"You're welcome," Nico said, looking down at his hands. He wanted to protest that he wasn't awesome, that his sisters were, that Percy Jackson was, that Jason and Thalia Grace were. He wasn't anything special. Even his own dad hadn't seen anything in him for so long, keeping him only for a stupid prophecy while hoping it'd been about Bianca. He wasn't awesome or anything. He was just that kid people didn't like, that people feared, that people didn't want to get to know. Definitely not awesome.
But instead of saying all that, he merely said, "Thanks." Because even if he didn't believe it, he knew Freddy was nice. And if he thought he was awesome, well, he decided not to try to change his mind. If he hadn't realized how very not awesome he was after seven months, well, he doubted he'd see it now. And, he found, he didn't really want to push him away most of the time.
"You're awesome, too," he added, glancing up. "Not everyone's gonna just run into a fight to help people. Plus, you're a good guy. With or without powers."