(A/N This is one of my better fics. Enjoy or flame.)
Grover stared forlornly at the wreath he had placed at the base of the tree, as rain poured down above his head. Percy gripped his shoulder reassuringly. Annabeth gave him a sympathetic smile. The Juniper tree had withered and died, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
A disease had raged outside of the camp. Trees everywhere had died. Juniper, carelessly, had wandered beyond the border.
It had been only three days ago.
Now, it was over.
Percy's thoughts began to scare him. After the war with Kronos, he had cried for his friends; for Michael Yew, Silena, and for Beckendorf. So many had gone, far, far away. At least someday he would see them again; but as for Grover and Juniper, their chance of ever meeting again was slim.
And now, for the beautiful tree nymph of grace that had once always been in his life, Percy felt no tears run down his face. He had become numb to death.
And that frightened Percy more than the strongest of Titan Lords.
How could he not cry for her? They had been such good friends!
But no matter how much he tried, Percy could not cry.
But the head of the council of Cloven Elders was sobbing uncontrollably. He had always been ridiculed for his shyness and for his awkward personality. The only people who had ever truly cared for and believed in him were Percy, his best friend, and Juniper, his lover. Percy now spent all his time with Annabeth, for having lovers can spread friends far apart, and Juniper was gone now. He could not stop the tears from overflowing, and he grit his teeth. How would he be able to continue on without her?
Annabeth put her head in her hands, and a thought began to haunt her.
Where had her childhood gone? Where had all the childhoods gone?
Grover was the head of a prestigious council, and he was always occupied.
Nico stayed in the underworld in seclusion.
Thalia was alone with her silvery hunters of moonlight. Only she would enjoy eternal youth, though her soul would mature and age more than Annabeth could ever imagine.
Percy was always with her now, but they were so busy. It was different now between them. She was busy at college, and he was busy with work. They were only seventeen, but in a year they would be adults. They had already gone through more than they should have as adults: they had seen the massacre of millions in a war lead by an ancient evil. Annabeth had seen her best friend, the one who had saved her, fall to the ultimate low, and save them only through the loss of his life.
Though she loved Percy deeply, he could never quite fill the hollow that had been made by Luke.
And no matter how she looked at it, there was no longer that carefree brilliance of childhood; at night, Annabeth would be haunted by the faces of those who had left this plane of the Universe.
Juniper would now be among them.
A deathly silence reigned over camp half-blood, and all that could be heard was the wind, gently whistling through the trees.
..S.S...
Yakimo cracked her whip.
"Get away from me, bitch!" she said, snarling through her teeth.
Her whip was a makeshift one, forged from a fishing pole she had found in an alley. Now she was never without it. She cracked it viciously with her wrist, warning her oppressors to stay away.
Yakimo had always been alone. Her mother was some tramp who lived a one night stand and faded away. How she ever wound up in America is still under question.
Yakimo squinted her eyes, trying to see through the rain. A scar ran underneath her left eye, where Ace had thrown a glass bottle at her a year ago. And now Ace was up in her face.
"What the hell do you think this is, some Asian ghetto? Get your ass outta here!" Ace snarled, approaching her. Yakimo lashed out with the whip.
"Your still gonna pay for that scar you gave me," Yakimo threatened. She was wary of hitting Ace with the whip, for fear that she could grab it and twist it out of her hands.
Ace and her thugs had Yakimo pinned against a wall. She grimaced. How hard was it to go to the library? Keeping her grades up and finding a place to stay the night were really hard to do too when there were gangs roving the streets.
Risa, the "second thug in command," as Yakimo said, threw a glass pitcher at her. With frightening dexterity, Yakimo reflected the pitcher with her whip. It shattered into a million pieces and a shard narrowly whizzed past her forehead.
Another found her mouth. Yakimo screamed with rage.
She truly was a vicious sight, with a glass shard in one hand, a whip in the other, blood dripping from her mouth.
Grover watched from a corner. This was not going to be an easy half-blood to befriend.
..S.S...
Grover walked into school with uncertainty. Percy and Annabeth had forced him to bring this half-blood home to get his mind off Juniper...At very short notice. Juniper's funeral had only been yesterday. The Detroit School System was not in its prime. Grover saw delinquents, gangster wanna-bes, and punks of various sorts wandering around.
Although Percy had wanted to get Grover's mind off of his deceased girlfriend, that wasn't the only reason he had sent Grover to find this girl.
Percy didn't want any old Satyr to find her. This was no ordinary halfblood.
This one was special.
He spotted her in the corner of the lunch line, her face covered by a hood. She had chains hanging from her waist and her lips were scarred and cracked from yesterday's fight. Yakimo had a thin form: she was barely five feet tall, but people seemed to be avoiding her. Her look was pure death. Grover shuddered. Thalia and Annabeth's scariest looks combined could never amount to this girl's hate glare. She grudgingly got a carton of milk, and that was all. She turned around in the line. That's when Grover spotted Ace and her gang, slowly sneaking up behind Yakimo. They were bruised and battered: Yakimo had single handedly beaten up them all, but not without her fair share of scars. Unfortunately, it was against school rules to bring her whip into class. Yakimo wanted desperately to graduate from High School and make something of herself. She didn't want to remain a street tramp her whole life. But she was as wild as the wind, and no foster home could keep her. She was vicious and unruly, always picking a fight. Her ADHD and dyslexia didn't help, but she was determined to finish school.
Grover gasped in panic. Ace and her thugs had grabbed lacrosse sticks and were slowly approaching Yakimo from behind. Many people saw, but they just scooted away. Grover was horrified.
"How could they do that?" he thought.
"How could they not say something? Or warn her?" he thought.
He knew that those girls were not to be messed with however, and that they would most likely beat up anyone who interfered. He summoned up all his courage and yelled,
"Yakimo! Look out!" Yakimo looked at him for a second, then saw Ace and her thugs. She hopped onto a table, knocking lunch trays everywhere. Kids ran away, screaming. Ace gave Grover and evil stare, and a nearby runaway whispered,
"You're in for it now, kid! It was nice knowing you," as he tried to escape the mayhem. Yakimo threw the saltshaker at Ace's eyes, and being a deadly accurate shot, blinded her as it exploded and sent salt everywhere. She lunged for her lacrosse stick, but Ace held on firmly. Risa swung at Yakimo's head, but she ducked, then lunged out with her foot, kicking Ace flat in the stomach. Ace stumbled backward onto the table, and now Yakimo had possession of the lacrosse stick. They swung, using the handles as weapons. Yakimo grinned. Who knew that stupid fencing in gym class would ever be useful? Except when Yakimo finally got past Risa's weapon, she didn't tap her and say,
"Point!"
She shoved it viciously into Risa's chest, causing her to squeal in pain and fall over backwards. Suddenly Ace and her girls composed themselves. Ace fell to the ground in pretended horror and Twanda put her arm around her leg, as if she had been hurt.
When the Principal Smithers walked in, all he saw was Yakimo, standing on top of a table, a lacrosse stick in hand, and several injured girls moaning on the floor.
Yakimo grit her teeth.
Another normal day at school.
(A/N What do you think? Love, hate? As you can see, Yakimo is not a Sue, haha! She has freakin' anger management issues! Like me! Lol.
BTW, Are you bored? Check out RANDOM CHAT on my forum, "Newbies to Fanfiction, Specifically Percy Jackson." It isn't just for newbs but it is newb friendly. FIRST PERSON TO POST GETS A SPECIAL PRIZE!)