The Best Of The Worst

CHAPTER 22

KAYNE

He was drawing out growth charts for different kinds of olives when the conch-horn blew. So he packed up his scrapbook and scrambled out the door. 

The pavilion was buzzing with activity, as per usual. There were people coming to it from everywhere, and some of the tables were already filled. 

He sat down at Athena table, and Annabeth sat next to him. "Hey." she said. 

"Hi." Kayne replied. His plate filled up with olives, his usual dinner. He stood up to make an offering, thinking of who to give it to. Lining up, he flicked through all the gods and goddesses that he could do with help from. 

"To Xenia, please help me make friends." he muttered, putting two of his best olives in the flame. 

Xenia was the minor goddess of friendships. She wasn't awfully well-known, but still she was kind.

When he got back to his seat, he over-heard a conversation between some new campers and Chiron.

"Because you guys are new," he said, "you can sit anywhere you like."

Two of the three, tall girls who looked identical, went and sat at Aphrodite table. But the third came to sit next to him. 

"Hi, I'm Langrid." they said. "I'm agender, asexual, aromantic and a hella weird human."

"Hi, Langrid. I'm Kayne. Olive-enthusiast." he replied, putting his hand out to be shaken, and it was.

"This may be something weird for me to say since we just met, but have you heard of xe pronouns?"

After xe finished explaining, xe asked something else. 

"Is that Annabeth next to you?" 

"Yeah." Kayne's friend and half-sister turned. 

"I read the books Chiron wrote. They're really great."

The three of them were chatting about the books for a while. Kayne was quite annoyed that he wasn't in any, even though he came to the camp before Percy. But the conversation was entirely friendly. 

"So, are you seeing anybody?" Langrid asked Kayne.

"Well... No. If that means what I think it does, no." Kayne replied.

"You don't." Annabeth told him. 

"How about you, Annabeth?" Langrid asked.

Annabeth blushed. "Yeah..."

"Who?" xe seemed quite bored with the conversation, but Kayne could tell xe was just trying to make small-talk. 

"P-Piper..." she blushed harder. "Y-you're not-"

"Homophobic? Fuck no." 

Annabeth looked relieved.

"Dude. I'm asexual, aromantic and agender. What from that do you get that I'd be homophobic?" 

"I was just making sure." Annabeth grinned. 

Feeling excluded, Kayne piped up. "I'm not either!"

She chuckled and ruffed his hair. "I know. Dude, I spilled out my inner-most feelings about Piper to you. If you were, you probably would've said something by now."

"True." he grinned.

And there they were. The three of them. Being what Kayne had never really had; friends. 

"Thank you, Xenia." he muttered.

"Huh?" Langrid asked, and he blushed.

"N-nothing." 

"It was definitely something." xe insisted.

"With my... Um... Offering..."

"Who was it to?" Annabeth asked. 

"Xenia. She's a... Um... Minor goddess of friendships... I..." he spluttered out each word nervously.

"We totally understand." Langrid smiled. "And, Kayne, I'm proud to call you a friend."

"He hasn't spurted out his olive facts yet." Annabeth laughed. 

"What's wrong with knowing that most olives are approximately 1.5-2cm wide?" Kayne retorted, but she just gave him a friendly, light punch on the arm. 

"Olives are pretty cool. I was wondering why you had a whole plate of them." Langrid laughed.

"I'm growing them around Athena cabin. Do you wa-" 

Kayne was interrupted by a lyre blazing to life above xyr head, along with xyr sisters. In unison, the whole of Camp Half-Blood stood as Chiron boomed out his voice loudly. "All hail Lisa, Poppy and Langrid, children of Apollo."