She watched the raft float out into the water and her heart clenched in despair. This will be the last time she ever sees him, just like all the heroes before him. She'll never see his face or hear his laugh, or kiss him.
A rumble of thunder shook her out of her thoughts and she worried her lip. That was a promise on the River Styx. There was no one around except Leo, on the raft, drifting away from her island. She didn't make a promise; so what did Leo just do?
"No," She gasped. "No, no, no." He didn't. He wasn't that stupid. She clutched her hair back from her face to give her a clear view of the raft. He was jumping, waving at her. "No." She said.
She spun on her heel and ran back to her cave, not wanting to see him an longer. She knew from experience that the longer she watched, the harder it was to let go. But would she really have to let go of Leo? What if he had promised that he would come back for her? What if she would see him again?
"No," She murmured into her pillow. There were tears carving paths down her cheeks. How could he be so stupid? She told him that no one could ever come back. She told him! And look her, so foolish to believe that he would be the one to come back. That would never happen. She would be stuck here, forever, not knowing what is going on in the outside world, and then serving her punishment for turning down Gaea.
If he tried to come back, but he couldn't, he would die. That's what promises on the River Styx did. If he didn't fulfill his promise… Oh, Leo. She hugged her pillow close, mussing her hair and tears together.
She stopped crying as a thought dawned on her. What if he hadn't promised to come back? What if it was something else, something he could do, something that wouldn't get him killed? Why had she thought it would be her anyway? None of the other heroes had promised that. And look at Percy! He had promised to release her from her island and had completely forgotten about her. Why wouldn't Leo do the same?
Because he's different. He isn't wanted back with his friends. He doesn't have a girlfriend back there, unlike Percy and his Annabeth. He finds more comfort with her than with his friends, treating him like a seventh wheel.
That still is no reason to come back. He's such an amazing boy, he'll definitely find someone else and forget about her. The thought brought a new onslaught of tears, running down her face. She wiped at them angrily. She would not cry over another stupid hero. She thought she had learned her lesson. She thought she had adapted to losing everything she ever loved.
"Don't, Leo. Stay safe, please. Please don't risk your life." She mumbled into her pillow. At the same time, her heart lifted at the thought of being rescued from this island, seeing the outside world for once. But if it came at the price of Leo's life, she didn't want anything but to stay on the island. She would not let anything about her cause Leo's death.
That boy better keep himself safe, or she would be horribly angry. What would be worth living for, if she knew that one she loved died because of her?
0000000000
5 months later
Calypso hadn't heard anything from anyone outside yet, for five whole months. It kept her up at night, tossing in her bed, worrying. Where was Leo? Was he okay? Did he think about her? She'd get out of bed in the morning tired and bleary-eyed, side- effects of crying all night. What was wrong with her? She had never reacted this badly to one of her heroes leaving.
She was in the garden, harvesting supplies, humming an ancient song under her breath. She was enjoying the quiet for once, unlike normally, when it made her miss home the most. On days like these, she felt like the island was her home.
Someone cleared their throat behind her, and she spun around, raising her basket like a weapon, then stopping. It couldn't be. No one has ever made it back to the island, ever. This couldn't be him. His curling hair, his tan skin. His goofy grin. She dropped the basket and touched his face. She ran her fingers along his cheekbones, his neck, and the entire plane of his face. He was real. She pulled him in and kissed him, hard, grasping his hair in her fists, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes. She hugged him and broke the kiss, pressing her face into his neck.
"Miss me?" He asked. She pulled away from him, saw his grin and… slapped him. "Calypso! What was that for?"
"Do you have any idea how worried I was? Do you? Oh my gods, I have never worried about anything as much as I have about you. Five months. You didn't come back for five months-" She was cut off by Leo hugging her again.
"I'm sorry, Calypso." He murmured, kissing her forehead. She hugged him back. "I'm sorry. I wish I was faster but the compass took so much longer than I thought- I'm so sorry."
"I'm sorry too. Did that hurt?" She touched his face again and gasped when her fingers brushed against the scar running a jagged line from his right ear down his jaw. "Are you… Are you okay? What happened? Oh, Leo, how'd you get hurt?"
There was another clearing of the throat and Leo stepped back. "Uh, Caly, this is the Argo II's crew." She looked past him and saw a tall blond boy, a choppy brown-haired girl, a girl with dark skin, a tall muscular boy with Asian features, and- No. That was- No.
"That's Jason, then Piper, his girlfriend. That's Hazel and Frank, also a couple. That's well, I think you know who that is-"
"Perseus Jackson." She whispered. She cracked a smirk. "Never thought I'd see you on my island again. I'd be surprised if you even remembered I existed."
The black-haired boy gulped. "Uh, about that-"
"It's fine. Who needs you when I've got Leo here?" Calypso laughed. She moved on the blond girl beside Percy with stormy gray eyes. "You must be Annabeth!" She extended a hand. "I finally got to meet you,"
Annabeth took it cautiously, a grim smile on her face. In fact, they all kind of looked grim. The war must be over then, for them all to seem so deflated. Many of them sported scars and bandages. The war with the Giants must have been tough.
Calypso's smile faded. "Would you like to come in for some tea and food?"
"That would be great," Leo said, leading her in with a hand on her lower back. The rest of the seven followed with a cloud of dark depression on their faces. No wonder none of them even said 'hello'. They've been through so much horror and grief the past months. That was one of the good things of staying on the island; she never knew about the good stuff, but she also didn't know about the horrendous stuff too.
She got out drinks and food, setting them on the table for the demigods to eat. They were polite, but always with that dazed look on their faces. The only one that seemed genuinely happy was Leo. He kept cracking jokes and trying to make everyone laugh, but Calypso could see how hard it was on him too.
"So, what happened?" She asked. She needed to know. It might be painful to them, but she was much hungrier for news of the outside world.
No one spoke for a moment so she turned to Percy. "You owe me one. Tell me, please. You guys are al scaring me with this somber thing."
"It was a war." Percy said. He shrugged at that, like it was tiring to talk about. "Like all wars, people died. Some very close, some not so close, but still a desperate loss."
"I know you might not understand, since the gods have punished you to stay on this island for so many years, and you have only met so few people, but we're just, we're really sorrowful right now." Annabeth said.
"You're wrong. I understand. I may not meet many people, but every single one of them, I fall in love with, and every single one of them has left me." She looked at Percy then Leo. "They leave, and I worry, worrying about what happened to them. And then years pass and I know they must be dead and gone. You don't think that makes me mournful?"
Annabeth nodded solemnly. "My apologies." Her voice was dull and weighed down. Percy put an arm around her, pulling her in for a hug.
Calypso sighed. "Come on, someone tell me what happened. Specifically. Who died a hero? Who sacrificed themselves? Who-"
"Nico." Jason said, interrupting, his face twisted in pain. "Nico died to save us, and now you know, so please, stop." Piper put a hand on his arm and squeezed. Hazel let out a strangled cry and buried her face in Frank's shoulder. Her boyfriend patted her gently on the back, glaring at Jason.
Calypso stayed silent. Nico must have been important to them. And he died a hero's death, so they should be proud. "You care a lot about Nico, yeah?" They nodded slowly. "And he sacrificed himself to save you, yeah?" More nods. "Then honor him! Don't waste the life he gave you being weighed down by depression. Do the things he would want you to do. He let you live for a reason. He didn't just die for the thrill of it! Now stop being so down in the dumps and fix yourselves!" She slammed her hand on the table, rattling the plates and cups. The seven demigods raised their heads to look into her eyes.
"She's right." Hazel mumbled. She stood up, putting a hand on Frank's shoulder to steady her. "Nico wouldn't have wanted us to be like this. He's my brother, I mourn for him more than any of you do, and I understand the pain. But he wouldn't want us to walk around every day of our lives like zombies. He- he would want us to enjoy ourselves. And eat- eat McDonalds." She started crying, and wiped her eyes furiously. "I'm not going to be sad anymore, because we all still have lives to live."
Frank stood up with her and so did Leo. "I agree," Frank said. Leo nodded.
The other four demigods stood in unison and they all put their hands in. Calypso laid her hand on top too. "To living the life Nico gave us!" They cheered, and sat down.
"Thank you for that, Calypso." Piper said. She smiled, and Calypso was certain she was a daughter of Aphrodite. "We needed that."
Calypso just nodded. "Well, you came all this way to find me. I hope it wasn't just so you'll leave me here again." Leo grinned.
"No, we're taking you back, Calypso. You'll get to see the outside world now. You can live at camp," Leo said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Calypso's jaw dropped and her heart pounded. She could leave? They were going to bring her with them? "The- the gods are allowing this? I can't leave unless they allow me to."
"We saved the world," Annabeth said, smiling and patting Calypso's hand. "They can't deny us anything."
Leo pulled her up and they kissed, Calypso, clutching his hair, running her other hand down his back. Percy cleared his throat. "Uh, there's an audience?"
Calypso glared at him. "You had your chance and you chose Annabeth, so stop complaining about me finding the one. No one ever said you couldn't kiss your girlfriend." She kissed Leo again. The other demigods laughed and kissed their own girlfriends.
"Okay, okay, as much fun as making out with my girl is- ow!" Leo rubbed his head. "What did I do this time?"
"I am not 'your girl'." Calypso growled.
"Okay, okay," Leo said. "As I was saying, making out is fun but we should get going. I wanna show Calypso around camp before night."
"That's better." Calypso said, and then rushed to pack her things. "What do I need? Oh, this, and-"
"Calypso, we have everything you need. Just, maybe a few crystals from your cave, in case you ever want to visit. Oh, and that fabric that doesn't burn. Leo needs a new outfit," Annabeth said, getting up to help the girl. Calypso nodded and before they knew it, the seven demigods were on the ship with Calypso, headed back home.