"They are so in love." Piper giggled as she watched Percy and Artemis lay there with each other with sharp claws and knives at each other's throat.

Zoe ignored her,"Percy's here? I can't believe it, he said he loved her?" She breathed as she watched the two interact with each other, Percy had pulled an Orion and then confessed he didn't really love the moon goddess. Piper knew he was lying, she could feel the love radiating from the two, it was probably the most thrilling love story she had ever seen.

"How could you?" Artemis whispered in disgust as she glared at Percy, that familiar hatred coursed through her.

Percy's eyes flashed dangerously,"Are you kidding me? I tried to apologize-"

"By lying, by trying to convince me that you loved me?" She asked with hurt dripping from her voice, that familiar ache returned to Percy as he looked in her silver eyes. Trying to get his mind off of how much he missed her he drew blood with his long claws. He finally felt her gold ichor stream down his fingers; a part of him was delighted in finally spilling more of her blood. But it didn't give him the satisfaction he thought it would give him, she gritted her teeth before adding pressure to his throat with her silver knife. He growled once he felt his blood trickle down his neck before an arrogant smirk spread across his face.

"Oh but Arty!" He taunted,"How could you doubt my love?" He asked mockingly, Artemis clenched her knife so tightly that her knuckles turned white. He was toying with her and it hurt, she was a fool to think he cared for her.

She decided to fight fire with fire,"Oh I never did Percy," She shot him a breath taking smile that made his eyes widen,"In fact I should thank you. Never been so happy to get you out of my hair."

He finally recovered from the smile he had missed so much,"Oh really? That's not what you said before you kicked me out." He hissed as he searched her eyes for some spark of emotion she felt for him. Only to see anger and hatred.

She pulled her knife back and stumbled to her feet,"That's because I thought you were different." She hissed before stalking away while cradling her broken hand. Percy rolled to his feet and glared after her, because she was making him angrier and angrier and he was about to explode. Due to his bad leg he limped after her, he was not going to let her just walk away when he had so much more to say. His ribs ached but he ignored them because of the sheer fury he felt towards the goddess.

"I was!" He roared in rage but she kept stomping away from him, he reached out and grabbed her wrist. She whirled around and tried to yank herself from his grasp but he held her firmly.

"How do I know you even cared about me?" He snarled before she wretched her hand away,"You've wanted me dead from the very beginning." He hissed and she felt like killing him.

She gritted her teeth angrily,"Because I loved you." She blurted out and his eyes widened, but at the moment he wasn't thinking rationally before he backhanded her. She grunted before falling to the ground.

Angry tears blurred Percy's vision as he glared down at her,"You can do a lot of things, beat me, stab me, yell how much you hate me. But don't you ever lie about loving me." Because the love he felt for her was real, and her's was fake. She didn't love him; she was the maiden goddess and was incapable of loving any man, especially a sick monster like himself.

She glowered at him from her position on the ground,"Then why did you lie to me about love?" She growled; she clutched her stinging cheek before slowly picking herself up from the ground. She felt hurt, frustrated, sad, and defiant all at the same time. Hurt because Percy had lied about loving her, frustrated because he was a hypocrite, and defiant because she wasn't going to sit here and take this.

Percy turned away from her,"Because love sucks."

-Line Break-

Percy had skipped out on capture the flag. Seeing Artemis was like one giant slap to the face, he had drank his fill of nectar and felt like the fight had never happened, except he still felt the pain from the silver that had pierced his skin. He had been brooding inside the Hermes cabin all day, lost in thought. Nobody tried reaching out to him but Thalia, the entire hunt continuously shunned Percy even Piper, he could tell it was against her will when she shot him apologetic looks. He had come to the conclusion that Artemis was too good for him, of course he was still angry at her but he couldn't deny his feelings for her whatsoever. When she had lied about loving him it hurt, she had toyed with his emotions and made his anger increase ten fold. When she had said she loved him he could only smell hatred and anger, no fondness or happiness. He began thinking about the constant fights he had gotten into because he had grown so angry that he snapped without another thought.

"I said get out of my way." Percy snarled to the man standing in front of him, he was an old drunk who was glaring murderously at Percy. The old man had cornered him in an alley and had continuously begged for money.

"Not till you give me some money! I want that twenty dollars of yours." The drunk said greedily as he eyed Percy's money that was crammed in his pocket.

Percy shook his head and his anger grew,"No."

The old man narrowed his eyes,"Say that again boy?" Percy's eyes turned a dark red before he grabbed the man's throat and hauled him into the air, he slammed him into the concrete wall and his fangs grew longer as he bared his teeth at the drunk.

"I. Said. No." Percy growled, his voice had dropped several octaves. The drunk's eyes widened and he kicked feebly trying to escape Percy's grip but to no avail.

"P-please! Have mercy!" The man pleaded while he looked at Percy in horror, his mouth reeked with the stench of alcohol and his eyes looked around frantically.

Percy smirked,"No, mercy is for the weak. I told you to leave me alone." He growled before crushing the man's windpipe savagely.

There was a knock on the door and Percy frowned before getting up to open it. Thalia stood there impatiently before she walked into the room.

"Percy, get up, come outside. Do something! Stop moping around!" Thalia yelled in exasperation and Percy glared at her before plopping down on his bed, he tiredly ran a hand through his hair and Thalia sat next to him. He didn't want to talk about his confrontation with Artemis, because he wanted to forget about it, he wanted something to fill the void.

He sighed,"Why do you keep trying with me Thalia?" He asked curiously and Thalia frowned at him.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm your friend Percy, can't give up on you now can I?" She smiled widely at him, he grinned before looking down at his hands, and maybe he could fall for Thalia. She was nice...to him at least. She cared about him, why couldn't he try to actually have a relationship? Because you know it won't be the same. His inner voice whispered and he scowled, he could try.

He looked into Thalia's electric blue eyes,"I...want to try something." He murmured and slowly cupped her face in his hands. She froze and her breath hitched as he studied her face, his eyes looked at her lips before meeting hers again. He didn't notice that she had light freckles on her cheeks before; it was cute. He slowly pressed his mouth against her's, he could hear her heartbeat speed up as she slowly put her arms around his neck. She didn't even attempt to pull away or fight him off. He kissed her harder and soon her hands were in his hair, he was trying to feel something. Anything. But he couldn't. And he cursed the moon goddess because of it. But he didn't stop kissing her, because he was blocking out the lies of the moon goddess.

Because I loved you.

Zoe Nightshade was going to kill Percy.

Phoebe was going to interrogate Artemis.

And Piper was going to continuously rooting for Percy and Artemis to get together despite her being in the hunt.

The three girls had different priorities but the same goals; find out what was really going on between the two. Zoe clenched her dagger tightly as she searched for the wolf, he had left the Hermes cabin and now he was nowhere to be found. She was going to gut him like a fish and make him apologize to her mistress for causing her so much pain. First he had hurt her physically then mentally, she knew Artemis could handle herself just fine but the fact that Percy had harmed a hair on her head was infuriating. He betrayed them then hurts Artemis? He used to be her alleged friend until he revealed that he was a traitor and if possible it made Zoe even angrier. It was the dead of night; yes she had waited for him. She remembered how much he loved the dark, the moon, the stars. She heard a rustle from in front of her and saw Percy start to walk towards the beach, she gritted her teeth, she knew he would sense her coming so she'd wait longer if she had too. She wanted his head savagely ripped off his body, because no one could mess with her mistress and get away with it.

The waves lapped at Percy's bare feet as he sadly looked into the night sky, the moon was dim yet the stars shined brightly. He sighed before running a hand through his hair, what was he doing?

"Caesar are you listening?" Percy whispered, his heart felt heavy as he looked into the vast night sky. There was no response. He missed Caesar so much that it hurt, he had already come to terms with his mentor's death but it never dulled the ache he felt.

He gripped his hair tightly in distress,"Dad, I feel so empty. I need your help, please." He begged quietly, nothing. He let out a breath before he buried his hands in the sand and squeezed the tiny pebbles in frustration.

"Dad, I don't know what to do anymore. I left Lycaon's pack and did the right thing like you wanted me too, but I lost everything. I lost the hunt, my friends, and...Artemis. I actually cared for them and look where that's gotten me." He growled bitterly, could anyone hear him?

"I'm just talking to myself aren't I? Dad please answer! I've lost my way and I can't do this by myself." He pleaded brokenly, but again there was no answer.

He swallowed nervously,"I know I let you down, going around with other girls and forgetting everything you've taught me. But I need to be strong and I can't go back to the old me, I can't go back to caring for the hunt. I don't know what I'm doing, I know I have a hard heart but I need it as long as I'm around the hunt." Nothing. He stood up and kicked at the sand in anger, the tiny pebbles flew into the ocean and he picked up a large rock before chucking it into the sea.

"ANSWER ME!" He screamed but was only met with silence.

"Oh, can you see me now Dad? I can just picture you and mom watching me grow up if you were still alive. We'd be so happy." Percy breathed and smiled softly at the thought, his Dad and mom would be help him grow up into the man they had tried to help him become. Yet he strayed away from everything they wanted him to be, he had disgraced Caesar and Snow. He didn't know if he could just abruptly stop his habits, because his year of fighting and going out with girls momentarily filled the large hole in his life. They helped him forget. He slumped to the ground and hugged his knees to his chest; he missed Caesar, Snow, Jackie, Lupa. He heard soft footsteps from behind him and he closed his eyes before wetting his lips.

"Hey Zoe."

Zoe scowled at his back as she squeezed her dagger tightly,"I should kill you." She snarled with hatred, Percy didn't even bother to turn and face her.

"But you won't."

She mashed her teeth together in rage,"And why won't I? You're the exact replica of Hercules." She sneered as she approached him, his shoulders sagged and he rested his chin on his forearm.

"Because you're my friend." He whispered before placing one hand in the ocean and letting the cold-water envelope his hand and wash off the sand that clung to it.

Zoe looked at the back of his head in disbelief,"We were friends until you betrayed us," She walked closer to him before sitting next to him so he'd look at her,"Why did you do it? First you lie to us then you hurt Artemis? You're a monster." She hissed as she glared at him, his yellow eyes met her black ones.

"At least I've come to terms with that, have you?" He asked snidely, he didn't care being called a monster but the hunt was so hypocritical. He didn't bother trying to answer her question.

"What do you mean?" She growled before she had her knife at his throat,"I should slit your throat, what do you mean?" She hissed angrily as he looked at her in disgust, his fangs grew longer as he bared his teeth at her in defiance.

"Just look at yourself ready to murder me, we're no different, we're both murderers and monsters." He murmured and Zoe looked at him in shock, she felt offended that he compared herself to him at all.

"We are nothing alike." She mumbled threateningly before the digging the knife into his neck.

He gritted his teeth,"Just how many people have you killed lately? It's honorable that you defend your goddess but look at yourself, truly open your eyes and take a nice long look. You're no better then I am." Percy smirked and Zoe looked at him in horror because he was right, he used to be her friend, maybe there was an explanation to his betrayal?

She hesitantly pulled her knife away,"Why did you do it?" Here she had gone in with this mentality that she would kill Percy but she didn't have the stomach to do so, because for some reason she still had loyalty to him. She could still remember the great times they had shared and could never seem to forget them no matter how much she tried.

"I did it because I didn't know what I was doing, because my entire life I've been tugged between right and wrong not knowing what to do. I tried apologizing but Arty didn't want to hear it." He chuckled dryly before looking out at the water, he closed his eyes as the waves quietly lapped the shore, it gave him peace.

Zoe grimaced because she had missed Percy despite his treachery,"I missed you Perce, but I saw your fight with Artemis. Why were you talking about love?" She asked curiously. His eyes popped open and he glanced at her before looking out at the waves.

Percy squeezed his eyes shut again,"Lies, it was nothing but lies Zoe."

"Milady what's going on between you and Percy?" Phoebe asked suspiciously as the moon goddess stared out at the dull moon. She still couldn't believe the fight she and Percy had gotten into, who was the true wrong one? How could she possibly still care for him? This is what she deserved for liking a male; she should have learned this from Orion. Percy was off with other girls, kissing them, being happy with his player ways. The thought made her even more miserable because she hated the thought of him with someone else. She wanted to rip his head off yet...she wanted things to go back to how they were when they were friends.

"Nothing Phoebe, I just want to be left alone right now. I've got a solo hunt to prepare for." She grumbled bitterly, she was trying to get her mind off of Percy but it wasn't working especially because Phoebe insisted on talking about it.

"No, Artemis are you falling for Percy-" The goddess was on her feet and glowering at the huntress.

"I said leave me alone! If you doubt my loyalty to my own oath then you can leave!" She snarled, her silver eyes glowed with raw power and anger. Phoebe's eyes widened in shock at how angry Artemis got. Before another word could be uttered Artemis stormed away, because if she didn't she would probably eradicate all of her hunters. And it was all Percy's fault. But the worst part of it was, she was beginning to doubt her loyalty to the oath.

-Line Break-

"She's what!" Percy roared in anger, his eyes turned a dark red and he could feel his fangs sharpen.

Zoe sighed,"She was taken last night, captured. My father got her, the oracle spoke to me and I'm going on a quest to save her."

Percy stepped towards her,"Well count me in too." He said with determination laced in his voice.

Zoe frowned,"I thought you two didn't get along." Percy rolled his eyes, sure they didn't but he'd do anything for Artemis, sure they constantly butted heads but if what Zoe told him was true he wasn't going to let Artemis carry the weight of the sky on her shoulders. Because he still had feelings for her, he didn't care if she didn't return those feelings. He cared for her too much to let some stupid titan cause her pain.

"She was my friend, and I'm going to save her. No one is gonna tell me different especially that horse guy! I mean seriously have you smelled him? He smells like..." Percy trailed off trying to find the right word to describe the centaur.

"An ass." Zoe finished for him.

His eyes widened,"Yes! That's exactly what he smells like! Ugh it's disgusting I...I see what you did there." Percy smirked and Zoe chuckled.

"Took you long enough, now let's grab Phoebe, Annabeth, and Thalia and we'll be on our way."

Percy's eyes became the size of dinner plates,"Wait, Thalia is coming?" Zoe raised an eyebrow before nodding.

Percy face palmed,"This is going to be the worse quest of my life, talk about awkward." He muttered, because he hadn't talked to Thalia since the kiss in the Hermes cabin. He was going on a quest with Annabeth...the blonde chick that he hated and she hated him, Thalia who he made out with and had been avoiding since, and Phoebe who was still probably angry at his betrayal. Killing the hunt was off his bucket list, surviving three angry, powerful girls was on it now.

Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse they did, another thing that was on his bucket list. Kill the fates.

In loving memory of my 6th and 7th grade english teacher who lost the war against breast cancer. In my eyes she didn't die, she fell into a deep sleep and is finally in peace. Sweet dreams Mrs. B, and Merry Christmas.