My Boyfriend is a Dead Roman Hero | Jason Grace

I Creep Out All My Friends

Wanna know the quickest way to make all of your friends uncomfortable?

How about drawing power from the fact that their siblings are dead.

In the week following the Battle of the Labyrinth, Juliette has spent more time as a wyvern than a human. Not entirely by choice. But, she's put her wings to good use in the recouperation efforts, volunteering to haul the larger debris from the makeshift battlefield to the camp junkyard. She's flown in lumber from the Demeter kids' new grove to help build the funeral pyres. She's even delivered boxes of belongings to the parents of fallen campers in Hermes' stead.

Percy says he's proud of her for helping out. Julie doesn't have the heart to tell him she's just trying to use up as much power as possible so she can stop feeling like there's lightning in her veins whenever she passes the Apollo cabin. Or the Athena cabin. Or Ares. Or Hermes. She hasn't seen Will or Annabeth in days. She's not sure she knows how to look them in the eyes.

Nico heads out a few days after the battle. Their goodbye is pained and awkward. He comes to her bedroom and says he has some things to look into in the Underworld, but that he'll be back. If she wants him to be. She smiles and tells him to stay safe and to visit. He agrees that he will, and Juliette tries desperately to believe him.

Sleep is simultaneously the worst and best part of her days. Most nights, her dreams are plagued by images of Lee Fletcher's collapsed skull, Castor's blood soaked and broken form limp his twin brother's arms. She wakes every night to a horrible rush like she's falling again from the sky and loses whatever she'd eaten at dinner to the toilet in the half-bath of the Big House. She won't be able to return to sleep. She spends those nights on the roof and watches the stars and wonders why none of their parents have dropped by to see their children off to the Underworld.

Some nights, though, she opens her eyes to a familiar bedroom and a crooked, scarred smile.

"Hey, soldier," Juliette greets softly. The boy whips around so fast his glasses slide down his nose.

"Oh, thank the gods," He breathes out, bounding across the room. He reaches out as if to hug her and frowns when his hand passes through her shoulder. She looks down, feeling oddly ashamed.

"Sorry for the, uh, scare." She clears her throat. "And thanks for the save. With Kelli. That probably would've ended badly if it weren't for you."

He's silent for a while. Julie forces herself not to look up at his face. Finally, he asks softly, "What happened?" and she breaks down in tears before him.

Everything spills out. Percy's disappearance, her cruel words to Annabeth, Kelli's threats to bring her back to Luke, Nico, and the Battle of the Labyrinth. By the end of it, they're both on their knees, face to face, his hands as close to her shoulders as they can be without fading through. For a while, they just sit, and he waits patiently for her body to stop trembling. Eventually, she catches her breath and steels herself enough to meet his gaze.

He looks focused. Those bright blue eyes are scanning her face like it's a complicated equation, taking in both the messy whole and looking smaller to figure out where exactly he should start. She laughs a little and wipes at her nose.

"Did you get any of that?"

He nods. "Bits and pieces." Settling back to sit criss-cross, the blonde takes a deep breath. "Most of what I got was that someone - your cousin? brother, maybe? - went missing, you found him, but then there was a big fight and you lost some friends. Am I on the right track?"

"You're on fire."

He purses his lips grimly and runs a hand through his hair. His eyes look nervous. Thoughtful. Concerned. But, Juliette doesn't think it's directed at her. She scrunches her brow.