I do not own Percy Jackson. Enjoy the story!
Hazel tapped her foot, waiting impatiently for Frank at the border of Camp Jupiter. Where was he? They said they'd meet there in 10 minutes to head over to Camp Half-Blood for a visit.
Frank and Hazel, and sometimes Reyna, would try to visit Camp Half-Blood at least once a month. Unfortunately, Camp Jupiter had to have at least one greater present at all times. That meant all three couldn't go together at the same time.
Hazel hoped Frank would be coming. She hadn't seen Reyna around camp, but she normally doesn't see her often unless they were hanging out.
Finally, Hazel got tired of waiting and grabbed her stuff and dropped it off at her bunk. From there, she walked to Frank's house, where he would be doing his packing, at least she hoped.
Frank was usually good about getting to places on time, so it was a great surprise for Hazel to find that he was late.
Once she got there, Hazel knocked on the door and let herself in. She would normally come right in unless he gave her a reason not to.
When Hazel entered the room, her heart sank. There, her boyfriend sat at his desk doing paperwork.
At this point, she realized that Frank was not entirely paying attention to the conversation they had earlier. She supposed it wasn't all Frank's fault, it seemed like he was really busy.
"So, you're not coming?" she tried not to sound disappointed.
"Oh, schist!" Frank answered as he stood and faced her, looking startled and sympathetic. "I'm sorry Hazel, but Reyna is visiting Hylla and I am swamped by work."
By this time, he was right in front of her and gave her a big hug. Hazel leaned into it, definitely need the hug at the moment.
Frank pulled away. "I'm sorry I wasn't listening earlier, but I have to get this work done. Do you feel like going alone? I don't want you to cancel because I can't go."
"I'll be fine. It will only be a bit more lonely on the way over," she made it sound as if a cross country journey alone was no big deal.
"Are you sure?" Frank didn't sound confident.
"Positive," Hazel reassured.
"Just come back alive and in one piece," he reasoned.
"I promise," she gave him a hug and a kiss, and left him to his work, hoping he didn't worry about her too much.
Getting to New York was easier than she thought. It only took two trains, three buses, and a cab to make it to Manhattan.
Hazel didn't see too many monsters either. It was only between the trains and the cabs did she have to fight off a few hellhounds, but she could easily cover it up with the Mist. She suspected the reason was that she was traveling so much. The only problem was explaining why she was so young and alone.
It normally involved a few lies and a Mist manipulation or two.
But the real highlight was the carnival she saw in her final cab ride on the way to Camp Half-Blood.
It was bright and colorful, with a Ferris wheel and tons of rides. Just looking at it filled Hazel with a childlike wonder. It occurred to her that she had never gone to the fair. Hazel was determined to go there at some point in the three weeks that she had in New York, no matter the cost.
After the final cab ride, she found herself at the top of Half-Blood Hill, overlooking all of Camp Half-Blood. She didn't hesitate to run down the hill and look for her friends.
Passing the Big House, Hazel made a beeline for the Hades Cabin. Not bothering to knock, she burst through the door and found a very startled Nico and a curious spirit staring at her.
"I'm here!" Hazel shouted, her voice full of joy and her hands in the air, effectively dropping her stuff.
"Good gods Hazel! Don't do that! I think you're knocked ten years off my lifespan!" Nico gasped, clutching his chest.
She giggled. Scaring her brother was always fun.
Gathering his breath, he dismissed the spirit and looked at her.
"Where's Frank?" Nico asked.
"Reyna's visiting her sister, so Frank had to stay behind," Hazel explained.
He nodded.
"How long are you staying?"
"Three weeks."
"Cool!"
Hazel went to set her stuff down, and Nico helped her unpack. After everything was all situated, she and Nico made plans to scare the rest of their friends, hopefully giving them heart attacks.
The first person they tried to scare was Leo. Tried. He's so focused on his projects all the time that he blocks out the rest of the world.
The first people they effectively scared were Jason and Piper. They were both together, and all they had to do was shout Boo! as loud as they could.
Percy was pretty easy to scare. He was still pretty jumpy from Tartarus, and the heart attack Nico and Hazel gave him did not help in the slightest.
It turns out that they couldn't scare Annabeth. She was so focused on her designs, that her only reply was, "Percy go away, I'm working." Apparently, Percy bothered Annabeth to the point where she blocked him out completely.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Hazel hung out with Nico for a while, swam with Percy, and rode Blackjack (with Percy's permission).
In her downtime, however, she couldn't stop thinking of the fair. It consumed so much of thoughts to the point where Hazel asked Percy about it since he knew all about the mortal world.
"Oh, the fair? Yeah, it's in town for a few more days. I could take you if you want," he responded.
"Really? You would do that?"
"Course. Annabeth and Leo are busy, Piper and Jason are going on a date tonight, and Nico and Will are spending time together, so it would be just us. Besides, I've been meaning to visit my mom."
She expected to have to plead, beg, bribe, or all three.
"Going just the two of us wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. If we go alone, then we won't have to spend money on other people." Hazel responded, already excited.
"And since it's it's only noon, we will have plenty of time to go to the fair and visit my mom afterward."
"Okay. I can work with that!"
"Alright. Let's meet at Half-Blood Hill in ten minutes."
She nodded in confirmation and went to the Hades Cabin to get some money for the trip.
Hazel met Percy on Half-Blood Hill with $20 in her pocket. He then led her to a small clearing near the road where his car was parked.
"You have a car?"
"Yeah. I do work, you know."
The car wasn't anything fancy, just a royal blue Nissan Versa 1.6 S.
As they started down the road, Percy asked why she wanted to go to the fair.
"Well, I've never been to the fair before. It just looks so exciting. Plus, it makes me feel like a kid again," was her only response.
"You are a kid. But, I see what you're saying. With having an important role in the Giant War, there wasn't much relaxing."
"Yeah. Sorry if I'm a little overzealous. I'm just so excited."
"No problem. I totally understand."
The rest of the car ride was filled with silence. Soon enough, the lights of Manhattan came into view, and she could smell the greasy, sugary fair food. The multi-colored lights showed up and she could see the Ferris wheel soar into the sky. She also saw the people from the car and hear the screams and laughter.
Hazel grinned like a maniac. This placed looked about as fun as it was to rid Arion. She bounced up and down in her seat, unable to sit still.
"Hold it, Hazel! You're going to make me plow into a tree!" Percy laughed.
"I'm sorry, I can't sit still! It just looks so exciting!"
He laughed again. "Well, you don't have to contain your excitement anymore because we. Are. Here."
"Hooray!" she cheered as Percy pulled into the parking lot.
The fair was even bigger than it looked. The lights blinded her and the smiles were infectious. She jumped out of the car as soon as she could and pulled Percy out of the car, smiling all the while.
Percy laughed and shook his head at her antics. He allowed Hazel to pull him along to the entrance. He paid for two bracelets instead of tickets, while Hazel told him to hurry up.
"Where do you want to go first?" Percy asked.
Hazel looked around at all the rides and one caught her eye. It was a large swinging ship with seats in it. She pointed it out to Percy and they headed over to it.
It was more fun than it looked. It swung and swung until she was horizontal and 50' off the ground. She yelled and cheered in excitement, and Percy did the same.
They got off the ride with windblown hair, heaving chests, and wide smiles.
This went on for four or five more rides until they stopped for lunch. The fair food was a large contrast to Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood's healthy food. It was sugary, fatty, and delicious. She and Percy shared chili cheese fries and two elephant ears. Hazel had a philly cheese steak and lemonade and Percy had a cheeseburger and a coke.
"I still can't believe they don't have any blue coke," Percy grumbled as they walked around the fair.
"Percy, you've been complaining since lunch! Your soda is empty, so get over it!" Hazel exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.
"I'm just saying that blue coke is better, and I don't understand why they don't offer it."
"They don't make blue coke."
"They have brown coke!"
"Coke is naturally brown!"
"I think brown coke is just jealous of blue coke," Percy stated, not wanting to let the argument go.
Percy knew the argument was silly, but he enjoyed arguing with Hazel.
At this, Hazel's suppressed grin spread wider. She loved Percy and his ability to make everyone laugh.
She shook her head. "Seriously, Percy? How about green coke, or maybe yellow?" she questioned, suppressing a smile.
"They're jealous of them too."
Hazel had no chance. The smile she had been suppressing throughout the entire conversation came out full force, She laughed. Hazel laughed one of those big, true laughs that are infectious and impossible to fake. Percy started laughing too, and soon they had to pull off the path in order to not get in anyone's way.
It was quite a few minutes before they calm down enough to start walking again. When they finally got their giggles under control, they started walking towards the games.
Hazel scanned the games, there was a multitude of them, but Hazel eyes stopped on one with water guns where you had to try to fill and pop the balloon using the water.
She grinned and grabbed Percy's arm, drawing his attention. She pointed towards the game and watched Percy's face light up as he pulled her into the line.
When it was their turn, Percy beat her, as was expected. He ended up winning a great big bear and gave it to her. It was half her size, was brown with white patches, and had a red ribbon tied around its neck. Hazel loved it and gave Percy a massive hug.
Percy and Hazel chose a bunch of different games to play, and they won a bunch of stuffed animals to take home. They ended up having to buy a large cloth bag to put most of the stuffed animals into.
The duo road more rides and Hazel's hair was wind-blown and her smile was so wide that it hurt her cheeks by the end of it.
With the sun going down, the two sat down on the grass away from the fair, and they watched as the fireworks exploded in the sky. By the end of the show, Hazel's head was resting on the shoulder, and she was trying to stay awake.
With the moon rising, Percy drove Hazel to his mother's house. He smiled softly as he watched Hazel doze off in the front seat. She was drifting in and out of sleep and was clutching her bear that she had named Sammy.
When they finally arrived, Percy woke her up and they headed up to the apartment. His mother met them at the door, and she smiled down, taking in the stuffed animals and the sleepy teenagers. She took the stuffed animals from them and set them on the dining room table. As Percy guided Hazel to the couch, where she immediately fell asleep, Sally set out leftovers from dinner for her son.
Percy ate quickly, and he gave his mother a hug and a kiss, and he went to his room where he immediately fell asleep.
The next morning, Hazel woke up in an unfamiliar place. She was clutching Sammy and found that she was on a couch, presumably in the Jackson/ Blofis household.
She looked around and found an amazing smell coming from the kitchen. As if on autopilot, she drifted into the kitchen where she found pancakes and bacon being cooked by a woman in her early forties who had long brown hair streaked with gray.
As if sensing her presence, the woman turned around and smiled at Hazel. She had kind blue eyes, and a smile that warmed your heart; the kind that made Hazel relax immediately
"You must be Hazel. My name is Sally, I'm Percy's mother. Since I'm a bit busy at the moment, would you mind waking Percy up for me? Breakfast will be done soon, and I know how much he likes his blue pancakes."
"I don't mind. Where is Percy's room?" Hazel questioned, her sleepiness ebbing away.
"Down the hall to the left."
Hazel followed her instructions and found his room. He had a desk and a dresser along the wall, and the bed in the center of the room. There were clothes and trash strewn about the room, but it wasn't horrendously messy. Hazel found Percy on the bed, laying with his arms and legs in all directions. She shook him and called his name, but nothing worked. Finally, Hazel grabbed one of his pillows and started beating him with it until he woke up.
Percy groaned and rolled over, and Hazel kept assaulting him with the pillow. He sat up but was knocked back down by the flying pillow.
All sleep gone, Percy sat on the pillow before Hazel could grab it again.
Percy looked at her angrily. "What the Hades Hazel! Haven't you ever heard of waking someone up peacefully?"
"I tried that. I shook you when I called you, but you wouldn't wake up. The only option left was to beat you till you woke up," she shrugged and looked at him innocently as if she had done nothing wrong.
Percy's anger ebbed away as he stared at her. Grumbling to himself, he got out of the bed and headed to a door on the opposite wall, probably his bathroom. She called to him that breakfast would be ready soon, and she headed out to see if Sally needed any more help.
After breakfast, Hazel got to meet Paul. He was a sweet man, and Hazel liked him.
But what she liked most of all was playing with Estelle. Hazel cooed and tickled the baby until it was time for her nap. She pouted but started watching movies with Percy.
She wasn't surprised that Percy had The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo. She grinned at him but said nothing as he put in The Little Mermaid. She had no idea what it was about, but by the end of the film, she was just as invested in it as Percy.
After many hours, Percy suggested that they should get back to Camp before they gave anyone heart attacks.
"They're probably having heart attacks right now," Hazel quipped.
"Yeah. All the more reason to get back. Annabeth is going to kill me for not I-M'ing."
Hazel shook her head and laughed, and went to go gather her things.
Before Hazel walked out the door, she was stopped by Sally.
Sally handed her a slip of paper with a number on it.
"I know you don't have a phone, but here is my number anyway. If you ever need to call, or if you ever need someone to talk to, I will always answer the phone."
Her kind tone made Hazel's heart melt. She couldn't believe that Sally had not only let her into her home, but she treated Hazel as her own daughter.
"Thank you," she said, tears filling her eyes. Sally wrapped her in a hug, and she dried Hazel's tears.
"Go. Percy's waiting for you."
With one last hug, Hazel walked out the door and looked back to see Sally and Paul waving from the door.
Hazel waved back and ran down the hallway to catch up with Percy.
What did you think? I hope you like it, and I'm sorry it took so long. Criticism is accepted, but harsh comments are not.