𝑪𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔－ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐲 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 𝑻𝒘𝒐.

Percy gave her a confused look. "Hey, big guy," he said to Tyson. "Aidan, what are you doing here?"

"She is going to," Tyson said.

The brunette nodded. "I could use some practice. But if you don't want me to—"

"No," he cut her off. "It's fine. We need to talk anyways."

She didn't like the sound of that.

Tyson walked ahead of them, a spring in his heavy steps. Ariadne and Percy walked next to one another, quiet for the first time around the other. She hadn't felt that way since they had first met three years ago.

Percy glanced over at the taller girl. She was once again a few inches taller. He noticed her skin was tanner, and that her hair was much longer and curlier. It was tied into a tight ponytail with a few curls framing her beautiful face.

Her purple eyes were as bright as ever. There were a few freckles along her cheeks, and one rested in the center of her nose. She had gotten slimmer over the summer, and her muscles seemed a bit more defined.

"How tall are you now?" he asked, wanting to know how much he had to grow to surpass her.

She smiled. "Five-eight."

He whistled. "Weren't you just five-five?"

"Yep." Her hand waved over his head. "Seems as if you need to grow a bit more, Kelp Head. What are you, five-four?"

Percy gave her a glare and swatted her hand away. "Five-six!" he said. "I'm be taller than you in no time, just you wait."

She snorted. "What? In five years?"

The boy shook his head.

Ariadne has noticed he had had a major change. He was still Percy, but his face was different. His sea-green eyes were brighter and darker at the same time, and waves crashed even more. His hair was wind blown, and it made her believe he had spent every waking moment at the beach.

A smile rested on his face while he watched Tyson wave at a camper. Little dimples at the ends of his smile caused her heart to melt, and she had to resist her urge to hug him tightly. He had grown another inch, but he wasn't at her level.

Aphrodite was having the time of her life.

"How was school?" she asked. "Nothing bad happen?"

He shook his head. "Not really. But the orientation today..." He cringed.

The girl nodded. "I heard about that."

"I wished we had still gone to the movies," he said. "I would've liked to eat tons of popcorn in a dark room."

She snorted. "Just go to Ohio if you want to live out that dream," she told him.

Her fingers moved slightly and a vine wrapped around them. The girl stopped and watched as it began crawling up her hand. Percy gave her wide eyes. "What's happening?" he asked, panicked.

"It wants attention," she said nonchalantly. Her fingers flicked back and forth. "Alright, little guy, back down you go."

It obeyed her commands and sunk into the ground. He watched with amazement as the earth repaired itself, as if nothing had ever happened.

"You amaze me," he told her.

Ariadne blushed. She grabbed his hand and tugged him along. "Come on, Kelp Head. I need to practice."

Percy let her drag him towards the arena, watching as the girl he was crushing on laughed on the wind. It was a beautiful sight.

They walked into the sword arena. Percy introduced Ariadne and Tyson to Quintus, the new sword fighting teacher.