Fatal Flaw (a Percy Jackson AU)

Cold Compassion

Nico
The next day, they came. They called themselves the Titans and said they were a charitable organization that visited kids in hospitals. With their fake smiles plastered upon their faces, I felt like the visit was more to make them feel better than to make us feel better.
"Hi!" said a too-excited, middle-aged man with a balding head and a wrinkled face. "So, why are you here, sonny?"
I didn't want to answer, but I knew that to be able to eventually get out of the hospital, we had to cooperate. "I tried to overdose," I said in an overly casual tone.
Why was this guy pretending to care? It was obvious he didn't even understand what we were going through. "You know, sonny," he said in a stern I-know-better-than-you tone. "Killing yourself is a sin. The two worst sins are committing suicide and homosexuality."
I felt like I was being slapped. This dumb man was basically saying how bad I was. I struggled to control my anger and sorrow. Sometimes, I thought it would have been much easier if I had been born straight. I wouldn't be judged as much and perhaps my parents would like me almost as much as they had loved Bianca. Besides, if I hadn't been smitten with Percy, Bianca would still be alive.
   "You know it's polite to agree with your elders, sonny," the old man said.
   "I don't agree," I muttered.
    "Speak up sonny," the old man ordered. "I can't hear you!"
   "I don't agree with you," I said angrily.
    "Oh, I get it," the man sneered. "You will burn after you die and God will hate you forever!"
At that point, I couldn't stand it. I ran back to my room crying. Tears streamed down my face and watered my skin with salty liquid. The tears stung my eyes and face. I felt like acid was being poured down my face. The shattered bits of my heart had crumbled to dust from the conversation.
    I went further under the covers and trying to stifle my sobbing heart. Nothing worked. I felt a mad urge to jump out of the window. I would almost surely die and I might have some relief, but I knew there was no use. The windows were always locked. The only reason we had windows was to let us see the world outside, but the disconnect between this world and that world was jarring.
   The windows let us see out, but others couldn't see in. It was to protect our privacy, but it made me feel smothered and cut off from the rest of the world. I heard the door creak open and through my mask of tears I reckognized the curly, dark hair and golden eyes of my sister, Hazel.
    She gently closed the door and walked across the room to sit quietly beside me. She gave me a small hug. For a fleeting moment, I felt a little better. She gently let go of the embrace and all my sadness welled up again like rain welling up in a puddle. "What happened Nico?" Hazel asked.
   "The man I was talking to insulted me," I answered while I shed a few more tears.
   "The Titans made fun of everyone," Hazel said. "Chiron made them leave after they called Frank delusional. They were lucky he did or I would have punched them."
   Her golden eyes were blazing with what looked like a mixture of anger, love, and passion. "Just remember that I love you Nico," Hazel whispered as she hugged him. "You're my brother and I want to see you be happy."

Chris
Titans coming
Fake smiles
Tattooed on their faces
Fake
Titans laughing, jeering
A loud voice full of scorn
Maze
Lost
Shadows
Dead-ends
Twists and turns
Confusion
Lost
Titans
String
String lost
Stolen