Children of Loss 2

Chapter 2

It was around ten when the elevator dinged again. Nico looked up as he placed the last chair on the floor. A girl and two guys exited the elevator. The boys looked completely identical, the only difference being one being a mere inch taller. They had curly brown hair that hung down into their blue eyes. They wore identical mischievous smiles. If they had been on the streets, Nico would have guessed that they were pickpockets. The girl had shoulder length brown hair. She was dark skinned, possibly of Native American descent. She was a head shorter than the two boys next to her. Her eyes were a deep hazel like color, Nico wasn't sure if her eyes were brown or green. They were very pretty, though.

The twins said something and made the girl laugh as they set their things down at the bar. The shorter twin nudged his brother, having noticed Nico. The taller one looked down and the shorter one jutted his chin out in Nico's direction. Now all eyes were on Nico, making him fidget under all the attention. Chiron came to his rescue by clearing his throat. “It's about time you all got here. Now, as you can see, we have a new person on staff. I'd like all three of you to welcome Nico.” Nico gave a small wave at them.

The three of them made their way over to Nico. The girl's smile was warm and friendly, while the two boys still sported crooked grins. “Hello, Neeks, I'm Travis,” the taller twin said. He held his hand out and Nico shook it. “So, your Percy's new adoptee, eh? He sure knows how to pick 'em.”

The girl rolled her eyes, elbowing Travis in the ribs. “Don't mind him, Nico, the two of them are nothing but trouble. I'm Piper,” Nico smiled at her and shook her hand.

“We take offense to that, Pipes,” the shorter twin said. Piper tossed him a glare, but he didn't seem bothered by it. “Don't listen to her. We're awesome. The name's Connor, by the way.” Nico shook his hand as well and went back to fidgeting with his shirt.

“So, is he...?” Piper asked curiously, looking back at Chiron.

The man shook his head. “No. Percy told me he will be at the bar only.”

The twins grinned wickedly at Nico. “Lucky dog. You must have really drawn Percy's attention,” Connor stated.

Piper rolled her eyes again. “That doesn't have to be the case. So, how old are you, Nico?”

“Sixteen, but I'll be seventeen in a few months.”

“See. There's your explanation.”

The twins simultaneously placed their hands behind their heads. “Whatever you say, Piper,” they said at the same time. It creeped Nico out.

“You've gotten to know one another, now, it is high time you got to work,” Chiron interrupted, wiping down the bar. “The customers will be getting here soon.” The three newcomers nodded and scurried off around the bar. “Here, Nico.” Chiron held out a black apron for Nico to take. Nico tied it around his waist. There was a pen and pad in one of the pockets. “Now, I need you to go set up the board at the entrance so that it displays tonight's drink specials.” Nico nodded and scurried off.

As it approached noon the first customer arrived. He was a middle-aged man with thinning black hair and a scruffy beard. He was a little on the pudgy side. He took his place at one of the tables. Nico looked nervously at the man, unsure of who was supposed to go take care of him. Piper saved him and walked up to the man, smiling warmly at him. She wrote down the man's order and walked off to the bar, tossing a wink at Nico on her way.

The elevator dinged again and a few more people scattered themselves about the bar. Nico sighed, grabbed his pad and went over to one of the tables. His table consisted of two women, probably in their early thirties. Both of them were dressed in expensive business suits. “Hello, my name is Nico, and I will be your waiter today,” Nico said with a bright smile, willing himself to sound friendly to these strangers. The two of them looked up from their menus to stare at Nico, making him uncomfortable. He didn't like the way they stared at him. It wasn't rude or anything, there was just something unspoken in their eyes that made him uncomfortable.

The woman on the right, a blonde, looked back at her menu. “Yes, I'll have a number five, a water, and a margarita.” Nico nodded, scribbling down the woman's order.

The woman on the left, a brunette, stared at Nico a little longer. “You're new here?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Nico answered politely.

She nodded her head in approval. “I'll have a Cesar salad with dressing on the side and a diet coke.”

“Will there be anything else?” Nico asked. The women shook their heads and Nico walked back to the bar. He typed the order in to the computer like Chiron had showed him. It sent the order down to the kitchen where the staff would deliver the order up to the bar. He jumped slightly at the sound of music. He turned to find Connor adjusting the sound system.

“Jumpy much?” Connor chuckled. Nico shrugged. “Yeah, well, you better get used to the noise. It'll be pretty loud tonight.” He finally seemed to be satisfied with it and backed off the system. “Though, it doesn't compare to the noise level upstairs.”

Nico eyed him out of the corner of his eye as he prepared the women's drinks. “What's on the top floor?”

Connor grinned at Nico, looking like the Cheshire cat. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

Time slowly drifted by and it neared Nico's break time. He would get a few hours off until he had to report back for the night shift. Something he had noticed was some of his three co-workers' customers were very generous with their tips.

Leo showed up to collect Nico at four. He signed out and quickly followed the boy back to the elevator. “So, how was your first shift?” Leo asked once they were inside.

“Not too bad.”

“Night shift is always more hectic. Let me see who you'll be on shift with tonight.” Leo pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. “Hmm. You are on duty with Reyna, Octavian, Thalia, and Apollo tonight.”

“Any tips?”

Leo slid his phone back in his pocket as they exited on to the sixty-seventh floor. “Yeah, Apollo and Thalia will be your go to people. Thalia is a tough girl, and nobody really messes with her. She's friendly, though. Apollo is like the big brother around here. Reyna isn't so bad, but she can come off as a little cold. I'd suggest staying away from Octavian. He's one of the Castellan brothers I mentioned.” Nico nodded his understanding. They came in front of a door and Leo slid a keycard into the slot. He opened the door and handed the card to Nico. “Welcome to your new home.”

Nico looked around the place. It wasn't as nice as Percy's, but it still was better than his parents' house. He had a flatscreen opposite the couch. There was a nice kitchen over to the right. In the back were three doors. “Do I share this with anyone?”

Leo shook his head. “Nope, it is all yours. Well, for now anyways. You're lucky enough to be the odd man out. Until we get another boy, you'll be here by yourself. You can pick whichever bedroom you like, and the middle door over there is the bathroom.” Nico made his way to the first door on the left. He opened it to find a really nice bedroom. The bed was king sized with five pillows on it. There was another TV in this room as well, but it was a few inches smaller than the one in the other room. There was an opened door leading into a walk-in closet, it had a full length mirror on the inside of the door. In a corner a box caught his eye. He picked it up and put it on the bed. He opened it to find an assortment of clothes and toiletries. “That should get you by for a while. You can go shopping on your own when you get your first paycheck.”

Nico smiled as he fell back on his new bed. It was like a cloud. He sighed contently. Maybe suffering on the streets had been worth it after all. This was heaven. Something did bring him down from his high, though. He looked over at Leo. “Leo?”

The boy looked up from his phone at the dark headed boy. “Hmm?”

“What's on the top floor?”

“Oh. It's nothing important. Don't worry about it. You'll never have to go up there.”

Nico frowned. Why were people being evasive about this question? “So, what is there to do around here?”

“You have access to everything the hotel has to offer. Most of the stuff is on the lower levels. The pool, the game room, spa, and much more. You can even go to the kitchen and request whatever you want. As one of Percy's finds, you have pretty much unrestricted access to things around here. There are a few obvious exceptions like the top floor and Percy's office. You can only go to Percy's office with an appointment, which you can make through me.”

Nico nodded. “So, I'm free to do what I want until I go back at six?”

“Yep. So, make yourself at home and just make sure you get back to the bar on time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Percy.” Leo tossed him a final smile before leaving the room. Nico heard the front door shut and let out a loud sigh. He stood back up and figured he might as well unpack his new things.

The sun had started to sink below the horizon. Nico watched it from his place at the window. The view of the city was so amazing from up here. Nico couldn't help smiling to himself. He checked the time, he had ten minutes. He figured he should get up to the bar and get ready.

He closed the door to his new place behind him and got back in the elevator. He inserted his keycard and when he went for the button his finger lingered over the button to floor seventy, but he shook his head and hit sixty-nine. When the doors opened again Nico found the bar much more crowded. Connor had been right about it being louder at night. With all the new people and the music playing it was almost deafening. Piper and the twins were still running around, serving the customers. He made his way through the crowded area to the bar. He signed in and tied his apron back around him.

“Back for round two?” Chiron asked next to him, a smile on his face.

Nico nodded. Piper sighed, coming to stand next to Nico. He moved aside so she could sign out. “Wish me luck tonight, Chiron,” she said.

Chiron chuckled, pouring a drink for someone. “You don't need luck, girl. All of you have natural talent.” The twins came over and peered upside down at the computer to sign out.

“Have fun tonight, Nico. Don't miss us too much,” Travis said.

“I'll try my best,” Nico mumbled back sarcastically.

Connor laughed. “I like him already.”

Two girls came through the crowd and came behind the bar. Nico guessed they were two of his co-workers. The taller of the two had long black hair with tan skin. She had piercing dark eyes, which slightly reminded Nico of Percy's eyes, but weren't as warm. There was a small tattoo on her right wrist. It looked to be a crossed sword and torch. She wore a very serious expression on her face as she signed in, not paying Nico any attention as he stared at her.

The shorter of the two, however, had her gazed locked on the new boy. She had shoulder length black hair, which was spiked out at the tips all around her head. She had electric blue eyes that pierced through Nico as she watched him. Her attire set her apart from any of the others Nico had seen. She was dressed in punk clothing, tight fitting black shirt, loose jeans, and combat boots. She had a few freckles scattered across her face and a tiny nose ring in her right nostril.

“Who's the new kid?” the shorter girl asked. The taller one finally looked over at him, looking as if she hadn't even noticed him there before.

“He's Percy's new boy toy,” Travis said with a sly smirk. This earned him an elbow to the ribs from Piper.

“Percy found him last night. He's our new family member,” Piper stated. “Bar only.” The two new girls nodded an understanding, something that Nico wondered at. Why was it important to know he only worked in the bar?

The punk girl held her hand out to Nico. “The name is Thalia.” Nico shook her hand with a small smile. There was something about the girl that he liked.

The taller one extended her hand next, and Nico took it and shook it. She had a firm grip. “Reyna.”

“Well, sorry to run, but the three of us have to get to the night shift,” Piper informed them. The two girls nodded at them and Nico gave them a small wave as they exited to the elevator.

Nico walked out from behind the bar and headed over to a table that two men had just sat at. “Hello, I'm Nico and I'll be your server this evening.” The two men nodded at him and gave Nico their drink orders. Nico looked up from his pad as the elevator dinged again. A tall blond made his way through the crowd and behind the bar. The boy was skinny, but with the looks of a runner. His blond hair hung down into his crazed looking blue eyes. He had a bored expression plastered on his face. His pale skin stood out in the dark lighting. Something about his appearance made Nico feel uneasy.

Nico walked over to Chiron and gave the man the new drink orders. “Nico, this is Octavian,” Chiron said, gesturing to the blond tying an apron around his waist. The blond didn't say anything, just nodded his head in Nico's general direction, not even looking at the new boy. He took his pad and went out into the crowd to start taking orders. “Don't mind him. He and his brother aren't the friendliest.”

“So I've heard,” Nico mumbled back. Chiron handed him the two drinks and Nico took them back over to the table. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the man on his right lean over to check out his back side. Nico fought the urge to place his hands over his butt to cover it. The man made a face of approval and pulled a five out of his wallet and slipped it to Nico. He stared at it for a moment before slipping it into his apron and walking off.

When Nico returned to the bar with another order, another tall blond sat at the bar chatting with Chiron. Nico thought he was a customer at first, until he saw the apron around his waist. He was close to Percy's height, probably around six foot two. He had gorgeous cerulean eyes that shined like a sapphire gleaming in the sun. His smile was breathtaking and his teeth were pure white. He had sun kissed skin and a swimmer build. His curly blond hair sat perfectly on the top of his head.

“Well, who's this cutie?” the new guy asked, taking notice of Nico.

“Ah, this is our newest addition. Nico, this is Apollo,” Chiron said, gesturing between the two of them. Apollo tossed Nico a bright smile and held his hand out. Nico shook his hand, but before he could pull it away Apollo pulled it up and kissed his hand with a wink.

“Percy sure knows how to pick them.”

Nico blushed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks,” he mumbled, making Apollo's grin grow. He took the drinks Chiron handed him and went back into the crowd of people.

Around midnight, Percy came into the bar. He sat down at the bar in front of Chiron. Nico headed over to give Chiron another order, but stopped a few paces away when he heard Apollo talking to Percy. “So, Percy, how about we talk about getting me some more time in the big boys' club.”

Percy let out a sigh. “You know I don't like to talk about that outside of my office or upstairs. Your time slots are fine. Why the complaints?”

Apollo shrugged. “One can never have too much time. School is expensive, you know. Then there is that car I was talking to you about.”

Percy chuckled at him. “Fine. I'll put you down for tomorrow night. You can come by my floor after you get off and we'll figure something out.” Apollo winked at him and walked off. Nico let out a breath and walked up to the bar. Percy smiled at him when he noticed him. “Hey, Nico, you enjoying your new life?”

Nico gave Percy a nod. “Yeah. Thank you so much.”

“Don't mention it,” Percy said, taking a drink from whatever Chiron had given him. Chiron handed Nico a new set of drinks and Nico picked them up. Percy gave him a wink as Nico walked off. Nico was blushing as he was walking and not paying attention to what he was doing. He clumsily tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, drinks flying everywhere. A nearby man got drenched and started yelling at Nico.

“I'm so sorry!” Nico exclaimed, quickly standing up and trying to clean up his mess.

“Why don't you watch what you are do-” the man started, but trailed off as he looked over Nico's shoulder. Nico was shocked at first, but looked over his shoulder to find Percy glaring at the man. The man gulped and sat back down. “It's fine. Don't worry about it.” Nico fumbled to pick up the broken glass. He managed to cut himself trying to pick up one piece. Someone's hand reached down to pick up the remaining pieces.

Nico looked up to see Thalia crouched down in front of him. “Don't sweat it, Nico. We all messed up on our first day here.” She chuckled. “This probably won't be your last slip up. It takes a lot of practice.”

Nico nodded at her. “Thanks,” he said as she sat the last pieces of glass on his now empty tray. “Any advice?” They stood back up and she walked with him back to the bar so he could dump the broken glasses.

“Keep your tables memorized. Keep your nose out of the customers' business. Your job is to make them all happy, so put on a pretty face and give them what they want.” She gave him a once over. “You're cute, so you can try working your looks to get better tips. It's all about playing the game right. Do it right, and you make some big bucks.” Nico nodded again as he dropped the broken glass in the trash.

Chiron already had remade the drinks when Nico was done dumping the shards. “Don't sweat it, Nico. You'll get the hang of it,” Percy said. Nico ducked his head to hide the blush, but Percy seemed to notice it and smiled brightly at him. Percy placed some bills on the counter and stood up. “I gotta get back to work. You'll take care of him for me, won't you Chiron?” Chiron smiled and nodded a single time, busy pouring some more liquor. Percy winked at Nico and walked off.

“My my, aren't you the boss's new favorite play thing.” Nico looked up to find Octavian scowling at him. “So, you must have a pretty good ass if he's giving you so much attention.” A loud thud came from behind him and Octavian screwed his face up in pain. Apollo was standing behind the other blond, a dark glare in place on his face.

“Leave the kid alone. Now, how about you take your dirty mouth off of Percy's dick and get your ass back to work, or is it too abused for you to manage walking?” Octavian's nostrils flared and he mumbled something under his breath. However, he didn't say anything else to Nico and walked off. “Don't let him bother you, kid. You should meet his brother. Octavian is rainbows and sunshine compared to Luke.”

Nico placed some drinks and food on his tray while watching Apollo talk. “Thanks. So I've heard everyone refer to this as a family. Are all of you close?”

Apollo gave a nod. “Yeah, we all came from similar situations. So, we sort of bonded. We would even stick our necks out for Luke and Octavian, as hard as that may be to believe. Everyone looks out for each other here.” He stared off blankly at nothing in particular with a short pause. “You sort of have to, in order to make it through things.”

Nico picked the tray up, almost tipping it over, but Apollo grabbed it and steadied it. “What do you mean? Everything seems so nice here.”

Apollo gave him a small smile. “Ah, the life of a newbie.” He patted Nico on the shoulder. “Don't lose that innocence, kid.” Without another word he turned and walked over to a table full of women, who laughed flirtatiously at Apollo as he joined them. Nico forced himself to look away and make his way back to the crowd of tables and people. He stopped for a moment, trying to remember which table had given the order. His eyes came across Reyna, who pointed to her right. Nico looked over to find it was the table he was looking for. He mouthed a thank you to her, which she shrugged off.

Nico set the drinks down and placed the plate down in front of a heavy set woman. “Actually, I'm the one that ordered that,” the man across from her said. Nico felt his cheeks burn at his mess up.

“Sorry about that,” Nico replied, correcting his mistake.

The last customer finally boarded the elevator and the doors shut. Thalia let her head fall on to the wooden bar and groaned loudly, Reyna patted her on the back. Chiron was busy counting out the money as the younger workers stood around on the outside of the bar. “So, how was your first day, Nico?” Apollo asked, turning to look at Nico with his chin propped up by his palm.

“Rough. Is it always busy like this?” All of them nodded. Nico groaned, letting his head fall back.

“This is nothing,” Octavian scoffed. Thalia shot him a look, which Nico thought looked like a warning. “What? I didn't say anything. I'm just saying that this isn't the hard job.” Apollo raised a half-finished drink to his lips and took a long quaff.

“Amen to that,” the other blond stated. He raised his glass. “To the jobs that pay the bills.” He had a sly smile on his face. The others smiled at him and started laughing. Nico just stood there in confusion.

Chiron eventually dismissed them and they all boarded the elevator. Nico stared at the button for the seventieth floor as Reyna hit the button for the sixty-seventh floor. “So do you guys work during the day?” Nico asked as they rode down.

“On weekends. That or we catch up on sleep,” Thalia said, leaning against the wall of the elevator. “Most of us actually go to college.” Nico made a face and they all laughed.

“What? You thought because we all were on the streets that we were uneducated? No. Percy encourages us to go to school and get an education, letting us study whatever we want,” Reyna said.

“I-I didn't mean it to sound like that,” Nico said quietly.

“It's cool, dude,” Apollo said, slinging an arm over Nico's shoulder. “Not all of us choose to go, but most of us do. The ones that don't will usually work with you during the weekdays.” He paused, looking Nico over. “How old are you anyways?”

“Sixteen.”

“Then, Percy is going to pretty much force you into school,” Reyna stated. It kind of came to a shock to Nico. He had thought his education was over, but now, on top of all this wonderful stuff, he was going to get to stay in school. The door dinged open and they all stepped out. The girls bid them farewell as they went down the hall opposite from the boys'.

“So, I'm expected to stay in school?”

The two blonds looked over at him. “How long were you on the streets?” Apollo asked. “Most of us don't say we get to 'stay in school'. Most of us were out on the streets for a very long time before Percy found us.”

“Some never even went to school at all,” Octavian added.

“I was on the streets for around three months,” Nico replied.

“It sucks, for whatever reason you were out there. People just don't understand what living out on the streets is really like. Especially in a city like this,” Apollo said, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. “Well, then yes, Percy will make sure you stay in school. He'll enroll you in one nearby, more than likely. That way you can have the full new life experience.” Octavian stopped at his door and the two bid him goodnight as he entered his room. Nico caught sight of someone inside, but the door shut before he could get a look at the boy.

They made their way down the hall and stopped at Nico's door. “Well, this is my room,” Nico said.

“I'll be sure to keep it memorized,” Apollo said with a smile. “If you need me, I am down the hall on the right.” Nico nodded and opened his door. Apollo waved at him as he shut the door. Nico let out a long sigh as he fell back against the door. It really had been a long day. He groaned as he looked over at the clock. It was nearing five in the morning.

He shed his clothes as he made his way to his new bedroom. He would clean them up later to give back to Percy. Right now he just wanted to sleep. He plopped down face first on his bed and sighed contently at the perfect feel of it. He rolled over to the box that Leo had given him. He pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste from inside of it.

He dragged himself off the bed and out into the hall. He stepped into the bathroom for the first time. It was heaven sent. The sink had a porcelain top to it and dark wooden cabinets below it. There was a vanity mirror above it. On the other side of the bathroom was a shower with see through glass walls. There was a large bathtub next to it. It wasn't like Percy's bathroom, but it would certainly do. He ran his toothbrush under the faucet and brushed at his teeth as he looked around the beautifully sculpted room.

 He came back into his bedroom and turned off the lights. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him. It was even better laying underneath them. They were so perfectly soft. He usually didn't sleep with so many pillows, but each of them were so different and yet so perfect that he couldn't bring himself to take any off. He sighed a final time as he quickly drifted off into a well earned sleep.