Knock. Knock. Knock.

Nico groaned as he slowly picked himself up off the soft, firm bed in The Hades cabin, to answer the door. The door let out a slight creak while it opened. He stood face to face with a girl.

Annabeth.

"What do you want, Annabeth?" Nico said, nervous of what she might say. Annabeth smiled coldly, as if waiting for Nico to run.

"Just what I came here for last week, and the week before, Nico. You know what I want." Nico let out a deep sigh.

"Please, Annabeth. Not today. I just need a break for a little while. Can't you do it later?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, as if thinking How stupid is this guy? Does he honestly think I''m going to pass this up?

Nico let a small tear fall down his face. He stared at Annabeth, and for a second, he saw sadness. But it changed back when she saw Nico looking.

"Lets get this over with," Annabeth said, her voice almost as still as a robots. "I have more important things to do today."

Annabeth pulled the green and black telescope out of her pocket. "Get on the floor."

Nico lay down on the cold red carpeted floor, on his stomach, waiting for the torture to begin and end. Annabeth pulled the chain that was attached around the green and black telescope, and wrapped it around her neck. She let out a silent moan, the telescope making her feel powerful and refreshed.

She pulled up the back of Nico's black shirt. She put her eye to the telescope and saw her wish; To cut Nico.

Nico groaned in pain as the magic telescope opened Nico's closed scars from the last time Annabeth had done this. Nico burned in new places now. She had made new cuts in his back.

Nico could practically hear his soul screaming for the pain to end.

Finally Annabeth closed the telescope and kicked Nico into laying on his back. Nico let out a shaky breath and a small yelp, a tear letting itself roll down his deathly cold skin.

The Daughter of Athena exited the room like a shadow, swiftly and quietly, so that no one could see her leaving Nico's cabin.

Why was Annabeth doing this to Nico? He didn't know. But it needed to end.

He got up off the red carpeted floor slowly and in pain, to go to the bathroom and clean the bleeding wounds Annabeth had created.

Once he was done with the difficult project of reaching for his back, he changed into some not so bloody clothes, and left his cabin, careful of who he might run into.

Nico was walking to the Dining Pavilion when he ran into someone. The girl. The same exact girl from before. She rested on top of Nico, until she pulled herself off and ran away.

Nico groaned in agony, because of the feeling of the cuts on his back being rubbed against the ground. Suddenly, someone came up behind Nico and startled him.

"Nico? You okay?" Percy Jackson wondered, worry in his eyes.

"I'm fine." Nico said, picking himself up and dustig off his clothes.

"Nico. Your shirt, it's wet."

"Wet?" Then Nico could feel it and smell it. The blood had oozed out of his cuts when his back touched the ground. Percy pulled up Nico's shirt with the tip of his fingers. Nico hoped Percy wouldn't think he had been self harming. Especially on his back.

"Nico. Did-Did you-- You're bleeding," Percy looked surprised, yet sad and angry at the situation. "Did you do this to yourself, Nico?"