That Weird Feeling

When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and all stood at their tables.

Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree. From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head. Y/N was adjusting her weapons, which just included her sword and arrows. She looked at him from the distance and gave a nervous smile to Percy. She quickly looked away though, afraid of letting him see through her. She knew about Annabeth's plan and she wanted her to win against Clarisse.

Percy turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always," he said. "But often."

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"

He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Whose side are we on?"

He gave Percy a sly look, as if he knew something he didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help," Luke said.

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support. Y/N already had enough of those after picking fight with Clarisse so she decided it was better to work it the way Annabeth wanted.

Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them. Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive. Aphrodite's sons and daughters mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.

Y/N wondered if they were actually talking about her and Percy. Annabeth did say they were and she wouldn't lie about something like this..right? She blushed at the thought and sighed, hoping to clear her mind before they started.

Hephaestus's kids were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. And lastly, Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest and meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. Y/N wanted them to be off the high pedestal they think they're in. She had no personal grudge against them ofcourse, but their arrogance ticked her off.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

They cheered and shook their swords, and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at them as they headed off toward the north.

Percy tried to search for Y/N but she was nowhere near. He wanted to know if there was some kind of plan, but she wasn't there to talk to. Reluctantly, he managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over his equipment and "Hey."

She kept marching.

"So what's the plan?" he asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"

Her hand drifted toward her pocket, "Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"

"Border patrol, whatever that means."

"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."

"Okay, w-well can you atleast tell me where is Y/N?" he asked.

"She's busy. Don't distract her," she looked at him with what looked like judgemental eyes, and pushed ahead, leaving him in the dust.

"Okay," Percy mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."

It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed Percy next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.

Y/N was hidden in the branches of a tree nearby. She silently aimed and took down several members of the red team. Well not exactly kill them ofcourse, they tried to find her but thankfully the Ares cabin wasn't as smart as Athena. She had to move from her position time to time.

On the other hand, Percy heard the conch horn blew far away. He heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past him like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.

"Great," he thought, "I'll miss all the fun, as usual."

Then he heard a sound that sent a chill up his spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by. He raised his shield instinctively; he had the feeling something was stalking him. Then the growling stopped. He felt the presence retreating.

On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.

"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight.

He managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded him, and Clarisse thrust her spear at him. His shield deflected the point, but he felt a painful tingling all over his body. His hair stood on end. His shield arm went numb, and the air burned.

Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric. Percy fell back.

While Percy was busy fighting half of Ares' cabin, Y/N was busy fighting with a red team member. She dodged his swing and swung her foot on his leg, making him lose his balance. He fell and Y/N immediately kicked his...private area. Defence lessons from mortals were useful too.

As her opponent was screaming in pain, she heard yelling, elated screams, and saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. Y/N started running towards them, trying to get the red teams away from Luke.

Percy was nearby. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.

"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."

They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory, their side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven. Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.

The game was over. They won.

Y/N huffed and walked towards Percy who was about to join the celebration.

"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" Annabeth asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.

Percy felt angry. He wasn't even fazed by the fact that she'd just been invisible. "You set me up," he said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but ..." She shrugged. "You didn't need help."

"And you?" Percy turned to Y/N, "Did you know about this plan?"

Y/N smiled nervously and said, "Well...I've been avoiding you since morning if you hadn't noticed?" Then she noticed his wounded arm. "How did you do that?"

"Sword cut," he said. "What do you think?"

"No. It was a sword cut." She held his arm to take a closer look, "Look at it."

The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As he watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.

"I-I don't get it," he said.

Annabeth was thinking hard. She looked down at his feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."

"What-"

"Just do it."

Percy came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. Percy almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied him.

"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want ... I assumed it would be Zeus... ."

"I mean...it can't be that bad?" Y/N said, she looked very nervous, for the first time. "I mean if Zeus did...others should...get a chance?"

[ TIME SKIP ]

By some miracle, Percy was still alive not only after Annabeth's plan, but also after a hellhound attacked him. But he was badly injured.

Chiron trotted up next to them, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't ... they're not supposed to ..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.

Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.

Y/N rushed towards Percy, her eyebrows creased in worry. "I-I don't...I don't know yet how to heal you. I'm not trained at this level."

"Y/N step aside," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

She understood her friend. If what they suspected was infact true then...he would heal pretty quickly. That's how it worked before right? Like the wound on his arm?

"I'm okay," Percy insisted.

"No, you're not," Y/N said. Her voice sounded stern, like an order from a teacher or instructor.

"Just do what I said," Annabeth said, "Chiron, watch this."

Percy was too tired to argue. He stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around him. Instantly, he felt better. The cuts on his chest were closing up. Some of the campers gasped.

"Look, I-I don't know why," Percy said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry...."

But they weren't watching his wounds heal. They were staring at something above his head.

"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um..."

A hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming above his head. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around him, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.

"My father?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

[ TIME SKIP ]

Y/N was just afraid of this. Not that Percy got claimed by his father, good for him. But this bitter feeling she got. She felt angry. It was coming, ofcourse, she knew he would get claimed but it still bothered her that he got claimed that quick while her father probably didn't even care.

Did he even care?

No, she shouldn't think like that. It's what kept her going. And even if he didn't claim her...she already has a step-father. He was more than enough. Infact, he is more of a father than...he is.

Soon the area started getting cleared up. Percy got away from the water but immediately staggered, all of his energy was gone.

Y/N quickly held his arm and helped him walk with her support. "Let's go back. Chiron will...show you your cabin tomorrow," she said.

"Sorry.." Percy apologized.

"Why do you keep saying that?" she chuckled, "It's not your fault at all. You didn't ask for all this."

"Yeah but everyone just..."

"They have a reason but believe me, unlike Clarisse says, you are not responsible for this." She looked up at the sky. Ofcourse the weather was bad. Percy couldn't ask her about it, he was too tired to know about what's going on in her head.

"You know for a newbie, this whole week you've been way braver than I was." Y/N smiled, "I was...pathetic."

"Yeah you're just saying it to make me feel better," Percy chuckled.

"Is it working?" Y/N looked up at him. He was also a few inches taller than her. He looked down at her with a smile.

There was it again. That weird feeling. She quickly looked away and cleared her throat, "I tried to look cool and shot a fire arrow in the first week and almost burned someone's hair."

"No way," Percy laughed weakly.

"Uh huh, Chiron keeps telling the story to everyone. I'm surprised you didn't hear."

As they reached the cabin, she walked him towards his spot.

"This doesn't look comfortable," she muttered cleaning his area quickly, "you need good sleep."

"I think I'll be fine." Percy said.

Y/N got up and sighed, "Well then, good night," and was about to leave when he held her wrist and stopped her.

Once again, her heart did a flip. Why? Why now? He was gonna have his own cabin and will probably forget about her insignificant presence. It always happened to her.

"Thank you Y/N," he removed his hold and said, "I mean it. You...did make me feel better than anyone else."

Y/N offered him her best smile and said, "Like I said, I'm here for you."

As much as she wanted to deny this, she knew about it. She didn't want him to go. She didn't want her new friend to leave her like everyone else.

She didn't want to be left out.