A loud sigh tore from my lips as I pulled my towel tighter around my shoulders. It did nothing to dry me off, water thoroughly soaked into my clothes, but it did help bring me back to earth and out of my mind. Even so, I found myself cussing Kaldur out in my mind. Why did he have to 'save' me? I was fine, and everyone else would've been to if he just let me disappear. I sat fuming, not reacting as Kaldur sat next to me with a bottle of water. He offered it to me. 

"I'm not thirsty," I said. My gaze fixated on a point over the ocean, a blank stare which Kaldur probably took as a sign of shock. He forced the bottle into my hand. My fingers curled around the plastic.

"You are most likely dehydrated," he said. "Please drink this."

Dick and Wally walked over, and I hoped I'd a get a break. I didn't. Dick looked at the unopened bottle, fixed me with a look, and crossed his arms. He knew what was happening, and he wasn't happy about it. I really couldn't blame him. if it were anyone other than me, I'd feel the same. 

"Percy, drink the water. It's not going to hurt you." 

Under the combined parenting of Kaldur and Dick, I caved. I mumbled, "Fine." My hand burned as I tried and failed to open the bottle. I groaned and tried again. And again. And again. Each attempt only served to make the burning of my palm worse and Wally's laughter louder. I threw the bottle at him. Wally caught it, opened it, and handed it back to me. I took a careful sip of water, feeling the concerned looks lessen. Part of me understood the concern. Other people would be dehydrated, but I'm not like them. 

"Now that you're done being stubborn, I'm gonna go see if Bruce has any food to spare," Wally said with a smile. "I'm taking him with me." Without waiting for Dick to respond, Wally threw him over his shoulder and jogged off. A smile tugged at my lips. He's not as stupid as his flirting makes him seem; there's no trace of his superspeed when he runs. I shook my head, ridding myself of the expression. I yawned, causing one concerned look to return along with my annoyance.

"Are you tired?" Kaldur asked. 

I shrugged. I turned my attention to the sky above the water. It had darkened in the brief time I looked away. The waves seemed choppier, easily explained by my rising emotions. After a minute of silence, I responded. "I don't want to sleep, but I do want to murder those those two. So I guess you could say kinda."

"Why do you say that?"

"I have a feeling they're going to set up some sort of prank, and I'm not in the mood for a prank war." At least, not on the scale of the ones at camp. While I doubt they're as bad as Travis and Conner, one of them has superpowers. I couldn't think of all the ways they could use that to their advantage.

"You are probably correct." 

I glanced over at him, noting the haunted look in his eyes. I smiled. I guessed he had been on the receiving end of some pranks. "Is your hair naturally blond? Or did Wally switch your shampoo with some bleach thing?"

"It is natural."

"That's cool." Even at camp, seeing someone with dark skin and naturally blond hair was odd. Four kids in camp had dark skin and blond hair that wasn't the result of a makeover or a prank. One kid in the Athena cabin, and three kids in Apollo's. Though I shouldn't count those three, since their hair is sun-bleached and not natural. Kaldur sighed and looked towards the others. I followed his gaze. Artemis and Megan sat laughing on the sand, pouring bucket after bucket of sand on Connor. The smallest hint of a smile appeared on his lips, but it quickly faded once he turned his attention back to our conversation. "I suppose it is."

I knew that tone.

That tone, the one of grudging agreement. The same tone I used talking about my eyes, the one Hazel, gods even thinking her name was hard, used when talking about hers. It was one where you really want to argue, one you use when you hate the way you look, but you don't want to deal with people telling you to love yourself. 

I took another sip of water. "It suits you."

"Thank you," he said and smiled, not knowing I could tell exactly how forced it was. 

"No problem." I bit back my urge to snap at him for smiling without meaning it. Hypocrite. "How long do you think it'll take for those two to get back? I'm starving." My eyes widened slightly and I moved to the side. Dick flew past me, landing face first in the sand. He must've been trying to tackle me, too bad I'm used to worse.

"What the heck, Percy?" Dick said, spitting sand out of his mouth. "Are you part cat or something?"

"No, but I have been called a hyperactive dolphin," I said with a shrug. Warmth pressed against my side, offering comforting warmth. Comfort I never got, because said warmth made me realize how closely Kaldur and I were pressed together. Blood rushed o my face, heating it to the point where I thought my mortified expression would melt off my face. I almost wished it had. "Sorry," I mumbled , moving away and trying to ignore the steady thump-thump of my heart against my ribs.

"It is okay," he said, seeming to be only the tiniest bit bothered.

"Moving on-" Dick elbowed Wally. Wally, despite Dick's best efforts, didn't do anything to hide his laughter. "-here you go." Dick tossed me a bag of chips.

"Thanks." I opened it and shoveled a handful into my mouth. They stared at me. I tilted my head and swallowed. "What? Haven't you ever seen anyone eat chips before?"

"you just don't seem like the type of person who would eat like that?" Dick said.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to daintily pick up every chip and nibble on it like I'm a baby mouse who can survive off of the tiniest crumb?"I raised an eyebrow, before dumping the rest of the chips into my mouth. I stood up and started gathering up the rest of our trash, only to have it snatched out of my hands. Wally disappeared without a word, leaving me to glare at the place he once occupied. Why can't the Fates let me get away from this? In my anger, I nearly missed the next words out of Dick's mouth.

"Oh, Kaldur? Do you want to spend the night at the cabin?"

"Is Mr. Wayne okay with this?" Kaldur asked, eyes flicking towards me. 

"He said Wally and you could stay. I have it on video, so he can't deny it." 

"Wait," I said. "Didn't Wally just-"

"Shush," Dick said.

I grinned and covered his mouth with my hand. "Yes. Hush, child." Saliva coated my hand after he licked it. I laughed as he gagged. "My hand was covered in sand, it's your fault for licking it. Even if it wasn't, licking my hand isn't going to gross me out. It's not like it's the grossest thing to happen to me."

Dick's small, deft fingers clawed at my hand, prying it off of his face. "Like what?" he asked.

"Hm, well, I almost got a swirly, but the plumbing was backed up and the entire toilet exploded." I wiped my hand on my leg. 

"I am not sure which part is more concerning." Kaldur looked at me.

I waved a hand. "No part of it. It was a fluke thing, and the girl's my friend now. She's really fun when you're on her good side. It would be-"

"We should probably head in," Wally interrupted me, having skidded to a stop in front of us. None of us commented on his use of his superspeed, more focused on the loud peal of thunder immediately following his words. I looked at the ocean. My face paled. The waves tossed violently, all too reminiscent of the wild steeds my dad formed from them. I couldn't see the sky; clouds covered it, dark and ugly. No wind stirred around us.

I stood up, a sigh carefully concealed. I should've known this would happen at some point. "Last one to the cabin is a rotten egg," I said, as if things weren't about to get ugly. I took off, throwing my borrowed towel at a surprised Connor. "Thanks. Sorry. Get inside!" My feet pounded against the sand. Water moved ahead of me, compacting the sand so I wouldn't slow. Halfway to the cabin, the calm turned to the storm.

Rain pounded against the sand, along with the aggressive waves. Wind swirled around me, tugging at the loose material of my swim clothes and picking up my hair. A strong gust knocked me flat to the ground. I gritted my teeth, knowing this would only get worse. Hopefully Dad could contain himself and not create a hurricane. That wasn't likely.

The rain hitting me disappeared. I rolled enough to see Kaldur bent over me, attempting to protect me from the storm. I could only imagine how the rain stung his skin. Even if he was wearing a wetsuit, I doubted it would feel good. 

"Are you okay?" Kaldur asked, voice raised. Even then it was hard to hear him over the wind.

"I'm good. Where are the others?"

Kaldur looked around, pale eyes scanning the ten feet of visibility. "I do not know. Hopefully, they have already made it to the cabin." He moved and offered me a hand. I took it, and once I stood I braced myself for the wind. Immediately, another gust of wind hit me, knocking me back against Kaldur. I groaned and threw mental cuss words to the sky. Lightning flashed. In response, the ocean grew more frenzied.

Kaldur wrapped his arm behind my knees, the other behind my shoulders, and he lifted. "Hold on," he said, taking off toward the cabin. The wind made no move to knock him over, something I was going to complain about the next time I saw Thalia.When Kaldur placed me feetfirst on the doorstep, I was ready for a hot shower and food. My stomach grumbled. Definitely food.

I knocked and knocked on the door until Bruce opened it.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

"Cold, wet, and humiliated by the wind, but otherwise fine." I walked in, accepting a towel from Bruce. As I wiped off, I ignored the eyebrow he raised in question, and I used as much power as I dared to get rid of excess water.

"The wind knocked her over twice," Kaldur said.

"Okay, so that explains that. Dick and Wally are in the kitchen, Kaldur." Bruce handed him a towel. 

I headed to the stairs. "I'm going to get a shower. Tell them if they try to prank me, I'm going to murder them and disfigure them so horribly not even you'll be able to recognize them."

"Got it."

Hoping Bruce would pass along the message, I walked upstairs and into my room. I grabbed clothes, walked to the bathroom, stripped out of my swim clothes, and stepped into the shower. Hot water streamed over me as I washed. I smiled, letting the warmth seep into my aching body. Eventually, I had to step out. I used my powers to dry off. I got dressed and went to grab something from my room, only to hear Kaldur's voice above the rain crashing onto the roof.

"Wally!!"

1030

Now: 1960

I have internet now. Yay. Its godsawful expensive. Boo

Listen. theres a raccoon trying to break into my house. And i don't want a repeat of two am this morning when it actually did, so im gonna go to bed, hope for the best and then go to my two appointments tomorrow. I have to get more shots for college.

See yah