Nico's POV

I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the laser tag arena, a thick black vest strapped to my chest and my laser gun in both of my hands, the nose pointed down at the carpeted floor. My eyes roved around the room as the team waited for the huge digital clock on the wall, currently reading a minute, to tick down to zero, thus starting the game. Directly in front of me was a steep incline, leading up to a platform stretching high over the enemy territory. Perfect for offense, I thought to myself, if I could manage to shoot at the sharp downward angle. Directly next to me were two pillars, and in the middle sat our target. Five shots to the middle and we would lose, and I knew that defense was vital. Even so I knew that I would be playing offense for the entirety of the game. I yearned for the action and excitement of the offensive side, and I knew that hiding behind a pillar waiting for the enemy wouldn't cut it for me.

 I couldn't see the enemy team, a series of hiding spots and walls blocking my way but even from across the huge room I could just make out the excited murmurs of the other team as the clock reached ten. I watched the huge red numbers tick down and when it finally reached zero and the buzzer started I was off, sprinting up the incline that would give me a stealthy entrance into enemy territory. As discussed Jason, Piper, Hazel and Frank stayed on our side, with Jason and Piper slipping behind the two pillars to act as our last line of defense with the remaining duo straying a little farther from our target, but overall not moving too far away. Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, Leo and I dispersed into the darkness of the room, our laser guns pointed directly in front of and our alertness at its peak. The first minute I could still see a couple of my teammates but as the clock kept ticking, keeping track of the length of our game we quickly moved away from one another and I was alone, keeping my head down as I crept along the platform, keeping my eye on the enemy. 

After a few minutes I began to hear the high pitched sound of a gun going off, and then the groan of someone I didn't recognize as the sound of them losing all of their energy met my ears, and I smiled, knowing that my team had already taken their first person temporarily out of the game. I watched as the shadowy figure of a man began to traipse back to their base, giving time for his energy to replenish itself so he could get back in the game. I wasn't concerned with the man, however. I was concerned with making it safely to the opposing team's target so I ducked my head down, continuing my journey. 

I had reached the end of the platform, the remaining few feet a decline to the heart of the enemy territory. I could see the man from before standing at the target, his energy nearly full. From my vantage point on the ground behind a short wall I couldn't see many defenders, only a tall, blonde haired boy of about my age standing behind the pillar nearest to me, alert blue eyes scanning the scene. His eyes passed directly over my head and I ducked, hoping that he hadn't seen me. His eyes seemed to linger on my spot for a few seconds too long but after a while he turned away from me and I was able to aim my gun at him, left eye closed as my finger hovered just above the trigger. I knew that I should shoot, knocking the boy out of the game for a few minutes so that Annabeth could come out of wherever she had promised she would be hiding and shoot the target. But something inside of me was telling me not to shoot and before I had finished making my decision the boy had somehow moved away from his position behind the pillar to directly in front of me without me knowing. 

He stood above me, his gun pointed directly at my chest. It was difficult for me to stand from my uncomfortable position on the ground so instead I scrambled for my gun but before I could get the nose pointed at him he had already shot me once. One energy point down, I thought bitterly to myself. One down and four to go. "Smart plan," the boy said, his finger on the trigger. "You weren't subtle enough to pull it off, though. Too bad, really. You really could have won with that plan." I didn't know why I was having trouble getting words out, but I was speechless. This hadn't happened with a guy for years, not since my massive and slightly embarrassing crush on Percy. But something about the way his brilliant blue eyes connected with mine, and the way his gently curled hair reminded me of sunbeams, and the way his freckles splashed across his nose and onto his cheeks had me speechless. 

I snapped out of my reverie when he shot me three more times. One energy point left. Weakly I aimed a shot at his chest but the laser missed completely, zooming into the darkness. Maybe I hadn't wanted to hit him, not really. Or maybe I was just a bad shot. I winced as I heard the noise telling me that my energy points were gone, my laser gun now useless in my hand. The boy offered me his hand, and when I grabbed onto it to pull myself up it was warm and soft. When I was standing we were barely a few inches apart, so close that I could see the gleam of mischievous joy in his eyes, and I could smell his chocolate chip cookie-like scent. 

"You can try coming back, trying your plan again," the boy said. "But just know, I'll be waiting for you." I had no choice but to trudge off, the sharp eyes of the boy following me until I was out of his range of sight. I turned around just in time to see him step off of the decline, presumably resuming his place behind the pillar. As I walked through the maze a girl running through aimed her gun at me, shooting me in the chest and laughing as she ran away, her short green hair flopping behind her. I groaned, running my hand through my hair. If only I had had the nerve to shoot the boy I wouldn't be walking back to the base right now. Instead, we might have already won.

The entire team was waiting for me when I reached the base, Annabeth standing at the head of the group, her hands moving animatedly in the air as words flew from her mouth. "What's going on?" I asked. 

"Annabeth's telling us the new plan," Leo said. "Since, you know, you had to ruin the last one with your flirting." My cheeks went red. 

"I wasn't-" the words weren't coming out the way I had hoped. "I wasn't flirting!" 

"Yeah, sure, lover boy," Percy smirked. "Annabeth saw the whole thing. Just get over here. You've got a pretty important part, after all." 

"Which is?" I asked, shoving my way into the circle. I could see my teammates glancing around furtively at our surroundings, their guns poised to shoot. I knew that the enemy could attack at any moment; we were vulnerable just standing here. 

"I'm going to need you to take out the defense," Annabeth told me, her stormy grey eyes staring at me with an almost intense look. "Do you think you can do it this time?" I nodded. The boy had gotten the upper hand the last time, but I wasn't about to let it happen again. No matter how cute he was, he wouldn't beat me this time. "Perfect. So, Jason and Piper are going to stay as defense, while Nico picks off the defense and the rest of you charge. Once that happens, I come in, hopefully unnoticed, and take out the target. Is everyone clear?" Everyone nodded and Annabeth grinned. "Perfect. Good luck, everyone. When I see you all together again, we'll be winners." 

I didn't hesitate to shoot the second time I saw the boy. He looked down at his chest, almost stunned as the red light faded from his chest. "Nice job," he said, aiming his gun at my chest. I had a strange feeling that neither of us would shoot. "I didn't think you'd be able to do it." His mouth was turned up at one side, and it made my heart pound in my chest. I couldn't recall the last time I had seen someone that attractive. I heard scuffles somewhere to my left, and I was sure that the second stage of Annabeth's plan had begun to take place. I had been the first stage. I saw the boy glance to the left as well, frowning. "It sounds like my team needs me," he said. "Sorry about what's going to happen. Nothing personal, though. I wouldn't shoot you if I didn't have to." I watched as his fingers tightened around the trigger but before he could shoot, four laser beams flew into his chest, and I heard the familiar sound of energy points gone. The boy's slightly cocky look turned to one of utter shock as he stared at me, his mouth hanging open.

"Sorry," I said, stepping over to him, so close we were nearly touching. "My team needs me." His breath smelled like mint. I walked away from him without looking back, partially to make a cool exit and partially so he wouldn't see the tiny grin on my face. 

We won the game. Annabeth's plan had worked perfectly and we were all smiling as we hung up our vests and our guns and stepped out into the bright lobby. I opted to grab a cheese pizza to split while the rest of the group sat down and it was then when the boy walked up to me. "Hey," he said, holding out his hand. "You did well in there. Good game." He was even more attractive without the vest on, the light illuminating his sharp features. I took his hand, shaking it and I could feel a tiny scrap of paper in his palm. As we broke away he didn't take the paper with him, instead leaving it in my palm. I unfurled it, seeing Call Me scribbled out on the top in messy handwriting. Underneath it was a name, Will Solace and under that was a phone number, clearly his. I felt myself grin widely and when I looked up from the tiny piece of paper, I saw him wink. 

Hi guys! I hope you like that one!

Nina