𝙇𝙮𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨 (𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙭 𝙁𝙚𝙢! 𝙊𝘾) 𝙏𝙏𝘾

Percy's Still a B****

cw: mini panic attack. It ends after the  ***

Percy had just thought both girls (plus the phoenix) were finally asleep when Sylvia sat straight up and curled into a ball. She stared at the floor and didn't say anything or even insult him--not that he was complaining. He was about to turn around and talk to the nymphs around them for a bit until he saw a tear glistening down her cheek.

Shit. What am I supposed to do now?

He debated approaching her, but he was pretty sure she'd tear his head right off if he so much as breathed loudly.

She has Fawkes, and she wouldn't appreciate my help anyways, he told himself. 

One minute later, her tears turned into hyperventilation. 

He pursed his lips, briefly considering leaving her like that. He knew he couldn't, though. He walked over and sat down about three feet away from her, taking great care not to touch her or get too close, in case that made her panic even more. She didn't say anything, but he caught Fawkes angling her head toward him as if commenting on his presence.

"Is it Bianca?" he murmured, not wanting to wake up Zoe. 

Sylvia shrugged, which wasn't exactly an answer but it was better than nothing. Her breaths sped up, becoming shallower.

"Hey, hey, it'll be okay. Everything will work out." Percy really didn't know what to say. He'd never been in a situation like this before. "I don't exactly know what's wrong, but it won't be like this forever. Life sucks right now, but it has to get worse before it gets better, right?"

Sylvia sniffled. Her breathing started to slow, and her shoulders relaxed.

"See, everything will be alright, and this quest will be over soon and we can go home."

"With Annabeth?" Sylvia's voice cracked as she said her friend's name. 

Percy had never understood how Annabeth could be friends with Sylvia. She was always so...mean. And annoying. But...seeing how much the daughter of Apollo cared, he started to get it. She seemed even more distraught than he was.

"Of course, we'll be with Annabeth. That's, like, the whole point of this. Plus, I'm pretty sure if we don't arrive on time, she'd end up escaping and finding us to yell about how late we are." It was a lame joke, but Sylvia's half-hearted smile made him feel as if he'd just said the most amusing thing ever.

"She's done that to me before, actually." Sylvia hiccuped. She finally looked up, and her eyes were very red and puffy. She had something Percy was pretty sure was called my-scars-a running down her face. Despite all of that, she still managed to look beautiful.

Not that Percy thought she was beautiful. 

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" Percy asked after a few awkward seconds of him just staring at her.

"No."

"Ok."

So they both sat there, basking in the silence--and possibly each others' presence.

***

"Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."

They stood at the edge of the river, looking up at a curve of concrete looming between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam, looking so tiny they could be fleas in disguise.

I for one am not a fan of mortals, but even I can admit how impressive this is, Fawkes said.

The naiads left with a lot of grumbling--not in any language Sylvia knew, but she could tell they didn't like the dam blocking up their river.