T W E N T Y
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At two o'clock in the afternoon, Hogwarts castle was quiet for the most part. The school day was not quite over yet, meaning the majority of the noise was still contained within the castle and the classes it was currently holding.

Outside, the sun did little to warm the air. Those that were out donned cloaks and scarves, avoiding sitting in places the sun did not reach. The day was not a nice one. It was cold, chilling most to the bone, and the sky was not dominated by the sun as it would be in the hotter months. Only a few birds strayed from their nests, the pleasant sound of their chirping equipped by muffled screeching near the boundaries of the forest, where Hagrid was taking a class.

Situated near the forest, was the lake. It was as still as ever but the battles of the merfolk clans were still being waged underwater despite the sounds of their war being inaudible to mortal ears.

Things were as peaceful as they were going to get.

Until Clarisse arrived.

Storming across the grounds in a whirlwind of fury and anger, she was just about ready to pulverise someone on the spot. Her footfalls were loud and ferocious enough to send what few birds were around, flying for their lives and seeking sanctuary from the horror of Clarisse's fabled emotions.

She was livid. Scratch that. She was beyond livid. Her patience– what little she had –was gone. Her temper had soared through the roof and she contained enough anger in that single moment to light a fire with just the heat in her eyes.

It had only been a few minutes since she's run into Harry and made a most alarming discovery but she was not going to waste any time with her next actions.

When Clarisse reached the stables, she flung open the door so hard it was almost ripped off its hinges. It slammed shut behind her with a tremendous thump, startling the animals closest to the entrance.

Aside from a few creatures who'd made a temporary stay and were under Hagrid's care– plus Blackjack –the only occupant of the stables was Percy Jackson.

Percy didn't even flinch as Clarisse gave him her best evil stare down which only fuelled the girl's anger. He spared her a single fleeting glance before returning to the task of satisfying Blackjack's hunger with another donut. The pegasus snorted in pleasure.

"Jackson," she snarled, spitting the word out, "I am going to kill you!"

This time he did flinch. Doing his best to avoid eye contact entirely, he slowly lifted his head again and nodded once. "Hey Clarisse," he greeted. His calm demeanour didn't fool her. Percy had mastered Lupa's wolf stare, but that was after Clarisse had mastered her own death stare. If she tried hard enough, she could recounter in vivid detail the expression Percy had acquired when they'd first met, back when she was about to drag him to the bathroom at Camp Half Blood for what she had considered initiation. That look of faintly concealed fear was the only memory of that day she'd relinquished and it was similar to the look he bore now. It gave her a sense of satisfaction to know that even after all Percy had gone through, that if she had the willpower, she could earn something of a reaction out of him. Not so mighty now, huh?

Albeit, Percy was in a fragile state of mind and wasn't exactly himself, but Clarisse would take what she could get.

That satisfaction quickly dissipated when Percy looked up to face her again, holding eye contact this time. His wolf stare frightened Clarisse. She'd tried to build up an immunity to it but she still shuddered as his eyes bore into her. How was it that he was too upset to do anything other than mope, but he could still gather the energy to glare at her like that?

She thought about what Ares would say if she backed down in front of Percy Jackson– a demigod he detested. She would not show fear when her father might be watching. Clenching her fists, she opened her mouth to speak but Percy beat her to it.

"Sorry," he mumbled. He dropped his head. "Sometimes I don't notice when I do it. I'm just having a rough day."

And just like that, Clarirse snapped. "You're having a rough day? You're having a rough day?" she bellowed. "You're always having a rough day!"

Percy cringed as he tiredly ran a hand through his hair, feeding Blackjack the last crumbs of a donut. The horse whinnied and gave Clarisse a look as if to say fix him. How was she supposed to fix someone who didn't want to be fixed? How was she supposed to make someone listen who'd turned off their ears? How?

Her anger was still bubbling, like it had been boiling over a stove and was about to explode, only she wasn't sure what to do with that anger.

Clarisse didn't know what made her do it but the words were out of her mouth before she could register them. "Annabeth is dying!"

Percy stumbled back like he'd been pushed. Clarisse ignored the hurt in his eyes and pressed on. Someone needed to snap Percy out of his daze, and who better to do it than a child of Ares? "This sad little performance you're putting on here– IT'S NOT HELPING ANYONE!" she continued, her voice gradually increasing in volume.

"Don't," he warned. His hand was resting by his side, ready to reach for that stupid pen sword which Clarisse detested because she used to be the one with the coolest weapon.

"Chris is gone!" she screeched. "It's been much longer than a month and you don't see me cowering in a ball and being a whuss about it!"

His hand froze mid-reach for his sword. Clarisse's eyes began to water. She blinked back the tears and clenched her fists. "You think you're the only one having a rough day? DO YOU? BECAUSE EVERY DAY FOR ME IS ROUGH! AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHERE ANNABETH IS BUT CHRIS...he could be anywhere!" She faltered at the last word and choked back a sob. She was Clarisse La Rue. She would not cry. "Anywhere," she repeated, her voice no louder than a whisper.

Percy stood stock still, unsure of what to do. "Clarisse–" he began.

She wasn't finished yet. "And what about Annabeth? She didn't go this crazy when you were gone for almost a year! There was nothing that blonde genius could have done to bring you back, moron, but that didn't mean she would just accept that and move on! Listen to me, Prissy! You've had plenty of chances to try and help her! But instead like the stupid piece of dirt you are–" The tears were still threatening to overspill. Everything was stacking up; the pressure to be a warrior, to be strong, to handle everything herself and the loss of Chris, especially. She wiped at her eyes, hoping Percy wouldn't notice. "–you sulk and go cry about it to your mommy." Her words were hypocritical considering she would do anything to get out of there and cry, but she couldn't do that. Nonetheless, she knew she'd hit a sore spot when Percy's expression darkened. She didn't know what she expected him to do. Scream at her, attack her even...

But he did none of those things. He simply stood there. For some reason that made Clarisse all the more angrier. The fury burned bright in her eyes. Even if Percy were to hit her with a douse of water, that fire would not be extinguished. "All month, I've been doing everything to keep this quest going, Prissy," she sneered. "I've been the one sneaking out to Hogsmeade to meet up with people from camp! I was the one who decoded that stupid message from Chiron. S.S.H meant Shrieking Shack, Hosmeade! You wouldn't know because when I tried to tell you, all I got was empty silence! Who do you think has been trying to figure out what happened to Annabeth while you sat by on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing? Me! I've been doing everything! Since when did this turn into a solo quest, Jackson? Tell me? WHEN DID IT?" she roared. She was right in his face now. Her breathing was coming out in short puffs and she suspected she looked like an angry Oompa Loompa with the colour her face had turned.

For a moment, she received no answer, but then in a voice so quiet she almost missed it, he whispered; "It didn't."

Taking a step back, Clarisse looked at him long and hard. Percy did the same. This was a side of each other they'd never seen before and neither of them liked it.

"Whatever bad place you're in, Prissy, it's time to get out. Do it for Annabeth. For Chris. For Rachel, and for every other demigod sucker wherever the hell they all are."

Percy nodded once but did not look up to meet her gaze. With a final sigh, Clarisse turned her back. "When you're ready, there's some stuff you need to know." To Percy's surprise, she didn't utter a single curse word and walked away, silent tears escaping from her eyes.

This was a side of herself she didn't like. She wouldn't show weakness again.

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I know this is a short chapter. It was going to be longer but I moved the rest of it into the next chapter because I thought it fit better.

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