twenty six
battleground

WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO CAMP, everyone was in the clearing, dressed in full battle armor. It was almost like Capture the Flag except it was no game. This was real and lives were at stake.

Their quest group split off. Annabeth went to join her siblings at the command tent they'd set up. Percy, Nico, and Tyson stayed with Chiron and Lennon joined her siblings where Apollo cabin and Hermes cabin were scattered in the woods.

She met Lee at the base of one of the trees. As soon as he'd seen her, he hugged her fiercely.

"You okay?"

Lennon let out a breath. "Yeah, you know. It's a quest, so,"

Lee eyed the raised scar that Kelli had left her with. It seemed like he wanted to say something about it but instead, he said, "You used dad's hymns?"

She nodded. "Well, we can't all be Julian," she says with a small smile.

"What was that?" A voice calls from above. She glanced up to see Julian crouched in the trees, grinning despite the situation. "Sounds like a compliment,"

"Oh hush," she calls back to him, shaking her head with a smile. Then she looks back to Lee. "Where's Will and all the younger kids?"

"All the kids are at the big house. Mr. D grew some type of thorn wall to protect the house. We tried to get Will to stay there but... you know how he is. We settled on having him in Athena cabin's tent. If we need a healer he'll be there,"

Lennon nodded. "I'm sure he wasn't happy about that," Will was still young and they always tried their best to keep him off the front lines. But even they couldn't deny he was one of their cabin's best healers. It didn't help that the young boy had such a strong urge to help people. "Where do you need me?"

Lee pointed up at one of the trees. "Michael's up there. Us and Hermes cabin will be one of our first shields of defense when the monsters come through,"

Lennon nodded. "Got it. I'll see you later,"

"Later Len," he nodded.

Then the two split off. Lennon found herself up in the trees clutching the trunk of the tree.

"Remember that time you fell out of a tree?" Michael asked from beside her.

She glared at her brother. "I seem to remember someone pushing me out the tree,"

He hums as if he has no idea what she's talking about. "Really? Shame we never found out who,"

She scoffed. "No, I think we—" Her voice wavered as the ground beneath them began to tremble.

She and Michael locked eyes, all humor gone from them. A battle was about to begin.

From the clearing, Clarisse yelled, "Lock shields!"

It was like a breath of quiet fell over the camp, then all Hades broke loose. The Titan lord's army exploded from the Labyrinth.

Lennon saw the Laistrygonian giants first. One of them broke through Ares cabin's phalanx easily.

"Fire!" Beckendorf yelled.

Lennon and her siblings shot a volley of arrows at the army. Lennon saw several arrows find the chinks in the giant's armor. Most of her arrows shimmered with light as they melted away armor.

She had no idea how many times she'd fired arrows. It almost seemed like the giants were being overwhelmed. Then even more dracaenae surged out of the maze. It had to be forty, maybe fifty of them. Next to her, Micahel cursed in ancient Greek.

Some of them tripped Hephaestus cabin's traps, but the rest continued forward. Lennon her siblings continued to shoot arrows at them. Her arrows of light cut through the crowds of monsters.

Then she saw one of her fellow campers, she wasn't sure who. Maybe from Ares cabin, maybe Demeter. They were being cornered by a trio of dracaenae.

She jumped down and crouched into a roll. Then she shot as many arrows as she could at the dracaenae. She flicked her bow down and it shimmered into a sword as she stabbed one of the monsters through the hole that had been burned in its armor.

The camper— who she'd now realized to be from Hermes cabin— brought up her shield and blocked the monster's attack before slashing through the two left. When the monsters crumbled to dust, the girl heaved a sigh.

"Thanks,"

Lennon shook her head. "It's nothing,"

The two weren't able to speak any longer as there were still monsters coming through the Labyrinth. No, not monsters. Half-Bloods.

Lennon had known that other half-bloods had joined Luke. She'd known that she would have to fight them. But now it all feels real.

She's soon separated from the Demeter kid, instead engulfed in a fight. So far, she'd tried her best to avoid making any fatal attacks towards the other campers. It's stupid, she knows.

She blinds the boy again and he squints his eyes from beneath his helmet. He slashes his sword wildly but she expects it. They always get desperate when they're blinded. Her sword meets his and she blocks his attack, pushing him back.

The boy stumbles back but rights himself and surges forward. Somehow Lennon can tell that Luke was the one to teach him how to fight. He's a clumsy fighter, still fairly new to it, but he attacks with a viciousness and confidence that's nothing but an act. Lennon knows because it's exactly how she fought when Luke first taught her how to hold a sword.

He slices in an arc at her shoulder. The clang of his sword against her armor rings in her ears. The realization strikes her suddenly. If she didn't have armor, that strike would have fatally injured her. She may not be aiming to kill, but he is.

The boy retracts his sword, grinning underneath his helmet. He thinks he'll win this fight. He attacks again with fast strikes of his sword but Lennon blocks each one, pushing him back.

Lennon notices it easily, how his footing is off. How unbalanced he already is. She quickly hooks her foot around his ankle and trips him. He falls to the ground and his helmet tumbles off. Just as he tries to get up again, Lennon leans down and punches him across the cheek, rendering him unconscious. She wouldn't kill the other half-bloods, but she had no qualms with leaving them unconscious.

"Nice punch,"

Lennon glances over her shoulder to see Percy grinning at her. His hair is a windswept mess, he'd probably been in his fair share of fights before finding her there. In the back of her mind, she thinks of all the sparring sessions she'd had with him. He was the reason she was a much better fighter.

She shrugs, walking closer. "I have a pretty good teacher,"

He opens his mouth to respond but a roar erupts behind them and they see the giant lumbering towards them. It bangs its club against its shield. In an instant, the two lock eyes and nod.

They rush towards the giant and slide across the ground on either side of the monster, slicing its legs. The giant turns and swings its club in an arc, Lennon being the target. She ducks just as Percy strikes the giant. Unfortunately, his sword meets the giant's shield.

"Len!"

"Yup!" she understands instantly, shining a beam of light at the giant.

It roars in outrage and brings both its hands up to reach for its eyes.

Lennon glances at Percy, he nods and together they drive their swords into the belly of the giant. The monster crumples to dust before them.

They grinned at each other but there wasn't much time for talking as more monsters circled them. They split off, fighting their respective monsters and eventually being separated. Lennon could feel the exhaustion starting to get to her. She hadn't had a break since the Labyrinth and she could feel her arms aching. Still, she grit her teeth and fought on, taking out as many monsters and knocking out as many enemy half-bloods as she could.

For a moment, she had a brief moment of reprieve. Lennon glanced around surveying the battlefield. She sees Nico pale as he raises skeleton soldiers from the ground. Michael and Lee are surrounded by giants and they seem like they're fine but Lennon doesn't have time to inquire as she hears Percy shout, "Come on! We need help!"

He and Annabeth are being closed in by Kampê, the monster from Alcatraz. Lennon sees a glimpse of the crushed command tent and hopes Will is okay. She sends off a round of light arrows at Kampê, hoping that it helps. But even Lennon can see them flicker as they hit their target. They don't burn as brightly as they usually do.

Lennon knows she's getting weaker. She'd already exhausted a lot of her energy healing herself earlier. That coupled with however long she'd been fighting and how much she'd been using her powers, she was not sure how much fight she had left in her. She ignores that fact though, pushes it very deep in her brain, and looks back to where she'd seen Michael and Lee. Lee was nowhere in sight but she saw a glimpse of Micahel before the crowd of fighting omitted her view. She's filled with concern but she knows they can handle themselves and hopes they're okay.

Lennon hears a yell and looks over to see Nico raise more skeletons from the ground before crumpling. The skeleton soldiers form a circle around him but she knows it is only a matter of time before monsters break through.

She rushes towards Nico and joins the circle of skeletons fighting off any monsters that came near. She glanced over her shoulder and called Nico's name. "Are you okay?"

He groans and looks up at her. "'M.... fine. I can still fight,"

But Lennon can tell that's a lie, the boy looks deathly pale. Lennon cuts an arc at an approaching dracaenae and then shoots a column of light at another monster. The light and weak and barely does anything to hinder the monster.

Then suddenly, she hears a horrible sound. A sound of pure fear. Lennon snaps her head over to see that Grover is the one making the sound. The monster in front of her dropped its weapon and scrambled back to the labyrinth, just like the rest of Kronos' forces.

Lennon doesn't have time to rejoice in a finished battle, she hears Nico groan and pain and rushes over to the boy. Smoke was starting to curl off his black clothes and the grass had turned yellow and died all around him.

Lennon kneeled next to him and checked his pulse. His heart was still beating but it was beginning to go faint. Nico was so pale, that she found herself wondering how he was still alive.

"You overworked yourself,"

He weakly looks up and says, "I could.... say the same 'bout you..."

Lennon furrows her brows at his words. Then he drops his head and she almost loses his heartbeat by how faint it is. Someone drops next to her, placing a hand over Nico's heart.

"Get some nectar!" Percy looked over at Lennon. "What happened?"

"When I got over here he was on the ground. I helped the skeletons he summoned to protect him,"

She glances over to see Percy as an Ares camper hands him a canteen. Lennon scoots over and lets Percy feed the drink to him. Nico coughs and sputters, his eyelids flying open.

"Can you talk?" Percy asks.

Nico nodded weakly. "Never tried to summon so many before. I— I'll be fine,"

Together, Lennon and Percy helped him sit up and gave him some more nectar. As they did, Percy glanced at Lennon once more.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I'm fine,"

Percy furrows his brows at her and opens his mouth but then Nico winces and their attention is back on him.

The boy blinks at them in confusion before focusing on something behind them. "Daedalus," he croaked.

"Yes, my boy," the inventor said. "I made a very bad mistake. I came to correct it."

Daedalus had a few scratches that were bleeding golden oil, but he looked better than most of the half-bloods. His automaton body must have healed itself quickly.

Mrs. O'Leary loomed behind him, licking the wounds on her master's head, making Daedalus's hair stand funny. Lennon was surprised to see Briares standing next to him. The Hundred-Handed One was surrounded by a group of awed campers and satyrs. He looked kind of bashful, but he was signing autographs on armor, shields, and T-shirts.

Lennon and Percy helped Nico stand up and almost acted as crutches for him as he regained his strength. If anything, Lennon leaned more on the two boys.

"I found the Hundred-Handed One as I came through the maze," Daedalus explained. "It seems he had the same idea, to come help, but he was lost. And so we fell in together. We both came to make amends."

"Yay!" Tyson jumped up and down. "Briares! I knew you would come!"

"I did not know," the Hundred-Handed One said. "But you reminded me who I am, Cyclops. You are the hero."

Tyson blushed, but Percy patted him on the back. "I knew that a long time ago," He said. Lennon smiled at the interaction. "But, Daedalus...the Titan army is still down there. Even without the string, they'll be back. They'll find a way sooner or later, with Kronos leading them."

Daedalus sheathed his sword. "You are right. As long as the Labyrinth is here, your enemies can use it. Which is why the Labyrinth cannot continue."

"Can he do that?" Julian asked in confusion as they joined their group.

Annabeth shook her head, staring at Daedalus. "But you said the Labyrinth is tied to your life force! As long as you're alive—"

"Yes, my young architect," Daedalus agreed. "When I die, the Labyrinth will die as well. And so I have a present for you."

He slung a leather satchel off his back, unzipped it, and produced a sleek silver laptop computer—one of the ones Lennon had seen in the workshop. On the lid was the blue symbol ∆.

"My work is here," he said. "It's all I managed to save from the fire. Notes on projects I never started. Some of my favorite designs. I couldn't develop these over the last few millennia. I did not dare reveal my work to the mortal world. But perhaps you will find it interesting."

He handed the computer to Annabeth, who stared at it like it was solid gold. "You're giving me this? But this is priceless! This is worth...I don't even know how much!"

"Small compensation for the way I have acted," Daedalus said. "You were right, Annabeth, about children of Athena. We should be wise, and I was not. Someday you will be a greater architect than I ever was. Take my ideas and improve them. It is the least I can do before I pass on."

"Whoa," Percy said. "Pass on? But you can't just kill yourself,"

He shook his head. "I've hid from my crimes for two thousand years. Genius does not excuse evil, Percy. My time has come. I must face my punishment."

"You won't get a fair trial," Lennon said weakly, drawing the attention of the others, as she'd stayed quiet for a while. "The spirit of Minos sits in judgment—"

"I will take what comes," he said. "And trust in the justice of the Underworld, such as it is. That is all we can do, isn't it?"

He looked straight at Nico, and Nico's face darkened. "Yes,"

"Will you take my soul for ransom, then?" Daedalus asked. "You could use it to reclaim your sister."

"No," Nico said, stepping forward and taking his weight off of Lennon and Percy. "I will help you release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is."

Daedalus nodded. "Well done, son of Hades. You are becoming wise."

Then he turned toward Percy. "One last favor, Percy Jackson. I cannot leave Mrs. O'Leary alone. And she has no desire to return to the Underworld. Will you care for her?"

He looked at the massive black hound, who whimpered pitifully, still licking Daedalus's hair. Though he seemed to be considering it, Lennon could tell he'd already made his decision. "Yeah. Of course, I will."

"Then I am ready to see my son...and Perdix," he said. "I must tell them how sorry I am."

Annabeth had tears in her eyes.

Daedalus turned toward Nico, who drew his sword. At first, I was afraid Nico would kill the old inventor, but he simply said, "Your time is long since come. Be released and rest."

A smile of relief spread across Daedalus's face. He froze like a statue. His skin turned transparent, revealing the bronze gears and machinery whirring inside his body. Then the statue turned to gray ash and disintegrated. Mrs. O'Leary howled. Percy patted her head, trying to comfort her as best he could. The earth rumbled—an earthquake that could probably be felt in every major city across the country—as the ancient Labyrinth collapsed.

Lennon hoped that somewhere, the remains of the Titan's strike force had been buried.

"Come on," Percy said. "We have work to do."

Lennon took one step forward and her vision began to cloudy. She could feel her balance wavering and then her vision turned black as she fell.

When Lennon opens her eyes again, the sun shines bright. That's what confuses her. If she'd passed out, she should be in the infirmary. She takes in her surroundings and recognizes a green meadow. This time Lennon finds herself in soft jeans and the warmest knit sweater she'd ever worn. It was almost like the sweater was actively giving off heat.

"Lennon! I've been trying to get a hold of you," Xia sits in front of her. She frowns. "What happened?"

She thinks of her encounter with Kronos and what he'd said. "I think... Kronos was blocking you from me,"

Xia's eyes widen. "Kronos as in—"

"The titan," Lennon nods. "I met him actually. Told me some very foreboding things,"

Xia leans forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Gods, I'm so sorry," Lennon nodded. "I... I heard of the battle at Camp Halfblood,"

She looks down at her hands. Lennon has no idea what happened to the rest of her siblings. She could only hope that she'd reunite with all of them when she woke up.

"I... I wanted to tell you about what I found. What could end the curse,"

"What is it?" Lennon asks hopefully.

"Remember Hunter? How he lived a long life? He had a daughter. It's not much but it may change things. Back when I was alive, there would be this recurring prophecy line. Daughter of the cursed child,"

"How could that end the curse?" Lennon asks, a wrinkle in her brow. Could it be possible? Could centuries of tragedy be undone?

"The first of us Apollo children to carry the curse was a girl named Korina. She stopped speaking with the rest of us a very long time ago. But the last of us who did... Korina was always certain that ending the curse would have something to do with a descendant of Apollo,"

"Hunter's daughter would technically be a descendant," Lennon finished the thought for her.

"Yes," Xia nodded. "Hunter didn't talk much about his life. But he did speak of his daughter," Lennon's smile dropped. "If you could find her—"

"Did he tell you what happened to his daughter?"

"I... No, he doesn't want to talk anymore. I think he may choose reincarnation," She says sadly.

Lennon feels terrible. Xia had been so hopeful but there's no chance. There never was. You can't beat fate. "His daughter died," Lennon finally says.

Xia goes silent and the pain and sadness that flickers on her face is indescribable. "Are you sure?"

She nods. "I saw his life. He watched his daughter die before him. Another tragedy," Lennon looks down at her hands. "That's all it'll ever be right? Tragedy until we draw our final breath. Then it's on to the next unlucky kid. It won't end,"

She wipes a tear and realizes she's crying. She blinks the tears away. Lennon smiles at Xia. "Thank you for trying. But I understand now. I think... I think I've accepted it,"

Xia opens her mouth and then closes it, watching Lennon sadly. "I'm sorry. I wanted to change things so badly. I want the curse to be over. I—" she choked back a sob. "I didn't want you to go through what I did,"

Lennon glances up at her and weakly sends her a smile. "It's fate,"

Xia doesn't say anything. She just reaches over and pulls Lennon into a hug. She holds her tightly and her actions tell more than words could.

Lennon stays there until the dream fades away.

She wakes with a start in the infirmary and wipes a stray tear from her cheek. Lennon glances over to see Emelee and her platinum blond hair sitting on the opposite bed.

"Em?"

The older girl sniffles and tries to smile. "A good dream, I hope?"

Her sister's eyes are red and puffy. She had been crying— that should've been her first hint.

Lennon fakes a smile and sits up. "It was happy yeah,"

Emelee sniffs again. She almost smiles. "That's good,"

"What happened?" There's a foreboding feeling haunting Lennon. Something is very very wrong. She can feel it. "You're crying. Why are you crying?"

"I—" she covers her mouth, trying to stop the tears from falling. "Gods I wanted to be the one to tell you. I thought I was strong enough,"

Lennon frowns and reaches over, trying to comfort her with a hand on her shoulder.

"There, There was a giant. Micheal he couldn't—"

"Michael? He's okay, right? Please tell me he's okay,"

Emelee nods her head.

"Then why..."

"He couldn't save him. He couldn't save Lee,"

Lennon shakes her head. "No. No, what are you talking about? He– He can't be,"

"We're burning the shrouds soon,"

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours. I was supposed to wake you. I've been sitting here debating if I should," she sobs. "I almost didn't want to go. I can't watch. I can't watch them burn Lee's shroud,"

"He's dead," Lennon sniffs. She doesn't want to cry. She can't. But Lee! She's known him for as long as she's been at camp. He's her brother. He was her brother.

Lennon surged forward and hugged Emelee, crying into her shoulder. She clings to Emelee like she's her anchor in a storm, tears streaming down her face.

For a while, time moves in flashes. Lennon stopped crying before they left the infirmary. Somehow they get to the amphitheater. Lennon stands with her siblings as they burn Lee's burial shroud. They burn Castor's too. She becomes an anchor for her siblings, holding their hands, and hugging them. Still, she does not cry.

After, they go back to their cabins. Michael tells her about how he'd been there. He'd watched as that giant had swung his club and— He tells her how he's scared. How he doesn't think he could ever measure up to Lee as a cabin counselor. Lennon listens to all of this and she doesn't cry.

Then Will shows up. There are a lot of wounded people and Apollo cabin needs to help. Lennon insists Michael get some rest and Lennon accompanies her little brother. She spends that night treating the wounded. That night turns into day. Lennon doesn't sleep.

Lennon misses Grover's trial with the Cloven Elders. She feels terrible but there were so many wounded. She didn't want to leave them. Annabeth comes to update her. Grover has taken charge, she tells her. That makes Lennon smile. She's proud of Grover.

She finally leaves the infirmary for dinner. Will is the one who forces her out: grabbing her hands, insisting she come with him and eat something. He tells her she's most likely still in shock. He's probably right. He's years more mature than his actual age.

Dinner is nice. She tries to follow her siblings' scarce conversations. But it's hard when there's an empty seat at the table.

Lennon spots Nico hanging in the shadows at the edge of the pavilion. He'd been offered a seat with the Hermes cabin, even Chiron at the head table. She finds herself walking over to Nico.

"Are you sure you don't want food? I told you you're always welcome with the Apollo cabin,"

Nico's eyes linger on the table. It seems like he wants to say yes but he shakes his head. "I'm leaving camp,"

Lennon frowns but she still hums in understanding. "I had a feeling you would. I hope you would stay but... I understand. It's different for you. It shouldn't be, but it is,"

He nods. "You're not going to convince me not to?"

"It's not like you'd listen to me. Gods, you're stubborn,"

There's a faint smile on his face. "Bianca used to say that,"

Lennon watches him sadly. "You should stay for the sing-along,"

"Maybe,"

She gives him a knowing look. "You're lying,"

"I am. I hoped maybe that would make you feel better,"

She smiles. "Well, I do feel better knowing you tried," she lets out a small sigh. "Next time you come to camp, come say hello,"

Nico nods. "I will,"

Then Lennon leaves him in his shadows and joins her siblings.

Later that night, she sits at the docks, kicking her feet over the water. It is past curfew so she can only hope the Harpies don't find her.

"Lennon," she hears her name whispered. She looks over her shoulder to see Percy walking down the dock, using his sword as a source of light.

"Hi," she smiles as he sits down next to her and places Riptide between them. "Here, I can—" she puts out her hands, about to conjure light when Percy quickly grabs her hands.

"No. You exhausted yourself way too much. You need to rest. I don't want you wasting your energy to create a little light,"

All Lennon can think about is how warm his hands are. Or the way the light of his sword casts a golden glow across his face. She remembers back at St. Helen. Is it bad that she kind of wants to kiss him again?

Instead, she huffs and lets her hands drop in her lap. "I've had rest,"

"Uh-huh," he nodded unconvinced. "Was that while you were in the infirmary since last night?" She gaped at him. "Julian told me,"

She hummed. "You've made your point," she glances over at him and his eyes are already on her. "I wasn't gonna use my powers anyway. You're right,"

"Crazy. huh?"

She shakes her head with a little scoff and bumps his shoulder. "Don't get cocky,"

He lets out a little laugh. "How... How are you doing?"

Lennon pauses to think about it. She knows she hasn't processed Lee's death. She'll have to soon. "I'm—" she pauses. "I don't know. I'm... Gods I'm exhausted,"

Percy looks at her. Like, fully looks at her. Lennon doesn't think she'll ever get used to the way it feels when he looks at her. It feels like he sees her.

"You've been through a lot. We all have," He playfully bumps her shoulder with his own. "It's okay to have someone else help you now and then,"

She gives him a small nod and smiles. Deep down she knows that's true, but she can't have others worrying about her. If she wasn't strong for everyone else then she was useless to her friends.

Percy looks away, instead staring at his hands. "Especially to help with things like... a prophecy,"

Lennon glances over at him, catching his eyes before he looks back at his hands.

"I have experience with life-threatening prophecies. You know, the prophecy. I—" he sighs, finally looking up at her. "I kind of understand what you're going through,"

She tugs at the hem of her shirt, fiddling with it. A moment of silence passes before she quietly says, "I didn't want you to worry. We have enough problems, we don't need to add mines to the pile,"

"Do you remember last winter? When you told me about your curse?"

Lennon furrowed her brows. "Yeah?"

"I said we would figure it out. You, me, and Annabeth," He frowned, pushing a hand through his hair. "You told Annabeth but you didn't tell me,"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I just..." She didn't know what to say. All she'd thought about was making sure no one had to worry about her.

Percy turned to her. "Len, I'm your friend. I care about you. I— I wanna know whether you're in danger. Or... I don't know," He sighed. "What I do know is that your dreams have gotten worse. And you won't tell me about them and I know Annabeth knows more about them than me. I just want to help."

She lowers her head. "And lying to you won't help. Gods, I really am sorry Percy. It wasn't fair of me to not tell you," The brunette sighs.

"Hey," he put a hand over hers. "I get why you did it. I would hope you didn't but... I understand,"

"You're not mad at me?"

"Oh, come on. how could I get mad at you Sunshine?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "Still a stupid nickname,"

"I don't know," he shrugs. "I think it's pretty accurate," She looks at him only to meet his eyes again. Percy gives her a meaningful look, "You have to stop thinking you need to burden yourself with everything. You have friends to share things with you,"

"Easy for you to say. You've actually burdened the world," she says jokingly, reaching up to touch the gray streak in his hair and then stopping herself. "But, uh, I'll try. I don't really... know how to do anything but that,"

"Like I said," he squeezed her hand comfortingly. "You have friends to help you,"

She smiles at him. It's probably the realest smile she's had in the past few days. Lennon takes a breath. "On my birthday, the oracle told me a prophecy. My prophecy about my life of tragedy. Annabeth was helping me try to understand it. And yes, my dreams have gotten worse. There have been other cursed kids like me. And they all died tragically. That's, uh, what Kronos showed me,"

She waits for Percy to say something. Part of her is scared he'll reject all of it and decide she's beyond his help.

Lennon is surprised when he pulls her into a hug. She takes a moment to process the hug and Percy goes rigid, trying to retract the action. "Sorry, do you not want a hug? I—"

She pulls him back into the hug, squeezing him tight. "Of course, I want a hug water boy,"

He laughs. "Water boy? Seriously,"

"Sunshine? Seriously?" She mocks him.

"Whatever," Percy scoffs then says. "I'll always be here for you,"

She smiles into his shoulder. "I know," she says quietly.

When he lets go of her, he suddenly looks very awkward. Percy scratches the back of his neck. "Look about what happened back at St. Helens..."

Lennon nods waiting for him to speak. Was he talking about the kiss?

"I was just trying to distract you. I wasn't trying to... I didn't mean to... uh. It didn't mean anything,"

She nods, trying not to seem as hurt as she felt. Of course, it means nothing. They'd just established they're friends right? Friends don't kiss each other like that. And especially not because of some type of crush. Percy didn't have a crush on her. He was her friend. She couldn't get lost in hopeful fairytales. Besides, she'd hate to ruin their friendship.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course. I wouldn't think anything else,"

"Right. Yeah, um," He cleared his throat. "So, uh, what are you doing when camp finishes?"

"I'll mostly be at camp. We'll probably be recruiting kids a lot more with everything that's going on," She pauses. "Plus, um, my mom is moving here to New York. To be closer to me," there's a faint smile on her face. "Julian and I were gonna go visit her. I'm long overdue for a visit,"

"You're visiting your mom? That's good. Are you—"

"Nervous? Yeah, very. The only time I've seen her the past few years has been on the other end of a computer screen,"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I could come with you too. For, I don't know, extra moral support,"

"Really? Are you sure?" The two sit closely, their shoulders nearly touching.

"Yeah of course," He says with a smile as they lock eyes.

"Thanks," Lennon can't fight the small smile appearing on her face. She's not sure she's ever seen a color like the green of Percy's eyes. Or the smile he always sent her. How in Hades had she gotten so lucky?

She blinks rapidly, snapping herself out of her daze. Lennon clears her throat. So, what are you doing after camp ends?"

He blinks as if in a daze. Then he blinks and says, "Well, every year my mom and I do something for my birthday. Other than that, I'll be trying to find a school to go to,"

"Wait. Every year?" she frowns. "How come none of us from camp come?"

"My birthday falls after camp. You guys usually aren't at camp for my birthday,"

"You liar," she says teasingly and points to herself. "I am. I'd love to celebrate your birthday with you,"

"Really? You welcome. Please, I'd enjoy that actually,"

She smiles. "Plus, I need to get more embarrassing stories about you from your mom,"

Percy groans as he rubs a hand across his face. "Please don't,"

Lennon just laughs and watches the dark horizon of the water. She doesn't even realize as she gently rests her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for this,"

"For what?"

She shrugs. "Just being here, I guess,"

There's a pause and then he says, "Well, I'm kinda an expert on just being here,"
"No!" Lennon groans jokingly. "That was so bad,"

"Oh please, that was clever,"

Lennon lifts her head and raises a brow, "Was it?"

Once again, they've locked eyes. The two are at a standstill, the world around them gone quiet. Lennon can feel Percy studying her face. Suddenly, she's forgotten whatever they were talking about.

She doesn't know how much time passes before Percy glances away and stands up. "We should get going," He extends a hand to her and she takes it with a small smile.

I am in so much trouble. Lennon knows it for a fact. She, without a doubt, has a huge crush on one of her best friends.

AUTHORS NOTE:
we have one chapter left and then we're done with act 2!!!! i knows it's been a longgg time since my last update sorry about that, finals got crazy.
anywho percylennon nation how we feeling? (also if anyone has any better ship names please comment them lol) don't celebrate that she's admitted the crush to herself cause it's only getting worse from here 🎀