Percy Jackson(The Elites)

Medusa

"Good idea," Percy agreed, and as they turned to head back, Mary felt a sense of camaraderie returning. She leaned her head against his shoulder once more, grateful for his support. Together, they picked up their pace, the sounds of the group growing louder as they approached

They eventually made their way back to the group, the tension in the air palpable as they rejoined Annabeth and the others.

Annabeth glanced at Percy, her brow furrowed in concentration as she picked up where they'd left off. "Like I was saying before, Percy," she began, her tone firm but not unkind. "After that whole thing with Mary... we can't just call camp. We need to think this through."

Percy, still processing everything that had happened, blinked and nodded slowly. "Uh... Oh, right. But why can't we just call camp?" he asked, his voice laced with confusion. "I mean, wouldn't they want to know what's going on? We can't just leave them in the dark."

Annabeth shook her head, her arms crossing as she gave Percy a pointed look. "Because, Percy," she said, her voice tinged with frustration, "if we call camp now, they'll just think we're not capable of handling this mission. They'll think we're not worthy of being out here."

Percy shrugged nonchalantly, his usual sense of humor flickering back into his words. "I'm completely comfortable with that," he said with a small grin. "I mean, I never exactly won 'Most Likely to Succeed,' did I?"

Annabeth didn't laugh. Her expression was serious, the weight of the mission pressing down on her. "Percy," she said, her voice soft but insistent, "they sent us on this quest for a reason. We can't just throw it all away. We can't let them down."

Beside them, Mary shifted awkwardly, the tension of the situation weighing on her. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but her voice caught in her throat for a moment. She'd barely had time to recover from her panic attack earlier, and now here she was, caught in the middle of this tense conversation. She felt her stomach tighten as she looked from Annabeth to Percy, uncertain of how to make them understand.

"I... I'm not saying we should give up," Mary started, her voice wavering slightly, "but we need to keep in mind what we're really up against here. We're not just fighting monsters; we're fighting the expectations of everyone at camp, too."

But her words fell flat. Neither Percy nor Annabeth seemed to notice, both too wrapped up in their own thoughts. They couldn't hear her.

Mary bit her lip, feeling the weight of the conversation press in on her. She felt incredibly out of place, like a cog in a machine that wasn't quite turning right. After the panic attack she'd just had, the last thing she wanted was to be the voice of reason. But there she was, trying to make her point while feeling like everything inside her was falling apart.

She glanced over at Annabeth, who was speaking again, her voice calm and steady as if nothing had happened at all. Mary couldn't shake the awkwardness that settled over her. Annabeth's acting like everything is fine, she thought, feeling a little lost. How does she do that? How does she keep it together so easily?

In contrast, Mary still felt the pulse of anxiety thrumming through her, the remnants of her panic attack still lingering in her chest, but no one seemed to notice. They were too focused on the task at hand, too focused on what had to be done. But Mary couldn't help feeling like she was slipping further and further from the group, her sense of self-doubt eating away at her with every passing second.

She swallowed hard, but it did little to clear the lump in her throat. Maybe I'm just not cut out for this.

"You are not just a kid."says Annabeth