Hey guys!

Chapter 4 is now here. The epilogue is coming after this but it won't longer be related to the prompts from Camp Jupiter.

Cohort: Fifth (centurion).

Prompt: 6. Two people move in together, ones a neat freak and the other can't keep a space uncluttered.

Brief description: Hazel is the only neat freak in her home. When her roommates kick her out of the house so they can clean for her birthday, Hazel freaks out.

Cheers for reading!

Chapter 4. "Birthday Hopes."

December, 17.

"Who are you hiding from?"

Hazel looked up, startled by the son of Hades who seemed to have materialized right beside her. "Nico! I thought you weren't allowed to shadow-travel?"

"And I thought you were my little sister, not my mom." Nico bit in return, smirking lightly after as he reached to hug Hazel with hesitation. "It's good to see you."

"You too. In spite of your sarcasm, of course." Hazel replied drily, though she couldn't help to smile at the sight of her brother. Though it had barely been a few weeks since she last saw him, it still felt like a lifetime.

Hazel pulled back from his brother's embrace before he became too uncomfortable by the closeness, and brushed the snow off his shoulders with a smile. "Hey, you're all dressed up and everything!"

Nico rolled his eyes, his features coloring with embarrassment as Hazel looked at her outfit with an appraising look. He wore a black t-shirt under a woolen, black winter coat. A pair of tight, black jeans and army, black boots completed the look.

Hazel wanted to tell him he looked like the younger brother of the guy from the Matrix trilogy that Piper and Thalia made her watch a few days ago.

Instead, she decided to let her brother off the hook. She looked up at Nico with a side smirk, her golden eyes glinting with amusement as they peeked from under her purple hat. "You actually dressed up for your sister. I'm tearing up."

"Shut up, Will made me." Nico retorted, his eyes wide with apprehension as he began to fear for his precious reputation of someone who couldn't care less about clothes. When Hazel only cocked her head, her eyes crinkling as she smiled, Nico could only sigh in defeat. "Fine. I thought today you deserved everything since it's your birthday and all."

Her birthday.

The fact that she was turning fifteen should have filled her with joy. After all, she was surrounded by people who loved her.

Her brother. Nico.

Her friends. Percy, Leo, Frank, Will.

...Her roommates. Oh, her roommates.

Hazel knew for a fact that she was supposed to like her birthdays. She was supposed to like being hugged and celebrated as she turned a year older. She was supposed to like opening presents and eating cake. And she did, of course she did.

Well, if she was honest, she would. If it wasn't for the fact that after a party, it always came the cleaning part of the evening.

"Ah," Nico exhaled, nodding as if all his suspicions had just been confirmed. "I knew you were hiding."

Hazel snapped out of her musings, frowning at her brother as she took in his words. "Why would you say that?"

"Because you're in the Garden of Bacchus hanging by yourself during the coldest day of the year?" Nico questioned with a raised eyebrow. He looked around the snow-covered place as he asked. "Also, I thought this was Reyna's spot? How come you're allowed to be here?"

"Reyna gave me permission to use it a long time ago. I'm her favorite, after all." Hazel announced proudly before her shoulders deflated. "And...yes, I might be hiding."

"See? I know everything." Nico informed his sister with a smug smile before leaning against the stone banister, his eyes drifting towards the breathtaking sight of New Rome. "Go on, then. Spit it out."

"Charming, as always." Hazel deadpanned before sighing. "Well, I'm afraid about the state in which the girls are going to leave the house."

"I thought they were supposed to set up the party, not destroy it before it's even started." Nico frowned before shrugging. He placed a hand clad in a fingerless glove on her shoulder for a short moment before he buried it in his coat's pocket again. "Besides, Annabeth and Reyna are there. Things can't go too bad if they are there."

"Oh, but they can." Hazel shook her head, her eyes wide with anxiety. "You know none of those girls can sweep properly, let alone handle more difficult chores. They kicked me out today, telling me to enjoy my afternoon while they set up the preparations but Nico, I'm not there to make sure everything's okay!"

"I thought they were helping out more." Nico questioned, his lips twisted into an annoyed scowl. "I don't care if they have to go to school while you can stay home and take online classes. You're still too young to be handling an entire house all by yourself."

"No, they are! I promise they are." Hazel hurried to explain, smiling when Nico relaxed slightly. "It's just…it's so easy for them to clutter every single room, especially when they're studying. And when they are cleaning up, I just can't help but feel there's a better way to do it, you know?"

"Ah, don't get me started on that. If I had a dracma for every time Will argued with me over something and I turned out to be right in the end…" Nico cut in, shaking his head apologetically when Hazel only fixed him with a patient look. "Sorry, you were venting. But I thought that the girls studied in their rooms?"

"Not always." Hazel grumbled. "They've been having late-night study sessions in the living room as of late so that means they leave their coffee-stained cups in the sink and the table is always filled with crumbs. They leave the house much earlier than I do so I have to clean their mess."

"Even Reyna?" Nico was honestly confused. "I can't believe our legendary former praetor can live in a mess."

"That's the thing, they don't actually think it's a mess." Hazel shook her head with exasperation. "So, how can I expect them to clean the house properly when they can't even keep their own rooms tidy on a regular basis?"

Nico's eyes twinkled with excitement and, before Hazel could decipher his thoughts, Nico began to walk away. "Come, Hazel. Let's monitor the girls. You can tell me all about their messy habits on the way."

On any other day, Hazel would have refused complaining about her friends but her brother's offer was too tempting to be refused.

So, she told him. She told him how Piper left her clothes thrown around her room whenever she was choosing an outfit or how the heels she left laying around in the living room were a major hazard.

She told him how Thalia never used a plate so the place was always filled with crumbs, or how she left the bathroom sink stained with toothpaste.

She told him all about the coffee cups Annabeth took to her room when she studied yet forgot to return to the kitchen once she was done with them. She told him about the infinite projects Annabeth started at once, and the pile of papers she left laying around the house because there wasn't enough space in her room.

She told him about Reyna's reluctance when it came to doing the dishes, which usually meant they were left in the sink until somebody else took care of them in the morning. In her defense, she was the one in charge of shopping for groceries but still, she tended to get home and leave them in the kitchen for somebody else to put away.

As they walked, Nico listened to Hazel's whining with interest and amusement, though he secretly believed she was overreacting. Of course, he believed everything Hazel had to say about Thalia and even Piper, but Annabeth and Reyna? That he couldn't believe.

By the time Hazel ran out of things to vent, they had arrived at the girls' home. Smirking, Nico turned towards Hazel. "Do you want me to go first?"

"Yes, please." Hazel pleaded quietly, her voice shaken with dread.

Shaking his head, Nico edged towards the living room's window, intending to take a peek to make sure the coast was clear.

The sight...it was one to behold, for sure.

Hazel's roommates were arguing with passion as they cleaned the house.

Thalia was attempting to sweep the floor and huffed with annoyance when Piper snatched the broom from her hands. Annabeth was struggling as she carried enormous piles of paper towards her room but still managed to roll her eyes when Thalia began throwing the pair of heels lying across the room towards the corridor that led to their rooms.

Meanwhile, a constant banging coming from the kitchen served as the soundtrack for the scene, indicating that Reyna was the one in charge of doing the dishes.

Containing a wince, Nico turned and smiled innocently at Hazel. "Let's visit Camp jupiter for a while, okay?"

Hazel nodded miserably before shrugging. "I should have known better than to be hopeful, shouldn't I?"

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't hope," Nico snorted as the two siblings began to walk down the street. "Come, I'll buy you a hot chocolate."