(Published: 4/4/17)

~Time Skip - Thursday Morning~

I can't imagine ever having had to find something to do to pass the time.

All of the seven (besides Annabeth, of course), Will, and the Stoles have been keeping me so busy, I've had barely any time to myself. It's like they're taking shifts with me or something!

Ah, right on cue, here comes Piper with the morning shift.

"Hey Percy!" She greets me cheerily. "Do you want to hang out with me today? We can go out on a canoe, or something."

"Hey Piper. Sorry, but no thanks, I've got plans with Nico." I replied.

She looked surprised, but happy about that. "Really? That's great!"

I laughed. "Glad to see you so happy to get rid of me." I replied jokingly.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Piper replied, slapping my arm playfully.

I just laughed and we both walked out of my cabin and towards the dining pavilion. Not that I was planning on eating breakfast.

I left Piper and found Nico at the Hades table, drinking some water.

"Hey." I said, sitting down across from him and hoping that Chiron would let it slide, just this once.

"Hi." Nico replied, swallowing a mouthful of water. "You still gonna give me a ride?" He asked.

I nodded. "Of course, man! Chiron told me I could have the van yesterday, so everything's all set, and if you want, I even have permission to stay at my place for the night instead of coming back to camp."

Nico nodded. "Thanks, man." He said.

"No problem." I replied. "So...got any plans before we need to leave?" I asked.

Nico shook his head. "No, not really. Want to hang out until then? We only have about an hour."

I nodded. "Yeah, sounds fun."

~Time Skip - One Hour~

"You ready to go, Neeks?" I asked excitedly.

Nico nodded and headed towards the van with a duffle bag in case we decided to stay at my mom's place for the night. She and Paul were both out of town, but she said Nico and I could stay there any time.

I turned the key in the ignition and couldn't help but smile with excitement as the engine roared to life.

"So..." I said. "About you getting grounded..."

~Time Skip - At Dentist~

I pulled up to the large building, noticing that Nico and I were almost ten minutes early. I turned to Nico. "Ready?"

He just sighed and got out of the car. Nico was almost inside by the time I had grabbed the keys and locked the car.

"You could just wait, you know!" I called, jogging up to him.

Nico rolled his eyes, but I noticed a hint of a smile.

Not too long after checking in, Nico was sitting on the large, plush-looking dental chair. I was happy that I was allowed in the room for the procedure, and sat across from him.

I noticed that he was tapping his foot nervously, but he glared at me when I asked him about it, so I tried to ignore it.

The assistant introduced herself as Amy, and we had a lovely conversation about her kids as she got tools and other equipment ready for the dentist.

"Yeah," she was saying. "My oldest son, Toby, just turned twelve last month. And my youngest, Shelby, is only a few month old. Then there's Gabe. He's only six, and hated being a middle child, but I think he's getting used to the idea that Shelby isn't going anywhere anytime soon."

She reached to put a gas mask over Nico's face, and explained that it was Nitrous Oxide, a.k.a, laughing gas.

"It'll help you relax until we give you some sedatives that will make you numb, and a little sleepy." Amy explained, turning on the gas. "Just breath, nice and evenly."

Nico did as she instructed, and after a minute or two, I noticed his foot had slowed to a stop in the nervous tapping, and he wasn't quite as tense as he was before. Not long after this, Nico giggled a little.

I raised an eyebrow. Nico. Nico, the 'Ghost King' himself, one of the scariest people I knew, just giggled. That's it, forget the monsters, I'm recording this.

And it was at that point that I realized I had absolutely nothing to record it with! Oh well, shame.

The dentist came in, and made sure Nico had enough of the gas, before taking the mask off and injected a drug into Nico's arm.

I watched as Nico's eyes drooped, and he stopped smiling. He looked drowsy, and about to fall asleep. And once they started the surgery, that's exactly what he did.

I don't know exactly how long it took, probably because I was busy distracting myself from the blood and...teeth. I shivered.

I've never been a big fan of dentists, and even watching someone getting their teeth cleaned or removed or anything made me uncomfortable. Not that I would ever mention this to anybody...

After what felt like ages, they were finally done, and Nico was still fast asleep in the chair. Amy explained that they just had to get everything in order, and then we could leave, and that he'd probably wake up pretty soon.

I nodded and waited. I'd never realized how peaceful Nico could look. He was always either glaring or threatening someone. Trying to be as tough as he could be. Not that he needed to be that way. Nobody I knew of underestimated Neeks, and if they did, they were flat out fools to think he was anything less than any of the seven.

And so I watched as he slept peacefully, even wth the gauze in his mouth, and waited for him to wake up.