LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . pjo

XVIII.

CAMP WASN'T THE same.

Sometimes, Mia even debated going to Cancun with Sophia, because that seemed like the better option.

She'd hang out with her cabin and her other friends during activities. The Ares cabin and Percy were very helpful in helping her with her sword fighting skills.

"Hey, let's take a break," Mia urged Percy, turning her sword back into a necklace and then yelping as she dodged his strike that was probably premeditated.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his sword transforming back into a pen.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, sitting on the bleachers where people could watch the sword fighting and patted the seat next to her.

He sat next to her, leaning forward and dropping his head in his hands. "I feel like Poseidon's trying to, like, punish me or something," he admitted.

"Why do you think that?" Mia leaned back and looked at Percy thoughtfully, her fingers fidgeting with her necklace, trying to put it around her neck.

He proceeded to explain his feelings about his dad claiming Tyson and his new reputation of having a monster for a brother.

"I don't know if you'd understand, though," he said. "You're not claimed."

Mia felt herself stiffen, though not for the reason that Percy thought. How long could she keep up the charade that she was claimed? And what would happen if someone found out that she knew who her mother is? When someone ( most likely Annabeth ) connected the dots with her powers and then who her mother is?

"I didn't mean that," Percy said quickly. "I'm sorry—"

"It's . . ." she inhaled sharply, to stop herself from freaking out. "It's fine."

"It's not, Stargirl," he insisted, grabbing her hands. At that, she looked over at him, feeling shock wash over her. "I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry I did. And I'm sorry that I didn't watch what I was saying."

Mia softly smiled at him. "I told you, Delphinus, it's okay," she said gently, letting her hands wrap around his. They sat there for a few moments, their hands intertwined. Then she said, "I don't get all of what you're feeling right now — though I do get having a sister with a reputation for being a monster, you know Soph's reputation — but I'll tell you one thing, Percy. I told Grover this at the beginning of our first quest, after we'd just lost everything to that Kindly One on the bus: it'll all work out. It always does in the end."

Percy stiffened at the mention of Grover, but he said, the same as Grover had back then: "How do you know that it'll all work out?"

"The stars will guide us," Mia said, using her grip on one of his hands to point at the sun, then she draw a line in the air with his fingers. "They always will. When you feel hopeless, just look at them. Even though New York's very polluted. Even though the sun's always glaring down at us. They'll guide you to what you need to do."

Percy smiled at her. "Is this a Starfury thing?"

"It's a Mia thing," she corrected. "Just . . . take my advice whenever you need it, alright?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, thanks for the advice, Stargirl."

"Of course," she grinned at him. Then she heard the dinner bell and she stood up, taking him with her. "I love food. Let's go?"

He nodded, and she dragged him along to the dining pavilion, and that was the last time that they'd had a serious one-on-one talk until the chariot races, mostly because he and Annabeth had had a fight and the Hermes cabin was usually with the Athena cabin in activities.