about only twenty students in the school of three thousand students who could afford the trip, something Nicole could very easily wrap her head around. Nicole kept her eyes on Mrs Reed, one of the three teachers on the trip. Mrs Reed was definitely more appropriately dressed for the weather, and was leading the small group of students down to the cabin at the bottom of the hill.

The blond ran a hand through her hair, each strand felt like a noodle strand left in the refrigerator. She twirled a green strand of hair around her gloved finger absently. Being the daughter of a fashion designer was great, she knew that, but being under the spotlight all the time made her want to go against everything her mother and the media stood for. They want beauty? She'll degrade herself. They want proper etiquette? She'll act like a toddler out for dinner.

It was nothing against her mother personally, more so something Nicole did in hopes of looking like she's actually a person in her mother's eyes—not just a model, or media attention.

"You'd think the school stop charging so much for these trips—" Nicole started, stopping when she realised Piper was nowhere to be found. Nicole held up a finger as she was going to point at something, before her hand fell to her side when she finally spotted Piper. The brunette was still at the top of the hill, laying on the snow looking as if she was injured, using her arms to keep herself up. Nicole looked back to tell Mrs Reed, to see that she was too far ahead to be heard if Nicole were to yell, and by the time she tells her, god knows what would've become of Piper McLean.

As Nicole ran up the hill, ski gear abandoned, she prayed to whoever the god of ski trips or injuries was, whether they be Greek or Roman, that Piper would be okay, and that she wasn't actually injured, though the view Nicole got when she got once at Piper's side erased that hope real quick.

"Piper—"

Nicole's words were cut off when she saw the gnash in Piper's shoulder.

Blood stained her clothes, the wound looked fresh, and Nicole felt sick. "Oh god I'm going to throw up." She muttered before dropping to her knees to examine the wound. Piper's expression was pained, though she didn't seem as bothered as she should've, considering there was a large cut on her shoulder. Nicole looked around in hopes to see what could've caused the injury, when her eyes landed on a knife with a thin layer of glitter on it.

No wait—it was a dagger, and it wasn't glitter, it was dust. Golden dust.

Nicole checked Piper's wound, to see a light layer of identical gold dust around the wound on her skin. Her eyes widened, and she turned to face Piper. The wounded brunette didn't seem to notice the blood dripping onto the snow, forming red snow, something Nicole hoped she would never have to see again.

"Nicole." Piper said, turning her gaze onto the blond. Nicole tried to focus on Piper's eyes, but that didn't seem to help, since her eye colour always changed because of the sun's light beams, something Piper told her about. "Give me the packet in my pocket."

Piper's words were slurred, as if she was drunk. Her breathing was harsh, and Nicole could see Piper's head rolling to the side every so often. Keeping her head up clearly took a lot of her energy. But without wasting any time, Nicole grabbed the zip-lock bag in Piper's jacket pocket, raising an eyebrow when she saw the last thing she expected to see—lemon squares.

Well, they weren't actually lemon squares, the cubed food just resembled the treats. Nicole frowned. Piper was wounded, it was probably self-harm judging by the dagger and the gold dust, and the first thing she wanted to do was eat a lemon square? Nicole put two and two together, crawling back in the snow, away from Piper, who groaned when she saw, quickly grabbing a cloth in her pocket and pressing it against the wound.

"Damn it Nicole—give me the am—" Piper paused, "Lemon squares." She said instead.

Nicole glared at Piper, shaking her head. Piper trying to hide what the 'lemon squares' actually just proved her suspicion. "Oh Hades no." She said, choosing to say Hades instead of Hell seeing as how hell probably didn't actually exist. Not the kind of hell she imagined—anyway.

"No way am I giving you drugs Piper! Look what it's made you do already!" Nicole said through gritted teeth, moving closer to check her pockets for more of the drugs. It all made sense now. How Piper would always run off after grabbing the zip-lock bag to god knows where and come back looking tired and dazed, how she always spoke weirdly, saying gods instead of god, saying things like Aphrodite or Hades or even schist instead of just swearing like a normal person.

Piper frowned, before realisation dawned on her. Nicole nodded, "Yeah now you get it. The last thing you need to a drug addiction Pipes!" She yelled not-so-loudly, and Piper glared at her. "One, I don't have a drug addiction because those aren't drugs, and second, don't call me Pipes." She said, and Nicole frowned, before remembering Piper's reason for the second.

She didn't know the full story about Piper's nickname, but apparently it was something her ex-boyfriend used to call her. Nicole didn't know what happened to him, but judging by how Piper disliked the nickname, he was probably abusive or something of the sorts.

But thinking about something else was a bad move, because Piper snatched the bag from Nicole grasp while she was preoccupied, and quickly shoved a piece of the 'lemon square' into her mouth before Nicole grabbed the zip-lock bag again. Nicole expected Piper to start acting hyper, or perhaps seem delirious. She didn't know how drugs worked.

Seconds after Piper swallowed the small square, she let out a small sigh, attempting to roll her shoulders before wincing slightly. Nicole glanced at the wound to see that it seemed better, still a wound, but it seemed more. . .decent? The gnash didn't look as bad as before, and it was only when it was gone, that Nicole had realised there was some originally some other liquid sprinkled on the wound that had disappeared, it was definitely poison or something lethal.

Nicole shook her head in confusion, and Piper sighed. "Right—the Mist is gone."

The blond scowled. The Mist. That was the magic veil thing that hid demigods and monsters from mortal eyes. Nicole wasn't that smart, but at least she could figure some things out. And judging by how Piper healed slightly after eating a lemon square and had golden dust on a dagger that belonged to her, Nicole finally realised what was wrong.

"Oh god—you're a demigod!" Nicole screamed, though it was softer than she had imagined. Piper nodded, and anger rushed into the blond's veins. "And you didn't tell me? Your best friend?"

Piper gave Nicole an uncomfortable smile. "Well, you're mortal, and you literally said yesterday you want 'all demigods to go extinct because they're foul creatures who haunt our world.'" Piper said, her expression a mixture anger, annoyance, and pity. The brunette shook her head a few times before offering her hand to Nicole, as if she wanted to shake it. And though Nicole was confused, she took Piper's hand and shook it.

"But yes. I'm Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite."