"Idiot! Pick up that beer you spilled NOW!"
"You're stupid."
"You little brat! I should whoop you right now!"
"You'll never get anywhere."
"Where's my belt?"
Voices went through his head all day. They never really left.
Even the Titan Lord himself couldn't freeze them.
Since he was a kid people were always putting him down.
He learned the world was a scary place really soon.
And it hurt. It hurt even worse than holding up the sky.
All the bullies, teachers, and Gabe where always piercing his armor.
Even though he had skin of iron, he was easily wounded.
Even sometimes when Annabeth called him Seaweed Brain it still stung a little, and she noticed.
Sometimes he felt like he was too dumb for her, but she always cheered him up.
When she smiled, he felt like a kid again.
Like he could regain his innocence.