"The man who says 'I can't' and the man who says 'I can' are both right."
Percy Pov
Running.
That's all I seem to want to do right now; that's all I can do.
Running from my fears.
My problems.
My so-called friends.
How could they be my friends? Were they faking the entire time, to turn on me once I served my purpose? Friends do not scorn and ridicule you. They don't insult you or gossip.
Look at me, being all philosophical. Where's the Seaweed Brain now? Dead inside, most likely.
But the questions remain.
How? Why?
I never did anything to deserve this. The rumors, turned into somehow irrefutable proof. The lies into motives. The past, into shameful memory. For it certainly was a shame to be saved by the traitor twice, three times if you count the lightning bolt incident.
How quick they were to forget. But I will never forget, much less forgive.
But there was still her.
No, I'm not talking about Annabeth. She will never hold my heart again, the traitorous bitch. Not just because of the betrayal, but also because my heart belongs to someone else.
Hestia.
I must be crazy. How could I have possibly fallen for the oldest maiden goddess? The only thing crazier would've been me falling for the Artemis. Boy, wouldn't that be stupid.
The even weirder part is that I think she may have feelings for me too, hopefully more than just 'friend material'.
I remember now, our long chats about politics and fighting and anything else that came up. I had refused to acknowledge them before, but in hindsight the feelings were obvious. Hopefully not obvious enough for her to notice.
I'm rambling. Perhaps I should start at the beginning.
After the Second Giant War, me and Annabeth had decided to settle down in New Athens, the Greek equivalent of Camp Jupiter.
Hestia often talked to me, about Tartarus and such. The horrors I witnessed down there...I still shiver.
She helped me past my pain. To reconnect with my failing friendships, and get over my nightmares. She even helped me mend my rapidly deteriorating relationship with Annabeth.
My sword skills were incredible. They said I was the best swordsman. Ever. Funny how the masses switch sides should someone seemingly more powerful come along.
But things changed.
People stopped coming to me for tips. Started ignoring me, and sometimes insulting me. I knew something was amiss, but being the naive person I am, I thought I was doing something wrong. So I tried helping and being friendly, but that made everything worse. The glares increased, and my lifelong friends started leaving me, along with the gods I had gotten close to.
Then I decided to ask them what was wrong. That was a mistake. So I eventually settled on ignoring them back, and training.
My archery skills slowly improved, with the guidance of Hestia. She hugged me when I got my first bullseye. I eventually got about as good with a bow as I was with a sword.
Meanwhile, my friends were gone, and Annabeth started getting distant. I kept getting closer Hestia though.
I caught her and some random dude snogging on the beach. I killed the dude and threatened Annabitch.
