Alone Again (Percico/Pernico AU)

Chapter 36

Long time no see, huh?

Hope you enjoy whatever I just wrote.

His walls had finally fallen.
*****

Now, Clarisse normally let people do their own thing and live how they wanted. Percy, however, was a different story. Clarisse thrived upon annoying the boy, as any good frenemy would. And, admittedly, she had grown to care about Percy, regardless of how she might've acted around him.

Not that she'd ever tell him that.

Clarisse was sitting at breakfast the next day, alone. She wasn't too concerned about Percy, since it wasn't uncommon for him to skip breakfast, but the absence of Chris, Connor, and Travis did make for a lonely time.

During lunch, she was alone again, which was odd. Percy missed breakfast, but hadn't missed a whole 24 hours of food since he was 15. She was about to leave and go harass Percy for answers when Mr. D walked in.

"Where's Peter?" The man asked, glancing around the room.

Clarisse rolled her eyes at his forgetfulness. "Not here. Want me to tell him something?"

"Just tell him that his friend--what was it, Nick?--is coming by this afternoon."

"Nice try, but it's Nico."

He shrugged. "Whatever."

Mr. D started to leave when Clarisse called out his name. "What now?"

"Is it alright if I bring Percy food, so he eats something today?"

"Was he not out here earlier or something?"

Clarisse shook her head. "Nope."

Mr. D sighed, waving his hand in classic I-don't-care fashion before returning to his post. Clarisse quickly took the other plate that was made, heading out to Percy's cell. She power-walked down the hall, slowing when she reached her destination.

She knocked twice and waited a few seconds before taking a verbal approach. "Jackass, I brought you lunch!"

"Not hungry!"

"Sucks for you, I'm coming in!" She warned before entering the room. She had expected it to be locked, and was genuinely surprised to find it not be that way.

Percy was just sitting on his bed, pillow (if you could even call it that) laid over his lap. He didn't appear to have been doing anything beforehand, so Clarisse didn't see the difficulty in walking out to get lunch.

She walked over to him before shoving the plate into his general direction. He flinched at the sudden movement, but grabbed it nonetheless.

"You're welcome, dumbass," she said, taking a seat on the opposite side of the bed.

He muttered a half-hearted, "Thanks, bitch," back at her.

Clarisse squinted at his reserved state. Normally, they'd insult each other without a second thought, although it had been just a bit different since all that had happened recently.