DON'T BLAME ME! (p. jackson) (#2) (ON HOLD)

- six

PERCY DID IT AGAIN.

before he left, he caught jason's arm.

"make sure she sleeps. she thinks i couldn't hear her, but she was up all night. if you can get her to sit down for a few minutes and watch tv, she'll probably knock out."

jason nodded. "no promises, but i'll see what i can do."

about fifteen minutes after the group of four left, jason popped his head into rose's room.

"hey," he said, "want to watch tv with me in the lounge?"

"i know what you're doing," she said, swirling the sweet tea in her hands. she'd doordashed dunkin' to the ship. the driver had complimented her on her "rv", saying he'd been looking for one just like it.

jason frowned. "what?"

"just because i'm hearing impaired doesn't mean i can't hear you guys."

jason's brows furrowed as he leaned against the doorframe. "rose, he's just worried about you. we all are. you don't sleep, and today was the first time i've seen you eat in probably two weeks. you don't talk to any of us anymore. percy wants the best for you. he looks at you like you hung the moon. he told me not to tell you, but he started crying because this is the worst he's seen you since last summer. i don't know exactly what happened, but--"

"my sister silena died and my dad stopped talking to me when i started exhibiting obvious signs of mental illness."

jason didn't say anything.

she wiped her eyes and stood. "fuck, i'm sorry, jason. i don't mean to take it out on you guys."

surprisingly, he held his arms out for a hug. rose gladly accepted. he was warm, and smelled vaguely electrical, but mostly like rain.

"you know you can talk to any of us whenever, right? hazel will listen to you talk for hours. she thinks you're cool, but she's afraid of you."

rose frowned. "why?"

"you're older and more experienced. you know how everything works, since you aren't from the 1940s. you're dating the most intimidating guy on the ship, and best friends with the most intimidating girl. you survived literal hell. you're also the daughter of the goddess of beauty."

"i feel bad now. i thought she just didn't like me, so i gave her space."

"she raised hell about you not eating and you thought she didn't like you?"

rose laughed. "can i still take you up on that tv offer?"

"only if you at least try to go to sleep. it's broad daylight and everyone else will be awake. we won't let anything hurt you."

they pulled apart as rose finally said, "okay. just let me shower."

once rose had showered, she changed into one of percy's hoodies, because she could no longer sleep without his beachy scent, and a pair of spandex.

she sat in the lounge, on the daybed she and percy had slept on when nico was in her room. she and jason were watching gravity falls when she fell asleep.

she was hastily woken up a few hours later, by leo, for a hurried meeting on the foredeck, since percy was keeping an eye on a giant serpent in the water.

"i'm sorry," leo said. "i know you're tired, but it's important."

she waved a hand. "i'll be fine. i'll go back to sleep soon."

"that thing is really red," percy muttered. "i wonder if it's cherry flavored.'

"why don't you swim over and find out?" rose asked, blowing smoke from her mouth.

"how about no." he took the cigarette and took a drag before handing it back to her.

"anyway," frank said, "according to my pylos cousins, the chained god we're looking for in sparta is my dad... uh, i mean ares, not mars. apparently the spartans kept a statue of him chained up in their city so the spirit of war would never leave them."

"o-kay," leo said. "the spartans were freaks. of course, we've got victory tied up downstairs, so i guess we can't talk."

jason leaned against the forward ballista. "on to sparta, then. but how does a chained god's heartbeat help us find a cure for dying?"

"piper," hazel said, "you said you'd seen some stuff in your blade?"

piper didn't answer.

"piper?" hazel asked.

she stirred. "sorry, what?"

"i was asking you about the visions," hazel prompted. "you told me you'd seen some stuff in your dagger blade?"

"uh... right." piper unsheathed katoptris. "i, um... i don't see anything right now. but one vision kept popping up. rose and i are exploring some ruins–"

"ruins!" leo rubbed his hands. "now we're talking. how many ruins can there be in greece?"

"quiet, leo," annabeth scolded. "piper, do you think it was sparta?"

"maybe," piper said. "anyway... suddenly we're in this dark place like a cave. we're staring at this bronze warrior statue. in the vision rose touches the statue's face and flames start swirling around us. that's all i saw."

"flames." frank scowled. "i don't like that vision."

"me neither." percy kept one eye on the red sea serpent, which was still slithering through the waves about a hundred yards to port. "if the statue engulfs people in fire, we should send leo."

"i love you too, man."

"you know what i mean. you're immune. or, hell, give me some of those nice water grenades and i'll go. ares and i have tangled before."

rose stared at the coastline of pylos, now retreating in the distance. "if piper saw us going after the statue, then that's who should go. we'll be alright. there's always a way to survive."

"not always," hazel warned.

since she was the only one in the group who had actually died and come back to life, her observation sort of killed the mood.

frank held out the vial of pylosian mint. "what about this stuff? after the house of hades, i kind of hoped we were done drinking poison."

"store it securely in the hold," annabeth said. "for now, that's all we can do. once we figure out this chained god situation, we'll head to the island of delos."

"the curse of delos," hazel remembered. "that sounds fun."

"hopefully apollo will be there," annabeth said. "delos was his home island. he's the god of medicine. he should be able to advise us."

off the port bow, the cherry-flavored sea serpent spewed steam.

"yeah, it's definitely checking us out," percy decided. "maybe we should take to the air for a while."

"airborne it is!" leo said. "festus, do the honors!"

the bronze dragon figurehead creaked and clacked. the ship's engine hummed. the oars lifted, expanding into aerial blades with a sound like ninety umbrellas opening at once, and the argo ii rose into the sky.

"we should reach sparta by morning," leo announced. "and remember to come by the mess hall tonight, folks, 'cause chef leo is making his famous three-alarm tofu tacos!"