I LOVE YOU SO || PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS¹

7.

"GOODNIGHT, BOY BLUNDER..."

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Sitting in the far back of the Arena, she keeps her eyes on the boy, her hand tightly gripping onto the handle of her sword. She was hoping to see something⎯a twitch of knowing look, something to help her prove her theory. But, so far it was no good. He looked like a kicked puppy, in desperate need of assistance. Which only made her more annoyed.

Smacking Luke's arm off her shoulder, she shoots the sweaty boy a look of disgust, her nose wrinkling up from the smell. It was bad enough she was on babysitting duty, but she wasn't about to be hugged by him. If he took a shower, then she'd reconsider. But, he was drenched in a layer of sweat. So not a chance.

"Percy, this is Nattie. She's gonna help you today." Luke smiles, patting her shoulder.

"Don't touch me. You reek." She glares, covering her nose with her hand.

"I don't smell that bad." He pouts, placing a hand to his chest.

"Yes, you do. Hit the showers. I'll take over until you're out." She orders, tilting her head at the door.

Rolling his eyes dramatically at her order, he nods his head, knowing that he shouldn't fight her on the matter. He felt gross and she was right, he reeked. Ruffling Percy's hair, she watches as he walks out of sight, safe enough for her to interrogate the boy. Turning her attention to the young boy, he stares up at her with big eyes, his helmet nearly drowning him.

"Lose the helmet, it's gonna block your view." She orders, "And I don't need you accidentally impaling yourself on a spear."

"But, is the point to..?" He asks, furrowing his brows.

"Do you wanna have to go to the infirmary and get stitched up?" She asks, placing a hand on her hip.

"No." He sighs, shaking his head.

"Then do it. Trust me, if you don't want to be lectured on safety by the Apollo kids, do it." She hums, her eyes scanning the Arena.

Hearing loud cheers, she turns her head to Luke's previous class. Seeing Clarisse had taken over, ordering them to 'give her their best shot'. Nodding her head in approval, she turns back to Percy, the boy holding the oversized helmet in his hands. With Clarisse keeping them occupied, she'd be able to take Percy somewhere more private.

"Grab your things." She orders, picking up a shield from the rack.

"Um⎯Where are we going?" He asks, a confused look on his face.

"Somewhere private. Come on, I don't have all day, kid." She rolls her eyes, stuffing some blunt daggers into her pocket.

Nodding at Clarisse as she tackles a Hermes kid to the ground, she calmly walks to the deserted part of the Arena. There was a small part of the Arena that was always abandoned. So abandoned that weeds had taken over. She could hear the crunching of gravel behind her. Looking over her shoulder, Percy trails behind her, his helmet tightly grasped in his hands.

"I'm gonna teach you how to fight, but I'm gonna do it on my terms, okay?" She hums, as he nods.

"Okay."

"Good. Now, this is the best place to learn how to fight. It's far away that if you mess up, no one can see you." She explains, "You can come here as much as you want, just don't tell anyone else about this, okay?"

"Why?"

"Some kids don't want to be embarrassed. They want to be able to learn on their own terms without people staring at them." She smiles, "This place lets them do that. If you tell others, it's no longer a safe space for them."

Stopping in front of a wall of ivy, she pushes back some of the ivy with her hand, revealing the small hidden room. Staring at her in awe, she nods her head, motoning the boy to walk ahead of her. Walking into the room in awe, it was overgrown with weeds and the walls were slowly starting to crumble. But, it was perfect for a private training room.

Shutting the wall of ivy behind her, she rested her shield against an ivy wrapped statue, her eyes solely on Percy. He walks to the center of the room in awe. Slowly turning around, the sun beams down on him, making the young boy glow. She remembered a time where she would look like that. So in awe of this new world.

"Pretty cool, right?" She smiles, watching as his jaw drops.

"Y-Yeah! Are there other places like this in Camp?" He asks, turning his head to her.

"A few here and there. Most of the older kids or full-time camper's find them. We don't tell many people about them." She explains, "Some are hideaways for the older kids, a few of them are dangerous. So, we try to keep them to ourselves for a reason."

Nodding his head in understanding, she pounds against the wall with the blunt end of her spear, the room shaking violently. His eyes widened at the rumbling. Then, a hand emerges from the wall. Percy jumps at the sight, hiding behind her in fear. Slowly emerging from the walls, a group of nymphs pop out into thin air, annoyed looks on their faces. If he didn't know any better, he'd have thought they were ghosts.

"You know the drill ladies. Once me and the kid are done, it's all yours." She nudges her head to the side, "So hit the road, please and thank you."

"What do we get?" One nymph asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You get a week's worth of mortal food from the Stoll twins." She smirks, making a few nod.

"Not enough. We want more." One nymph pipes up.

"I'll tell you where Clarisse's new hitting tree is. Take it or leave it." She sneers, "I'm not offering you anything else." 

"Deal." The nymph nods.

"The oak tree, by the stream. You'll know the one, when you see it."

Nodding their heads in understanding, they vanish from the room in a gust of air, leaving Percy frozen in place. Patting the kid on the head, she goes to make a joke, when she remembers that she was supposed to interrogate the younger boy. She wasn't supposed to be all buddy-buddy with him.

Her face hardens at the reminder, her teeth grinding together. Shutting her eyes tightly, she straightens up, her grip on her spear tightening. She couldn't outright ask, she'd have to be careful. Taking a deep breath, she turns to Percy, masking her anger with a fake look of calm. She was calm, a friend, someone he could spill all his secrets to.

"Luke means well teaching you how to fight, but out there? In the real world." She explains, "They aren't going to be kind or show you mercy. They are out to kill you."

"So what are you going to do?" He asks, furrowing his brows together.

"I'm going to teach you how to survive the real world, Percy." She smirks, "So, welcome to sword training 101, Percy. Shall we start today's lesson?" 

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And I am done with the chapter! Stay safe out there guys!

I hope you all are doing okay emotionally and physically! I love you all!

I hope that you are enjoying the book so far! A quick reminder to comment below about the story of what you think so far.