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that night i went to percy's cabin after dinner.
he hadn't showed up for dinner and i felt bad about not standing up for him. he was my best friend along with annabeth. grover and chiron already visited him.
i showed up at his door with a box of pepperoni pizza. i held two cans of sprite in my other hand. i somehow, convinced a satyr to smuggle them in camp for me.
i knocked on his cabin door with my leg, "knock, knock. can i come in?"
i heard a noise, and peeked my head in. my eyes were shut, "you decent?" i asked.
"yeah, come in." he muttered.
i opened my eyes and walked in. "sooo... i noticed you weren't at dinner and you must be hungry. it's been a long day, and i come bearing food!"
percy looked at me. i set the pizza and sprite down on the floor and sat cross-legged.
"perce, i'm sorry." i told him.
"it's okay," he lied. "i'm fine."
"don't bullshit me, jackson," i scoffed. "you're not fine. you can lie to grover. you can lie to chiron. but you can't lie to me. i see past you're 'i'm not really okay, i'm just gonna pretend to be okay so you don't feel bad' façade." i said using air quotes.
percy sat down in front of me. "why didn't you say anything?" he asked softly.
"percy, we've been on two quests together. most campers haven't even been on one. if i had to pick between taking you or thalia on a quest, i'd pick you. i know how you'd react to certain situations. we make a good team. but.... you and thalia. that's not always a smart combo."
"chiron said the same thing."
"percy, if you saw yourself—" i took a breath trying to calm my nerves, "you willed an entire creek to rise behind you because you guys had a fight. the look on your face — both of your faces — it was scary. i was scared, percy. scared that thalia would hurt you badly, or you would hurt her."
