I woke up from the same dream that I had been having for the past few weeks. Even though I knew that I wasn't actually there in person, it scared me because I knew it would come true if I failed.
I yawned and stretched my arms, realizing how cold it was. Whether this was because Nico wasn't next to me or that it was foggy outside, I wasn't sure. I wrapped my arms around myself and rubbed some warmth back into my arms. Across from me Oliver was still snoring gently. I smiled at the way he hugged his laptop to his chest.
I guess sleeping in the Hermes cabin never leaves you. I thought to myself. I looked around the car to see if Nico was here, but the only other people around was a couple sitting on the other side of the car. I wasn't too worried about Nico. If he were in trouble or had been attacked by a monster the train would be panicking.
Since I had nothing better to do I watched the young man and woman. I know I probably looked like a creeper, but I was really bored. I realized that the woman was asleep, but the man was awake. I couldn't help but feel envious about the way he held the girl in his arms or how he leaned closer when he began to wake up. I also couldn't help but replace their faces with mine and Nico's. I watched as he whispered something in my ear and kissed my head. I blushed and tore my gaze away and decided to stare out of my window instead. I told myself that there was no way Nico and I would be like that; I wouldn't live long enough to see it come true.
Oliver suddenly shot up in his seat and yelled, "Natasha!" I stared at him for a moment and he seemed to realize that he was awake now because he blushed and scooted lower in his seat. I didn't bother asking who this 'Natasha' was. I figured Oliver was embarrassed enough as it was. I guess Oliver wanted the attention off of him because he asked "Where's Nico?"
I shrugged. "Using the bathroom? Getting food?" I suggested. As if on cue, Nico walked into the room holding three sandwiches. He gave me a small smile when he handed me my sandwich. It was such a casual action, but it made the butterflies in my stomach erupt. He plopped down into the seat next to me before tossing Oliver the last sandwich.
"I hope you like turkey because that's all they had." Now that I was holding food in my hands I realized how hungry I was. I tore open the plastic and took a huge bite of the sandwich. The bread was a little dry and the lettuce was limp, but it settled nicely in my stomach.
We all inhaled our sandwiches in less than a minute, but it wasn't enough to satisfy mine and Oliver's hunger.
"I don't see what you guys are complaining about." Nico said as he patted his stomach. "I'm stuffed!"
"Well some of us eat more than a pomegranate for breakfast." I countered. Nico only shrugged like he didn't care. I inwardly smiled at Nico's nonchalant attitude. He wasn't the type of person to kiss your boo-boo or give you any special treatment. He gave you the cold, hard truth and didn't care how you handled it. I don't know why I liked it, but I did.
Nico caught me staring at him and gave me another little smile.
"You're in a good mood." I stated. Nico shrugged again.
"I just feel happy for some reason."
"And what reason is that?" Happy Nico was a rare thing and I was not about to let this go.
"Well," he began listing the reasons off on his fingers. "We have the weapon we need to destroy Erebos, we're almost to New Orleans, and we haven't been attacked by any monsters for an entire day." My heart sank. We were almost to New Orleans.
I turned to Oliver. "How much longer until we get to New Orleans?" Oliver thought for a moment before responding.
"In about an hour we'll reach a train station where we'll switch trains. Then we'll ride the new train for almost three hours before reaching New Orleans." I nodded, but I suddenly felt very sick and I regretted eating that sandwich.
"Do you have the tickets?" I asked. Oliver nodded and patted his pocket. I felt uneasy asking the next question: "Do you mind if I carry them?" Oliver looked confused, but nodded anyways.
"Sure." He said as he passed the three tickets over to me. I felt extremely guilty for taking the tickets, but I knew I had to do this.
My plan was to split up with Nico and Oliver at the next train station. I would create some sort of distraction that would split us up and delay them from catching the train on time. By the time they got to the spot the train was, I would either be gone or they wouldn't be able to board the train because they don't have their tickets.
I really hoped my plan worked. I knew there were tons of flaws in it; after all I was no daughter of Athena.
So this was my last hour with my two best friends. I looked over at Oliver who was staring out the window into the fog. His flaming red hair was sticking up at wild angles in the back, but it didn't bother me. I hoped that he wouldn't be mad at me.
I turned towards Nico who had his eyes closed and was resting. I drifted my gaze over his eyelids, his curved nose, and his sallow cheekbones. My eyes lingered on the lips I would never be able to kiss.
Suddenly it was too much. I couldn't stand to look at the people I was about to betray.
I jumped up and grabbed my backpack. When Oliver and Nico looked up I mumbled, "I'm going to the bathroom" and walked quickly out of the car.
When I reached the bathroom I shut the door quickly behind me. There was barely enough room for both me and my backpack, it was so tiny. I looked into the small mirror next to the toilet. Other people might see a tired girl who needs to brush her hair. But I saw a traitor who was about to backstab her only true friends.
But it's what I have to do! I told myself. I can't just let them die. It's true; I couldn't do that, but I never asked for any of this. I never asked to be a demigod. I never meant to develop feelings for my best friend. I didn't ask for this quest!
I felt a surge of hatred towards the gods and towards my father. He's the god of the sun! I yelled internally. You would think he could fight the god of darkness, but apparently gods are wimps!
As soon as the burst of anger came, it was gone. Now I felt tired and empty. I turned the sink on and splashed some cold water in my face. It helped a little; I didn't feel so tired. I turned to my bag and dug around for my camp half-blood shirt and a pair of simple blue jeans. It felt nice to put on clean clothes.
I brushed my teeth quickly before brushing the tangles out of my hair. I scoffed at the way it fell "perfectly" down my back.
It's not like it's going to matter much longer. I told myself bitterly. I grabbed my backpack and stepped out of the restroom. I gathered my thoughts as I walked back to the car Nico and Oliver were in. I had to tell them how much they meant to me, but I wasn't very good with words.
Just as I entered the part of the train where Nico and Oliver were sitting, the train lurched to a sudden stop and I went flying forward. I slammed into an empty seat, but rolled off once the train stopped moving. My shoulder ached from the impact of the seat, but other than that I was fine.
I stood up and looked around to see if everyone was alright. The couple I had seen earlier were wearing their seatbelts and were alright. While cradling my shoulder, I walked quickly over to Oliver and Nico who were picking themselves up off the floor.
"Are you guys okay?" I asked. Nico rubbed his neck and winced, but nodded. Oliver was pinching his nose to try and stop the blood from pouring out of it.
"Oliver!" I exclaimed. He held up a hand to show that he was alright, but he most certainly wasn't. "Sit down." I ordered. Oliver obeyed. I released my throbbing shoulder and hovered my hand over his nose. I cast a weary glance at the couple, but thankfully they were too busy checking for injuries to notice me.
Turning back to Oliver, I closed my eyes and began to murmur, "επουλώσει όλες τις πληγές, να επιδιορθώσει όλα τα διαλείμματα.Heal all wounds, mend all breaks." Oliver sighed as the pain went away and his broken nose mended. After a few more seconds I lowered my hand and took a step back to admire my handiwork. I was quite confident that his nose was healed, but I couldn't tell through all the blood. His nose didn't have an odd bump or was turned at odd angles, so that was good.
I brushed my hands together and realized that my shoulder had stopped aching. So, I can heal myself. Sweet!
Oliver reached into his bag and pulled out a sock to wipe his face off. I wrinkled my nose.
"That had better be clean." I said, pointing to the sock. Oliver laughed.
"Just because I'm a boy doesn't mean I rub dirty socks on my face." He retorted. Nico laughed shortly.
"Yeah, because most boys do that." He said sarcastically. I laughed at both of them and for a moment I forgot that these were our last minutes together. Then I remembered that the train had stopped.
"Hey," I said to Oliver and Nico. "Do you guys know why the train –" but I was interrupted by an announcement over the intercom.
"Attention all passengers," said an annoyingly cheery woman. "We apologize for the unexpected delay. There is a herd of wild horses passing over the train tracks. We expect a half an hour delay and apologize for any inconveniences."
I wasn't sure if this was good or bad. I suppose it was good in that I could spend more time with Nico and Oliver, but it might make me late for the next train.
Nico sighed and propped his legs up on the table.
"I guess we'll be here for a while." He said with a hint of annoyance. Oliver, on the other hand, looked extremely excited. He opened the window and leaned as far out as he could.
"Careful, Oliver." I warned. After a moment's hesitation I followed him to the window and leaned out as well. "What are you looking at, anyways?"
"Look!" Oliver exclaimed and pointed towards the front of the train. Sure enough, there was a long stampede of horses running past the train. Wait, not horses… I rubbed my eyes and leaned out further.
"Are those…?"
Oliver grinned. "Party Ponies."
I was about to open my mouth to ask what a Party Pony was, but then I realized that it was pretty obvious in the title. Most of the centaurs were dressed in bright shirts and were waving streamers, plungers, and bottles of root beer in the air. Some of them had cans of spray paint and sprayed the front of the train as they galloped past. Others threw rocks or gave the train a good kick.
"Jeez." I said to Oliver. "They don't seem very friendly."
"They usually are, but this train cuts through their territory and they don't like it. They do this all the time." I nodded slowly and kept watching the ponies. There must have been hundreds of them, and still more coming. One centaur trotted forward holding a large bolder over his head.
That cannot be good. I thought worriedly. When the centaur threw the rock at the train it made a horribly loud bang and smoke hissed into the air, mixing with the fading fog. The Party Ponies cheered and clapped each other on the back. Finally the endless line of centaurs lulled to an end and the last horse tossed his rock.
Oliver and I watched as a few engineers climbed out of the train and examined the damage. Apparently it was pretty bad because I could hear their swear words all the way from where I was perched at the window.
"Uh," was all I could say to describe the situation. Oliver and I leaned back into the train and relayed the dilemma to Nico, who groaned.
"We have to wait even longer?" he complained.
"Oh, you poor baby." I cooed while pinching his cheek. Nico smacked my hand away and pretended to sulk.
Oliver was pacing back and forth with a very thoughtful and determined look on his face.
"What's up?" I asked him.
Still pacing, he said, "The engineers are going to have to send for new parts to fix the train, but that could take hours. I think I might know what the problem is, but I'll have to get a closer look to be sure. If it's what I think it is, then I have an idea of how to fix it."
Honestly, I wasn't surprised that Oliver knew how to fix a train. I had started to consider him a 'Jack of all trades'. I mean, if you asked him a question there was a 99% chance he knew the answer and if he didn't he would look it up.
"That's great!" I exclaimed. "You should go talk to them." Oliver stopped pacing and shrugged.
"They probably won't take me seriously…" He said while he stared at his feet.
"Oh, come on! You're the smartest person I know! They would be stupid not to listen to you." I punched Nico' leg as a way to tell him to say something nice about Oliver.
"What? Oh, uh, yeah. You're smarter than… my teacher." Nico gave Oliver a weak grin to back up his statement. Oliver blushed at our compliments.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He said bashfully. He gave me and Nico a huge grin and began to walk towards the door. I suddenly felt a surge of affection for Oliver. I don't know where it came from, but I did know that this might be my last chance to tell him what he meant to me.
As he walked past me I grabbed his arm and pulled him into a hug. Oliver made a surprised squeak, but wrapped his arms around my anyways. I squeezed my eyes shut so that I didn't start crying. I hugged Oliver tightly; so tightly that my arms started to get sore. I held on to him like he was he only thing connecting me to this world and if I let go I would float away into oblivion.
"Thank you for being my friend," I whispered into his shirt. "When no one else was." I wasn't sure if he heard me, but he held me closer. I was relieved that he didn't think I was a weirdo for just hugging him out of the blue, but now the hug was becoming awkwardly long.
I dropped my arms and stepped back. Oliver's eyes were soft and caring. Mine were wet, but I quickly blinked the tears away. Oliver patted me softly on the shoulder, gave me a genuine smile, and walked away to find the engineers.
I wrapped my arms around myself and watched the door Oliver had disappeared through. I was going to miss him.
Nico cleared his throat loudly and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around to face him. When I locked eyes with him I was taken aback by the emotion in his eyes. It was a mix of curiosity, admiration, and something else that I couldn't place, but it looked warm.
Nico stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Do you want to go outside?" He asked simply.
"Uh, I think we're supposed to stay in the train." I replied. Nico shrugged, but he had a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Who's stopping us?" Then I realized that he was daring me to do this and there was no way I was going to back down to this emo boy. Nico grinned when he realized that he had won me over. "Follow me." He led me out of our car the same way Oliver had gone. After half a minute of walking, Nico stopped in front of the men's bathroom.
"Oh," I said, a little embarrassed and shocked. "Do you need to…?" Nico laughed at my discomfort.
"No, no." He explained. "There's a window on the ceiling that opens."
"Oh." Was all I could say. His explanation didn't really make the situation any less awkward, but I followed him inside the crammed space anyways.
Small spaces had always bothered me, so when Nico closed the door and we barely had room to move my heart was pounding.
"I'll go up first and then I'll pull you up, okay?" I nodded and chewed my lip nervously. I don't know why I was being so antsy. Actually, yes I did; I was in a tiny bathroom with Nico.
Nico hopped up on the toilet and reached up the open the window. When he flipped it open I felt a cool breeze stir the stale air in the restroom. I watched as Nico pulled himself up onto the roof of the train. Then he held out his hand for me to go next.
I stepped on top of the toilet and gripped the edge of the window with one hand and Nico's hand in the other. I ignored the tingles that went up my arm as Nico tightly gripped my hand. I pushed myself up with all of my strength and Nico pulled me up with my other hand. I managed to get my leg over the edge of the window and did a weird flip/roll onto the roof.
Nico stood up and held out his hand to help me up. Nico pulled me to my feet and was about to let go of my hand, but I held on tightly. I was afraid that if I let go now I would never be able to catch him again. It was a childish thought, but I think Nico got the message because he tightened his grip on my hand. We walked towards the middle of the roof and took in the scenery.
It was beautiful. The fog had lifted and was almost completely gone, revealing the late afternoon sun and deep blue sky. The train tracks were almost perfectly straight for as far as I could see. On the right side of the tracks were thick green trees that stretched for miles and on the left were soft, green hills that spread out into the horizon.
"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah." Nico replied quietly. After a moment's thought he added, "It makes me sad." I turned to look at him and he kept his eyes locked on the horizon.
"What do you mean?" Before he continued, Nico took a deep breathe.
"Why do people go through life with their eyes closed? I mean, there are so many beautiful things in life that people take advantage of. They ignore them, they use them, and they break them." Nico turned his soft, brown eyes towards me. I was surprised with how much sorrow they held. "Nobody cares about them."
And then it hit me and I saw the deeper meaning behind his words.
"Nico…" I whispered. "I care about you." He didn't say anything; he only turned back towards the forest.
We stood in silence for a few minutes. The only noise was the wind brushing the tree tops and the distant clamor of the engineers and Oliver repairing the train. My heels were starting to hurt so I reluctantly let go of Nico's hand and sat down criss-cross. Nico stretched his legs out next to me and I fought the urge to grab his hand again.
The sun was already touching the tips of the trees. Hemera was getting weaker. Once again I was slammed back into reality so hard that I lost my breath. It felt like an iron fist was gripping my lungs and squeezing the air out.
"Juliet?" Nico asked, his eyes full of concern. "Are you alright?" I nodded, but I felt like I was dying. Oh wait, I was. I almost laughed out loud at my twisted humor. "You've been acting… different." Nico continued. "Ever since you found Hemera you've seemed… distant."
I tried to find a good excuse for my behavior, but all I came up with was, "I'm just nervous about the quest." Nervous was an understatement.
"I'm not blind, you know." Nico said as if he were hurt that I wasn't confiding in him. "It's obvious something is bothering you; something bigger than a quest."
I didn't say anything for a long time and neither did Nico. Even though we weren't talking, I could tell we were both thinking hard. A million thoughts were running through my head but I couldn't get a hold on any of them.
Should I tell Nico that I like him? Should I tell him that I'm dying? What if he insists on going with me? Would Oliver want to come, too?
My mouth felt dry and my heart was hammering inside my chest. I had to say something! But what?
How about, 'I know I said I was never going to leave you… Well, PSYCH!' I mentally face palmed. If I told him I had to leave without him he would be hurt, but if I didn't tell him he would still be hurt.
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I knew two things; One, that this was the last moment I would spend alone with Nico. Two, I had to tell him how much he meant to me. It would probably break his heart, but it would also break mine if I never let him know how special he was to me. The problem was… what do I say?
I decided to talk about something completely different.
"What's your favorite memory?" I asked curiously.
"My favorite memory…" Nico repeated while staring off into the distance. I watched as his eyes flitted back and forth as he racked his memory for the best moment of his life. The golden sky reflected in his eyes the same way it did that night in the forest and I was once again captivated by the emotion he was able to hold in them. He was good at hiding in the shadows and running away from his emotions, but no matter how hard he tried, Nico couldn't guard his eyes. They always betrayed him, and I was thankful for that. If his eyes hadn't showed me who he really was, I wouldn't be sitting here next to him resisting the urge to kiss him.
Nico suddenly laughed quietly and I knew he had found the perfect memory. I looked at him expectantly and waited for him to start talking.
"My eight birthday." He said after a few moments. He kept his eyes on the horizon as he replayed the memory in his mind. All the while he had a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. I pulled my knees up to my chest and gave him my full attention.
"My mom made me a chocolate cake." Nico laughed again. "It tasted horrible!" I laughed with him.
"I take is she's not a very good cook?" Nico's smiled faded, just a little.
"No, she wasn't." She wasn't. Past tense. Which means she's dead.
"Oh." Of course I had to bring up some painful about Nico's family. All I was trying to do was have a happy conversation about good memories. Was that too much to ask?
"Anyways, after everyone pretended to like the cake I got to open my presents." The child-like shine was back in Nico's eyes and I was glad that I hadn't upset him as much as I thought. "Bianca got me my first deck of Mythomagic cards and my first three figurines; Zeus, Dionysus, and Artemis. At the time I didn't know that my dad was Hades, but I loved that game more than anything else. I spent hours playing it with Bianca and collecting the rest of the figurines." Nico's voice dropped from happy to slightly regretful and bitter. "I would lay awake in my bed every night, wondering if the gods were actually real and if they were out there. I wished with all my heart that they were." Nico forced a smile back onto his face and shrugged. "I guess I know now that you've gotta be careful what you wish for." I nodded in understanding.
"For the longest time I wished that I would find out who my dad was." I said. Nico nodded slowly. "My mom didn't like to talk about him much. But when you told me he was a god… well, I was not expecting that."
Nico laughed softly. "Yeah, I wouldn't have believed me either." We stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, both of our eyes on the horizon.
It felt so natural sitting here with him, only talking when we felt like it. But I knew my time was ticking away and I had to act quickly. I was finally going to tell him.
"Nico?" I asked. He turned to me and as soon as he met my eyes I lost my nerve. "I was just, uh, wondering what you're favorite color was."
Seriously, Juliet? I yelled at myself. Seriously?
"Everyone thinks it's black," Nico replied. "Since I'm the son of Hades, and all. But actually I really like green. Forest green." I nodded. That made sense.
"That's a good color. Mine's light blue." We fell back into silence. I tried to relax and enjoy the moment, but I was having trouble breathing.
Just tell him. Just say, 'I like you' and be done with it. Easier said than done.
CHOO! CHOO!
Nico and I jumped at the train whistle. I actually started to slide off the roof!
"Nico!" I squeaked. Nico immediately caught me around my waist and held me steady.
"Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern. The feel of his hands on my waist was causing my brain to short circuit, but I managed to answer.
"Yeah, I'm fine." But I wasn't. The whistle meant that the train was fixed which meant that my time with Nico was over. Nico was about to let go of me, when I did something completely unexpected.
Before I even registered what I was doing, I grabbed the front of Nico's shirt and pulled him towards me. With a surprised "oomph" from Nico, out lips crashed together. Nico's eyes were wide open in shock. I was too scared to see what else he was thinking so I squeezed my eyes shut. The kiss was dry and desperate and not what I had been dreaming about. Nico's hands remained on my hips, but I figured it was probably because he was too surprised to move them.
After a few seconds I let go of his shirt and pulled away. I avoided his eyes because I was afraid that I would see disgust. Nico removed his hands from my waist and my heart sank. I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes and a lump formed in my throat.
"Sorry." I whispered. "Just don't forget me, okay?" Then I quickly stood up and walked back towards the window. I didn't turn around to look back at Nico; I just hopped down onto the toilet seat and tried not to cry.
Which I ultimately failed at. Silent tears ran down my face as I walked further down the train to the women's bathroom. I wasn't crying because of the disappointing kiss. Okay, maybe I was. But I was also crying because I was hours away from my imminent death, I was about to deceive my two best friends, and I wasn't going to get to say good bye to my mom.
I shut the bathroom door behind me and leaned back against it.
I can't do this. I thought for the billionth time. I'm not hero material. I'm not Percy Jackson!
I stumbled into the wall as the train began to move again. I had to get back to my seat; Oliver was probably wondering where I was. I wiped my eyes and splashed cold water on my face. My eyes were still red, but hopefully he wouldn't notice.
I ran my fingers through my hair, opened the door to the bathroom, and slowly headed back to the car Oliver and Nico were in.
What was I going to say to Nico? How should I act? Should I pretend like nothing happened?
Thankfully, when I opened the door to our car Nico wasn't there. Oliver smiled at me as I sat down. I wasn't feeling very happy or optimistic, but I put on a smile anyways.
"So, you fixed the train." I said. "I knew you could!" Oliver grinned bashfully.
"It was nothing, really. It was just a matter of reconnecting a few wires in the engine and reshaping the dent."
"You are pretty amazing, do you know that?" Oliver pretended to roll his eyes.
"Of course I do!" It pained me to laugh, but I did anyways.
"It's almost an hour to New Orleans, right?" I asked. Oliver readjusted his laptop bag and nodded.
"About forty five minutes, why?" I faked a yawn and rubbed my eyes.
"I think I'll catch up on some beauty sleep."
"Okay, well I'm starving so I'm gonna go buy another sandwich. Do you want something for later?"
I shook my head. "Thanks anyways." Oliver flashed me another grin before setting of to find food. Now that I was alone I let my smile fall and I leaned back in my chair. I closed my eyes and tried not to think about the day's events.
It was so quiet that I could have fallen asleep, but I could feel the weight of my problems pressing down on my shoulders. Besides, I was scared I was going to have another Erebos dream.
After about ten minutes I heard the door to the car open and footsteps walk toward me. At first I thought it was Oliver, but when the person sat down next to me I caught the familiar scent of pine trees and earth.
My heart started pounding so loudly that I was sure he heard it. I held my breath and continued to fake sleep. For an entire minute Nico just sat quietly next to me. I was halfway through counting the second minute when he spoke up.
"Juliet." He whispered into my ear. It came so sudden that I almost jumped. I wasn't expecting him to be that close. I also didn't expect him to lean even closer and softly kiss my cheek. Unlike our first kiss, this one made my heart skip a beat. "I could never forget you."
Then he scooted back into his own seat, leaving enough space so that we weren't touching. I wished I wasn't pretend sleeping. Then I could hug him.
Then I got the brilliant idea to roll over in my sleep. I faked a yawn and skillfully rolled towards Nico so that I was curled up into his side. I heard him laugh softly, but I wasn't sure if he thought I was actually asleep. I wanted him to put his arm around me, but I was pinning it against his body.
I felt Nico try and wiggle his arm out from underneath me, but it didn't work. For some reason I found this really funny and I had to suppress a laugh. He finally gave up and instead tried to rest his head on top of mine. However, my head was too low so Nico had to bend his neck at an uncomfortable angle.
Nico groaned in frustration and resumed his upright position. I couldn't fight a smile back this time, but thankfully Nico didn't see me. I thought about "waking up", but Nico's awkwardness was so adorable.
Nico wiggled his immobile arm again and managed to loosen it enough to set his hand on my knee. It wasn't the most comfortable or romantic gesture ever, but it was definitely the least awkward. After a minute or two, Nico started to trace random designs on my knee. Well, at first I thought they were random. Then I realized that he was writing something. Beautiful.
My heart froze and my breath hitched in my throat. Nico thought I was beautiful. Even my plain hair and muddy hazel eyes.
I felt like every bad thing that happened today had been erased and it left me with a warm, glow in my stomach. I drifted off to sleep without a worry in my mind. I didn't care what Oliver would think when he walked in. I wasn't worried about leaving my friends behind. I wasn't even scared about dying. It was like me and Nico were in our own little world.
And so I fell asleep believing that we were untouchable. If only that were true.
Sorry for such a late chapter! I was at camp last week (no, not Camp Half-Blood) and I've been having really bad writers block. I actually deleted half of this chapter and rewrote it because I was so unsatisfied with it. But as long as you guys like it I'm happy, so review and let me know what you think! For those of you who are wondering, I might put Percy into this fanfiction but he won't be a major character. He'll probably just appear for part of one chapter. Thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows!