A/N: (Thank you so much for the response I got for. I am really happy that you guy's liked what I wrote. Here's another chapter... I hope you like it.)
Chapter 2
Zoë, Percy and Annabeth arrived at Camp Half-Blood just after dark. Percy threw the cabbie a twenty and told him to keep the change. The driver made the twenty disappear, tipped his cap to Percy, and quickly drove away.
The trio were met by Beckendorf at the top of Half-Blood hill. He jogged up to them wearing his signatory grin. "Perce, you made it... thank the Gods; for a minute we were worried..."
He trailed of, looking over at Zoë. "The Hunters already left, you can IM them if you want from..."
"I am no longer a Hunter." Zoë, interrupted, offering a small smile.
"Oh, errr. Right, well everyone's waiting for us in the Big House."
The three demigods followed. When they got to the Games room Selina was perched on the Ping-Pong table, facing the other three- The Stoll brothers and Clarisse, while Chiron was in his wheelchair by the dying fire, which crackled half-heartedly. A deathly silence hung in the air.
"Ah Percy - you made it. And your quest! You prevailed and you saved Annabeth."
Annabeth gave Percy a look of pure gratitude. It occurred to Percy he hadn't talked to her since she'd been taken from Westover Hall. He promised himself he would catch up with her later.
"How was your quest?" Percy asked Clarisse.
Percy noted a look of fear flash in her eyes before her usual curtain of inscrutability came down.
"Not good..."
Percy waited for her to elaborate but she stayed silent. He looked over at Chiron, who simply shook his head.
"What of Luke?" The mood darkened with the mere mention of his name.
"He's dead." Annabeth said, fighting back tears. "Thalia cast him off Mount Othrys."
An uneasy silence fell over the Demigods.
"He's not dead." Zoë said.
Eight pairs of eyes snapped to her.
"But he fell farther than twenty meters."
"...and right into the Garden of Hesperides... he's far from dead." Zoë elaborated.
"That means that the prophecy will still go ahead when Percy's sixteen. It gives us two years to sort something out."
"Yeah... I guess so..." Percy trailed off.
"Well at least we have a 'former' hunter in our ranks now." Annabeth muttered.
It had the desired effect. Selina's heated gaze found Zoë while the Stolls looked at the floor.
"Yes... as Annabeth just pointed out I have left the Hunters and require a place to stay?" She said it as a question.
"I don't think..." Selina started.
"That's fine, isn't it guys." Percy cut her off.
Selina glared at him.
"Yeah, yeah that's ok." Travis murmured playing with the eight-ballbefore skimming it across the table and into the white ball, the two connected with a sharp crack which seemed to shake the others from whatever daze they were in.
A resounding echo "Yeah" and "I don't see why not" reverberated around the room. Percy looked meaningfully at Selina and she sighed "Whatever" before storming out.
"Well then," Chiron said after a few seconds of silence "it's getting late; we'll talk more in the morning."
The campers poured out one after the other till Percy, Zoë and Chiron were left.
"Where should I go? The Artemis cabin?" She asked.
"I am not sure... where would you be most comfortable."
Percy made eye contact with her for a split second. That was all she needed. "Cabin three."
Chiron merely smiled knowingly. "Very well, I'm sure Percy won't mind a roommate."
"Not at all."
"Very well then, Zoë - go ahead; I need to talk with Percy a second."
Zoë nodded. "Thank you Chiron," and moved off.
When Zoë had gone Chiron put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "Are you sure about her, Percy?"
Percy's brow furrowed in thought. "She will be good for us." He said eventually.
"Good for us...or good for you?"
"Us... She's a fighter, brave, loyal..."
"I'll leave it to your judgement," he said, but seemed far from convinced.
"Chiron, she's a different person than the Hunter who left on the quest. She had her reasons, and they were pretty good reasons to why she acted the way she did."
Chiron's smile returned. "If you say so."
Percy realized he hadn't seen or heard Nico since he came back. "Chiron... where's Nico?"
Chiron's face darkened. "We will talk of it tomorrow. Get some rest. Don't plague yourself further over things beyond your control."
Percy paused a moment before jogging out of the Big House.
He was about to head to his cabin when he saw Annabeth leaning against the wall. He walked briskly over, turned his collar to the icy wind, and came to a halt before her.
She smiled. "Percy, hi."
He didn't return her smile. "Was that necessary?"
Her smile dropped. "What are you talking about?"
"In the Big House, the snide comment."
"I was just being - helpful."
"Don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I mean."
"Gods Percy. You're confronting me over a girl you met barely a week ago."
"She's been through a lot..."
"When did she tell you this Percy? When you were dancing with her?"
He faltered. "Dancing?"
"I saw you both... I've been gone a week and you haven't said a word to me," she laughed bitterly. "Yet you're all over her."
"Are you serious? Talk about me being all over her when you're obviously not over Luke. The guy tried to kill me, twice. Kidnapped and tortured you."
"He didn't tor-" She tried to interrupt him.
"I held the sky, too. To me that's torture." He said, emphasising this by flicking the grey streak in his hair. "Yet you were still choked up about the possibility of him being dead."
"That's different." She protested. "Luke was like family... he practically raised me. Zoë's just a girl you met a week ago."
"Her father doesn't want her. I thought you of all people would understand."
Percy knew it was a cheap shot, but he was mad at her. Tears welled in her eyes and she ran into her cabin.
"Great..." he breathed, leaning his head against the cabin wall. "Just great."
He made his way to his Cabin and shouldered the stiff door open. The salty smell of the sea invaded his nostrils. Home.
Zoë was already fast asleep on the couch, a blanket pulled over her. Her bow was on the armchair and her ruined coat was draped over the back-rest.
He picked up her bow and tattered jacket and hung them in the closet before making his way to his room and flopping onto his bed.
This was going to be a long Christmas...
