poison tree ✴︎ - perseus jackson

014. crusty is a crusty.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘𝐒 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒 𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃𝐋𝐘 in Hope's ears that it started to give the girl a horrible headache.

  Percy had returned from the ocean with the five pearls they needed for the Underworld. One for Grover, Annabeth, Hope, his mom, and himself. All they just needed to do was get to the Underworld.

They had arrived to a mattress store, it being the store where the entrance was, Percy going in and Annabeth going under her invisible yankee's cap. Grover and Hope stayed outside, waiting for them to signal to come in or till their job was done.

  "Not a big deal? Hope, you're hurting yourself" was on replay in her mind.

  After her memory came back, that was all that was stuck in her head. She hated how betrayed he sounded, how she made him feel betrayed. The look he gave her made her want to jump off a cliff into Tartarus or get striked in the chest by Zeus's master bolt.

  Hope never broke promises, she hasn't even broken the promise Thalia made her when she was a little girl. The promise she made on to never let anyone break her heart. It was silly, but Hope had had a big crush on a boy from one of the orphanage's they were at, but he had brutally rejected her and a six year old Hope was in shambles. Thalia comforted her until the six year old had no tears left to cry, which was a long time, and made her promise to never let anyone break her heart. Hope hasn't liked anyone since, keeping the promise like it was her life support. So why did she break this promise?

  Grover was looking at Hope worriedly, the girl being way too quiet for his liking. Usually when the girl was quiet, it meant she was deep in thought and that you should get her out of it before she goes too deep into her mind.

  Grover wanted to get her out of her thoughts, that being the only place she would go to now since the casino, but her eyes snapped to him, her expression showing one of confusion as she saw the worry look on Grover's face.

"What?" She asked, looking at him weirdly.

"Nothing, just, you were too quiet." Grover said, his excuse making Hope lift up her eyebrow, which only received a shrug from the satyr.

He sighed, then went to the entrance door and opened it, the little bell ringing. "Is it over?" he asked, peeking his head inside.

Hope couldn't see much from the outside, but from Percy's view, he could see her, and that's all he needed. He was slightly more weary after the casino with Hope, not showing it but it was there. He wanted her to be in his view as much as possible, so the see through doors were a blessing from the gods to him.

Percy nodded, Grover beckoning Hope to go in first before him. Percy looked at Hope, the girl meeting his view, giving him a small smile as he returned it too. She wasn't really mad with him anymore, yes she was still upset about them framing Clarisse and how protective he got over the promise breaking, but she let some steam off, that steam being electrocuting the biggest boulder she found till it cracked in half, when he was in the ocean, so she wasn't really mad anymore, just isolated.

  "Oh, look, the forbidden descendant of the god of all gods herself. You should know that no one ever comes back from the Underworld." Procrustes said, Hope just looking at him with a blank expression as Percy glared at him. No wonder people called him Crusty, he was crusty.