A/N: First off, this isn't a mortal AU. It's still demigod and mainly cannon based, but with a twist that I myself find familiar. I first want to thank Mrs.PercyJackson3 (so sorry if I spelt it wrong) for all of her stories. I know I've said it in other stories I've made, but last November I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. I'm still trying to understand what I have, and I think a lot of people out there don't understand the different types of diabetes and automatically assume that if you have diabetes then you're fat. I'd like to clarify that that assumption is COMPLETELY INACCURATE. I am not fat, but I don't have abs either, which is totally fine with me. Listen, the point of this note is to help clarify to people, whether they have diabetes or not, that you are still beautiful, still loved, still appreciated, and nothing is wrong with you. I like to think I've just got some messed up genetics. And yes, I'll dive into more detail, but I'm basically going to be mixing Percy's world into my own. I'll be adding in factors that I've gone through as well, such as him doing swim and water polo, which I myself do as well. There are simple things in here that you'll probably skim right by, that represent MY life, MY emotions, how I FEEL about what's been happening. I know that sounds selfish, but I haven't found a story like this one, so I'm going to voice my life, simply in a way that you all can relate to as well.
If you've read my note, I appreciate it. It means a lot that you've taken time to listen to my rambling, so for that, I personally thank you. If you skipped my note, I don't really blame you because I tend to do that sometimes too.
Anyways, I fully intend to finish this tonight. I hope that you all enjoy it!
Living in Confusion
3rd Person POV
Percy sat completely still for one of the first times in his life. He stared intently at the Russian nurse who stared right back, motioning for Percy to just prick his finger and check his blood sugar already.
He blinked once.
Then again.
He gingerly reaches out, grabbing the foreign device and half paying attention as the lady explained how to insert a strip into the glucometer, the device that would tell him his blood sugar. Percy didn't know what the lady was talking about. None of these words made any sense to him.
Glucometer. Blood sugar. Hades, he didn't even know what the purpose of having a blood sugar was! He grabbed the strange thumb-sized pen thingy, the nurse snatching it from his hands and sliding a button down on the side. "You just slide this down, like that. Now, hold the tip of it to your finger and push on the button near the top." Percy flinched when he heard the 'crick!" of the pen-shaped device as the needle stuck his skin like a snake, leaving a large dollop of red blood to ooze from the side of his middle finger. The nurse guided his hand to the glucometer, the blood touching a strange white strip and a long beeping noise coming from the device. Percy read the device: 218. Was that a good number? He wasn't sure. "Did you eat before coming here?" the nurse asked impatiently.
"Yeah, my mom and I usually stop by a local coffee shop before coming here for my twice a year appointments, so I got the brownie marshmallow frappachino, because I don't like the way coffee tastes." Percy looked at his mother, confusion on both of their faces. "Um... excuse me, but I've never had to do... whatever that was you just had me do. Exactly why did I need to do it again?"
The Russian rolled her eyes, ignoring his question. "Well, obviously you have to do it now. Follow me." Percy frowned but followed the mean, short lady, his mom not far behind. "The doctor will be with you shortly." With that, she closed the door rather loudly, leaving the mother and son alone and confused in a silly looking room.
Usually Percy would pay attention to the ugly booger green walls, the silly cartoon giraffe on the wall, and trying to read all of the confusing signs and posters plastered across the room, but Percy immediately turned to his mom, tears threatening to spill over as he found something far more important to ask. "Mom? They-they've never had to do that before, so..." Percy left the question open, not wanting an answer.
Percy knew what the device was. Yeah, he'd seen a good mortal friend of his use a glucometer before because he was diabetic, but never before had he himself had to use one. He had never really been concerned about diabetes before. He never thought an athlete like himself would get it. Yet here he was for a doctor appointment for his hoshimotos, thinking it was just a typical check up with his favorite Indian, Dr. Bains.
See, Percy had this genetic disease. Nothing special, really. His body would just attack his thyroid, so he had to take medicine to help it. However, the disease he had made him more sleepy, as well as weakening his immune system and... making him more prone to having diabetes.
A tear fell down his face, but he quickly wiped it away, trying his best to hide any sign of weakness in front of the soon to be coming doctor, as well as his mother.
Sally, as observant as ever, looked at her son with a furrowed brow, sympathy written across her face. "Percy, honey, I-"
A knock was at the door, both occupants immediately straightening upwards. "Come in!" Sally said kindly, a fake smile plastered on her face. She was concerned for her son, but she needed to know what the doctor would say.
The door opened gingerly, a short Indian man with salty pepper hair, goatee and mustache with small square glasses and a computer in hand entering the room. He closed the door with a silent click, pulling a chair up to sit in front of Percy. "Hello, Percy. How are we feeling today?" he asked as kind as always, his accent bringing a small smile to the Son of Poseidon's face.
"If I'm being honest, I'm doing alright, although I'm a little confused. Uh... one of your nurses had me... she had me prick my finger? I... I've never had to do that before." Dr. Bains' smile dropped, his brows scrunched up and filled with pity.
Percy didn't want pity. He wanted to know what was wrong with him. Yes, Percy's had blood drawn, and plenty of lab work to boot, even ultra sounds done on his neck to make sure nothing was going crazy with his thyroid. Never had he needed to do what the diabetic people had done before. He didn't mean to sound so rude in his head, but he was bitter, hurt, and angry at himself. He probably got diabetes for eating so unhealthy and like a pig. Tears threatened to spill again, so he quickly blinked them away, staring intently at the doctor.
With a sigh, Dr. Bains gave a gentle smile at Percy, knowing what was said next would be hard to hear. "Percy, over the years your A1C has been steadily getting higher. Do you know what that means?" Percy shook his head no. He'd heard the doctor talk about his A1C, but never really payed attention enough to understand what it was. "Well, to put it in simple terms, your A1C helps to determine if you're diabetic or not." He turned his computer around, showing Percy the screen. "See this line here? That's your A1C. A person with diabetes typically has an A1C of 7 or higher. Your A1C is just barely above at 7.1."
Percy had known those words would come from the doctor's mouth, but they felt as if they'd been flung into his gut and then thrown at the side of his head. He blinked the tears back as much as they could, but one or two escaped his eyes, leaking onto his face.
By now the doctor had turned towards Sally, explaining to her more about Percy's 'condition'. "I had originally thought that your son would get Type One Diabetes, and because of his hoshimotos I had been monitoring him and having labs done to check for signs of type one. I'm a little shocked that he's a type two diabetic, so I think he might be a rare case where..."
Percy spaced out after that. He had heard his mortal friend Marcus trying to explain the different types of diabetes at lunch last year, but he hadn't really understood any of it. All he knew was that type one was genetic, and type two was... was for fat people, to put it bluntly.
In that moment, Percy's heart dropped. It was his fault. He knew it. He was some fat kid who got diabetes because he couldn't eat right. And with the open lunch campus at Goode High, he went to fast food joints all the time with his mortal friends.
He was fat, a pig, "like Gabe", his mind added in ever so helpfully, making him hate himself even more. It was his own dam fault for being this way.
Tears fell freely from his face. Percy couldn't hold them in any longer. "Percy. Hey, it's alright Percy. It's not your fault. Look, all you have to do is try to be a little more cautious with what you eat. We're going to give you a pill, you take one in the morning after you eat and it should help." The doctor turned back to Sally, blabbing about more stuff that Percy didn't care about. I need to fix this. How do I fix this? He didn't know the answer. Percy sat perfectly still, a statue on the strange plastic beds that most clinics have. Never in his life had he sat so perfectly still. It was unnerving.
The ride back to the apartment was a two hour drive, but Percy stared out the window, blanking out most of the ride. He vaguely heard his mom on the phone with Paul, explaining the situation, but Percy didn't care. He just wanted to go home.
Percy walked into the apartment, saying hello to Paul and his baby sister Estelle before walking to his room and lying in bed. He hadn't told anyone about his hoshimotos. He had always felt it unnecessary. What was he supposed to say? "Oh, I have hoshimotos, a genetic disease where my body attacks itself in the thyroid area." Yeah, like that would work well.
The next few weeks, Percy adjusted to the medicine he needed to take. A simple white pill, circular and about the size of three dimes stacked on top. Nothing fancy, but Percy needed to take it. With his morning practice of water polo going on, he'd wake up at 5:30 every morning, grab his dry land clothes for Tuesdays and Thursdays or his Goode High speedo for conditioning in the pool on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He'd eat something small so as to not throw up from exercising with a full stomach, take the pill, and leave. Practice would last from 6am to 7am. Then he'd shower, change, and go to school.
At first, sally told Percy not to tell his coach. But Percy's ADHD had him thinking thoughts that were honestly a little frightening. "What if I pass out, and they don't know the cause? What if I suddenly die? What if while I'm working out my blood sugar drops too low, or goes to high? What if... what if..."
As much as Percy was athletic on land, he was far faster in the pool, and a majority of the kids on the water polo team did track, meaning they were fast. Percy was usually (to his anger) shoved to the back when it came to bleacher running and jumping, and the coach would always be out on the field waiting for him while everyone else moved on to do lunges and push ups around the pool.
Percy used his 'slowness' to finally bring up a topic he had been dreading to talk about, but he felt it was necessary to say, and his coach was nice enough. "Mrs. Kifer, can I talk to you really quick?" She looked at the bleachers opposite them, taking notice of the slowly approaching girls team before turning back to Percy and nodding.
"Yeah, sure, but make it fast. The girls are coming soon and I don't want to be in their way."
Percy nodded, taking a deep breath in. "Mrs. Kifer, a few weeks ago I was told that my A1C was on the higher side, and-"
"I don't know what an A1C is, but continue."
"Oh, well, it's for my blood sugar, and so I was diagnosed with type two diabetes, so I take this pill in the morning that makes me a little nauseous and so I just wanted to let you know."
The coach nodded thoughtfully as they walked towards the pool deck. "I'm sorry you have to go through that. Thank you for telling me."
Percy nodded, feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. He felt free, rejuvenated. He knew his coach was kind.
That night, he was scolded by Sally and Paul for his 'foolishness'. "Percy, your coach might put you on the bench now because of your mouth! You told her about your disease, and now she might bench you even more than she already does!" Paul was pacing back and forth, Percy sitting in a chair and glaring at his feet. Percy loved Paul, he really did, and it was nice that he was trying to be a father figure, but Percy hated it when he felt belittled, and that's exactly how he felt. The only reason he was shoved on the bench, the only reason he was 'slow', was because he wanted to be discrete, and he didn't use his godly abilities as a way to cheat in water polo. He wanted things to be fair, and so he had made a vow that he'd play fair, which he did, even if it put him at a disadvantage.
Percy abruptly stood up, staring his step father in the eyes. "Paul, I did what I thought was right. If she puts me on the bench, then fine. I don't care. But even if I'm not a starter, I'm on the team, and I depend on them just like they depend on me. I told the coach because I wanted her to know." With that, Percy walked away, leaving Paul by himself.
Time skip... sorry if this is boring...
The polo season had ended about a month or so ago, and Percy found himself back in Dr. Bains' office. It had only been a few months, but the doctor wanted to run more tests and make sure it was type two diabetes. By now, Percy had gotten used to the pill, although he still struggled with not going to lunch with his friends.
The doctor walked in, greeting Sally and Percy and asking how things were. Percy smiled and talked animatedly, Sally chilling in as well. Greetings aside, the doctor produced a facial expression similar to the same one worn when Percy was told of his diabetes. Bad news, Percy's mind screamed at him. Both Sally and Percy sat up straighter, waiting for the worst to come.
"Percy, I had more labs come in. I wanted to make sure you had type two diabetes." The room was silent for a moment before the doctor continued. "The tests that were ran a few months ago on type one diabetes that came back negative... are now positive." The doctor gave Percy a pity filled face, but Percy just blinked a few times. He didn't cry. He didn't move. He just sat there, gave a slight nod to the doctor, and continued to listen. The doctor basically said it was genetic, and that Percy would have to check his blood sugar at least twice a day and would need to give himself a shot once a night. A nurse came in with what looked like a pen. Percy tried not to grin at the woman's next words. "Here. This is your pen of Treceba. It's long acting insulin, so you only need to do this once a day, alright? We're gonna do a practice on this pillow. Hold it up like this... there you go! Now, just turn it to 10 units. That's what the doctor wants you to start with... now gently press the needle into the pillow... see? It's not that bad. Good job." The nurse gingerly took the pillow from Percy's abdomen, as well as the needle filled with insulin, before walking out the door. She came back shortly after with a brand new pen for Percy, which came with needles. She also carried a red box with a lid on it, no larger than Percy's forearm, with a small toxic logo on it that Percy would see in hospitals. "All you're going to do is give yourself ten units once every evening and then put the needle in the bin!" She turned to Sally, "You'll have to call the garbage company to come pick this up when it's full." With that the nurse left, the mother and son following soon after and heading for the exit.
"Percy, are you alright honey?" Sally looked at her son, who had an unreadable yet relaxed look on his face. He acted like the nuclear bomb that was just dropped on him was just a slight breeze.
"Hm? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Why? Are you alright mom?" Sally blinked a little, confused as to why he was asking if she was okay when he was just told that his pancreas was slowly dying and that he'd eventually become totally insulin dependent, to the point where he'd need shots before every meal.
"How do you feel... you know..."
Percy's eyes went a little wide in understanding before nodding. "Oh, well I honestly prefer this over the other one." When his mom raised an eyebrow, he elaborated. "Well, when I was first diagnosed with type two diabetes, I blamed myself." He rubbed his neck sheepishly as Sally glared at him. "I know it sounds rediculous, but I thought I was my fault, and that I was just fat and stupid." Sally looked ready to protest, but Percy cut her off, a small smile gracing his lips. "When Dr. Bains said that it was genetic, it didn't really bother me. It means that this isn't my fault. It means I just have messed up genetics. And that's okay, because I already had messed up genetics in the first place." Percy laughed, not noticing Sally's warm smile. "Ya know, it makes me sorta curious what the mortals see when they look at my blood. Do they see half my DNA missing? Maybe it looks like it's all regular mortal blood? Meh, I don't know, but it makes me wonder..."
Sally gave a gentle laugh, but continued to drive home. She felt strangely optimistic about this situation. Even though Percy's pancreas was slowly dying and could potentially end up killing him, Percy seemed... happy, somehow. And yes, Sally was still extremely concerned, but Percy didn't really seem to care that he'd have to give himself shots every day, or that he'd have to prick his fingers all the time.
No, if Percy was doing alright and handling his two diseases fine, then she could help be there to support him and handle it with him too.
Time skip... I have a sinus infection...
Although there were a few days over the past seven months that Percy would break down and cry a little bit over how "the needle hurts and won't go in" or how his "fingers have dead skin and callouses all over them where I prick myself to check my sugar", Percy seemed to have no problem with his diabetes. About halfway through the whole ordeal, probably closer to February, Percy had checked his sugar before swim practice and it read HI on the glucometer. Percy immediately IMed his mother, who in turn called the office and put them on speaker so Percy could hear what they were saying. Turned out that Percy's blood sugar was unusually high, and it was time for him to start short acting insulin. After learning how to carb count and calculate how many units of insulin he'd need to give himself before each meal, Percy became a pro not only with his diabetes, but his math as well. Sally wasn't sure if it was because of all the math that went into figuring how much carbs and how much insulin Percy was taking, but by the end of the school year Percy passed his math with a B plus. Sally had practically squealed in delight and demanded that her, Percy, Paul, and the now one year old Estelle go to dinner to celebrate.
By now, it was a few days into summer, and Percy had his blue duffle bag ready to go. His mom was a little teary-eyed, but that was usually how it went when Percy left for Camp Half-Blood.
Sally gripped her son's arms, looking him up and down and raising her eyebrows. "You have your insulin, right? Both long acting and short acting? Keytone strips? Your glucometer? You have the glucose shot Incase your sugar drops? And your bracelet right? The one that says you're insulin dependent? Oh! And you have plenty of supplies for your sensor too, right? You've never put it in by yourself... are you sure you don't want to tell Annabeth yet? I mean, it's-"
"Life threatening, I know mom." Percy rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. "And I don't need anybody worrying over me. I have everything, and I know how to put the sensor in. Don't worry about it." Percy lifted his baggy short sleeve up, showing a lump with blue tape on the back of his arm. The sensor was like having a thick hair in your arm that checked your blood sugar every five minutes and sent it to your phone. Percy had told Chiron about his situation after a lot of debating with his mother, and the centaur had somehow talked Hephaestus into making the son of Poseidon an electric blue smart phone. Percy had to admit that it was nice to have a phone, especially when he'd get bored in classes at school. Percy could stay in contact with his friends from school, and have all of the normal mortal apps without attracting monsters. Percy even had an app that would help him carb count, which made giving himself insulin all the easier.
"You promise to text me or call me at least once a day before you go to bed, and you'll send me your sugars and insulin amount every time right?" Percy nodded at his mother.
"Mom, remember the nice lady that helped set up the app so you can see my sugars too? It tells you what my sugar is and shows how much insulin I've given myself."
Sally nodded but crossed her arms, looking at Percy defiantly. "Yes, I know, but I still want updates! Sometimes the stupid website for the app won't let me see anything!" She puffed out her cheeks, making both Percy and Paul (Who was quiet to let them have a son-mom moment) laugh.
"Mom, Paul has it down. Right Paul?" Percy looked at Paul expectantly, watching with satisfaction as his step father nodded. "See? It'll be fine mom. I'll text you when I get there." Sally hugged Percy, then released her son to hold Estelle so Paul could also hug the black haired teenager.
"Have fun, Percy. And please be careful."
"I will." Percy gave Paul a firm nod before waving goodbye as he walked out the apartment door. Walking up to the roof, Percy gave a loud whistle, waiting for his ride. Percy gently tugged on the tennis bracelet that was hiding his bronze and red colored metal bracelet that signified his insulin-dependency. Although much hadn't changed about Percy, he didn't want people to misjudge him. He saw how his friend Marcus was treated, like he was some fat kid with the plague. Percy hated the way everyone treated his best mortal friend. Marcus didn't deserve that.
And as much as Percy pretended having diabetes didn't matter, he was scared that his friends from camp would treat him like people treated Marcus. So Percy had learned to wear short sleeved shirts that went down to almost his elbows, and they were all baggy shirts. He didn't wear form fitting clothes, not usually, so he figured nobody'd notice. It was the little tennis bracelet that covered his diabetic bracelet, the way he probably would wear a shirt when he swam to make sure nobody would see his sensor or the dots littered across his stomach from the constant shots, or how he had a phone of all things, or how he'd probably end up disappearing the first few minutes of meals to calculate how much he'd eat and how much insulin he'd need. They seemed like simple and relatively small details, but Percy took extreme notice, and knew that his friends would take some sort of notice as well.
Hooves fell across the rooftop, shaking Percy from his thoughts. Sea green eyes met with the deep brown, almost black eyes of Blackjack.
"Boss! It's been forever! What's been happening? Got any donuts?"
Percy smiled, shaking his head lightly. "Hey Blackjack. It's been pretty chill for me lately. I don't have any donuts, but I do have some homemade blue chocolate chip cookies, and I guess you can have half of one since I'm feeling generous." Blackjack's eyes went wide as saucers. Percy never shared his cookies. NEVER. This was an opportunity of a lifetime!
"Yes please, Boss!" Even Blackjack had heard of Sally's infamous blue cookies, so he just had to try, even if it was only half of one. Percy gingerly pulled a plastic container out of his blue duffle bag, keeping the contents of his bag well hidden from the jet black Pegasus. The container had to have at least two dozen cookies in it, but Percy gingerly popped the lid open, the sweet aroma instantly entering both beings' nostrils. With a delicate hand, Percy lifted one of the cookies from the box, closing the lid and placing the box back in his bag. Percy and Blackjack watched with satisfaction as the son of Poseidon gently and slowly broke the cookie in half, the still warm and freshly baked cookie's chocolatey insides melting at the touch. They both eyed the cookie hungrily, and Percy reluctantly held half of the blue gooey goodness out to his companion.
"Here. Take it before I change my mind." Blackjack practically attacked Percy's hand, his muzzle swiftly scooping the cookie into his mouth while Percy quickly devoured his own.
Both beings sighed in satisfaction, Percy gingerly climbing onto Blackjack's back. "Oh man. I'd heard of Sally's legendary cookies but never did I think they'd be so yummy..." Blackjack stayed as the duo began their short journey to the camp. "I think these are better than donuts, and that's saying something!"
Percy laughed, a large smile lighting up his face. "No kidding! How about this, you get me to camp in ten minutes, and I'll give you a whole cookie..."
Blackjack had never flown so fast.
Quick time skip...
Percy regretted his decision. Blackjack got them to camp in less than seven minutes, leaving a very green faced boy with a box of 22 cookies instead of the 23 he'd arrived at camp with. The Pegasus was tired, but very smug and proud of himself, trying to demand another cookie. And although Percy wasn't feeling great after that gut wrenching ride, he wasn't stupid enough to give Blackjack two of his cookies.
The son of Poseidon shook out of his stupor, quickly placing the blue snacks back into his bag before heading towards his cabin at a leisurely pace. Once inside, Percy gingerly places his duffel bag onto his bed before pulling his blue smart phone out to check his blood sugar. 234 going up by two arrows... obviously that little half of the cookie was a little much... Percy gently pulled out one of his short acting pens, twisting a new needle onto the top, and calculating that he'd need approximately five units to get back down to around 110ish, which was a number he preferred his sugar to be at. Percy took a steady breath, the needle ready to puncture the skin of his stomach-
The door flung open with such velocity that Percy's insulin went flying through the air, clanking harmlessly to the floor and rolling to the corner. "Schist!" Percy whisper-yelled, eyeing his insulin before whipping his head back in the direction of his door.
Jason blinked owlishly around the room before his eyes landed on Percy, a grin spreading across the son of Jupiter's face. "Hey Percy! I'm glad to see that you're back! Piper and I were talking when we saw you walking to your cabin and I was like 'hey, let's go say hi to Percy since he's back!' And Piper was like-"
Jason's words died in his throat when he saw the glare he was receiving for barging into Percy's cabin. "Uh...I-"
"Get. Out." Jason blinked before racing out and slamming the door as quickly as he entered. Percy sighed. He didn't mean to be so rude, he just didn't want anyone knowing about his diabetes yet, and he definitely didn't like it when people were near him when he was giving himself a shot. Something about having a needle inside of you and someone that's moving being near you just bothered him... because everyone wants a needle to break off in their stomach or rip their skin open or-
Ugh. Stupid ADHD.
The son of Poseidon picked up his insulin, gingerly removing the now dirty needle to replace it with a new one. Once again, Percy found himself with the bottom of his shirt tucked under his chin, pinching his skin with his insulin in his right hand...
"...aaannnddd... done! Oh, thank the gods!" Percy quickly removed to needle, taking it off and tossing it into his toxic waste bin that he quickly placed in the bathroom cupboard right next to the sink. He also placed his remaining medicines up there (which mostly involved needles), and put his remaining clothes from his duffle bag into his dresser. A confident and content smile made its way across Percy's face as he placed his phone into his large khaki short pockets out of habit, gingerly feeling Riptide. He checked his left pocket for his short acting insulin as well as his glucose in case of an emergency. His shorts even had a small square piece of red cloth with a white cross no bigger than his thumb nail stitched into his left pocket so that way the medics would know where to find his insulin if the need ever arose.
The tall, black haired teen walked towards the Big House, noticing Jason getting scolded by Piper along the way. Sighing, Percy walked over to the couple, quickly apologizing for getting angry at Jason. The couple looked at Percy strangely, so the son of Poseidon quickly excused himself from the awkward stares and made his way to Chiron, who sat in his wheelchair playing pinochle with Mr. D. on the porch.
"Uh, Chiron? Could I maybe... Uh.. talk to you really quick?" Percy quickly glanced at the wine god who gave no indication of noticing the teen's arrival. "Alone, please?"
Dionysus looked at Percy with a raised eyebrow. "Why can't you say it in front of me, Peter? Huh?"
"Oh, well, it's just something that Chiron and my mom talked about a while ago and I just wanted to update Chiron."
Noticing the wine god's mouth getting ready to protest, Chiron quickly got up, his centaur form shining and gleaming in earnest. "Come, Percy. I'll be back, alright?" The centaur smiled kindly at the god, who gave a small huff as reply before finishing off his Pepsi bottle.
As the two made their way through the camp, many demigods took notice of the duo before taking off, probably to let everyone know that Percy was here. The two eventually made their way to the beach, where nobody was at (surprisingly enough). Percy sat down, Chiron folding his knees so he could 'lay' down in the sand as well. Percy made sure to tell Chiron all the details he might've missed, and told Chiron what to do should something happen to Percy. Chiron nodded through it all, turning back to Percy.
"And I take it you still haven't told anyone at camp but me?"
"Yeah. I... I haven't told anyone." Percy's head was squished between his knees, arms wrapped around his legs as he stared at the sun that somehow was already setting.
"Percy, is there a reason you don't want to tell anyone? Like... oh, I don't know... Annabeth? Or even one of your friends here?"
Percy hesitated. "...well... I just don't want anyone to tease me..." and Percy dove into his feelings, describing how he felt and how he'd told his friend Marcus about his concerns as well.
Chiron stayed silent after Percy finished, watching as the last sliver of sun descended over the horizon. "If you want my advice, I think you should tell them." Percy whipped his head towards the centaur, eyes wide before scrunching up in confusion. Chiron elaborated. "Percy, you have to keep in mind that these are your friends. Your family. They love you, and will accept you for the way you are, just as I have." There was another moment of silence. "You fell into The Pit for Annabeth. If you're concerned about what she'll think of your condition, then you're concerned over nothing. She loves you. Keep that in mind." The centaur lifted himself up, walking towards the dining pavilion as dinner was almost ready.
Percy sat on the beach, staring longingly at the waves that crashed against the shore, before getting up and walking to his cabin to give himself a shot before dinner.
Line skip... going to bed then finishing but it's gonna be two seconds for you...
Annabeth sat at her table, confused as to why Percy was late for dinner. She hadn't been able to greet him today because she was busy teaching classes all day for the newer demigods, and now she waited patiently (not really) for her boyfriend to arrive. Ten minutes into dinner and the Athena cabin was in line to sacrifice some of their food to the gods.
Percy still wasn't there.
He'd never been late for dinner before.
Annabeth quickly scraped some of her food off of her plate into the fire, and sat in her seat before staring back at the trail that Percy should've already walked down to make it to dinner. Annabeth practically tripped over the bench of her table trying to scramble out of her seat when she saw the messy black hair that belonged to her boyfriend as he calmly walked towards his table, a nymph bringing a plate full of food for him.
And then Percy shook his head at the nymph.
And most of the dining hall went quiet.
Most everyone there had heard that Percy had returned, and had watched him enter the dining pavilion late for dinner for the first time ever, and if that wasn't shocking enough, he turned down the delicious food from one of the nymphs. He NEVER turned down the Camp's food.
Percy seemed to notice the drop of conversation, and took a quick glance around before quickly whispering into the nymph's ear, her blushing and nodding before racing off. The nymph was back not even a minute later with a new plate of food and a goblet for Percy, which the son of Poseidon simply filled with water as he stared at the plate in front of him. One cheeseburger, a normal looking amount of fries, and a dollop of ketchup.
Everyone simply stared as Percy got up, leaving his plate on the table, before snatching a chicken leg off of the same nymph's new plate, and tossing it into the fire. Most of the camp would say he threw it in carelessly, that the food he had wasn't what he would usually eat (proportion-Wise), and that he was acting completely different.
Percy, however, was giving his father a chicken leg that he would've wanted to eat, that he could've eaten since it was pretty much just protein, but knew his father would like. Percy ignored the stares he received as he walked back to his table, and quickly counted in his head if what the nymph gave him was accurate to what he'd asked for.
One cheeseburger, tomato and thousand island dressing only. Check. One cup of French fries, salted. Check. Two tablespoons of ketchup. Check. He smiled at the nymph who was staring at him questioningly. "Thank you." And with that, Percy began to eat.
Most of the pavilion still stared in astonishment, but after realizing that Percy didn't seem to care, they went back to their own meals. Annabeth, however, did not. She noticed how Percy was late, how he grabbed food not from his plate for his sacrifice, how he had only one proportions worth of food on his plate, how he got water instead of soda or a shake to go with his food. And that's not where it ended. He wore a black tennis bracelet that had two white stripes, which Percy had never worn in his entire life, and his clothes seemed a little more... baggy that usual. The short sleeves seemed unnaturally long, almost like the half sleeved shirts people would buy, but super baggy instead. And Percy's pockets seemed fuller, which was strange because he only ever had Riptide in his pocket.
Annabeth noticed this all as she made her way to the Poseidon table, plopping down across from Percy with her plate and goblet.
Percy looked up, surprise shown on his face before a smile quickly took its place. "Hey, Wise Girl. I missed you."
Annabeth rolled her eyes, then leaned forwards over the table so Percy could kiss her on the lips. "I missed you too, Seaweed Brain." The two went back to eating, simply enjoying each other's company. Or at least that's what Percy was doing.
Annabeth watched her boyfriend with those analyzing gray eyes of hers, trying to figure out what might be wrong with her boyfriend. If Percy noticed what Annabeth was doing, he didn't show it.
By now, Percy was done eating, leaving nothing on his plate. He smiled at Annabeth, then gingerly walked towards Chiron, mumbling something to him before receiving a nod from the centaur and walking away towards his cabin. Annabeth blinked in shock. Usually Percy would just hang out with her until the campfire started, and he always waited for her to finish her food (usually it was the other way around). Annabeth quickly finished her food off before standing up and taking off after her boyfriend to the Poseidon cabin. She could vaguely hear someone trying to talk to her from the pavilion, but she didn't listen. She needed to figure out what was wrong with her Seaweed Brain.
There was a time that Annabeth Chase wouldn't dare enter this cabin, but now she simply barged right in (similarly to what Jason has did a few hours earlier). There, sitting on his bed, was Percy. He was staring down at something, something that lit up his face in a similar manner to...
"A phone?!?!" Annabeth said it so incredulously that Percy jumped a little, his phone flying through the air and into the corner of the room. Percy didn't have the chance to grab his phone before Annabeth did. She held it with both hands, staring intently at the screen. She didn't understand what number 138 meant, or the long line that seemed to go up and down meant. The device was snatched from her hands faster than she'd ever had anything taken from her by Percy. Usually he'd playfully try to get it back. He took his phone so quickly, like his life depended on it. His eyes were wide, phone held to his chest, and he was standing away from Annabeth like she might bite him. She definitely felt like she might attack at that moment. "What the Hades?! Since when can demigods, especially one of The Big Three, have a phone?!" Percy looked at his feet, the phone still firmly clamped in his hands against his chest. When he didn't answer, Annabeth continued. "What was that number? You've been acting so strange!" Percy tilted his head to the side. Usually Annabeth loved that face full of confusion, but right now it just fueled the fire burning inside her. "Your pockets! They're never full! Your weird shirt, the way the short sleeves aren't that short, the stupid tennis bracelet around your wrist! What the-" she reached towards the bracelet, intentions to simply take it and see what was so special about it, but Percy slapped her hand away.
Percy slapped her.
Annabeth looked at Percy, and a broken look was in his eyes. Annabeth's own eyes were full of anger, pain, and even confusion. Percy never hit her. Never. Not like that. So why now? Why?
Percy stood in the corner, head down, tears dripping down his face. He didn't mean to hit her. He just... he didn't want her to know. He was scared what she would think. He sat on his bed, head in his hands, and cried.
A piece of Annabeth's heart broke when she saw her boyfriend, who hated showing weakness, crying on his bed like he'd just been through Tartarus all over again. She sat next to him, ignoring the idea of investigating (taking) the bracelet that was mere inches from her face. She placed a hand on Percy's back, running comforting circles across his back. She didn't know what was happening to him, but she wanted to help. "Percy. Hey, hey, it's alright. It was an accident. Come here." She gently grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulders, grabbing him and laying his head on her lap. She ran her fingers through his soft, untamable hair, her other hand gently running circles over his arm, relaxing the both of them.
Percy shot upright when he felt Annabeth touch the tape that was covering his sensor. She had only touched the tape (not that she knew), but it was too close to his sensor that was in his arm. "Percy? Are you alright?"
"Uh, Yeah, Yeah, sorry. I just..." he ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tick of his that Annabeth knew meant he was hiding something. "I... I'm sorry. I'm just... I'm not ready to talk about it yet. Can you... can you maybe be patient and wait for me to be ready? I... I'm sorry. I just..."
"It's fine. I understand." She stood up, giving a sincere smile to her boyfriend. "I'm curious, I'll admit that, but I can wait for a little while." She headed to the door, stopping in the doorframe. "Just don't make me wait too long, m'kay?" With that, she walked out the door, leaving Percy by himself to finish texting his mom and giving himself his evening shot.
Time skip... again...
It had been a week, and Percy still hadn't said anything. The daughter of Athena was starting to get frustrated. Others had noticed the changes in Percy, and whenever asked about it, he'd simply brush it away or change the subject.
It was breakfast, and Percy was late (a new habit of his apparently). He came about fifteen minutes late like usual and had a waffle with a cup of chocolate milk, and the waffle was drenched in butter, syrup, lots of blueberries, and some strawberries and raspberries.
Breakfast went by uneventfully, and Percy headed to the arena with Annabeth for some sparring. The rest of the seven tagged along, seeing as Frank and Hazel has arrived just yesterday. Thalia and Nico tagged along as well, since the hunters just arrived before breakfast and Nico had nothing better to do (he didn't feel like getting scolded by his boyfriend about shadow traveling). Leo had dragged the Stolls and Calypso along, declaring that they'd watch these epic fights from the stands and enjoy the spectacle that was sure to come. Will had somehow found his way to the arena (after stalking his boyfriend since the son of hades tended to avoid him for medical reasons), and was talking with Calypso about stupid boyfriends.
After everyone paired up for sparring (Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel, and Nico and Thalia), everyone began. Percy and Annabeth has opted for using weapons, both smiling as they battled. They seemed to dance with one another, weapons twisting to harmlessly clash against the other's sword. Riptide would clank against Annabeth's drakon bone sword, the two wielders smiling all the while.
Nobody expected the fight to finish so soon.
Annabeth lunged forwards, trying the disarming trick that Percy had taught her last summer. She hadn't expected it to work, but Riptide flew into the air, leaving Percy confused and a sword tip at his neck. "Dead." Annabeth gave a feral grin, laughing at Percy's confusion. Her laughter stopped soon after, taking notice of Percy slowly lifting shaking hands to his face. "Percy? Come on, it wasn't even that bad. Don't be such a sore loser about it." By now all of their friends had stopped to watch.
What Percy did next shocked Annabeth. He pulled out the phone that nobody had seen yet, and tapped away frantically at the phone.
Percy vaguely heard people shouting at him, but he was shaking so badly that he felt like he was going to pass out. He had originally thought it was just adrenaline, but when he opened the app to see his blood sugar at 52, dropping with three arrows, he nearly had a heart attack. "I-I should be in a coma right now..." Annabeth looked at Percy like he'd grown a second head, and Percy shakily began walking away, tense and trying to move as fast as possible towards the Big House. He ignored everyone trying to talk to him, ignored his friends that were chasing after him. He walked straight up to the porch, gave multiple rapid knocks, and didn't stop until the door swung open.
"What do you-" Chiron stooped his words when he saw Percy shaking, wide eyes, holding his phone up for Chiron to see the number 47 in red letters staring him in the face. "Come in, quickly."
Percy sat down in a chair, waiting for the centaur to bring him food. The centaur wheeled his way over, a large bag of Skittles in his hand. Percy didn't hesitate to begin stuffing them into his mouth. "O-orange juice has-has l-lots of sugar in it. D-do you h-have orange juice?" Chiron nodded, wheeling over to the small fridge in the corner that had multiple cans of Cheese Wiz in it, and grabbed the half gallon of orange juice, pouring the shaking boy a large glass.
Percy started chugging just as his friends burst through the door. Chiron looked shocked before trying to shoo them out. "Out! Out! Do you children not know how to knock? I-"
"Chiron. I-it's fine. They were w-with me when it h-happened. I n-need to t-tell them anyways." Percy was still stuffing his face, the shaking still going strong.
His friends quickly sat down around him, watching him stuff his face with skittles and orange juice. "Tr-Travis?" Said boy sat up straighter, intent to hear what his friend had to say. "M-my mom made me some c-cookies for e-emergencies. T-they're in the t-top drawer n-near my bed. C-can you...?" Travis was out the door faster than anyone could blink, Connor staring at Percy with shock. Yeah, the Stolls were good friends with Percy, but Percy was smart and usually didn't allow the tricksters into his cabin in case they set traps or stole anything. However, Travis was fast, and obviously Percy needed his cookies for whatever reason that was.
Not even a minute later, Travis came in with the plastic container that held approximately seven cookies. Obviously Percy had been snacking on them. Travis places the container in front of Percy, and everyone in the room watched as Percy began to stuff his face with the cookies, ignoring his friends' incredulous looks.
After a few minutes, Percy pulled his phone out, sighing in relief. His shaking went down considerably, and he showed Chiron his phone as he said out loud, "64 and going up by one arrow. I'll stay here for a few minutes and make sure it keeps going up, but that's good. This is good." Percy visibly relaxed, slouching in his chair. His friends sat quietly as Chiron asked questions that most of them didn't understand.
"Percy, did you calculate wrong?" Percy frowned.
"Probably."
Chiron sighed. "How much did you give yourself?"
Percy looked at the table, a slight glare on his face. "15 units." Chiron looked ready to scold the child, but Percy spoke up. "Hey, I was just reading the carbs, alright? I thought it was accurate!"
"You should've been in a coma not even five minutes ago!" Chiron retaliated, his face turning red.
"Yeah, well I'm not! I'm fine!" Percy huffed, crossing his arms.
Everyone watched the exchange, and Annabeth spoke up for everyone. "Percy, we need to know what's going on. Now." Percy sighed, but nodded nonetheless.
He went into detail about his hoshimotos, and his body attacking him. Everyone remained quiet throughout the ordeal, though their faces were shocked.
"Any questions about my hoshimotos before I continue on to the next part?" Everyone glanced at one another, then shook their heads. They'd save their questions for the end. "So... in the middle of the waterpolo season, probably September or so, I was... I was diagnosed with type two diabetes." Gasps were heard, but everyone remained silent. Annabeth looked ready to murder Percy, but he quickly looked away from his enraged girlfriend. "I... I blamed myself for it. I ate like a pig, and that was why I was going on a pill. It was my fault. I was foolish and selfish, and I just..." Percy took a deep breath, ignoring the pitying looks he got. "I forgot the part where my hoshimotos makes me more prone to becoming diabetic. In November, I went back for another appointment, and was told I actually had type one diabetes." Thalia, Nico, Will, and Annabeth all let out small gasps, the rest of the group showing confusion. Annabeth and Will knew because they'd looked into it out of curiosity or for medical purposes. Nico knee about it because he'd seen all the people that'd died from it, and Thalia knew because one of the girls they'd just taken in had it. "It... it's a lot more common than anyone would like to admit." Percy rubbed the back of his neck before continuing. "A lot of people don't know the difference between type one and type two diabetes. Type two is usually from being overweight or eating unhealthy. Type one... it's genetic." Percy smiled, a small tug at the corner of his lips. "I'm glad it's genetic. That means it's not my fault." He let out a dry and humorless laugh. "It just means I've got messed up genes. I already did, so what difference does it make?" Percy removed the tennis bracelet, showing the "Insulin Dependent" engraved into the metal. He lifted his sleeve, showing the blue tape and sensor that was hidden underneath, making it look like a strange blob. Percy continued explaining everything, how things worked, what did what, and even showed the number 186 on his phone that signified his blood sugar. He lifted his shirt to show the small dots that littered his stomach, explaining that he had to give himself at least four shots a day. He sat still after he was done, waiting for them to yell, to scream, to leave him.
Annabeth spoke first. "Percy, why didn't you tell me?" Her face showed hurt, sorrow. Most of the table looked at Percy expectantly.
He sighed. "I... I was scared you'd all leave me. I... my mortal friend Marcus has been diabetic his whole life. People treat him like he's glass, like he's the plague, and I... I just didn't want anyone treating me like that."
Percy had tears in his eyes. Everyone stood up, hugging him. "Percy, we'd never leave you. Seaweed Brain..." Annabeth kisses the top of his head, over and over while everyone nodded in agreement.
Percy smiled, tears leaking down his face. A weight was lifted from his shoulders, and for the first time in months, he felt free.
A/N: I think that's it! The beginning was very much similar to my life, but the end was obviously centered more on Percy's friends. I thought about continuing this more, but I really like ending it like this. Say what you'd like, but diabetes is difficult. And although it's not the worst disease out there, it can still be hard. So, with that note, I thank you for reading my story.
Love,
sKaEtrgrL