Lukercy: all in the past

My Second Year of Being Nineteen

When I woke up the second time it was still before everybody else. It was like that before I betrayed everybody too.

I then got up and got ready, starting my day like I used to.

Once I was done I saw the others waking up. The ones who I . . . betrayed. This time I was gonna do better.

After everybody woke up and got ready for the day I started us on our daily routine. Luckily, I had been at camp long enough, and knew what day it was, so I flawlessly took them to each activity.

First, I took us to breakfast and I tried acting like nothing was different but I also knew that if I did act a little differently they would think it's because I was scared for Percy. So, hopefully, they wouldn't question it.

And as far as I could tell, no one noticed.

I mean, we went through our daily tasks. Practicing fighting, chores, history. All of it and it felt good, but weird, to do it again. But I haven't done it in years so that might be why. I'm just glad that, for now, everything is normal.

By the end of the day, I had realized that I missed this, a lot. The routine, the people, the playfulness. I missed all of it. And I wasn't going to let them down again.

So when we got back to the rooms I made sure everybody got ready and went to bed on time. Afterward I just laid in bed thinking of a plan to fix everything before it happens.

So, to start off, I'm not gonna ignore Percy when he comes back like I did before. Second, or maybe I should do this first, I'm gonna tell Kronos I'm not helping him anymore. Third, I'm gonna get rid of backbiter, though I should probably do that before Percy comes back. Fourth, talk the others out of siding with Kronos, even though I was the one to convince them to join in the first place. I'll need a believable story for that though.

I might still hate the gods, but I'm going to make them mad without trying to kill them. And especially not by siding with Kronos, I don't feel like dying again. Dying sucks, zero out of ten, would not recommend.

Eventually I fell asleep.

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When I woke up I didn't feel rested. I didn't have any dreams or nightmares but I still felt like I hadn't slept in days.

But I knew I had to get up. Even if it was just to talk to Percy, Annabeth, and Grover.

So I went about normal business until it was afternoon. We had free time but Chiron was busy keeping the cabins from killing each other. I knew this from last time.

I went to the big house porch for no other reason than to talk to the people on the quest. Quite a different reason from last time.

When I walked to it, it had a great view, I could even watch the Hermes cabin from here, but I knew I had to wait. They would call.

Then I heard it.

"Luke!" Percy's voice called.

I turned, eyes wide. I may have been expecting it but it was still surprising.

"Percy!" I broke into a grin, no matter what he could always make me smile. I guess that's why I felt so bad. "Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"We're . . . uh . . . fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. And she said she didn't love me, like I said . . . thought, LiAr. "We thought—Chiron—I mean—"

"He's down at the cabins." My smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"

"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into my line of vision. "What kind of issues?"