Chapter 7

~Percy's POV~

Knock. Knock. Knock. "Who is it?" My voice was hollow as I called out. "It's...us." Piper's timid voice filtered through the wood door. I sighed heavily, "Come in." For a moment there was a pause, before the rest of Seven, excluding Annabeth, filed in. Jason and Piper sat down next to me on my bed, while Leo sat down on the bed opposite. Hazel and Frank remained standing, Frank next to Leo and Hazel a little behind him. There was a silence for a while, before it was broken by Frank. "Percy...you okay?" I looked up at him and smiled dryly.

"Peachy." He looked like he wanted to slap himself, but I shook my head at him. "Really, I-I'm fine. It's just...I'm sorry, guys."

Leo looked up from some micro-machine he was tinkering with. "Dude, I mean, what you did to Annabeth was...it was cruel. But this...this isn't something to be sorry for." Piper laid a hand on my shoulder, nodding in agreement. "It's not a bad thing, Percy. You could've told Annabeth though. You hurt her pretty badly. She...she did truly love you." I nodded, feeling worse and worse, yet also...better. My friends accepted me.

Frank peered concernedly at me, shifting his feet awkwardly. "We support you, Perce. I mean, come on, we're your friends! What kind of friends would we be if we stopped being your friends because of this?" I smiled up at him as murmurs of agreement filled the room.

"Wait." For a moment, I didn't recognise Hazel's voice. It was filled with quiet venom and fury, veined with disbelief."You...you guys are just...just okay with him being...gay!?" The room fell silent, everybody staring at Hazel. "Being attracted to people of his own gender!?" I couldn't tear my eyes off Hazel, as she fumed quietly. "You may not have been listening to Octavian just now, but I was! Don't you know the gods are against this!?" Jason rose from his spot beside me and started to say something, but Piper pulled him down, shaking her head subtly. He muttered softly, something about Apollo and Cupid, and something about a flower? Hyacinth?

"Why would you support him!? It's unnatural! He's unnatural!" Hazel looked at me with shock and disgust clearly written on her face. Realising everyone in the room was staring at her in disbelief, her eyebrows crinkled and she looked at all of them but me. I felt like I had some awful disease. "You're okay with this?" Leo stood, glancing at Frank, who looked stunned. "Listen, Hazel, this is the 21st century. We're, well most of us, are cool with them!" Again with the disease/inferior thing.

She shook her head. "No. Why are you just okay with this? It's unnatural! He..." She realised everyone was staring at her as if she had grown another head. Her eyes narrowing in disgust, she glided out of the cabin, pausing by the doorway to look back at me. Straight at me.

"Freak."

I bowed my head. I mean, I knew not everyone would be okay with it, but...Hazel? She was as close to me as a sister, in some ways I considered her one. But...dude, sisters don't say that kind of thing, let me assure you. Frank looked shocked, mouth actually hanging open. "Uh..." I sighed, standing. "I'm going for a walk." Piper sighed. "Percy...she's from a time when being...gay was unthinkable..." Blinking, I looked back at her. Good point. Nodding, I exited the cabin and stood outside for a moment, staring up at the star-dotted sky. Inside, I heard mutters, snippets of conversation, "Yeah, I didn't..." "Do you think..." "Hazel..."

Finally, Frank's voice cut through the rest. "I should go find her." He pushed open the door, muttering to himself, and let it swing close behind him, not at all surprised to find me standing there. "Listen, Percy...I'm sorry about Hazel, but..." He looked at me, eyes wide and pleading. "I mean, she is from another time, and back then..." I nodded silently, before straightening and smiling hollowly at him, before striding away. "Wait, Percy..." Frank caught my elbow, swinging me around. "Listen, I...we're...I'm behind you all the way, but..." I felt like I had been hit with a sledgehammer. I could read the unsaid words clear as day. But if push comes to shove, I'm standing with Hazel. Of course. Why not? Why should he stand with me, a Greek he didn't know that well, or his only friend before I'd come along, his girlfriend. I knew that if our roles were reversed, I would most probably do the same, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd been betrayed, a stabbing sensation.Yeah, welcome to my life.

Slowly, I strolled down to the sea, where I usually went to think. I had gone down there much more frequently these few days, doing some deep thinking. I suppose Octavian had noticed and planned all this perfectly, because the next moment I heard his awful puberty-voice squeak, "Get him!"

Then all hell broke loose.