When We Were 'Us'

Tell Everybody I'm On My Way- Percy POV

[A/N I love this song]

The group of Romans who came to pick me up consisted of three legionnaires and Hazel Levesque. They marched into the camp in lightweight armor, so I knew my decision to wear my breastplate under my hoodie was a good idea.

"Hi Percy." The daughter of Pluto smiled.

"Hello."

"It's been so long, I missed you!" Hazel pulled me down into a hug, whispering in my ear as she did: "how are you holding up?"

"I'm coping." I murmured back, then smiled as we pulled away from each other and spoke louder. "It really has been a while, hasn't it? I think you've gotten taller."

She laughed. "This is about as tall as I'll get though. The doctors at Camp Jupiter said that my growth plates are closed."

"That makes you, what, five foot five?"

"Five foot four and a half." Hazel snorted. "But thanks for giving me the benefit of the doubt."

I picked my bag up and slung it over my shoulder, nodding to the other Romans. I vaguely recognized them.

"Are you ready to go, Instructor Jackson?" One asked.

"First rule of learning from me: I'm Percy or Jackson. Not Instructor, not Sir."

The three glanced at each other. Hazel looked amused.

"But it's a formality, sir- Percy."

"Formalities are not going to keep you safe when you're fighting a monster." I pointed out, shaking my head.

"He's right." Hazel nodded. "If he asks you not to call him by some formal title, you don't call him by any formal titles."

"Yes ma'am." They chorused crisply.

"Never got that kind of response around here." I joked, glancing at some of the demigods who had come to see me off.

"You never asked for one, Prissy." Clarisse grinned. "If you wanted respect - especially from us - you came to the wrong camp."

"Oh I know. You tried to shove my head in a toilet my first day."

"Don't act so whiny," she rolled her eyes and waved me off. "You blew up the entire bathroom on us. I'd say you definitely got off easy with that one."

"Percy, we should get going." Hazel said quietly.

I glanced at her and nodded, then waved to my camp-mates. "Bye, everyone! I'll be back."

"See ya Terminator!" Leo shouted.

Hazel laughed and motioned for me to follow the three legionnaires as they marched out of the camp borders.

"You know, whoever sent you to get me didn't think through it very well. Two children of the Big Three who have to get all the way across the country to get to safety? That'll attract all the monsters within a twenty mile radius."

"Then we'll kill all the monsters within a twenty mile radius." Hazel shrugged. "It'll give the locals that might be getting terrorized by them a chance to rest."

"Good point." I nodded and shifted my grip on my bag. "Lead the way."

----------

We stopped at a small motel for the night. We rented a single room with two beds and a couch. The two boys shared, Hazel shared with the girl, and I claimed the couch. It honestly wasn't bad, the whole room was clean and organized.

"So Percy... it really has been a while. What's happened since we last saw each other?" Hazel asked.

I knew what she was really trying to get at and began to relay the events of the past month, ending with Annabeth's betrayal and my subsequent seclusion in my cabin.

"That's horrible." Hazel shook her head. "I can't imagine how hard it was for you."

I shrugged. "I had the others at camp. Nico forced me to eat most of the time-"

"Ironic, considering how hard it is to get him to eat."

Hazel grinned when I laughed. It was really cute, how excited she got when she made someone laugh. 

"Alright, Haz." I shook my head. "We've got a lot of ground to cover, so we'll have to get moving in the morning. I'll be up by 7:30, do you want me to wake the rest of you up right away or give you a little more time?"

She shook her head and glanced at the three legionnaires, all passed out already.

"I'd say wake us up right away. You're right, we do have a lot of ground to cover, and they're sleeping deeply so they'll be plenty rested in the morning."

I nodded and grabbed a blanket from the small linen closet. Hazel rolled over in her bed and flicked the light up, leaving just the glowing light from the cheap air conditioning unit in the corner.

"Goodnight, Percy."

"Goodnight, Hazel."