Attention: SHIT!FIC, AHOY! Thanks much to The Midnight Doe for gracing my shit!fic with her amazing beta powers, making this fic just slightly better (not really). This is the horrible product of the wonderful Claire de Luna's summary. Written for both Andromeda's Garden's Quintuple Challenge from Veritaville and Project PULL. So, that's like, killing three birds with one stone. ^^
Note: Revised and edited. Thank ye, MyPenIsSharperThanYourSword and Rachel and Cheese for the suggestions. ^^
The Death of a Friend
one-shot
Andy
Calypso took it into habit to glance over her shoulder every now and then, just to make sure Percy Jackson was no longer there. It broke her heart doing so, but she couldn't break the trance that would overcome her.
He was never there.
Of course not. He hasn't been there for… What was it? A day? A week? A month? In a place like Ogygia, time stood frighteningly still. (However many moons past, it wasn't enough time for her heart to mend.) She had the opportunity to leave the island, but she refused. Getting out and seeing Percy with his little girlfriend wasn't one of the things that she'll enjoy.
She shivered slightly, rubbing her hands across her arms in a vain effort to warm up. Calypso wandered towards her garden, trying to pass time in idle tending and watering. Splashes of reds, blues, greens, and yellows flashes across her mind, slightly blurred by the tears threatening to overflow.
Percy Jackson.
No, she refused to think of him. Not him, nor any other hero that took her heart as they left. Her heart just refused to be broken again.
The Fates were cruel, unbelievably so. Nevertheless, this was her punishment—eternal damnation—and then so be it. She had her flowers. And that was all she needed.
Until he came along.
The roses were in bloom this time of the year. Delicate petals uncurled themselves, making her world a little less dull. Calypso grabbed her shears and stared at a particular rose. Touching it slightly, she remembered all the heroes that came and went.
The rose never bloomed until Percy Jackson left.
Waves of emotion crashed into her. She hated remembering. She hated knowing that he'll never come back. She hated knowing that she was just there to be punished. And she absolutely hated the fact that there would never be a hero that would want to stay with her.
Lost in her thoughts, agitation and anger and hatred and a whole mess of emotions exploded out of her and she reacted quickly.
Snip!
With the sudden movement of the shears, she snapped out of her thoughts quickly and looked down. A severed rose lay on the grass, and it seemed as if the whole world stopped. The waves stopped crashing onto the shore and the stars stopped twinkling; the whole world holding its breath and staring at the fallen rose.
After a few moments, Calypso let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Trembling, she bent down and scooped the rose bud gently, her breath shaky.
This had never happened before.
In that sudden outburst of anger, she felt herself getting giddy with relief. All that pent up anger and resentment—gone, within a flash. Without knowing it, she picked up the shears and snipped again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
She hesitates on the fourth time, the shears hovering over another blooming rose. Severed rose buds littered the ground below her, bringing a bright red hue to the otherwise white sand. Calypso holds the shears closer to the flower and closes her eyes.
She can't bring herself to cut it.
Calypso thinks to herself, trying to reason. She's trying to cope. It's been done before, and she hardly thinks that Ogygia holds any potential therapists to help her.
Setting down the shears, she takes a look at the ground, littered with roses. This is the third time in all her life that this has happened. Each time, she makes herself swear that it'll never happen again. But it always happens. Always.
Calypso was tending her garden when it happened. The incident a few years back has all been forgotten. The stems of the rose buds look forlorn and, whenever Calypso passes by it, she remember what had happened and promises that, no, it will never happen ever again.
Then he showed up.
Calypso now has another task. Make that a couple dozen.
Gather firewood.
Make a fire.
Heal boy.
No broken heart.
And she's absolutely positive that this one boy will be different. Sure, he's a hero, but he'll stay with her. And it doesn't matter that Calypso thinks this every time a new hero washes up. This time… This time will be different.
He's still unconscious, and she can't find anything to busy herself with.
Soon, she learns that his name is Jason Grace. A few moments after that, he begins to remind her of Percy Jackson.
And this becomes very, very, very awkward for her.
He's almost healed now, and Calypso's trying to buy as much time as possible before he has to go. He helps her with her gardening and sweeps her off her feet. Jason seems like a nice guy and Calypso is sure this time will be different.
Soon, she'd forgotten all about Percy Jackson.
Jason Grace hasn't had the notion of leaving Ogygia yet and Calypso is thrilled. She doesn't say anything about it, but she knows she should. Deep down, she wants to keep him all to herself—prove that the Fates were wrong and, well, be happy for once.
But there's something about him that makes her worried. A boy like him has a girlfriend; she's sure of this.
Calypso pushes the thought to the back of her mind and puts on a smile.
"Hey, Calypso?" Jason called from the fireplace, glancing up to look at Calypso. His blond hair was covering his eyes, and he looked tired.
"Yeah," she murmured, not bothering to look up.
"When can I go back?"
And then she broke.
"W-why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?"
Putting down her tools, she sighed and walked over to him. She avoided looking at him, however. Calypso sat down in front of the hearth, next to him.
She felt her heart breaking slowly, as it did many times before.
Jason frowned, staring at the fire intently, trying to make the situation a little less awkward. He's dealt with broken hearted girls before (two of which was his own fault). Calypso was sweet and he did owe her his life. However, there was still Piper and- oh shit- Reyna to worry about it. The last thing he needed was another girl to come into the picture, even one as sweet and kind as Calypso.
"Stay with me, Jason," she whispered, breaking the awkward silence. She reached to grab his hand and smiled when he didn't pull away.
After a long silence, Jason finally pulled away, his emotions conflicted. So maybe he did like Calypso. She was pretty, to say the least. Nevertheless, there's two problems and a family waiting for him back home. "I'm sorry, Calypso. I really can't." He got up and offered Calypso a hand. She sniffed and ignored, staring intently at the fire. "I'm sort of their 'saving grace'. I can't just abandon them."
When she didn't speak, he continued. "I like you Calypso. I really do. But there's also this other girl, Piper." Her breathing hitched and heart raced faster. "And then there's another girl, Reyna. And I got back my sister a while ago... And everyone kinda needs the world saved, you know?"
"I'm really sorry, Calypso."
And then it's like her whole world blew apart.
He's gone now, and she's broken her promise twice this month.
Her garden is wilting, the buds of the stems almost all gone. Old buds lay on the floor, withering. Fresh ones are scattered everywhere.
She's still cutting them. Every single time those painful memories come back, she grabs her shears and get to work.
Snip!
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Until they're almost gone.
And then, she makes herself promise, never again. But then she remembers Percy and Jason and all those other heroes. And it hurts too bad.
Hermes visits her, once in forever, giddily calling her name out. When he arrives, he's certain he took the wrong turn.
The once flourishing gardens became sickly wasteland; withered petals of fallen flowers marking the sand with their fading colors. She can't stop this horrible addiction (I'll stop tomorrow, I promise.) and seeing Hermes look at her with such disdain brings her to complete madness.
Snip! Another one dies at her hands.
Oh yeah, I forgot: Completed for Bookaholic711's Project PULL challenge.
Review, love?