This plot really excites me for the next chapters!!! WEEEEEW

Enjoy ;)

Chapter #32; Part 3 : No Time

~Send your dreams
Where nobody hides
Give your tears
To the tide
No time
No time
There's no end
There is no goodbye
Disappear
With the night
No time
No time~

NICO POV

"A super hairy cavewoman would totally count as an animal. I have no idea what you're rambling on about, Frankie."

"Leo, a hairy cavewoman-"

"A super hairy cavewoman," interrupted the curly haired Latino. "You may now continue, Zhang." He gestured with his hand to go on.

Frank glared from his spot on an armchair in the corner of Percy's cabin. "I will not turn into a super hairy cavewoman, if that's what you're getting at."

"Would've been great entertainment though, gotta admit." Leo shrugged nonchalantly and swung his legs up over his beanbag chair and into Calypso's lap. She raised an eyebrow at him sassily and immediately smacked his legs away from her like a martialartist.

Leo scratched the back of his neck with a sheepish grin as Calypso straightened out her silky nightgown. Percy snickered at the two beside me and I cocked my head to the side so I could watch him. Not in a creepy way, he just had an extremely attractive laugh. The corner of my lip twitched upwards and I played with the sleeves of my black jumper. The bed shifted slightly as Percy repositioned himself closer to the head board as he continued to laugh. My insides fluttered and my shoulders slumped in fondness. Not fondness, I meant... He was just extremely cute, alright?

"Did you just snort, Jackson?" Jason accused, trying to hide his smile but failing.

Percy's eyes widened and cheeks flushed. "What? No! I don't snort!"

Piper giggled beside Jason on the floor, curling up into his side. "You do to."

"Do not!" Percy crossed his arms beside me and frowned in offence. I internally cooed at the now nineteen year old man. Even if he was indeed a man, he was fucking adorable.

"Do to!" Leo chimed in.

"Do not!"

"Do to, Aquaman!"

Percy groaned and covered his face. "No, I don't. Stop it. Just stop. It's my birthday. Don't bother me. Go away. Leave. Goodbye, world."

I pulled my two new spider bites that were in the right corner of my bottom lip into my mouth as my eyes crinkled. Percy's head suddenly fell into my side and he groaned in embarrassment. I didn't know why he was so embarrassed. It was just a snort. An adorable little snort. I giggled and placed my arm around his body, pulling him closer to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see everyone else gawking at us (or more specifically me), but I didn't care. I just rolled my eyes and let the son of Poseidon curl up to me even though he was a good head or so taller and bigger than me.

"In a few hours it won't be your birthday anymore, so watch out, Jackson." Jason smirked.

Percy mumbled, his words muffled against my jumper, "Whatever, Sparky."

"We should probably get going soon or we'll all be walking zombies tomorrow." Piper stated a few minutes later and the others nodded in agreement. She then turned to me and smiled, "Hey Nico, could you pass me my pullover, please? It's right beside you."

"Sure-" I cleared my throat with a small frown as my voice croaked.

I reached out and passed the piece of clothing to Piper and she caught it in midair, pulling it over her head. Jason stood up from the floor with her and cracked his back, pushing his spiky blond hair back. Leo helped Calypso up (in which she blushed) and the two made their way to the door.

"Bye, curly fries!" Leo exclaimed. Everyone gave him confused glances except for Jason and Piper. Curly fries? What in the... Oh.

"Happy birthday, Percy." Calypso smiled a charming smile.

Percy beamed and waved to the couple. "Thanks for coming and the gifts were super thoughtful you. Thanks again!"

The same thing happened as Piper and Jason left, closing the door behind them as the night grew darker.

Frank and Hazel then stood up together. As Frank straightened himself out and stretched, my sister walked up to me and leaned down for a hug in which I happily reciprocated.

"Goodnight, brother," She whispered. "You've been changing a lot lately and it's made me happy to see that you're smiling now. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. Love you, Nico." She pulled away and I smiled softly up at her.

"Love you." I rasped, my voice scratchy. I cleared my throat again and felt an odd uncomfortableness in it but shrugged it off.

Frank and Hazel left with a wave of their hands and the wooden cabin door closed, leaving Percy and I alone. I stood up from Percy's bed and pulled his curtains back so I could peek out the window, making sure my sister got back with Frank alright. Just as I spun around, Percy snickered.

"I almost forgot how short you are," He giggled.

I raised an eyebrow at his comment and jutted out my hip. Oh, I could practically feel the sass growing inside of myself. I placed my hands on my hips and narrowed my eyes at Percy. He seemed to bite his tongue in regret but kept a tiny amused smirk on his face anyways.

"Don't you dare start-" I cut myself off to clear my throat. My voice was coming out croaky and scratchy.

Percy raised his eyebrows and sat up straight on his bed, pushing his shaggy black hair out if his face. "Whoa there, Neeks. Y'alright? Sounds like you've got a frog in your throat."

My head snapped up and my brown eyes met his. "Huh?!" I rasped with wide eyes.

"Expression." He chuckled but then his green eyes grew concerned again. "You just got over your stomach bug, hopefully you're not getting sick again."

I grunted with a nod of my head. I hated being sick. Absolutely detested it. Percy scooted to the side of his bed and patted the spot beside himself, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. I exhaled from my nose, trying to hide my small smile. I slowly made my way over (which irritated Percy by the looks of it) and then flopped down beside him, pulling his green blanket over my body and my head. I felt a soft poke in my side and squeaked, lifting the blanket off of my head to glare and the giggling son of Poseidon.

"Oh, um, I've been meaning to talk to you about this." Percy suddenly stated, his giggle fit coming to an end.

I raised an eyebrow as an encouragement to continue.

He pressed his back up against the wooden headboard of his bed, put his arms behind his head, and crossed his ankles. "Y'know, we've gotta go check out some apartments in town soon. Whenever you're feelin' up to it, we can go head down and look around. That is, if you still want to share a place with me...?"

I small smile pulled at my lips and I playfully punched Percy's bare shoulder, fully aware that he was still shirtless. "Yeah," I cleared my throat, "of course I want to. Maybe next week?" I cleared my throat again.

Percy hopped up from his bed and cracked his back, disappearing from my sight for a moment. I frowned in confusion. A small clinking sound was heard somewhere to my right and I raised my eyebrow in curiousness.

"Yeah, awesome! Sounds great!" His deep voice called out from his bathroom.

I cleared my throat and swallowed as Percy returned with a glass full of ice cold water. His pink lips pulled up into a sweet, innocent smile as he handed me the glass and winked. I grinned and drank the water, feeling it wash down my throat. The uncomfortableness disappeared for a second before reappearing. I felt the bed dip beside me and my insides fluttered. I gently set the glass down on his coffee table and settled back down in Percy's bed just as he rolled over and almost squashed the living daylights out of me. An embarrassing squeak escaped my lips and I was enveloped into a warm body.

"You should probably head back soon." Percy grumbled into my hair, his breath tickling my neck and sending shivers up my spine. "I don't want you getting sick again on my accord."

I sighed and nodded only to be restrained from doing so by Percy himself. I grunted and threw my arm around his waist, feeling heat shoot up and down my body by the slight contact of our skin. His tanned skin was hot and surprisingly really smooth. I couldn't even see anything because my head was pressed into his bare chest and his arms held me securely in place. So he wanted me to leave, but held me hostage anyways? Perce, that was sending me mixed signals here!

"Mm'got go," I murmured against him, clutching at his waist to try and wiggle from him. "Purrrrfy."

He hummed against my head and curled himself around me, nuzzling the side of my face. I could feel my whole body melting into him. Percy set my whole body on fire and all I wanted to do was add oil to flames and snog him dry. But I couldn't do that, so I just snuggled him back for a moment, enjoying the closeness and affection Percy expelled while he was happy and tired. I'd have to remember that even though all my mind could really think about was Percy's right hand on the small of my back, his left hand in my hair, his face pressed against my cheek, and his legs tangled up with mine. I could feel my heart threatening to fucking explode.

"Mm-kay," The black haired man finally muttered, retracting his arms from around my tiny frame then smiling down with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

A feeling of disappointment filled me when his arms let me go and all I wanted was his warmth to invade my frozen thoughts again.

A sudden wave of confidence caused my face to twist into a smirk as I stood up beside his bed. "Remind me you're overly affectionate at night. I might just come back for some more cuddles, Baby Blue."

His face glowed bright red and I chuckled to myself, a feeling of accomplishment smothering my insides, and waved as I opened his cabin door and (making sure I swayed my hips more than was necessary) exited into the cold night. The first thing I did was clear my throat from the scratchiness and then made my way through the dark to my own eerie cabin with my black jumper pulled tight around my torso.

It was now officially August the nineteenth, no longer Percy's birthday, as I opened the Hades cabin door and waltzed into the slight green glow of the room. A small sigh escaped my lips and I decided that I couldn't wait to move in with Percy. The Hades cabin just didn't feel welcoming even after I've promised I'd stay at camp and felt as at home as I could ever be. No wonder Hazel didn't stay here and took off with Frank and the other Romans. I'd have to have a chat with my sister about her living arrangements sometime soon.

I grumbled to myself as I tripped over my fuzzy rug, too tired to lift my feet, and kicked off my shoes. The lights (except for the dim green torches outside) were already out so I tugged my jumper over my head and tossed it somewhere in my cabin, not bothering as to where it went. I slipped out of my pants, deciding to keep my woolly socks on, and hopped into bed with my mind on autopilot. It was a long and exciting day and I had to admit I deserved a rest. I might not have fought a giant army of immortal beasts (that day), but I did take my long time crush out into town for his nineteenth birthday, just us two. If that didn't take courage, I didn't know what did.

With one last gurgle to clear my annoyingly irritated throat, I allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

~

Sous le ciel de Paris
S'envole une chanson

(Translation:
Under the sky of Paris
A song flies)

Il est née d'aujourd'hui
Dans le coeur d'un garçon
Sous le ciel de Paris

(Translation:
He's born today
In the heart of a boy
Under the sky of Paris)

Leur bonheur se construit
Sur un air fait pour eux

(Translation:
Their happiness builds
In an air made for them)

Darkness and music; that's all I heard. I frowned in confusion as the old French music played, knowing it was that language by the richness of the accent and the roll of the r's. Soon enough, certain details of my rippling surroundings materialised. A dark sky, meaning it was night wherever I was, and stars lighting up whatever else was around me. An old building, around five meters away from myself, stood small but proud as a fancy sign hung over a mahogany door reading Café et Pâtisseries. I guessed it must have been a breakfast café by the looks of it. In the minimal light, I could see tiny singular round tables set up out front of the building. A thin concrete brick road separated the café from the buildings facing it. It was too dark for me to see down the road, but I got a good look around.

Sous le pont de Percy
Un philosophe assis

(Translation:
Under Percy's bridge
A philosopher sits)

My ears perked up at the sound of Percy's name being sung. Why was I suddenly outside this French café...? Percy... Was he here, too?

Deux musiciens, quelques badauds
Puis les gens par milliers
Sous le ciel de Paris
Jusqu'au soir vont chanter
Oui, mais à Paname
Tout peut s'arranger

(Translation:
Two musicians, a few onlookers
And people by millions
Under the sky of Paris
They'll sing until night
Yes, but at Paname
Everything will be fixed)

The voice seemed to change with the music the longer I stood still, the longer I listened. I understood I was in a dream now; it could be the only possibility I could think of of why I couldn't feel my toes (other then having my toes bit off by a Siberian bear or a Laestrygonian tiger, which was a tad unlikely to come across in my sleep). The singing morphed into a woman's silky smooth voice. It sounded almost entrancing coming from the woman instead of the man who was originally singing a few moments before. The rich accent only caused my brain to fuzz over even more. All in all, it confused me.

Quelques rayons
Du ciel d'été
L'espoir fleurit
Au ciel de Paris
Sous le ciel de Paris
Coule un fleuve joyeux
Il endort dans la nuit

(Translation:
A few sun rays
From summer's sky
Hope flourishes
To the sky of Paris
Under the sky of Paris
Runs a joyous lake
He falls asleep in the night)

The streets were empty and my eyes searched for the source of the singing. I didn't search long as my eyes caught sight of a shape sitting at one of the café's circular tables. It was a woman's outline, of course, but all I could see was her shadow since I was in an odd place out of the lamppost's light. With hesitant feet and a cautious gaze, I approached the singing woman. My eyes narrowed when she didn't acknowledge me and continued with her French song.

À son secret pour lui

(Translation:
To his secret for him)

I froze. That strangely soothing and entrancing voice... I recognised it. And the woman, the closer I came to her, the more my suspicions grew. My blood ran cold as she happily hummed along to her song, sipping and stirring the small mug of steaming coffee in her long, nimble, delicate hands. My jaw clenched. I couldn't help but to feel like screaming because I was seeing her once again.

Quand il lui sourit
Il met son habit bleu

(Translation:
When he smiles to him
He puts on his blue suit)

At that last note, her head lifted up and her eyes met mine. It felt as if ice were running threw my veins instead of warm blood. Her eyes glowed a light sparkling blue full of casual amusement, as if this were something she did everyday, meeting up with an old friend. But she was no friend. She wasn't welcome, not even in my dreams. She stirred her coffee then pushed it away as if she were bored with it. With her chin pressed into her palm and her elbow resting on the round table, she continue singing. I didn't have time for this. If she wasn't going to buy me any black roasted coffee, then I was as good as gone.

Quand il pleut sur Paris
C'est qu'il est malheureux
Quand il est trop jaloux

(Translation:
When it rains on Paris
He's unhappy
When he's too jealous)

I frowned at the French words. Of course I understood the language enough to know what that last word meant. It meant 'jealous', didn't it? Just at that moment, the woman in the long red silk dress, red lipstick, dark mocha hair pulled up into a bun, black high heels and a golden neck less around her neck winked at me. A smirk grew on her face. I grew absolutely furious with her and she hadn't even said anything to me yet.

De ses millions d'amants
Il fait gronder sur eux
Son tonnerre clatant
Mais le ciel de Paris
N'est pas longtemps cruel
Pour se faire pardonner
Il offre un arc-en-ciel

(Translation:
Of his millions of lovers
He rumbles on then
His thunder cracks
But the sky of Paris
Isn't always so cruel
To be forgiven
He offers a rainbow)

I stomped over and Aphrodite smiled in greeting, gesturing to the black chair across from her.

"Have a seat," She offered in a sweet as honey voice. "Croissant?" She innocently pushed a crescent shaped pastry towards me as I pulled back the chair.

"I'll pass." I spat bitterly.

I grumbled and plopped down in my seat, scowling towards the goddess as she fixed her hair. Of course her hair was already flawless and didn't need fixing but that obviously didn't matter to Aphrodite.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy, mon petit chouchou." Aphrodite scolded lightly. "This a place to be in awe, to be happy, to be in love. This," She sighed dreamily then spread her thin arms out, "is Paris, France!"

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes, feeling irritation growing in the pit of my stomach. "Why am I here, lady Aphrodite?"

"Always the straightforward kind of teenager, aren't we?" She tsked. "You, son of Hades, are here because I brought you here, of course!"

I felt like crawling up in a corner, curling in on myself in a fetus position and sobbing into my hands. I also felt like going on a tyrant, destroying everything I saw in sight, throwing the steaming cup of coffee and chair at Aphrodite, stomping on her stupid French pastry and screaming at the gods. I went for keeping quiet and killing the goddess with my dark, blank eyes. Oh, yeah. You felt that, Aphrodite? That was me murdering your soul. Did gods have souls, who knew, but I was definitely destroying her soul full of rainbows and roses and unicorns.

"What's the reason you brought me here."

"No reason, mon chérie." The goddess picked at her manicured nails. "Maybe I just wanted to check on you and your little demigod life."

"There's always a reason." I growled, my eyes ablaze. "Spill."

Aphrodite sighed but sat up straight. "No manners this one..."

I glared.

"I brought you here, to this wonderful country, because I wanted to warn you."

My body tensed and I grew extremely wary of the goddess in front of me. "Warn me of what, exactly?"

"Love. Simple as that, Nico di Angelo." Aphrodite smiled. "Love has a time limit sometimes. Did you know that?"

"What do you mean?" I asked between gritted teeth. I didn't like where she was going with this one bit.

Aphrodite smiled and picked up her mug of coffee, sipping it before answering. "You're not one to respect time, are you? From your father locking you away in his own little time capsule, to your time roaming the world alone and forgetting your own age for a while, to going being held prisoner in that jar for your dreams to consume you... And then there's the big reason." I raised my eyebrow, trying to ignore the awful thoughts she was sending into my mind. "Love. You hid it for so long. Days, months. Years. Your love interest won't wait a century for you, you know that? Love in general doesn't wait for anyone and it never will. You just won't get that through your head no matter how many times I've visited you, no matter how many times I've appeared in your dreams, no matter the warnings, and even my kidnappings!"

A feeling of dread was building up inside of me. I knew what was coming next. Well, I didn't exactly know, but I had a fairly good idea that it was going to be Aphrodite's worst test of yet.

"You've stolen so much time from me, di Angelo." The goddess of Love sighed regretfully. "It's not fair... Is it?"

I caught on, feeling extremely anxious. My breath picked up and I cleared my throat so I could speak, "What did you take from me?"

The goddess smirked, her perfectly drawn on red lips pulling up into a stunning smile. "Something you haven't been using. You may be getting closer to your love interest, but love just can't wait for you any longer, mon chérie. So I stole something you refused to use to proclaim your love..."

"... My voice." I croaked in horror, my eyes wide in realisation. "You stole my voice. That's why my throat was bothering me last night. I wasn't losing my voice; you were taking it away from me."

Aphrodite grinned and clapped her hands in joy, a small chuckled escaping her mouth. "You're getting smarter and smarter every time I visit, son of Hades!"

I felt as if I were about to vomit the blue cake I had last before going to sleep. The goddess of Love had just stolen my voice for not proclaiming my love to Percy Jackson. She bothered me to the extant of stealing my sense of speaking, out of all the lovers in world who had messed up their love lives, and it seemed as if she wasn't even finished speaking. Of course, since I was on a streak tonight; I was right.

"Now, I couldn't have taken your voice myself, as you must realise." Aphrodite stated casually. "My brother aided me in taking your voice. He's good at that kind of thing. He owed me a favour for destroying a fabulous soon-to-be relationship I was working on developing between Eurus - the god of rain showers and calm drizzles - and Zephyrus - the god of the West Wind. You've met Zephyrus, so you must know that since he's a servant of my son Eros, it proves to be a little difficult to find him someone to love without my son striking his lover down." The goddess sighed sadly. "Alas, they cannot be together."

"H-how can I get my voice back? There must be a way I can convince you." I pleaded, my inside boiling in fury.

Aphrodite hummed and tapped her chin, her icy blue eyes meeting my brown ones. "I'll tell you this, son of Hades," She uttered reluctantly, "Your voice was taken from you at midnight, just before you fell asleep I presume. You have a limited amount of time to confess your feelings to the son of Poseidon you fell in love with. Your power of speech will only return when the time is right: when you tell Percy you love him. Only then will you reclaim your speech."

My breathed turned shallow and I asked, almost darkly, "What if I don't confess?"

"Then you cannot trust anyone." Aphrodite stated simply, her eyes dancing with amusement. "You have a certain amount of time before a little surprise shows up at your beloved camp, so I suggest you watch your back. Or, more precisely, Percy Jackson's."

"You little b-"

"Claim Percy as your love before someone else steals him, Nico di Angelo."

My mind was reeling with a thousands thoughts, worries, and estimates of what that 'surprise' could possibly be. Either way, I had to watch out for Percy and try to keep him safe from... something. I knew that I wouldn't be able to tell Percy how felt about until I was ready, and I don't feel quite ready to risk everything yet. So it was more than likely that this 'surprise' would show up before I confessed.

"Are you sure you don't want this croissant? It might still be warm."

I groaned aloud and glared daggers at Aphrodite. She shrugged and dabbed at her lipstick as if to say 'You can try to kill me all you want but I'm immortal, you little shit'. With that thought processed into my mind, the goddess stood up with her red silk dress falling down around her ankles in an almost cliché manner and gave me a sweet smile.

"You're waking up, so I must leave." She announced and she smoothed out her dress. "Ares is probably on a rampage in some city in Iraq again because I'm late for our dinner on Olympus."

I raised an eyebrow.

Aphrodite smiled her million watt smile and waved as if she were the Queen of England. "Au revoir, young demigod!"

Oh gods, please don't ever let me see her again, I thought to myself.

~

I woke up with a gasp and shot up from my bed. I wasn't necessarily frightened, more like in absolute shock that that kind of thing happened again. I cringed at my sticky shirt clinging to my chest every time I panted. Oh gods, what had just happened? I had gotten myself into another dam complicated problem, that's what happened.

Shit, I internally groaned and slumped back into my bed. I couldn't say it aloud, so it wasn't as dramatic, but it felt like 'Shit' explained my situation quite well.

This was going to suck balls.

~

End of Chapter

(TRANSLATED THE FRENCH SONG!!!)

I don't how you lovely people do it, but every single comment makes my day and I end up smiling and laughing and crying from laughter... I just love you guys so much. Thank you, every single one of you, for the support.

And also, thank you for reading :)

I LOVE YOU BLUE CUPCAKES SO MUCH <3

- Mute Nico...?!