NICO’S POV
I was about to grab Jade and keep her from leaving me and Kelly alone, but that would have looked weird, and given how she’s been avoiding me since that almost whatever it was on the train, I don’t think she would have appreciated it.
“I’m pretty excited to see California” Kelly says after a while of awkward silence. I turn to her, the snow had collected on her shiny blonde hair, making it look white, and the snowflakes that got on her eyelashes began to make her masacara run, so it looked as she had been crying. I could not imagine breaking her heart. I usually didn’t care what happened to girls after I left them, mostly because I spent a week at tops with them, and I had been with Kelly for like three weeks now, but still. I had learned she was a decent person, which got me thinking whether if most girls I had dated were decent people.
“It was made for you kellly” I say brushing some snowflakes off her shouldrs. She giggles and dusts some of me as well, it reminded me too much of the train. But instead of staying exactly where I was near to Jade, I take an uncomfortable step back. Things had changed since my talk with Aphrodite, even more after seeing jade in action. I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, the innocence pouring out her words. I wondered how she could maintain that innocence after all the things she had done with the king of the dead. Jade was the opposite, she was anything but innocent, but due to her indecent upbringing, I’d say the girl was a virgin. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had never even kissed someone.
“I need to tell you something” I begin, but before I could continue, Jade steps out steaming.
“So the cranky old guy has a tour group leaving for the bay area in two hours but he wont let me purchase the tickets, think you can do a little charm speak?” she asks, looking at Kelly the whole time and avoiding me. I was quite impressed because one, I knew how much it took her to ask for help, two, I knew how much she did not want to be with me, and three, I had never doubted her persuasive strategies, but I guess that’s just beceause people saw her as threatening. Her eyes were so black they looked like what you would imagine life was after death. She looked more of a child of hades than I did, if it wasn’t for her tan skin and the ever lasting smell of sea and caramel.
“Sure!” Kelly says with more enthusiasm then I would have imagined, probably because she finally felt useful. She rushed into the store, leaving me and Jade alone. We stand awkwardly next to each toher, both steaming angry for no reason at all until Kelly came back out with three tickets in her hand. “That was easy!” she says, an I was impressed that Jade didn’t react, just smiled and took the ticket from Kelly.
“Well, im starving, and I saw a McDonalds a block over” she says, looking at Kelly, completely ignoring me. Kelly smiles and I wonder how the hell I missed the two of them becoming best friends the whole way to McDonalds. After we each grab two double quarter punders and large fries, we stuff our faces for a bit before slowing down enough to breathe and discuss.
“so it’ll take like 14 hours to get to san Francisco, assuming that none of the old people turn into demons, we’ll still have plenty of time to make it. And do everything we need to do in San Francsico, which I expect you to talk about” Jade says to me, “and then we can head towards San Diego, another eight hours” she says, her expression turning dark. She clearly did not want to go back there, and I did not want to take her there, I did not want to hurt her any more then I already have.
“It’ll be ok, you have us” Kelly says, squeezing Jade’s hand. They smile at each other and I seriously wondered how the hell that happened.
“Anyway” she says, shaking her head, as if to shake herself out of her memories, “nico, what’s our plan in san fran” she says, stealing one of my fries even though she still had like half of hers. I took it as a sign tht she wasn’t about to kill me the next chance she had.
“You said 14 hours? Well, we get there, at what, 10 in the morning? Head straight to the museum, ask Hecate some questions, then head to San Diego, won’t take long, at the most two hours” I answer, grabbing some of her fries, but she swats my hand really hard and I drop them on instinct. She grabs the ones I just had in my hand and stuffs them in her face.
“With our luck” she mumbles, her mouth full, and I just roll my eyes.

Two hours later we board the bus, which was full of old ladies by the way, something nobody cared to mention to me, and took our seats in the back in the old recliners. Jade took the window seat, and Kelly took the aisle since she had a small bladder, so I was forced to sit in the middle.
“I didn’t pick up on anything, you?” I ask, settling in while Kelly was in the bathroom. Jade shakes her head and takes out a book from her never ending bag. “You got a pillow and blanket in there?” I joke. She doesn’t answer, instead reaches in and grabs out the pillow and blanket and hands it to me. “wow ok” I says, fluffing it up and putting it behind my neck.
“Percy packed it” she answers, as if that was answer enough, which it really was. Percy along with being a kick ass fighter, also seemed like a very over protective older brother even though he had only known Jade for a short time.
We both settled in our seats, and Kelly came, she fell asleep pretty quickly though. Jade handed her a pillow so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable. “You take first shift” she says a few hours later, when the whole bus was quite, and she had finished her entire book. I had never pegged her for a reader, but she loved it I guess. Her eyes didn’t leave the page once since opening the book. Which was pretty impressive for a kid with adhd.
She rolls over and lays her head against the window, and I watch her for a long time before bending over and picking up the book she was reading.
I was halfway through reading it, it was really good I’ll admit, when I feel her shift and roll over onto me, her head restign underneath my chin on my chest. I tense up for a second, worried she was going to wake up. She lets out a breath, and I relax, hoping she was deep asleep. I take a corner and lift the blanket over her, to keep her warm, and settle back in my seat, continuing to read the book.
A hundred pages later she rustles again, lifting her head up from my chest, leaving a cold spot, and yawns, rubbing her eyes. “oh, sorry” she says, noticing her position. I nod at her, not turning my eyes from the book. “you like it?” she asks, putting her chin on my shouldr to see where I was.
“I like this ‘sydney’ character, he’s pretty badass.” I answer, turning the page.
“I thought you would, he reminded me of you” she says quietly. I turn my head, surprised to see her so close to me our noses were almost touching, but neither of us moves again. I know this wasn’t going to turn out very well, but there was nothing more that I wanted in that moment then to stay exactly where I was, except maybe to have her even closer.
“let me guess, he doesn’t get the girl in the end” I say, supposed to be a joke, but my voice coming out deeper and more sincere then I wanted it to. Her eyes soften, surprised as well at my tone, and a sad smile creeps on her lips.
“no, I guess he doesn’t” she blinks.
“well, that’s the difference between him and me then” I say, a half smile, not a smirk, on my face. I see a hint of a blush creep up on her cheeks before she takes her head of my shoulder and moves toward her window.
“I’ll take next watch” she says, looking outside and avoiding my gaze. I let out an annoyed sigh and turn, asleep like the dead in a moment.

Notes

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