Imperfect Perfection

Chapter Sixteen: The Day Before

Guys, i'm sorry last chapter was crappy. It wasn't my best and it frustrates me that I even published it in that condition. It was too short and didn't have details, and i'm really sorry about that. I promise this one will be a lot better....ON TO THE STORY!

Andy's P.O.V.

I wipe the sweat off my brow as I stand next to the unfamiliar body. This girl looks like she's been through Tartarus and back. Her hair is a dirty blonde color in a short hairstyle, where it's short but still allows her to flip it in the front.

She's really a beautiful girl, so my mind automatically goes straight to Aphrodite, then I go back to not sure. Aphrodite kids usually aren't fighters, but this girl obviously is. According to Will, who happened to be near the camp entrance, this girl was running up the hill with a monster parade behind her.

I mean, it is possible that she's an Aphrodite kid since, you know, she's drop-dead gorgeous, but it's just unlikely because of her obvious skills.

I look at the parts of her arms and legs that aren't covered up by her tattered black tank top and jean shorts, seeing all of the combat scars. I move some of the numerous rubber bracelets around on her wrists, checking under them for bleeding. Most of the fresh wounds are gone, but it's still clear in my mind how she looked when I got here.

She was almost covered in both fresh and dried blood with many open wounds. Some were just scratches, others were very deep. The worst one was on her thigh. It was a few inches wide, through and through. I can only imagine how much pain it caused her.

I walk over to her thigh now and slowly pull the bandage back just a little bit. It looks a lot better, but it's still not healed. I pull the bandage off since it's soaked in blood and change it out for a fresh one.

After I finish, I look her over again, checking all the other wounds. When I'm finally satisfied with everything, I go and wash off my hands. Before I leave, I glance back over everything one last time.

I walk out of the infirmary to find Piper sitting in one of the chairs. "Piper?" She turns around, looks at me and jumps up. "Is she okay? She looked really bad." I nod, "Yeah, I got her all fixed up. It's just going to be a while before she wakes back up, she lost quite a good amount of blood."

She nods and sighs. "Okay. I hate seeing people injured that badly." I nod. My stomach growls really loud, causing us both to look down at it. "Well," I say, laughing, "I think it's time to eat!"

Piper laughs and nods, "Yeah, i'm hungry too. Let's go."

At dinner, I sit with Leo again. I want to bring up the conversation he had with Nico, but then again, the less I know the better. We talk about random things until Leo brings up jewelry.

"What?" I nearly choke on my drink as Leo asked me if I like jewelry. "Do you like jewelry? Like, bracelets, necklaces, rings, stuff like that." I look at him like he's insane and answer in a very slow, cautious manner. "Um, yeah, I guess. Why?"

He shakes his head and moves his hand to one side as if dismissing the question. "Which one is your favorite?"

I then just decide to get over the weirdness since, well, this is Leo. "Well it depends, like, what it is. Like, I love these," I hold up my right wrist showing him all of my rubber bracelets, "I don't particularly like rings though, they bug me. Unless they stay on in one spot. Then their awesome."

"What about necklaces?" My eyes immediately glimmer at the thought of necklaces. "Yeah, I love those. Especially really awesome ones that I can wear all the time." Leo nods, as if taking notes. "Okay. Just curious."

I raise one eyebrow, but he ignores it and changes the subject. "So, how are the feels?" Now, I just give him an i'm-stupid-please-explain look. "For Death Breath."

After it processes who he's talking about and what he called him, I punch his arm. "Don't call him that. Meanie." He gives me a humored look, "So they're very strong?" I roll my eyes and put my head in my hand. "Just because I tell you not to call him a rude name doesn't mean anything."

He raises an eyebrow at me, "But....?"

I give him an ashamed type look, my cheeks turning pink. "But their growing." He just smiles at me for a second. "So, butterflies?"

"Yeah. You know, they hurt really bad!"

He nods, "Yeah, I know. You getting nervous around him?"

"Yeah. I don't like it. It feels weird."

"Yeah, that's what it's like. How about making sire you don't do anything stupid?"

I nod my head really hard at this one. "Constantly. It's aggravating"

He smiles at me and puts his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer, "Andy, i'm glad and sad to tell you this, especially without Dan being here."

My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I see the brotherly look on his face. "You now have your first crush at Camp Half Blood! Congratulations!"

I roll my eyes and elbow him, "Leo, you had me scared for a second, I thought it was something bigger than that."

His head turns towards me and he looks at me in astonishment. "What's bigger than my little sissy having her first crush?" I laugh and he pulls me in tighter and rocks me back and forth a little. "Oh right, how silly of me."

He laughs along with me, then we get up and go to our cabins for the night. Before I head down to the bunker, I stop and wait for Nico. I stand by the steps up to his cabin until I see him walking up, hands in his pockets, head down.

I smile and walk up in front of the steps, blocking his way. He almost bumps into me, but stops right before he does, causing him to be only a few inches in front of me. His eyes meet mine and I see a mixture of emotions.

"Hey." He looks down at me, and I catch him glance down at my lips for a split second. "Hi." He then back up a little, giving us some room. "Um, so why are you here?" He asks as he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Oh, well, I wanted two things if that's okay." He nods and gives me his fully undivided attention, hands back in his pockets. "Um, well, first I wanted to ask where you disappeared to in the cave. You just kind of vanished."

He nods, and I can almost see a slight pink shade cover his cheeks. "I, um, forgot I had to do something. Yeah, sorry."

I shake my head, "Oh it's okay. Um and I have a, uh weird request..."

He gives me a look telling me to continue, so I look down at my shoes, moving my feet around. "I, um was wondering if, you know, maybe I could have a, uh, hug?"

For a few moments it's silent, so I risk a glance up at him. Right as I do, his eyes lock with mine, giving me the weirdest feeling in my soul. Like, warmth. And caring. Something comforting.

He then wraps his arms around my waist as I wrap mine around his neck. "Angel, you never have to ask if you want a hug from me. Just hold your arms open and I'll be there."

I smile as, again, I breath in his amazing guy smell. My skin tingles where he's touching me, causing me to get all excited. "Thanks Nico." I whisper.

He nods, then slowly lets me go. He looks me dead in the eyes, causing my stomach to erupt again. "I'm always here. Even if you need me at two o'clock, just call for me and i'll be there." I smile, and give him another, bigger, stronger hug. "Okay."

We eventually separate and I go to the bunker. I go into my room and change into my hoodie and shorts. I hop into bed and wrap the blankets around me. Soon, I fall into a sleep that I will wish for the rest of my life I never had because of what comes along with it:

Nightmares.

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Hai!

So i know it's still short but the next one will be longer! I pinky promise!

Also thank you to the two awesome girls who gave me characters to use!! Love you guys lots ;)

So please favorite, comment, vote, and all that good stuff! Love you all! 😁