Independence & Heartbreak // [Percy Jackson OC] // Book 2

{Chapter Two}

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"Bring me some hope/ by wondering into my mind
Something to hold onto/ Morning, or day, or night"
- Anchor (Bastille)

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PLANS HAVE A BAD HABIT OF CHANGING

    PERCY HAD A PRETTY BIG SHOCK TO HIS CORE, starting with the fact that his school gym was blown up, and ended with the fact that Chiron had been fired for something he would never do.

    Camp was different, Thalia's tree was failing, his new friend was a Cyclops, and his sister, who was normally very warm and welcoming, seemed to be avoiding him.

    Arya had promised him before the two said goodbye at the end of last summer that she would take her newfound freedom from camp, and use it to come visit him. Yet, everytime Percy would bring it up in letters, she would always have some excuse why she couldn't. Eventually she just stopped answering him all together, and it hurt.

    Percy wondered if it was something he did. If it was, he couldn't figure it out.

    Arya had gone through a lot at the end of last summer, and with camp the way it is now, he figured she really did have her plate full. However, she seemed to struggle to even look at him and it stung. She was so caring, so excited to have family. By the end of the summer, Percy had gotten there as well. He considered the two of them real siblings, like she had always been around.

    He thought maybe it was too much for her, that she didn't want him in her life anymore.

    Percy's thoughts only increased when he got to dinner and saw that Arya wasn't at the table. He had bet on the fact that the two would get to talk at dinner, maybe she would answer some of his questions, but it seemed she was nowhere to be found. He looked around at the other campers to ask someone if she had been skipping meals regularly. This was a main concern for Percy, because, while he had never seen it he had heard the stories of how his sister would skip important things such as meals and training sessions when she was overly upset.

Percy's initial thought was to ask Luke. The son of Hermes knew everything about the girl. Then Percy scolded himself for even thinking about it. Luke had betrayed all of camp last year and left everyone, including Arya. Luke thought, at the time, Arya would leave with him. But the son of Hermes misjudged how much Arya cared about camp and was forced to leave without her by his side.

    So, with Luke no longer an option, his next thought was to go to Charles Beckendorf. Another rather good friend of Arya's. When Percy found him though, he was sitting with the rest of his cabin at table nine. Percy felt it might be rude to interrupt so he let the Son of Hephaestus go. Making a mental note to pull him aside after dinner.