PERCY JACKSON:THE LIGHTNING THIEF X READER

XIII

"We need to get this back to Zeus. We are almost out of time." Says Percy sensitively.

"Right." I say burying my feelings and grabbing a hold of Percy.

"What are you doing?" He asks confused as to why I'm holding onto him.

I look at him and smile as we both teleport to the Empire State Building.

"Thank gods you guys are okay!" Says Annabeth.

She hugs Percy, for a while, then hugs me as well.

"Lets go." I say as I walk towards the door to Olympus.

"Coming." Says Percy leaving Annabeth and his mother.

I don't know why I'm going, but I just feel like I need to be there. The gods probably think I'm evil like my father, I need to prove them wrong.

"Woah." Says Percy as he opens the door to reveal a room full of thrones and people sitting in them.

"Percy Jackson! Stella Darke!" Yells the man sitting in the center chair.

Darke? I didn't know I had a last name.

"Your Zeus." Says Percy, practically trembling. "I believe this belongs to you.

He hands it to him. The other gods are all whispering and staring at...me. I can only imagine what they are thinking.

"You saved Olympus Percy Jackson." He says.

"Stella was there, too! She got the bolt from Luke and saved us." He says defending me, I smile, but gesture for him to shut up for gods sake.

"Stella Darke, daughter of Hades." Says another man approaching us.

"Darke? How do you know thats my last name?"

"Thats your mother's last name." He says and Zeus tells him to be quiet.

"Thank you for retrieving my bolt." Says Zeus, "You may leave now."

I look at Percy confused. Thats it, we save Olympus and don't even get a 'congratulations' or 'we owe you so much'. Maybe Luke was right about the gods.

"Zeus, please, may I speak with them." Asks who I can only guess to be Percy's father, Poseidon.

"Go on." Zeus says reluctantly.

Poseidon walks towards us.

"I don't expect you to forgive me. But, I am truly grateful for this." He says to Percy.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it to save mom." Percy says and starts to walk away.

I follow him.

"Percy, talk to your dad!" I say.

"Can you leave us, Stella?" Asks Poseidon.

"Sure." I say.

"But, after I am done speaking with Percy, I would like to have a word with you." He says.

I nod and walk away. What could he possibly want to speak with me about? I can't be nervous, though. Even though he's a god, I have to keep my cool. I can't screw this up like I did with my fath- Hades.

———

"Stella!" Calls Poseidon.

"I'm here." I say walking into the room.

Percy walks out and says he will wait for me outside.

I nod.

"What is it you need to speak with me about?" I ask.

"Your father." This makes me uncomfortable.

"I know he's a bad, evil guy, but I'm nothing like him." I blurt out.

"I know. You have proven to be the exact opposite. You are kind, caring, compassionate. And very strong. But, there is always the lure to darkness. It is especially hard to resist for a child of Hades. You have kept your will enough to resist it before and even now, but, keep in mind your strength in future conquests. Don't let the darkness consume you." He says.

"I won't." I say. "Promise."

"Do not make a promise you can't keep." He says. "Good bye."

"Bye?" I say as he walks away.

Why give me a whole speech on 'staying away from darkness' if your gonna say that I probably won't. I have been resisting the 'darkness' for like my whole life. But, thanks for the reminder, Poseidon.

"How'd it go in there?" Asks Percy as I catch up with him.

"Alright. You?" I ask.

"Good. I finally met my dad. I didn't get to ask, but how was yours?" He says.

I sigh.

"Not good. He said he doesn't want anything to do with me." I pause. "Its not like I expected us to be a happy family or anything, its just..."

"Hey, he's soo stupid for saying that. He doesn't deserve you. And, by the way, neither does Luke." He adds.

I flinch at the sound of Luke's name.

A moment of silence passes between us.

"Do you think he's alive?" I ask Percy.

"I-...Remember when I told you my mom was alive, and you said she wasn't, and she actually turned out to be."

"Whats your point?" I say.

"My point is that we don't know. He could be out there somewhere. But, wherever he is, he's a threat." Says Percy.

I never thought I would look at Luke like a bad guy. I don't think I do, but I am still trying to understand why he would do this.

On top of all of this, I still have feelings for Luke. After everything he has done, I still like-love him. I love Luke. Gods, this couldn't be any more worse.

———

We arrive back at camp to be greeted by a friend.

"Grover!" I say as I run into his arms.

"Woah, there! I haven't been gone that long and your already missing me." He says.

"Of course I missed you." I say as I pull away.

"Looks like we won. No war, no destruction." He says with a smile.

I look at the ground. This doesn't feel like a win. It feels like I lost. I lost Luke. The one person I could talk to is gone.

I leave the group and walk over to the rock. The rock where Luke and I first kissed. I sit on it and stare out at the lake.

"I miss you." I whisper to myself, as if Luke was listening.

I need to accept that he is gone. He betrayed me. In the end, he never cared, but a part of me still loves him, no matter how much I don't want to.