THIS IS ME TRYING

19: Recruit

LUNA WAS waiting for Percy to come back to camp, and when he did, it was the happiest she'd ever been. They hugged for a long time, Luna practically squeezed the air out of the boy, who's eyes filled with tears of happiness. The Campers clapped and cheered for Percy, who had successfully stopped the war- the boy was dirty and visibly exhausted, though Luna didn't blame him. Percy had saved the world. Her little brother.

"Are you okay?" Luna smiled, as she wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm okay." Percy reassured, as they walked towards the Hermes Cabin, "I met my dad."

"No way, Percy, that's amazing!" Luna supported, "You need to tell me everything... Like, how you ended up with Annabeth's necklace-"

"No! Gross." Percy pushed her gently, his cheeks blushing pink with embarrassment, "It wasn't like that."

"Okay, okay." Luna surrendered sarcastically, "Whatever makes you sleep at night."

As the siblings entered the Hermes Cabin, they were met with Annabeth and Luke. Luna glanced over at her bunk, noticing the tin of brown paint had spilled over onto the floor stained a section of her red converse. She rolled her eyes, cursing underneath her breath, "Fucking Clarisse."

"What?" Grover's eyes widened as he trotted into the Hermes Cabin, the words that Luna had spoke had been misinterpreted, "Hold on, when?"

"No, no, no! Grover, I mean she kicked over this paint and it leaked on my shoe." Luna corrected quickly, as she tried her best to clean it up. Her face flushed a shade of pink, as the group looked at her in confusion.

Grover replied in realisation, "Oh."

"What was Clarisse doing in here anyway?" Percy asked impatiently, "Lu, you told Chiron about her, didn't you?"

"Percy, it's complicated." Annabeth replied for Luna.

"What's complicated about her stealing the bolt?" Percy shot back.

"Percy." Luna warned gently, "If I told Chiron, Camp would've been in total chaos."

"She's right." Luke agreed, "Everyone was already preparing to fight. We didn't have any proof that Clarisse stole it, so it would just cause more fights. But, because you stopped the war, it's safe to tell Chiron and finish cleaning up the mess. I told him we needed to meet him away from the celebration so we can talk with Clarisse's supporters noticing."

"I'll keep an eye on Clarisse while you're gone." Annabeth suggested, "Make sure she isn't going anywhere."

Luna said, "I'm staying with Percy."

"This isn't a three person job." Luke replied quickly, "Clarisse will notice somethings wrong if you come with us."

Luna shrugged, "We better make it quick then."

***

The three walked through the forest, the only source of light coming from Luke's lantern and the fireworks above them showering over the night sky. Luna didn't feel comfortable, she couldn't shake the feeling, however she assumed she was just uncomfortable with Percy missing his celebration party. But the feeling grew the more they trekked into the dark forest... alone.

Luna could feel that Percy was on edge, which made her even more worried. She hadn't spoken since the three arrived in the forest, walking behind Luke and Percy alone. Every twig that snapped beneath her feet caused her to flinch- Luna had never felt so vulnerable.

This moment felt so familiar to her, like a dream she had forgotten a long time ago. She didn't feel real, the crackle of fireworks snapped her back into reality.