Percy hoisted himself out of the water and onto the dock outside his cabin. He had been so lost in thought at the bottom of the lake that hours had passed before he realized that the sunlight was no longer shining down on him from the surface of the water. The meeting with Chiron and Annabeth had unsettled him so much that he had completely forgotten about dinner. Still, he told himself that he should probably make an appearance at the bonfire. Maybe they'd have s'mores.
He went back into his cabin, changed into some dry clothes, and headed toward the bonfire where he could hear the other campers beginning to gather. On the walk over, he tried to compose himself, banishing any thoughts or concerns he had had about the bathhouse situation from his mind. He was determined to relax and have fun with his friends, even if some of them seemed to be suspicious of him. He just hoped that Annabeth hadn't told anyone about their suspicions.
He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice at first when his shoulder collided with two younger campers, sending them stumbling into one another. "My bad, I'm sorry. I just wasn't thinking straight," Percy mumbled.
As he walked away, he caught the campers narrowing their eyes at him, and he thought he heard one of the campers mutter to the other, "I told you he was acting strange." He did his best to shake it off, but the words gnawed at him.
Percy made it to the outskirts of the campfire circle and looked around for an empty seat. Most of the camp was here already, talking amongst themselves. He spotted Hazel sitting across the way and went to sit beside her.
"Hey Hazel," Percy greeted her as he sat down. "How have you been?"
Hazel stared blankly at him for a moment before responding, "Um. I've been okay."
"Yeah, that's good," Percy replied, nodding. Her response was casual enough, but he could hear an edge of discomfort in her voice. Percy knew he wasn't the brightest, but he could pick up on this kind of awkwardness. He wondered if there was something in the water making everyone act so different towards him. Wishing to avoid any further awkward conversation, he instead turned his attention to the rest of the circle. Campers were whispering and talking to each other, much the same as they usually would, but their expressions bothered him. Their eyes flickered to him combatively, and their whispers became more obviously directed at him.
"Hey, Hazel?" Percy asked, turning his head to look at her. "Is it just me, or is everyone acting kind of strange?"
"What do you mean?" Hazel replied, straightening her back.
"Well," Percy started, "It seems as though everyone has been staring at me." He glanced past Hazel and made eye contact with several Aphrodite campers who glared back at him. "Yeah. Definitely staring."
"Percy, of course, everyone is staring at you."
Percy slowly stood up, scanning the crowd to find that the hushed conversations had come to a stop and everyone's eyes were on him. As he surveyed the group around him, their faces seemed to darken. Their eyes turned more hostile towards him, changing the once jovial atmosphere of the campfire dark and anxious. With the conversations silenced, all he could hear was the crackling of the campfire in the center of the circle. The flames were now a dark shade of purple rather than the normal fiery gold. The sight was completely shocking to Percy; he had heard rumors about the fire's ability to reflect the mood of the crowd around it, but he hadn't seen it this intense before. Purple was bad news, signifying a general sense of unrest, concern, and fear.
"Do I have something on my face?" Percy demanded, glancing around at the other campers. "Why are you all staring at me?"
Rather than provide him with a coherent response, someone in the crowd shouted out, "Is it true that you blew up the bathhouse?"
Percy blinked in surprise. "What? Is that what this is about?" He looked around at the circle of campers, all of which were staring at him expectantly. "No, I didn't blow up the bathhouse!" he shouted in irritation. His eyes glowered into the crowd again, daring anyone to accuse him again. When their silence held, Percy's gaze landed on a pair of stormy grey eyes, and his heart fluttered with uncertainty. Any ounce of softness he might have felt towards her was suddenly tinged in suspicion, followed quickly by anger. Only Annabeth had known about the pipes and the accusation.
"Did you do this?" Percy hissed across the circle, his eyes locked on Annabeth's. "How many times do I have to say it. I. Didn't. Do it!" The flames of the fire exploded into the sky, their height intensified by Percy's surge of betrayal. There were a couple of startling shrieks from the campers as some leaned back from the now raging fire, but Annabeth didn't move. "Is my word not enough for you?" his voice faltered, and he paused to collect himself. "Why-" he choked back a sob. "Why is it that no one believes me. I thought you, of all people, would back me up. After all that we've been through..." he trailed off. He tore his eyes away from her, "That's heartless, even for you, Annabeth."
"Percy-"
"Maybe it's not me who needs to grow up," he shot back at her, his voice dangerously low. Without another word, Percy turned his back to her and exited the circle. Once he was gone, the flames of the campfire shrunk down to mere fizzle.
At breakfast the following day, Percy sat alone as usual. Today his solitude was less a result of his being the only present member of the Poseidon cabin and more to do with the rest of the camp going out of their way to avoid him. Percy seemed to radiate negative energy, and groups of campers hastily averted their eyes as he passed them on the way to the pavilion. After the events of the previous night, Percy had been reluctant to even leave his cabin for breakfast, but eventually, his whining stomach won out, and he was rewarded with a heaping bowl of cereal.
Percy was so focused on his great breakfast that he didn't even bother to acknowledge the person who suddenly sat down across from him at the table. It was not until this newcomer spoke that Percy finally looked up.
"Rough night?" Nico quipped.
Percy groaned. "So, I guess you already know what happened."
"About what?"
"You actually don't know?" Percy raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused. He knew that Nico rarely attended the campfires, but he was sure that the news of his outburst would have gotten all the way to Tartarus by now.
"Of course I know, stupid!" Nico rolled his eyes. "I bet all of Long Island heard you with how much you were shouting."
"Oh." Percy returned his gaze to his cereal.
"You don't have to explain yourself." Nico waved a hand. "On another note, I think I know what our next move should be."
Percy looked up at Nico for clarification.
"Theseus," Nico said. "We still don't know what his angle is, and I think it's high time we figure it out."
Percy perked up immediately, shoving his half-empty bowl of cereal to the side and leaning across the table toward Nico. "I'm all in. What have you got?"
"You understand the plan, right?" Nico asked Percy, shoving the last of their necessary supplies into a backpack. Before he could zip it up all the way, the sound of plastic crinkling came from the bag. Nico reached in, pulling out a bag of Cheetos from the bottom of the bag and holding it up to Percy. "What is this?"
Percy shrugged. "I thought we might get hungry."
"This is serious, Percy," Nico grumbled, throwing the bag at Percy's face. "Now, the plan is–"
"Yeah, I know the plan," Percy assured him as he ripped open the bag and offered it to Nico, who gave him a withering look. Percy shrugged and tipped the bag back into his mouth.
"And the plan is..."
"Head out after dark when everyone is asleep, sneak into the Hermes cabin, kidnap Theseus, and tie him up for questioning," Percy recited, his mouth full of Cheetos.
"Good, now don't fuck it up." Nico zipped up the bag the rest of the way, and Percy laughed, tossing a couple of Cheetos at Nico.
"Lighten up, man, it'll be great," Percy chuckled.
"When has a plan of yours ever gone, right?" Nico asked scathingly. "I feel like I have reasonable cause for concern. Finish your Cheetos."
Percy happily finished the rest of the bag and crumpled it. Nico studied him the whole time.
"You seem much more into this than you were the last time we talked," Nico began. "Why the change of heart?"
"Let's put it this way. It's gotten way out of hand. I need to clear my name."
Nico nodded. "Let's take him down."
It was past midnight when Percy and Nico slunk out of the Poseidon cabin and headed silently toward the Hermes cabin. The moon provided faint illumination for them as they walked, and the only sounds issuing around the camp were the lapping of the lake against the dock and soft snoring coming from each cabin.
Nico opened the door to the cabin and stepped in, beckoning Percy to follow. The next step was to find out which bed was Theseus's, which, Percy realized, might have been good to figure out ahead of time, but they had been in somewhat of a time crunch. He and Nico picked their ways between the bunks, checking each bed for their target.
Finally, Nico paused in front of one of the beds. "Percy," he whispered, and Percy turned, looking down at the empty bed Nico was pointing to disdainfully. Percy stared up at the ceiling and groaned inwardly. Theseus wasn't here.
"Well, now what?" Percy asked once they had made it back outside undetected. "Your plan is ruined."
"Our plan," Nico corrected. "Is just fine. It's just a little setback. If anything, this might be better. It was gonna be a pain to drag him out of the cabin anyway."
Percy nodded. "So, how will we find him now?"
Nico grinned at Percy. "Good thing you have the Prince of Shadows on your side."
Another hour passed as Nico and Percy continued their search throughout camp, sticking to the shadows in order to stay hidden. They had already circled the cabins twice, checked the training arena and storage sheds, and peeked into the first-floor windows of the Big House, with no sign of Theseus.
"The camp is only so big," Percy reasoned. "He has to be around here somewhere."
"He could be anywhere," Nico said with exasperation. "We haven't even touched the forest yet."
At that moment, a flicker of movement caught Percy's eye. Without a second thought, Percy wrapped an arm around Nico and pulled him down, ducking them both onto their stomachs behind a large bush and out of sight of anyone passing. Percy pressed his arm firmly against Nico's back, urging him to stay down. The sudden pressure of Percy's arm against his shoulder blades made Nico's heart race.
"What are y–" Nico started, but Percy quickly hushed him.
Percy craned his neck to see who was passing and spotted Theseus. Finally. Unfortunately, they had missed their chance to apprehend him, and he continued on his way and disappeared. None of them were supposed to be out of their cabins at this time, and Percy knew that trying to grab him out in the open in the middle of the night was a sure way to get caught.
"What the hell is this?" a voice hissed from behind Percy, and he turned to see Will emerge from behind a tree.
Shit. Percy cursed in his head.
Percy scrambled to his feet, pulling Nico up by one arm.
"W-Will. Hi, what are you doing here?" Nico asked hurriedly, dusting himself off.
Will ignored Nico entirely, marching up to Percy instead and pointing an accusatory finger into his chest. "My question is, what are you doing here with my boyfriend, Jackson? You broke up with Annabeth, what, a day ago? And already you're trying to steal Nico away from me."
"Whoa, who said we broke up?" Percy said. His most recent fight with Annabeth was still fresh in his mind, and he was not about to dispute the details with Will Solace, of all people. "We're just... going through something right now. Thanks for your concern, but we'll be fine."
"I don't care! I saw the way you two were talking at breakfast."
"What?!" Percy shouted.
"What are you trying to say, Will?" Nico asked, his eyes narrowing, "Spit it out."
"Are you, or are you not cheating on me with this sad excuse for a hero?" Will spat.
"What if I am?" Nico shrugged. Behind him, Percy's eyes widened in shock, and he felt the heat rise in his cheeks.
"I'm sorry, what?!" Will snarled.
"Hey! What's your problem?" Percy took a step toward Will, hoping the dim light was enough to disguise the blush that remained on his face. "All Nico has been doing is helping me through some shit that I can't do alone. Whatever it is you think we are doing, stop. You're just an asshole who only ever thinks about himself. So either back down and trust Nico's word or say goodbye to your relationship."
"Is that a threat, Jackson?" Will growled.
Nico stepped between them, shoving Will away from Percy. "All you ever do is try to control my every move. I don't need you to protect me. I can handle shit myself." Nico felt the blood pounding in his ears, and he kept going. "You've become so possessive of me that it's unhealthy. Sometimes I wonder if you're ever actually thinking about me and not only about your selfish ass."
"I do not only think about myself-"
"At least when I'm with Percy, I can fucking breathe," Nico shouted, throwing up both his arms in exasperation.
Will glared at Nico and Percy and stormed away without another word.
Nico felt a surge of emotions. The way he finally got things off his chest and watching Percy stand up for him made him feel indestructible. He began pacing back and forth behind the bush, trying to work himself through this sudden rush of adrenaline. "Fuck! I can't believe I just did that! Thank you for sticking up for me. I could kiss you right now!" he froze, wondering why the hell he just said that out loud.
Percy gave out a laugh, leaning down to be face-to-face with Nico. "I'll accept a kiss on the cheek," he joked, turning his head to the side so that his left cheek was accessible.
Nico stared intensely as if debating with himself whether or not he should do it. Finally, after fighting it for a few seconds, Nico quickly leaned in before he changed his mind.
Unbeknownst to him, Percy had other plans. At the last second, Percy thought it was a good idea to quickly turn his head back and pecked Nico on the lips.
Nico stared at him in shock, "I'm- I don't- I think I'm gonna pass out."
"What?" Percy questioned with concern. Before his question could be answered, Nico's body collapsed against him. Percy caught him, Nico's head resting against his chest. He looked down at the son of Hades and chuckled, "I think I just broke Nico Di Angelo."
