VIDEO GAMES! (p. jackson) (#1)

- nineteen

PERCY FOUND ROSE IN HER CABIN.

"hey," he said, wincing.

she frowned. "what's wrong? did you break something? you know i can't help with that."

"no. something sliced my back, i can't clean it right and michael will yell at me if i go in this late with it."

"γαμώ, percy, τι συνέβη τώρα?" ("fuck, percy, what happened now?")

he shivered as her cold hands pulled up his shirt. a nasty cut sat just underneath his shoulder blade.

"is it bad?" he asked. "i couldn't see it very well."

she sighed. "it's not good, but i've seen worse. c'mon, i'll clean and dress it for you."

he followed her into the tiny aphrodite bathroom, where she gathered first aid supplies from under the sink.

she stood, waiting... and he did nothing.

"what?" he said.

"take your shirt off."

"damn," he said, pulling it over his head, "don't you think you should take me out to dinner first?"

she pressed a paper towel soaked in hydrogen peroxide to his wound, and he gasped. "ow, fuck! yeah, i had that coming."

"yeah. annabeth would've smacked you."

"annabeth would've sent me to the infirmary."

"what did this?"

"some monster's sword, right before kampê came out. does it look infected?"

"no. looks like a regular sword wound. have one not much better on my leg, but i was smart and went to the infirmary."

"are you almost done?"

she pressed her cold hand to the back of his neck, and he jumped. "what the hell?"

she laughed before saying, "i'm gonna wrap it then you should be good, okay?"

she wrapped gauze around his upper torso, and moved back so he could get off the counter, where he'd sat facing the mirror.

"do you think mitchell has a shirt i can borrow? mine is, y'know... torn and blood-stained."

she rolled her eyes. "come with me into the basement."

she led him down, to where each child had their own walk-in closet, into mitchell's.

rose was already blushing from how close he'd been standing to her, but she turned beet red when he (still shirtless) reached around her to pull a taylor swift hoodie off a hanger.

"do you think he'd care if i took this? i can bring it back tomorrow."

they were two feet apart, max. rose could practically hear her mother laughing, and god forbid anybody walk in right now—

"rose?"

"yeah, that should be fine. i haven't seen him wear that in forever, he probably won't notice if you keep it."

"aren't these like... seventy dollars though?"

"our dad is a millionaire."

"right."

there were too many goodbyes.

it was 8:30 pm when charles beckendorf found rose. he carried bad energy. she knew automatically something was wrong.

she and percy stood together on the grass of the aphrodite cabin. they were both happy to see beckendorf— he and percy had been friends for years, and rose had recently grown close with him, since he'd started dating silena. it was the look on his face that made rose's stomach drop.