Coming of Age (Percy Jackson)

A/N: As of today, 7/2/2023, this is the final chapter currently posted publicly for this story. Because of how the schedule works, Chapter 10 will come out tomorrow morning and then after that it will be one chapter every two weeks going forward.

There will always be four advance chapters on my Patreon at all times for this and my other Patreon-Funded fics.

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The answer was apparently ‘very confident’, because he doesn’t really think about it long before nodding sharply.
 
“You’ve got a deal, Clarisse.”
 
The shark-like smile on the young woman’s face makes it clear that the Daughter of Ares is eager to win and have him as her personal butt-boy for a week. But Percy has no intention of losing. Lifting up her palm, Clarisse spits into it and then holds it out for him to shake. A little gross, but not all that surprising from someone like her.
 
Without missing a beat, Percy spits into his own palm and clasps hands with the Daughter of Ares, sealing their little deal… in front of the entire Dining Pavilion.
 
“See you on Friday, Percy Jackson.”
 
And with that, Clarisse turns and walks away, returning to her table where she no doubt quietly explains the goal to everyone else in her Cabin. Over a dozen pairs of eyes turn towards him at that, the women looking downright hungry while the men look somewhat jealous. Percy just raises an eyebrow right back at them, smiling thinly in challenge… until that is, Annabeth slams her hands down on his table, startling him out of the stare down.
 
“What was that about?”
 
The blonde looks more worried than he’s ever seen her before, but then Percy supposes he knows what the issue is. Giving Annabeth a fond smile, he reaches over and pats one of her hands.
 
“Don’t worry. Clarisse wanted me on her team but I turned her down. I might be a claimed Son of Poseidon now, but that doesn’t change the promise I made to you, Annabeth. You’ll have me on Friday, no matter what.”
 
A little bit of the tension in Annabeth’s shoulders drains away at that, but not all of it. Her eyes narrow and her nostrils flare as she pushes off of his table and stands there with her arms crossed over her chest.
 
“Then… what was that bit at the end? Where the two of you shook hands?”
 
Ah. He supposed it was far enough away that Annabeth hadn’t been able to hear the latter half of the conversation, had she? She’d heard the first part, but not the rest of it? Percy spends a moment over his amusement at the way both Clarisse and Annabeth ended up standing in the exact same spot with their arms crossed over their chest, glaring down at him. Did he have a type? He might have a type. Then again, the two female demigods were only similar in very superficial ways, weren’t they?
 
Regardless, he nods his head along with her words, taking a bite of his breakfast, chewing, and then swallowing before finally answering her.
 
“Clarisse and I made a little wager on the outcome of this week’s Capture the Flag Match. Winner takes all, so to speak.”
 
It takes him a moment to realize the grinding he hears is Annabeth’s teeth as she grits them and growls cutely at him.
 
“What. Does. That. Mean?”
 
As much as he’s grown quite fond of Annabeth in the short period of time that he’s known her, Percy finds himself greatly enjoying yanking her chain. Eyes dancing with mirth, he shrugs as he takes another bite of his breakfast.
 
“Simple, really. Whoever is on the winning side gets to order around the loser for the entirety of next week, and then the loser has to be on the winner’s team next Friday. It’s heavily in my favor, you know? I’m just a one man cabin, but if we can win… then not just Clarisse but all of Ares Cabin will be at my beck and call next Friday.”
 
He expects her to relax more in the face of his explanation, but if anything Annabeth grows tenser, not more relaxed. Her eyes narrow and she grits her teeth even harder for a moment before finally speaking.
 
“You… you… Seaweed Brain!”
 
Percy blinks, both at the strangely tailored insult and at the vitriol in her voice. She’s mad at him? He’d specifically done his best to keep her out of things though? He could understand her getting upset if he’d made any promises or wagers that involved her without her say-so, but Percy had deliberately not done that. It was just a simple bet between him and Clarisse and sure he was relying on Annabeth and her team to win, but it wasn’t like they weren’t going to try and win to begin with, right?
 
Feeling defensive now, Percy leans back and crosses HIS arms over his chest, frowning at Annabeth as the blonde glares down at him from across the table.
 
“I really don’t see the problem here. I went out of my way to keep you out of it, Annabeth. Even if we win, you don’t HAVE to team up with me next Friday if you’re that opposed to teaming up with Clarisse and Ares Cabin.”
 
Annabeth, to his surprise, just rolls her eyes and shakes her head, planting a palm against her forehead.
 
“I don’t care about next Friday, Percy. I care about this Friday. We had a plan… a plan that you ruined!”
 
She hisses out that last part, leaning forward and lowering her voice as if just remembering where they were. Percy opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, Annabeth sharply shakes her head and then jerks it to one side. Recognizing what she wants, he nods and gets up, following her out of the Pavilion. He can feel the eyes of several other demigods following them as they leave, but Percy doesn’t pay them any mind.
 
Annabeth leads him back to his cabin, interestingly enough, though she stops outside and looks at him until he invites her in. Once they’re both inside, she finally spills the beans.
 
“The plan was to use you as a distraction. You humiliated Clarisse and her sisters in the bathroom so badly that I just knew they would be after you during Capture the Flag. You were going to be the bait that drew enough of Ares Cabin away that they ultimately left their flag unprotected, allowing us to pick up an easy win.”
 
Percy’s eyes widen at that. Annabeth had told him she wanted to avoid Clarisse recruiting him to her side as one of the reasons she’d been so gung ho about having sex with him, but she hadn’t told him THAT part. It was… strategically sound and incredibly ruthless. He couldn’t help feeling a little hurt if he was being honest.
 
“You were going to use me as some sort of sacrificial pawn?”
 
Annabeth rolls her eyes at that.
 
“The plan was to station you at the creek, Percy. It acts as the natural boundary between either side of the match and if I’d put you there, not only would you have drawn Clarisse and her cronies to you like bees to honey, but you would have been perfectly positioned to kick their asses.”
 
Wait, what? His expression must show his incredulity, because Annabeth waves a hand dismissively before continuing on.
 
“Since we’re no longer pretending like we don’t know who your father was… as an obvious Son of Poseidon, I knew you’d be fine in the creek. So long as you’re submerged in water, you’re pretty much unstoppable. Unfortunately, that plan is no longer possible. Clarisse no longer has as much incentive to hunt you specifically. Instead, you’ve given her WAY more incentive to focus on the actual objective for once instead of just trying to brute force it. She’s not as likely to take the bait anymore.”
 
Percy opens his mouth… and then closes it. Then, he tilts his head to the side. This time, it’s his turn to narrow his eyes at Annabeth.
 
“How could you know that? The part about a Son of Poseidon being unstoppable in water? And why didn’t you just tell me the plan so I couldn’t ruin it for you?”
 
Annabeth has the good grace to look a little guilty at least, even as she shifts from foot to foot. Given the girl’s difficulty with properly expressing her emotions, Percy takes that much as a win. Still…
 
“Since they won’t let me go on my own Quest, I’ve had plenty of free time to read up while I’ve been trapped in camp. I’ve devoured every book, journal, and history that I could get my hands on. And I didn’t tell you because operational security deemed it unnecessary for you to know. The plan was best carried out with as few people aware as possible. I know… a lot. I am the daughter of a Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy, after all.”
 
She pauses briefly… and then sighs.
 
“Still, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the whole truth. I’ll understand if you want to go and take Clarisse up on her offer after all. I did intend to use you as bait…”
 
Percy doesn’t really have to think about it too hard. Sure, he’s annoyed… but at the same time, he can sort of understand where Annabeth is coming from. He’s not going to forgive her immediately, but he’s also not going to abandon her at the drop of a hat. Not only had he already given his word, but also… he’d made that wager with Clarisse. At this point, he HAD to be on the team opposite of the Daughter of Ares this Friday.
 
“No, Annabeth. I’m not going to abandon you.”
 
Looking relieved, the blonde glances down at his crotch next.
 
“Perhaps I can… still make it up to you?”
 
It’s obvious what she means but, and Percy can’t believe he’s thinking this… he’s got a better use for their time. He nods, but before Annabeth can drop to her knees, he holds up a hand.
 
“You are going to make it up to me. But not that way. We’re going out, down to that creek, and we’re going to train. And come Friday… we’ll make your plan work.”
 
Annabeth furrows her brow at that, tilting her head to the side.
 
“But… how? Clarisse has every reason to ignore you and focus on the flag now.”
 
Percy just grins.
 
“Sure she does. But let’s be honest… I haven’t been here very long and you know them better than I do. So you tell me. Does anything about Clarisse or Ares Cabin strike you as particularly reasonable?”
 
Annabeth blinks and thinks for a moment before a small smile slowly forms on her face.
 
“… You’re right. Let’s go.”
 
Percy chuckles at her muted enthusiasm. But then, a lot about Annabeth Chase is muted, so he knows that if he’s seeing this much, it’s because she’s practically hopping up and down in excitement in comparison to her usual self. With that, the two of them leave the cabin and head for the woods. Friday is just around the corner after all, and if he’s going to play his part, he needs to know what he can do.
 
-x-X-x-
 
Friday comes around quickly enough, and as the sun sets, Percy finds himself standing alongside Annabeth and her Athena Cabin, as well as Hermes Cabin and Apollo Cabin. Percy might only be one person, but he supposes he makes it four cabins in total, since he’s representing Poseidon Cabin. On the other side of the clearing, holding a red flag that contrasts nicely with Annabeth’s blue flag, is Clarisse and her squad.
 
Clarisse’s team has five cabins and overall superiority in numbers, but it’s not as far off as it might seem in Percy’s opinion. Still, according to Annabeth, Clarisse and Ares Cabin haven’t lost a Capture the Flag Match in weeks now, no matter what Annabeth has done to try and topple them. Her gambit this time is Percy, and from the crowd he meets the blonde’s eyes, easily able to tell that she’s still worried that this won’t work out.
 
Well, it’s up to him to get a move on, isn’t it? Smiling thinly, Percy makes his way over to Clarisse for a second, making it clear that he’s not joining them by stopping a few feet away. Clarisse and her sisters all look him up and down, sizing him up like he’s a piece of meat. Clarisse in particular gives him a wicked grin.
 
“Starting to regret your choice in team, Jackson? I’m not letting you switch sides now just so you know. We’ve got a wager going on, after all. Get ready to eat dirt.”
 
Percy just smirks as he crosses his arms over his broad chest and tilts his head to the side. Admittedly, the spear she’s wielding looks pretty wicked, especially with its barbed tip that flickers with red light. He doesn’t want to find out what it does first hand… but at the same time, he’s feeling pretty confident.
 
“You know Clarisse… I really don’t think you have what it takes. I don’t think any of you have what it takes.”
 
The whole lot of them bristle aggressively at that, and a couple even take a step forward, looking ready to hurt him right then and there. But Percy just stands his ground as Clarisse smirks.
 
“Yeah? Did Chase lie to you then? Because we’ve been winning Capture the Flag for two months now. You’ll see soon enough; we definitely have what it takes.”
 
Percy scoffs, flicking out a hand in a dismissive motion.
 
“I wasn’t talking about that, Clarisse. Capture the Flag? A kid’s game. No… I was saying that you don’t have what it takes to beat ME.”
 
He pauses just long enough to see Clarisse’s eyes widen at the incredibly direct, wholly blunt challenge. The fury that spreads across her and her teammates’ faces is a sight to behold as each and every one of them develops quite a dark look. Without waiting for a response however, Percy turns on his heel and walks back over to Annabeth’s side.
 
“We’ll see about that, Jackson!”
 
Clarisse’s shouted response is the only one that Team Ares and Co. manage to get out before a sharp clapping can be heard echoing across the clearing. Hestia stands on top of a wooden platform with Chiron beside her and looks down at them all. There’s a matronly warmth in her gaze and smile… but also a hint of something more. Something stronger.
 
“Attention, everyone. Settle down now. This week’s Capture the Flag game is about to begin. The Blue Team, led by Annabeth Chase, will be made up of Cabin Six, Cabin Seven, Cabin Eleven… and Cabin Three.”
 
Percy blinks at having the cabins numbered at that, noting Hestia’s smile and nod towards him when she mentions ‘Cabin Three’. Then, she looks over to the other side.
 
“The Red Team will be led by Clarisse La Rue and will be made up of Cabin Five, Four, Nine, Ten, and Twelve.”
 
Sweeping her gaze back and forth across ALL of them, Hestia’s expression hardens somewhat.
 
“I shall remind you all of the rules. The creek is the boundary line between the two camps. The forest is all fair game but try not to venture too far into its depths. Magic Items remain permitted… for now. However, intentional maiming is still punishable by immediate exile from Camp Half-Blood. The same goes for both accidental and intentional killing. You are playing a game. Always remember, your enemies exist beyond these woods, in the world outside.”
 
Silence reigns as Hestia’s words have a moment to sink in. Then, she’s all smiles again as she claps her hands together three times.
 
“Begin making your way to your respective bases, please. In five minutes, the battle begins.”
 
As everyone moves off, Percy lets out an explosive breath and then inhales deeply. This was it… the Capture the Flag game to end all Capture the Flag games… or something.
 
Okay, so maybe the stakes weren’t that high. But he still wanted to win. More badly than most, he wagered… but maybe not AS badly as Annabeth or Clarisse. Still, in the end it didn’t truly matter who wanted it more. It mattered who could take it.

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The Patreon Vote:

[X] Stick to the plan, head for the creek and wait for Clarisse and Ares to come running - 84%
 
[  ] Do a little proactive hunting of his own first before going to the river - 16%

(From this chapter on, I will be posting the results of the Patreon Vote for the chapter to increase transparency and alleviate the issue of constant cliffhangers.)