A/N - This is the last chapter I have written, so enjoy this because it might be a while before I get the next one out. But I will never abandon a story, I can promise that much.

It wasn't until after Leo had left that Nico decided he was ready to go. He personally would have enjoyed the continued company, but apparently the black haired boy gave off a creepy aura that the blond headed doctor type kid didn't want around. However, he was willing to think that he just wanted an excuse to make Nico leave.

It wasn't until a few minutes after Nico had disappeared, plates in hand, that the boy turned to him. And he got the first good look at the person who had dealt with the whining Latino and taking it all in stride.

"I'm Will." Interesting name for an interesting person he guessed." We need to talk." And there went his good mood for the day.

"Why?" His voice was clipped, he knew he was being unwelcoming. Ready to leave and push the boy out of his mind already.

"I had to take your jacket off to check and make sure that you weren't overheating because of it." So that's what this was about apparently. A sense of deep dread at settled in his stomach. His voice seemed to fail him at the moment. Unable to find exactly the words to say in this situation.

"I saw the scars." Blue eyes were studying him rather intensively. And this was distinctly not something he was used to doing. Looking someone in the eye who had seen them.

Suddenly he couldn't keep eye contact anymore. The situation itself being to stressful to process at once. He was reverted back to the tactic that he's always known. The one he had been coached into using since his mothers death eight years ago.

And no, just no. That was a thought he was not willing to think. He did not need a panic attack, or whatever else came along with it this time. Remembering that day only caused undo harm to his already damaged headspace.

"What of it?" Arms wrapped around his legs, make sure the sleeves are pulled down to the bottom of his palms. Don't act like it bothers you. Pretend that everything is okay and people will just assume you're an attention seeker with no real problems.

"Some of them are self inflicted and others aren't. But something tells me that there's more I can't see." This was not what he was prepared for. This boy is making stuff difficult. People aren't just supposed to assume that.

He can't look Will in the eyes. And he knows that the boy knows why. He also knows what comes next and he's not wanting to think of that either. Because he's fucked in the head, and it's his issues, his alone. People need to stop trying to dig deep into his mind and pull out the damaged parts and try to glue them back. Duct tape would be more appropriate, especially being that the once smooth edges have been beating down to something nasty, sharp and not happiness, that much he knows.

"I can see you aren't going to talk anytime soon, so just listen, please." He's gearing up for something bad. He knows that look intimately. When things are about to get rather uncomfortable for all parties involved for various reasons. He's been here too many times before. But no ones been able to make it better, so why would this elusive healing process start now.

"There's two ways this can go. You can seek help of your own free will." For some insane reason he wants to laugh at the pun, but totally not a pun. Defuse a little of the tension. "Allow me, or one of the other older kids from the Apollo cabin to do a physical for more injuries and assign you to an old camper who went into psychology."

The or hangs heavy. He's not going to like the second option.

"Or I will have to tell Chiron, and he'll force you to allow us to check. That's not something you want. And make you go and stay in the psyche ward in New Rome. They won't let you go for at least three months, and that's if they see the amount of improvement they want. Plus everyone will know. Your choice."

"Funny." His voice is dead, flat, but at the same time stinging. "Doesn't sound like much of a choice." He knows he's being unnecessarily mean, but this is how he deals. Well, one of the ways if he's in the mood to be honest with himself.

"Well, you still have to choose." Percy knows there's still bruises from the last time. He didn't particularly like to wait between visits. Apparently he was a damn fine lay, and he knows someone is going to find out. Might as well be on his own fucking terms.

"I'll take the first option." He says slowly, cautiously. Not willing to give more than he needs to, but perfectly ready to take if need be.

"Okay, I still have to let Chiron know, but we can do it tonight, after all the activities are done." He takes a breath. "Do you want male or female attendants or does it matter?"

He finds himself at a loss here. Nobody had ever asked him what he wanted. What he was okay with. They just took and left like he was nothing more than a speck of dirt on their shoes. Not caring about the broken boy or the shame that permeated the room as they gathered their clothes and went on their way.

There had been both, he supposes. But he's since become intimately acquainted with all kinds of people. Male, female, it didn't really matter. He'd probably have a flash back either way. He pitied the poor souls who got caught in that, his own personal hell was something he never wanted anyone else to know.

"Doesn't matter." The boy nods.

"I can do it, if you'd be most comfortable with that. It'll just be me and one of my sisters there." His voice is soft, he knows what he has to check for. But it's also like he can tell the silent fear that's creeping up from the inside.

Eyes closed tightly. His hands are shaking more than he'd like to admit. Don't wake him up please. He knows what they are going to say when their done, damnit, but he can't take it. He can't take someone telling him what happened because that makes it real. He doubts he can handle making it real.

"Okay, tonight. What time?" His watch doesn't really work, but the longer he can put it off the better.

"Around seven, if that's okay. It's almost two now. We'll set up the private room before you get here and you can just meet us there." He nods his head. Incapable of forming a valid response and assumes he's free to leave.

He's almost to the door when he hears Wills voice again. Telling him something he can't even begin to fathom. After all, who the hell would want someone they barely know to know exactly what happened to them in the dead of night or why they refused to sleep in a bed. He sure didn't, but that was just him personally.

Nico is waiting about fifteen feet from the from entrance of the infirmary. He's talking with two people who are wrapped around each other and their relationship looks completely unorthodox. Something that he welcomed with more ease than he previously thought.

The girl had dark skin, her hair being this beautiful brown and red mix. Her eyes looked like molten gold, and she seemed to be the one doing the most talking. He couldn't look away, despite the fact that he felt no physical attraction. Something about her screamed ethereal beauty that he could not ignore.

The guy, easily over a foot taller than her, was smiling and contributing very little to the conversation. He looked Asian, but he was also a good few inches taller than him, and he knew his height was somewhere near six feet.

It was a few long and contemplative moments before someone noticed him standing there. The girl waved, gesturing for him to come over. And he saw Nico give her a small smile, one filled with joy, love, I care for you and all those good things. So much like the smiles he used to see on his mothers face.

But that thought lead down dark paths he didn't need to travel. The rest of the day and tonight would be hard enough as it was. He hoped that she wouldn't be one to wrap her arms around newcomers. He didn't take kindly to those kinds of advances on the best days. But maybe he could be more self aware since he was thinking of it beforehand.

Just as he had worried, once he had made his way over, a small body was launching itself into him. Hugging him tightly and then letting go just as quickly as she'd come. This was when he realized that this girl was shorter than he'd first imagined. But the guy standing across from him was still easily three inches taller. If he didn't know how to fight bigger people he would have been worried.

Nico was saying something, and so what the girl. He vaguely learned that her name was Hazel, and the tall Asian beside her was Frank. Who had apparently been her boyfriend for about three months now. But Nico scowled deeply whenever their relationship was brought up, prompting a small smack on the arm from Hazel.

By the time Nico had managed to get them away from the active girl and quiet boy he'd learned many things. Hazel was Nico's half sister, Frank was a son of Mars, the Roman version of Ares and apparently didn't like violence. He must have looked some sort of overwhelmed because soon he and Nico were walking on a quiet piece of beach.

The water was mesmerizing. Almost like it was alive to a certain extent and he had a hard time focusing. It was like the ocean called to him and when he lost his shoes, rolling up his jeans he could feel the strength. Knew the tides here were as dangerous as they were beautiful it splashed against his feet. Nico was smiling and soon joined him in the water at his urging, something about this boy intrigued him.

"Do you ever wonder about the stars?" He looked at Nico, not quite grasping the question.

"Wonder what about them?" The question hung in the air still. Leaving the silence suffocating to a certain degree. Heating the air and creating s tension that wasn't quite awkward, but rather just this side of nervous.

"Why they shine, even when the world is shitty. If you can find somewhere without clouds, they still shine." Logically he knew the answer to this question. It was scientific, and possibly something magical as well. But he guessed that wasn't the answer Nico wanted.

"No, no I guess not." He paused for a moment. Just taking in the multiply sensations around him. Wondering why anyone would dare to leave such a wonderful place. And despite the fact that the stars weren't out right at the moment, he could see what the other boy was meaning. "But I think I will keep that with me."

The silence invaded the air between them. But it wasn't a bad silence. He could almost believe that the two of them had been friends for a long time, rather than just hours. But he supposed that had something to do with Nico himself. The boy managed to make you feel as though he gave a damn about everyone. If the constant worrying look in his eyes every time he saw someone being taking towards the infirmary was anything to go by, then he actually did. His dark brown eyes screamed that he was the guy who'd pick up the puppy you kicked off the side of the road and nurse it to health.

That was something that Percy liked in a person. The ability to be kind and not think about it. Nico was genuine, a kindred spirit his mother would say. So he let the good kind of silence swallow the moment. Just basking in the fact that he was still existing, much like he was sure the boy beside him was.

That was when he realized the true purpose of Nico's question.

Piper McLean and Drew Tanaka were two different kinds of terrifying. And mixing them together got you nothing short of a hurricane. The words being spat back and forth between the two eldest daughters of Aphrodite were things that would have had some grown men running and crying for their mommas. But they took each other's insults in stride and fired back just as dangerously.

Honestly he would have laughed if he wasn't so damn scared. The girls would probably attack him because he looked wrong, much less laughed. This go around at lunch was turning out to be rather interesting. And if the way that everyone else was dutifully ignoring them, a fairly normal occurrence.

Percy was completely not expecting being pulled into the crossfire however. And if what Drew had just said, something about Pipers dad was anything to go by at the moment. Things were about the get nasty.

So as it was, he looked back and forth between the two of them. They wanted him to be a fucking neutral party and decide who won and who loses. They apparently wanted someone who was by biased toward either person. If one of them hadn't had a hold on each of his arms he would have taken off running at top speed to anywhere but here.

He looked around desperately. Nobody had ever thrown him into a den of teenage girls before. He didn't want to know what would happen if he didn't get out now. But everyone was busy looking highly amused or not looking at all.

And Nico, the shit, was just watching with a raised eyebrow and slightly amused expression. Well, you know what, fuck you too Di Angelo. He could survive two teenage girls from the Aphrodite cabin on his own, he'd show them. But yet as they continued on with their argument he began to wonder what exactly he was supposed to do. It felt like he was awkwardly being forced to stand in the middle here. For no other purpose than too just stand.

That was when it happened. He had zoned out so he wasn't sure what kind of shit went down. But whatever it was Drew threw herself at Piper, in such a way that if he hadn't grabbed her around the waste, the two would be rolling around on the floor fighting. A young blond man, with eyes a startling shade of light blue, came and pulled Piper away. Giving him a thank God you caught on look as he held onto Drew.

"You know, I actually don't mind this too much. You've got some nice stuff under these clothes." He barely caught what she was saying before somebody was grabbing at his junk.

If anyone asked later, he would throughly deny the noise that he had. It was high pitched and he jumped away from Drew as fast as possible. Making sure to keep at least three feet between them as she kept moving closer. It reminded him oddly of a tiger stalking and getting ready to corner her prey.

People were snickering and trying to hide their laughter. He's certain his face must have been a brilliant shade of red for everyone to look at. And he doubted that anyone hadn't heard her commentary or saw what she did. He was suddenly very eager to leave the dining hall and go back to whatever Nico was planning on having him do next. He would gladly take physical labor and boring tours over being stuck with a grabby handed five foot three daughter of Aphrodite. But the bastard was still getting his amusement watch him flounder.

"Drew please." He started, but was promptly cut off.

"Please what handsome? I'll be glad to help you with anything." And she was right up in his face, pressing her chest against his as he tried to back farther into the wall. And everyone was still watching, wondering, he was so not into this. Or Drew at all to be honest.

"Get away from the poor boy Tanaka. He's new and not ready to deal with you yet." The voice was like it was sent by the gods themselves. Saving him from what surely would have been a very... unique situation.

"Fine." She stormed off in huff. Suddenly everyone was back to normal. Nobody but Nico was even looking in this direction anymore and he was grateful. It wasn't everyday that you got grabbed by the junk and then saved by a girl who looks even more deadly than the last. Then again that could be why people weren't looking anymore.

"Thanks for that." It came out without him meaning for it too. He was just glad that his voice was steady, the situation was really hitting him now. It came too close, way to close to things he's struggling to keep buried.

"It's no problem, Tanaka needed to be put into her place anyway." The girl had dark skin, he'd almost dare to call her from the Caribbean somewhere. Or at least from some Spanish speaking region. Her eyes were a shade lighter than Nicos, without the green specs throughout. Matched with her black hair in a braid, obviously trained warrior skill and above average height for a woman. Well, you had a very scary person. But something told him she was on his side, even if he could now be considered biased.

"Well, still, the thanks applies." He was nervous, holding casual conversation wasn't his thing. With Nico everything had been deep or when he was half conscious, with Will he could be rude and Silena didn't ask a lot. But he had a feeling this young woman would be the one to figure him out.

"I'm Reyna, by the way." She held out her hand, ready to introduce herself officially with a handshake.

"Percy, Percy Jackson." He grasped her hand firmly. He could feel a friendship blossoming here.

"Well Percy. Do you want to come with me and learn how to fend off people like Tanaka? I have an extra sword." Her smile was predatory, she knew what she was doing and she was doing it well. This was Reynas way of staking a claim, saying this boy is off limits, hopefully ensuring that he would not have any more Tanaka attacks.

"You know what Reyna?" He looked over his shoulder, Nico had disappeared. He guessed that the boy trusted Reyna to ensure his safety. "I would love too."

Reyna didn't go easy on anyone. That much he was absolutely positive of. The fact that he was holding his own against her was a small miracle. It was just barely, but he was doing it. Something that he was going to remain proud of since he'd never held a sword before in his life.

The lessons Reyna had wanted to give him were fairly basic. He was a natural he supposed because she only had to teach him some before he began learning on his own from the way she fought. The small group of watchers who were quietly making bets seemed to be more into the fight than either of them. Paying attention to what they were doing was his fatal mistake though.

Reyna saw her opening and she went for it without hesitation. Landing a strong hit on his right shoulder. Rendering his dominant arm less powerful because of the pain. It was only a matter of time from there until he went down.

He did not fall immediately, that was he was grateful for. But he did end up on his ass one way or the other. Reyna was standing over him, offering a hand to signal a friendly defeat. He risked allowing a small smile onto his face as he grasped the offered limb and allowed her to help pull him up.

He took a moment to observe the waning crowd as Reyna walked over to a bench and began removing her training armor, leading him to believe they were done. The girl he had seen in the infirmary earlier that day was sitting down on the opposite side of the arena, curiously writing something in a notebook. Her blond curls pulled back and grey eyes shining with intensity. That very same Latino boy seemed to be the one feeding her the information in rapid fire succession. He was almost tempted to laugh at the picture they made.

"That's Annabeth and Leo. Daughter of Athena and son of Hephaestus. Together those two make it almost impossible to beat the other team." Reyna was beside him again and he stifled the urge to let how a rather unbecoming shriek. He hadn't even heard he walking up next to him.

"Beat at what?" Reyna's slightly amused chuckle did nothing to calm his nerves, if anything they increased.

"Capture the flag. We're on their team and trust me when I say we're going to win." Her confidence was astounding.

"How do you know that?"

"Because we've got the best fighters and smarter people in camp on our team this time." He was almost tempted to ask what capture the flag was. Then realized just how stupid a question that would actually turn out to be. The name literally told you exactly what it was and he knew he wasn't the brighter crayon in the box, but he didn't want to be labeled as stupid.

Then when Reyna began walking away he followed her. She showed him how to remove his armor, where the store the stuff and how to put it back up. Then they began a search for someone in particular at her bidding. Claiming that she knew they would get along great and wanted to introduce them. Something about helping him to make more friends so he wasn't stuck a loner forever. He thought that two friends was more than enough however Reyna didn't seem to share that sentiment. Claiming that everyone needed something they trusted above everyone else.

He went along with it. This was so different how things had been back in New York. He could almost ignore the itching the crawled across his skin. It made him want to claw off his flesh and suddenly he knew that he was going to need to find somewhere dark and alone for the night.

Tonight was not going to be one of his good nights.

Jason Grace was a force of nature, and a fucking hot one at that. He hadn't really paid attention earlier when the guy pulled away Piper but now he was. It was almost impossible to ignore.

Where Nico was all understated beauty with a darker complexion, melted chocolate eyes and black hair. Jason was tanned skin, confident stance, dirty blond hair and electric blue eyes. Total and polar opposites. In every way but attitude is what he had learned.

Reyna had left him with Jason and Nico awhile ago. Claiming she had some unfinished business with some of the male campers to attend too. Leaving their impending doom up to his imagination. He learned that he had a very wild and morbid one.

Nico and Jason were making quiet conversation about random things. But the comfort and ease with which they spoke to each other was envious. He had long since decided he was intruding and placed his headphones in his ears. Deciding to watch the life of camp half blood on go around him. The hustle and bustle was comforting to watch.

People were milling about as they were getting ready for something. This something he assumed was the capture the flag game Reyna had told him about earlier. He was yet again left feeling like an outsider looking in. He didn't know these people, and they didn't know him at all. He could leave now and nobody would be overtly upset about it. But he had long since accepted this fact about himself when it came to others. He was meant to be a drifter, it was only a matter of time before he left.

He's not sure when he managed to drift off. But the next thing he knew he was being gently shaken awake. Nico and Jason gone, Reyna nowhere to be found, and the strangely golden eyed girl from before standing above him. Come to think of it he didn't see anyone around.

"They are all playing capture the flag, they didn't want to wake you. You can participate next time." He must have looked really confused because a small laugh left her lips.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Around two hours. But they'll be done soon so you need to be awake when they get here, cause it'll be dinner." That was the reason then. He certainly wasn't going to protest food. Even though his stomach would surely reject its presence late that evening.

He nodded his head and proceeded to make light conversation. Maybe this want as bad as he made it out to be. This place could be something good.