Nico
Alaric gave me a sudden, questioning look. For a terrifying second, I thought he was going to pull away from me, but his grip on my shoulders only tightened. "Why on earth should I hate you, Nico?"
I almost wanted to reply with a sarcastic remark—to remind him that he had been doing exactly that ever since we left Kazue's cabin—but I knew now wasn't the time for shields and bitter jokes. He had every right to have been distant with me back then, because I was the one who had left him hanging when I could have just explained what was happening to me.
"How can I ever hate you, Nico?" Alaric continued, his voice softening into something incredibly gentle. "Even though you are incredibly annoying, and you make me roll my eyes every single time you open your mouth, and you constantly get on my nerves... I could never hate you. Even when I thought I did, you know what I truly meant."
