—————— Percy's POV: ——————
I nearly stumbled out the car, the light was way too bright this early in the morning. Damian turned back to look at me after I let out a small yet quiet noise, my own personal way of trying to keep myself from face planting on my first day back to school in a few weeks.
"You okay?" He asked, concern clear on his face. Damian had been clear in his knowing that I'd not gotten enough sleep. He'd been asking me about it all morning, despite my many clear attempts to not talk about it. Alfred also seemed to know but he was a lot more hidden in his concern.
"Yeah." I finally said, trying my best to shake off the sleepiness.
I caught up with Damian quickly, the extra weight in my bag from an actual lunch not slowing me down. In fact, the extra weight made me glad, because now I was sure I had food.
"You wanna get to class early? Maybe you can take a ten minute nap or something." Damian asked, sticking close to my side. I could see his eyes scanning the crowd, his weariness made me anxious and I found my body becoming more alert as I looked around quickly. Whatever Damian was looking for had to have been something worth looking out for.
My eyes scanned quickly and meticulously, I could feel the pain from tensing while already tired hitting me but I needed to be aware.
"Percy?" My eyes finished scanning, but I'd found nothing worth noting. Despite my lack of findings I couldn't untense. I turned to Damian who was watching me with an angry expression. I felt myself slowly lean away from him as we walked inside.
"Yes?"
"Did you hear me?" I thought back to what I'd heard before remembering to actually answer.
"Right, uh yeah, but I don't need a nap." I watched him shake his head.
"You should just admit that you're tired." Damian said, his tone less forgiving. "There's no use in trying to hide it." I clenched my jaw as I placed my hands around my backpack straps, trying to hide my embarrassment.
"I'm not tired." I said with finality. To make sure it truly was the end of the conversation I hurried my pace to keep ahead of him.
I was inside the classroom before he was, I managed to scan the room and I found that there were only a few kids scattered about, no one was talking so the classroom was perfectly silent.
I found my seat by the window and placed my backpack to the side. I went to lower my head when I saw Damian enter the room. Immediately I raised my head and forced myself to be attentive.
Damian sat down quietly beside me, already pulling out his notebook to answer the question on the board. I looked over to see what's written on the whiteboard but the teacher's awful handwriting combined with the fact I was dyslexic made everything look like a bunch of squiggly trash.
I decided I'd just wait till she inevitably asked the question aloud to which I'd write it quickly and answer it just as fast.
I tapped my foot against the floor as I carefully pulled my phone out of my backpack and tapped the screen quickly, keeping my contact with the device as minimal as possible. The screen lit up and I spotted Annabeth's name at the bottom.
I quickly picked up the phone and began reading. Luckily I managed to read it with little difficulty as I had the hephaestus kids hack the phone to make everything appear in Ancient Greek. It cost me some trading of outside resources, namely snacks from the city, but it was worth it in my opinion.
Annabeth:
-Hey Percy, how're you? Are you adapting to your new home well?
I smiled to myself as I picked the phone up and began typing quickly.
I'm doing much better now Annie, and my new home is-
I hesitated, it felt disrespectful entirely to not immediately write a paragraph on how great it was, and my disgust with myself became apparent but I found myself hesitant to write much due to my fear. Sleeping in that dark open room was just... too much.
"What language is that?" I turned to Damian who was glancing at my phone with a lost look.
I quickly search for an answer, my mouth opening but no sound escaping. Eventually I just decided to be half honest. "It's Greek." I said. Damian glanced back at the words, his eyes running over everything before turning back to me.
"You know Greek?" He asked. I shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah," I quickly decided to add in a half lie once more to stop any further questions. "I'm half Greek so mom made it a point to make me learn the language. It's much easier to read than English honestly." I mumbled, tilting the screen away a bit to make it harder to look at.
"Huh. That's cool." He eventually said. I nodded and got back to my message.
Nice-
I eventually finished. It was truthful. I hoped this wouldn't disappoint anyone but it felt like what was true for now.
The bell rang loud over the speakers as I quickly placed my phone back in my backpack, and ripping out my notebook and pencil as the teacher walked in. I made sure to make it look like I was being diligent.
The moment she stepped in her eyes turned to me, but unlike before, they stuck.
"As everyone takes a seat please make sure to focus on the board." Her eyes turned back to me. I watched out of the corner of my eye as she walked over. She walked behind us, and for a moment I thought she'd passed us, but I heard her footsteps come up behind me, before stopping at my side. I quickly turned and dodged her incoming touch. I could see she was surprised by the act. "Will you please come talk to me at my desk?" I spared a glance at Damian who watched us both apprehensively. I nodded as I stood up and walked to her desk with her.
She took a seat in her chair as she folded her hands in front of her and placed a leg on top of the other. "Where were you?" She asked, trying and failing to be quiet enough to not garner the attention of other students. I glanced to the side to see Damian watching us as well as some others watching us in an attempt at being sneaky.
I turned back to her. I didn't like the way she glared at me. I'd been under enough teachers who didn't know how to handle me to know the look of hidden annoyance. Or I suppose not so hidden annoyance. "I was...sick." She glanced at me, probably waiting for a better and more thorough excuse. But I had nothing. My brain was too fried to think of anything else.
"With what?" She snapped, her tone too harsh for an instructor.
I kept my mouth shut.
She eyed me a bit longer. "You know how much content you've missed?"
I nodded.
"You're late, you're lucky we don't hold you back." I cringed at that statement. I'd heard it too many times in my life. I looked off to the side not wanting to look her in the eyes any longer.
She sighed and turned over to dig through her file cabinet. After a minute she pulled out a thick pile of papers.
"This is what you've missed. I expect it to be done quickly so you can make sense of newer lessons. The sooner the better." I nodded trying my best to withhold the pain I was feeling inside. This time seven more classes seemed to be spelling something I could actually read. My doom. "I won't be able to help you either, so try and get some peer help unless you absolutely cannot understand without me."
"I'll try my best."
"Don't try, do." She said sternly. I nodded, grabbing the papers and lugging them over to my desk. I tried to hide them in my bag but already I could sense I wouldn't have enough space by the end of the day.
"You okay?" Damian asked. I nodded, trying to keep myself together. The tiredness made it hard to control myself.
"I'm fine." And just like that, I tried to keep myself calm.
———————
I struggled as I walked out to lunch. Coming back was a mistake. My backpack was heavier then it started as and it was really starting to weigh on me.
I eventually made it to our spot under the tree, tossing my backpack off to the side as I leaned back against the tree. I could feel myself drifting off.
Damian eventually sat beside me, his lunch already in hand.
"You o-" I held my hand up.
"Please." I said, a sense of desperation so clear in my voice it seemed to take him aback. "Just stop asking that damn question."
I shut my eyes, not wanting to be here much longer. The teachers were right about one thing. I absolutely was lost in each subject.
"You should eat at least." Damian said. I glanced over at my bag, the idea of even touching the thing made me want to hurl. Forget eating anything. There was too much to do, and yet nothing and it was all too overwhelming.
"I cant." I mumbled. "Not hungry."
"You barely ate anything this morning." I shrugged.
"Wasn't hungry then either."
Damian opened his mouth to say something before letting out an angry huff. He set down his lunch as he began taking off his jacket.
"What're you doing that for?" I asked. He glanced at me as he crumpled up his uniform jacket.
He set the jacket down on the ground and pat the spot next to him.
"Take a nap." I went to protest but he grabbed my shoulder. He looked into my eyes, and the most honest expression I'd ever seen from him appeared. "Please." I shut my mouth and nodded.
"Fine- but you can't ask me any more questions today." I added on. He nodded and pat the ground again. Hesitantly I laid down and shut my eyes. Despite the fact we were outside in the day, the tree provided just the right amount of shade to make it comfortable.
It had to be a moment longer before I found myself asleep.
——————
"Percy." I woke up to slight shaking. "You need to get up, we gotta go." I let out a small groan as I sat up, my eyes hazy as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
"I'm coming." I mumbled, finding my bag quickly and getting it over my shoulders as I stood up all the way, with the help of Damian that is.
The two of us began walking inside as I yawned, my body felt much better than before.
"Do you feel better?" Damian asked. Despite my earlier protests, I did feel better.
I nodded, still a little sleepy for too much conversation.
"I told-" he paused, biting his tongue momentarily before continuing. "I'm glad." I gave him a small smile.
"Thanks for making me sleep. I can be...stubborn. Annabeth tells me that a lot and yet it never seems to sink in."
"Hopefully you can take more help. It's not good to be so self sufficient all the time." I glanced at him. " I had to learn that the hard way as well, so I get it." I nodded.
We got to the part of the hallway where we usually had to split up. I stopped and he followed my motion.
I gave him a quick hug, hiding myself in his shoulder for a moment. I took this one moment to recharge my battery as he hugged me carefully for a second before I backed up.
"I'll see you after school." He nodded, giving me a wave before we split.
———————
I could feel my nails stabbing into my legs as I hunched over my knees to reach one of the many stacks of paper on my desk. I'd been stuck doing work since I got to the manor, but no matter how much I wracked my brain for answers, nothing arrived. I was screwed.
I let out a sigh as I angrily stabbed my paper, frustration getting the better of me as I let out a small yell.
I hated homework when there was only one page, but a whole book of pages. I could feel my eyes filling with tears.
A small knock at the door turned my attention to my door.
I wiped my eyes quickly as I spoke "Come in." Tim leaned over, his hair rolling to the side as he extended his arm to reveal a plate of food.
"You missed dinner." Tim said, pulling his whole body inside as he walked over. I glanced at my desk,trying to see what he saw. All I saw was a pathetic pile of 4 pages against a whole stack of incomplete work.
I leaned back against the chair as I turned to look at him and away from my sorry attempt at work.
"Yeah, I just wasn't hungry." I mumbled. I'd managed to eat my lunch after I got home, so the wrappers from lunch sat cast aside on the floor away from my table.
Tim nodded slowly, walking over as he set the plate on the table followed by a bottle of water.
"Damian mentioned something about you not eating. I think you should just pick at it." He said. "Plus Alfred doesn't like us not eating. He said he'd come by later to check up on you. He means it." Tim visibly shivered before glancing at my work.
"Hey! You're working on geometry?" Tim leaned forward and began examining the problem. "This one's not as complicated as you're making it." Tim pointed at the problem and began explaining, at one point he even took the pencil from me and began writing out the problem in order to solve it. I watched carefully, the words somehow sinking in this time.
"And then you get the answer." He tapped the paper with the edge of the pencil before dropping the pencil onto the desk. I stared at the problem like it was the most obvious thing. How I messed it up when it was so simple seemed so trivial.
"How??" I asked, looking over the next questions to see that they were all similar to the one I had just seen solved.
"Well it's not too difficult." Tim looked around before dragging over a spare chair and grabbing the heap of papers, sorting through them quickly. "Jeez, they're horrible for giving you so much all at once." Time mumbled.
I nodded. "All I could tell them was I was sick, but I'm not sure they believe me without a slip." Tim nodded.
"I wouldn't worry about that too much, I heard Bruce was already on that." Tim said, setting down the stacks. "If you're struggling I could help you out with the math and science, but I'm not too great with English, though I'm sure babs wouldn't mind helping out with that. She's a genius when it comes to english work." Tim said.
I turned to the stack of papers, help would be great, considering I haven't made anything close to a dent in the paper stack yet and I'd been working my hardest all night. I was on the verge of snapping from exhaustion and boredom.
Yet still, I found myself hesitant. I glanced over at Tim who watched me carefully, his posture nothing short of warm but his eyes distant. I couldn't help but feel like he was waiting for something further than just an answer. He was watching my every reaction, something that made me feel uncomfortable. It was as if he were waiting to watch me light up in excitement, and I had a feeling, an awful terrible feeling, he'd just crush the warmth.
I cleared my throat as I looked back at the papers. The problem looked so clear once he solved it. I felt stupid for trying anything else. I may be able to go on by myself, though I knew deep down that was nothing but a fantasy.
It wasn't that I didn't trust Tim, it's just... I couldn't be sure.
"I um." I paused, trying to think this through clearly. I could call Annabeth and get her thoughts on this, possibly even get her to help me instead, but Tim was here now, and aside from his eyes, he seemed honest enough. "I'd appreciate it." I said with a small smile.
I had to be optimistic. Not everyone was like Gabe or his friends. They weren't like the previous adults I'd been around. I had to learn whether I liked it or not that some people truly did want to look out for. I had to trust them, but if something happened. I glanced at Tim, a smile on his face as he began sorting through the work.
If something happened I'd run.
"How about you eat first while I look through these and figure out what we need to teach you?" I nodded, easing in my chair as I pulled over the delicious looking meal, the smell alone making my mouth water.
I ate quickly, trying to get as much food down before I had to get to work.
———————-
"Good!" Tim said, his voice so happy you'd have thought he'd won a prize or something. I looked down at the question I'd just solved. It looked complex and yet my handwriting below it proved I was able to solve it just fine. I felt a idiotic smile rise to my face as I admired my work. It was late. I was sure of it in fact. But I didn't mind, an overwhelming sense of pride rolled over me as I looked down at my work, the stack of work beside it only mirroring my pride.
I looked down at it, almost so sure that the lead it was written in was sparkling like diamonds. I felt so proud I could almost cry.
I turned just as Tim went to pat my back but I watched him hesitate, something that made me a bit startled. I wasn't used to someone hesitating to touch me, my comfort be damned. I felt myself smile as I gave him a small nod of approval. His own grin grew as he gently patted my back, careful to be as soft as possible. It felt good to have my boundaries be acknowledged.
"I'm very proud, but I think we should call it here for the night. You still have school tomorrow." I nodded, glancing over at the stack. There were more than 4 pages in the pile now, there were so many that I'm sure that was a week's worth of work for me. It felt nice seeing my improvement in such a physical form. "We can start early tomorrow once you get back from school." I hesitated for a moment before turning to Tim.
"Do you..." I paused as I tried to formulate the question properly. "If I asked, do you think Alfred would get me later? There's somewhere I need to go." Tim waited before nodding.
"Yeah, I'm sure he'd allow you out. But he's gonna want locations and a time you'll be back by so just try to tell him tomorrow morning before school." I nodded, trying to set a mental note to remind myself.
"Of course. Thank you, seriously." Tim nodded, his smile much warmer than before and the distance in his eyes gone. I realized now the distance was oh so similar to that of gazes from kids at camp when someone new appeared. It was almost survival based on its origins. I felt a small question linger as to why Tim had that look at all, but I wouldn't press into it. Not everyone wants to tell their story, myself included, so I would let this one disappear into the bleakness of my mind.
"It's no problem, try and get some sleep tonight." Tim got up, pushing the chair back where it started before waving as he disappeared into the hallway.
His sudden absence was startling. I hadn't realized how much smaller the room felt when there was someone else here until now.
I shrugged off the discomfort as I shoved the finished papers into my bag before grabbing some spare clothes and dipping into the bathroom for a shower. The water was exactly what I needed right now.
I locked the door behind me before I began getting into the water, not sparing the mirror even a glance. I wasn't going to deal with those feelings when I was feeling so happy with myself.
I hummed lightly as I got into the shower, the water not exactly hot but not cold either, I bobbed my head to the songs rhythm as the water warmed up against my skin, rolling down me in sheets. I even delighted myself by creating small people out of the water to make an almost dance video as the people danced out in front of me to the beat of the song.
I stayed in the shower longer than I intended but I felt more rejuvenated by it so I wasn't upset. I quickly put on my warm pjs, the weather had been getting noticeably colder as of late so I decided to change it with some long pants with a tank top.
My song ended as I finished drying my hair, my feet going from cool tile to soft carpet.
I mumbled the lyrics to myself as I dropped the towel in the hamper before turning my attention to the light switch. I got little sleep last night but I didn't want to chance anymore sightings of shadow Gabe. Either way I was looking at little sleep, but which was the lesser of two evils I was still debating.
I walked over to the switch, my lips shutting as I stopped whispering the song and I stopped in front of the switch. My hand hovered over the small white mechanism.
I sucked in a shallow breath but before I could even hit the switch a clang from the hallway echoed through my room followed by quick cursing. My hand shot to the pocket of my pants, Riptide hung with a weight that I knew all too well. My fingers latched tight onto the smooth metal as goosebumps ran up my arms. I furrowed my brow as I turned off the lights, my body now silent as I went to the door and opened it, peaking out carefully.
Two figures were in the unlit hall, one holding up the other. I noted the shadows to have the shape of Stephanie and Tim. I recognized them through their heights and Stephanie's build. She was extremely well built, something I had to admire honestly. She pulled it off extremely well. But they both seemed to have blankets around their shoulders.
I found myself a bit worried though, why was Stephanie carrying Tim. I couldn't see the details, so I couldn't tell if Tim was tired or if he'd been injured, but I was worried about the thump that I'd heard earlier. Then Alfred came up around them, but unlike the other two he noticed me immediately.
"Percy, what're you doing up this late?" The other two heads shot to look at me, I didn't have to see their faces to feel their shock.
I spoke quietly so as to not wake anyone else up. "I heard a thump. I wanted to make sure Duke didn't fall again." I said, I could see Alfred's shoulders slump.
"Alright, you can head to sleep now." I bit the inside of my cheek as I peered into the dark room, the shadows now up and slithering, waiting to wrap their cold arms around my legs and pull me into my nightmares.
"I- are you sure you don't need help? I can help carry Tim if he's too heavy Stephanie." The attempt was a lame excuse, sure, but I was struggling for a way to say no.
"I'm okay, Tim's just being lazy, it's no problem, you can head to sleep." I felt my grip on the doorway tighten as I struggled for any new reason to not go. In a desperate attempt I looked to Alfred, even in the darkness where I know he couldn't see my expression I hoped he could feel my request for his presence.
"I shall accompany you, will the two of you get some rest as well." They both looked at Alfred as he headed my way. I felt a small smile role onto my lips as my grip loosened and Alfred accompanied me, his hand placed on my shoulder. I admit I didn't feel any discomfort when Alfred touched my shoulder, something that made me relax further as we turned into my room, the door shutting quietly behind us.
"Are you alright?" He asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. Back down the hall I could hear the sound of the door shutting.
"Im... anxious." I finally spat out. It was the closest I could get to the honest truth for now, so I hoped Alfred could fill in the gaps for me.
"That's okay, you get in bed alright? I'll grab a chair." I felt myself ease as I walked over to my bed before crawling into the sheets like a child. I pulled the warmth over myself like a cocoon, keeping everything lovely inside and leaving the cold darkness out. I curled myself into a ball, listening to the soft breathing of Alfred as he sat beside me, the noise kept my brain occupied as I felt my brain shut off.
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