The Cursed Truth V.1

The Stage is Set

POV: ???

Three months.

12 weeks.

Too many days.

"They've been circling each other for months! How can they not see it?!" One camper exclaimed.

"It's exhausting." Another said.

"It's the worst slow-burn the Aphrodite cabin has put together in years." A third pitched it.

"Think we can convince Piper to do something?" The first one asked.

"Nope." The third shook their head. "She's sworn to never interfere in people's love-lives."

They all sighed, slumping against the cabin wall. They were in the Apollo cabin, talking about anything and everything, when the topic of Will and Nico came up. A few moments passed before the first camper, Joan, got an idea.

"I know how to get them together." They said, an evil glint in their eye.

"I know that look, Joan. We're not locking them in a closet." The third camper, Thomas, said firmly. Joan pretended to be offended, putting their hand on their chest and gaping at Thomas.

"Why would you think such a thing of me, Thomas?" They said before letting out a laugh. "That's not what I was going to suggest." They assured.

"Then what were you going to suggest?" The second, Talyn, asked, wary of their friend's antics.

"Thomas could curse one of them to only tell the truth!" The child of Hermes explained, not going into much detail. The son of Apollo shifted uncomfortably.

"I dunno, Joan. I've neer cursed someone before and I don't want it to go wrong. Besides, my thing is singing and acting, not truth." He protested, looking to Talyn for support.

"Thomas is right, he shouldn't curse anyone." The child of Hecate said. Thomas sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Tal-"

"We need someone who specializes with truth to curse them." Talyn stated firmly. "That way it won't go wrong." Joan's face lit up while Thomas' fell.

"I like how you think, Talyn!"

"We can't curse them!" Thomas protested.

"Of course we can! And don't worry, we'll take all the blame. It'll end fine. Now, who's good with truth?" Joan asked, a smirk playing on their lips. Thomas hesitated before sighing in defeat.

"Terrance. He's better than most with truth." He relented, silently apologizing to his half-brother as his friend went off to find him. He turned to face Taryn. "Do you think they'll be ok?"

"Will'll probably be fine, can't say I'm too confident about Nico though." They said. "Seems like he's got major religious trauma and at least some internalized homophobia." Taryn sighed and leaned against the wall again. "We can only hope for the best." They said. Thomas sighed and joined them in leaning against the wall. They both knew that once Joan was set on doing something it was impossible to stop them.

Joan rushed around camp asking where Terrance was, they eventually found him playing ukulele with some of the younger campers.

"Terrance!" They stopped and caught their breath. "I need...your help...with something." They said, trying to catch their breath. Terrance looked at him warily, but told the kids to keep practicing while they talked. The pair walked a bit away from the kids before Terrance let them talk. "It's about Will and Nico." Terrance perked up at that. He'd been trying to help them along, but nothing seemed to work.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked.

"Glad you're on board." Joan smiled. They explained the plan and Terrance looked uneasy.

"You want me to curse my own brother?"

"Not necessarily, you could curse Nico."

"Because the son of the underworld is so much better."

"It's not that big of a deal. All I'm asking is that one of them not be able to lie for a week--at most. Not like I'm asking you to make them compelled to spill their secrets to anyone who's there. Just, when they talk, it has to be the truth." Joan explained. Terrance wasn't happy about it, but he didn't see an easier way of doing it. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Fine. I'll do it tonight." He said, Joan's eyes lit up.

"Thank you!" They said, hugging Terrance tightly. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" They let go of the son of Apollo and started hopping in place. "I can't wait!" They said, then ran back to their friends. Terrance went back to teaching the young campers how to play and put the request out of his mind, he'd deal with it later.

The next morning was completely normal... until Nico stormed off to his cabin with one hand shoved into a jacket pocket and the other covering his mouth. Thomas, Talyn, Joan, and Terrance exchanged glances with varied levels of concern. SLAM!

"I guess Nico won't be leaving his cabin anytime soon." Talyn said, looking at cabin 13 in worry and curiosity. Joan grinned.

"This is better than I hoped for!" They whisper-shouted to his friends. "This way we can convince Will to check on him! He's always looking for excuses to do it anyway." They said in excitement, ready for everyone's suffering to be over. Thomas looked over at Will, who had peeked his head out of the infirmary at the loud noise. He looked worriedly at cabin 13's door, like he wanted to comfort the son of Hades but couldn't.