A/N: new chapter of BOOT, hope you enjoy it!

The Centaur nearly shoots me

"...Whoa."

Whoa was an understatement. After I left the cabin I was met with camp, although the word didn't give enough credit. It looked more like a renaissance festival, with cabins arranged in a horseshoe shape some distance away from us. Farther up was an amphitheater, a literal stone amphitheater.

There were several other points of interest, like a pavilion or a rock climbing wall with lava flowing down. I would not be participating in that.

"This is Camp Half-Blood?"

"Indeed," Chiron said, "not just a summer camp. A place of respite for-"

"For demigods or kids born from the Greek Gods and Goddesses, I know," I waved a hand. "My friend Stephan was telling me about them before he… he..."

Oh no. Stephan.

I whirled around, looking up at the centaur's face. His mouth twitched, his eyes containing something I only saw in adults: sympathy.

"I'm so sorry."

"No." I couldn't think of anything else to say. My best friend for nearly ten years, gone in a single afternoon. The sky lost a shade of blue, the grass around me seemed to wilt in sorrow as I fell to my knees, struggling for breath. I, I-

I couldn't breathe. I was literally gasping for air, hands spasming and clutching air.

"Oh dear. Someone please fetch him some nectar, bring him his-"

And the scene shifted. It was like someone flipped a channel on life and gone to a horror movie. Fire roared around me as I shot up in alarm. The cabins blazed brighter than bonfires, each a different color of the rainbow. The skies were painted black with thunderclouds, leering over me with a terrifying, hidden gaze.

"You did this! This is all YOUR FAULT!"

I spun on my bottom to look back at Chiron, but he no longer looked passive. He looked ready to tear my heart out, bow in his arms. Half of his face was smeared with blood; his or someone else's I couldn't tell. One of his front legs was crippled, the hoof shattered.

"I should've killed you when you first arrived here. No child here will be the son of a Titan."

He retrieved an arrow from his quiver, the tip dripping gold. My eyes widened as he let it fly at me, a flash of pain lancing my chest-

My mouth was suddenly filled with a substance that burst into flavor. It had the consistency of honey but was flavored like pancakes. Not just any pancakes: Mrs. Castanza's notoriously delicious buttermilk pancakes, made from scratch. As the flavor washed through my mouth the reality shifted back, smoke and fires vanishing, leaving me surrounded by two campers kneeling beside me. Chiron was standing by them, looking mildly concerned, but in his eyes I no longer found safety. He wasn't just a teacher, but a seasoned veteran ready to kill. His concern morphed into surprise as I suddenly crawled away from him.

"Please don't kill me, please don't kill me!"

He blinked at my panicked pleas, my hands raised to protect my face. The kids around him exchanged surprised glances, one or two of them gasping at my outcry. The centaur looked placid but I figured he could easily pull out the bow on his back and fire a round of arrows faster than I could blink. I just hoped that he wouldn't be aiming for me.

"Kill you? Dear boy, I'd never-"

"I'll go to the activities! I-I-I'll try out the rock wall, I'll stick around for lunches, I swear; please don't kill me!"

There was an awkward pause, broken only by my ragged breaths. The hand placed on my shoulder only made me flinch.

"Do you have panic attacks often?"

I peeked up at him, still fearing an impending attack. When he showed no signs of reaching for a dagger or arrow I let out a minuscule sigh of relief.

"...this is the first one after a few months of peace. Normally they're not this aggressive, or mean or… weird."

"So you have anxiety. Is there anything else you need to share?"

I'm the son of a Titan, I thought. I didn't bother saying that out loud though; "I have obsessive compulsive disorder so expect some weird behavior often. I have a lot of exaggerated fears which may prevent me from enjoying activities, and I may need to be by myself at times-"

"That's not the end of the world; many of the people here have odd behaviors. You're in good hands."

"Anyone the son of Poseidon or the big gods?"

That wasn't the right thing to ask; he frowned in contemplation. My insides were shredding themselves alive, heart trying to beat at the speed of sound.

"The gods were allowed to mingle with mortals, but the Big Three- Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades- made a pact in 1960 to not have any kids. The powers that they could inherit could be… cataclysmic."

Huh. Well, I'm technically not a son of the Big Three but-

"What about Titans? Are there any children of Titans?"

This time, his frown deepened further. "The Titans were thrown into Tartarus for rebelling against the Gods. You are aware of the conflict between Kronos and the Olympians, yes?"

I nodded, it was common knowledge in Greek mythology. Kronos eats his infants, Zeus is secretly kept alive, grows up to save his siblings, you know the rest… wait. Hold on.

Did my dad eat the Gods? How could he still exist if he was supposed to be banished for rebellion? He said they got along, but it might be hard to get along with a father who ate you when you were a baby-

"The possibility of the existence of Titan children is impossible. Unless there was a chance a Titan or Titaness escaped without our knowledge and had the chance to have offspring, unlikely as it seems. If there were any children… I fear the results."

Funny, he's talking to the son of the biggest, baddest Titan. The one who started this mess.

"Have you been claimed yet?"

I tilted my head at his question.

"When a demigod comes of age their Olympian parent gives them a sign of their heritage," he elaborated. "The claiming happens around twelve years of age, given by a symbol over their heads."

"Is there a celebration?"

"Normally no, but if you want one we-"

"I'm fine," I interrupted him, unintentionally harsh. "No celebrations necessary for claiming."

He raised his hands in peaceful surrender. "Your call, not mine. Let's get you moved in, shall we?"

As it turned out, moving in had me introducing myself to the members of the Hermes cabin, a group of both claimed and unclaimed demigods. The counselor was a young adult named Luke Castellan, someone who looked like they lost a fight with a panther; a long scar ran across his face. His blond hair was messy and unkempt, something I had in common.

The cabin was crowded nearly to the maximum. Luke said that the demigods in the Hermes cabin were mostly unclaimed, despite being past the proper age. As he said it I noticed his hands tense ever so lightly, a dash of coldness flicker across his expression.

"Were you one of the late claimed?"

He turned to me, momentarily losing his stony look. "Sorry?"

"Did your dad claim you late, or was he absent most of your life?"

"Well yeah, I was raised by my mom mostly but- wait," he raised a finger at me, "how'd you know that?"

I was about to say it was obvious and list the details, but settled for a shrug. "Lucky guess, I suppose."

He studied me for a minute in silence, before deciding to drop it. He sent me a smile, showing his nearly perfect white teeth.

"For a minute thought you would say you're psychic or something."

"Nope, just a kid with anxiety problems. Nothing special here."

"Well, we're all special in our own ways. Some of us just need to find it."

He introduced me as the newest recruit to the cabin. Most of them were friendly enough, but one of the kids recognized me as the kid who nearly burst into tears just minutes ago. His laugh made me shrink back with a grimace that turned into a flinch as Luke put a hand to my shoulder.

"Hey, come on now. Andrew's just like the rest of us, just has bad anxiety. I don't want to hear any of you teasing him for insecurities, or I'll have to get Mr. D. Got it?"

There was a general mutter of consent, though I saw one or two of them glanced at me with some disapproval. Outside the cabin, a conch horn sounded. I nearly jumped at the volume, prompting Luke's bark of laughter. "Just the call to lunch. Finish settling in and come join us at the table."

He exited the cabin leisurely, some of his cabin mates following after. I was left with two other campers, one a girl with mousy features and brown curly hair, the other a dude with strawberry blond hair and a lanky build. They introduced themselves as Amanda Stewart and Jared Meinart, respectively, before heading out for lunch.

So much for first impressions, I guess.

A/N: Fitting in is tough, especially for a kid like Andrew. Also introduced in this chapter are two more OC's, whom will later fit in with the story! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time: lunch break. And a certain blond-haired daughter of Athena decides to pay our friend a visit.

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