A/N: Hey guys! Just to let you know, I forget if Percy knew about Hazel's curse. It's been so long since I've read SoN! I just went with he had no clue, I thought it was more interesting.
Also, longer chapter! Yay! To be honest, the chapter 1 was too short and dull- hopefully the quality of the story as a whole is better now. I've also figured that there will be 12 chapters- as there are 12 hours on a clock. Like the title. I'm so excited for Clocks, I've got it all planned out and I think it's going to be great!
Thank you for the reviews and tips, they're much appreciated! Sorry for the delay on chapter two, I'm a busy to change the rating of this story. It might get bloody, and maybe even smutty, and I don't want to keep the rating I have if I'm going to do that. Sorry to my younger readers!
I won't keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy!
His name was Derek Sawyer, son of Minerva.
Percy and Reyna had stayed up until at least eleven last night, Reyna telling him where and when she found out, and then the night continued with them discussing how Derek could of possibly been stabbed. He was a strong warrior, he had plenty of friends in the third cohort, and it would be hard to dislike him. But, someone obviously had been holding a grudge against him, and went far enough to killing. The detective side came out in Percy, and he hardly got any sleep due to the Praetor's investigations. With lots of hard work, sweat, groaning, and whining, Reyna and Percy concluded that this wasn't any regular murder.
Percy and Reyna had asked all the demigods they could find if they knew anything about what happened yesterday at 7:12 PM. So far, no answer really did them justice. They got a lot of "Derek was acting perfectly normal the whole day. I don't think anyone put him up to anything." Which was good, but they needed better. Percy also heard a lot of moans and whines, and definitely a lot of tears. The most common answer he heard was "I-I don't k-k-know! I j-just mis-miss him a-l-lot!" And even when he woke up, he could still hear their screams and wails ringing in his ears.
Percy couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for Derek, or for any of his friends, because he, well, didn't know the guy. He just had that 'oh well' feeling that you get very rarely. Reyna, unlike him, was a mess. She, apparently, was pretty close with Derek. It's not like they were best friends, as far as Percy could tell, that's was Jason's position. But Derek was important to Reyna, that was obvious. Percy had constantly tried to comfort her, but that didn't end up too well. So, while Reyna tried to work it all out, Percy kind of just sat in the corner, minding his business.
His problems occasionally drifted into his mind, but Percy pushed them away. It was selfish of him to go on and think about himself while his whole camp mourned in loss of one of their favorite campers. But what if this was happening at Camp Half-Blood, too? No. Percy fought back. Don't think about it. If you think about it, then you'll forget about your duties here. But if Percy just sat there, it would be impossible not to let his mind drift. So, grabbing Riptide, he left the third cohort to go to the arena. Training should
take his mind off things. It always had.
Percy walked into the center of the arena, where, thanks to Percy himself, was a line of dummies. There hadn't been any before Percy came here, because the campers usually just fought each other. But that resulted in many injuries and even more deaths, so they inherited a new strategy. Reyna was very reluctant to try it, she felt that it would dampen the campers abilities; but they actually liked it, which made Percy quite smug.
He held up his sword and looked the dummy in the eyes: it's button eyes, that is. In his head, Percy pictured the dummy as a big, scary drakon with fangs as big as himself. It was pretty hard to take training seriously if he was only fighting some stuffed, fat, defenseless toy, and that's when imagination comes handy, right? Scowling, probably looking like an idiot, Percy stepped forward and striked the 'drakon' in its neck. That dummy fell aside, and just as quickly came another; this one slightly bigger and made somewhat tougher. The dummy towered over Percy, and the demigod ducked, swinging Riptide clumsily at the dummy's feet. Like the first one, the dummy withered away and up came a new one, this one the tallest and most resistant of all.
Percy swung and swished and fell and tripped, fiercely yet awkwardly fighting off the dummies. They got bigger and harder each time, and took more effort out of him. After a half an hour, sweat was dripping off his chin and his stomach was beginning to growl. He tiredly and effortless cut the head off the last dummy, although in his mind Percy saw a giant green head drop on the grass, blood trickling from its severed neck. Percy lifted his arm to cap Riptide, which was dull with cotton and hay from the dummies. Breathing heavily, he trudged out of the way of the dummies and shuffled along the outskirts, heading for the cafeteria.
On his way back, his eyes caught the sight of a slight girl with dark curls bending over and digging in the dirt. Smiling slightly, Percy inhaled and shakily called her name.
Hazel looked up from the plot, looking slightly alarmed, but she gave a reassuring smile to Percy when she saw it was him. She stood up from the ground and messily wiped her hands on her beige corduroys, walking over to Percy. Although, when she saw his condition, she gave an intake of breath and a look of concern crawled onto her face. "Percy!" She said on her high voice. "What happened to you?"
Hazel pulled down her sleeves over her hands and started to wipe the sweat off his face.
Percy cringed, and pushed the small girl away. Hazel stepped back, and her hands fell to her side, almost disappointed. She looked at him questioningly, but that smile quickly returned to her lips. "Take a shower." She teased.
He laughed and wiped off the droplets that Hazel missed before giving her a shrug. "I guess I really got into training today." Hazel rolled her eyes and ran her fingers behind her ear, pushing some of her curls away. "What were you digging?" Percy asked curiously. He thought he knew, but he couldn't be sure.
Hazel shook her head, and waved the topic away with her hand. "Nothing of importance. How are you? What's going on with Derek? Anything new?"
Percy informed her on all the new things going on with the murder case, and how nothing was accomplished. They shared small talk for a while, Hazel talking about how she missed Nico, or how she wished she could help with Derek's case, and she also talked about Frank. She talked alot about Frank. Her tone was quieting a little later, and after finishing telling Percy about how Frank was still sleeping- He apparently had a lot of fun last night- Hazel looked up at Percy wonderingly. She said his name, and Percy looked back at her curiously. "Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
Reyna didn't want to leave the third cohort. She wanted to stay there, and sleep there, and not rest until she found out the mystery of Derek Sawyer. It was her fault that he was dead, anyways. She hadn't asked Terminus to strengthen the camp borders, which should be essential when they were under danger already. Reyna argued with Percy that it would be an insult to Derek's memory of she didn't find out what happened herself, seeing that she basically killed him. Reyna gave him her reasons- all of them- and of course, Percy gave her his. They were damn good reasons too. He told her that she couldn't of stopped someone from hurting Derek, that it was unexpected and probably even Terminus couldn't of stopped the person who killed Derek. He said that Reyna was needed elsewhere, that she could try tomorrow, that she was honestly turning into a wreck.
Percy had gotten a death glare from that last comment, and by the looks of it, he seemed deathly afraid, but he kept his grip on her shoulder and Reyna could tell that he didn't want her to come back, he needed her to.
Reyna wiped her eyes, which were red from her tears, and strengthened out her toga, Percy helping her. It annoyed her that Percy seemed like he didn't care about the fact that one of his own campers was dead- Reyna sniffled at the thought- and tried to pull away from him, but then he would only wrap his hand tighter around her waist. Reyna turned her head at him and wrinkled her nose, as if Percy smelled unappealing. He didn't, really, but she wanted to make Percy feel bad.
They finally reached headquarters, and Percy let go of Reyna and she pushed away as well. Her dogs came to her side at once and growled protectively. Reyna scowled along with them at Percy and thought that she might let them attack him for a moment. But, as they took slow steps forward and as Percy's face went white, Reyna put her hand out in front of them. He was her fellow Praetor, and Reyna really didn't think the campers would like it if Percy was killed. So, talking an exaggerated, angry breath, she stood a little taller, standing slightly higher than Percy. Her dark eyes were dangerous and she loved to see the scared expression on Percy's face.
Calmly, yet darkly, she told him, "I was perfectly fine there by myself. You didn't have to take me back." Percy looked at her, still a little scared, but then his face changed into a more disbelieving look. Reyna paused, and then exhaled. "You could of stayed there with me," She suggested, a little lighter this time. Percy's face changed once again: this time more shocked and, was that a glint of happiness?
Reyna quickly regretted what she said and winced before turning around, running her hand through her hair in a slightly troubled way. She heard her dogs start to growl, and in a firm voice called them to her. They obliged, although rather reluctantly, and trotted over to her side. Reyna fell back into her Praetor 'throne', as Percy liked to call it. She crossed her legs, and began biting her nail worriedly. The silence went on, and Reyna continued to chew her nail until it was unbearable. Her chocolate eyes flashed up to meet his sea-green irises, and her hand fell down on the armrest. She thought about her words before she said them, and she lifted her head up. "You said... that I was needed elsewhere." She paused. "What exactly am I needed for?" Reyna asked steadily.
Percy's mouth opened quickly and by the looks of it, he already had a perfect answer. But it apparently had flaws, because no sounds of an explanation ran from his mouth. Reyna raised an eyebrow, and nodded in such a way that suggested he spit it out. Percy gulped and inhaled. "Well... this morning I got an, er, request from a certain camper." He said, biting his lip nervously. Reyna raised an eyebrow and looked at Percy curiously.
"What was this camper's name?"
"That's irrelevant." Said Percy quickly, shaking his head and waving the minor detail away. He looked like he was pushing himself to tell her something. Reyna sighed rather obnoxiously and put her face in her hands. She rubbed her eyes, stressed, and holding her head up in her palm. Reyna tiredly looked at Percy's sandals. "You know, Jackson, if you're going to be Praetor alongside me, you're going to have to learn not to keep things from me." Reyna muttered into her hand, her voice muffled but her tone wise. Aurum and Argentum looked like they were laughing from the corner of the room.
Percy glared at Reyna's dogs before turning back to her. More confident then he felt, he firmly said, "Hazel. Hazel asked me if we could... if we could have.. a b-ball." Percy stuttered, adding an unbelievable eye roll after he finished.
Reyna's eyes widened and she lifted her face. She looked at Percy for one short moment, as if waiting for him to correct himself. When he didn't, Reyna had a coughing fit- or, at least, that's what it looked like. Percy couldn't tell if she was coughing, or laughing, or crying from laughing so hard, or all of them at once. His face sank and his shoulders sagged. After a long moment of only Reyna's laughs, she eyed Percy with an amused look. There was so many spectacular things she could reply with- but she figured she'd keep it simple. "What did you say?" Reyna asked with lightness in her tone.
With a hopeful smile, Percy scratched his ear and shrugged. "Well, I thought it was bullshit-"
Lie. Reyna thought. She could tell by the tone of his voice. But she let him continue, and just stared wonderingly.
"- but Hazel's my friend. I couldn't say no." Percy looked down and awkwardly played with the purple fabric of his toga.
Reyna wasn't surprised. At first she thought the idea was ridiculously stupid. How could even Hazel think that a ball would be appropriate at a time like this? Hazel was always full of surprises, but she was actually quite intelligent. Reyna expected more from her. And Percy? She overestimated him again. But as the silence went on, the thought that Reyna was trying to make Percy be too much like her floated into her head. It was like that before; her and Jason had so many similarities, and they were just in harmony so well together, but Percy was not Jason. He was more of a challenge. And she liked that he had the ability to make decisions himself, unlike Jason that always went to her for advice. Percy was more independent then Jason, and that was certainly a good quality to have.
And then Reyna thought about the ball. If she had it her way, she would have the most simplistic ball ever to exist. But she knew that that wouldn't fly with Hazel. Reyna inhaled, and rubbed her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. Percy spoke up, and Reyna forced herself to listen. "She said that she would do all the planning and advertising, and she would arrange it all and all you'd have to do is come." Percy cracked a smile. "She knows that this probably isn't the best time for a ball, but it would be a good way to get our minds off things. And plus, she really, really wanted to do something romantic with Frank-"
"Oh, so those two are dating now?" Reyna interrupted, slightly indifferently. "I knew something was up with them."
Percy nodded. "Yeah, I've expected it for a while now. She just told me today, though... but still, she wanted to do something special with him, she specifically said that their relationship has been pretty 'dull' lately, and she wanted to spice it up- she didn't elaborate any more about that, maybe she just wanted to have pizza with him or something, I have no idea- but anyways, she thought it would be a nice event." Percy finished, smiling at her.
Reyna looked at him suspiciously. "I don't have to do anything?" She asked somewhat softly.
Percy looked hopeful. "Nothing."
"Do I have to go?"
Wince. "Well, yeah."
A sigh fell from her lips. She supposed she could just sit in the corner and watch over it- make sure that no one was fooling around. Yes, she could to that. Pursing her lips, she tried to give Percy the least amount of satisfaction from her answer.
"Call Hazel. Tell her that she better get moving."
Percy didn't tell Hazel that he talked with Reyna about the ball. She was so frantic when he told her yes, that she went straight to planning and he didn't see her the whole rest of the day. He didn't want to make it seem like he didn't mean it when he said yes, because he did. He had just as much authority as Reyna, so his opinion counted just as much as hers. He didn't want Hazel to think he needed to make sure Reyna thought it was O.K.
But really, he did need to check with Reyna. Because she was a lot smarter than him, and people respected her more, and she would honestly kill Percy if she didn't tell him. And, she was right. If he was going to be Praetor with her, he had to keep her informed. Like, she would tell him if a camper asked her if they could have a ball. Without a doubt, Percy knew. And he had to keep up his end of the deal too.
Hazel was frequently updating Percy on the status of the ball. Each day, she had accomplished something new. After the first day, Hazel told him that the date for the ball was June 29th, on a Friday. The next day, she told him that she had found an amazing catering business. The day after that Hazel told Percy she had found the perfect location for the ball. And as the days went on, the progress was getting better. Hazel spent little time training lately, and most of her time planning for the ball. She was being very secretive about it all, and the reason being that she wanted it to be a huge surprise for them all.
She would of course have to show it to Percy and Reyna the day or two before the actual event, to see if it was 'appropriate', as Reyna would say, but Hazel didn't let that get to her.
Nothing really changed with Reyna. She still spent most of her day in the third cohort looking for more evidence on Derek Saywer's murder case, and continued to get nothing. But, whenever she came back at nine o'clock at night, Percy was waiting to tell her about his day. He informed her about the ball, and sometimes he noticed an excited look on her face. He also noticed less tears, and more smiling.
Reyna was still extremely serious, and she kept her guard, but she was smiling a lot more often now, which evidently made Percy smile more.
His days were boring. He sometimes got his lazy butt out to train, but he mostly stayed inside Praetor headquarters, playing Call of Duty: Black Ops and eating jelly beans. He sometimes got visits from campers, which made him happy- they usually visited Reyna. But she's not here right now. Percy thought smugly. He liked this kind of authority, this kind of... power. It made him feel important, and not useless. It made him feel like a Son of Neptune.
Was the power going to his head? Yeah, maybe.
A few weeks before the ball, construction on the tent started taking place. It was covered, Hazel didn't want anyone peeking inside. Reyna still hadn't given up on research for Derek's case, but rather acquired a new strategy. She prayed to the gods, asking for help every living moment while she searched for information.
Percy believed Reyna was becoming obsessed. He told her that, and very calmly (but with a small scowl) she replied that she had made a promise with herself that she would figure out what happened to the son of Minerva if it killed her. That made Percy spit out his water. Who goes to such lengths just to figure something out? Reyna, apparently. Percy admired that about her, though. Her loyalty and determination is something Percy could never inherit. It got him thinking.
That night, Percy had also asked Reyna about the ball.
"What about it?" Reyna said mildly, tracing the metal of her knife with her finger. Percy swallowed.
The ball was just a topic starter. Percy didn't know what about it, so he quickly replied with the first thing that came to his mind. "Have you found a date yet?" Percy tried to ask in a tone that suggested he didn't care. Which was of course untrue. He actually cared a lot. Reyna was the only girl friend- at least he thought of her as a friend- he had. There was Hazel, too, but she would be going to the ball with Frank. Percy didn't have time to befriend anyone else at Camp. Or at least he acted that way.
Reyna looked over from her throne curiously. "No, why?" Reyna asked, interested.
Percy beamed on the inside. "No reason." He lied. He wet his lips and smiled at Reyna. She gave a very forced smile back. Percy inhaled and tilted his head. "What about a dress? Have you found one of those yet?" Hopefully it was red. Red was Reyna's color. Wait, what? Percy didn't know the slightest bit about colors. Pull yourself together, Perce. He thought.
Reyna laughed dryly. "I did, actually."
Percy rested his arms on the armrest, and rested his head in his hands. "What does it look like?" Percy wondered, gazing at Reyna in a non-creepy way. At least he hoped it was non-creepy.
Reyna raised an eyebrow, but she went with it. "Well.. it's yellow-"
"Aw." Percy interrupted her. "It should be red." He said, unable to stop himself. His eyes widened and he stopped looking at her and instead stared at the floor. "Disregard that."
Reyna's eyebrows shot up and she stopped herself from laughing. She continued, though. "It's.. yellow, and.. it has straps with flowers covering the whole top part. It goes down to my knees, too." She said, trying to be literate enough for Percy to understand.
Percy felt the need to share his opinion. "It sounds great." He began, not wanting to offend her. "But... well, yeah, I think you'd look good in red. Just a simplistic dress, but stunning. Not any flowers, or lace or anything, just.. like, silk, I guess. Oh, and strapless." Percy added, feeling slightly embarrassed, but being one hundred percent truthful. His eyes were still fixed on the floor, and he could feel Reyna's piercing eyes on him.
"I'll think about it," A light voice replied after a while. Percy heard a clink of a dagger on a table, and Reyna getting up. "I'm going to sleep. Good night, Percy." She said, and Percy heard her footsteps echo, echo, echo, and then the opening of a door.
"Wait, Reyna?" Percy called to her, after much consideration. He lifted his head and turned to look at her. She turned around to face him, a curious look on her face. She nodded, and tilted her head. Percy gulped, and gathered the courage to ask her. "Do.. do you.. want to go to the ball with me?"
Reyna didn't look surprised. She actually looked kind of flattered. After a moment, she gave Percy a huge grin, and in a tired voice, she said, "Good night, Percy."
He didn't know if that meant yes or know, but judging by the size of Reyna's grin, he thought it meant yes. Percy crossed to his bedroom himself, smiling at nothing in particular.
It was finally time. Finally the eve of the Ball.
The day before, Percy and Reyna had been brought inside the tent. They were both utterly shocked- Percy knew that Hazel was going to wow him, but she did more than that; she literately stunned him. Hanging down from the center of the tent was a huge disco ball, shining off light in every direction. From the disco ball swung lines of gorgeous flowers, every once and a while, a petal gracefully falling to the marble floor. It was simple, but incredible; the curved tables were filled with appetizers, punch, finger food, and things appropriate for teenagers, which might be the only thing the guests would be disappointed with. There was even some loveseats around the edges of the tent, to relax from all the dancing, or to just observe in. And up on a small stage was a DJ station.
Percy knew that the campers were sure as hell going to get a kick out of this ball. Reyna was constantly saying that these ungrateful campers better enjoy it; they wouldn't be getting another ball for a long time. But she said it with a bit of humor in her tone. Percy knew that she was even more excited then him for this ball. And, they could deny it all they wanted, but it was true- every single person in this camp had a touch of excitement for this ball.
Reyna had told Percy to wait for him at the door. She said something about "getting ready", which Percy thought was pointless. Why did girls need to take hours just to tie up their hair and put on a dress? But, when it came down to it, Percy knew nothing about being a girl. Who was he to judge?
Percy had ordered his tux off the demigod-web, provided to demigods thanks to (Hermes.) It was an ordinary suit, black jacket, pants, and tie, and white blouse. That's what all the guys were wearing too, so Percy knew that he didn't screw anything up. Percy waited at the doorperson and I don't get much time to work. I'll try to keep the chapters coming faster now on, though.
Percy waited at the door for quite a while. He watched all the campers come and leave, and he tried to be polite and say hello, but it probably came out in more of a scowl. Percy was beginning to get impatient. He knew Reyna liked to be fashionably late, but he was missing some good songs in there!
Right before Percy was going to just turn around and walk inside, he heard a soft clinking. Blinking, Percy looked out into the darkness, squinting to see. The clinking was getting louder, and Percy took a few curious steps forward. A wave of red came into vision, and Percy's mouth dropped.
Reyna was wearing a strapless red gown, the silk twisting around her curves and only stopping at her feet. She was wearing heels, not stilettos, but not flats. The black slippers complimented her long legs, and her skin glowed in the moonlight. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun, tendrils curling down her front. As she got closer, Percy studied her collar bone, and her jawline, and her shoulders, and basically looked at her in a whole new way.
When Reyna stood in front of him, Percy lost his ability to speak. His mouth hung open, and he just stared at her, capturing all the details he could. Reyna waited for a response from him, her face twisted in a worried way. Percy tried to form words, and he inhaled and smiled.
"You went with red."
Reyna exhaled and nodded, smiling back at him. She was nearly his height now, with those heels on. Her rose red dress made her look even taller. "Yeah," She said, her dark eyes flickering up at him. "I thought you'd like it."
Percy nodded back at her. "I do." He said simply, and without another word, held out his arm for her to hold. She grabbed on with one hand, picking up her dress with the other so she wouldn't trip. Leading her inside, Percy noticed her small fingers, and how her nails were all the same length and all painted in a clear coat. Percy was noticing everything about Reyna tonight, he thought with a smile.
The ball room quieted down slightly when the two Praetors entered. Everyone was staring, and Percy grinned smugly. He looked over, and noticed Reyna had more of a serious look on, but he still saw a blush rising up her neck. Once they reached almost the center of the room, Percy stopped and reluctantly turned Reyna around to face him, reaching down to grab her hand that was still holding her dress.
He lifted it up, shoulder height, and without question, began to dance.
Percy had never been a good dancer, but as soon as he began, Reyna took the lead. He followed her, ignoring the stares from campers. He wanted to make small talk with her, or ask her if she wanted something to drink, or eat, but he decided not to. This moment was too perfect to ruin with talking.
The music became slower, and Percy let go of her hands, hers wrapping around his neck and his falling down and sliding around her waist. Reyna rested her head on his shoulder, and for once, he finally felt at home at Camp Jupiter.
As he pulled her closer to him, he saw a flame.
A/N: Hey! Did you like? Semi-lame ending, I know, I just wanted to finish! I was going to put in something about Annabeth at the end, but like Percy, the moment was too perfect to ruin.
Review, review, review! Thank you!