𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍° ! percy jackson

𝐢.𝐱𝐯 - 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬? (𝐚)

Aurora only agreed to go to the Arch for the Starbucks.

The Arch was one of Annabeth's favorite monuments. It sucked to have a best friend who was an architect nerd, because Aurora knew she was never hearing the end of the structural beams or whatever, but it sucked even more to be hungry.

While they walked around, Annabeth constantly spouted "interesting" facts about how the Arch was built, so much to the point where Aurora was going to threaten the daughter of Athena's life.

"Guys," Percy spoke up, eyeing around with concern. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Aurora was in the middle of deciding the best way to sew Annabeth's mouth shut and catch her off guard as she read about the construction equipment used to build the Arch. Aurora had decided on jumping her as Annabeth looked over and caught the daughter of Persephone sneaking up behind her. She stared with confused eyes. Aurora gasped and threw her arms around her best friend with a charming smile. "I love you, Annie!"

"Um, anyways." Annabeth eyed Aurora suspiciously, looking over at Percy. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hade—" Percy made eye contact with Aurora, and suddenly the girl felt extremely uncomfortable. She hadn't told anyone about her past, besides Luke, Gracie, and Annabeth, who were her only family. Not even Connor, Silena, and Clarisse knew, her very best friends. But she had told Percy, the random kid she met two weeks ago, without really knowing why. She just felt compelled. Perhaps to try and make him understand, perhaps to show that she trusted him—to an extent. Something in her just wanted him to know.

The way Percy looked at Aurora made her feel seen through, as if every layer of defense had been stripped away, leaving her exposed and vulnerable to the penetrating gaze of his knowledge. His understanding cut through her facade like a sharp blade, leaving no room for evasion or denial.

But strangely, Percy didn't make her feel bad, like she wanted to sink and drown and die. His eyes didn't blaze with the same anger that Luke's did when she told him. He didn't simply look angry at Hades, he looked angry for her. But he also looked like he understood exactly what she went through. He didn't look sympathetic or pitiful, but rather empathetic, like he wanted to hug her—a look Aurora didn't get very often. Or, a look she didn't allow herself to receive very often. He looked at her like she was just normal Aurora. Or, even, a better version of herself. It was unsettling in the best way.

Grover cleared his throat. "We're in a public place... you mean, our friend downstairs?"

Aurora had to burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of her satyr friend's statement, taking a sip of her strawberry açaí lemonade refresher to contain her giggles. "Our enemy downstairs."

"Um, right." Percy said awkwardly. "Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness." Annabeth answered with a curt nod. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. His helm is a lot more powerful than my invisibility hat. If what I've heard is true..."

"It allows him to become darkness." Grover confirmed. "He can melt into shadow or pass through walls. He can't be touched, or seen, or heard. And he can radiate fear so intense it can drive you insane or stop your heart. Why do you think all rational creatures fear the dark?"

Aurora rolled her eyes theatrically. "Yeah, whatever. It's lame and he got the short end of the stick. Don't hype it up too much."

Percy swallowed at her sentence, glancing around, as if the stupid god was there at that very second. "How do we know he's not here right now, watching us?" He asked.