Bewitched || P. Jackson

ℂhicken

"You're going to choke if you keep eating that fast." Travis grinned a little too overzealously at Nicki.

Slipping into the seat opposite his niece, the older boy helped himself to a slice of toast off of Nicki's plate.

Nicki swallowed her mouthful of food sheepishly. "I'm stress eating."

"What are you stressed over?"

The black-haired girl flushed. "You'll think I'm stupid."

"Nic, I'd never think that if it's something that really stresses you. Is it about Percy?" Nodding, Nicki dropped her gaze to the table. "What? Why?"

"I told you that you'd think it's stupid."

"Hey," Travis squeezed Nicki's hand. "I don't think it's stupid at all, and I might only be a little older than you, but I'll do my very best to help you. I can't help if I don't know why you're stressed."

Nicki messed with Travis' fingers subconsciously. "It's the first time I've seen him since he went back to school, and I'm worried he'll change his mind."

Biting back the urge to smile, Travis shook his head. "Listen to me. You and Percy are made for each other. You are the best of each other and he would be insane not to miss you every second you aren't together. He won't have changed his mind, he's coming here to see you. The boy is in love with you, Nic. He'd be mad not to."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Nicki smiled up at Travis. Not for the first time, Nicki realised that she finally had a real family at camp. She still had George and Marilyn, but now she had the siblings she wished for as a kid. She had the older brother figure that she always wanted, even if she had a hundred of them now.

"You're a really good great-uncle, y'know that, Trav?"

"Yeah, I know. Now come on, we're going to the beach for a sandcastle competition and they're all fighting over who gets to have you in their team." Travis held his hand out to his niece.

After a second of debate, Nicki took his hand.

"Dibs being on Cecil's team."

Travis scowled. "I knew you'd say that. It's cause he gets you chocolate, isn't it?"

Nicki didn't reply. Instead, she wiggled out of her seat and flashed Travis a cheeky grin. "Last one there's a rotten egg."

"What are you? Four?" Travis called down the hill after a sprinting Nicki.

"I can't hear you over you being a rotten egg!"

That's where Ethan, Annabeth and Percy found Nicki early that afternoon, down on the beach with the Hermes kids.

The girl was pouring sand over Cecil's body while Connor held him down.

Diligently, Nicki patted the sand down over the boy's body. She worked hard to shape the body perfectly to make Cecil more than just a demigod covered in sand. 

"You'll be the prettiest mermaid out there," Connor commented, grinning evilly down at the boy.

Cecil sighed. The boy wasn't even struggling against his brother. "At least give me nice boobs, Nic."

Nicki fell back on her heels and gasped dramatically. "All boobs are nice boobs, Cecil! I can't believe you'd body shame the sand."

"Kill me now."

The brunette boy tossed his head back into the sand and screwed his eyes shut.

"We can come back later if we're interrupting?"