❀

"Uhhhhhhhhhh...kill me."

Percy laughed.

"Don't laugh, I'm serious."

"Right."

"I'm pretty sure my face is hollow now."

"Hollow?"

"There's nothing left. No spinal fluid, no brain, no nothing."

"Ew."

"Does my pain disgust you?"

Percy slid a glass across the swivel table. "Shut up and drink."

(Name) took a begrudging sip. Her throat was completely swollen from being force-fed toilet water in a boa constrictor headlock. The entire upper half of her body ached from all Clarisse's manhandling. The Nectar hardly outshone the dizzying pain lifting through her pores, but it did get rid of the nasty taste in her mouth.

"I'm sorry about Clarisse," Percy huffed, looking thoroughly irritated. "She's such a pain."

(Name) wiped her mouth with her sleeve and put the glass down. "Is her beating people up a common occurrence?"

"Yeah, she picks on just about anyone. The swirly's a cabin favourite."

"Speaking from experience?"

Percy shifted in his seat and crossed his legs. "Yeah, although it didn't really work out for her. I blew a plumbing pipe up in her face."

(Name) barked out a laugh so hard she jostled in her seat. The swivel table trembled as her knees clanged against the rosewood. "Oh my god," she gasped. "That's gold!"

Her cheeks were all crinkled up from lack of oxygen. There was something incredibly precious about the way her face flushed when she was amused. Percy couldn't help but smile at how utterly delighted she looked.

Her laugh puttered off into a soft tinkle, and she tenderly poked at her throat. "And here I thought Camp initiation would've been something much more gruesome."

"What, a good old fashion swirly isn't good enough for you?"

(Name) shook her head, and her hair danced. "I think the sucker punch was enough for me, that and maybe the dislocated shoulder."

Percy scowled. "I still can't believe they did that."

"I can," she murmured, palming her hand down her side. Whenever she breathed, there was a painful drag. It had left a sizeable bruise on her ribcage, like Clarisse's knuckles had caressed the muscles of her diaphragm.

Silence fell between the two as (Name) lent back into the pillows and closed her eyes. She didn't look the least bit at rest.

"This camp is a bust." She muttered.

"What'd you mean?"

"This entire ploy to get me to like it here," she said. "Don't look at me like that, I knew what you were doing, and trust me, it didn't work."

"It's not all bad," he insisted. "Clarisse is one person."

"Annabeth's another. And Clarisse's siblings. And all the people who laughed at me today. I've stuffed up in every way humanly possible. It's so obvious that I don't belong here."

Percy glanced down at the floor.

What was he supposed to say to that? She was right, Camp had chewed her up and spit her out in a way he'd never seen before. Sure, some of the younger campers had trouble with physical activities because of their underdeveloped hand-eye-coordination skills, but they'd never been made fun of for it.

Everyone excelled in at least one area of activities. It was a given considering the entire camp was based on the practices of gods.

Archery, music and medicine for the Apollo kids. Sword fighting and war games for the Ares kids. Strategy games and study groups for the Athena kids. Blacksmithing and forging for the Hephaestus kids. Gardening and harvesting for the Demeter and Dionysus kids. The list went on and on. And yet (Name) had been totally blindsided by the entire program.

"Erm," Percy fidgeted nervously. "Okay. I guess you're not the best at the physical stuff—"

"Gee thanks."

"You didn't let me finish!"

(Name) stared at him, unimpressed.

Percy flustered the tiniest bit. "I mean, you're really smart, that's one thing,"

(Name) snorted. "Just because I can read and write doesn't mean I'm smarter than you, or Annabeth, or literally anyone here."

"I didn't mean that. You're like...smart smart. You know things, and you talk weird."

"Talk weird?"

"Yeah, you um..." Percy could feel his ears burning and he hated it "I don't know the word, but the way you talk is like...put-together and thought out."

"I wouldn't say I'm very thought out."

"Okay, well how about fluent?"

"Not really..."

Percy's jaw went tight. "I get the feeling you're going to argue against anything I say."

"Huh?"

"The self-deprecating thing you've got going on."

(Name) blinked. "What're you getting mad for?"

"I'm not mad."

"You definitely are. Is it cause I didn't accept your compliment?"

"You're so full of yourself!"

"Oh my god, it is!" (Name) let out a dry laugh. "If you only complimented me for your own sense of self gratitude, then don't even bother."

"I was trying to cheer you up!"

"That's going well."

Percy shot to his feet, face red with rage. "Would you just—!"

"Shut up? Or what, you gonna hit me as well?"

Percy's eyebrows twitched. (Name) had struck a nerve. She'd never seen him blow up over something as petty as this before, but then again, (Name) hardly knew him.

Before she could bother him with relentless questions, Chiron clopped into the infirmary with Annabeth at his hooves. As soon as Percy saw her, he got up from his chair and darted across the room. (Name) couldn't help but scowl. She saw where his allegiance lay.

"Are you alright?" Chiron inquired, steadying his hind legs as to not knock over the pharmaceutical tray. His old, weary eyes examined her face, eyebrows furrowing the tiniest bit when he spotted the ugly bruises on her neck.

(Name) scowled as she ran a thumb across her cracked lips. Every time she tried to lick them, a prick of blood stung her mouth.

"I'm dandy, thanks for asking."

Chiron shuffled awkwardly. "You think I'm lying to you, don't you?"

"I don't think it. I know you are."

"I want to help you, dear."

"Help me? You want to use me."

Chiron let out a withered sigh. "I truly am doing my best, but you don't see it, do you? You are so used to hiding behind this angry, lone-wolf facade that you won't let anyone help you."

"I'm not hiding anything!"

"You act like a brat. You're careless, volatile, and rude. You never listen. You're so adamant on doing everything by yourself. But you don't have to, (Name). You don't have to carry the burden alone."

She scowled. "You don't know me. You don't understand a thing."

"I think I do," Chiron lamented. "It's easier for people to let you go if they hate you. That's what you think, isn't it? That your death won't affect anyone. That no one will care."

(Name) went quiet.

"What about your parents, dear? You don't think they'll care?"

"N-no..." her voice was thick with emotion. "I-I...I know."

"You know?" Chiron shook his head. "But you don't want to face it, do you?"

Now (Name) was really quiet, sitting complacently, rubbing at her wrists.

"I understand dear, I do. It isn't fair, but most things aren't fair. It's your duty to face these demons and overcome them."

"Overcome them?" (Name) rubbed her temples. "I don't even know who the demons are! I researched for years and found nothing. Nutta, zip, zero information. What reason does Hades have to curse me? What could he possibly gain? Another soul trotting along the way to the fields of Asphodel?"

Percy flinched.

"That is all part of the journey, my dear. And your journey hasn't even begun. I beg you, visit the Oracle, take on a quest, find those answers. Save yourself."

"I have no fighting skills, no intuition, and no clue what's going on. What you're asking me to do is suicide."

"You can bring companions, those who will fight with you," Chiron pleaded. "This quest is essential to the survival of Camp."

(Name) flung herself out of bed. "There is so much wrong with that sentence I don't even know where to begin. Companions? Who the hell would be willing to put their life on the line for me? You want me to lead them to their deaths, is what you're saying? All for the sake of a Camp that has outright rejected me in every circumstance. Do you understand that kind of responsibility? And to put on someone you don't even know?! "

"My dear I'm sure Annabeth and Percy—"

"They're strangers, Chiron," she reminded him. "I don't know them. I don't even know you. But you bring me here against my will, load me with the responsibility of this entire camp, expect me to play nice, and when I actually do, I get beaten half to death by some crazy person. What the HELL do you want from me? What was the purpose of shoving that all in my face? Are you really that heartless?"

"What in gods name did I do to deserve all this? I'm just a girl. A mortal girl."

~~~

(Name)'s fingers curled around the nearest thing; a lamp, and hurled it across the room.

Glass screamed and shattered. Darkness crept up on her. Her knees buckled and she burst into violent sobs.

Reality hadn't really set in, and it was all thanks to Chiron that she realised she was going to die, all alone. She used to be able to fight it. Batter off thousands of thoughts reminding her of what was to come. They didn't matter, right? Something would work out, right?

She couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't fight them. She was weak. She was tired.

All those hospital trips were for nothing. All those sleepless nights. All those needles and machines and engine whirs. All those tasteless gels and fluid drips and hospital gowns. The crisp, white sheets and antiseptic smelling pillows. The bumpy wheels of a stretcher and the hollow smile of a doctor.

All those long nights watching her parents try to battle off sleep, not knowing if she'd be there in the morning. All the times she'd been forced to listen to her mother crying as her father desperately consoled her. All the time's she'd put on a brave face when she knew she was dying inside.

(Name) buried her head into a pillow and cried until her eyes blistered. Pretty soon, the stuffy darkness of Percy's cabin became too much for her. She sniffled her way down to the peer, the cold breeze stabbing through her skin.

She kicked off her shoes and socks and dipped her feet into the water. It was freezing, like a thousand tiny daggers sewing into her nervous system. But it stilled her mind. It was just enough to feel something, an escape from the angsty, horrible mess dancing around in her brain.

She was acting disgraceful, but she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

The air chilled on her skin, leaving her cheeks dry and irritable. She sighed and curled in on herself to rest her chin on her knees. Her mother had warned her time and time again not to bottle up her feelings. They had weight, and force and buoyancy. The harder she tried to bury the truth, the faster it popped back up to the surface.

The pitter-patter of footsteps rumbled down the peer, but she didn't bother to look up.

Percy's shadow loomed over her face and stretched out across the dock. He didn't say anything at first, just stood there staring at the back of her head.

There was so much about her that was a mystery to him. Why she stood so tall, and fell so hard. Why her eyes were so distant and careful. He didn't understand it. He didn't understand her.

"You okay?" He asked, throwing her one of his hoodies.

(Name) stared up at his face, and then at the hoody in her lap.

He cared, and she couldn't figure out why.

"Could be better."

Percy sat down next to her and dipped his feet into the water. She could feel Percy glancing at her. Almost like he was nervous.

"Just say it," she breathed, giving him a side-eye.

"Say what?"

"Whatever you came here to say."

He bit his lip. "What if I just wanted your company?"

"Does anyone want that?"

"I wouldn't be here otherwise," Percy shot back, his voice getting a little gruff.

(Name) paused, a snarky remark biting at her lips. She was just being cautious, just keeping herself safe. It wasn't a personal thing, no, not at all. She was probably just lonely and looking to vent about her impending doom. But there was something about Percy that made her want to open up. She couldn't explain it. Surely that was a natural response, right? To search for trust.

"Sorry," she didn't have the heart to reject him again. "Thanks for coming out here."

Percy sat up a little bit straighter, fighting off a massive blush. "It's the least I could do, I've never seen Chiron act like that before."

"Was that unlike him?"

"Very," Percy emphasised. "He just...kept pushing you. I don't understand what he was trying to do."

"You just said it," she muttered. "He wanted to push me."

"Oh."

Silence fell between them once again. (Name) drew figure-eights into the water with her feet.

"I'm not gonna...tell anyone what he said," Percy whispered. "If you were thinking that."

(Name) held back a cynical laugh. It wasn't like it mattered whether her past spread like wildfire or not. The fact of that matter was, Chiron had crossed a massive line. She held no respect for people who threw someone's insecurities in their face for the sake of an argument.

"Thanks, Percy."

Percy once again, straightened his posture. It kinda looked like he'd been struck by lightning.

"...for the record, I don't think you're rude or bratty."

(Name) could tell he was trying to cheer her up, and the promise of his smile made her heart leap.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't have to prove to you that I'm telling the truth, you could just—y'know, believe me."

(Name) bite her tongue. He was right. She had no right to assume how he felt.

"...well, thank you then."

"S'okay."

(Name) hummed. Percy being around didn't make her situation better, but it didn't exactly make it worse. Being alone for the night was something she had dreaded. It meant her mind had free reign to run wild with whatever disturbing narrative popped into her consciousness.

She hadn't imagined she'd take so much solace in Percy's presence.

For the rest of the night, they just sat on the dock sharing stories as the stars drifted through the sky. He hadn't realised what a good listener (Name) was up until now. She didn't try to speak over him when he hit a lapse in memory, nor did she correct him when he said something wrong. She just nodded along, making comments here and there that made him laugh.

Her input was small but necessary, almost like she was testing the waters in terms of his cognition. Did she think he'd forget about her feelings the second she left his peripherals? Did she think he was really that much of a scatterbrained douche-bag? What did she think of him?

Soon enough, sleep started to coax Percy's eyes shut. The briny smell of the sea and (Name)'s voice tinkled at his ears until he was careening sideways. His head fell into her lap.

(Name) didn't even flinch when he shifted around to get more comfortable, she just looked down at him curiously before she started combing her fingers through his hair. He keened into her touch with a breathy sigh, akin to a puppy dog.

(Name) let out a soft laugh and ruffled his hair. It was soft and warm; something she definitely hadn't expected from a fourteen-year-old boy with a skater aesthetic.

Percy let out a groggy yawn and curled into her lap, throwing an arm over her hips and nuzzling into her kneecap. (Name) splayed her fingers across his scalp, shaking them through his tresses until he was fully conked out.

There was something incredibly endearing about how boyish he looked when he was sleeping. And even though her legs were going numb from his weight, the warmth he provided was a pretty good trade-off to keep the chills away. That and the hoody he'd given her.

It was weird, she thought. The entire time she'd spent at Camp all she'd thought about was going home to her mom and dad. But now, all she was concerned about was the drool easing down Percy's jaw, and the wet patch he was making on her jeans.

"Gross," she whispered.

But she didn't dare wake him up.

❀