Camp Half-Blood was in high spirits. It had been a week since Jason, Piper and Leo returned as heroes having successfully completed their quest to free Hera, and preparations were already underway for their next project, an airship that would take them across the country to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, in San Francisco. Annabeth was hopeful again, knowing she would see Percy soon, Leo worked tirelessly alongside his Hephaestus cabin mates, Jason was excited at the prospect of finally going back to familiar territory, and Piper had found the self-confidence she'd spent all her life searching for. Indeed, It seemed everyone at camp had something to be hopeful about. Everyone that is, except for one person.
Disgraced, alone, useless. That's what Drew Tanaka felt as she sat by the cold waters of Long Island Sound. Somehow, somewhere, she had lost control. Everything and everyone in her life seemed to have conspired against her. Well they had taken it all. Now she had nothing. She stared at her reflection in the water, she wasn't wearing makeup for the first time in years. Right now, she didn't want to be surrounded by anything that reminded her of Aphrodite, Cabin Ten, and especially Piper McLean. It seemed like a cruel joke from on high. After everything Drew had lost, for McLean to just walk in, go on a quest, come back a hero, get her dream guy, get the cabin, suddenly be friends with everyone...a part of Drew wanted to Piper to feel the pain she had felt. And another part of her felt guilty for wishing that on anyone.
In any case, Drew now spent as much time away from her cabin mates as possible. She knew Piper would just rub it in, which she guessed she deserved for the way she'd treated Piper, but that didn't mean she had to like it. And that wasn't even to mention Mitchell, Lacy and the others. Drew was miserable enough as it was without them collectively shaming her. She sighed as she ran a hand through her soft black hair. At least here, no one would disturb her. She could stay here until dinnertime and pretend she was somewhere else, anywhere else.
Piper stared at the frilly pink decor of Cabin Ten, hers to lead for the past week now. She should've been thrilled. Finally she had found acceptance and a home. She'd stood up to Drew Tanaka, who rarely showed her face unless she had to anymore. And her cabin mates celebrated he for that. But the thrill of victory had worn off, and now Piper couldn't help but feel something constantly nagging at her. Something about Drew. Every time she saw the older girl, she was absolutely miserble. She wouldn't talk to anyone, let alone make eye contact. Piper was seriously worried about her. Maybe she had gone too far. But she couldn't talk to her. Drew wouldn't let her get close. And why should she? Piper thought. I basically humiliated her in front of all our cabin mates. Yeah she kind of deserved it, but still...
Piper tried to put the whole Drew situation out of her mind, and today had gotten off to a decent start until she saw a large group of campers clustered around the Big House. Chiron was standing in the doorway, pleading for them to settle down, to little effect. Piper glanced at her cabin mates.
"I'm gonna go check this out. Lacy's in charge till I get back, okay?" The others all nodded, and Piper dashed across the grassy field to the gathering crowd.
Chiron seemed to spot her immediately and gestured to her. The other campers each seemed to think he meant them, and they all started to rush towards the door.
"No! He means me, everyone else, just...um, stay out here!" The crowd calmed down. Charmspeak sure came in handy sometimes, Piper thought to herself. Of course, she wasn't one hundred percent certain that Chiron had meant her, but she had a feeling she was. Once Piper was inside, Chiron shut the door behind them. Immediately, Piper noticed the warmth coming from the blazing hearth, and sitting in an old-looking chair by the fire, bundled in blankets, was a boy she had never seen before. He had a messy mop of black hair that partially covered his dark brown eyes. His face looked sweaty and cold as ice at the same time. He didn't even acknowledge Piper at first, she wondered for a moment if he was awake at all, when his eyes suddenly locked on her.
"Who are you? You're not Drew," he snapped.
"Drew? I don't-"
"This is Piper McLean," Chiron said gently. "She is the head counselor of Cabin Ten, I believe she can help you."
"Wait, help him? I don't understand. What's going on?" Piper asked.
"We have much to discuss. For now, suffice it to say this is a former camper of sorts."
The boy nodded. "I'm Michael Yew. I'm looking for a girl, about your height, beautiful, sweet, kinda flirty. Her name's Drew Tanaka."