daylight | percy jackson

grover is joe goldberg

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

BOOK THREE

CHAPTER FOUR.

❝ everywhere hurts. ❞

THE TRIO headed out of the Big House, the impending fate of the match hanging over the demigods like a cloud about to fall with rain. Aria looked out over the camp that had once been her refuge--a place where she was actually needed. A place where somebody had finally wanted her. But now, that somebody was gone, her laughter no more than an echo, her smile no more than a distant memory. The Athena cabin seemed to look less lively without Annabeth there, as if her siblings already knew she was gone.

She was beginning to charge towards the armoury when Percy stopped her, abruptly grabbing her arm, yanking her back.

"You're so bipolar!" Aria exclaimed, and Percy gave her a bewildered expression.

"What?" he said, releasing her arm with a frown.

"One moment you're all like, 'I hate you I never wanna speak to you again', and the next you're all like...grabbing my arm and shit! Make up your mind!"

The girl felt her eyes begin to gloss over, the trauma of the days events finally catching up to her. Her body seemed to do that. To push every inconceivable thought to the recess of her mind, and when she was eventually at her weakest, she started to crumble.

Percy gave her a sympathetic glare. "I know. I'm sorry. But I can't really explain it to you."

"Why?"

"Because. I just can't."

Aria was now severely confused.

"So why did you pull me back?" she asked, a singular tear freeing itself from her blurry vision.

"'Cause I think you should head back to the cabins," Percy said. "You just went through a lot. You don't need to be running Chiron's errands for him right now."

Aria was about to speak when Percy put up his hand.

"And," he continued, "I know you don't like 'taking orders' from men, so I'm gonna ask Thalia to repeat it."

He called over the daughter of Zeus.

"Thalia, tell Silvers she needs to go back to her cabin," the boy said with a small grin, proud of his loophole tactic.

"Aria," Thalia said. "You need to go back to your cabin."

"Jackson. I'm going to murder you in your sleep."

Percy smiled. "Wouldn't want to go any other way."

"I'm being serious," Aria warned, jokingly reaching into her pocket to pull out her dagger.

Percy shrugged. "What makes you think I was joking."

Aria sighed, wiping her eyes. She hated crying in front of people. "Okay. For once, I'm gonna listen to you."