Forget me not (Connor Stoll)

Preparing

Connor's Pov

Ok, so I did say I was gonna go during the campfire to the quest, but there is no way I'm actually going.

Right now my life is good, I have best friends, a girlfriend and even training hasn't been too bad, and I am not going to mess all of that up because of some stupid quest with some superficial girl.

No way.

But at the same time, a quest seems fun.

I mean, it's a chance for me to go in the outside world, meaning I have more pickpocketing opportunities, aka my top priorities.

But let's just make it clear, I am not going because Lily's going; I couldn't care less if she was going, or what would happen.

I really do like Drew, like genuinely.

She's beautiful, and her long, thick, healthy black hair always looks so perfect.

"Uhm, Chiron?" I tap his shoulder "Sooo, I am going on the quest right? What should I pack, and what does it mean exactly when it says "Back to the Earth"? Is it the Oracle of Dodona?" I ask, not even breathing once within all my questions.

"Calm down Connor, yes, you have been accepted to go on this quest, and yes we think you two will be going to Dodona's Oracle" he answers, slightly sighing.

The Oracle of Dodona is one of the most dangerous places a demigod could go to, no wonder Chiron looked agitated and pissed off.

Ever since the war, we have lost so many campers, and I'm sure no one wants to loose even more, so we'll have to be even more careful than normal.

Chiron hands me an already packed bag.

I figure it was Travis who had packed it for me, since there was a little note with a a heart containing a T, P and S.

I'm so grateful I have them, I don't know where I would be without them.

Anyways, enough of being sentimental.

I still had three hours before leaving, and I have to make the most of them, since I might not come back after the quest.

That's probably what scared me the most; not knowing if I will come back to Camp Half-Blood.

Many of my friends had suffered that fate, and I just will not put any of my friends or Travis through that pain.

I am going to keep Lily and me alive at all costs, we'll both come back.

We have to.

While thinking I hadn't realized I had inadvertently started walking to the Demeter cabin, where I saw Katie helping Lily pack her bag.

As I knocked on the door, I realized my legs were full on shaking.

What in the Hades was happening?. I had never had this problem ever, with any other girl I liked, why was she suddenly making me so nervous.

The idea or running away and locking myself into my cabin and not leaving flashed into my brain, but before I could act. on it, the door to the Demeter cabin opens up, and infront of me I see an annoyed looking Katie and an embarrassed Lily.

My body moved without my brain even registering it, and suddenly I  found myself hugging Lily tight, and, most surprising of all, she hugged me right back, resting her head in the crook of my neck, and her hands playing with my curls.

Damn, I wish she would do that more often.

It felt comforting to hug her, as if all my troubles that had been plaguing my mind dissolved into thin air; but it wasn't just mentally comforting, but also physically.

She had always been short, but the one advantage of her height was how comforting it was to hug her, and our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces.

I truly had missed Lily, in every way possible, but I would never admit it out loud, especially ever since she broke my heart.

Plus, I had a girlfriend now, and I liked her a lot.

But with Drew something was missing, I didn't feel like melting whenever I saw her smile, and I didn't get lost in her eyes.

A part of my heart was missing, and I'm worried that Lily took it with her.

Love.

Love, love, love. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

I just wish I had realized that before I fell for Lily Marny.

We hugged for quite a long time, but eventually I came back to my senses and awkwardly pushed her off of me, which looking back, wasn't my brightest move to seem friendly.

"Hey, are you ready for the quest" I ask, helping her stuff some things in her bag, who Lou Ellen had specifically enchanted to be never full.

"Yeah, I am, are you?" She asks, whispering in my ear.

Now, I am not the best at reading in between the lines, but that felt like it was meant to mean something else as well. Oh well.

Before I could give her an answer, she starts talking again.

"We'll need another person on the quest with is, we can only go in three, who should we bring?" she says as she looks up to the roof, thinking visibly hard.

"Percy" I blurt out without thinking.

"What?" I hear both Katie and Lily ask simultaneously.

"Well, he's Percy Jackson, the guy could solve any quest, and he's the strongest demigod, so we'll need him, plus.." I cut myself off before I could reveal the other reason.

Plus, he's good at handling weird situationships, so he'll help me fix whatever the fuck this is, I think to myself.

Lily looks at me confused, her head slightly tilted to one side, as if she didn't buy my story.

Right before she could discuss further this idea, Percy crashed in the cabin.

"YES YES I'LL JOIN YOU GUYS" he says enthusiastically.

I was beyond shocked, not just because he had been clearly eavesdropping the whole time, but because he wanted to go on a quest.

He always talked about how tired he was of doing's the Gods work, and how he hated leaving Annabeth at Camp, so I truly must have meant a lot to him for him to volunteer as well.

"Well, you three need to go, you're leaving soon" says Katie, holding the door open, sighing while pinching the sides of her nose, clearly annoyed at something.

We all gather around the campfire, and after a good hour of goodbye we are all ready to go.

I turn around while getting my stuff, and see all the campers close together, Travis crying and Sherman hugging him.

All of Lily's friends also crying but laughing at the same time, and hugging Lily all at once, almost suffocating her.

I saw Annabeth, kissing Percy for what looked like 10 minutes, and then Drew who was looking at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Bye darling, I'll Iris message you" I say to her, as she quickly gives me a kiss on the cheek.

I run over to Travis and hug him for way too long.

Out of everyone, I was going to miss Travis the most.

We had never been apart, we always did everything together, and the fact that the Camp wouldn't see any pranks and pickpocketing for a while while I was gone was making my heart ache.

I hug Sherman too, and kiss Julia and Alice on the forehead, since they truly are my favorite half siblings.

I kneel down to Chiron and burn part of my lunch to the Gods, praying to be safe, all three of us.

I still couldn't believe I was actually doing this as the three of us walk to the edge of the Camp grounds, and we all look back at out only true safe home.

We could loose it all or come back with glory, as my brother Luke would always say.