The Sun and The Sea

Percy POV

SWEARING IF THAT MATTERS

Percy POV:

I was sat on one of the various logs surrounding the campfire, Nico on my left and Annabeth on my right. She was holding hands with Piper, which caused a small smile to flicker across my face. At least she got to be happy.

"Oi, Prissy!" Clarisse's voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I glanced up.

"Yeah?"

"Snap out of it. God, you're still as annoying as you were when you were a newbie," She said with a smirk. I smiled back, not taking it to heart.

"Hey, Death breath?"

"Percy, STOP fucking calling me that!" Nico exclaimed.

"Language, Nico!" Will gasped. I snickered.

"Mhm.. sorry tesoro. Anyway, what is it, Perce?" (Tesoro is a term of endearment in Italian).

"I'm gonna go down to the beach. To.. relax?"

He immediately looked concerned, "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, it's just a bit hot. That's all." And with that, I got up and walked away, ignoring the worried glances from the other campers and the call from Chiron to wait up. The walk to the shoreline was quick enough, and I sat in the sand, contemplating.

Obviously, it hadn't actually been too hot. I was just looking for an excuse to get away. And no, you percabeth simps, I'm not jealous of Piper. Annabeth and I broke up mutually, in fact, it was me who initiated the break up! So why was I upset? Actually, screw that, I'm not upset. Totally.

"This is stupid," I mumbled, dipping my hand in the water. "So, so stupid."

Glancing over my shoulder, I could see the faint light of the campfire, and hear the distant laughs and singing. Oh well.

Back to my earlier topic - I'm not jealous. Well, not of Piper having Annabeth, more so of the fact that.. well, everyone else had someone within camp to rely on. And yes, Nico was there, as was Will and Annabeth and Jason and Leo and- you get the picture. But they were all preoccupied in a sense.

~Flashback started~

"Hey Jase, wanna hang out today?" I asked, standing in the doorway of Cabin 1.

"Sure, we can-" thunder rumbled in the sky, cutting him off.

"Uh.. your dad isn't too happy, then?"

"Apparently not," Jason replied with a faraway kind of look in his eyes. "He's probably still a little salty at you for, well.. existing."

"Well duh, he's Zeus, king of the douchebags - I wouldn't expect anything less." I replied.

More thunder.

"Yeah, maybe it's best if he calms down a little before we do anything," he said with a snicker, before adding, "I was planning on staying on my own anyway, I haven't got any plans."

"Alright. See ya later, then?"

"Yeah. See you around, man."

I went back to Cabin 3 and flopped down on my bed, ignoring the fact that it was unmade and already rumpled enough. When were cabin inspections again? Not today, anyway...

My eye closed and I dozed off.

My dreams, as per-usual, were horrific.

I was hanging to the ledge of Tartarus again, Annabeth hanging off of the arm I wasn't using to keep us up, and Nico on the solid ground above me.

Something was different this time, though. My plea with Nico happened as usual, but... He was smiling.

"No, Percy. Maybe it's time you felt betrayal. Just like I did." And he walked away.

A slow, malevolent chuckle rose from the ever-waiting pit. "Let go, Perseus. Come to me."

My grip slipped, and I fell.

Waking up screaming was something that was normal for me. Especially in camp half blood. Yes, the borders kept monsters out, but they didn't do that with the nightmares. Sadly. I mean, how cool would it be if they did? Life would be so much easier, and I might get some decent sleep. What an awesome idea.

"PERSEUS JACKSON! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THAT CABIN OR I SWEAR TO HADES I'LL BREAK THE DOOR DOWN!" Nico yelled. "IT'S LUNCHTIME, AND I'M HUNGRY SO HURRY THE FUCK UP!!"

"Coming! Calm your- zombies?!" I was up in an instant, out of the cabin faster than you could say 'syrup-drenched blue pancakes.'

"Finally. I thought I was gonna have to bust the window or something, you were screaming so l..." He trailed off and cleared his throat. "Anyway. To the pavilion, aqua-man."

I rolled my eyes and walked with him. " 'Aqua-man'? You're using Jason's nickname for me now? Ugh." I mock-shuddered, pleased when I saw the son of Hades smile.

"Speaking of Jason, have you seen him today? Last time I spotted him, he was with Leo in the forges-"

Nico must've noticed my expression drop, because he cut himself off and changed the subject.

"Uh.. anyway. Let's get to lunch, Will's gonna be on my ass about it if we're late."

"Isn't he on your ass anyway?"

"You'd better run."

~Flashback ended~

And that was just one example. Whether it was people cancelling on me or making excuses, or just flat out lying, they were always busy.
As my thoughts continued down that route, the sea got rougher. I, being the intelligent mass of bones and flesh and maybe a singular braincell that I was, didn't notice, zoned out.

My mood declined. So did the weather. It took me 30 minutes, several soakings of seawater, and a slap in the face by a plastic bag to snap out of it.

"Shit."

I ran back to camp, and was met by Nico's worried face.

"Jackson, are you oka-"

"I'm peachy!" And then I locked myself in my cabin. What a social being I am, right? So open and willing to talk about my feelings too.

A/N: so basically I want this to end on exactly 1000 words. Otherwise my OCD will murder me. So basically I have to go on a dog walk for like 2 hours and stuff. Yay. So fun, right? Yeah.

1000 words!