JAWBREAKER

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣

TW: mentions of abuse in the second half of the chapter

After their breakaway from Circe's island, the trio sailed through the night.

Percy was truly in his element, unlike Warren had ever seen. The Queen Anne's Revenge yielded to his every command, pitching and yawing on cue. Unadulterated joy sparkled in his eyes as they plowed through the waves, salty air whipping his raven locks back.

But the farther away they got from danger, as the adrenaline left her system, all Warren could do was worry about Clarisse. She already felt guilty for losing Tyson, but her heart would completely break if her sister was gone. It didn't matter how much they fought or how annoying Clarisse was, she loved her. If they weren't able to save Grover and camp...that would be too much loss for any one person to bear.

In the end, Warren feigned seasickness as an excuse to go below deck and be alone. But then Annabeth actually got seasick, and Warren settled for letting a few silent tears fall while her back was turned. She laid in her hammock with mascara stained cheeks and eventually drifted off to sleep.

It was close to midnight when she woke. Annabeth was dreaming peacefully across the room, so Warren crept on tiptoes into the head of the ship (apparently that was the technical term for the bathroom.)

She washed off the makeup to the best of her ability, but the eyeliner wouldn't budge, and changed into a set of spare clothes she found— a pair of tight black breeches and a billowing white shirt. With her wild mane of dark hair she looked every bit the sister of Blackbeard.

Warren made her way up to the deck and found Percy leaning against the railing. His thoughts seemed very far away.

"Ahoy," she called out jokingly.

Percy turned and cracked a smile when he saw her outfit. "Wow," he laughed. "You just need a parrot on your shoulder and the look is complete."

She walked over and leaned her back against the railing. "I was hoping for a cool eye patch, but a parrot works too."

He shook his head and said, "You know what? On second thought, the bird is a bad idea. You'd probably train it to squawk insults at me."

"And put me out of a job? No way."

Percy watched as the ocean breeze tousled Warren's hair. Even without all of Circe's glamour, she was radiant. The moonlight glinted off her perfect teeth as she smiled, and Percy felt himself go slightly weak at the knees.

He cleared his throat and looked away.

"If it wasn't for me, would you have wanted to stay back on the island?" he asked.

"Absolutely not," Warren shook her head. Secretly, he was pleased by her answer.

"How come?"

"Because, all of the fun is out here," she said, gesturing to the ocean. In the distance a hundred foot-long row of spikes arched through the waves, then dipped below the surface.