SWEET SORROWS│p. jackson

[ 27. ]

ACT II
𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓼𝓸𝓻𝓻𝓸𝔀𝓼

"THAT IS ONE big ass ship," Dakota burped.

The Romans had all rushed out of the Senate house as soon as the announcement was made about the massive ship descending further into the camp. Everyone was eager to see the side of demigods they had been kept apart from for so long. Hazel couldn't even deny her own excitement when she practically skipped outside with Dakota, Percy, and Frank trailing behind.

The Greek's ship was massive. Long, sturdy-looking, and built to perfection, with smooth wood and a golden-plated stern. She could see a row of weapons aligning the ship, and a giant bronze dragon head sat at the front, occasional puffs of smoke and fire sputtering from its mouth. So to put Dakota's words lightly-it really was a big ass ship.

"You can say that again," Frank muttered. "You think the dragon head is real?"

Hazel frowned at him. "Why would it be real?"

"Uh, cause it's a dragon, Hazel." Dakota explained, as if it were obvious.

She rolled her eyes. She didn't want to start any arguments with that boy. At least not today.

"It looks pretty dangerous," Frank said, eyeing it as the giant ship smoothly sailed closer. "There's no way Octavian's gonna be chill about it on campgrounds."

The ship stopped. "Hey Perc, aren't your amigos on there?" Dakota asked.

"Way to keep up, Dakota." Hazel sighed, making him stick his tongue out at her.

The older boy turned to them all, eyebrows raised. "What?"

Hazel frowned at his distant expression. He had been acting strange since this morning (after Hazel and Frank had broken into his room) and it was putting everyone off. "You okay, Percy?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," His gaze met hers. Her eyebrows rose. Percy Jackson-the same boy who'd sacrificed his life for her on multiple occasions despite barely knowing her-looked nervous. "I guess I just missed my friends."

He was playing it cool, but not cool enough to go undetected. Hazel saw right through it. She placed a hand on his arm. "I think your friends have really missed you too."

"I don't know," He mumbled, looking back up at the ship. "It's been awhile."

She had rarely seen Percy like this before, he usually was the type to have control of situations. But that strong, 'i've got this handled' facade didn't fool her now. She could only assume where all this was coming from. The one thing on that ship that he had been asking about since the day he arrived at Camp Jupiter-Andromeda.

"Don't think like that, man," Frank frowned. "Heck, If I were them I would've missed you like crazy." Then his cheeks tinted pink and he looked at Hazel. "Not in a weird way! As a friend, obviously."

Percy chuckled, lightly ruffling Frank's hair. "Thanks, man."

"They're here! They're here!" They all looked forward to seeing Tyson emerging from the Roman crowd ahead, and rushing towards them. He was wearing an SPQR cloak as a bib, funnily enough, and his hair made him look like he had just ran through a lightning storm. Ella was by his side as usual. He skidded to a stop before he slammed into Frank. "I see grumpy Annabeth and tiny Leo!"