Percy: You're a horrible person
Grover: Can't you two get along for just five seconds?
Percy: Have you read this thing? And what's worse, everything happens for real! Like, seriously dude! Read this!
Percy shoves the story under Grover's nose.
Grover: (finishes reading) Okay…messed up, kinda, but hey, everything turned out okay, right? No one got blown up or turned into a pound of mince-meat or forced to marry a blind cyclops…
Percy: I'd rather get blown up than this…
GothicShadows21: Would you, though?
Percy: (grumbling)…no
GothicShadows21: Eeeeeexactly! I do not own PJO and probably never will, so read and enjoy!
Percy: Thank Zeus he doesn't.
Chapter 2
As it transpired, Tobias' presence emanated a sort-of aura, as Grover described it, that ensnared and entranced those compatible with his typing, a sort of consequence for being a child of Hades. And unfortunately for Thalia, that was exactly the case. Grover said that once she woke up, she'd be okay, but it was probably wise for her stay away from Tobias for a while. Annabeth was off teaching ancient Greek and Grover, doing satyr stuff with his satyr pals (hey, I don't see him for most of the day, sue me), which by default, left me to issue Thalia her wake-up call. I had just finished breakfast in the pavilion, and having just narrowly escaped Tobias and his ensnaring trance, did not notice that I was half-staggering, half-sprinting right into Silena Beauregard, nearly sending us both sprawling into the icy dirt.
"Sorry, sorry!" I apologized, doing my best to catch her empty plate before it smashed on the concrete. Chiron had cantered over conveniently and handed me a broom and dustpan; I had a sneaking suspicion that the centaur had been watching me ever since I came in.
"Oh well; at least, I already finished my Belgian Waffle," Silena excused with a hundred-watt smile. "How's Thalia? Last time I saw her was last night and she was arguing with Annabeth about going back to her cabin. Does she…you know…" She made a drinking motion, her hand clasping an imaginary bottle of booze.
"Not that we know of," I contradicted. "Grover said it has something to do with Tobias' aura…whatever that means."
"You mean that thing that children of Hades are supposed to have?" Silena elaborated. "You know, they have an aura that like really attracts certain people and others, not so much."
"Oh…right," I agreed, having no idea what she was talking about. I started sweeping up the mess, my mind bouncing triangularly between Tobias, Thalia, and Silena's broken waffle plate.
"You okay, Percy?" Silena asked, her eyebrow raised. "You don't seem you know, entirely here. Like you're distracted."
"Not really," I lied, pouring the shards of Silena's plate into a nearby trash can.
"Well, I don't have to teach Pegasus riding until ten; you want some company?"
"Er…"
It wasn't that I didn't like Silena; on the contrary, she was extremely nice and fun to be around, your typical person that anybody would love to be around because she just lights up the place. But right now just didn't seem appropriate. On the other hand, Silena was wearing an expression that plainly said I didn't have any choice in the matter. She seemed like she wanted company, too.
"Uh, okay then," I agreed. We set off towards Cabin One, and for some strange reason, felt as though someone was watching us. Sure enough, when I turned around, Tobias was watching us from the Big Three table, his expression studious and calculating, as though he were analyzing and drawing conclusions based on what he was seeing. Seriously, how much could you get just from watching two people leave a pavilion?
"You seem tense, Percy," Silena repeated. "Something going on with you and Annabeth?"
My first instinct was to respond with 'no', but I had a feeling that Silena would know I was lying. She was empath, kind of like Grover, though it was more like she was a human with a heightened sense of emotion and emotion detection rather than being like Grover and reading me like my emotions were words written in a book. The truth was that Annabeth and I hadn't been hanging out as often as we usually did and based on all the conversations that I've had with Grover and Thalia about it, there really wasn't any discernible reason. Annabeth hadn't undertaken any extra responsibilities, around the camp or anything else. Even her Olympus reconstruction project wasn't that demanding. She just consistently found excuses to not hang out, like she had counselor stuff to do, or designs to critique, or lesson planning. A slight stabbing pain emanated in my stomach, one that I hoped wasn't associated with Annabeth, and therefore, something Silena would notice.
"It's…nothing," I lied. Just as I predicted, Silena knew it. Before she could interrogate me further, I pressed her. "What do you think of Tobias?"
I had no idea why I said that. Silena shrugged.
"I mean, I see what my siblings see in him. Better yet, I see what EVERY GIRL at Camp Half-Blood sees in him," she remarked. "I mean, it's because of that aura he has. But, I just don't feel affected by his aura. Like he doesn't creep me out, but there's something about him that's definitely…out of place."
"This whole place is out of place," I retorted, stopping in front of Thalia's door. Ordinarily, I would have just pounded on her door until Thalia would swing it open so hard that she'd knock me off the steps, but for some reason, something was hanging in my throat and my stomach was feeling extremely strange…sick, yet somehow…lighter…
I would have contented myself with just staring at her door, trying to pensively will her to wake herself up, but Silena sensed the ongoing battle inside my brain. She smirked knowingly at me and knocked gently on the door. When Thalia didn't answer, Silena wrenched the door open and we let ourselves inside.
"I'm uh, not sure if we're allowed to do that," I said skeptically. Silena waved her hand in disregard.
"One, the rule is that you can't be alone in a cabin with a girl," Silena corrected. "And two, I'm here…not for long, but I am here." I hoped that in the next five seconds, Silena had a way of waking up Thalia in which Thalia wouldn't feel compelled to sound the 'creeper' alarm. It had just occurred to me that I had never truly been inside Thalia's cabin, though not without reason. Me and Thalia…Annabeth's best friend…alone in her cabin…I know I'm not the smartest cookie in the jar, but this one was obvious. The inside of Thalia's cabin was dark, almost as dark as the Hades cabin. I probably wouldn't have noticed the swirling storm cloud ceiling if lightning wouldn't flash every few seconds. One particular flash illuminated the cabin so much so that Selena and I could make out where Thalia was sleeping. She was wrapped from her neck downwards in about a million layers of blankets, and her black hair, which seemed almost impossible to be that length, lay disheveled over her face. I guess that I grown so accustomed to it being spiked that I didn't think it possible that it would be that long. I couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked, how graceful and comforted her occasional sighs sounded…nor was I aware that I had been watching her long enough to notice that stuff. I probably wouldn't have if Selena hadn't cleared her throat. Another small lightning bolt flashed, displaying briefly a knowing smirk.
Out of all the Gods and Goddesses that could've been her mother, it had to be Aphrodite…
"Weren't we waking up Thalia?" she pointed out.
"Oh…right," I said awkwardly. I strode past her and inched closer towards her, as though afraid Thalia would suddenly rear up and attack.
"C'mon Percy, she doesn't bite!" Silena hissed into my ear. Why did this seem so complicated all of a sudden?
"Thalia…" I whispered softly, shaking her slightly. Thalia didn't seem to register that anyone was in her cabin, instead contenting herself to roll over so that she was facing me and Silena. A small streak of lightning illuminated the small splash of freckles on her face and long eyelashes that despite years in each other's company, I was not aware of. I shook her shoulder harder. "Thalia…wake up…"
"Five more minutes Grover…" she mumbled groggily. I glanced awkwardly at Silena, who was having difficulty restraining her laughter.
"Thaaaaaaliaaaa…" I called in a soft voice, tapping her cheek.
"Shhhh…Percy is sleeping, Grover…" she muttered, and she smiled as my face burned hot. Silena was doubled up with silent laughter. This has to be a trick of the Gods…it just has to be.
"Thalia!" I said loudly. Thalia's eyes snapped open and didn't register me in time before she had punched me hard in the nose. I staggered backwards, nearly knocking over her nightstand, clutching my nose, which now felt like Thalia had crushed with a sledgehammer. In all the kerfuffle (thank Annabeth for teaching me that one), I made out a split second of a bare shoulder and collarbone before the shooting pain delivered courtesy of Thalia's fist.
"What the hell, Percy?!" she demanded, yanking her covers up over her chin. "What are you doing in my cabin?!"
"Waking you up!" I moaned from the floor, my voice muffled from behind my hands as I massaged my nose. "Which unfortunately worked!"
"Percy I'm not…I'm not wearing anything..." she said through gritted teeth, still not registering that Silena was also in the room.
"I know that, now!" I fired back. "Holy Zeus, that fucking hurt!" Thalia shook her hand gingerly, still holding the blankets over herself as she watched me. Tears were pouring from my eyes as the pain seared, although luckily, I couldn't smell any blood. Yet.
"How…how did you get in here?" she asked.
"Silena let me in," I said, getting to my feet. Thalia's eyebrows raised slightly as she turned to find Silena at the foot of her bed, whose confidence suddenly evaporated now that Thalia was awake.
"Might want to hurry, Thals," Silena advised. "Breakfast was almost over when we left. Tobias may have already left by now."
"Oh, shit!" she remarked. "Is Chiron mad that I didn't show up?"
"Not unless you miss our combat class," I advised. She and I stared awkwardly at each other for a couple seconds as relief set in on her face.
"Can you uh, look away for a couple minutes?"
I turned towards the empty fireplace in her cabin, watched and giggled at by Silena, while my mind went wild with the faint sounds of cloth stretching and snapping against what I presumed to be Thalia's bare skin. She pulled on her combat boots and her jacket and threw the door open, racing towards the pavilion as though her life depended on it.
"Uh…promise not to mention that to anyone?" I asked as we strolled through the camp.
"Wouldn't 'dream' of it," she teased, her eyebrows raising up and down in rapid fashion.
"Screw you," I muttered as Silena trounced away from me, a slight skip in her step and a knowing, taunting smile plastered on her face, probably permanently. My stomach had turned into lead; what if Annabeth had found out that I was in Thalia's cabin while…
Probably would discard the fact that Silena was there, too, even though nothing happened, I thought bitterly. But what was that smile she kept giving me? Silena knew something…she definitely knew something. And she was definitely Aphrodite's daughter, too, based on the way she taunts me. I definitely couldn't tell Grover about this, even though he's all sensitive and everything and probably would understand everything. Annabeth was definitely a no-go. Chiron would just give me some philosophical speech that would make me even more confused than I already was. Mr. D would probably incinerate me if I even so much as asked him to talk.
I did the only thing that made sense right now and slid onto the bench across from Thalia as she shoveled down oatmeal. The only two people aside from us that were still in the pavilion were the Stoll brothers, where were reading something on a smartphone and glancing curiously over at us.
"Wonder what they're up to," Thalia grumbled in between mouthfuls of oatmeal. That same feeling of weightlessness and sickness erupted in my stomach. Her hair was messy, though a strategic sort of messy, even though I knew she had simply rolled out of bed and hadn't done anything to it. A stray strand was teasing the tip of her nose and I had to fight every nerve in my body to move it from her face. That felt like a huge 'no-no' in girlfriend land.
"Dunno," I lied, feeling that whatever they were looking at had something to do with us.
"Thanks for waking me up," she said, pushing aside her bowl. "I still got a few minutes before I got to grab my stuff."
This struck me as odd. No, 'don't ever come into my cabin again'; no 'don't ever try waking me up, again'; not even a poignant threat.
"You're welcome," I said, and she did something that she had never done before. She held my hand. My brain was melting through my entire body and my chest felt as though a strong electric current had just surged through my blood.
"I'm really, really sorry for the way I acted last night," she remarked. "Please don't think any different of me, Percy. It was…"
"Extremely un-Thalia-like?" I suggested. Thalia smiled cutely.
I mentally slapped myself. YOU DID NOT JUST CALL THALIA'S SMILE 'CUTE'! STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!
I was completely off my game the entire day. Thalia and I were usually pretty well-matched against one another, but today was just not my day. I had been thrown to the arena floor after being disarmed so many times that the taste of dirt was ingrained in my tongue. Even when it came time for the Ares and Aphrodite Cabins' lesson, I couldn't catch a reprieve. Clarisse had earned herself a partnership with Thalia when she remarked about my clumsiness after being disarmed by Thalia for the billionth time. Never in my life had I seen Clarisse pulverized the way she was, almost like Thalia aimed to make her regret her insult. Fat chance of that; Clarisse never regretted those. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Silena Beauregard grinning and waving tauntingly at me.
Tobias POV
Percy has seemed kind of strange today. Like, off-kilter. He could barely string two words together this morning during breakfast, albeit understandable when he was talking to that girl he walked off with. I abandoned all dignity and watched her as she walked, no, floated through camp. She was the single most beautiful girl Zeus could grace the Western Civilization with. The way she smiled…like Artemis sewn heads from her silver arrows to form her smile…and Athena weaving the dark tapestry that was her hair. Her blue eyes were so dazzling, as though Hades had popped two special sapphires from the Earth and fashioned eyes for her specifically. I could hear her laugh from the Big Three table and it sounded better than any song the Apollo kids could compose.
But what should I know? I was a son of Hades, and therefore, by default, outcast. This girl wouldn't like me even I had the guts to approach her, or any camper at all for that matter. I hadn't even been here a week and the whole camp is on edge about me. They think I don't notice them whispering behind their hands as I passed by. That's fine…I didn't need them. I used the opportunity after Greek, which was taught by a girl from the Athena cabin named Annabeth, to go for a run with Grover. He had shown me a trail carved specifically for this kind of thing, which was enchanted by satyrs to change route every single time so that you didn't end up running along a beaten path. My lungs were starting to burn after the sixth mile, and mile nine, I had to rest while Motionless in White screamed out the lyrics to Soft.
"Don't quit now!" Grover advised. "We still have sixty-six more miles to go!"
Sixty-six?! How much do they think I can take?
"You go!" I panted, brushing my sweaty hair from my hot face. "I'll catch up!" That was a damn lie…I had no chance of catching up to Grover, especially with him acting like this was nothing and leading me the entire time. Grover clapped a hand onto my back as I pulled my hands behind my head, trying to take in as much oxygen as my lungs could process.
"What's up?" he asked. "You look like something's bothering you."
"Don't *gasp* worry *gasp* about it *gasp*," I assured him, patting his chest weakly. When Grover continued to stare skeptically at me, I went on, "I haven't even been here a week and I feel like the entire camp hates me. They don't want to come up and talk to me; they just stare at me and whisper stuff behind my back."
Grover looked sadly at me.
"Blah-ha-ha! I'm not saying that their reason is justified but…" He puffed, as though steeling himself for what he was about to say next. "You're a son of Hades. And even though he's accepted on Olympus now, it doesn't change the type of power he radiates. That you radiate."
I felt a slight hurt from his words.
"Look," Grover said, putting his hand on my shoulder. "I like you! You're a pretty cool dude! I mean, you fought off the Minotaur and the Chimera without any formal training! You can play guitar, you can write, you can draw, you can fight…you're like every kind of demigod rolled up into one awesome package. A package with a really powerful dark side, but…"
"What good is all that if I don't have anyone to share it with?"
"You can share it with me," Grover protested. I stared at him; I had almost said that Grover wasn't enough reception, but I somehow caught a vibe that Grover was the extra-sensitive type. Instead, I contented myself with clapping him appreciatively on the back.
"Thanks Grover," I said. Grover was staring at me like he had an all-access remote to my brain.
"Why are you so nervous about talking to Silena?"
So that's her name…that…is undeniably the most beautiful name. She is literally named 'The Moon', probably because her aura is about as radiant as moonlight.
"You could put Hallmark out of business with those thoughts," Grover commented with a straight face.
"I hate you," I shot at him. Grover chuckled and continued to stare expectantly at me, as though he was still waiting for my answer. I shrugged. "I don't know…she just seems way too perfect to go out with some messed up son of Hades. She's beautiful…popular…everyone seems to love her…"
"And I have yet to hear a reason that tells me that you shouldn't go out with her," Grover remarked. I wasn't sure if satyrs could raise eyebrows, but if they could, Grover most certainly was. "
"Going out is a two-way street," I reminded him.
"Yes, I know," Grover said. "Look, I know Silena and she doesn't care about status. At all. She was nice to Percy when everyone treated him like dirt. She'll definitely be nice to you. Just Hades up and talk her, bro. Just…don't feed her a pomegranate and imprison her in your cabin for Winter, okay?"
"I don't know…what would I even say to her?" I asked skeptically. Grover pulled a face like he was thinking really hard on something and I could tell in about five seconds, I was going to get a spoonful of sarcasm. Sure enough…
"This may be a stretch, but you could try saying, HELLOOOO…" Grover advised, his voice turning mockingly deeper as he stretched the word out.
"Funny."
"I'm messing with you," he said. "And stop calling yourself messed up! You're not messed up! You just have a really…tumultuous past…"
A conch horn sounded in the distance; I checked my phone. It wasn't even lunchtime yet…what in the world could Chiron be summoning us, for? Grover's eyes widened suddenly.
"Oh shit, we better hurry! Chiron might be lenient about the details of the trail, but Mr. D definitely won't be," he advised, scampering off so fast that he was out of sight before I could really get up to speed.
Apparently, we weren't the only inhabitants on the trail either. When Grover and I finally found our way out, a few stragglers, mainly from the Hermes cabin were popping up behind us, red-faced and panting as they hurried to the concession of demigods around Chiron.
"Ordinarily, I would wait until dinner to announce this," he began as demigods continued to flood in. "But first, I would like to call Tobias Rayne forward." The whole camp went silent as though sound itself had forgotten how to function. Grover nudged me forward slightly. The campers looked around and as I drew closer to Chiron, they parted to form a path, their expressions a diversity of attitudes. Some looked as though they were studying me, while others, most likely from the Ares cabin, glaring threateningly at me, as though grinding me into the dirt beneath their shoes seemed highly appealing. I stepped up a raised platform and stood to face the demigods beside Chiron. In the middle, I could spot Thalia and Percy, who looked both awkward and happy at the idea of being beside one another.
"This is Tobias Rayne, son of Hades!" Chiron introduced, his hand upon my shoulder. There was an outbreak of muttering, which was quickly stifled after a few seconds. "I want each and every one of you to make him feel welcome here at Camp Half-Blood!" And at this, Chiron threw a look at a rugged looking girl who was looking at me as though pounding my face in was her recreational sport.
"Therefore, this Friday night, we will be hosting Capture the Flag!" Chiron continued. "The blue team will comprise of the following cabins." He pulled a roll of parchment from out of nowhere and reading glasses magically appeared on his nose. I looked at him in shock, although tried to hide it immediately as none of the campers looked surprised at this development.
"Thalia and Percy as captains, comprising of Hades, Ares, and Aphrodite cabins." Chiron read out. I glanced at Thalia and Percy, who both looked slightly happier than they should have at this development. "The red team, captained by Annabeth and Beckendorf, will consist of Athena, Hephaestus, Hermes, Demeter, and Apollo cabins. Satyrs are free to choose their side should they want to participate. That is all! Please return to your activities!"
Thalia, Percy, and Grover were beaming at me when I stepped down from the platform.
"Sweet, the Big Three cabins plus the Ares and Aphrodite cabins, this will be a cinch!" Percy said, punching the air. Thalia shook her head and rolled her eyes, as though Percy's attitude was a normal thing.
"Don't forget that Athena captains the red team; you can bet Annabeth is going to have strategy upon strategy," Thalia assured us. "But so will we. You coming to combat training later?"
She addressed me so suddenly that I was caught by surprise.
"Oh, uh…yeah," I said stupidly. The girl named Silena had just strode up to us alongside the rugged looking girl who was staring threateningly at me during Chiron's speech, and my mind had gone completely and blissfully blank.
"Good," Thalia commented. "We need to get into shape if we plan on flattening Annabeth. Seven o'clock sharp. Don't be late!" She pointed her spear at me in confirmation; I nodded quickly, not wanting to become a Tobias-kabob. Grover elbowed me in the ribs and cleared his throat just loud enough for me to hear.
"Say something," he urged. "She's right there, what could go wrong?"
About a million things, I thought wildly. She says that I smell like a dead person; she laughs at me, she says she doesn't talk to children of Hades…Grover was staring insistently at me as I listed the possibilities in my brain. I felt his hand in the small of my back pushing me progressively harder towards her, shoving me so suddenly that I almost collided with her.
"Oh, hi!" she greeted in surprise, brushing her hair back.
"Um…uh…h-hel-hel…." I stuttered. My voice had malfunctioned; I could hear the cogs and gears in my brain groaning from intense pressure, but nothing seemed to jar it back to normal. Silena was staring curiously at me as I stared at her feet. She wore studded combat boots with a distinct bulge in the side of her right foot, as though she had stowed something there, and judging from its shape, most likely a knife. The rough looking girl beside her brushed her aside and stepped forward, closing the distance between us.
"You got something to say, punk?" she growled at me. My fear suddenly faded, I looked up at her. There was intense loathing in her brown eyes, but despite the aura the other campers may perceive of her, I saw no threat. "Name's Clarisse, daughter of Ares. And I just asked if you've got a problem."
"Yeah, I can tell you didn't brush your teeth this morning," I fired back before I could stop myself. Out of the corner of my eye, Percy was biting his lip in restraint. Clarisse's eyes narrowed menacingly.
"I don't care how special you think you are; you're still nothing but a punk to me," she fired back. "I don't care if you killed Typhon, but we definitely have a problem if you disrespect me or Silena. You better not get in my way Friday night, or else…"
Silena did not look at all disrespected, more or less awkward at the procession in front of her.
"Or else what?" I asked challengingly.
"Or else I run you through with my spear, that's what!" Clarisse threatened, stepping so close that our chests grazed against each other. Thalia and Percy stepped forward in between us, trying to push us apart, but Clarisse wanted no part of it, as she tried to push past Thalia. "You know what, if you think you're such a hot shot, why don't you take me on tonight? One-on-one…I want to see what kind of mince-meat corpse breath produces."
"Deal," I said. Clarisse shrunk slightly and pulled herself out of Thalia's grip, marching away from the procession with her cabin in tow. Silena stared after Clarisse and then looked back at me.
"I'm sorry about Clarisse," she apologized. "She can get intense at times."
No kidding, I thought.
"Well, I got to go back to class. I'll see you around, Tobias!" She winked and smiled at me as she turned on her heels and ran off towards the pegasi stables. My mind was completely and blissfully blank and my leg muscle had turned to jelly; I probably would have forgotten that I had a duel with the counselor of the Ares cabin if Grover hadn't jarred me back to reality.
"Dude, are you sure you want to do this?" Grover hissed. "Clarisse gets all sorts of magic weapons from her Dad! She'll turn you into mush if you're not careful, even if you've beaten the Minotaur and the Chimera!"
But my mind was made up. I wasn't going to back down from a challenge, especially not from some puffed up Ares camper. But even I couldn't deny, as I arrived at the Archery Range for my first lesson with Chiron, that somehow, my prospects with Silena were inextricably linked to how well I fought tonight.
Percy: Tobias is absolutely insane…
Grover: I tried to talk to him out of it, but he's way too determined to impress Silena. I don't know what to do.
Percy: Short of making this idiot cancel the story, nothing. I mean, it's his fault anyways! He's the one making him do this!
Percy points at GothicShadows21
GothicShadows21: When will you learn that I always have an ace up my sleeve? Just wait…
Percy: I know you always have an ace up your sleeve! And what's worse, something always happens to me…or someone else.
GothicShadows21: You're so smart Percy…want a cookie?
Percy: No
GothicShadows21: Whatever…review please! This fanfic is extremely fun so feedback would really help keep the creative juices flowing!
Percy: If you are at all a decent human being…
GothicShadows21: Percy…
Percy: Please do not read this thing anymore! Have mercy on me…and Grover…and Thalia for Zeus' sake!
GothicShadows21: I'm warning you…
Percy: And post the worst reviews you can think of!
GothicShadows21: That's it!
GothicShadows21 chases Percy from the room.
Grover: Review please! And don't leave any negs… I actually want to see how this is going to turn out! Don't listen to Percy. Now, if you'll excuse me…
Grover leaves to break up GothicShadows21's and Percy's fight.