First Steps

Percy POV

I stared at the interaction with intrigue and worry. They were just staring at each other, and everyone else was simply watching. No one knew what to do.

"What's going on here?" Chiron asked.

He rolled himself to the center of the cafeteria. Only the guards were at the cafeteria right now because Chiron was calling a private meeting. This was his way of welcoming the new members to the camp. However, no one expected people to already know each other.

"Reyna, I can't believe you're alive. I- I thought you were gone," Jason stammered. Thalia nodded in worry before looking at Piper.

That's when I realized Jason and Reyna used to be a thing.

"Jason, gods, I missed you," Reyna expressed.

She went forward and hugged Jason. The whole room tensed, and we all looked between a flushed Piper and a hugging ex-couple. Reyna didn't mention knowing Jason and thalia. But again, the topic never came up.

Jason self-cautiously pulled away from Reyna Arellano, who frowned in confusion. I felt bad for the young lady, but I also don't blame Jason for moving on. As far as he knew, Reyna died. However, the situation is a lot tenser than anticipated.

"Gods, this is so awkward," Annabeth whispered beside me. I nodded. She gently tapped my palm before stepping forward.

"Um, this should probably be a private conversation," Wise Girl suggested. "How about we start the meeting a few minutes late while Jason and Reyna catch up? A few others are running late anyway."

"Yes. That sounds like a great idea," Chiron agreed.

The group dispersed while Annabeth came back to me. She was right as usual. Jason and Reyna deserve to have a private conversation. Jason and Reyna walked out of the cafeteria, and Piper and Thalia followed them after a few seconds. Meanwhile, the rest of us sat down at the dining tables.

I grabbed some chips from the center of the room. It's been a long day, and I haven't even eaten anything since yesterday.

"Seaweed Brain, your stomach is growling horrendously," Annabeht scolded.

"I didn't eat anything since yesterday. They didn't have much food at the hospital, and I missed lunchtime today," I answered. "It's a good thing Grover smuggled some snacks out of the kitchen for me."

"You're getting special treatment," she countered.

I shrugged while popping the bag of chips open. As I crunched on some Lays, I closely looked at Annabeth's features. I memorized the texture of her skin, and the wrinkles around her lips when she smiles. She's beautiful and brilliant. I did miss her a lot even though I was only gone for a few days.

Her ponytail whipped around while her stormy gray eyes glistened. Her gaze narrowed on my face, and I couldn't help my blush. I was caught staring at her.

"I, um, just zoned out," I stammered.

"You're such a bad liar. What were you thinking about me?" she asked seriously.

"Listen, Wise Girl," I started nervously. "The way we reacted to seeing each other again wasn't normal for friends. It meant more."

Annabeth sighed before taking a chip from my bag. "You're right. I don't know what it was all about. It was probably an inappropriate reaction, but I couldn't help myself. I was so scared when you didn't come back yesterday."

"When I was out there, I only wanted to come back for two reasons. One, I had to come back for Stella. I couldn't let her down and leave her," I said.

"What about the other reason?" she asked quietly.

"I wanted to be with you again. I wanted to spend more time just looking over the central park with you by my side. Is that dumb?" I expressed.

Annabeth didn't say anything, but a small smile graced her face. I smiled back at her before turning our attention to a nearby commotion. Frank and Hazel were walking toward us, and it was clear that they were nervous.

"Can we join you guys? We don't know anyone else here," Frank said.

"Of course, Hazel. Come sit."

"I feel bad for Reyna," Hazel started. "From what she told me, Reyna and her boyfriend were visiting Thalia in New York for vacation. They lived in California before while Jason's sister lives in NYC. Once the apocalypse started, they were separated."

"I can confirm that story. Thalia said that Jason met Piper after coming to this camp. Jason and Piper immediately clicked and entered a relationship. Jason and Thalai were both under the assumption that Reyna died," Annabeth explained.

"The world we live in sucks," Frank confirmed to which I agreed.

Suddenly, I saw the di Angelo siblings walk into the cafeteria. Nico and Bianca were both wearing black clothes, and they had tired looks on their faces. From the looks of it, they were on night guard duty till now.

I quickly waved them over. "Guys, over here."

Bianca smiled while walking over. Of course, Nico didn't smile at me. In fact, he barely looked at me, which seemed to be a common characteristic of his. Nico probably doesn't like me.

Frank and Hazel turned around, and that's when Bianca froze. Nico stopped walking as well. Instead, their eyes bristled with tears.

"Nico. BIANCA," Hazel shouted.

She was out of her seat in a few seconds, and she ran to the di Angelo siblings. They enveloped each other in hugs while crying and shrieking excitedly. Frank smiled before standing up for a better view.

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked in confusion.

"Nico and Bianca have a half-sister, Percy. From the looks of it, they just found their half-sister, Hazel Levesque," Annabeth expressed with a genuine smile.

A bright smile permeated my face. Gods, I was so happy for them. The three siblings were hugging, crying, and talking all at the same time. In particular, Nico was tearing up while holding onto Hazel's smiling figure. I had never seen Nico so expressive, so it showed the pure love that flowed in their family.

"Great work, Percy. You reunited a family," Chiron stated. Chiron situated himself next to me in the wheelchair. He patted my shoulder.

I continued to eat my chips. The food alleviated my hunger, but I already felt so satisfied inside while watching Bianca, Nico, and Hazel.

It's such a good thing, and it happened because of me.

The moment was ruined by the rearrival of Jason, Reyna, and Piper.

Thalia flushed her cheeks before rejoining us at our table. The other three members divided themselves into separate tables. None of them looked happy. I couldn't imagine how miserable Jason must be feeling.

Reyna didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge. She's smart and strong. Reyna will be fine as a powerful woman on her own. However, Piper and Jason's relationship is going to take a turn. I just hope that they can hold to each other long enough to figure it out. Thalia shrugged at Annbeth's and my worried glance.

This is a personal problem. It's not our place to step in.

With that being affirmed, our attention returned to Chiron. Everyone settled down as a new guard schedule was made. Back to business.

***

"Dude, I don't know what to do. I was very happy with Reyna, and we've known each other forever. However, I met Piper after the apocalypse started. The world is different than it was months ago when I was with Reyna," Jason complained. "I don't know."

"I'm not sure what help I can be," I expressed.

"You're the only one that's willing to talk to me about this. I tried talking to Thalia, but she shooed me away saying she doesn't want the drama.

"Yeah, that sounds Thalia," I replied while feeding Stella another spoon of baby food. Stella happily accepted the scoop of mashed mangos.

"I can't help you here," I stated.

"Come on, Percy. You're one of my best friends, and you're way better with relationship stuff than me. I need advice."

I sighed before setting Stella's food down. I lifted her into my arms and set her on the ground. Stella crawled around on the carpet before settling in front of a doll. The baby has been a lot more active lately; she moves around a lot, which is pretty dangerous during a zombie apocalypse.

Hestia and I have to keep a constant eye on her. I let Stella play with her toys before turning to Jason again.

"Um, follow your heart," I said.

Jason rolled his eyes while shoving me playfully. "Not helpful, Percy. Can you be real with me?"

"Bro, I haven't been in a relationship in over a year. We live in a zombified world and romantic relationships require a lot of commitment. Look at it this way, I am committed to Stella. Can I be that committed to another person?" I asked.

I was questioning myself more than I was questioning Jason. Maybe, that's why I can't place my feelings for Annabeth. I'm conflicted.

My sole commitment is to Stella. I can't imagine sharing that commitment with anyone else. Just the fear of losing Stella to zombies is debilitating. I can't imagine loving another person to that level.

Yet, Annabeth is different.

She makes me want to have feelings despite the fear. She makes me want to say: Screw fear. I don't care.

"Maybe, I can," I said absent-mindedly. I smiled to myself.

"Bro, you're supposed to be helping me with my dilemma," Jason murmured.

He crossed his arms before sitting down again. We were in the Native American exhibit. After guard duty, Jason and I came here to pick up Estelle. After I arrived, Hestia took the other children to a different exhibit. On top of taking care of them, Hestia also educates them by using the museum's exhibits.

Everyone loves Hestia for what she does for the kids. The youngsters of the camp are also everyone's favorite people here.

"Just don't think too much," I stated.

"Piper and Reyna will both understand despite the decision that you make, Jason. Besides, we legitimately have bigger problems to worry about. As such, you can take some time to figure out your feelings."

"Thanks for that, Percy. However, another thing about the apocalypse is that we can't waste any time," Jason expressed. That's so true.

We sat in silence for a few moments. Jason was going over the guard duty schedule. Out of all the guards, Jason is the most organized. Even Annabeth isn't as detail-oriented as Jason. He's such a goodie two shoes. Anyway, Chiron allows Jason to make the weekly schedules. He writes it out on a weekly whiteboard calendar.

Being friends with the schedule maker allows me to get the prime duty spots. I always take the morning shifts, and I only do two-three shifts a week.

This allows me to spend more time with Stella and my friends.

Grover and Juniper are fun to hand out with even though we have quite different roles at the survival camp. Then, there's Rachel. She spends a lot of time with me, but I only consider her a friend.

I know we almost kissed a few weeks ago, but a lot has changed since then. More specifically, I changed. My feelings changed.

No, not changed. My feelings grew and adapted.

"Wait, Percy, look at that," Jason said quickly. His voice rose several notches in excitement, and I followed his hand gesture.

My gaze fixated on Stella.

Baby Estelle was on her feet, standing on her own. She stumbled back onto her butt. However, she quickly used her hands to stand up again. Her legs wobbled from her upper body weight straining her small legs.

I stood up quietly before coming closer to her. Tears bristled my eyes as she took a tentative step toward me. Then, another step followed.

I wiped a tear from my face before holding my hands out to her.

"Come on, baby girl. Come on," I whispered.

Estelle chuckled while shakily walking toward me. When she was close enough, her body fell into my arms.

"YES. WHOO," I cheered.

I raised her into the air while spinning her around. Estelle shrieked happily while I cheered her name into the air. Jason smiled at our celebration.

I laughed while hugging her against my chest. I smushed her in my arms, but I didn't care. I was too happy. My baby sister took her first steps today.

And, I'm taking it as a sign of hope.