The Olympian Of McKinley High

Chapter 22: Old Wounds

All of Percy's good vibes were destroyed when Santana started complaining about sharing the spot light. After all of the excitement of the song and being told that the musical was back on track, he couldn't understand why Santana was in such a foul mood.

Immediately after the meeting let out, Percy caught Santana talking to Rory farther down the hall. Before Percy could reach them to hear what they were talking about, Santana walked away leaving Rory standing in the middle of the hall with his mouth slightly open in awe.

"Hey Rory, are you okay?" Percy asked kindly when he finally made it to the other side of the long hallway.

"She scares me Percy." Rory said with the most sincere tone. Percy pat him on the back in comfort before walking away towards his next class. Honestly, she scared him too.

***

Chemistry and lunch flew by quickly and it was sooner rather than later that Percy found himself in the locker room for gym. He went to open his locker when Kurt joined him.

"Hey locker buddy!" Kurt said excitedly.

Percy chuckled. "Hey." They grew silent as they quickly changed into their gym clothes. Percy pulled off his shirt and started searching his bag for another. He started to get the feeling of being watched. Hesitantly, he glanced around until his eyes landed on Kurt. His big blue eyes looked right at him.

Kurt blushed when he caught Percy looking back. "I'm sorry, I was just looking at your scars. Are you okay?"

It was Percy's turn to blush as he had completely forgotten about his war scars. He hesitated before replying, "Yeah, they're just some old wounds." 

Percy had stopped looking at himself too closely in the mirror years ago. He had long, healed scars covering him practically head to toe. Every scar on his body reminded him of a different battle he had endured. Some battles he had won, but almost all of them could be related to the loss of someone dear to him. He subconsciously went to grab the camp necklace he wore and rubbed the stone containing all of the names lost in the Battle of New York. 

"How did you get them?" Kurt asked out of curiosity. Percy wasn't really sure what to say but he was saved from the awkward moment when the gym teacher shouted for people to hurry up.

He didn't mean to avoid Kurt during gym. Percy didn't even realize he was doing it. Most of the class was spent running outside on the track. Percy found himself sprinting at full speed around the circle as memories flooded his mind. He felt as if the scars on his body cut deeper than his skin, and dug into his heart and soul. He hated reliving the past. His friends had given their lives so that he could live his. He had to honor them by moving on. 

Back in the locker room Percy got dressed quickly. He was sitting on a bench tying his shoes when Kurt finally walked over to their locker. Kurt wouldn't look in his directing and Percy felt guilt and embarrassment wash over him immediately. 

"I'm sorry Kurt. I didn't mean to brush you off like that. I have a bit of a rough past that I don't like to talk about." Percy spoke slowly as he thought about what to say, and how to describe his experiences without revealing any real information.

Kurt finally turned to look at him with a sad smile on his face. "It's okay. I'm the one who should apologize." He paused before continuing, as if he was trying to gauge a reaction before it actually happened. "And if you want to talk to someone about it you can trust me. You could talk to Ms. Pillsbury too. She can be a great listener."

Percy smiled genuinely. "Really, there is nothing going on. Thank you though." 

Kurt smiled too but Percy could see that it didn't reach his eyes. It was nice that someone cared so much about his well-being. 

After leaving the locker room Percy went to his last class of the day. He sat bored in the back of the room just watching the hands of the clock tick slowly. He had the teacher's voice droned out like white noise. His mind traveled back to Camp Half-blood and he wondered how all his friends were doing. He wished he still had some drachmas to call Annabeth with. 

He also started to question why he had not been attacked by a monster yet. He couldn't even remember being at one school for this long, and this made him even more nervous.

He bolted from his desk when the dismissal bell went off. He walked out to the parking lot and looked around for Quinn's car. He was surprised to find that it wasn't where it had been when they drove together that morning. He started walking to the end of the parking lot in the direction of the Fabray Household when a car honked it's horn behind him. 

Quinn's car honked again before Percy moved towards the vehicle. He suddenly found himself to be very tired and was overjoyed to not have to walk. He climbed into the car and immediately looked towards the girl beside him. Percy's eyes grew wide to see the lack of pink within his range of sight. 

Quinn smiled at him without saying a word. Her hair had been changed to a warm blonde that complemented her eyes quite nicely. She had it brushed and styled with new bangs hanging over her forehead. Percy couldn't believe that Quinn had gone from looking punk rock to a soft school girl. 

Percy smiled too. He could see the clear excitement on her face. He had no intention to ruin this moment for her. 

Together the two headed home in silence.

***

*I know that the TV show's cannon had Quinn's hair dyed sooner but I missed it.

I hope you enjoyed this! I certainly enjoyed writing again. Please vote and leave a comment if you would like this story to continue!