Raising a Demon

Ch.6

- 3RD PERSON -

April 25, 2014. 11:58, NYPD station.

Percy could barely comprehend what Jason said before the son of Jupiter pulled him into a tight hug. The raven-haired male winced when he brushed against his bullet wound, deciding to ignore it and return his best friend's embrace.

Piper and Leo joined the hug, with Hazel and Frank following. Nico held back and watched, until Hazel pulled him into the hug; struggling to hold the son of Hades as he tried to squirm away.

When the group dispersed, Piper whacked Percy on the head.

"Ow! Piper, what-"

"Don't you even start, Jackson! Do you have any idea how worried we were when we found out that you weren't in your cabin! We looked everywhere for you, until Chir-"

Jason suddenly covered Piper's mouth, making the young woman glare at him. Giving her a pointed look, he turned back to Percy as he softly said,

"Ο Χείρωνας μας είπε ότι έφυγες εξαιτίας αυτού που συνέβη στη μαμά σου."

(Chiron told us that you left because of what happened to your mom.)

The rest of the group instantly caught on, glancing at the mortals watching them intently. Hazel was the first to notice how Percy tensed at the mention of his mom; before hugging his arm as she tenderly said,

"Λυπούμαστε για αυτό που συνέβη στη Sally και τον Paul, Percy."

(We're sorry for what happened to Sally and Paul, Percy.)

The group had saddened, their sorrow for their mother figure now fresh in mind. Piper, however, wasn't done yelling at Percy so she stepped up once more.

"Όταν ήρθαμε εδώ, ελπίζαμε να σε βρούμε με τη μαμά σου. Όχι σε κάθε οθόνη στη Νέα Υόρκη!"

(When we came here, we expected to find you with your mom. Not on every screen in New York!)

Percy flinched; he had been hoping that they wouldn't notice. He let out a stressful sigh, as Piper continued to scold him in Greek. The rest of the group of demigods watched with amusement, while the police officers were growing concerned by how loud she was.

"-Δεν μπορείς να κρατήσεις τέτοια μυστικά, Πέρσι! Είμαστε οι καλύτεροί σας φίλοι και θα καταλάβουμε αν απλώς μας πείτε αυτά τα πράγματα!"

(-You can't keep secrets like this, Percy! We are your best friends and we will understand if you just tell us these things!)

"Are you done?"

The daughter of Aphrodite took a deep breath and nodded; her lungs felt like they were ready to collapse from not breathing during her rant. Now that she was done, Percy pulled his sister figure into a hug.

Piper returned the hug, sniffling as she said, "You do so much for us, Percy, and we want to do the same for you, but you won't let us. Why didn't you tell us?"

"..Because I didn't want to bother you guys with my problems."

Nico rolled his eyes, "You idiot. We literally just told you a few days ago that we will be there for you when you need us. All you have to do is ask."

Percy weakly smiled, pulling the son of Hades into the hug he and Piper were sharing.

"Hey, Hey, Hey! Touching, you're touching me!"