So there will be some information regarding updates at the bottom, I felt bad giving you only that after a while so here's a small little peek at my Nico X OC book 'till death do us part that I'm going to do after Blood in the water

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Asher was tired.

Normally, he was full of energy, always ready to jump into a new day at camp. But right now? He felt like he could curl up on the Big House porch and fall asleep. Which wouldn't have been the best idea, considering he was supposed to be waiting for Grover. Grover had Iris Messaged Katie earlier, letting her know that he and Bianca were almost back from their quest, and Katie had asked Asher to wait for him.

Asher didn't want to.

It wasn't that he didn't care about Grover. He did. But sitting here, feeling restless and frustrated, was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't in a good mood today. Percy Jackson had gone and messed things up again, and this time, Annabeth was the one who'd paid for it. She was kidnapped because of him.

Annabeth had always been someone Asher respected. When he'd first come to camp as a scared six-year-old, his dad had sent him with only a few instructions: stay alive and listen to Chiron. Back then, Annabeth had been one of the only other younger campers. They'd bonded, in a way. She was smart, capable, and kind to him when others weren't.

So when she told him years later that she'd found the child of the prophecy, a twelve-year-old son of Poseidon, Asher had been excited. Percy Jackson had sounded like a big deal, and at first, Asher thought he was. But Percy kept making mistakes.

Like when Percy went on his quest for the Golden Fleece and got the ship blown up.

The ship that Thomas, Asher's older brother, was on.

Thomas had been one of the bravest people Asher knew, close friends with Clarisse and a protective older sibling to Asher. He'd gone on the quest with Clarisse when no one else would, and he'd died because of Percy's choices.

So, no. Asher didn't like Percy Jackson.

Everything had been calm before he arrived. The demigods had lived in peace, more or less. Percy showing up had disrupted everything. Asher couldn't help but think, on his worst days, that maybe it would've been better if the Minotaur had just—

No.

Asher cut that thought off, his stomach twisting. No matter how angry Percy made him, he didn't wish him harm. That felt... wrong.

"Hey."

Asher blinked, looking up. A boy stood in front of him, one of the camp's newest arrivals. He looked about Asher's age, maybe a little younger, with black hair and olive-toned skin. His eyes were what stood out the most—dark brown, almost black, like the bark of a pine tree.

"Hey," Asher said.

The boy glanced at the empty spot on the stone bench beside him. "Mind if I sit?"

Asher shrugged, shifting over to give him space. "Go ahead."

The boy sat down, brushing his hands on his jeans before turning to Asher. "I'm Nico di Angelo," he said, holding out a hand.

Asher hesitated for half a second, then shook it. "Asher Björnsson."

They sat in silence for a moment after that, not quite awkward but not entirely comfortable either. Asher tapped his foot lightly against the ground, his pale green Converse catching a bit of sunlight.

"Who are you waiting for?" Nico asked, breaking the quiet.

"Grover Underwood," Asher replied, wringing his hands together. "What about you?"

Nico's face brightened instantly, a soft glow that seemed to radiate from him. "My sister, Bianca. She went on the quest."

Asher nodded slowly. He could tell how much Nico cared about her, just from the way he said her name. Asher couldn't imagine volunteering for a quest himself, unless it was for someone he loved—Katie, maybe, or his dad.

Probably his dad.

Asher missed him more than he could put into words. He hadn't seen him in person for four years. Iris Messaging wasn't the same—it never would be. It wasn't like seeing his dad smile up close, feeling his warm hugs, or holding his hand. Camp Half-Blood was great, but this was one thing Asher hated about it: mortals couldn't enter.

It wasn't like his dad didn't want to see him. Asher knew better than anyone how much his dad cared. He was just... overly protective, always worried about keeping Asher safe. Sending him to camp had been his way of protecting him, but instead, Asher had ended up in the middle of a war.

Thanks to Jackson.

Asher knew it wasn't entirely Percy's fault. Katie had told him that a hundred times. But who else was he supposed to blame? Annabeth blamed the gods, but Asher wasn't brave enough to do that. What if his mom found out? What if she told the others? He didn't want to get in trouble.

The gods were scary.

"So," Nico said, breaking the silence. He tapped his fingers on his knee nervously. "Who's your parent?"

"Demeter," Asher said with a small smile. "What about you?"

Nico hesitated. His eyes dropped to his feet, and he started scraping his shoe in the dirt. "I'm not sure."

Asher frowned. He could tell the question made Nico uncomfortable. The way he fidgeted with his fingers, the way he avoided eye contact—it was all familiar. Asher reached out and placed a hand on Nico's, smiling gently.

"I'm sure they'll claim you soon," he said, trying to sound reassuring.

Nico smiled faintly, but Asher noticed tears pooling in his dark eyes.

"What's wrong?" Asher asked quickly. Did he say something wrong? The last thing he wanted was to upset his new friend.

Nico shook his head, his voice cracking as he said, "It's just... me and Bianca, we've always only had each other. I don't know if I even want to meet my dad. He left us alone."

Asher swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. He couldn't imagine what that was like. Demeter had claimed him the moment he arrived at camp, and he still had his dad in his life. Sure, they didn't see each other often, but Asher knew his parents loved him.

But Nico? Nico was alone.

"I'm sure he loves you," Asher said softly, though the words felt clumsy. "The gods just... they don't always know how to be parents. It doesn't mean they don't care."

Nico gave him a weak smile, but the tears kept falling, spilling down his cheeks. Asher panicked a little. He had no idea how to handle this. No one had ever come to him for comfort before.

So he thought about what Katie would do.

Awkwardly, Asher leaned over and wrapped his arms around Nico. For a moment, Nico froze, but then he gave in, leaning into Asher's chest and clutching his shirt. His head rested against Asher's shoulder as the sobs started, quiet but shaky.

"Shh," Asher said gently, doing his best to sound soothing. He rubbed Nico's back in slow circles, though he was pretty sure he was doing it wrong. "You'll be okay."

Nico didn't say anything, just cried softly, his small frame trembling.

Asher held onto him, not letting go. Watching Nico cry made his own chest ache, like he wanted to cry too.

But for now, he just stayed still, holding Nico tightly and letting him cry it out.

Eventually, and reluctantly, Nico pulled away from the hug. Asher let go but kept one arm loosely draped around Nico's shoulders. Nico wiped his hand under his nose, sniffling softly, and then turned to Asher with a sheepish smile.

"Thanks," Nico said, his voice still a little wobbly. His eyes darted to the wet spot on Asher's shirt, and his smile turned apologetic. "Sorry about... y'know... that."

Asher shrugged. "It's fine," he said simply, brushing it off.

Nico's smile grew a little steadier, and Asher found himself smiling back. For the first time in a while, he felt like he'd made a friend his own age. It was a relief. Not many kids came to camp at ten years old, and even fewer stuck around. But here was Nico.

"There back!" someone shouted from across camp.

Nico's eyes lit up immediately.

"Come on," Asher said, standing up and gesturing toward the direction of the Dining Pavilion. "Let's go see your sister."

Nico didn't need to be told twice. He grinned and grabbed Asher's wrist, tugging him along like an excited puppy. Asher stumbled for a moment, then laughed and let himself be pulled toward the Pavilion, where Chiron and the returning campers were gathering.

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Update from last chapter for those who didn't see it <3

Hello everybody <3

As I'm sure you know by now, there hasn't been an update in around two months. I'm sorry to keep you all waiting, but you're going to have to wait a little longer. With Christmas and all, I got really busy, and I honestly didn't have the time or motivation.

But I will be back.

I'm going to spend the next month or so writing to try and get ahead of work so there isn't any delays for the rest of SOM. So you all should get the next chapter end of February.

I've also reached out to another young writer, asking if they would like to work on an original work I've been planning for a while. So there's that going on, we're in the process of setting up an Instagram account which I'll link in my link tree when I get the time.

So there will be updates about that.

I'm really sorry about keeping you all waiting. And thank you so much for 10k reads. I never even expected to get this far.

I hope y'all had an amazing Christmas and new year, (Feel free to tell me about it <3) and I hope you don't mind waiting a bit longer <3

If you have any questions about anything you can message me through Insta (Link is under my bio)

Blake ~

New Updates:

I'm sorry, I'm sure you're all very tired of these updates by now. 

SO more info on the original book I'm working on.  (Instagram link for if you want to see some more info   https://www.instagram.com/blake_hwleo/?hl=en ), It's a similar concept to castle swimmer on webtoon but with original characters and an original story.

Also I will be going from updating every Tuesday to every second Tuesday. When I started this book it was just because I had nothing else to write, and honestly I don't really feel like writing it as much as I used to. (Don't worry I'm not planning on  stopping) 

I'm also working on so many projects at the moment, this book, an Ao3 fanfic (another Ao3 fanfic) and then my original work. So I'm swamped, and even worse, I was planning on doing a squid games au with some of my OC's and some PJO characters- don't think I'm going to start that fic for a while though.

Thank you for reading through all this <3

Hope you all have a nice day/night and I'll see you soon :)

Blake ~