Instinct & Understanding// [Percy Jackson OC]// Book 3

{Chapter Two}

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"And I never minded being on my own, Then something broke in me and I wanted to go home
To be where you are/ But even closer to you, you seem so very far"
- Wish That You Were Here (Florence and the Machine)

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SCHOOL DANCES SHOULD BE ILLEGAL

ARYA HAD BEEN WAITING outside Westover hall for almost a half-hour now. She was supposed to be meeting Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia in front of the school because Grover had specifically asked for them to help pick him up the two demigods and bring them back to camp. Chrion was reluctant to let her go after the whole Will Solace debacle, but after a little bit of convincing and an iris message from both Percy and Grover explaining why she needs to go with them, Chiron told her she was allowed to go.

Arya wasn't in much of a talking mood however, they had just found out that Sydney from the Hermes cabin had pledged her allegiance to Kronos, along with two other unknowns who had never been to camp. Arya wanted to say she was surprised, but she knew Luke was an older brother figure to a lot of kids at camp, and the younger ones could be highly influenced by him. The bigger problem was, at this rate, the Hermes cabin would have no kids left to fight on the side of the Gods.

It had been a few weeks since the birth certificate incident and while Arya had calmed down externally, after a few rounds of sparring with her friends. Internally, she was still heated about the whole situation, and it's been taking everything in her not to question her allegiance to the Gods. But she somehow continuously convinced herself to trust them blindly, for now.

A sigh of relief let Aryas mouth as she saw Sally's car pull up in front of the school. She was hugging herself from the cold, only thinking about how she would rather be inside then waiting . But thoughts of the cold were pushed into the back of her mind as she enthusiastically waved at Sally, who put a large smile on her face as she saw the sweet girl through the car window.

"Arya dear, we could have picked you up too!" Sally fussed as she put the car in park, and rolled down the window.

"That's okay." Arya said rubbing her hands together for warmth, really wishing she had taken the gloves Connor Stoll offered her. "I have to work on my Pegasus riding, and my friend Silena said going on long distance trips was the best way to practice. But I appreciate it!"

"Anytime dear." Sally sent her a motherly smile. "Now Percy, are you sure you don't want me to wait?"

A lot was going on in Arya's mind while Sally double and triple checked that Percy had everything he needed. For one, she felt slight envy towards Percy, she never had anyone fuss over her like that to make sure she was safe. However, she also knew she would get annoyed if that was the case for her. Arya could also feel Percy's embarrassment at the situation, and it was so bad that she had to turn around and cover her face with her hands to prevent her laughs from being heard. Luckily it just looked like she was blowing on her hands to keep them warm.