Percy's POV
"I don't want to lose you," she whispered under her breath, so low that I wouldn't have heard her if I wasn't now... A werewolf.

The next morning, I woke up long before the conch horn. At first, I couldn't fathom why I had gotten up so early when I usually insisted on sleeping as late as possible. Then my stomach growled like an angry and ferocious dog, and I knew that was what had awoken me. Sighing softly at the blissful slumber I could've had, I leapt from my bunk and onto my feet.

"Well, I'm up," I muttered, looking at myself in a mirror mounted on my dresser. In the corner, a picture of Annabeth and me was tucked into the frame. "I might as well get ready to start the day!"

I showered and got dressed, and I still had at least an hour until breakfast. Swearing at my rotten luck, I sat down on the edge of my bed, intending on just daydreaming until the horn sounded.

In the midst of my fantasy (which involved me eating a large steak with some blue Coke), I heard a noise from outside my cabin which caused me to bolt upright on the mattress. "Is that a squirrel?" I asked, excited for gods-know-why. Dashing from my cabin, I ran around it to the back, where a squirrel was indeed climbing up the back wall.

"Squirrel!" I exclaimed to myself, trying to keep myself quiet in an attempt to not disturb any sleeping campers with my excitement.

I'm not quite sure what I did next, or why I did it. But the next thing I know, I'm sitting on top of my cabin roof, staring down at a beautiful blonde camper that was looking up at me with concern. There was a dead squirrel sitting on the roof next to me.

"Percy," Annabeth called up to me, her voice laced with worry. "Are you ok?"

I leaned back, just enough that I could still see her, as I tried to remember what the hell just happened. After a moment, I replied, "I think so."

Her voice became less fearful. "How'd you get up on the roof?"

"I... I don't know," I answered truthfully, still wracking my brain as I tried in vain to figure it out.

"What are you doing up there then?"

I looked around me. "I think I was catching a squirrel."

There was silence from down below before I heard the tinkling laugh I had come to love. "Did you get it?"

"... I think so," I said, eyeing its dead carcass. I didn't want to tell that bit to Annabeth though. No need to get her worried over me. I was probably just going to become a squirrel murderer. If
that's the worst thing that can happen, I will gladly accept that.

She laughed again, no thought about the enormity of the situation on her shoulders. That's how I wanted to keep it. We've both already held up the world; she wouldn't do it again if I could help it. "Can you come down, Seaweed Brain?"

I frowned, judging the distance between my perch on the roof and the ground that Annabeth was blessing with her mere presense. "Maybe? I don't know."

"You can do it!" She encouraged. "You got yourself up there, and you can get yourself down."

"Yeah, but I don't know how I got myself up here!" I protested.

I heard her huffed retort from so many feet away, as if she was right here next to me. "Come on, Percy! It's almost time for breakfast!"

The promise of food sparked something inside of me. I looked over the edge of the roof once more before standing up, my legs no longer dangling over the side. Then in one swift movement, I vaulted myself off the roof and into the ground, landing perfectly next to my astonished girlfriend.

"How did you...?" She started to ask, for once at a loss for words. I simply smiled brightly at her.

"Come on, let's go get some breakfast!" I said, my words followed immediately by the conch horn, as if I planned it like that myself.

During breakfast, I felt every eye in the room rest upon me. I knew Annabeth was looking at me with concern; I could practically feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of my head with her nervous energy. I saw Will glancing over his shoulder at me every few seconds from the Apollo table. I don't know why everyone else was staring at me as I was a mutant though.

Maybe they think my breakfast choice is weird, I thought to myself, staring down at the plate of food I had asked for. It was only blue cherry coke, my usual beverage, with a couple slices of bacon, a few sausages, and a side of eggs. It's a perfectly normal breakfast for a halfblood, I assured myself. I'm the hero of Olympus! I have to work up my strength somehow. My mind didn't pay any heed to the fact that for breakfast, I usually have something with a little less... Meat.

After breakfast, I was the first to leave the pavilion. The dead silence was beginning to creep me out. I don't know; something about dozens of ADHD demigods sitting in complete silence unnerves me. Not sure what.

I decided to get some sword training in in the arena to work off some steam. When I arrived, it was deserted. Perfect! No one to stare at me awkwardly and make me wish I was dead. Taking out Riptide, I began to slash up each dummy that was in front of me.

I was unaware of my surroundings, losing myself in the fake fight. I slashed, I ducked, I parried with the invisible sword. When I was finished, I set Riptide down as admired the mess I had made of the dummies. Once life-like figures that could endure the more intense sword attacks, they were now just a pile of burlap and straw sitting on the ground.

"Holy shit, Percy," I heard from behind me. Startled, I spun around to see at least half of Camp Half Blood standing behind me. Clarisse was leading the pack, her sword drawn but lowered to the ground. As if she was coming to train... And was that her cabin directly following her?

"Shit," I muttered to myself. Louder, I asked, "How long have I been here?"

The daughter of Ares looked down at a watch on her wrist. "Well, I'm not sure how long you've been here, but in about ten minutes, it's going to be time for lunch."

I swore again. "How long have you been here?"

She shrugged, glancing behind her at her cabin mates. "I don't know. How long do you guys think?"

They threw out random times, ranging from one to three hours. Clarisse looked back at me. "I think we've been here about two and a half hours. We had booked the arena for nine, but someone," she glared at a boy, who shrunk back, "made us late. I think everyone else here either booked the arena as well, or they just heard the commotion you were making and came to investigate."

I turned red. "I am so sorry I took up the arena! I didn't even realize how much time was passing. But then I started to get tired and I stopped and what's when I realized you guys were
here!" I was going to continue my apology, but Clarisse cut me off.

"Wait, you just began to get tired?"

I paled, shrugging my shoulders noncommitedly. I couldn't let them know my secret so soon! "I guess... I mean, no, I've been tired for a while. I'm exhausted!"

With my excellent hearing, I heard people whispering, "Look, he isn't even sweaty!"

Clarisse looked away from me, but I caught her voice muttering, "So the rumors are true."

Notes