"Because, little dude," he says, shaking his head and motioning for Nico to come lean against the wall with a little sigh. The son of Hades, for a long time, has seemed pretty introverted. Even though Gabriel's not, he figures wallflowering about this kind of thing might make the kid more comfortable.

"I'm tight with JP. Really fucking tight. It's, like, written all over the kid's face."