Daughter of Olympus - [Leo Valdez xF!Oc]

Why Am I Still Here? Just to Suffer?

When I walk into the cabin Silena's nowhere to be found, but a couple of my siblings are there. 

"You," Drew gives me a nasty glare.

I stop and look at her. "What?"

"What are you wearing?"

In case you're curious, it's Percy's old shirt and a pair of singed shorts. I'm also using second-hand Converse that have not been washed since I first got them six months ago, and now have been completely ruined after an empousa tried to kill me. 

"I was running for my life, sorry if I look messy," I scowl.

"You should be," my sister makes a face. "You need to throw all that away."

"No?" 

I make my way to my usual bunk bed to tidy things up, but as soon as I put my stuff down, Drew gets in my way.

"You can't sleep there."

I stare at her with a frown. "Why?"

"Because it's near the window, and if someone sees you they'll think we're all as ugly as you," some of my siblings gasp, it's forbidden to call each other ugly. "I'm done with your lack of Aphrodite etiquette! You're covered in dirt and bruises, your hair is always in that hideous ponytail, and your hands—ugh!" Drew cringes in disgust. "Casey, hide her away!"

Casey grabs my stuff with an absent look in her eyes "This way, Ara..." She puts my bag at the back, where the oldest bunk beds are set. 

"She's a charmer, don't listen to her!" I argue. "You can't do this, Drew! You're not in charge!"

One of my brothers hesitates. "You're also a charmer... Why would we listen to you?"

They look at us in confusion. You see, being a charmer isn't as common as you'd expect. The ones who get this gift, most times, they're manipulative people. Drew is my age, but I'm smaller. Percy and I met when I was slightly shorter than him, now I barely reach his chest. Drew sees me as an easy target, and it seems I've pushed the last of her buttons.

"Listen, slug," she speaks to me in a threatening voice. "I advise you to shut up and do what I say."

"You're not a counselor," I say, voice quivering with anger.

"So? If you don't like it, you can sleep outside. And don't even think about telling Silena," Drew raises her voice. "We hate rats here, don't we guys?"

There is a murmur of agreement. Tears swell up in my eyes and I leave the cabin determined to find our oldest sister. I don't look for Chiron or Lily. I want to find Silena, but my feet take me straight to cabin three where Percy and Tyson are.

I crash against Percy sobbing my eyes out, shaking with rage. "Ara!" He holds my face. "What happened?"

I'm trying so hard to be taken seriously, so I don't have it in me to explain, it's shameful. I know he'll try to confront Drew, and I don't want her to mess with his love life. I don't want to cause more trouble for anyone. I'll be the one who takes care of this.

"I thought Nico would be back by now!" I lie. 

"Grover would let us know if that happened, Ara," he says, rubbing my back. Percy's feeling guilty about this already, but at least I'm not adding a new problem to the list.

I nod, trying to get a hold of myself. "I was hoping things would get better..."

He pats my shoulder. "You know, I thought about it, and we can ask Quintus if he can give you extra lessons?"