Forced to Love

Eliza
Recovery time after a close friend’s death? Nope. Not on Hera’s watch. I was working twice as hard as normal trying to figure out details on the wedding and running Camp. I suppose this was good for me, though. It took my mind off my sorrow. That’s why I didn’t know what to do with myself when Piper and Annabeth demanded that I let them take over the rest of the wedding planning. They insisted that I had done enough. I wandered around Camp watching the younglings train.
I watched as one young girl struggled to pick up her sword, and, after finally managing to get the tip of the blade just above her waist, proceeded to cut off the tip of the practice dummy’s foot. She seemed proud, so I applauded lightly before moving to help her. After a few pointers and help with control, she swung the sword like a natural. This time she cut the dummy in half. She thanked me and I walked on.
I meandered over to where Percy was standing on the beach coaching swimming in my place.
“Hey Liz!” Percy called out.
I cringed at the nickname. “Hey Perce. How’s it going?” I asked nodding toward the lake.
“Not so great,” he admitted with a sigh. “Want your job back?”
“You take a break. Go check on Annabeth. I want to know what she’s doing to my wedding plans.
“Speaking of which,” he interjected. “Why aren’t you working on them?”
“I was until Piper and Annabeth pushed me out.” I pouted. “Literally.”
“Well, it was about time you came back outside.” he defended
I pouted like a child, crossing my arms with my bottom lip stuck out.
“Stop it.” Percy complained “I can’t tease you when you pout!”
I sighed and quit pouting. “What have they done so far?” I asked, nodding towards the lake again, noticing that the swimmers were finishing breaststroke.
“Everything but free time.” Percy answered teasingly, knowing that I disliked coaching free time. It was so chaotic.
“Joy. Thanks.” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.
“You’re welcome.” Percy replied with just as much sarcasm, sticking out his tongue and taking off, throwing his whistle behind him before I could smack him.
I watched as the Campers splashed in the water. I recognized a few campers, and, with a sinking stomach, I figured out that this was the Hephaestus cabin. I turned away so they couldn’t see my tears as I thought about this, knowing that Leo was gone.
I picked up the whistle Percy had thrown at my feet and put it around my neck. I stared out at the horizon as I vaguely watched the Hephaestus campers.
I sat against a tree, using its trunk as a backrest. I thought vaguely about Leo. I missed him. I noticed how Camp had returned almost to normal since his death. I knew he would soon be forgotten if I didn’t do something. Just what? I thought on this for a while, until the session ended. It was then that an idea hit me. I sprang up from the sand as the campers emerged from the water. I took off, heading back to my cabin.
“Get back to work, Coach.” I said, throwing the whistle at Percy, hitting him in the back of the head. I didn’t wait for his reaction. I took off, headed for Bunker Nine.

Notes

Sorry it took me so long to update. I had writer's block on this for over a month.