If There's A Reason I'm Still Alive (Percy Jackson)

Im Willing To Wait For It

Percy:

Half of my life.

That's how long he's been gone.

For half of my life.

I'm 18 now. Today's my birthday. We uh... We never really knew what happened to him he would be 18 today, too.

But he's dead.

He died on our birthday. Nine years ago.

That's half of my life.

Mom and Paul were out of town as they are every year on my birthday now. They leave the night before while I'm asleep. Leaving behind a cake and a couple presents. There's on that we always get but never open. Paul doesn't get it. But that present is for Paxton.

You don't touch it, you don't open it. It's his.

As I do every year now ever since actually having friends, I stopped at the place where they buried him to talk with him as I do and have done every year since his death.

Nico:

My dad told me to mark a grave. It was his annual bring somebody back from the dead day I guess. He's only allows one person. This year he let it be my pick as long as it wasn't my mom or sister.

At a local graveyard not far from camp, I noticed Percy. He was talking to nobody, so I'm assuming somebody dead.

Being me, I could've cared less as of who it actually was, and marked it as soon as Percy was gone.

Almost instantly, Percy was next to me.

But it was like he had amnesia.

"Oh my-" Percy said as he appeared next to me and glanced over and jumped when he saw me. "Who are you."

"You know me, Per-"

"I'm not Percy. I'm the dead one. What day is it?'

That's.... Okay.

"August 18," I told him," 2011."

"2011!?"

"Yeah, 2011," I confirmed," is that not okay?"

"No... It's fine, it works out," he tried to tell me," I just feel like they'll see me and they'll freak out because I'm... 18 now. We're 18 today."

"We?"

"I'm a twin, I'm the only one that died," he explains to me," I'm Paxton. Paxton Jackson. My brother is Percy."

Instant heart attack. Right away.

"Did... You think I was my brother?"

I nodded my head.

He rolled his eyes.

"You're not the first. Our steps dad used to get us mixed up when we were younger. You get used to it. Do you know where my brother is?"

I pointed towards camp.

"Head up a few miles, he'll be there."

"Alright, thanks!"

Paxton:

I head up to the strawberry fields. I remember that Mom brought us here once when I had amnesia. It was a nice place. Percy and I wanted to go beyond, behind it. There was a camp there. But Mom said no, we weren't old enough.

Percy wasn't at the strawberry fields, so I went behind. To the camp.

And I saw him at a dining pavilion with a few others. Some girls, some boys. They were all cute. All of them.