JADE’S POV
We eventually make our way over to a parking lot and I wait by the ocean shore as Nico hot wires it. I wash off the dirt, the toxins, the hate from my skin and my lungs. The water welcomes me again.
I hear footsteps on the sand, and turn to Nico who was shaking his head back to the car. I motion him forward, and help clean him up and dry him off. He maintains eye conctact as he slowly unbuttons his shirt, and I feel the blood rush up to my face. He slowly takes it off, and then holds a hand out for me. I don’t hesitate, placing my hand in his and taking three steps forward so that I’m pressed up against his chest. He digs his face in my hair and runs his fingers up and down my back.
A sudden and huge waves sweeps us off our feet and we get the memo that my dad wasn’t happy, so we laugh and make our way back up the beach.
We pack ourselves in the car and settle in for the ride. It was only two hours, which I budgeted into sleeping, but I felt almost bad for nico.
“It’s ok, you can sleep” he says when we pull into the highway. It was full, since it was right around ten o’clock, but the traffic flowed freely. I smile at him and slip my hand in his, intertwining our fingers and laying my head against the wind shield, falling asleep to Nicos steady pulse agasint my wrist.
“Jade” nico says, tension in his voice. I startle awake from a nightmare involving Hades and Nico being stuck in there forver. “Look.” he says motioning towards the other side of the freeay, the one going north. I squint into the distance and notice what he’s pointing out. Way in the distance there are some headlights moving around erretically. There was something dark behind them, more than one something.
“Holy shit what the Hades is that!” I say all sleepiness falling off of me. I sit up and let go of Nico’s hand so he can drive with both.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t look good” he says gritting his teeth. The headlights come closer, and I can make out a jeep, with a huge hell hound behind it.
“Nico!”I yell, pointing at it.
“Already on it” he says, and twists to the left, away from the wall separating the two highways. We steer in front of a couple of cars who honk obscenities at us, and then he turns with a sharp movement and floors it toward the wall. I scream, because I’m one hundred percent sure I’m about to die. But somehow he clears the wall, and we land with a hard thump that almost makes me bite my tongue of.
“Hold on” nico yells as we swerve against traffic, blinding lights getting in our faces and blocking our way. We finally make it to the jeep, and roll behind it, honk the horn twice, and grab the attention of not one but two of the three hell hounds chasing the car. It was too dark to see who was in car, but I could make out three different separate figures. And by the screams, at least one of them was a girl.
Nico floors it towards the mountains on the other side, and we hold on for our lives as we bump and roll over the rocks. “You’re just leading them away we need a plan” I yell, looking back. Both of the hell hounds were still behind us, there humongous tongues hanging out of their mouths. I could barely make out a scar on the eyes of one before I gasp out loud.
“Mme graceou!” I yell.
“What?” nico asks, tying hard to keep control of the car?
“Those are Mme graceuo's dogs, whoever they are chasing are one of her kids who tried to escape!” I yell.
“Well how do we get rid of them?” he asks, swerving hard to right to miss falling the edge of the top.
“I have an idea “I say unbuckling my seat belt.
“Over my dead body!”
I yell before throwing open the door and jumping out, hitting the ground hard and rolling down the mountain quite a ways before stopping. When I did I felt like I had broken every bone in my body, and there was blood coming from my head.
I look up to see one of the dogs lose attention and rush down the hill, its eyes dead locked on me. “Shit” I mutter, grab krypton, get to my feet, and run towards the water as fast as I can.
The other jeep barely misses me, and swerves to my right, threatening to flip over. I hear a heart broken “jade?” the voice so familiar that It brings tears to my eyes, but now both of the dogs were running after me, so I kept pumping my arms down the highway. Most of the cars had been stopped, watching whatever they thought it was, but I still had to jump over a few.
I hopped over wall and was about to land when something picked me up. I was in one of their mouths, and fifty feet up in the air. I thrashed wildly before I grabbed krypton, just about ready to thrust it backward into the eye of the hellhound. Before I see a flash of lightning lighten the sky, and the hellhound turns into gold dust. And then I'm falling, falling, just about ready to die. I was twenty feet from the ground when nico rolls right under me with his roof up and I land with a heavy thud on the back seat.
“Did you see that?” he yells, excitement in his voice, driving straight back towards the mountains.
“Yea” I say hoarsely, slowly moving all my limbs checking if anything was broken.
“Was that Zeus?” he asks, and a thought dawns on me.
“No, not it wasn’t. I say sitting up to try to see behind me, but I couldn’t see the jeep anywhere. There’s a bright light in my face and I realize that the jeep was in front of me, driving straight at us going a hundred miles an hour, with the hell hound right on its tail, same with ours. “It was his son”
“Nico” I saw warily, grabbing on to his shoulders. He doesn’t say anything, but presses on the gas and e jolt forward.
“Nico” I say again, squeezing his shoulders even more.
“Just trust me” he mutters. The white lights were coming closer, twenty feet.
“You know I do but this is stupid, stupid and were going to die!” I say.
“That’s the same thing I thought when you jumped out and look where you are right now” he says, looking up at me and smirking at me. I smirk back at him before looking up, seeing the face I dreaded and hoped for the most staring back at me wide eyed.
“Watch out!” I yell, and Nico turns his head back to road. One more millisecond and we would have crashed into each other. But almost as if they could read each other’s minds, nico turned to the right and the jeep turned to the left at the same time and the two hellhounds were moving too fast and to oblivious to move out of the way and crashed into each other, exploding into golden dust.
Everything is deadly silent for a moment, we were both breathing too loud to move, trying to process what happened. Nico slowly removed his hands form the wheel and placed them on mine which were still on his shoulders.
“You ok?” he asks.
I nod, but when I realize he can’t see me, I croak out a “yes” and he breaths outs.
“Should we go meet our company?” he asks, and I take my hands of his shoulder. He gets out the car and helps my hop out of the seat, placing his hands on my waist slowly checking my shoulders and eyes and legs to make sure nothing was broken. I still had enough energy to ball my hand into a fist and hit him in the chest hard enough for him to rub it, but he smiles. I shook it off, looked over myself once more for any serious injuries, and prepared myself for what I was going to see.
The jeep was twenty feet away from us, and for those whole twenty feet I did not breathe. Nico walked beside me, covering himself in his shield once more, he would not welcome strangers easily.
The three kids were talking to each other, checking each other for injuries, and looking around as if they were afraid there were more coming. When they heard us come up, they all stopped talking and looked up at us.
Those electric blue eyes caught mine and I almost fainted, I would’ve fainted if someone hadn’t hugged me hard enough to keep me standing. I at first thought it was nico, but that was ridiculous because nico would never hug me unless I had almost died, and especially not in front of strangers.
I felt long curly hair tickling my nose and I realized it was a girl. She pulled back and looked me in the face. She was breathtakingly beautiful, the most amazing girl I had ever seen, and I as instantly jealous. She had my same skin color, but her eyes were so many different colors you could stare in them forever trying to figure it out. Her hair was curly and wild, but framed her face perfectly.
“Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite” of course, “thanks you so much that were the bravest thing I had ever seen!” she says, giggling. Then she looks at nico and her face freezes, as most girls did when they saw him, and instantly became tense ready to fight her off if I had to, I might have taken a beating, but I was ready to give one if I had to. But she doesn’t do anything but hold her hand out and introduce herself. Nico shook it almost politely and mumbled his name, but not who his father was.
The other guy came over, he could have been pipers brother he was that handsome, with curly hair as well, and pleasant brown eyes, and a radiant smile that sparkled brightly against his dark skin. “Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus” he says, kissing my hand. “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?” he asks winking at me. Nico steps forward and block him off from me.
“Nico di Angelo, son of hades” he says, and everyone shuts up, looking at nico in amazement.
“Wow, I've never met another child of the big three, well beside josh.” Leo says, and then notices his friend wasn’t with them. “Josh come over, come meet nico and-“
“Jade Rhodes” josh says, letting out a breath that it seems he had held since I left. I always wondered what would happen when we would see each other again. Would I run into his arms, kiss him, tell him I missed him, how he met everything to me. But right now, under these circumstances, I would be less surprised if h announced he hated me, or didn’t know who I was.
“You guys know each other?” piper asks, walking back over to him and slipping her hand in his. My heart deflates as I see the love and affection in piper’s eyes. Although I have no idea why since I had nico. Josh and I don’t look away from each other.
“That’s josh?” nico whispers in my ear, and I nod slowly. He tenses up and moves closer to me. Josh lets go of pipers hand and steps toward me carefully, as if I would run away again if he made a sudden move.
“jade” he says again, and the way he says my name, with so much loss and heartbreak, it was impossible not to tell we knew each other.
“Josh” I say, trying to keep my voice stable, but it cracks, and I crack, under his loving gaze, I melt into liquid again.
I step away from nico and run the last few steps separating me and josh. He held out his arms and caught me, holding me with so much strength against him I was sure he was determined never to let me go again. I let myself cry silently into his shoulder again, the second time today with to different people that I care deeply about. He mutters in my ear, reassuring me he was here, he wouldn’t leave me, he was so glad to see me, he was looking for me.
“I’m so sorry” I croak into his chest and he squeezes me tighter, but not tight enough, he would never hold me tight enough.
“No” he mutters into my dirty bloody hair. “You have nothing to be sorry for, you cannot be sorry” he says, and the guilt in my gut releases a little. He dint hate me. I don’t know what I would have done if he hated me. But josh wasn’t like nico; he wasn’t capable of hate unless seriously provoked.
“I guess they do know each other” Leo mutters, making us aware we had company, and let go of each other, wiping off our tears and moving towards our side. Nico gives me an almost sad look, like he knew whatever we had did not compare to what josh and I have, but still at least doesn’t move away from me. I think of holding his hand, but I see josh completely ignoring piper and looking at me and I can’t help but hold it back.
“So” I say when I catch my breath again. “Where are you guys headed?”
“Anywhere away from Mme. Graceou” piper says, kissing josh on the cheek quickly and smiling at me.
“How long-“
“a week after you left, she was supposed to be your replacement, but Mme graceou thought she would make more money standing outside in terrible clothing selling kisses for money” josh says with a voice so thick I knew how much hate he must be holding back. Piper squeezes his hand encouragingly. I hold back some vomit, and even nico tenses in disgust.
“And I showed up a few days after that, not a very good fighter lie you and nico clearly are, but being a so of hepeastus has its advantages” he says, holding his hand up and making a ball of fire in his hand. I instantly step back, water and fire weren’t good friends usually. “Sorry” he says, extinguishing it. I shake my head and bite my lip, I needed to make friends with them, and I needed to set an example for nico. I step up right in front of Leo and hold out my hand for him to shake.
“jade Rhodes, daughter of Poseidon” I say, and his face lights up, everyone stares at me for a second after he lets my hand go, and turn it, making a ball of water the same dimension as Leos appear on my hand. Everyone looks shocked, and amazed.
“Any more children of the big three you guys know about?” piper asks.
“My brother Percy, he's back at camp half-blood”
“Where’s that?” Leo asks. Nico and I quickly explained the camp, the prophecy, our prophecy and what we had done right before the moment, leaving out the moments where we kissed.
Everyone stays quiet for a moment, as heroic as we might have looked before, we looked tenfold that now.
“You’re hot” Leo says, and everyone chuckles lightly, breaking the mood. Even nico warms up to Leo and piper, but steers clear form josh, never leaving my side as we pack into the jeep which had more room.
“And so now you're heading back towards San Diego” josh says from the steering wheel, looking at me. We hold each other’s eyes for a moment, telling each other everything and nothing at the same time. “Were going with you” he says without even asking, just looking back towards the road. Piper and Leo don’t say anything, even though I know they must be absolutely terrified, they must feel safe around us after hearing what wave been up against.
“You don’t have to-“I start.
“I’m not letting you leave me again” he says, and the conversation ends. We roll up into a motel at 2 in the morning.
“so we need to be at the dinner at a least 6 tonight” I say reciting what Chiron had told us, we had ordered two rooms beside each other, nico and I in one and the other three in another one with two beds. I don’t know how they organized that.
“We should lie low for the day, but with our luck, lets just try to get as much sleep as possible” josh finishes, reading my mind. I smile at him, and he nods his head. We said our goodnights, and nico and I retired into our room. Josh and Leo slept in the same bed, because neither of them could sleep with piper who kicked in her sleep.
I step into the bathroom and take a quick shower, fixing as many injuries as I could and taking a bite of ambrosia for the rest. “you know what it tastes like now” I say, sitting down next to nico, who was laying on the bed one hand behind his head, the other flipping through channels, his hair wet and dripping onto his muscle T-shirt.
“Pomegranate” I say, sitting up and smiling at him. He smiles back at me, thinking back to the memory, before we were sent off, before we grew to know each other.

I had been sitting in front of my cabin, reading a book when he happened to walk by. “Whatcha readin’” he had asked me, sitting next to me, leaning back on one elbow, his shirt casually falling slightly, giving me a glimpse at his waist.
“Just a book” I say, closing it and looking at him. I didn’t like him at that point, I didn’t like his cocky demeanor around me, and I tried to stay away. “What are you eating?” I ask, catching a glimpse at the beautiful fruit in his hand. It looked like hundreds of little eggs growing together, each containing a capsule of blood. Some of it had stained his fingers and lips, and when he smiled at me, it looked like he was wearing lipstick.
“Never had Pomegranate?” he asks, sitting up, breaking the remainder in half and handing me one of them. “the fruit of my father. Almost every single religion has some way revered the fruit as magical, or as the fruit of the gods even. Many people actually think that it was a pomegranate instead of an apple that tempte adam and eve and got them kicked out of the garden of eden. The funny thing is-“ I take a bite and giggle a little as the juice rolls down my chin. I wipe it off with my sleeve, leaving a bright red spot on my camp T-shirt. I nod so that he continues explaining, he had stopped and was staring at me. “It’s an oxymoron of a fruit,” he continues, shaking his head and looking back towards the ocean as the sun set behind us, lighting it up in a brilliant purple and deep red. “it has been associated with both fertility and death. Probably why it’s the fruit of my father.” He says and looks at me again, squinting his eyes as if he were trying to figure something out.
“It looks like blood” I commented, and he nodded, pressing his lips together in a tight line.
“Exactly” he answered. I was a little confused by the comment so I turned back to look at the water. He sighs after a while and I turn to look at him again, studying his profile while he watched the sky. Then, one side of his lips twerked up in a smirk.
“It always reminded me of sex.” The comment came out of nowhere, and having grown up very sheltred from that particular aspect of life, I was shocked that he commented on it. He turned to me, the smile on his face reminded me of the smile Lucifer must have had when he fell from heaven.
I try to look less prude-like in front of the biggest non-prude in the world and take another bite of the pomegranate so he hopefully thought the juice had stained my cheeks instead of my blushing. He continues to stare at me intensely, his look gripping my chest in panic.
I gulp down the juice and open my mouth to speak, and he finally looks away. He couldn't look me in the eye when I spoke yet. “how so?” I ask. He stays completely still, looking out at the sky which was getting darker. I almost thought he hadn’t heard me, but when I was about to ask again he spoke up.
“You wouldn’t understand.” I could hear the smile in his voice, and I looked away from him, trying to hide my blush again. I felt so young and childish sitting next to him, so unexperienced. “not yet anyways” he says looking at me once again, his eyes had gone from intense to hungry, carnal. I felt terrified and excited at the same time, a if I were about to step into the ring again.
I tear myself away from him and look back towards the water, the sun had completlely set and we had been launched into night.
“I don’t want to scare you.” He said so quietly that I knew I wasn’t meant to have heard it, so I didn’t reply.
He sat next to me for another hour, the night dragging us deeper into the darkness. Only when the bell rang for lights out did he stand up. He turned to me, a moment of surprise on his lips, as if he had completely forgotten I had been sitting next to him the whole time. Then he walked away without a word, ran his hand through his hair once for good measure, then stuck them both in his pocket in that familiar way of his, and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me wondering if he had shadow travelled and why pomegranates reminded him of sex. I could still feel the sticky juice on my cheeks leaving a blush.

He sits up and kisses me lightly, enjoying the last of the ambrosia on my lips, and in my mouth. He then moves to kissing my neck, and my shoulders. Moving the straps with his teeth. His lips were ice cold and burning hot at the same time. He picks me up and throws me on the bed, and the look in his eyes was different than the one from that other night. He had been hungry before, animal like, now they were soft, amused. That night he could have had anyone, tonight I knew he could only want me.
I can’t help but giggle as he kisses me again, one of his hand expertly untying my shots while the other propped him up on top of me as he pushed against my mouth, kissing me deepr and deeper with every breath. I hear a light flick on and footsteps, and I realize thsee are really thin walls.
“Stop” I whisper, holding my hand against Nico's mouth. He grumbles and falls back against the bed. I listen intently as I hear the person breath agasint the doorway that connected the two rooms for a few moments before crawling back in bed. I swallow the lump in my throat and turn of my light. Nico rumbles about cockbloking, but I shut him up with a punch, and he grumbles some more, but wraps his arms around me and holds me tight against him. And I fall into a deep sleep, since I had no energy to have nightmares, it was just black.

Notes

I'm sorry about typos and verb tenses throughout the whole story, I am not the best copy editor in the world, I just like to write really fast and then barely re-read my work, so I'm so sorry about the awkwardness, I'll try to be better at catching those mistakes! Hope you guys like it!