𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 || 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣¹

026

(chapter xxvi - feelings suck ass)

SELENE HAD A very nutritious breakfast — a peanut-butter granola bar and half a bag of dried Fruit Loops.

For a labyrinth snack, it was really considered a buffet. Her and Annabeth shared the Fruit Loops, while Percy gagged, claiming Fruit Loops were disgusting (which, was not true — Annabeth nearly maimed the boy).

And then? He had the fucking audacity to pull out a bag of Cheerios and share them with Grover.

When they had stopped to rest, Selene discreetly dumped the rest of the Fruit Loops onto him — grinning, as Percy's face turned from content to terrified real quick.

"You ass!" Percy exclaimed, a dopey grin tugging at the corner of his mouth as Selene giggled.

"That's me!"

Percy jumped up, practically chasing her around the room, his bag of Cheerios in hand. Annabeth leaned against the wall with an amused smirk, while Tyson and Grover looked down the hall — on-edge, as if a monster would emerge from the shadows and turn them into shish-kabobs.

She thought back to the panic attack she had had last night — the one that Percy managed to help her through. Mal's face seemed to wedge its way into her mind again — a painful, infinite reminder of who's heart she broke in two.

'I didn't mean to,' She managed to assure herself. 'I — I just didn't share...I didn't share the same feelings.'

'But you still broke him,' Gaea hissed back in reply. 'Didn't you?'

Selene, using all her willpower, pushed the goddess out of her mind. She stopped dead in her tracks — thoughts of Mal and Gaea corrupting her mind again, sealing her from the bubbly, light feeling she'd been feeling a moment before.

Those thoughts were just enough to distract Selene — causing Percy to creep up behind her. Then, one of his arms slithered sneakily around her waist — the other holding up the bag of Cheerios, which, were about to be dumped on her hair.

"I gotcha!" Percy said, laughing, as he pulled her closer to him. "You can't get away that easily, Star Girl."

Selene didn't respond — staring pathetically at the floor, fists clenched tightly, and lost in her memories.

Percy's grin slowly faded. "Hey...what's wrong?"

Selene glanced up. Grover and Tyson were talking in hushed tones — not paying attention to them anymore.

While Annabeth...well, being the observant one she is, strolled up to them — saying nothing, as her eyes narrowed, studying Selene's expression.

Selene's jaw clenched under her stare. "It's...whatever," She managed to answer — suddenly feeling self-conscious and vulnerable. "Its — it's nothing."

"Selene Lock, you shut the fuck up right now. It's obviously not nothing." Annabeth said with a huff. "You can tell us, you know. We're your best-friends, aren't we?"

"Yes." Selene answered without a blink of hesitation. With a sigh, she turned to them — focusing on Percy's face specifically. She didn't want to cry, or have a panic attack again, but Percy's face was making it hard not to.