Chapter Text
The weeks have truly flown by
Summer is close to ending, only a few days left of camp. Oh and I turned 18, finally. But my age seemed so insignificant ever since I got the news of me being an demigod. Our lifespan was usually very short. That is also why after the quest, I just wanted to have the best summer ever. And I did have an amazing summer, but in the back of my mind I just kept dreading my future. I knew sooner or later, it was time for another quest, that I probably had to go on. Risking my own life. Lives of loved ones.
I really don’t want another quest.
Looking on the bright side however, Percy and I have been getting closer and closer. I’m not sure if I can call him my boyfriend, but I love him, I think. He is the only one that can make me this happy. And try to make me forget about this Gods awful world, that me and him live in. We had done so much over the summer and I’m grateful for him. However now that summer is ending, I was curious to see what was going to happen between me and him. Would he even join me on another quest? I’m not sure.
At the end of this week was the end of the summer party. To celebrate and hopefully cheer some spirits up. Malcolms loss was felt everywhere at camp, but ever since we came back from the quest camp had been awfully quiet. No chaos, no random invasions, and also no nightmares. Not one single vision of Khaos destroying the world. Which you think would be good, right? I don't think so, I know for a fact that Khaos is up to something. She’s brewing something up, something that will take us all by surprise. And that scares the shit out of me.
So no nightmares, but visions instead. They are sort of dreams? But also not, because they feel real, like nightmares. The visions aren’t scary though, so thats why I call them visions and not nightmares. Anyway, I get them almost every night. Its just the same image of an necklace. Not my necklace, but one completely different. It was silver instead of gold, and instead of a sun etched into it, there was a moon. And no yellow calcite stone, but an aquamarine stone. Eventhough the necklace was completely different from mine, it was absolutely beautiful. This must belong to the child of night my prophecy speaks of. Only I have not one clue about who this child is, they could be so close, or so far away. So when I woke up this morning and heard that Rachel had returned again from camp Jupiter, I felt it was time to tell her about my visions.
It was cloudy outside, and most campers were already outside training or doing camp activities. The Apollo cabin was basically deserted except ofcourse for Will who was reading a book. ‘’Goodmorning you, sleep well?’’ Will asked me. I nodded ‘’Yeah it was alright, i’ve just been thinking.’’ I said. ‘’It seems like thats all what you’re doing these days, thinking.’’ He said. I laughed, cause he was right. I was always in my head these days, even with Percy. ‘’Have you decided who you are going with to the party on saturday?’’ Will suddenly asked me. ‘’I’m guessing Percy, if he asks me. You?’’ I asked him. ‘’My boyfriend, Nico actually. He is coming back to camp for it, so I cannot wait. I also would love for you to meet him.’’ He said. ‘’I didn’t know you had a boyfriend Will! I can’t wait to meet him. Oh do you have any clue at what time Rachel arrives at camp today? I need to talk to her.’’ I asked him. ‘’I think she is already here actually.’’ He said. ‘’Shit really, what time is it?’’ I asked him. “Its almost noon.’’ He answered. Fuck I really slept in. I got out of bed and put on some different clothes and rushed out the cabin. I even missed breakfast. I ran towards the big house and saw some Demeter kids working in the strawberry fields. When I finally reached the big house I ran towards Chiron his room and without knocking ran inside. ‘’Goodafternoon to you to, child of Apollo.’’ Chiron suddenly said. It looked like he and Rachel were in the midst of a conversation. And I just interrupted that, shit. ‘’Oh- I, I’m so sorry Chiron, Rachel. I just need to talk to you Rachel, its important before you leave again.’’ I said. Rachel smiled. ‘’Well you did burst in at the perfect time, Rachel and I are done anyway.’’ Chiron said and gave me a smile. “Thank you Chiron, we’ll speak soon.’’ Rachel said, and Chiron nodded. ‘’Bye Chiron” I said as me and Rachel walked out of his office.
‘’How have you been love?” Rachel said in a soft tone. I hugged her, which I guess caught her off guard cause she flinched. Eventually she softly hugged me back. “Oh, happy birthday’ btw!’ she said beaming at me. ‘’Let’s just take a walk and i’ll explain whats going on’’. We walked into the strawberry fields and the forges. ‘’I still havent had any visions, not since we came back. I’m worried sick, I still think he’s out there, alive.’’ I suddenly said to Rachel after a comfortable silence. “Actually expect some news about that, there are a couple of campers who want to search for Malcolm. Isadora from the Athena cabin and a few from Ares, Demeter and even some Aphrodite kids want to join.’’ Rachel said. ‘’But how? We have no clue about where Khaos is hiding, let alone where she is torturing Malcolm.’’ I said. ‘’Mr D thinks its sucide, but it’ll at least give people hope. Its better than nothing.’’ Rachel said. ‘’You’re right. I want to join them.’’ I said. Rachel stopped walking and grabbed my hands. ‘’You can’t, we both know that.’’ She said. ‘’Why not? Maybe this is the quest i’m meant to go on.’’ ‘’Come on, you are smarter then that. Rescuing Malcolm is not a quest, its a mission. You are meant for other things. Now tell me, what is going on?’’ She said. I guess she was right. I knew somewhere down that Malcom needed saving fast, but I was not meant to save him. I explained to Rachel about the visions I kept seeing every night. The necklace in all its magnificent details. ‘’Another necklace? Another powerful demigod, mhm. Why are you telling me this just now?’’ She asked. ‘’I’m not sure, I made the connection probably the fourth time I got the visions. I guess I just wanted to wait out, until I was ready. I knew that once this information is known, the other demigod was going to be found, and I was going to be sent on another quest.’’ I said. Rachel sat down and I sat down besides her. She squeezed my hand. ‘’Its okay. I think that whoever that other necklace belongs to, has been getting the same visions. I think now that you have your necklace, certain things have been set into motion. The world has changed. And whoever the child of the night is, is somehow connected to you. They might not know it yet, but they certainly will.’’ She said.
Connected.
“Who do you think the prophecy is talking about?” I asked her. “Gods I have not a single clue, but with your permission, I’ll take this information back to Chiron. He’ll know what to do, and if were lucky this person might already be in this camp.’’ She said. I nodded. ‘’So hows Percy?’’ She asked me. I couldn't help but smile at the sound of his name. ‘’He’s great’’ I beamed at her. She smiled. ‘’I’m meeting his mom today actually, he’s picking me up in a bit. Gods i’m nervous.’’ I said. Percy has been wanting me to meet his mom for a long time, but we never got around to it. It never seemed important. But now that me and him are dating and I might get killed by Khaos, it seemed important meeting his mom. ‘’I’m sure you’ll be fine, after your quest you’re scared for a mother?’’ Rachel said. ‘’Yes omg!” I said. And we both laughed. ‘’Anyway enough about me, how was camp jupiter?” I asked her suddenly. She looked down at the ground. ‘’They are doing worse. They haven’t got you to protect them. For some reason, more campers are going missing, and more accidents happen. But there hasn't been an accident here since the chimeras attacked. I just cant figure it out, and its killing me.’’ She admitted. ‘’I get it. Maybe once we have found the child of night, get on with a quest and find the other necklace, it might give us more answers to whats going on.’’ I said. ‘’And how to stop it, and her.’’ She said. ‘’We will stop her.’’ I said to her. She smiled. ‘’You better.’’ She said as she looked over to something over my shoulder. ‘’I believe someone wants to see you.’’ She said smiling. I looked over my shoulder, and saw him. Percy Jackson in all of his glory, smiling. I said my goodbyes to Rachel and said that me and her will be in touch. I ran towards him and hugged him tightly. He hid his face into my neck and I felt him kissing it. ‘’Hello Perce’’
‘’Hello, you.” He said smiling.
Percy and me walked back together to the Apollo cabin. His car was parked outside the camp, I just needed to get ready. We were going to eat at his moms place. ‘’Alright you, i’ll see you in 20 minutes?’’ He asked me as he was holding my hand. I nodded. “I’ll be waiting for you, bye.’’ He said smiling as he slowly let go of my hand. Gods, he is just so incredible.
I walked into the cabin to find Will still there. ‘’Hey Will, why are you still inside?’’ I asked him. ‘’Yeah, I had nothing planned today unlike the rest.’’ he said. I looked around to find no one else in the cabin. Guess everyone is still out. ‘’Any plans for tonight?’’ Will asked me. I walked over to my closet. ‘’Actually yes, I’m meeting Percy’s mom and his stepfather.’’ I said while pulling out a dress. ‘’Wow, so things are good with the two of you?” Will asked. ‘’Yes, or at least I think so? I’ve never been in a relationship before. Sure I’ve had crushes before but I always left before anything could happen. But I feel good around Percy. He makes me feel safe, seen and loved.’’ I beamed at Will. ‘’Is he your boyfriend?’’ Will suddenly said. This caught me off guard while I was styling my hair. ‘’Uhm, well I haven’t gotten the question, but I don't know, maybe Percy doesn’t want to label it? It doesn’t matter. I know that he likes me.’’ ‘’Yeah I can see that by the way he looks at you, he adores you.’’ Will said. I smiled and started doing my make up. ‘’Have you guys, you know…’’ Will suddenly said. I could feel my face starting to get hot. I turned to look at Will bewildered at him asking me that. I laughed, and Will started laughing as well. ‘’I mean come on, you’re 18, sex can be scary but you know, you can talk to me.’’ Will said. I knew that. Will was an amazing friend, maybe it was good talking about it. ‘’We haven’t had sex. Yet.’’ I said shyly. ‘’Wait really? I’m surprised, I mean you guys have been glued together. I think today is the first day in weeks were I haven't seen you guys together. Plus the Poseidon cabin is deserted..’’ He said while give me a devilish smile. ‘’Don’t get me wrong, its not like we didn’t want too, but the timing was never right. Always interrupted. Or I got scared.’’ I said the last bit more quite then the rest. ‘’You’re scared?” Will said confused. ‘’You who faced one of the oldest deities in our world? Scared?” Will said again. I laughed. “Its just that, you know, Percy is so charming and handsome, and also like really cool. I get so intimated by that. He’s all I ever wanted, and I just feel less then that. So i’m just scared i’ll do something wrong, or i’ll be awkward or ugly. I don't know.’’ I admitted. I looked away. Will stood up and gave me a hug. He held my face and said something i’ll never forget. ‘’Percy should be the luckiest man in the world with a woman like you. You are witty, kind, and brave. Oh and absolutely beautiful. Don’t lower yourself like that, ok? Even if you do mess up, if he loves you, he won’t ever judge you.’’ I started tearing up, hearing Will say something so kind to me. ‘’Will, thank you.’’ I said while giving him a hug. ‘’So, are you at least going to be doing it safe tonight?’’ He said while walking back to his bed. ‘’Wait how did you know-’’ ‘’I just assumed after my amazing advice’’ Will said. I grinned. ‘’Yes, well i’m on the pill.’’ I said while walking over to the bathroom to get dressed. When I walked out, Will dropped his book. ‘’You look gorgeous, you’ll be fine. Don't you forget it.’’ Will said, and I said my goodbye while walking out the cabin.
When I walked outside, I noticed Percy sitting on the steps. He looked behind him and quickly stood up. ‘’Wow’’ he said. With a bewildered look. He walked towards me. ‘’You look beautiful.’’ He said. He looked at me up and down and kissed me. I smiled. ‘’Goodevening to you too, Jackson.’’ I said smiling. ‘’Look I got your mom some blue flowers, you know because she likes blue.’’ I said while showing him the bouquet I had gathered from the forests and help from the Demeter kids. ‘’She’ll love that. Ready?” He asked me, and I nodded. We started walking towards his car. Once in the car, he put on the radio. Sparks by Coldplay was playing. He put his hand on my leg, and started driving. The sun was finally coming out from the clouds as we slowly entered the big city. I felt myself getting more nervous as the big buildings appeared. Suddenly Percy started parking somewhere in an alleyway in Manhattan, this was it. I stepped out of the car and checked myself one last time. ‘’You look great don’t worry’’. Percy said. He grabbed my hand ‘’Come on’’ He said while giving me a reassuring smile.
We walked up the stairs and I was out of breath by the time we arrived at the apartment door. I looked at Percy and he knocked on the door. A deafening silence filled the room around us, until a beautiful brunette woman opened the door. She was taller than I expected, had a welcoming smile on her face, and the prettiest eyes. ‘’Percy!’’ She beamed as she gave Percy a big hug, and then she turned to me. ‘’Well I’ve heard all about you, come here’’ She beamed again as she hugged me as well. It was such a nice hug, one of those hugs you just remember. And like that all my nerves disappeared. She welcomed us into the apartment and showed me around. ‘’Tea, coffee? Anything?” She asked me and Percy as we were sitting down on the sofa. ‘’Some tea please’’ I answered. A few minutes later she came back with the tea and biscuits. ‘’Oh ms Jackson, I’ve gotten something small for you.’’ I said while handing her the flowers. She started smiling. ‘’That is really kind of you, thank you. You can call me Sally btw.’’ She answered as she put the flowers in a vase in the kitchen. She walked back and sat down in one of the chairs. ‘’Oh Paul we’ll be joining us at dinner, he is still working.’’ She said. She started asking me about my ambitions, how me and Percy met, and all sorts of other questions. It was nice being asked about me and not about my demigod self. For just a moment I felt like a normal student, in a normal relationship.
Once Paul arrived, I understood why Percy and Sally liked him. He made dad jokes at dinner, he and Sally were amazing cooks and he was kind. Loving truly. It made me so happy Percy grew up with a loving mom like Sally, and now having a kind stepfather. I couldn’t help but wished I had the same. Especially when I got asked about my own family. ‘’So hows your family? Any chance of ever meeting them at a wedding?” Paul asked jokingly. Sally gave him a look. ‘’Oh, its a bit complicated.’’ I said while nervously chuckling. ‘’Its totally okay if you don't want to answer it.’’ Sally said giving me a warm smile. I nodded and looked at Percy. And realizing I never really told him about my family. He sort of knew that I didn't like to talk about it. Now seemed an okay time though. ‘’So, well, uhm, my mom and I had a complicated relationship. She gave me away when I was younger. I landed in foster care for years, until she wanted me back. I was 8 at the time and very confused, nonetheless excited. She always told me she regretted giving me away, always said she wanted more time. I never knew what she meant until I found out about my dad. I lived with her in a big house in Jersey. She was an amazing mother and I loved her dearly. She eventually died in a house fire when I was 13. I’m grateful I got those last years with her. Her parents also died when she was young so I went back into foster care. Eventually I got homeschooled by this family which made it possible for me to enter university at 17. I left that family and started living on my own, until I met Percy. A bit depressing sorry.’’ I said. Sally started laughing at my last comment. ‘’I’m glad you found him.” She said. I looked at Percy. ‘’I’m glad she found me.’’ Percy said.
The food was amazing, and afterwards we played some monopoly. The evening couldn't have gone any better. But it started actually being depressing when the topic of Khaos came up. Even here she could ruin my mood. I started explaining about the quest, the prophecy and the future. I even told her, Paul and Percy about the other necklace visions. And that now sooner or later, another quest would happen. Eventhough I didn’t tell Percy about my visions, I could tell he understood why. ‘’Well whatever the future brings, i’ll go with you, on any quest.’’ He smiled. I smiled back. Parts of me wanted Percy to be with me always, but parts of me now also feared that one day, I could lose him on one of those quests. ‘'Do you guys need a ride back home? I know you guys had some beer.’’ Sally offered. ‘’That is okay mom, you have done more than enough.’’ Percy said while standing up. ‘’Well come by more Perce! This was really fun. Please keep that beautiful girlfriend around.’’ Sally said while looking in my direction ‘’You are always welcome, know that. Even if Percy isn't here, or if you need anything at all, okay?’’ She said. I smiled and nodded. I got up as well. ‘’Thank you both for an amazing night with great food. We’ll come by more.’’ I said to Paul and Sally. They nodded and hugged us as we left. We walked down the stairs and I couldn't contain my smile anymore. ‘’That went great, right?!’’ I asked Percy. ‘’It couldn’t have gone better.’’ He said while kissing me.
It was already dark and late outside so the car ride back was mostly silent. Once we arrived back it the camp had died down, only a campfire was on. ‘’Hey, I meant to ask you, are you going to the party friday?’’ Percy asked. ‘’Yeah I was planning on going.’’ I answered. ‘’Want to go together?’’ He suddenly asked. I looked at him. He looked as perfect as ever. With his dark hair sitting loosely on his forehead, and his beautiful eyes studying my every move. ‘’Ofcourse I want to go with you. Does it have a dress code?’’ I suddenly asked. ‘’Aahah you’ll look good in anything. I’m pretty sure the dress code is just ‘come dressed as anything but the camp halfblood shirts’ so just dress in something you’ll like. Or something I like.’’ He said while having a devilish smile on his face. He winked. ‘’Whatever Perce, i’m tired. Walk me back?’’ I asked laughing. ‘’Ofcourse, but don't you want to come back to mine?’’ He asked. ‘’At the party, not tonight, sorry.’’ I said. But he didn't look disappointed, he looked happy.
He walked me back, and kissed me. I still couldn’t believe he was mine. ‘’Goodnight Percy Jackson.’’ I said while walking towards the cabin door. ‘’Goodnight, you look beautiful btw.’’ He said in a soft tone. I smiled and walked inside.
The rest of the night I dreamt of him.