Percy was smiling before he even took his first step down the makeshift aisle.
"Your camp is super lucky to have you," Kiana told him, clasping his arm with a brief but warm smile before she let go. He flashed her an embarrassed grin before looking the other way.
"You're one of the coolest guys I know," Cody told him. Embarrassment and uncertainty colored his expression, his hands tucked behind his back, but Percy smiled reassuringly and Cody relaxed a little.
Eliza hugged him tightly. "It's easy to be confident around you."
Kylie hugged him, too, but stepped back before she looked at him and said sincerely, "You're really comforting to be around."
Bryce offered a fist bump instead. "You're gonna kick ass out there."
Percy had a hard time holding still when he reached the end of the line, more in the mood to vibrate happily, but no one seemed to mind. He didn't bother stopping himself from grinning broadly, and it took him a moment to focus on the head of the line. He had to make sure to tell Kiana how smart she was.
He hugged Cassia before he left.
"Thanks for everything," he told her earnestly. "Especially for being patient with me when I was having a hard time."
She laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair fondly.
"You've been a treasure to have around, Percy," she said, eyes soft. "And you've made amazing progress in the time you've been with us. You should be proud of yourself."
"I am," he said, embarrassed but sincere.
And he really meant it. Looking back to three months before, he felt like he'd come really far, and in ways he hadn't really thought were possible. Three months ago, he hadn't known that you could be great but not perfect, or that people wouldn't mind if he asked for help. He hadn't known that the sweetest person in a room could think they were a selfish monster, or that it was okay to tell people no.
But he did now. He'd learned that.
He allowed himself to be ushered out into the hall, and headed toward the office next. Sally, Paul, and Raine were already there with Kyle, the secretary. Sally was leaning against the desk, filling out paperwork, so it was Paul who spotted Percy first, and waved him over with a broad smile.
"How's it feel to have a clean bill of health?" he asked.
"Fantastic," Percy said honestly, plopping into a chair in time for Sally to glance up and flash him a warm smile. He grinned back. "I can't wait to go home, though. No offense, Raine, but I want my room back."
Raine chuckled.
"How long before you check on camp?" Paul asked, a teasing smile playing around his mouth. "Two days? Three?"
Percy snickered, scratching his head bashfully. "I was thinking I'd drop in next weekend. I'd do this weekend if it weren't literally tomorrow, but I want to get settled first."
"I appreciate your restraint," Sally said without looking up, but then signed something with a flourish and sat up to smile at him. "I did let Annabeth and Grover know that they were welcome to stay this weekend if they liked. Thalia asked as well, but I wasn't sure you'd want that."
"It sounds great," Percy said, without mentioning that four players was just right for a game – Paul had gotten a console for the household the previous Christmas, and while none of the four of them had gotten a lot of chances to play video games before, they'd all taken to it pretty enthusiastically.
Sally read his mind anyway. "Do be careful, sweetheart," she said, amusement creeping into her tone. "Try not to let things get too heated this time."
Percy smiled sheepishly. It was true that the last video game weekend had devolved into playful wrestling after a few hours. "Hey, we moved some furniture around, but nothing broke except the curtain rod!"
"I appreciated it," Sally agreed, eyes glittering with mirth. Belatedly, she pushed the completed release forms over to Kyle. "Thank you, Mr. Whitman, you were very helpful."
"No problem," Kyle shrugged, turning away to file the forms. "Good luck out there, kid."
"Thanks!" Percy said cheerfully, hopped to his feet, and then wavered, glancing at Raine. His smile this time was a little more bashful. "And, um, thank you for everything, Raine. I'll see you next Thursday? Right?" He couldn't quite keep the anxiety out of his voice.
Raine smiled at him. "Next Thursday, eleven o'clock," she agreed. "It should take me about that long to start getting used to not having you around."
Percy let out a startled laugh, rocking on his heels. He nodded.
"It's gonna be weird not being here," he admitted. "But good to be home."
Raine nodded, and then gestured to the table nearby, which had the things Percy was going to take home: his duffle bag of clothes and toiletries and all, the trauma box, a few more drawings he'd decided to keep, and, of course, the shark.
Percy shouldered the duffel bag and the shark, and then looked at his mom hopefully. With a small smile and a nod, Sally picked up the trauma box, careful to cradle the drawings on top of it so they were secure without creasing.
"Give me that," Paul chided, and with a laugh, Percy surrendered the duffle bag, leaving him holding just the shark. He turned and waved to Raine as they left the room, and didn't turn back until the door closed behind them. "Where did the shark come from? Did you get it here, or was it from...?"
Paul made a weird motion with his free hand. Percy assumed it was meant to indicate Greek myths somehow, but he had no idea how. Percy snickered.
"I got it here," Percy said, squeezing it with a hum of pleasure. "I held onto it a lot when I was going over garbage memories, so I got kind of attached to it and Raine said I could keep it."
"Did you give it a name?"
"I'm not five, Paul."
"What did you tell your friends at camp?" Sally asked, steering Percy toward Paul's car. "You were visiting every weekend until now, I imagine they've missed you."
"Yeah," Percy sighed, smiling a little at the thought. According to Annabeth and Grover, they'd been asking after Percy more often than not. Was it weird that he liked the thought? "The counselors all know where I've been and why, Katie and the Stolls and Clarisse and everyone. The younger campers just kinda know I was having mental health issues. Annabeth says most of them assumed I'm staying home for a while."
It had taken him a good few weeks to decide whether to let anyone in on it; all of them, counselors included, would have believed he'd gone home for the rest of the year without question. But they were his friends. Friends told each other things.
"They don't know details or anything," Percy added, following that train of thought. "Not like Annabeth and Grover do. But they know about what I said to Thalia."
"I'm very proud of you for being so open," Sally told him, making Percy smile bashfully.
They reached the car then, and Percy looked inside. A grin spread across his face. His friends grinned back.
"There's no way I'm going to fit," Percy complained, and then wiggled inside anyway, leaving him sprawled across his friends' laps; Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, and Tyson had all squeezed into the backseat, which definitely did not have enough room for them.
"None of them would take no for an answer," Sally said ruefully, reaching back to ruffle his hair. "I didn't think you'd mind."
Percy made a pleased noise of agreement. "I have the curse, I'll be fine in a car crash," he said cheerfully, and then made a sound close to a purr when Annabeth settled a hand firmly onto the small of his back.
"If that was a sex noise, I'm going to drop-kick you," Thalia threatened, trapped under Percy's thighs. Percy rolled his eyes.
"You made it dirty, not me," he deadpanned. "Are you gonna stay over tonight? I wanna make a blanket fort. Tyson, have you ever made a blanket fort?"
"Blankets are too soft for forts," Tyson protested from by Percy's feet.
"I haven't made one, either," Annabeth contributed, smiling in amusement as they pulled out of the parking lot. "You're thinking movie and a cuddle pile?"
"You read my mind," Percy said.
"I can roll with that," Thalia agreed.
In the front, Paul started the car and looked over his shoulder to back out of the spot.
Percy felt fingers in his hair and turned his head, only a little surprised to find that it was Grover rather than Annabeth. Grover smiled at him. "Who's your new friend?" he teased, glancing at the shark now trapped between Percy's arms and Grover's legs.
"I dunno," Percy shrugged, glancing down at it with a fond smile. "Fang, maybe? I like Fang." He tugged at one of the cloth teeth in its open mouth.
"What are you, five?" Thalia asked, and Percy cracked up.
Paul pulled out and took off down the road, and Percy craned his neck to watch St. Joan's disappear behind the trees.
Thank you, everyone, for reading to the end. I hope it was everything you were looking for. I'll post the first five chapters of the sequel later today.