Percy's POV
I don't know what possessed me to do it. I let one tear fall, then…I just let them out. I let it all out.
Charlie Beckendorf was one of the best people in the camp—in the world. He completed this camp. He was our anchor. Silena was the most loving person here. She loved every damn thing. She loved so much, she died. Even Beckendorf.
And I let him die. I failed Bianca, Silena and Charlie. I failed them. And all I could do was weep in front my family—the campers—and hug the only one I didn't fail: Annabeth.
I choked up after she did. If Annabeth, the strongest person I knew, cried, I was going to. I looked to my right and saw fat tears rolling to the corners of her mouth. Her expression told everything:
They are gone. Forever. I miss them. My family. My friends. My heroes.
My eyes started to water at her beautiful face. I've seen her cry, sure, but publicly? No.
Things were going great for the both of us—we were together everyday. However, our hearts were troubled.
They were gone. We missed them. They had so much ahead of themselves…
"…Let us never forget the campers that sacrificed everything for love." I finished. I looked out to my family. There were tears in everyone's eyes. They were reminiscing. Pollux was alone at his table, staring at the spot Casper always sat. The Apollo kids were gazing at the archery targets, remembering their brothers.
Remembering the brave.
Clarisse was crying at her table, and the other Ares kids were tearing up. Chris Rodriguez walked over to her, put her arms around her shoulders and she crumbled into his chest and wept.
I felt Annabeth turn towards me. She was reaching up to hug me. She was all I had.
I grabbed her roughly around the waist and buried my face in her hair. She turned her head slightly, kissed my ear and kept patting my head.
We were in front of everyone now, crying. The leaders of the camp—the camp's words, not mine—were holding each other and sobbing. Chiron turned his head and let a few tears fall.
I wept for the ones I lost, the ones I loved. After about ten minutes of crying all I held inside, I released my arms from Annabeth's waist.
The others stopped before I did. I knew they cried inside their cabins. I didn't. I broke down right there. They were watching me.
I pulled back and let go of her. I turned to walk away, but Annabeth spoke.
"Its okay, Percy, really." She whispered. The front tables heard her. Clarisse gave a small smile to me. Her eyes were puffy red. Chris nodded to me. My eyes were stinging. I probably looked horrible. I didn't care.
"We'll see them again, Percy." Annabeth continued. I turned to face her. New tears fell down her face. Chiron was behind her, hand on her shoulder. I didn't care that the other campers were waiting for me to do something. I stared at her. She was beautiful when she cried.
"I let them down, Wise Girl," I told her, my voice cracking. "They trusted me…" I whispered. I was being so unmanly; I bet Ares was laughing wherever the hell he was.
"No, you didn't." She said with determination to get her point across. "They loved you, Percy, and they loved us all. They were ready to die for us. Weren't you ready to die for loved ones?" She asked. "Weren't you ready to die for me?" New tears fell down her face after the last question.
I walked towards her, cupped her face in my hands, and kissed her on the mouth. I kissed her passionately. I was in control of the kiss, and she didn't fight. She kissed back, but she was melting into my chest. I tasted her salty tears. I pulled back after about five seconds. I leaned my forehead onto hers.
"I will always be ready to die for you, Annabeth," I promised her. She laughed softly. She closed her eyes then snapped them open.
"People are watching us, Seaweed Brain," She whispered with urgency. She stepped backwards, looked towards our family and turned red.
I forgot about them. I looked at them. They were all standing, smirking.
"I think it's about time we separate those love birds, don't you think, guys?" Clarisse grinned evilly. My face got hot and I knew I was blushing.
"No—no, Clarisse. I think it's about time we separate them for a whole day." An Apollo kid offered. Annabeth made a face at him. I wondered why.
"Excellent idea, Marco," She said. She started to walk up to us, her siblings in tow.
"Why—why do I get the feeling you guys have been planning this for a long time?" Annabeth asked.
"Because you're the smart one in your relationship, Annabeth," Chris snickered. Chris moved fast. He snatched Annabeth off her feet, threw her over his shoulder and tried to stop her thrashing. Annabeth put her elbows into his back and looked up at me. He butt was in the air, and the back of her knees were secured by Chris' arms.
"You're light, Annabeth," He noticed. I scowled at him. He laughed.
"Well, Seaweed Brain, are you ready to kill for me?" She asked sarcastically.
I was too busy dealing with my old problem to answer her question. Clarisse was marching towards me. I raised an eyebrow, curious.
"You're so stupid, Jackson," Clarisse said with disgust.
"I'm guessing you're not going to throw me over your shoulder?" I snickered. She cracked her knuckles and grinned.
Invincible or not, I was scared shitless.
I turned and ran, but was tackled. By Clarisse. She flipped me over, and supported herself by shoving her knee into my chest and tilted her head to the side. She was sizing me up. Calculating how many punches I could take before I cry, I'm sure.
I looked to my right and saw Annabeth struggling with Chris's grip. Marco confiscated her knife, which was a big deal to her. She faked crying—I'll admit, I honestly thought she was hurt until she met eyes with me and winked. Chris pitied her, thinking he hurt her and loosened his grip a little bit. She was carried off towards the Athena cabin.
"How about we take you to your cabin, Ugly?" She asked, standing up. On me! Both of her feet were planted on my chest.
"Wow, I thought you weighed more," I said. Damn, I'm dead. Why do I have to be ADHD? Oh gods…
"Excuse me?" She shrieked, kicking me softly—for her—in the jaw. I saw Chiron take in all that was happening, nod and walk away. Stupid pony.
The next thing I knew, I was in my cabin. Tied to bed post. Clarisse and Drew—a girl from the Aphrodite cabin—were going through a pink bag of sorts. (A/N For those who read TLH, I give you permission to give me ideas as to how I have Annabeth deal with her;P)
"Where's Annabeth?" I asked. If the girls were all with me, then I didn't feel so great with all the boys with her.
Clarisse read my thoughts. "She's fine. It's just Chris and few other guys. Totally trustworthy. They're just forcing her to play some games," I got pretty worked up on that last sentence.
"Malcolm is with her. And she means Black Ops, idiot," Drew said. I looked at her funny.
"Video game? Man's best friend? Wow, you're clueless." She rolled her eyes and walked into my bathroom. I scowled at that girl.
"You're cabin is a mess, Ugly," Clarisse told me.
"The bathroom's worse," I promised. Sure enough, we heard Drew scream and run back towards us. I grinned triumphantly.
"You. Are. Disgusting, Percy Jackson." She huffed, fixing her black curls.
"What'd you find?" I asked, amused at this. Serves you right, Barbie.
"This disgusting toothbrush, it had yellow gunk on it—"
"I'm telling Annabeth." Clarisse screeched.
"That's Tyson's, Drew," I clarified. Clarisse's smile vanished.
"And there were boxers on the floor," Drew continued. "And pairs of jeans. There were at least four empty shampoo bottles still in the shower and two half used. Thank the gods, because the toilet was clean—"
"Hey, I'm not a complete pig!" I said.
"Yes you are." Clarisse assured me. Thank you, Clarisse. What would I do without you?
"How are you supposed to take Annabeth in here?" Drew screeched. My face felt hot.
"Ugh, nevermind. They do enough kissing and shit as it is. Come on, Percy, go take a shower." Clarisse shook her head.
"What? I did this morning!" I protested. I was snatched up from the bed post, dragged into the bathroom and I heard the door slam shut. They were still in here.
"I have a bossy girlfriend, I can handle you two," I told them, even though I knew it was a lie. They raised their eyebrows, nodded in agreement and raided my pockets. They pulled out Riptide, bubble gum wrappers and a few pinecones. Don't ask.
I was fighting them the entire time. They were girls, and well, they were in my cabin so they had leverage. All they had to do was take three pairs of dirty boxers, hang them on a tree and I would die.
Or worse, tell Annabeth. Not that she didn't already know, but still. Embarrassing.
The events that happened ten minutes prior were pushed aside. They were doing this to clear the air, make everyone feel better. Family does that sorta thing when you're upset.
I was shoved into the shower, felt hot water pour over me. I was still dressed. I heard the door shut and voices outside the door. They were gone. I decided to play along for the sake of the camp. I undressed, showered and walked out. I didn't have clean clothes so I just wrapped a towel around my waist and peeked my head out.
Drew blushed profusely and turned her head. Clarisse snorted, "What do want?"
"Um, underwear?" I asked, shaking my wet head. I saw a drop land on Drew face and she shivered. Weird.
Clarisse rummaged through my draws and threw me a pair. It landed on my face. She muttered something while I shut the door and put them on. I put on my bathrobe and walked out. Pick containers and tubes were strewn all over my bed. My eyes widened with realization.
Annabeth was suffering playing video games…
Drew, Barbie-turned-to-flesh, was here.
"Ready for your make-over, Hero of Olympus?" Clarisse asked, placing a hand on her hip. I bolted for the door but I was stopped by her.
"It won't hurt. Maybe." Drew said. There were many girls in my cabin. All of them were snickering.
"I hate you, Demon-spawn." I seethed to Clarisse. She smiled like that was the best compliment ever and grabbed a pair of tweezers.
"Aw, come on, Perce, girls just wanna have fun," she pouted.
Shit, I hate my cousins. I thought before the pain—to my body and my pride—started.