Disclaimer: I dont own Percy Jackson & The Olympians nor Vampire Diaries.
English is not my native language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have.
(All commments were answered via message, but since these two are on guest...
Guest #1: I'm very happy you like this story! I know, it's never been canonically said, but it's very implied that demigods have superior strength and powers, so yeah, stronger than vampires. I'm very happy you liked it! Thank you for reviewing! I'll update soon.
Guest#2: I'm very happy you like this story! I'm yet to decide, but it's been in my mind a lot that idea, yes. Percy and Apollo together are one of my favorite couples, but I'm yet to decide. Mhm, there is a good reason for their breakup. And I know! Together they would be the most badass couple ever. I'm glad you liked it! I'll update soon, thank you for reviewing!
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Chapter 6
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Mystic Falls High School was one of the most boring schools Percy had the displeasure of studying in. Over the course of the years, the young demigoddess had assisted probably more than a hundred schools, and yet this school seemed to be the worst.
Not only were the classrooms small and the teachers grumpy, but there was the everlasting feeling of monsters.
Of course, Percy was used to her paranoia and the Post-Tartarus syndrome, but she was starting to get tired of it. The only place where she could feel calm was her house. Everywhere else felt so awfully monstrous that she would get a rush of adrenaline immediately.
And she hated it.
Her body felt as if in over-drive.
"I'm supposed to lead a normal life," She complained the night before to her friend Nico, who had decided to give her a call to see how she was doing. "It's all I wish, just one semester- just one!- without having to deal with monsters."
Nico had raised an eyebrow at her, his face as sculpted and serious as always. He eyed the spawn of his uncle Poseidon with curiosity and a peck of sympathy.
"You never voiced your thoughts to me like that before," He pointed out. "I always thought you liked the hunt, that you liked to kill monsters. After all you always smile when..." He trailed off at the mortified look on her face.
Percy always smiled when killing a monster.
It was different, discerning and feral. It was a crooked grin, as most of her smiles were, but it was too wide and too feral. It was often followed by a broken glint on her eyes and a harsh bark of laughter. It held the power of a hurricane. It's the cruelty of a predator toying with its prey...
It started right after Tartarus, and now she can't seem to stop.
"We never were this close before," Percy said softly, giving him a warm smile that didn't reached her eyes. There was still guilt on them. Guilt over everything that little boy had to go through and guilt over how much she made him suffer. "I know what I'm asking is impossible, being a demigod is dangerous."
"It's a curse," Nico nodded, looking away from the Iris Message for a moment. When he looked back, he seemed curious somehow. "Why did you attacked that vampire if you wanted peace?"
She wondered the same thing.
At first, she used the excuse that she thought it was her mission to get rid of the monsters because of her demigod dream. But that excuse got old very quickly; Nico was incredibly smart and he knew better. Besides, Hermes was right- demigods dreams could mean many things.
"I just felt like it." She fought to explain herself, to ignore the reproaching look she knew Nico would take at her words. She was impulsive, she'd always been. "It's complicated. This feeling is...it's like..."
He understood inmediately. "You wanted to kill them. You craved it, the feeling, didn't you?"
"Nico..." Percy swallowed thickly. "Don't tell anyone, please. It's enough that I'm turning into this monster-detecting machine, I don't need my friends to know that I'm turning into some sort of Orion now."
Nico scowled.
"You're not turning into Orion, Percy. You have to remember these monsters are far more different from the monsters you're used to. Maybe it's an effect they have on our kind."
Percy stayed silent for a moment, processing his words. The green-eyed demigoddess knew he was just trying to make her feel better, but his words had some logic. Maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was just some sort of effect those monsters had...
"Besides, wasn't Orion cursed to feel like that? Didn't Gaea killed him?"
The demigoddess shook her head furiously. She never knew much about Orion, to be completely honest, but she knew the real story behind his death.
"No. He killed because he liked to. And it wasn't Gaea who killed him, it was Apollo."
Nico paused briefly. "Oh." He looked away, but then continued. "What are you going to do now? You discovered yourself to them. They know you're not human. They're not going to stop until they kill you."
Percy was unconcerned by this. All her life she'd fought all kind of monsters- titans, gods, giants, spawn of Tartarus itself...The demigoddess wasn't scared of vampires. They were strong, she had to give them that, but their strength was nothing compared to everything else she'd fought.
She hadn't been lying when she told Damon that she could take them all without breaking a sweat.
What really worried her was the thought of being dragged into their shit. She fought her own battles multiple times already, she didn't wanted to get involved in something that has nothing to do with her once again. If they killed mortals...well, that Percy couldn't stand, but everything else? Fuck it, it's not her business.
They could kill themselves for all she cared.
"Don't worry about that."
Percy had to learn to control her urges, and she knew it. She had to take control of her impulses and think clearly. The demigoddess really wanted peace, and the only way she would get it was staying away from them.
...or killing them. But killing them all would involve in a mini war between the remaining vampires.
And that would be exhausting.
She would protect the mortals as best as she could without getting involved in their shit or without having to fight them.
"And what about the other monsters?" Nico questioned. "You mentioned two more stinking monsters in the Carnival. Vampires too?"
She thought back to Mason Lockwood, at how he'd smiled at her as if nothing was wrong. A polite smile after having caught her staring at him. His smell was different to those of vampires, but there was, without doubt, a monstrous edge to it.
And it was a mortal monster; there was no doubt of that.
"I honestly don't know," Percy answered. "They smelled different, more animalistic. I've yet to meet them personally, so I don't know what to do about them. I'm trying to concentrate in one set of monsters at the time."
It was the smartest thing. Concentrate on the monsters that knew she wasn't human; the rest of them could wait.
"Why don't you come to Camp?" Nico asked, his voice as soft as a whisper. "You're living in a town infested with different kinds of monsters. I don't see how safe you could be there."
"I can't," She shook her head. "My family-"
"They're not safe either," He pointed out. "I know they're capable of defending themselves, they proved it in the first war when they killed two monsters, but there's still a great risk-"
"And that's why they need me here with them, so I can protect them against these monsters." She shook her head. "Look, we can't move back to New York, all our money went into this new house. And I can't tell them that there are monsters here, they'd send me to Camp immediately."
"I know you're thinking about them, but you should think about yourself too, Percy," Nico said gently. "You're not okay, and on top of that you're surrounded by monsters you don't even know much about. I don't want to say it, but the odds of you coming out alive are..."
"As improbable as they always are," Percy forced a smile at him. "I survived Tartarus, I can survive this town. This is Disneyland compared to everything else I've faced."
"You've never been alone before," Nico shook his head. "Not with so many monsters, not even in the first war. And certainly not in Tartarus."
Percy didn't wanted to correct him. She'd fought alone multiple times against armies of monsters, monsters more dangerous than these vampires could ever be.
She paused for a moment, not knowing how to answer without sounding arrogant.
"Have a little faith in me, would you, Nico?" Her voice was soft and pleading. "I know I can do this."
It broke him. He'd always believed in her. How could he not? Ever since he first saw her the only thing he could see was a true heroine. His favourite game come to live - the Greek heroes and heroines he read in his comics and his mythomagic games.
He always believed in her, even when she herself didn't.
He didn't knew how to say that without sounding like he was still crushing on her.
So he didn't.
"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping, Seaweed Brain?"
He'd never called her something else than just her name, and he using now Annabeth's favourite nickname for her made her smile. Their relationship had improved greatly after everything that happened, and she was glad.
After years of being a closed off demigod, Nico di Angelo was doing just great with opening himself to her. It had been slow at first, as it was to be expected, but soon it was as natural as breathing. He still had his doubts and his moments where he wanted to be alone, but he was doing better.
And that made Percy happy. If there was someone who deserved happiness and friendship it was Nico.
"Don't remind me," Percy sighed. "I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight, Death-Breath."
...
Now she hadn't even finished her day and she already knew she wouldn't have time to call Nico di Angelo back. She'd started school almost in the middle of the semester; she had lots of homework and assigned work to fall in line with the rest of her classmates.
She'd already taken half her classes, and in lunch she sat inside with a couple of friendly girls. Percy could hardly remember their names, but she was trying. Nearly everyone had been nice to her, and it was a surprising turn of events.
In her previous schools, everyone would either find her strange or they would mock her for her financial status. Of course, she studied in private schools before, where money was everything. It was the only thing Percy seemed to like about public schools.
Status didn't really mattered.
But she couldn't deny she was feeling a little lost. She was new, she didn't knew anyone there and while they tried to incorporate her into the conversation and into their activities, she was completely lost and slightly confused.
After lunch she just had two classes left. The first was History with Alaric and then English with Paul.
She was more than relieved to end her day that way. While the green-eyed girl didn't completely trust Alaric yet, it was reassuring the thought of having a class with someone she actually knew and that was friends with her stepfather.
"What's your next class?" A pretty petite girl asked her. So far she'd been the most polite of her classmates, and Percy returned the favour with uncharacteristic kindness and politeness. "Maybe we share it."
"I have History next, and then English." Percy answered, copying her smile. "I believe I share English with you, but I'm not so sure about History..." She looked down at the schedule on her hands.
"Oh, you take History with juniors," The pretty girl raised her eyebrows, gently taking the schedule from her hands and reading it. "Why's that?"
What?
"I have no idea."
Percy wouldn't have been bothered by that information had she not known that the junior curse was full of monsters.
"Do you need help finding the history classroom?" The girl asked nicely. Percy refused politely and moved to go, but stopped after a second. Noticing the sheepish look on her eyes and how she seemed to be thinking how to ask something, the girl chuckled. "My name is Emma, by the way."
Percy looked relieved.
Brown hair and black eyes. Sun kissed skin. Pretty smile and freckles all around her cheeks and nose. Yeah, Percy could remember that about her. But not her name.
"Thank you, Emma." Percy gave her a brilliant smile. "I'll see you later."
"Bye."
Upon arriving at the history classroom, Percy braced herself for yet another class filled with curious glances and the teacher asking her to introduce herself. It was so silly, what could she say?
Hello, my name is Percy Jackson. I'm seventeen years old and my father is a Greek god, maybe you've heard of him? His name is Poseidon. Oh, and I've fought in two wars already and I'm still in high school. My ex boyfriend and best friend is a god and I went to hell. Badass, right?
They'd think she was crazy.
Instead, what she always said was: Hi, my name is Percy. I'm seventeen years old, I'm from New York and I love the beach and being with my friends.
Typical cliché thing.
But thankfully, Alaric didn't made her introduce herself. He did that himself; saying that they had a new student and that her name was Percy Jackson and that he hoped they welcomed her warmly to the school and the town. Then he told her to take a seat.
Nearly all seats were already taken, and Stefan Salvatore caught her eye instantly. She saw him tense and look at the dark-skinned girl at his side. It was the girl from her demigod dream, the one that defended Damon yet stood with the witch as she tortured him.
The witch was also there, and just like Stefan, she was looking at Percy.
The dark-haired demigoddess ignored them, putting her bag on an empty chair by the end of the classroom. After a moment of feeling uncertain, she made up her mind and walked towards Alaric again.
The man smiled immediately when he saw her, but there was a slight edge of wariness to his gase, almost as if he was looking at her for the first time.
"Hello again, Percy. What can I help you with?" He asked politely.
"Why do I share a class with juniors?" Percy asked him in a hushed tone. "I don't understand."
Alaric pursed his lips tightly, his eyes almost disapproving. "You missed nine months of your junior year, Percy. The headmaster admitted you in the senior course but you'll have to take some of the courses you missed, my class being one of those."
But Percy wasn't happy with that. She already took summer classes before moving to Virginia, she thought she didn't had to take more classes than the necessary for her to finish High School.
"Why wasn't I told about this before?" She demanded. "When I end this then what? I'll have to take summer classes for a History course for seniors?"
She didn't wanted to spend her summer stuck in a classroom again. Her ideas for the summer, which was as far away as it could ever be, was to spend it either in Camp Half-Blood, or in Rachel's summer house in California.
"No. The deal was simple, you take one semester with the juniors and have half a class of what you missed, and the next semester you take the History course you're supposed to take. Easy." Alaric gave her a reassuring smile. "I'll take it easy on you, don't worry."
So half a semester with the juniors, the next semester with the seniors.
Percy frowned, sarcasm lacing her tone. "How thoughtful of you."
Alaric simply raised an eyebrow at her. She headed back to her seat, only to see Matt Donovan waving at her in a friendly way, sitting on the chair close to hers. Recognising him as the waiter at the Grill, she forced a smile on her face and waved back.
At least there was a friendly face in the ocean of weary glances and monsters.
"Hey, Matt. Nice to see you again."
The witch was staring at her, a cold look on her eyes that only made her look extremely arrogant and proud. Stefan was looking at her too, though his expression was unreadable. The other one was simply stealing glances at her, clearly still not completely understanding why her friends were looking at her.
So, obviously, Damon had gone to his brother to whine about their new neighbour being inhuman.
Witches had a way of sensing Percy's kind. That being courtesy of a spell made by the witch that hated demigods more than she hated the gods, said witch being Medea.
But considering how cold and unafraid this little witch seemed to be, it was obvious she couldn't understand what he'd senses were telling her. She had no idea what Percy really was.
If she knew, she'd retreat immediately.
Witches and demigods didn't really mixed well. The only witch Percy liked was Hazel Levesque, her cousin and best friend, and another integrant of the Seven of the Prophecy. And in that same way, Hazel wasn't really a witch; she was more of Hecate's apprentice.
"How's your first day going?" Matt asked kindly. "Judging by your face it hasn't been the greatest."
"Let's just say some people here aren't completely nice to me," Percy stared at Stefan as she spoke, only to give him a crooked sarcastic grin. "Monsters, the bunch of them."
It gave her extreme pleasure to see the vampire shoulders tense at her words. She hadn't lied to Nico, she really was looking for no problems. She really was regretful of attacking Damon and showing that she wasn't human to him, but there was a deep craving inside of her that only wanted to make them suffer.
Taunting them gave her a satisfaction and triumph so overwhelming that she only wanted to drown in that feeling.
It was a feeling too strong. She wanted to show them who was in control, she wanted them to fear her and despise her. She wanted to torture them.
But she controlled herself.
She had a million problems of her own and things she needed to do that were more important than a town infested with vampires. As much as the moral side of her screamed at her that her choice could mean the death of thousands at their hands, she would try and control herself.
She would protect as many mortals as she could, but she was also going to be as separated from the vampires as she could.
Don't attack unless you're attacked. That's what Triton always said regarding monsters. Always have the upper hand and the skills to attack.
And then there was Hermes' advice. Don't get too involved with these monsters. They might seem like humans sometimes, but never forget that they are, in fact, monsters.
Percy wanted to be the moral one there. She wanted to be mature and collected and irritate them with her indifference and coldness. But she was too hyperactive to even try to do it. She was impulsive by nature, and that was something she couldn't really change.
She was a detonating bomb, as Apollo had so kindly worded it out for her. A drop-dead gorgeous detonating bomb with killer legs and kissable lips.
Remembering Apollo's words, Percy couldn't hide her smile. Her heart twisted uncomfortably at the reminder, but it had been a nice memory, to hear how he used those silly pickup lines on her while trying not to be incinerated by Poseidon for that.
Yes, that was a good memory.
Her whole family and loved ones together for one festivity, a joyous memory. Her half-brother Tyson laughing with Grover and Annabeth while Poseidon held a polite conversation with Paul. The warm smell of fresh baked cookies, the wide smile Apollo had on his face...
He'd been happy too.
He told Percy a couple of days later that that had been the first time he'd had an afternoon with mortals and that it had been more than he hoped it would. Sally and Paul accepted him inmediately only because he made Percy happy, and Poseidon tried to stand him for his daughter's sake.
It was one of the few memories before the second war that Percy could look back and smile at.
It had been a good memory.
The sneaking kisses on that Christmas morning in their little apartment in New York. Warm hugs as they watched silly old Christmas movies while Sally and Paul made breakfast for them. Loving forehead kisses when Poseidon wasn't looking.
The silly war-match they had in the living room with Annabeth, Tyson and Grover, which was then followed by silly family games such as Monopoly and Twister and all the silly card-games that mortals loved.
Apollo's soft voice as he recited poetry for them- the power went out exactly as they were watching a movie and didn't came back for hours after that- and his voice was the only thing that entertained them. His eyes, his gorgeous eyes lighting the whole room with his power.
The way he smiled with everything but his mouth as he recited them love poems, eyes never leaving Percy's. His soft laugh when Annabeth and Percy started bickering, the way he looked at her when he thought no one was looking, the way he hugged her...
The way they kissed.
The simplicity of their relationship back then...it was all she ever wanted.
Best friends and lovers. The best combination there could ever be; and everything had been completely perfect. They were in love and they were together and nothing else mattered.
They could talk about anything and everything for hours without being bored, and when words weren't needed they were more than happy with the silence that followed them. Comfortable even. It didn't mattered what they were doing or where they were, it only mattered that they were together.
It was indescribable.
She cared for him in a way she'd never cared for anyone else before, and even now as they're not together anymore, she can't help but hope that he was okay and that he was happy. She wanted to hate him for breaking her heart, but she couldn't.
She loved him.
And she loves him even more than she loved him in that Christmas morning, if that was even possible.
He was in that Christmas morning a man and she was a woman. They weren't a god and a demigoddess, none of that was ever mentioned. They simply were...together. And happy.
Very happy.
She was a drop-dead gorgeous detonating bomb with killer legs and kissable lips, and he was the breathtakingly handsome flame with astonishing eyes and a killer smile; the flame that threatened to make the detonating bomb explode.
And hard it did explode.
Percy shook her head softly, forcing herself to stop thinking about that. She looked away, not wanting anyone to see the sudden change in her, but it was almost impossible not to notice.
"Don't worry, they'll warm up to you," Matt said reassuringly, thinking of the last thing she said to him. "You seem very nice and friendly. You'll make friends quickly, you'll see."
The demigoddess was touched by his kind words.
"Thanks, Matt. The thing is...I'm not interested in making friends with that sort of people, you see, they tend to be..." She held the vampire's stare as she finished, making sure to roll the word with her tongue, giving him an almost feral look. "...toxic."
The dark-skinned girl suddenly scowled at her, and made sure to grab Stefan's hand between her own. Percy chuckled to herself.
"Well, you can forget about them. I can be your friend if you'd like," Matt smiled at her. "And I'm certainly not toxic."
"No, you're cute and nice," Percy nodded, ignoring the blush that crept to his cheeks. It was a small compliment, something that she didn't thought much before saying. Something that meant nothing to her. "I'd love to be your friend."
"Hey, Matt," The witch called. She was frowning at them. "How's Caroline?"
Matt lost the smile, looking away uncomfortably. His cheeks were no longer red, and he was suddenly guilty for noticing another girl that wasn't his girlfriend. But he loved Caroline. Percy Jackson was just very pretty and a possible new friend.
But the guilt was still there.
"She's doing better," At Percy's curious look, he looked at her and explained briefly. "Caroline's my girlfriend, she recently just had an accident but she's fine now."
"Oh." Percy blinked. "Okay."
She remembered the name. Caroline. The blonde monster that killed that mortal the night before in the carnival. Matt Donavan was dating a vampire. That's why he smelled like a monster.
"She's nice. You'd like her," Matt promised, a soft smile on his lips at the thought of his girlfriend.
Percy doubted that she could ever like a monster, but simply nodded and smiled.
After that, she made everything under her will to ignore the little monsters in her class and simply try to finish her first day in that new school. She could feel them looking at her, observing her very move. And she would be lying if she said she didn't do anything to tempt them and to agitate them.
It was hilarious.
They were so easily agitated that it honestly sparkled the demigoddess interest and amusement.
When the doorbell rang and she was calmly putting her things back into her backpack, Stefan Salvatore appeared in front of her. He adopted what could be an easy-going posture, but his eyes were full of anticipation. He was ready for anything.
"Hi, Stefan." Percy said. "Fancy seeing you here. Beautiful morning, isn't it?"
The classroom was almost empty now, only Alaric, the witch and the other girl remaining with them.
At his silence, Percy raised an eyebrow. "How's Damon? He had some nasty little burns last night. I hope he's alright," She gave them a sarcastic smile.
The dark-skinned girl pursed her lips as the witch scowled darkly.
"You know for someone who claims to want peace between us you certainly contradict yourself." Stefan had a polite tone, only meaning business.
"Oh, please don't tell me you are actually offended because of the little comments I made with Matt Donovan. That is so petty of you." Percy scoffed. But at the tight clenching of Stefan's jaw, she tried to hide a smile. "Oh, I see. You don't like it when I say the truth."
There it was again, the inevitable taunting tone she took when talking to them. It was what had made Damon interested in her, and was now what was making Stefan lose his composure slightly.
"Stefan is not a monster," The dark-skinned girl said loudly and clear. Her eyes firm and angry, her whole demeanour screaming at her. "You're making false accusations; you don't even know us."
But the demigoddess knew enough. She'd done all the research she could after discovering what they were. It was new and in some way exhilarating the thought of vampires and not empousa.
Artemis' book had enough information about them for Percy to know their usual behaviours and how to kill them. It could be as simple as driving a stake through their heart. And even Riptide could work, they were a different kind of monsters, but celestial blade could kill anything inhuman.
"Vampires are monsters. I don't mean it in a discriminating way. I say it because it's the truth. Leeches, the lot of them. And do not let me get started on witches." Percy stole a glance at said witch. "Petty bitches obsessed with power."
The witch reacted instantly. Percy felt a burning pressure on her forehead, almost as if something was trying to enter her mind and make her collapse. It was an old trick, and Percy was more than resistance to that one. It was weak and painless.
This witch really was a newbie.
Percy clicked her tongue at her. "Oh. So easily agitated. You really should learn to resist the truth." She turned to the others. "Did you guys know that witches don't even have magic? They borrow it from the earth and the universe. They're literally borrowers. Petty as fuck."
The witch was frozen in her place. Eyes wide and filled with surprise, her legs taking a step back without it being her intention. At the curious look her friends gave her, she simply stared at Percy.
"I made every single vein in your brain collapse. No one can resist that, not even vampires." Her eyes darkened, fear showing in them along with hatred at her words. "What are you?"
No one had ever been able to shrug her spell off like that, no one. And then this little girl...this unknown teenage girl could. Bonnie Bennett was completely terrified.
"Practice makes perfection," Percy tried not to remember the long excruciatingly painfull hours when C.C had tortured her. "As for my secret, why would I share it with you? It's mine to share and mine alone."
"You know our secret, why shouldn't we know yours?" Stefan pointed out.
That made no sense.
It wasn't like Percy forced Damon to spill out their secret, it had come out willingly. She had no desire to give them the opportunity to even guess what she was. They could all try and play the part in the little drama of leaving each other alone, but in the end the act would drop and they'd try to kill each other.
And as much as she desired to die most of the time, she didn't wanted to die by their hand.
"It's not like I forced your brother to tell me, it was all too clear after his face morphed into that..." Percy stopped. "Well, let's just say his other face isn't as pretty as his normal one is. I didn't needed to be Sherlock Holmes to discover what he was after that."
"That's not what Damon said." Alaric decided to speak for the first time. "He said you were powerful enough to hold him and shove him back. You demanded to know what he was—"
"And he attacked me and I defended myself." Percy shrugged. "I was a little curious, that much I can't deny. But could you blame me? I just moved into a town that literally stinks of monsters and I didn't knew what kind of monsters roamed my neighborhood."
"So you decided to threaten us all." Elena Gilbert scowled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I told your brother I didn't wanted any problems and I mean it." Percy ignored the dark-skinned girl and looked at the vampire. "But what I said to him stands, I won't sit back and let you all kill innocent mortals. I have my limits and they break when mortals are involved."
"What makes you think we'll listen to anything you have to say?" Bonnie Bennett spat at her, voice raised arrogantly. She was clearly intimidated. "You don't want any problems yet you taunt us. Who do you think you are to-"
"Lose the attitude, Winifred." Percy snapped back.
She hated people like that witch, people that believed themselves to be over other people just because they had power. That was something the young demigoddess couldn't even stand. Much less when said attitude was directed towards her.
She was tired of people always snapping at her and raising their voices at her.
Percy couldn't stand it when gods yelled at her and demanded things. She had no respect for gods, she certainly wasn't going to respect a witch and let her yell at her as she wished.
"I don't want problems but if you want them, then you'll have it." Every word was carefully spoken. Green eyes blasting as fiercly as the savage sea that drowned mortals and everything on its path. The not so silent threat echoing in the sudden silence of the room.
She looked like a demon. Dangerous and cold all over. It wasn't easy to describe, but in one moment she stopped looking like a normal teenager girl and took the attitude and looks of an older person. Something older and dangerous.
Something inhuman.
The look was so fierce that Elena took a step back without actually meaning to.
"You might be a witch, but I am a lady and I will be addressed with the respect I deserve," Percy stared at Bonnie. "I care about the mortals in this town as if it were my own. I've been protecting mortals since I was a little girl, and I won't stop doing it now."
The others shared a small look. Protecting mortals? Since she was a little girl? Was he like Alaric, a vampire hunter? Certainly not. Alaric doesn't have the strength to push Damon off yet she does.
"No mortals will be harmed," Alaric intervened. "You have my word on that."
The demigoddess wasn't sure how much his word could be worth, but she sensed he was telling the truth. He was the only mortal in the room. He wouldn't just lie when it came to the protection of other mortals.
"Then you have my word your secret is safe with me," Percy nodded seriously. "And I won't do you any harm as long as no one else gets hurt in this town."
There was a brief pause.
Percy could see the tension between them. It was more than obvious that neither of them wanted to let her live, they were dying to know what she was, the imminent threat of another supernatural creature in their town and them not knowing what it was was probably driving them insane.
She, of course, loved every second of it.
"Why do you even care?" Elena demanded. Her voice was laced with irritation, an annoyed sigh leaving her mouth. "You're new here. You don't know anyone yet."
"Oh, I don't care." Her smile was sarcastic and impertinent. "Not about any of you, anyways. All I care about is the safety of the mortals. As for why, that is completely my business and not yours."
"I'm mortal and so is Alaric and Bonnie and all of us," Elena said fiercly. "It is our business."
Percy raised an eyebrow at her. "A vampire, a witch, a vampire hunter and a doppelgänger. Sunds like the start of a bad joke involving a bar, and not really mortal."
Elena froze. "How do you know about-"
"Do you know Katherine?" Stefan demanded, eyes darkening.
"I did my research," Percy shrugged. "Call me paranoid, but I don't trust any of you. Better know where I'm standing. Now, if you excuse me, I have better things to do than hear your complains and demands."
Knowing nothing else could come of their encounter, Percy moved swiftly towards the door. She was almost completely out of the classroom when she heard the unmistakeable sound of an arrow being pulled. Percy rose her hand and caught the flying arrow between her pointer and middle finger.
She heard Elena suck in a gasp as the witch scoffed. Alaric was quickly at her side, eyes wide. But Percy simply twisted the arrow and broke it in half before shoving it into Alaric's hands.
"Petty," She commented. Her temper was flaring, her veins aching as if filled with venom. She wanted to turn around and make them choke on their own internal fluids. Or even better, to have them choke on their own blood- if vampires even had blood in their veins.
But that was exactly what they wanted. They wanted to observe her movements, to know what she was. They wanted her to break and show a glimpse of her real nature.
And she wasn't going to give them that satisfaction.
"Sorry, I promised Damon I'd do something like that," Stefan shrugged, not really sorry. "Good reflexes, by the way."
That could be considered as they breaking their little pact of peace- stablished a couple of seconds before the arrow was pulled- but the demigoddess was willing to ignore that for one single reason...
"You tried," She commented, keeping her voice steady and indifferent. She was more than furious inside, but she collected herself quickly. "Don't be surprised when I attack. You had your turn, now it's mine."
The threat hung in the air.
And she was gone.
There was a long silence in the room as the little gang stared at each other, still processing her last words and what happened.
"She is...she looked like," Elena swallowed without noticing it. "She looked like a demon. You saw her eyes..."
"Harder and darker than the eyes a girl her age should have," Alaric sounded concerned. "She looked dangerous. Whatever she is, you guys really should just leave her alone." He turned and walked towards his desktop, worry on his eyes.
"But she could hurt us, hurt me," Elena protested. "We can't let her simply co-exist here."
"Elena, we can't fight her when we don't even know what she is." Stefan sighed exasperatedly. "Ric's right. We should just leave her alone."
Alaric looked surprised with that statement, but seeing the dark look on the vampire's eyes, he noticed he said it only to appease Elena.
"She literally lives in the house next to yours!" Elena protested. "You're in danger. You can't have her so close to you, she-"
"Elena, stop." Stefan said strictly. "Don't bother yourself with this. Bonnie, please side with me in this. She listens to you."
Elena gave them an incredulous glance, but when Bonnie simply looked away, lips pursed, Elena was forced to sigh and nod. "Yes, okay. Okay. I'll forget about this."
But she really wouldn't.
"Besides, she doesn't seem to care much about you," Alaric spoke, stealing a glance at Elena. "She was more centred in Stefan and Bonnie."
"She looked like she hated me," The young doppelgänger stressed. "She must know Katherine. That's the only explanation as to how she knows I'm a doppelgänger. She must be sided with Katherine."
"Not everything's about you, Elena." Bonnie sighed in irritation. Green eyes stuck in her head like a virus. A menace. Something that needed to be destroyed. "She didn't seemed to care about you in any way, her threats were directed towards us."
Elena looked at Stefan and Alaric, but both men seemed to agree with Bonnie's words.
It shouldn't have hurt that much, but it did. Since when did anything that happened in Mystic Falls didn't had to do with her?
Elena scowled.
"I hate to say it but my curiosity is spiked," Alaric sighed deeply. "I think we should leave her alone, but I want to know what she is too. She's my friend's stepdaughter. He might be in danger for all we know." He paused. "If he doesn't know about her already..."
"Why is she important?" Bonnie suddenly narrowed her eyes. "She just walked into our town and started demanding things. Who does she think she is? A goddess? A Queen?"
"I don't know," Stefan forced himself not to roll his eyes. "We don't know anything about her. She's only talked to Damon and we don't know how much of that was a lie and what was the truth."
"Why was she talking to Damon in the first place?" Elena frowned.
"He took her to the Carnival last night," Stefan looked at her, noticing an edge to her voice. "Are you seriously asking me why Damon does anything? He saw a new girl and saw an oportunity to suck blood and fuck for a while." At the looks on their faces, he sighed.
"I'm sorry, it's been a long day."
Stefan didn't usually talked like that, but he had a million things on his mind.
Damon's obsession with finding out what the Lockwood's were now mixed with his desire to know what Percy Jackson was, and over everything is the fact that Katherine was back too, and Elena is hurting because Damon killed Jeremy.
And all that responsibility weighed down on Stefan.
He was supposed to be the brother that fixed everything, the one that thought before acting. But it was harder than it looked like, and he just wanted to go back to ignoring everything and leaving Damon to kill whoever he wanted and then act like he cared.
He wanted Damon to have the blame for everything and he wanted to be able to enjoy his girlfriend as he should. But he couldn't, not when there was so many problems in one moment.
Everything was sort of exploding on his head.
And then there was the trip Damon would be doing with Elena and Alaric. He despised the idea of Damon being alone with Elena somewhere where he couldn't see them, but he had agreed to help Caroline. And they needed all the information they could gather.
He was hand-tied.
"Let's go home," Stefan sighed, looking at Elena. "You have to talk to Jenna about the trip and I have to make sure Damon hasn't killed anyone else."
"I still have one more class left," Elena pointed out.
"When have you cared about school?" Bonnie gave her a look. Before Elena could say something to defend herself, Bonnie walked towards the exit.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. I have to find my grandmother's Grimoire to help Stefan with the spell he wants me to do," She looked at Stefan. "I'll see you at Caroline's in an hour."
...
When Percy arrived home with Paul, she found an unpleasant surprise waiting for her. The familiar smell of monster was coming from her house, dark waves of stinking monster powder swarming in the air. She scowled and walked quickly towards the porch.
A dark-haired man waited for her there, blue eyes set with determination and coldness. Percy sighed with irritation when she saw him, while Paul nodded at him as a greeting. He moved past him when it was clear he only wanted to talk to Percy, and left both dark-haired creatures alone.
Percy saw Paul enter the house and greet Sally, who moved to greet Percy but then noticed Damon. She frowned for a moment, but then she simply nodded at them and closed the door to give them more privacy.
"Hi, Percy," Damon waved sarcastically at her.
"Nice day, isn't it?" Percy forced a smile at him, briefly looking up to the sky. "What can I help you with today?" She paused, looking him up and down. "How are your wounds?"
His eye twitched, but he remained collected and calm. As she looked at him, she saw that they healed as fast as other monsters. There were no marks nor anything that could indicate that just the previous night he'd been nearly burned completely.
"Do you really have a pet Hellhound?"
At the random question, Percy couldn't help but blink at him. She thought he was there to kill her, or at least to try to kill her. But he seemed as relaxed and normal as before. Slowly, a small smile cornered her lips.
"Are you really still on with the lies vs truth thingy we had in your car yesterday?"
Damon shrugged immediately, an overly exagerated smile on his lips. "What can I say? I really do want to get to know you better. I want to know, for instance, what your favourite colour is," He moved nonchantly around, "Get to know how you lived back in New York, know what your favourite hobby is..."
Percy cocked an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched him move around the porch, stopping every once in a while to touch some ornaments Sally and Paul had left in the walls and the windows to decorate the place.
The intrusion made her irritated, but she left him snoop around a little.
He locked eyes with her. "Know how you managed to overpower me last night," Damon ended. "Know, for instance, what are you and how is it possible that you could do that thing with the water...because you're not a witch, that much is clear."
"That's such a rude question," Percy sighed, giving him a look that meant to show how degraded she felt. "I'm not a what, I'm a who."
"Humour me," His eyes darkened, losing his patience for one brief moment.
"You know who I am, Damon. I introduced myself before, my name is Percy Jackson. Well, it's actually Persephone Jackson, but I prefer to be called Percy. More easygoing and not so harsh, don't you think?"
She actually liked to be called Persephone, just that no one really called her that, so she grew used to Percy. For the demigoddess, her goddess namesake was one of the best. She was not only the Queen of the Underworld and a powerful goddess, she was also the goddess of spring.
She was dark, vengeful and powerful, yet she was sweet and feminine.
Percy wanted to be like her...Well, not completely like her. The part of being kidnapped didn't sounded as amazing as others could believe.
Damon lost his patience completely. "What are you?"
Percy snarled, eyes hardening, the green in them turning a nasty shade of poisonous green. "I'm not a what, Damon Salvatore, I'm a who. You might be immortal but I'm a person and I will be adressed as such."
Damon sighed in irritation. "Look, I told you before- I like you. And I don't often like many people. I don't want to hurt you," He ignored the scoff the demigoddess let out. "Just answer my questions so I can go back to obsessing over the Lockwood's."
"Aww, don't tell me you're obsessing over me now," Percy grinned at him. "I'm so flattered right now. But I must say I don't reciprocate the feeling. I don't befriend monsters."
Maybe if he hadn't been a monster, they'd be friends. She liked his snarky attitude, it contrasted with hers.
But she was no fool. She knew that, unlike Bob and Damasen, these monsters- these vampires, were no more than just that. They were monsters, and there couldn't possibly be redemption for them. They couldn't be honestly friendly, not without expecting something in return.
Maybe she was wrong, but they were just monsters. Things that shouldn't even exist. Things that were destined to be killed, maybe by her hands, maybe by the hands of another demigod.
"I feel like I'm talking to a child right now," Damon rolled his eyes, mouth deforming into a grimace.
The young woman simply shrugged at that, keeping her temper in control. "I'm seventeen years old, Damon. You want to see my mature side? Show me some respect and then I'll consider it."
"Would you please just answer my question?"
"Sure," Percy said, surprising Damon, who quickly straightened and moved as if to listen more closely. "My favourite colour is blue, I used to live in a small apartment and my favourite hobby is swimming. I was actually about to enter the swim team in my former school, and I was part of the baseball team."
Those were the answers to his previous questions. The vampire scowled at her, and she shrugged at him once again.
"What? You asked me what my favourite colour was, how I lived in New York and what my hobby was. I answered. Aren't you happy?"
"You're acting like a spoiled child," Damon frowned.
His words angered Percy in a strange way. He made sure to store that information away for future reference, apparently she didn't liked being called spoiled. The child comment she easily shrugged it off, but the spoiled one seemed to hit a nerve.
"Excuse me," Percy said with an over-exaggerated gasp. "I didn't knew I had to tell a complete stranger and a monster my most guarded secret. Yes, of course, I apologise. It was my mistake, I'll tell you immediately so you can kill me as soon as you discover how."
The vampire seemed to realise how ridiculous the whole situation was. It was, beyond anything else, not of his concern what the young girl was, much less was she supposed in any way to reveal her secret to any of them. They had an encounter the night before, that was the thing.
She had threatened him and discovered his secret.
He wanted to do the same.
"I'm not going to kill you," Damon said, voice soft for the first time since he met her. But it was broken when the beginnings of a scoff left his mouth.. "I just want to know if you mean a threat to my family and me. If you don't, then it's all good. And we can be best buddies if you want."
"You don't fool me," Percy chuckled. "I'd kill you if I didn't wanted peace between us, and I'm not wrong to assume you'd do the same to me if you knew what I am."
"You're very paranoid, you know that?" Damon cocked an eyebrow. He couldn't deny her words, it was all true, but he'd play the little game. "Also, you like to say you're a who and not a what yet you just described yourself as a what."
The young demigoddess rolled her eyes, a sigh leaving her mouth. "I'm talking about myself, I have the right to call me whatever I wish, but you don't."
There was a pause between them.
"I'm going to tell you what I told your brother earlier," Percy spoke suddenly, breaking the silence. "I want to kill you, I really do. But there are more important things in my life right now, and I don't want trouble. I'm tired of it, you know? All I ever get is trouble..."
He looked like he could relate to her words, but his whole face was a complete mask of concentration. Only his eyes showed his thoughts on her words.
"I won't kill any of you as long as no more mortals are harmed," She ended. "Leave the mortals alone and we'll have peace between us. Touch another mortal- or even me- and I will destroy you and everyone you hold dear."
Silence followed her statement. She could see Damon taking her in, observing every little part of her body, as if trying to figure out what she was just by looking. She thought her words would have a powerful effect, or that he might even snarl at her or try to attack, but he merely shrugged.
"I like your necklace," He said. "Is that Greek?"
In a knee-jerk reaction, she moved her hand over her chest and gripped the ends of her necklace tightly. Five seconds later, she realised her mistake and quickly lowered her hand, trying to look nonchalant and indifferent.
But the mistake was done. The vampire noticed her reaction and observed more closely said necklace, but it only seemed to be a normal beaded necklace.
It must be important to her.
"Thank you."
"Are you Greek?" Damon questioned. "You do have small Greek features in your face..."
Before he could say more, Percy interrupted him. She knew what he was trying to do; he didn't reacted to her threat because he wanted to see if he could find something in her that could give him a clue as to what she was. It was starting to get tiring, and she only wanted to be left alone.
"Are we done here?" She forced a smile at him. "Because I'm very tired and I have lots of things to do."
Damon nodded, moving away from the pillar he was leaning against. He walked away in a slow pace, and as he reached Percy, he stopped at her side, inhaling deeply. A smile cornering his lips as black veins appeared under his eyes.
Percy stared at him, waiting.
But he simply forced another smile at her, his face going back to normal. "Have a good day, Percy."
"How do I smell?" Percy demanded. Damon froze in mid-step, but then he turned around. His eyes were dark and lustful, black veins threatening to appear under his eyes once again.
The young demigoddess would be lying if she said she wasn't curious as to how she smelt to these specific kind of monsters. For normal monsters it was a sweet smell, something that screamed of godliness. But mortal monsters were different.
"You smell absolutely delicious."
Percy took a taunting step towards him. "Do you want to taste me, Damon?" She tapped his shoulder lightly, her touch only making his eyes darken even more. "Mmm?"
She was playing with fire, but she couldn't stop herself. The way he looked so lustful and hungry made her want to jump on him and stick Riptide into his chest. Adrenaline made her heart race in anticipation, one hand itching towards her pocket.
She wanted him to attack. It was like she told Nico, she craved it.
Damon wasn't lying completely when he told her he'd be her friend if she wanted. That girl had something that just plainly made him like her. He could see them as friends in the future, but there was the whole mess with not knowing if she was a threat to them.
If she was, he'd kill her immediately. Just as he'd kill Mason Lockwood if he knew what he was. He couldn't buy the whole "werewolf" theory Alaric had. That's why they planned a trip to Duke's to investigate Isobel's office for any clue as to what they were.
And on top of that, now that he had a glimpse of her smell he felt his control breaking slowly.
"Yes," Damon admitted, voice hoarse. "I want to drain every single drop of blood in your veins until you're nothing. I want to watch you come undone in my arms; I want to see and feel your life leaving your body." By the end, his voice was completely dark and she could see the fangs threatening to emerge.
He never meant to say all that, but he was almost in a trance. Her scent was intoxicating, something like he'd never smelt before. Indescribable in a way, just...powerful and enchanting and completely intoxicating.
He felt like he could drown in her smell, and the thought of actually tasting her blood...
He thought he'd die of pleasure if he had the opportunity of tasting her. Just by thinking about it he felt a moan building on his throat, a shiver running down his spine. His mouth watering slightly, his fangs threatening to emerge once again.
"And that's why I could never be your friend," Percy said softly. Putting a great distance between them, she turned around and walked towards the door, only stopping to look over her shoulder as she told him, "Thank you for proving my point."
Damon faltered for a moment, speechless and confused. Blinking, he realised the way he'd admitted he wanted to drink her blood without hesitation. He was usually more cautious about his words with potential threats. Her smell was making him disoriented, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed it before.
Her scent was bone-breaking and soul-shaking delicious.
He couldn't even think properly. "What point?"
But Percy ignored him.
Tell the sun and the stars hello for me.
Monsters were just that; monsters.
...
It wasn't until hours after that moment that Percy was completely done with her homework. As she was closing one of her textbooks, a knock on her door made her look up.
Paul and Sally were leaning against the doorway, her mother smiling sweetly at her while Paul looked excited over something.
"Hi," The demigoddess greeted them, a lazy smile on her lips.
Paul grinned at her, his handsome face showing a great deal of emotion. "I have a surprise for you,"
The demigoddess was interested. She moved her backpack away and stuck her feet off the bed, curiously looking at her parents. "You have a surprise for me?"
Paul's eyes took a kind turn, and a soft smile appeared on his face as he noticed the surprise on Percy's voice. He nodded. "Let's go outside so we can play, shall we? Put a jacket on, dear, it's cold."
Play?
More interested, Percy followed them outside. Sally stayed inside, claiming she what things to do. In reality, she wanted them to be alone. Sally and Percy already had their bonding time together, now it was Paul's turn.
As Percy walked towards the backyard with her stepfather, she wondered what the surprise could possibly be, and why it would involve being outside.
"You remember we used to play baseball together, right?" Paul started to talk. "Right before you left for Camp Half-Blood after Christmas."
He went silent for a moment, and signalled her to stop, right in the middle of the garden, a tree to his back. He moved behind the tree, looking for something as the demigoddess looked around distractedly.
"Before I disappeared," Percy added, knowing that's what he was thinking about. "I remember I accidentally broke my bat swinging it at that random Hydra that appeared to kill me."
Paul moved his head from behind the tree to look at her. "I'm still curious about that creature. It was nothing like the ones I've read in the myths-"
"I'll tell you all about their species if you wish," She shrugged. "I'm not an expert, I've only fought one or two of them in my life, but I know the basic details about them."
"I'll take it into consideration. Anyways, since the bat was completely broken we never could play again," Paul pointed out. "You left for Camp before I could buy a new one, and then you spent a week with Apollo-"
"And then I disappeared," Percy ignored the memories that tried to return at the mention of the week she spent in Montauk with Apollo.
It had been winter, so the water was extremely cold and it threatened to snow, but that didn't stopped the couple form swimming together. After that week, she'd gone to Camp Half-Blood to spend the holidays with Annabeth and Grover.
"For nine months."
Paul winced again, though he tried not to let his stepdaughter notice it. He moved from behind the tree when he had all he needed. He threw her a small ball and expertly swung the new bat around as he walked towards her, holding with his other hand the glove.
"I brought you a new bat," He said softly. "Thought we could play, if you want."
It seemed like it had been ages since the both of them shared a good game. Percy missed it, it was the closest thing she could have in her life that made her think of a father-daughter moment.
It wasn't the same with Poseidon.
They had a good relationship, but Poseidon was a busy god.
"Of course I want to," Percy grinned at him. "Can I...?"
Paul grinned back, offering her the bat. "It's yours."
She threw the ball back at him, watching as he expertly caught it. Percy examined the bat in awe, feeling the material with her fingertips, then gripping it tightly on her hands, making a move and swinging it in the air as if hitting an invisible ball.
Paul watched with a smile on his face.
His stepdaughter looked interested in it, and it was the first time in the whole two weeks she was back with them. It was as if an invisible weight was lifted off her shoulders for one moment, just that moment, and she was back to being the cherry teenager she once was.
"It's great! Thank you so much, Paul," She grinned at him again. "Should we wait until tomorrow or...?"
"We can play now, it's still early," He said quickly, unable to hide his excitement. "Ready?"
"Ready."
And they played.
For half an hour they played and it was like old times, with the two of them, bonding as Sally watched through the window and every once in a while offered them something to drink and eat. For that little brief moment, Percy Jackson was able to forget about everything and simply enjoy their moment together.
No hallucinations, no vampires, no school.
Just a baseball game with her stepfather.
...
She was alone in her room when he appeared. As always, it was like watching something out of a movie. He was there, but she knew he really wasn't.
His eyes as golden as the old temples in Olympus, his blond hair slightly long and wavy. The scar under his eye crossed his whole cheek, marking what once was a very handsome face.
"You know, I'm surprised."
She closed her eyes briefly, trying to ignore the way his eyes bore holes into her face. As she opened her eyes, she saw him standing at the edge of the bed, eyes hard and cold.
"Your words to those vampires and to the witch-" Kronos cocked an eyebrow at her. "You stood for yourself. You demanded to be respected. How were your word...oh yes, you might be immortal but I am a lady and-"
"I'm tired of being everybody's bitch," Percy interrupted him.
She knew she should just ignore him, but that was harder than anyone could ever believe. He was in front of her, hallucination or not, and he was tempting her with his words.
"And that, my dear child, is something I'm proud of," His eyes flared. "All you have to do now is stand up to the gods. Or don't tell me you're just tired of monsters making you their bitch?" A smile broke into his face, and he laughed. "Wait, I forgot you liked being a monster's bitch."
The real Kronos wouldn't talk like that, and Percy knew it was just her own mind making that conversation and his hurtful words up. But it still angered her. It still felt as if he was actually in front of her, taunting her, breaking her.
"Apollo is not a monster," The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "And I wasn't his bitch. I was his girlfriend."
He chuckled again, completely amused in a morbid way. "Oh. How lucky my grandson is. You still stand up for him even when he broke your heart. I don't know if you're just too loyal or a lovestruck fool."
She looked away, set on ignoring him again.
"Don't ignore me," He pouted. For a moment, he looked more like Luke Castellan than like Kronos. It gave the demigoddess a spark of hope, but then she remembered it was all in her mind.
"You're not real," She shrugged. "I don't have to talk to you. I really don't want to be the crazy lady that speaks to herself."
Amusement shone on his eyes. "Oh, poor kid." He moved towards her, almost softly and gently. "You don't understand yet? I thought you were smarter than that."
"What are you talking about?" She groaned in irritation.
"I'm going to tell you a little secret," He motioned her to come forwards, and she did without even thinking about what she was doing. As he leaned his mouth to her ear, he said. "I'm not in your mind, my dear. I'm back and I am waiting."
Time stopped.
She saw him move fast and normal as her own arms felt heavy and the air around them closed against her. She tried to move her arms, startled, but the motion was lazy and forced, almost in slow motion. He chuckled, his rich laugher echoing.
He kissed her forehead, lips hot and burning. Her whole face felt as if it was bathed in fire, and a scream forced its way to her throat, but even that came in slow motion.
Then the feeling disappeared.
The air felt breathable again and her limbs were no longer numb.
"I'm waiting, Persephone." He paused. "Come with me, I need your help-"
Overwhelmed, Percy pushed him away, but all her hands touched was air. The room was completely empty and as peaceful and silent as it had been when she was about to sleep. As it was to be expected, there was no indications that he had actually been there at all.
He was gone, but his words stayed in Percy's mind.
For a long moment, she stayed frozen on her bed. The young demigoddess was completely overwhelmed by the sudden words and the way his eyes gleamed. It had looked so real...
When she finally shook her shook off her, she quickly moved towards one of her drawers, and held the cellphone she had for emergencies. Percy hesitated. Demigods weren't supposed to use any kind of electrical devices- they attracted monsters.
Besides, who could she call? None of her friends had cellphones, and the few that actually had would be in danger if she called them.
There was Chiron...but she'd had to admit to him that she's been having hallucinations and that her fear was caused by one of them. And the most the centaur could say to her was to return to Camp so he can examine her better and so one of the healers in camp could check her and nurse her.
And she didn't wanted that.
It would do no good- what could they possible tell her that she didn't already knew?
She hid the cellphone back into the drawer, choosing to swallow once more her doubts. Annabeth was supposed to visit Virginia soon, Percy could tell her about Kronos' words in person. The daughter of Poseidon was slowly calming down, convincing herself that it was all in her head- that Kronos' words were just her own mind projecting one of her fears.
But time had slowed down. That feeling...it was too real.
Once, before the second war, Hermes held a conversation with Percy regarding the old Titan Kronos. He'd said that they were immortal, there was no way Kronos was completely death. But he had been destroyed in a way that was almost impossible for him to heal and find a body to posses.
Almost.
What if he found a way to regenerate back into who he was?
What if he was actually back, or at least starting to heal?
She could only think of someone that could help her and investigate more deeply if those words were a simple hallucination or if there was truth behind them.
But the thought of asking for his help made her feel vulnerable and dumb. She would be yielding her defenses and her barriers and putting herself at his will once again, and that made her feel insecure once again.
What if she was just troubled? What if that was just a hallucination?
But what if it wasn't?
Still unsure and hesitant, the dark-haired demigoddess moved slowly towards the small fountain in her room. Slowly, she knelt before the fountain, touching the cold water with the tips of her fingers, finding comfort in the water.
I'm back.
I'm waiting.
There was only one person that could answer her doubts.
The young demigoddess fingered her necklace, slowly caressing the delicate golden charm that accompanied the four beads that indicated the four years she spent in Camp Half-Blood. It was small and delicate, but the design was perfectly made and complex and detailed.
An arrow stuck between a miniature sun and a small heart, sewing them together. The arrow had smaller hearts craved into its tail and head, and old designs decorating the small charm. It was detailed and perfect, with the letters A & P craved in one of the smaller hearts.
She took the necklace off, eying the charm more closely. She was unsure about her next move, insecure and confused as to if she really should do it.
But then she found the small phrase hidden behind the miniature sun, and her breath got stuck in her throat.
I love you.
Percy closed her eyes tightly, hands trembling. And then she was sure about her next move. She needed to know- it was a matter of great importance.
It had nothing to do with the fact that she missed him. It had nothing to do with the fact that the small charm brought old memories to her mind and made her heart ache for him.
No. It was all about Kronos. She needed answers; she was terrified of her newest hallucination and his words. The way it was able to stop time, the way it spoke, the way his eyes gleamed...
It was just a bad coincidence that the only one that could answer her doubts was him.
He was an old god, wise and smart under the thick layers of indifference and coolness he opted to take to please others. He'd always understood Percy's concern over the old Titan being back, and somehow he'd always known what was going on in Tartarus with their grandfather.
Before she could change her mind, she started praying.
"Lord Apollo, I need your help."