There’s a sense of panic that courses through him. Fear, probably, but not the kind that came to him in battle — not the kind that churned until it became adrenaline and gave him something to fight with. No—- this was fear because Piper McLean had taken it upon herself (though Nico suspects Will and Jason had something to do with it, too) to help Nico become more—- outgoing.
Right, because that was something that happened overnight. He swallowed thickly and took a deep breath, then another. He raised his chin a bit and narrowed his gaze, focusing. He told her he’d rather be at some park with his friends (the arcade had been brought up and Nico had shot down that idea faster than they could finish suggesting it; he had bad experiences with arcades).
So, naturally, they were at the mall and Piper wanted him to go up to a group of random teenagers and ask them—- what was he supposed to ask them again? Oh, right. If they wanted to hang out. Clearing his throat, he turned to look at her, brows rising.
❝What’s the fun in asking strangers
to hang out? I’m never going to see
them again. Can’t we go back to
Camp and do this? I head Lou Ellen’s
got this new spell she’s been wanting
to try. We could see that.❞
She honestly thought Will and Jason had been crazy to ask this of her. There was nothing wrong with Nico or hanging out with him, but he and Piper had never been very...well, close to one another. Civil, sure, amicable, yeah. But nothing more than the casual nod of acknowledgment when passing one another on the camp grounds was about the extent of their interactions. Regardless, Piper would like to see him come out of his shell a bit more, and had agreed to make one Nico di Angelo into a socialite. Or as close to that as she could get.
And once Piper set her mind to it, there was no way to deter her. At least Nico wasn't being overly difficult about the whole thing.
"Lou Ellen and her spell will still be there when we get back," She stated. They weren't going back to camp until progress had been made. "It's a skill builder! Interacting with the people at camp is a bit easier since they at least know who you are already. Striking up conversations with strangers is an important life skill and a great way to make new friends.
"Now just try. I'll be with you the whole time and the worst they could do is say no."
