Finding Home

Chapter 1 - The Betrayal

Percy POV

The past few weeks had been terrible. Most of Camp had turned against me, saying I was too powerful. I had only kept from breaking because of those that stood by me. Annabeth, the love and light of my life, was one of my main sources of support.

I stood on the beach, fiddling with the ring on my finger. It turned into my sword, Riptide, but it was more convenient in this form. I was waiting for Annabeth. As she came down the hill, my face lit up. But as she approached, my smile fell. She was glaring at me. Not the usual playful glaring, but actual glaring.

"Get out," she hissed, her voice dripping with venom.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"I said get out! I can't believe I ever liked you. Leave." She threw the engagement ring I had previously given her in the sand at my feet. "Never come back."

I could not believe what was happening. Annabeth had turned against me. My Wise Girl. My heart shattered and I ran, going to my room to collect all my belongings.

"Percy?" I heard Nico call from the doorway behind me. He didn't sound angry, but I couldn't tell at the time. I was still too upset over Annabeth to notice.

"What? Have you come to yell at me too?" I asked without turning around. I was crying, and I couldn't bring myself to see the hate that would have taken over his eyes.

He knelt next to me and grabbed my hands, stopping me in the middle of my packing. "Percy, look at me," he said quietly. When I didn't, he grabbed my chin gently and pulled it up, forcing me to face him. "I'm not going to yell at you. I'm not going to hate you. I'm going to come with you."

I shook my head, quickly wiping the tears from my eyes. "Don't come Nico. You still have a life here. You have Will."

"And how long will it be before they turn on me too? Will's coming with us anyways."

I didn't have the energy to argue and didn't want to be alone anyways, so I nodded and quickly tied my bundle together. "Are you two packed?"

Nico smiled and snapped his fingers and two bundles appeared from the shadows. A minute later, Will came running up to us, carrying his medical bag and his bow and quiver over his shoulders. He had a sword sheathed at his waist as well. "Nico! What have I told you about that underworldly magic?" he snapped. I swear, he must have some magical Nico-watcher or something.

Nico just handed him a bundle. "Love you too," he said sweetly as he kissed his boyfriend on the cheek.

Will blushed. Nico rarely showed affection in public, as it was seen as wrong to like someone of the same gender. But since we were leaving, Nico didn't care. When the rest of the campers reached the clearing, Nico smirked at them before pulling him into a deep kiss. When they pulled away, Will had a giant, dorky grin on his face. An Aphrodite kid squealed in delight, whispering something about Solangelo being her OTP.

I heard someone else shouting insults at them and I growled. Insults to me, I could handle. But insults to my cousin and his boyfriend, absolutely not. Something snapped inside of me, the same thing that snapped when I was in Tartarus against Akhlys. My vision turned red, and I started floating above the ground, the water particles in the air supporting me.

A hurricane formed around me, Nico and Will were the only others in the eye of the storm. The earth started shaking and once again, only Nico and Will were safe from the effects. Campers were stumbling, unable to stay on their feet with the combination of a powerful earthquake and a hurricane. I grabbed Nico and Will's arms and mist-traveled to the nearest tavern, which was quite a nice establishment.

"Percy?" Nico asked. "Are you okay?"

I had to take a deep breath before I could speak. "Yes. I'm just upset that they would insult you like that."

Nico hugged me. "We're fine. Now, come on. I think Father gave me enough money for a couple nights here."

I nodded. "Okay. I am coming." I started to head inside, but Will grabbed my shoulders. He gave me a onceover to make certain I was uninjured, before letting me go. I rolled my eyes at how overprotective he was. I walked inside, Nico and Will flanking either side. They had their hands on their hilts and we were overall looking intimidating. We walked to the front table. "We need a room." I said, speaking for all of us.

He looked us up and down. "You seem like the trouble type. What brings you to my inn?"

"We need a place to stay for a bit before we get back on the road. We're not looking to cause you trouble." I responded. I understood why he was wary; we were three adolescents traveling alone and armed to the teeth.

"We have a room upstairs. It's a bit small and only has two beds, but it's all we have."

"We'll take that." I nodded.

He handed us a key and Nico handed him a few coins. "Pleasure doing business with you."

We went up to our room and I opened the door. It was larger than he had made it sound. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, illuminating the room with a warm glow. The beds were neatly made with beautiful hand sewn quilts and there was a wash basin in the corner. I turned to the two boys behind me, knowing what I was about to say would turn them both into a flustered mess. "So, which one is yours? I mean, obviously you're sharing."

I smirked as Will's face turned bright red, and Nico started stuttering. "Uh, um, w-what?"

"I figured you don't want to share with me." I aimed that part towards my cousin, knowing he would just ignore me and start unpacking.

He did and I winked at Will, who had to refrain from laughing, his face still flushed. But as soon as Nico had begun to unpack his things, I went to help him. "I was just joking." I said, focusing on unpacking so I wouldn't have to look at my cousin. He had already said he wasn't going to hate me, but I had serious trust issues after Annabeth. "I can take one of the bed rolls and stay on the floor."

"Percy, you will do no such thing." Will said from behind me, where he had been quietly taking inventory of his herbs. "We don't know whether or not there are vermin here."

Nico agreed. "I can share with Will. You shouldn't be staying on the ground; it's bad for you."

I nodded, still not looking at them. I moved my bundle by one of the beds, my hands shaking slightly. "I think I need to go on a walk." I said.

They nodded, knowing I needed some time to process everything that had happened. I walked out of the room, down the stairs, and outside to the forest. I loved the outdoors, the crisp air, the light filtering through the leaves in a forest, even the rain, it was all beautiful. I found a clearing in the forest and laid down to stare at the clouds. The clearing was perfect, with a waterfall into a deep pool of water only feet away, and enough wildflowers to make Persephone jealous. As I stared at the white clouds dotting the blue sky, I let my thoughts wander. I thought of all my old friends, and although it hurt, I knew I needed to let it out somehow. Otherwise, I would walk around carrying a grudge, and that was not something I liked doing. So, I sat there and stared at the sky, thinking of the past. 

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