𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐂! percy jackson

xxxi. A Thin String Of A Team

━━ chapter thirty-one
a thin string of a team

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

    ━━Percy thinks Frank might be traumatised. He had seen him surrounded by cannibal ogres, an unkillable giant, and even unleash the god of death, but here, right now, he has never seen him so terrified at the sight of Percy and Fiona passed out in the stables.

   "What...?" Percy rubbed his eyes, "Oh, we just fell asleep."

    Frank swallowed hard. He was dressed in running shoes, dark cargo pants and a Vancouver Winter Olympus T-Shirt with his Roman centurion badge pinned to the neck (which seemed either sad or hopeful to Percy, considering that they were now renegades). Frank adverted his eyes as if the sight of them together might burn him.

    "Everyone thinks you've been kidnapped," he said. "We've been scouring the ship. When Coach Hedge finds out━oh, gods, you've been here all night?"

    Knowing immediately what he was insinuating, Fiona's cheeks darkened. Furious and flustered, she let out, "Frank! We just came down here to talk━Gods. We fell asleep━accidentally. That's it."

    "Kissed a couple of times," Percy prompted.

    Fiona smacked him on the arm, glaring, "Not helping!"

    "We'd better ..." Frank gestured to the stable doors. "Uh, we're supposed to meet for breakfast. Would you explain what you did━I mean didn't do? I mean ... I really don't what that faun━I mean satyr━to kill me."

    And then, like that, he ran.

    Fiona scoffed, still blushing. "Why would he immediately━? We didn't━Why would they━? Gah!"

    Before Percy could stop her, Fiona was on her feet and running after Frank. (Percy think he heard Frank shriek, and he guessed that was probably when she caught up to him...) When everyone finally gathered in the mess hall, it wasn't as bad as Frank had feared. Jason and Piper were mostly relieved. Annabeth gave Percy a you know better than this look. Leo couldn't stop grinning and muttering, "Classic. Classic." Sam was confused, wondering why Leo found it so funny, or why Hazel seemed scandalised, fanning her face and unable to meet Percy's eyes. 

    And━of course━naturally, Coach Hedge went ballisitc. Percy found it hard to take him seriously, since he was barely five feet tall. 

    "Never in my life!" he bellowed, waving his bat and knocking over a plate of apples. "Against the rules! Irresponsible!"

     Fiona was unamused. Freshly after chasing Frank in her flustered state, she now stared at the satyr and Percy had to make sure she didn't grab the bat and whack Coach Hedge herself.  "We just fell asleep," she told him. "We were talking, and then we fell asleep━that's all."

    Leo arched a brow at her to say, you sure?

    That set her off. Percy immediately wrapped an arm around her small figure, keeping her grounded as she tried to throw a hit at Leo who ducked out of the way, yelping. She struggled, but he just kept his feet rooted and said to Coach Hedge, "Besides, you're starting to sound like Terminus."

    Hedge narrowed his eyes. "Is that an insult, Jackson? 'Cause I'll━I'll terminus you, buddy!"

    Percy tried not to laugh and heaved Fiona closer to keep her from kicking. She calmed down, beetroot red. "It won't happen again, Coach. I promise. Now, don't we have other things to discuss?"