Long time no see. *ducks various knives* Ooh, that's a nice knife, where'd you get it?

Okay, sorry. But maybe this will make up for it? I've noticed lately that I seem to only be writing sad stories. Well, we ran out of maple syrup, so I'm justified. Anyway, this one is a bit happier - but there still are *SPOILER ALERT* actually you know what? not gonna tell you. Read on!

"Cali!" Leo ducked away as she playfully threatened to dump a pail of water on him.

"Get back here, Valdez!" Calypso ran after him, caramel hair flowing back in the wind.

"Love you too, Sunshine!" Leo turned back over his shoulder to flash her an impish grin. 

Neither of the two saw you, leaning against a tree like a shadow.

You'd been taking lessons from Nico.

Sighing, you leaned your head against the tree, the murmuring rush of the leaves momentarily calming you. You'd loved Leo. The mischievous boy had been your friend for a while, and you understood what it was like to be a third wheel. B/F had started dating Nico at around the same time that Piper and Jason had, so the two of you fell together, chatting, joking, laughing. 

And you'd started developing feelings towards the (oblivious as ever) repair boy, much to your disappointment. Leo would never like you back. Once he left on the quest with the rest of the Argo ||, and then 'died,' you'd crumpled, broken, shattered and then trodden upon, left lying in the dust.

But Leo came back. Leo Valdez returned from the dead. Yes, he was back, but to you, he was still good as dead from the amount of times he'd been talking to her. Zero. Zip. Nada. 

And his perfect girlfriend, who was once a goddess, and from what anyone else could see - she was perfect, making it impossible to hate her. 

Some part of you screamed of you to just let go. How could you compete with this perfect girl?

But you couldn't give up hope, no matter how many times you tried to quench the little flame that wavered on steadily throughout the ever-steadying wind and the encroaching darkness. 

No matter how many times you told yourself I have no chance. No matter how many times, that funny little ache in your heart persisted.

You turned back, still unnoticed, and softly stepped away, telling yourself to not look back.

Perhaps if you'd looked back, though, you would've seen that your camouflage wasn't as good as you hoped or thought, for a certain former titaness was looking at your retreating form with knowing eyes.

•∞•∞•∞•∞•

Weapons practice found you in the hands of adorable, squirmy nine-and-ten-year-olds. These were the ones who had had clear-sighted parents or their godly parent had told their mortal parent who they were. They weren't as serious as most of the older campers (knowing that your life was in constant danger usually made it hard to loosen up).

Shelby, an adorable pudgy little girl, was charging Marcus, a dark-haired, more serious boy. You noted their weaknesses. Shelby was a little too eager and her guard was sloppy, making it easy for opponents to use a simple side slash and slice open her unprotected ribcage. (tbh, I'm basing Shelby off how I was when I was little (took fencing classes) and I was pretty bad, so sorry Shelby).

Marcus, on the other hand, was way too  hesitant to attack, simply defending Shelby's headlong charges. Since he was right-handed, his blocks were weaker on the left side, making it easy for an enemy to rain blows on his left side and overpower him.

"Okay, stop!" Both children froze, Shelby midswing. "Shelby, don't be too aggressive. Wait until you know that your guard is sound. You're rushing, which makes your guard all sloppy. See?" You directed her knife into the proper position, and moved it around, showing how it made it easier to defend from various attacks. 

The little girl gave you a toothy grin. "Okay!"

Chuckling at her enthusiasm, you turned to Marcus. "All right, so you, Marcus, are the opposite. You tend to overthink everything. I realize that you don't want to fail, but if you overthink things, then it will make you second-guess yourself and mess up. I promise that if you just let yourself go and move by instinct, you will be fine. Also, you need to use the flat of your blade to protect your left side, not the edge. It's more of a reach, so it's harder to deflect." You showed him the various positions he should've been in, and watched as comprehension dawned on his face. 

"I think I get it." He spoke up determinedly, a look of confidence spreading across his normally worried and troubled face.

"Good." You clapped him on the back. "Try again with Shelby."

As you were about to motion for the two kids to start, Will jogged up, his usually carefree face filled with worry. "Y/N, you need to come to the infirmary."

Styx. Dread filled you, but you tried to keep a normal façade for the little kids. "Oi, Perce!" 

The raven-haired boy turned. "What's up... Y/N, is it?"

"Yeah. Can you teach these guys? I've got to go to the infirmary."

His face creased with worry, before returning to its normal look. You knew that it was a mask, the Percy was smarter than he let on, and that he was very worried. The things you pick up when you ask Annabeth to help you learn to read people. "Tell them that I hope they feel better soon."

"I will, thanks." You jogged over to where Will was standing, tapping his foot with impatience.

"Okay," you said, exhaling. "Okay, let's go."

•∞•∞•∞•∞•

Pushing the door open to the infirmary, you blinked, your eyes straining to adjust to the low light conditions. Only one bed was occupied, and its occupant was sitting up, with no visible wounds.

As you drew closer, the figure stood up, extending a hand.

"Hello, Y/N. I was wondering whether or not you could help me." She addressed you directly, ignoring Will standing silently in the doorway, blocking out all visible remnants of light.

You sucked in a breath. "Calypso?!"

"Let's sit." She sat down again. retracting her proffered hand, and patted the space next to her.

You sat. What else were you supposed to do?

"I'm sure you know Leo," she began, her soft voice somehow taking up all available space in the room, making you silently struggle for air.

Or maybe you were just hyperventilating.

"Y-yes," you managed, stuttering and tripping over your words. "W-we were good friends before the Giant War."

She took your hand in hers, and you had to fight the urge not to snatch your hand back. "I need your help. He's going to be in a lot of pain soon, and I know that you're the only one that can help."

Confused, you started shooting out questions. "Why is he going to be in pain? Why me? Why not you? Why not any of the Apollo kids? What-"

Calypso held her hand out, palm up. "The kind of pain he's going to be in is not pain that can be healed by ambrosia or nectar, Y/N. So the Apollo children can't help. And I can't help because... because you see, I-" her voice cracked. "I won't be there anymore."

"I'm dying," and here her voice gave out. She leaned against you, sobbing. "I'm dying."

Startled, but filled with sympathy, you rubbed circles on her back and murmured soothing words, though you weren't really sure as to what to say. Sorry for your loss didn't really cover it.

Finally, when she'd recovered, you ventured a question.  "How?"

Her voice was almost fully composed when she answered. "When I left Ogygia, my immortality left me. I knew that that had to happen. But I didn't know that all the years I spent on that island were slowly catching up to me... and soon I will die. Stripped of my youth, as it were. I'll still maintain this appearance, but my bones and my innards will weaken and stiffen, and yes, then I will die."

"I'm sorry, Cali- may I call you Cali?"

"Of course," she murmured. "I'd hoped that you would be my friend. I liked you when I first met you."

"I'm so sorry Cali, and I really wished that we had become friends sooner- but what does this have to do with me?"

"Two reasons. The first is because I need someone like you, a strong shoulder to cry on, and I sense that you've been doing a lot of crying recently from a broken heart. You're strong, and I need someone like you."

Overcome by emotion, you had to wait before you could choke out, "And the second reason?"

"The second reason," Calypso said, eyes burning into yours (sorry. hate the word orbs and I am not using it to describe eyes) "The second reason is that when I'm gone, I need you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"I need you and Leo Valdez to fall in love."

•∞•∞•∞•∞•