Nico I’m falling. Falling down, down, down, down, into an emptiness pit with seemingly no end. Then I’m in a bronze jar with nothing in it, no friends to save me. Giants roar with laughter as I fall into the bottomless pit again. Suddenly, I’m standing on solid ground, and I realize I’m at the strawberry fields at Camp Half Blood. Suddenly I hear a familiar voice calling out my name. “Bianca?” I call, and I see her there, at the other end of the strawberry field. I run towards her, but every step I take it seems she grows ten steps farther. Finally I stop, panting and out of breath. “Bianca, why?” I say, my voice hoarse. Suddenly, her voice becomes different, sour, even. “No one will accept you. No one will like you. You're better off on your own.” She says bitterly. She appears behind me. I turn around. Gone. Suddenly something pushes me from behind, and I land on my face, the air knocked out of me. I roll over to see what pushed me. Bianca stands there, smiling cruelly. “Bianca.. Why?” I sob, tears rolling down my cheeks. She talks, and I hear her voice in my ear. “No one will ever accept you. You're good until you're not, then you get thrown away. You're useful until you're useless, then you get pushed away. You're right until you're wrong, then they want you to change. Do us all a favor and-” She is interrupted by a soft melody and a light, which makes her fade into darkness, and brings me back into a dreamless sleep. Nico I awake to a warmth, and I realize I am lying. On. Will. Solace. I blush a bright pink and slip away, standing up and going onto the porch of the infirmary and sitting on the porch swing, rocking the swing back and forth slightly. I lean my head back and think of my dream last night, how Bianca told me no one would accept me. Will seems to appear next to me suddenly. I hadn’t even realized he had been there until now. “How’d you sleep?” Will asks. “Not good.” I murmur back. “Nightmare?” “Yeah.” “You okay?” I don’t answer. Instead I look away. Suddenly I feel warmth wrap around me. I stiffen, turning back. I see Will’s hands wrapped around me. Eventually I melt into the hug, even hugging him back. I bury my face on his shoulder and cry. I just cry. Nothing else matters at this moment. Until the One and Only Son of Poseidon shows up. Completely straight-faced. “Meet me at my cabin this afternoon after the campfire. Both of you.” Percy says, then walks away, giggling, and says something like: “I have to tell Jason about this!” I scowl. Will chuckles awkwardly. “What was that all about?” I grumble.
