Ch. 8 It was the middle of the night at Camp Half-Blood. Percy sat on his bed, comforting Nico. The little demon woke up crying from a nightmare. Percy didn't mind. Nico was still young. And anyway, he was Percy's brother. "It's okay, buddy," he said. "It's not fair!" Nico sobbed. "I didn't do anything to them! Why do they hate me?" Percy gave Nico's hand a gentle squeeze. "Because they don't understand that you're not evil." Nico rubbed his eyes. "I'm not evil, just sleepy," he said. Percy smiled. "Let's get some sleep." Nico snuggled up next to Percy and closed his eyes. Percy drifted off, as well. He hoped the next day would be easy.
Ch. 9 Percy woke up to Nico sitting on the bed with his arms crossed and a frown. "What's up?" he asked, "You look grumpy." "Of course I'm grumpy!" Nico said, "You ate the last cookie!" Percy rolled his eyes. "It's just a cookie, bud," he said, "cheer up." Nico just shook his head. "Come on, smile!" Percy said, moving closer to Nico. He knew the young demon was ticklish. Soon, the boys were having a tickle fight, and the cabin filled with the sound of Nico laughing. "Bubba!" he giggled, "Cut it out!" They sat up. "Happy now?" Percy asked. "Yeah," Nico said, "let's go get breakfast." Percy smiled. The boys made their way to the dining pavilion and ate their usual breakfast of blue pancakes. When they returned to the cabin, they were met with a huge mess. Things were scattered all over the floor, and in black paint on the wall, in all capitals, DEMONS AREN'T WELCOME. Percy glanced over at Nico. He just stood there, shaking. "It's okay," Percy said, "th-they just don't understand." Nico dropped to his knees. "I told you, Bubba," he said in a low voice,"they hate me." His shaky breaths turned into growls. Percy rushed to his side and held him tight. The young demon tried to push Percy away and shouted "Let me go!" "I'm sorry, bud," Percy said, "but I have to do this." He snatched the blankets off of the bed and wrapped up Nico. He tried to dislodge himself, snarling. He threw the blanket off. The snarls became defeated sobs as he collapsed on the bed. Percy held him. "I've got you," he whispered, "it's okay. It's okay. Bubba's here." The demigod sat there on the bed with a crying young demon in his arms. He didn't care if he stayed like that for one hour or five or forever. All he knew was that he would keep Nico safe, no matter what.
