gone girl.
━━━ chapter thirteen
❀
Amaryllis had fought and killed countless monsters, she had been slashed and stabbed and beaten up, but she was somehow still scared of getting on a skateboard.
It was the last day she'd been staying with the Jacksons, as Percy was starting school the next morning. Sally planned on driving her back to Camp Half-Blood herself, despite the girl offering to take a bus. Percy had decided that they'd spend the last morning together in the skate park next to his house. "It's my birthday present, remember?" he had said, even though Amaryllis would have said yes anyway.
The park was full of kids enjoying their last days of freedom. It was a sunny, hot day and everyone had decided to spend it outside. It was a bit humiliating to see children much younger than her skate without a struggle, while Amaryllis had spent ten minutes trying to avoid getting on the board.
"I'll lose my balance and fall," she argued again, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
Percy took the last sip of his frozen Coca Cola and threw the can in the trash like he was throwing a basketball. "And what if you do?"
"I don't really enjoy falling off things, Fish Breath," she squinted her eyes at him, using the nickname he hated so much. It was a random Tuesday when she first thought about it and she thought it was quite good – insulting, yet in a playful way, just like she liked nicknames to be.
"Dramatic much? I'll catch you, just... get on it."
She grabbed him by the shoulder before finally stepping on it, immediately losing her balance and almost falling down. "Fuck this," she muttered, but was too stubborn to admit defeat. Percy kicked the board in her direction and she tried again. Five unsuccessful attempts later she managed to stay on the skateboard, although she was still relying by Percy. She was holding him from his shoulders and they looked like they were about to slow dance.
The boy started walking sideways as Amaryllis was still on the skateboard, her grip on him tight as ever. "I'm basically doing it now," she said.
"It'll only be skating if you let go of me," Percy said and went to remove her hands.
"Percy, let me go and I'll kill you," she said nervously. Just like she imagined, once he removed his hands Amaryllis lost her balance, causing the board to slip off her legs. She would have fallen down, maybe get hurt as well, if it wasn't for Percy's immediate action. He grabbed her by the waist and balanced her, but once he realised what he did and how close they were, he got flustered and pulled back.
"Uh, sorry 'bout that," he said sheepishly.
Amaryllis completely ignored the situation, still slightly annoyed by the fact that he let her go. "I told you not to remove your hands, because I'd fall!"
"And I caught you, you're welcome by the way," Percy gave back the same energy. "You'd think a girl that has survived a whole battle would have been able to manage a skateboard-"
"Shut up-"
"You've jumped off a window, while bleeding out and almost dying-"
Amaryllis couldn't help but snort. It was truly ridiculous if one thought about it that way. "We all have our weaknesses. And mine is a piece of wood with wheels, apparently."
Percy looked like he was meant to exist in skate parks. He fit right in, with his white t-shirt, blue flannel shirt and Vans, unlike Amaryllis who had borrowed most of her clothes from the Aphrodite cabin and thus had to wear sundresses most of the time. She much preferred wearing pants, but it's not like she had much of a choice. All her clothes were back in her mom's house, maybe not even there anymore. She stuck out like a sore thumb – if anything, her and Percy looked like they were on a date and it was a thought that made her feel very weird.
After that they got ice cream and sat in the bleachers for a while. Talking with Percy always seemed so easy and Amaryllis had genuinely forgotten they only knew each other for two months. The bond between demigods was stronger than between mere mortals, simply because you couldn't go through everything that they did without getting attached to each other. Percy and Amaryllis might not have known each other for that long, but they had gone through a lot together, so it felt like they had been friends for years.
They had been talking for quite a long time, sharing stories from their childhoods and Camp. Amaryllis told him everything about Thassos, despite the sharp pain in her chest. Nostalgia was all she had left now. Percy listened to her attentively, which was weird considering his mind usually drifted away during long conversations. "It sounds so peaceful."
"It was," she smiled to herself. "Until monsters started trying to kill me, of course."
"Typical," he replied. "Is that why you left Greece?"
"Yeah. You'd be surprised with how many monsters live in a country that small. Probably has to do with the fact that they originated from there." Amaryllis sighed, wiping out the ice cream from her lips with a tissue. "I really want to go back there one day. Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll take you with me," she teased him.
"I wouldn't say no to going on vacation for a while," Percy said, stretching himself. "Maybe, if we survive..."
Amaryllis nudged him. She hated it when he turned pessimistic, even though it was a normal reaction. Percy was the hero of the Prophecy, a Prophecy that would lead to a big war and wasn't likely to have a happy ending – it was realistic to think of the possibility that you wouldn't survive it. Still, being a cynic didn't improve their chances.
"Once we survive," she corrected him. "We'll go on vacation. Me, you, Annabeth and Grover. We'll visit the Parthenon, just so Annie can shut up about it and then hop on a ferry and find a peaceful island to stay in. Deal?"
Percy nodded with a small smile. He still looked troubled, but at least Amaryllis' positivity seemed to be a bit contagious.
A while later they were outside of the apartment, saying goodbye. They didn't know when they'd see each other again, so even though Percy seemed to be hesitant to, Amaryllis hugged him tight. She was still blushing when they got into the car but even though Sally seemed very amused, she didn't say anything.
❀
There were more year-rounders at the Camp than usual. Chiron said it was because of the war – some of them were too scared to go back to their homes, in fear of endangering their families. Others were orphaned, others were abandoned by their mortal parents and others simply wanted to get more training.
Apollo cabin was pretty much empty. Amaryllis, Nia and Michael were the only ones left and had the entire cabin for themselves, but it still felt lonely. The only other familiar faces she saw were the Stoll brothers, Clarisse La Rue, Silena and her boyfriend, Beckendorf and Jake Mason.
Amaryllis found that being at the Camp was full of much-needed distractions. She had decided to train thrice as much, so she pretty much spent most of her day at the Training Grounds, sparring with Pollux Lavigne or Nia. She even asked Michael to give her the archery lessons Lee had promised to give her but never did. The blonde was determined to be become a much better warrior than she already was, to make up for her lack of divine powers. She was good, but she needed to be great.
Silena had noticed how much the girl strained herself and had suggested that she incorporated another plan in her daily routine. So Amaryllis spent most of her noons in the Aphrodite Cabin after lunch, hanging out with her and sometimes her siblings. As much as Silena acted like she was doing it for Amaryllis, the girl could see that she needed it just as much. The daughter of Aphrodite seemed to have a lot in her mind, despite acting like everything was fine.
She was sketching the design of a dress when Amaryllis entered Cabin Ten. "Do you like them?" she asked her once she showed her her latest designs.
"Are you kidding? These are amazing!"
Silena smiled and closed the notebook, putting it back under her pillow. She was confident enough to know the answer even before Amaryllis replied, but the compliment still seemed to lift her spirit. "I'm designing a dress to give you on your birthday! April, isn't it? I've already done some sketches, but I want it to be perfect," Silena pinched Amaryllis' cheek.
"You don't have to-"
"I always make clothes for my friends, so you better get used to it!" She pointed at the giant magenta closet across the room and the sewing machine – a gift from Aphrodite herself. "That's where we keep the fabrics and everything we need. Remember that long silk red skirt Mitchell was wearing at the last bonfire? I made it for him."
Amaryllis wanted to tell her that she had enough dresses as it was, but she knew that once Silena put her mind into something, no one could convince her otherwise. Besides she found it incredibly heartwarming that the girl was already thinking about her birthday.
"Anyways, let's change the subject," Silena said, smiling mischievously, as she laid down her bed. "Let's talk about love."
"I love you, Silena, but I'd rather let a monster spit poison at me rather than hear your monologue about how in love you are with Charles."
The daughter of Aphrodite suddenly turned serious. "Amaryllis, babe, do you like Jake Mason or not?"
That almost made her choke. "W-What?"
"You've been on at least two dates with him."
"These were dates?"
"Oh, gods," Silena muttered. "You had a whole picnic, just the two of you. You really think that wasn't a date? That boy likes you!"
The truth was that Amaryllis wasn't as oblivious as she seemed. She had already realised that Jake liked her, however she didn't know what to do with that information so she acted like that.
"Uh, how do you know that?"
Silena looked at her like she was dumb. "Did you forget Jake is Charlie's brother? Jake told him and he told me. So answer the question - do you like him?"
"First of all, I can't believe Charles is such a gossip."
"What can I say, I'm a bad influence," she joked.
Amaryllis thought about it. She did like Jake; he was fun to be around, he was cute and thoughtful and perhaps the most important thing of all, he liked her as well. She would always get a bit nervous before meeting up with him, though it made her feel like a twelve year old with a school crush. Still, there was something holding her back.
Silena raised her eyebrow, just like she could hear what Amaryllis was thinking. The children of Aphrodite had the nasty habit of understanding people's love lives better than themselves. "I think I figured it out. You like Percy!"
"What?" Amaryllis felt heat rising to her face and somehow she knew, her cheeks had turned bright pink. "You're ridiculous! Me and Percy are just friends!"
"You haven't known each other for long, but ever since you met, you've always been together. During the summer you were inseparable and you even moved in with him for a bit," Silena said, like she was ticking off a list. She had an annoying know-it-all smile creeping on her face.
"Me, Percy and Annabeth were inseparable during the summer. And besides, we're just friends. And he also likes someone else," Amaryllis replied, thinking of a certain redhead.
"Babe, did you know Percy liked Annabeth during his first two years at Camp?" Amaryllis shook her head. "Everyone could tell, even though it was obvious he hadn't realised it yet. He looked at her a certain way, like a nervous puppy, despite trying to appear confident. And then he got over it and they stayed best friends. But now he has that exact look on his face when he's talking to you! He likes you, trust me. I'm sort of an expert."
"Percy doesn't like me," Amaryllis repeated slowly. "I don't like Percy. I like Jake."
"Aha! So you do like Jake!"
"Ugh, you're so annoying, C!"
That made her stop and the colour drained from her face. She had accidentally called Silena the nickname that she used for Calypso. The daughter of Aphrodite didn't seem to understand what happened, but she sensed something was wrong. Her smile got replaced by a worried frown. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, sorry. I just... remembered something."
"Look, if you like Jake, you should tell him," Silena said softly, not wanting to press on the matter. "That's all I'm going to say about that."
"I... I will," Amaryllis promised. She tried to change the subject, as it suddenly felt very overwhelming to talk. She got up from the bed. "I think Michael is waiting for me for our archery lesson. I'll see you later though."
"Can I, uh, come with you?" she sounded anxious just by the thought of being alone with her thoughts. Amaryllis didn't question it, but that behaviour was strange for someone like Silena, although she sensed it had something to do with her coping with the trauma the battle caused them. "I could improve on my archery skills as well and Charlie is at the Forge so..."
Amaryllis needed Silena just as much as Silena needed her.
"Of course."
❀
For the next two months, Amaryllis pretty much didn't do anything other than training and hanging out with Silena and Jake – separately, of course.
Following the girl's advice, she had blurted out that she liked Jake and long story short, they started dating. It was very weird at first, but now that Amaryllis had gotten used to it, she quite liked having a boyfriend. Plus Jake respected the fact that she sometimes needed space and was very understanding on the effects everything that had happened had on her mental health.
Due to the fact that demigods couldn't have phones, Amaryllis had started exchanging letters with the people she wanted to keep contact with. Annabeth wrote back the most, telling her all about her boarding school and how awful it was. When Amaryllis told her about what happened with her mother, the daughter of Athena had many theories, but stopped writing to her about them once she asked her to stop. She didn't really want to think about that anymore and she did everything in her power to distract herself.
Will wrote back quite often as well, not only to Amaryllis but to the rest of their siblings too. He didn't have the best time either and he expressed how much he wanted to come back at the Camp, but his mother hated the idea. He said he missed them all, but the person he missed the most was Amaryllis.
Percy didn't write back quite as often and his letters were usually short. A small part of Amaryllis was very annoyed, but she tried to be understanding. She assumed it had something to do with school and of course, Rachel. Now they were going to the same school, they would be definitely spending most of their time together and Percy didn't have the time to talk to anyone else. It bothered Amaryllis a lot, but she didn't want to tell him.
When she had some free time, she'd sit at the beach to wind down. It was early October but somehow the weather was still relatively warm, which meant that sometime she would even get in the water and lay in the shore.
It was one of these days. After a sparring match with Clarisse, the annoying, constantly angry daughter of Ares that broke Amaryllis' nose with the handle of her sword, all the girl wanted to do was relax. She wasn't a sore loser, but there was something so hurtful to losing to someone she didn't even like that it drove her mad. Before she said or did anything that she would later regret, she didn't even go to the infirmary before immediately going to the beach, hoping the sound of the waves would relax her.
As she was staring at the horizon, she felt her neck stiffen and a tingling sensation began to spread. It was a feeling she had grown used to, the feeling of being watched. Without even thinking it, she immediately touched her ring that turned into her sword and turned her head to see no one. She got up and looked around, but even though there was no one there, she still felt like someone was watching her. Then she felt like she heard something behind her and instantly turned around, sweeping the person off their feet and causing them to fall down.
The pale young boy with the black clothes and black messy hair groaned as he was caught off guard by her action.
"Nico, what the hell is wrong with you?" Amaryllis yelled at him frustrated, but gave him her hand and helped him stand. "You need to stop creeping on people!"
The son of Hades rolled his eyes, like she had just said something ridiculous. Once he noticed the blood on her nose, his expression got worried. "Who did that?"
"Oh, just Clarisse. We were sparring," Amaryllis explained but didn't let him change the subject again. "Why are you here, Nico? Last time we talked about it you said you didn't want to stay at Camp."
He dusted off his black pants from the sand, as he avoided her gaze. "I'm not here to stay. I need to talk to you."
"Is it about the same thing you talked to Percy?" she asked. When she saw how Nico looked at her, she added, "He didn't tell me anything, I swear."
"No, it's not. It's much more important," he said. He looked nervous and somewhat guilty as well, which only stressed Amaryllis out more. "Look, it's not easy for me to tell you, but I can't keep lying to you. You need to know the truth, or at least the part of it that I know."
He looked around to make sure no one was around and then he looked right into her eyes. The boy was only eleven years old, but she could swear he looked so much more mature. She knew that whatever he was about to say would be genuine, but once he spoke, she wished he never did.
"You're my sister, Amaryllis. You're a daughter of Hades."
𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.
▊... surprise ? bet you didnt expect that. i hope suddenly everything makes a bit more sense now that you know the truth. everything will be explained better in the next chapter anyway.
▊love you all and thanks for reading !! i appreciate every single one of you sm and i hope you stick around, because the real angst is only starting <33
❛ gone girl. ❜
( part 𝒐𝒏𝒆 of gone girl series )
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