A/N
This is for Hell Devil 13, who owns Jacob Adrian Miles. WARNING: This is going to be a tragic story, nothing too bad, but it's kind of sad. The warning is for a character death, nothing explicit. Also, minor cursing and smoking.
I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed, it really means a lot to me!:)
I hope you enjoy!:)
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Jacob Adrian Miles sat at the Ares table for breakfast one morning at Camp Half-Blood. His siblings pushed and shoved their way across the table, reaching for the salt and pepper and snatching napkins off the stack. Jake didn't mind having to fight over silverware every day, even though there was plenty to go around. He felt like he belonged with the roughest, toughest crowd at camp, and it suited him.
Today, however, he finished his breakfast as quickly as he could so he could talk to someone important. He dashed off towards the lake, where the meeting place was.
He saw the familiar figure standing on the docks, her long dark hair cascading down her back. He snuck up behind her and covered her eyes.
"Guess who?" He asked, and she whirled around.
"Jake!" She grinned, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
Jake had met Katie Gardner three years ago, several months after he had arrived at camp.
Flashback time!
He had been on a run with the rest of the Ares cabin, and the group had run through the garden behind the Demeter cabin. Most of the plants had been flattened, but no one noticed.
However, on the second lap around the camp, they had run through the garden again, and this time, Jake noticed a teenage girl around his age crying and standing in the garden. The Ares cabin ignored her and ran on.
But not Jake.
He slowed his pace, stopping just short of a patch of flowers he didn't know the name of. He looked around at the rest of the garden, and realized why the daughter of Demeter was upset. Most of the garden had been trampled, and many of the plants were uprooted.
Jake took a step towards the girl.
"Hey, uh, I'm really sorry," he apologized, gesturing to the ruined garden.
The girl let out a quiet sob and ran back inside her cabin.
Jake was confused. He could see the rest of his cabin far off, it looked like they were going to run by the beach now. He figured he could catch up with them if he started running now, but he glanced at the Demeter cabin and frowned.
He knelt down in the dirt and picked up a cluster of flowers that had been upturned. As a 14 year old guy, he didn't know very many types of flowers, but he knew the name of this one. His mother had them growing in her garden at home, and he always loved the smell of them.
He scooped away some soil and replanted the gardenia shrub. He gathered up the rest of the gardenias and planted them in a neat row.
Next, he moved on to the big purple flowers, which he planted in a circle. He tossed aside the ones that had snapped, and gathered them into a pile.
After the big purple flowers, he gathered the small white flowers and replanted them in the middle of the circle of purple ones. He had just finished the sunflowers, when he grabbed a rose bush without thinking.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, pulling some thorns out of his hand.
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the girl who had been crying. She was holding a gardening bag, and she smiled at him.
"I hate when that happens," she said, digging around in her bag and pulling out a pair of tweezers. "Hold still."
She reached out and took his hand in hers firmly. She expertly plucked the remaining thorns out of his fingers, then pulled a box of band-aids out of her bag.
"No, I don't need one!" he protested quickly, when he saw that they were sparkly and pink.
"Don't be ridiculous, you don't want your hand to get infected."
"But-"
"No buts," she said, wrapping a few band-aids around his fingers while he pouted.
"Thanks," he said glumly, examining the sparkles that glinted in the sunlight.
"No problem. I'm Katie, by the way. Katie Gardner." She stuck out her hand, and Jacob shook it hesitantly.
"Jake," he said, nodding.
"You planted things differently," she noted.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," Jake apologized. "I didn't really know where the stuff went, so I just put it where I thought it'd grow. Sorry if it's wrong."
"No, not at all!" Katie exclaimed. "This is actually a better arrangement. Since you put the lilies of the valley in the middle of the violets, they won't spread out so much and take over the whole garden. And since they're in the corner, when the sun is at at right angle, they'll get just the right amount of sunlight! How'd you know how to do it like that?"
Jake shrugged. "My mom has a small garden. I figured if I separated all the plants like that, then throughout the day they'd all get the right amount of sunlight, according to the placement of the garden. I'm good at organizing stuff like this, there's a little strategy involved."
Katie smiled at him, and he got a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that made him smile back.
"Well, thanks for stopping," she told him. "I've seen you around, and I thought you were just like the rest of the Ares kids: moody, mean, and intimidating. I guess I was wrong." She smiled again. "You can go finish your run, you've done enough here."
"Are you sure?" Jake asked. "I mean, it was our fault. I can finish fixing it."
"No, you've been out here for an hour. That's more than enough to make amends," she said sincerely. "Get going, your cabin is probably looking for you."
"I bet they'd never look here."
She laughed, and he stood up and smiled at her.
"See you around, Katie," he said, saluting with two pink-bandaged fingers and heading for the Ares cabin.
Flashback over!
Now, on the docks, they sat silently beside each other, holding hands. The great thing about their relationship was, they didn't always have to be talking; they could just sit in silence and enjoy each other's company.
Then they heard a bell ringing from somewhere in the camp, and Katie sighed.
"Is it time to go back to the rest of the world?" She asked Jake, with her head on his shoulder.
"I guess," he said ruefully. "We better head back, I know you don't like to be late." She nodded and they stood and ran up the hill together.
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When he got to his first class, sword fighting, Jake decided he was going to sit out.
"Miles, get your butt over here!" The instructor, a child of Athena, shouted at him.
Jake eyed him with annoyance. "Dude, I don't need this. I rock at sword fighting already."
"Now!" The instructor ordered.
Jake rolled his eyes and walked out of class.
"Miles!"
He kept walking. As he expected, no one followed him, and he smiled to himself. He decided to take a quick walk, because he liked physical exercise and the weather was nice out. Before he decided what path to take, a familiar satyr came up to him.
"Hey, Mike!" Jake exclaimed, and they did that half-handshake half-hug thing that best guy friends do.
"Jake!" Mike said happily, "How're things goin' man? I haven't seen you in like, a month!"
"Everything's great," Jake grinned.
"Passing all your classes?" Mike asked.
"Yes," Jake answered truthfully.
"Making new friends?'
"Eh."
"Eating your vegetables?"
"Mike, you don't have to look out for me anymore. I'm 17 years old, I can take care of myself," Jake said, half annoyed, half smilingly.
"I know, kid, but that doesn't keep me from thinking of how you were when you first got here."
Jake had met Mike when he was 13 years old. Mike was his satyr protector, and had followed him around the 5 different schools he had been expelled from for fighting. During his last fight, a playground bully that turned out to be a monster, Mike had tossed him a sword and helped him escape. Mike had explained the whole "Greek gods are still alive" concept, and brought him to Camp Half-Blood.
Jake had been thoroughly overwhelmed, and channeled his unease and discomfort through fighting. He had challenged a child of Ares as soon as he got to camp, but Ares had claimed him before anything bad happened. Mike helped him adjust to the new life, and Jake had always looked up to him. Even now, 4 years later, Jake saw Mike as a sort of big brother. Mike felt the same way, and was always trying to look after him, and trying to keep him out of trouble, which was too big a job for anyone.
The two of them talked and caught up for a while, until it was time for lunch.
"Jake, I gotta go check in with the Council, I haven't reported yet," Mike informed him when the bell signaling the end of first period rang. "I'll see you later, okay buddy?"
"Yeah, I have to go to swimming class !" Jake called, as they both turned and went off to the places they needed to be.
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When the time came for cabin inspection later that afternoon, the Ares campers drew straws as to who would have to stay in the cabin while the inspector looked it over.
Of course, Jake lost.
"Jerks,' he muttered after they shoved him into the cabin and ran off, laughing. He let his eyes wander around the room, and saw that it was reasonably clean. He knew their cabin wouldn't be the dirtiest, the Hermes cabin always came in last for inspections. Even so, he grabbed a cigarette from his night stand and lit it, then he walked around the cabin for a last-second cleaning, shoving random clutter under the bunks with his foot.
He quickly dropped his cigarette as he heard the door swing open, and he crushed it under his heel.
"Jake, were you smoking?" Annabeth's sharp voice asked. He whirled around to face her disapproving look, and he returned her frown.
"You're not allowed to smoke in the cabins, it's dangerous!" She scolded, walking over to his nightstand and confiscating the pack of cigarettes.
"Hey, those are mine!" Jake protested, crossing the cabin in a few long strides and holding his hand out for the pack.
Annabeth pulled the pack behind her back, out of his reach. "No way, these are against regulations. I'm going to have to report you."
Jake glared at her. He knew he could look intimidating; mastering that look was one of the first things he had been taught in the Ares cabin.
Annabeth's steely gaze faltered. Jake's sky blue eyes narrowed at her, and he kept his intimidating stance.
"Annabeth?" A voice called. The standoff broke, and both of them turned to face Malcolm, Annabeth's cabin inspection partner.
"I'm done, Percy's cabin was decent, and the Demeter cabin was..." he trailed off, looking back and forth at Jake and Annabeth. "Did I miss something?"
"Yes," Annabeth said, obviously relieved. "Tell Jake he can't smoke in here."
"Uh, dude, you can't smoke in here,' Malcolm repeated, taking a step back as he saw Jake's expression.
"I'll do what I want, nerd!" Jake exclaimed, pushing Malcolm aside. He then reached out and snatched the cigarettes from Annabeth, who gasped.
"Hey!" Malcolm shouted angrily, swatting at Jake's arm.
Jake pulled his arm back and punched Malcolm square on the jaw. Malcolm reeled backwards and slammed into the wall, then slid down it, dazed.
"Jake!" Annabeth yelled at him, while he rubbed his knuckles.
Jake scowled and pushed past her, striding out of the cabin. Of course, he had to run straight into Chiron.
Chiron looked at him disapprovingly. "I think it's time for a talk, son of Ares."
Jake sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets.
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On their long, silent walk to the Big House, Jake had plenty of time to be ashamed of himself. By the time they arrived, he was thoroughly penitent.
"I'm sorry," Jake mumbled, once Chiron had changed into wheelchair form and they were seated on a wicker chairs on the front porch.
Chiron still looked disappointed, and Jake wished he would look angry instead. Jake knew how to deal with angry, but disappointment was a whole new field. Disappointment made him ashamed, and ashamed was confusing.
"Jacob Adrian Miles," Chiron started, folding his hands together on his lap. Jake stiffened at his whole name; it was usually only his mother who called him that- and only when he was in trouble. "There will come a time when you will need to decide between fighting, and acting for the greater good. You need to start taking things in perspective. Now, in retrospect, was punching Malcolm worth it?"
Jake cast his eyes to the floor and slowly shook his head.
"Son, you need to stop acting on your emotions, and think things through. One day, you're going to find yourself in a situation where something more important is at stake than a pack of cigarettes. Do you understand?"
This time, Jake nodded. Chiron looked at him hard, and pulled the said cigarettes out of his pocket and handed them over. Jake shamefully reached out and took them.
"I'm only telling you this because I know you have potential," Chiron stated, and Jake looked up and met his gaze at last. "I see in you a quality that most heroes posses, but rarely emerges. I hope you will become one of those heroes that rise to the occasion, whatever that may be, and emerge as an enduring leader."
Jake saw the hopeful glint in Chiron's eyes, and he swallowed hard. "I- I'm not sure I have that, sir..." He trailed off.
Chiron held his gaze, and something seemed to dawn upon him. "Now, I am sure you do."
"Thanks, sir," Jake said after a long moment. "I'll try."
"I know you will," Chiron said, smiling. "Now, to discuss your punishment..."
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Later that night, after a long negotiation with Chiron, Jake found himself cleaning out the pegasi stables with his best friend, Leo Valdez. Leo had gotten himself into trouble that afternoon too, when a miniature hydra he had built went berserk and attacked the Aphrodite campers, then disappeared into the woods.
"But really, you should have seen Drew running," he recounted to Jake, grinning at the memory.
"I wish I could've been there," Jake chuckled, scooping another load of hay onto the wheelbarrow. "I was too busy getting my ear chewed off."
"See, we need to get you some sort of hobby, like mechanics,' Leo suggested. "Because 'punching people' does not look great on a college application."
"'Being punched' might be on your application if you don't knock it off."
"Alright, alright, it was a joke!" Leo surrendered, still grinning. "But seriously. How about boating?"
"Leo-"
" Pine-car derby?"
"Leo!"
"Fine." Leo sighed, then he checked his watch. "Uh oh! I gotta get going." He tossed his pitchfork aside and ran to pull on his jacket.
" Whoa whoa whoa, where do you think you're going?" Jake asked, gesturing to the unfinished work. "We're not done here!"
"I know, man, can you cover for me?" Leo pleaded.
Jake was suspicious. "Why?"
"Just please, I'll tell you later!"
Jake sighed. "Alright, but you owe me, Valdez!"
Leo grinned. "Thanks, I know." And he dashed off.
Jake rolled his eyes at his retreating figure and returned to the task at hand. The things I'd do for a friend, he thought to himself, scooping another shovelful of hay.
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The next morning at breakfast, Jake decided to break the rules and plopped down next to Leo at the Hephaestus table.
"So Leo, where were you last night?" Jake questioned, whilst the Hephaestus kids looked at him nervously, thinking they would all get in trouble.
"Oh, that," Leo gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Well, I knew Ena had a bad day yesterday, so last night I snuck into her cabin and-"
"High five, man!" Jake cut him off.
"What? No, it wasn't like that!" Leo sputtered, blushing. "I'm not- I mean, I wouldn't- it's just- no!"
Leo rolled his eyes as Jake started laughing.
"Anyway, I made a late-night snack for her, and we had a picnic in the woods."
"And how did that work out?"
Leo grinned. "It's more fun than you'd think, bro, you should try it sometime."
Jake shrugged. "Eh, maybe." Though in his head he secretly stowed that idea away, for his and Katie's second dating anniversary today. Then, he caught Chiron's eye, and he was giving him a look that clearly said, "Don't push it."
Jake sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde fauxhawk. "I'll see you later, Leo, gotta go!" and he rose from the table and headed for the suitable Ares table.
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That afternoon, Jake decided to take a page out of Leo's book. He wrote Katie a short note, which was delivered by Hannah Cabell, another child of Demeter, telling her to meet him in the woods behind the cabins at 2 o'clock. After Jake had laid the picnic blanket down and spread it out, he started to unpack their lunch. Just as he pulled out the pitcher of lemonade, Katie came strolling through the woods towards him.
"Hey!" She greeted, coaxing a smile out of him.
"Hey," he said back, standing up and pulling her in for a kiss.
"Happy Anniversary," he said softly, after they broke apart.
"Happy Anniversary," she smiled back.
"How's the garden?"
Immediately her face lit up, and they knelt down on the picnic blanket. "It's growing wonderfully! That idea you had, about switching the daisies and poppies around? Well, now they're both flourishing!" She gushed. "And, I brought you this."
She smiled as she pulled a small bouquet of gardenias out of her bag. He took them and inhaled their sweet smell happily.
At first, it had been weird for him; getting flowers from his girlfriend instead of giving them, but it soon became the unique quality in their relationship. So she brought him flowers, and he wrote her love letters.
Behind his "tough guy" facade, he had a deep sentimental streak. He wore his mom's ring on a necklace around his neck every day because he missed her, even though he insisted to everyone that he had stolen it from a jewelry shop. He also put a lot of thought and time into the letters he wrote to Katie, though he made her promise to hide them from everyone else. Each letter was so sweet, Katie saved them all and kept them in a secret box under her bed.
"Thanks," he said, setting the bouquet down beside him. "I'm glad I could help."
They had just finished eating lunch, and were starting on the chocolate-dipped strawberries, when a familiar satyr burst out of the woods.
"There you are!" Mike exclaimed, rushing towards the pair. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Uh, now isn't the best time, Mike," Jake began, gesturing to the picnic, but he was cut off.
"You heard about Leo's, uh, mini-hydra experiment?" Mike asked hurriedly, and Katie giggled.
"Well, yeah, everyone saw Drew screaming her head off," she smirked.
Mike grinned. "Yeah, that was pretty funny..." He trailed off, then snapped back to reality. "But that's not the point! The point is, Leo made a hydra that's too realistic. It grew." He paused for a moment to let that sink in.
"But, how-?" Jake asked.
"Again, not the point! The real point is, patrol duty has been doubled, and we need you two right now!" Mike grabbed each of their hands and pulled them to their feet.
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Jake, Katie, and Mike were assigned to patrol the east side, and with them were Leo and Jason Grace.
"Aw, guys, I'm so sorry!" Leo apologized as soon as the trio arrived for duty. "I had no idea that that combination of Celestial Bronze and Eitr would develop like that! Although, you have to admit, it's pretty sweet," he added, which earned him a whack on the head from Katie.
"We'll sort this out, don't worry," Jake said confidently, formulating a plan. "Alright Katie, you and Jason go patrol that valley, and Leo, Mike, and I will cover the forest area. Any sign of the hydra, Jason, make some lightning and we'll come help you. If we see the hydra, Leo will shoot some fireballs into the air."
"I like this plan!" Leo grinned mischievously, which earned him another whack on the head.
Jake rolled his eyes. "Everyone got that?" The group nodded. "Okay, let's do this!"
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Jake felt a little uneasy after he had divided the group. He didn't quite trust Jason, but since he wanted to avoid rivalries within their team, he decided to pair him with Katie, because she was good at getting along with people.
After about half an hour of patrolling, Jake realized they had strayed from their designated patrol area.
"Hey, guys, this is another group's jurisdiction. We should probably head back to-" Jake was cut off by a brilliant flash of lightning through the air, and his heart sank.
"Come on!" he ordered Leo and Mike, who followed without hesitation. Jake silently cursed himself for letting the group stray; it would take them longer to get to Jason and Katie.
They trio ran as quickly as they could, Mike bounding more than running.
When they got over the hill, in the valley below, it was not a pretty sight. Jason was barely keeping a massive metal 20-foot-tall 9-headed hydra at bay, while Katie was lying on the ground behind him.
"No!" Jake shouted, as he charged down the hill. Before he reached them, he watched as the hydra stepped towards the pair and one of its heads snapped at Katie. Jason quickly slashed his sword at the offending head and cut it off cleanly. Almost immediately, two new heads started growing and Jake gritted his teeth.
As soon as Jake reached the scene, he twisted his matching rings around his fingers with his thumbs, and instantly they grew into perfectly balanced Celestial Bronze dual swords. He dove at the hydra and plunged one sword into its metal thigh, and the hydra let out a roar as a stream of fire issued from it's mouth.
"Leo!" Jake yelled exasperatedly. "It can breath fire, too?!"
Leo shrugged. "I'm just that good."
Jake sighed and continued the battle. After receiving a few fireballs in the face from Leo, and a few more cuts and jabs from Jake and Jason, the hydra hissed and retreated into the woods.
"Katie!" Jake exclaimed, turning to kneel by her side. She had a large gash on her forehead, and was unconscious.
"Mike, go get help!" Jake instructed, and the satyr bounded off. Jake then rounded on Jason, who was also wounded by the hydra- a deep gash across his left arm.
"What happened?!" he roared, causing Jason to flinch.
"I was distracted by the heads, and when it spun around Katie got hit by the tail!" he stammered.
"I saw you fighting it, don't you know not to cut off the heads?" Jake demanded. "Two grow back!"
Jason's confidence returned, and he straightened to his full height, which was still a good inch shorter than Jake. "It was metal, I didn't think it'd be that realistic! And little details like that slip your mind when you're trying to save an unconscious person from being chomped!"
Jake breathed hard and his hands balled into fists. Then Chiron's words came back to him. What they needed was leadership, and Jake resolved himself to be the one who brought the group together. His hands unclenched. But then Jake took another look at Katie, and his negative emotions returned.
Jake could see Mike coming in the distance, and with him were several kids from the Apollo cabin. He decided what he had to do.
"I'm going after it," he announced, turning to the woods.
"What?! That's crazy, man, don't do it!" Leo protested, and tried to hold him back by grabbing onto his arm.
"Don't try and stop me, Leo, I'm going," Jake said determinedly, shrugging Leo off and running into the forest.
He heard shouts behind him and Mike calling his name, but he kept going. Jake couldn't stand the thought of the hydra hurting his girlfriend and getting away with it.
Pretty soon, Jake was deep in the woods, with no sign of the beast. His senses were all on alert, because something felt wrong, and he cursed himself for not thinking things through.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from behind him and he whirled around to see a torrent of fire streaming towards him. He tucked and rolled away from the heat, and rose in a crouching stance. The hydra slithered down from the boulder it had been perched on and landed with a thunderous crash.
The hydra then lunged at him, and without thinking, Jake swiped at two of its 10 heads, severing them. He cursed as he remembered the admonishment he had issued to Jason just minutes before. Jake watched in frustration as two heads grew from each stump.
He quickly changed tactics. Running over to a large boulder, he slid behind it to form a new plan. He wished he had brought Leo along, then he could defeat the hydra like Percy and Hercules had; by cauterizing the head stumps as soon as he cut them off. Again, he cursed his impulsiveness.
However, a new plan came to him as soon as he saw the hydra's venomous blood sizzling on his sword blades. He remembered from Monster Fighting and Mythology classes that there was another way the hydra had been defeated- he just hoped it would work now.
He could hear the monster stalking closer. Jake rolled out from behind the boulder and dodged the jet of fire the hydra blasted at him. He lashed out with his sword and cut off one of the heads, about to test his theory. The head rolled off, and Jake quickly used the flat of his blade to wipe the hydra's poisonous blood on the stump. The head remained detached and Jake grinned in triumph. However, he should have focused less on the headless stump and focused more on the remaining 11 heads. The one closest to him snapped its jaws right by his face, causing him to stumble backwards and fall. Before he could get up, one of the hydra's claws slammed into his chest, and he felt its curved nails pierce his skin. He felt blood trickle out of the scratches the claws had made, and saw his white T-shirt turning crimson.
The closest hydra head roared in his face, and Jake knew he was about to die. He braced himself for the final blow and took a deep breath. Well, as deep a breath as he could, considering the metal hydra on his chest.
Suddenly, an awful screech came from somewhere to Jake's right. The hydra's heads all shuddered, and the monster backed off of him. Jake scrambled up and turned towards the source of the noise: Mike. He was blowing on his reed pipes as hard as he could, playing some sort of magic song, and the monster was reacting very negatively to the sound.
"Mike, run!" Jake shouted, but couldn't be heard over the noise. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the hydra straighten and hiss, rearing itself up.
Then, it charged.
But not at Jake.
"No!" Jake yelled, as he tried to reach Mike before the hydra did. Of course, no such luck. The horrible out-of-tune screeching stopped abuptly, and the hydra stepped away from the blood-covered motionless form of Jake's former protector.
For a moment, Jake couldn't breath, and time seemed to freeze. He saw Jason and Leo running out of the woods in slow motion, and he looked at the hydra. He thought that if the monster could show emotions, it would be smirking at him to say, "What now?"
Jake's vision went red, and a barrier of flames rose up around him. He shouted at the hydra, and it hissed back.
This time, he charged.
He didn't have to waste time smearing each stump with blood as he chopped off its heads. His swords were surrounded by fire, and they cauterized the stumps on contact. The hydra tried to fight back, but its fire didn't harm him, nor did its teeth pierce him. The forged hydra was no match for the Ares Blessing.
Once he had chopped off the final head, the hydra disintegrated like a real monster. Leo really did think of everything, he thought bitterly. He stood still for a moment, breathing heavily, and the red glow faded from him.
Then, Jake braced himself and turned to face the dreaded scene behind him, hoping against hope that there was a chance for his friend.
He still wasn't prepared for what he saw.
Jason was kneeling over Mike, and his expression was grim. Jason's eyes met Jake's, and he shook his head. Before Jake could reach Mike's side, Mike faded away and shrunk into a flower.
Jake choked back his tears. His protector, his friend, the one who had just saved his life, had died. Just like that. He didn't even get to say goodbye.
Leo was standing off to the side, trembling. When he caught Jake's gaze, Jake could see tears leaking out of his eyes.
"I'm sorry- I didn't mean- I didn't know-" Leo cut himself off with a choked sob. "I never-"
Jake didn't know what to do. He launched himself at Leo and grabbed him by the collar.
Leo didn't struggle. "I- I- I- can't," he said, not meeting Jake's stare. Jake shook him angrily, and Leo took a shuddering breath and shook his head.
Jake felt anger surge through his body, and he pulled his fist back to punch his best friend. Then, he remembered Chiron's words again.
This time he listened to them.
He dropped his hands to his side and Leo sank to the ground.
"I'm so so so sorry," Leo whispered, gasping for breath. "I'm so sorry."
Jake also struggled to breath, but he realized he wasn't angry at Leo. He turned back to the spot where Mike had lay, and examined his incarnate flower more closely.
That's what made him finally shed his tears; what made his anger turn into sorrow.
That's what finally broke him down.
It was a gardenia.
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In the days that followed, the Ares cabin burned a shroud for Mike. Traditionally, shrouds were only burned for demigod heroes, but nobody questioned that Mike's actions were heroic enough. Leo took a break from experimenting, although nobody blamed him for the destruction that was caused except for, well, himself. Thankfully, many weeks later, he trusted himself enough to continue his work. Jason's arm healed nicely, even though he refused to spend time in bed to rest. Katie recovered from her concussion, and the Apollo campers informed her that she wouldn't even have a scar.
But Jake would.
Not the scars the hydra had left on his chest, the scars that had been left from having his friend taken away from him, and so soon. He and Mike had always planned to travel when he got older- they were going to go places, Rome, Greece, Italy, and see things. Now, it was too late, and Jake was always thinking about the last words he had never gotten to say.
Together, Jake and Katie had planted Mike's gardenia in a separate garden, this one behind the Ares cabin. None of Jake's siblings mocked him for the garden, because they all understood the meaning of honoring a fallen comrade.
Jake realized Chiron was right. Had he not been so impulsive, and not let his emotions guide him, Mike would still be alive. In a way, Mike's death sobered him up; he no longer smoked, he fought much less, and thought things through.
Months later, after he breaking up a fight between one of his siblings and a son of Hermes, he recognized the change in him. He realized that fighting was no longer always worth it; sometimes, you just need to let things go. Jake realized that his resiliency had turned him into a leader.
He smiled, because he realized things would be okay, and that moving on wouldn't be so hard.
He smiled, because sometimes, scars heal.
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A/N
Hi! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it:)
Also, I am aware that in the Percy Jackson books and Rick Riordan's version, the hydra spits acid. However, in classic mythology, it breathes fire and has venemous blood, so I went with that.
The demigod submission form is on chapter 1, I am still accepting submissions, AS LONG AS YOU PM THEM TO ME, DO NOT SUBMIT IN THE REVIEWS. If you submit, please follow the story so you can see your story when it's finished!
To the Guest that reviewed last time, I'm sorry but I'm not going to write a oneshot for you unless you PM the information to me. I ask for PMs because it helps me organize things and that way I can contact you if I have questions and stuff.
Again, I really hope you liked it, and thanks again for reading!:)
Please REVIEW and or follow and or favorite!:)
Xoxo
EmMarie96