#idov

Chapter 8: If we have each other (Cresent's POV)

Summary:

This how Cresent got claimed as a daughter of Hades, and how she met Nico, her favorite big brother

Notes:

Ya, so you know how I said that no more "in the past" chapters. I got writer's block and then @permetutotheworld on Tumblr gave me the idea for this chapter while we were RPing, so now this exists. Hope you enjoy Chapter is based on the song If we have each other

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

(2 years ago)

I was running the woods, zigzagging the through the trees, dodging the branches as I pass them. I was being chased by some monster. I had no idea what it was, but it had a scorpion’s tail, a bat’s wings, and the head of a lion. I ran as fast as I could, but I was running out of energy. Tears were running down my face, burning my skin. I was scared, angry, and most importantly. Alone.

I kept running, then suddenly a hand came from the shadows and pulled me in. I was covered in darkness, then light. I was laying in the grass somewhere. Next to me was a boy. He had black hair and pale olive skin. He was wearing a black skull shirt and a bomber jacket with black jean. He also had a strange black sword hanging from his belt. I got up and examined our surrounding. We were in a clearing the woods, but it seemed like a different one than the one I was running in earlier.

More tears fell from my eyes. I was further from home than I was before, there’s no way I will be able to find my way back now. I sat back down and curled up into a ball. Then someone sat next to me. It was the boy from earlier.

“Hey, you ok?” He asked me

“No, I’m lost and instead of being at home, I’m stuck here with some random guy.” I replied, as I continued to cry.

“How did you get lost?”

“I was waiting for my mom to pick me up from school. It was my first day at this new school, and it hadn’t gone well. I had to go to a different school than my sisters cause I’m the oldest, at least that is what my mom said. I got tired of waiting for my mom inside, so I went around the school to this patch of woods I found at recess. I wasn’t really a people person and the shadows always seemed to spiral when I was nervous, so I didn’t bother. I went to the woods then suddenly this monster comes running towards me. I started to run for I don’t know how long, then when I lost it for a moment I realized I was lost. I tried to find my way back but the monster just appeared again and the rest is history.” The sun started to set as I finished my story, it was getting cold, so I pulled my hood around myself, the sleeves also wet with tears.

“I am so sorry for what you have been through, that must have been hard for you.” He said after a moment.

“Well, I was planning on running away to my aunt’s, though I haven’t yet figured out how to get there. I was tired of dealing with that woman every day, and I’m pretty sure she would have kicked me out already if it weren’t for my stepdad. He’s the only one who stands up for me, and now I may never see him again. I just accidently sped up the process of getting rid of me.”

“What happened to your biological dad?”

“My mom says he died, and I want to believe her, but I just don’t. He left me this pendant.” I held up my crescent moon pendent. My most prized possession. “He’s out there somewhere, but finding him has never crossed my mind. If he wants to know me, he can find me himself. At least he could have, until now.”

“I get that, come on let’s find somewhere safe to stay for the night” He started to get up, but I grab his arm.

“I don’t know who you are, or even your name. You really expect me to follow you wherever you’re going, I may be 12 but I ain’t stupid.”

“So, you would tell your life story to a stranger before finding out their name,” I rolled my eyes “Alright, I’m Nico di Angelo”

“Cresent, Cresent Solace” Nico seemed shocked by this. He continued to get up, and I followed

“Oh, you’re a Solace.” I tried very hard not to give him a side eye.

“Ya, didn’t I just say that.”

“Are you in anyway related to Will Solace?” “Did he just say Will, or am I dreaming”

“Yes, he’s my cousin, but I haven’t seen him in months. Every time we go visit Aunt Naomi, he’s not there anymore.”

“That’s probably because he is at camp.” “What the hell is this boy talking about?”

“Camp, what camp?”

“Camp Half-Blood, he’s the head-medic there.” “Seriously, what the hell is this boy talking about?”

“What is my causing doing at some camp being the head medic, it’s not even summer break anymore.”

“He’s a demigod and a year-rounder, so that’s why. And I have reason to suspect that you are one too.”

“Wait, wait, wait, WAIT! Hold up, what you mean demigod. Like the child of a god, but how, and which god, and which pantheon, and how do you know I’m a demigod, and…”

“Hey, one question at a time ok, I just got up from shadow travelling and my head is buzzing.”

“Are you a demigod, is that how you did the thing with the shadows.” I was feeling better, so my ADHD kicked in.

“Ya, son of Hades. And your cousin is the son of Apollo.”

“So, I’m guessing Greek, but how? Aren’t they supposed to be in Greece?”

“The gods move to where the strongest belief or remembrance by mortals is. Currently it’s in the US, but they have been around.”

“So, they still come down sometimes and have kids with us mortals?”

“Exactly”

“And you think that I, Cresent Solace the most awkward being in the universe, could be a child of the gods.”

“Well one of them, you radiate power, a familiar one actually. Like from one of the Big Three.”

“You mean Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. There is no way I am one of their kids. I’ve always been deathly afraid of lighting, but I do enjoy watching the rain. Water hates me and I am asthmatic, so I am not trying that again. I’m mostly fine with death and that stuff, and darkness seems cool rather than scary to me. Are those signs of which one of them could be my dad?”

“Maybe, but we can’t be for certain until one of them claims you.” Then suddenly, the symbol of Hades appeared above my head. “Thanks a lot, Dad.” Nico mumbled

“My day has definitely gotten better. Hi brother, are we going to CBH?”

“Hello, at least we now know who your dad is. When I get more energy, we can set off for New York. Right now, we need to find a place to sleep.”

“Let’s do that. All the running has made me tired too.”

And we set off through the woods on our next adventure, together.

Notes:

I love how they already be acting like sibling the first time they meet, (if you disagree, come see my house), I love these two so much I just had to do this. Next chapter will be in Quinn's POV, and it will be continuing the story I promise. Just had to get this out there.

Chapter 9: Labyrinth (Quinn’s POV)

Summary:

Quinn needs to talk to Cresent after bumping into her earlier. Will helps.

Notes:

I DID IT, I WROTE THE CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!! This was so hard to come up with, and I had a week off, what a waste. But anyways here it is. Hope you like, songs for this chapter are Labyrinth and I miss you, I'm sorry

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I was training with my sword, taking swings at the dummy. I was about to take my next one when I sensed something approaching from behind. I turned on my heel, mid-swing. Then suddenly, my sword left my hands. I looked down to see a girl, with brown-royal purple ombre hair with a silver headband. She had blue eyes, purple contact on her right, and a crescent moon pendant. “I know that pendant.” She was also wearing a black camp shirt and yellow camp sweater.

I held out my hand to help her up because that was the polite thing to do, but she just swatted it away. She got up on her own and dusted herself off. I turned around to pick up my sword cause the girl didn’t seem to be in the mood for awkward conversation. She seemed to have changed her mind about training cause she turned around and walked away.

When she was finally out of sight, I let out my wings and flew out of there. I needed to talk to someone, and at the moment I could only think of my sisters. Holly and Laurel Victor.

I stopped in front of our cabin and walked in. As usual, they were fighting over something. I knocked on the frame of one of the doors to get their attention. They both turned to me and instantly got up from their spot.

“What is it?” Holly asked.

“Ya, we’re kind of busy right now,” Laurel said after.

“I need help, and I could only think of you guys to go to,” I replied

“You need to make new friends, you’ve been here for 6 months, and all you do is talk about that Cresent girl.”

“Ya, that’s what I need help with. I saw her on the training grounds earlier, and the old crush is coming back.”

“Had it ever left?” Laurel said under her breath. “So how do we fit into this.”

“Well, I need a way to talk to her, without her walking away from me this time.”

“Have you tried, walking up to her and saying hi,” Holly said

“No, she should go to the camp shop and get her something.”

“It’s they right now.” But they just ignored me.

“No, she should get that dagger she made her before she left, put a note at one end, then send one of the Hermes kids to give it to Cresent.” Great, they started a competition on the best way to talk to Cres. “Cres, I miss calling her that.”

“You guys, I want to give it to Cresent myself…” I was about to say something else when someone knocked on our door. It was Will from the infirmary.

“Uh, hi! Someone needs to talk to you and for some reason, they couldn’t come themselves, so they sent me. They said to meet them in the clearing, and that you would know where.” I instantly flashed back to one of my favourite days with Cresent. She found this clearing in the woods, and the first person she showed it to was me. We had so much fun.

I ran past Will, eager to find our old spot. If I was right I would be able to see my best friend again, if not I could help some camper and move on with my sad life. “No don’t think like that, Quinn, It’s definitely Cres.”

I reached the clearing. And there she was. She had taken off her headband, so her hair started to fall in her face. Her eyes looked unfocused, her dark skin glowing in the light. She looked beautiful as usual, and I can say that cause I may or may not have been spying on her a bit, and every time she looked stunning.

She finally looked at me, and tears instantly pierced my eyes. Then she did something completely unexpected, she ran up and hugged me. Like actually hugged me.  Like she did when we were friends. And I hugged her back.

Notes:

This chapter makes me happy, and the next chapter will also make me happy, I am very happy

Tags: @permetutotheworld @biggestqiblifan @massiveladycat

Chapter 10: Treehouse (Cresent’s POV)

Summary:

Cresent gets to talk to Quinn.

Notes:

TWO CHAPTERS, WOAH!!!!!!!!!! They're friends again, WOAH!!!!!!!!! Gracie Abrams inspired 2 chapters, WOAH!!!!!!!!!! Songs for this Chapter are Treehouse and I Love You, I'm Sorry

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I waited for Quinn to get here, playing with my headband in my hands. Ya, so I sent Will to ask them to meet with me, I couldn’t go myself, couldn’t risk crying in front of the rest of camp. “Ok Cres, you have committed to this, there’s no backing out now.”

I was still playing around with my headband when Quinn arrived. I didn’t notice at first, but then I looked up. There stood my best friend, one of the best things to ever happen to me. Another thing I gave up without thinking. The tears came back, and I ran to hug them.

I was so sorry for everything that happened but I couldn’t put it into words, not anymore. I was just glad to see my friend after so freaking long. Quinn hugged me back and I sobbed. I missed them so much and I didn’t even realize it. We just stood there for a while, and then Quinn pulled away. I just hung my head.

“Cresent, I am so sorry for what happened, I missed you so much.” More tears came down, and Quinn started crying too.

“Quinn, it wasn’t your fault, I was going through stuff, and instead of talking to you or anyone, I blocked you out. I just didn’t want to be left behind again. I didn’t want someone else to just willingly give up on me, so I gave up on everyone else first. I am sorry, it was all my fault.” I was just rambling at this point, but I didn’t care. I was too busy feeling stuff.

“Cres, it wasn’t your fault, you were feeling left out, and I was too busy to notice.”

“It’s just you were always hanging with cabin 9, or surrounded by a bunch of stupid girls…”

“Wait, Cres, were you jealous.” “What in Tartarus made her think that?”

“No, I just missed my best friend, a lot.” “Ok, I was a little jealous too, but she doesn’t have to know that.” I wiped my eyes

“Ok, fine. But even if you did, there would be no reason to.”

“And why’s that.” Quinn looked nervous now.

“Uh, never mind that you hungry? We can talk more with lunch.” Ok, whatever made Quinn nervous can wait, reuniting with your bestie makes you hungry.

“Yup, I’m starving.” Quinn held out her hand and this time I accepted. I wasn’t going to let my fatal flaw get in the way of this.

We went to the dining pavilion and got lunch, it was late afternoon, but we didn’t mind. We just started to catch up. Apparently, Quinn has been at camp for 6 months and didn’t bother to find me. I decided not to point this out, as we had just made up, but it still hurt a bit. Quinn seemed more confident and comfortable in herself than she did a year ago, and I was happy to see that. I was happy we were friends again.

After lunch, we went to spare a bit, since I still needed that training. Quinn got really good at it, but I was always better at archery, which is what we did after. We spent the whole day together, just the two of us, like old times. But this was different, something definitely changed, I just can’t figure out what it was.

We walked to dinner together, sat in our old spots and chatted. We sat together at the campfire, singing dumb songs with the Apollo cabin leading everyone. We made s’mores. Everything was the same, but it wasn’t and I didn’t know if I was ok with it.

We just talked about everything and nothing as we walked back to our cabins. Then we reached the Nike cabin, I said bye, and Quinn gave me one last hug before going inside. I started to walk back to my cabin. My thoughts spiralled “What's different now?” “It’s not Quinn’s gender, there have always been hints of that.” “Is it me that’s changed?” “When did Quinn figure out their gender?”

I finally reached my cabin and flopped onto my bed. I pulled out my art book and started doodling. I didn’t feel inspired but I wanted to draw something. In the end, I may or may not have drawn Quinn. Don’t tell anyone. I was just adding the finishing touches when Nico came in.

“Hey, Moon. What are you drawing?” Nico walked over to see but I instantly hid my book.

“Uh, nothing just a sketch”

“It looked really good from here.”

“Yeah, maybe I’ll show you when I’m done, but not now.”

“Ok, lights out in 15, ok?”

“Got it.”

I finished my drawing and went to bed, I had another amazing day with my BFF to look forward to.

Notes:

I wonder what is so different now that Cresent is so uncomfortable. No seriously, what is it, someone tell me. Hopefully, I figure it out over the weekend.

Chapter 11: Yours (Quinn’s POV)

Summary:

Quinn did something, again, but what does that mean

Notes:

I started writing this last night, and now it's finished, the break is over, yay. Songs are Yours and World's Smallest Violin, don't ask how I got inspo from there

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It’s been a few weeks, I’ve been hanging with Cres again. I was happy, and having fun with one of my favourite people in the whole world. But there was also this nagging feeling in the back of my head, something telling me that history will repeat itself, cause it always does. I’m not sure if Cres also feels it, but it’s been very off-putting for me.

I think she might have, cause even for 1 year apart, it’s been very awkward, and she is more introverted than before. We talk about stuff but haven’t gone into what happened properly. I want to tell her why I was spending less time with her, why I didn’t want her to know about the quest for a bit. I tried to tell her that I liked her, as more than a friend, more than a best friend even, but how could I even do that, it’s not like she could like me back, and it would make things even more awkward, right? Maybe I should just try to forget about it all together.

Anyways, I was walking to the dining pavilion,(by myself cause Cres chose to do some more training with her new bow, see introverted). And as I am, this girl from the Apollo cabin comes up to me. Well, I think she is from the Apollo cabin, but I’m not sure, I mostly just went by her bow and seemingly sunny glow. I was not really in the mood to talk to any cause I was hungry, and the only person who could tolerate hungry me wasn’t there.

“Hey, you Quinn, right.” She says to me.

“Um… yeah, do you need something.”

“Well”, she starts fidgeting a bit, “I just wanted to, um… omg, this is so embarrassing, I’ll just say it. I wanted to ask you out, for lunch or something maybe. I just think you’re really cute and also really good at sparring.” She started to ramble a bit after that, but I kind of lost focus. She seemed nice, and she did risk rejection to ask me, which is more than I’ve ever done. I thought “Hey, it’s not like my first option would ever choose me, so why not.”

“Sure,” I said, interrupting her still-continuing rant. She looked at me wide-eyed, and then she kissed my cheek.

“Ok, um… see you at lunch tomorrow” And she walked off with a grin on her face.

I looked back from where I had started walking and saw Cresent standing there, her face full of disbelief. She started walking, but not towards me, instead towards the cabins. I had no idea what to do, “Did she see anything?” “How long was she there?” “Should I follow her and make sure she is ok.”

Because I’m an absolute idiot who knows nothing about feelings, I went to my cabin, completely forgetting about lunch, and tried to figure out what to do. The last time something like this happened, she didn’t even acknowledge me for 1 year, and I was really sad during that.

I was still pacing when my sisters came in. “

“Quinn, what are you doing” Laurel speaks up, since I didn’t notice the door open and shut.

“Debating if I just ruined the best friendship I have ever had, for the second time.”

“What did you do this time?” Holly asks next.

“Well, other than saying yes when some girl asked me out “

“What, why, what cabin were they in, what was her name”

“I’m pretty sure they're from the Apollo cabin, and I never got her name.” “Great job Quinn. Someone puts in the effort to ask you out and you don’t even ask their name.”

“What were you thinking, how could you just accept a date with another girl you don’t even know the name of, in front of your best friend.”

“I didn’t know there was an issue with that.”

“What happened to liking Cresent?” Laurel asks me.

“It’s not like she’ll ever like me like that, it’s already a bit awkward, and I can’t risk it being worse.”

“And so you do that?”

“Hey, when did you become such a master at relationships?”

“We’re not talking about that right now, why are you here and not checking in on her?”

“Because I’ll just make it worse.”

“And how did that work out last time? Quinn, just try talking to her, it could help.” Then they both left to let me think.

I thought on this, then thought some more, and some more. 2 hours passed, and I was still thinking. “Maybe talking can help.” “But why would she talk to me again?” “I hurt her, again” I just didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t lose her again.

I finally decided “Hey, worst case scenario, she never wants to see me again, I’ll be ok.”

Notes:

My sweet, sweet child. Quinn, in the words of Holly Victor, what were you thinking? What was Cres doing while this was happening?

Chapter 12: The Exit (Cresent's POV)

Summary:

Realisations hits Cresent smack in the face, but what will she do with it.

Notes:

I haven't updated in like 2 weeks, well here is Cres's reaction, and other stuff. Songs: The Exit and Devil doesn’t Bargain

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I was done with my extra training, and Quinn had already gone for lunch. I told him I was just going through another round, but I really just wanted to think, and shooting a few arrows always helped.

It’s been about a month since Quinn and I became friends again, and I was happy, but it also felt off, like he was keeping something from me. I know that we just patched things up, and maybe not that well, but I didn’t think that he wouldn’t trust me this much, I thought that we got past that. It’s what started the problem in the first place.

I walked away from the archery range, but then I saw Quinn’s figure standing in front of someone. From where I was standing it looked like a girl. I decided to just spy a little bit from where I was standing. The girl made and excited expression, but I couldn’t see Quinn’s reaction. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, and a part of me (a huge part of me, mind you) was hurt, cause Quinn didn’t do anything about it. He just looked behind him and saw me.

I felt tears start to take their place in my eyes. I wasn’t sure why, but that single movement made me feel so, betrayed, I guess. I just walked to my cabin, and once again, Quinn didn’t do anything about it. That just hurt me more.

When I got to my cabin, it was thankful, but sadly, empty. Hazel had come to visit, but she was probably hanging out with Frank or one of her other friends. Nico was, as usual, with Will, “Typical, spend all your time with Will, while your sister’s over here, crying and panicking because she just realized that she has feelings for her best-friend, who also just so happens to have someone else.”

Wait, what was that? I CAN’T have feelings for Quinn, at least not those feelings. I’m sad because he’s hanging out with other girls instead of me. “That’s exactly what a jealous girlfriend would say.” No, there are no jealous girlfriends here. Just me. “Exactly, who else would I be talking about?” Ugh, this isn’t helping.

I was still debating with my thoughts when someone knocked on the door, and low and behold, it wasn’t Quinn. It was Hazel.

“Hazel, why did you knock, it is your cabin too, you can just come in.” I say as she comes through the door.

“I had to make sure I wasn’t intruding anything when I came in, you seemed to be in distress.” “How in Tartarus are my siblings so good at reading me?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, I’m fine.” As you can see, I’m trying my hand at lying to get out of things. I wasn’t in the mood to share what was happening in my social life with another one of my siblings. I walk over to my bed.

“Are you sure, Cresent?”

“Ok, fine, I’m not.” I couldn’t lie to her, like come on its Hazel “Its Quinn.”

“What about them?”

“I found him with… someone, and something happened, and it just disturbed me so much.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Well, I was sort of spying-” Hazel interrupted me

“Cresent, you can’t be spying on your friends.”

“Hazel, please let me finish.”

“Fine, but we’ll discuss that later.”

“Ok, so I was just coming from training when I noticed Quinn talking to this girl. I couldn’t see his face but she looked happy, excited even. I watched them talk a little, then-” I stopped. It was still too fresh, even if it was small. It hurt.

“Then?”

“Then she kissed Quinn. It was just on the cheek, but I just can’t help and think there was something else.” I curled up were I sat, “I mean, I haven’t talked to Quinn in 2 years, then we just became friends again like, a month ago. I don’t know what he was doing during it, maybe he found someone and isn’t telling me. It’s not like he owes it to me.”

“Maybe you should clear it up, remove fact from fiction, and find the truth in this whole thing.”

“But it’s just… weird… awkward, I don’t know.

“I guess liking him isn’t helping, is it?”

“What do you mean ‘liking him’, he’s my friend of course I like him.”

“I mean as more than a friend.” “I’m I that obvious.”

“I can’t like Quinn, at least not l not like that, and definitely not if he is dating someone else.”

“But how can you be so sure, you haven’t even talked to him about it.”

“You know what, I’m going to take a walk, I need to think about this.” I got up and walked to the door, and Hazel just watched as I did, respecting my need for space. I walk straight for my spot in the woods.

I reached a grassy spot, and laid down on the flowers. Thinking about what I saw, this time without the stupid crush talk, because it’s not there. “How can everyone else have something like that?” “Can I have something like that?” “Do I want something like that… with Quinn?” “Where did these feelings even come from, or when?” There were so many questions to ask.

“What was that?” I heard a random sound coming from the trees that surrounded me. I got up, pulled out my headband and turned it to a staff. “Come out, I dare you.”

“Cres, it’s just me.” Quinn came out of the shadows. I broke my stance, but I still didn’t feel like talking right now, especially not to Quinn. I would like to first sort out my thoughts before I talk to them.

“Who was the girl?” I may have asked this in a bit of a harsh tone, but Quinn didn’t seem to notice, instead proceeding to become a blushing mess.

“Would you believe me if I said I don’t know?” “Ok, what? Is this an opportunity? Shut up other thoughts, stay on track”

“So why did she kiss you? Why did you let her kiss you?”

“Well I was caught off guard, she just… kissed me, out of nowhere.”

“Okay, then, why are you here.”

“I saw you before you left, and you didn’t seem ok.”

“Oh, thanks for noticing,” I said sarcastically.

“But seriously, what’s wrong? It wasn’t the kiss was it.”

“Nothing that you could fix.” “Because you're part of the problem.” I laid back down in the grass.

“Well, I would still like to know if it bothered you. I’m your friend, I would like to know these things. Especially if it was something to do with me.” “But this is something you can’t know.” Quinn came and laid down next to me.

“I don’t feel like talking about it right now.” Quinn looked at me worriedly but didn’t push. We fell into a comfortable silence until Quinn spoke again.

“Cres?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever liked someone, as more than a friend?”

“I don’t know, and you?”

“Yes, currently actually.” Quinn gave me a look and it made my stomach spin.

“Anyone I know.”

“Yeah, you’re very close to them.” Quinn doesn’t have a crush on one of my siblings does he, cause I’m not close to anyone else.

“Can I have a name?” Quinn thought for a second, then looked at me, then just blushed and stayed silent. I tried to let it go, but I couldn't. And Quinn clearly wasn't planning on elaborating.

“We stayed there until sunset, which is a pretty long time to just be lying there. I got up, and Quinn followed, but no one spoke again. I was thinking of what Quinn said. “Who?” We had to go and get ready to capture the flag, so we each went to our cabins after saying bye, Quinn didn’t drop me off this time.

Notes:

Do I feel bad, yes but not for these reasons, I have no idea how I managed to write this, I barely have time to do anything anymore, and also I'm depressed and just realised like this morning, and broke down. Maybe writing and finishing this story will help, not that it will happen anytime soon.

I decided not to kill u all with with waiting for me to remember to put the next ones on here so I put these 3 enjoy!!!

Chapter 6: Driver's License (Quinn's POV)

Summary:

Quinn is destroyed, and he can't run to his best friend because that is what destroyed him, Cresent needs space but what does that mean?

Notes:

Here's Quinn's thoughts on what happened in Chapter 5

Crying did occur while writing this

Songs are Driver's License and Let Me Down Slowly

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Cresent, Wait!” She just kept walking, and tears filled my eyes, I decided to go as well, cause dinner was no longer worth the trouble. I ran to my cabin, trying not to think of the scene that we had just caused in the hall. I had bigger problems. I grabbed my diary and wrote.

Ok, what just happened, because I did NOT just lose my best friend. I still don’t understand what went down during dinner, but I do know that Cresent is hurting, it’s probably my fault, and there is nothing I could do about it. I had a quest to get ready for, which I hate to put ahead of Cresent, but the gods are selfish brats that I will never get rid of.

I couldn’t even give her my gift, and I had a feeling I probably never will. I needed to start packing, but what did she mean by that, “I am NOT getting left behind again,” I knew Cresent didn’t have the best home life, and that’s why she’s a year-rounder, but I never asked her to get into it. I didn’t want to get into something she didn’t want to talk about.

I wanted to go and check her cabin and see if she calmed down enough to talk, but also had to prepare for Capture the Flag, and so did she, so that wasn’t happening. I HATED this. I was too busy focusing on my gift that I didn’t notice that my best friend was upset. She’s a pretty good actress, but would she keep this from me? She probably wrote it in her diary, she’s the reason I started writing mine. So I could remember all the fun times in writing.

But now, she’ll probably be avoiding me until, gods know when (actually, they probably don’t) and I’ll have to figure something out until she talks to me again. I’ll try to give her space till she feels better, but that will probably be after I’ve left. I don’t know when I will be back, but I hope it is soon enough to make amends with my best friend.

There is so much I still had to tell her, and now I’m even more scared of her reaction. What if she never looks at me the same again, actually I think it is too late for that point, she already hates me. I think I’m just gonna hide in here until Capture the Flag is over, I can’t get over the chance of seeing her.

I’ll find a way to make it up to her, without disrespecting her need for space, but I first have to survive my first quest.

Notes:

These are the last of the "in the past" chapters, Now we can get back to the real story

Chapter 7: Family Line (Cresent's POV)

Summary:

We're back in the present trying to figure out what to do after finding Quinn once again. Cresent has a heart-to-heart with Nico.

Notes:

I had no idea what I was doing while writing this. It's so deep and beautiful though

The songs are Family Line and Stitches

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

There is seriously, absolutely, no way, that Quinn is the amazing person I saw outside. I hadn’t seen him in a year when he got that stupid quest and left me here to die.

Quinn had strawberry blond hair, he had light skin and wouldn’t be caught dead in a sweater. He was shy and adorable and a traitor. “Can a person really change that much?”

Will also said something about him being gender fluid, but I had my suspicions. I was waiting for him to tell me himself though, if he even realized for himself at the time.

“Hey, Moon” Nico pulled me out of my thought

“Oh, um… Hi Neeks, what’s up”

“Just checking up, you seemed to be having a freak out earlier.” I hated how well he could read me so well.

“Ya, just something that happened while you were gone last year” “When I had no one else”

“Want to talk about it”

“Shouldn’t you be doing something with Will” He walked up to my bed and settled in.

“He’s busy with a patient and you seemed to be in distress. I have to look out for my little sister, right?”

“Fine, I appreciate it.” He probably wouldn’t let me go without telling him anyway. “About a year or two ago, Quinn and I were best friends and it was perfect.” I said with dreamy eyes, “Then some time passed and things started to change. We barely hung out and I was stressed with some other stuff with my family and camp. My mortal family, mind you. I was tired and in a bad headspace, and then I found out that Quinn had a quest and kept it from me. I wanted to feel happy for him cause I knew he would do well, but I just felt betrayed, it felt like I was being left behind again. I just knew that the quest had nothing to do with me and there was something important I had to stay at camp for. The whole thing with Gaia. ” Nico’s face fell a little, remembering the war, and the terrible things that came with it. “After that, I never saw him again, and never bother searching. But he was always at the back of my mind” My lips started to tremble, remembering everything that happened.

“I’m so sorry, Moon” I started to cry, remembering my best friend and the time we had. Nico tried to comfort me, but I just felt twelve years old again. Locked in my cabin crying alone, after telling my best friend we needed a break, my dairy covered in tears, my hand shaking as I tried to write, and then giving up. Then I was 10, back at home, entering my room after a shout from my mom, my mortal dad was out of the country for work. My sisters tried to comfort me, but I just wanted to be by myself. I missed my dad, I missed my friend, I missed being little.

“No, no, Cresent, don’t cry, I’m here for you, you’re not alone anymore” “But the thing is, I always will be”

Nico continued to try comforting me, pulling me into a hug. I tried tugging away, but the energy left me.

“Have I ever told you about Bianca” Nico said after a bit. I calmed out a bit, but tears were still falling. He let me pull out of our hug and get back to my spot.

“No, who is she?” I responded.

“She was my older sister, our older sister” I appreciated that he tried to share his own story to comfort me and that he was willing to share his sister with me.

“What happened to her?” I asked

“Well, after we got rescued from the Manticore by the hunters, she decided to join. I was heartbroken”

“Cause you couldn't join?” I asked

“Ya, I had been with Bianca my whole life, she took care of me and looked out for me. At the time she was my only family, then she left.” He choked on his last words, a few tears falling from his own eyes

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”

“No, it’s fine, I want you to know.” I scooted closer to him “When we got to camp, a prophecy was ushered and Bianca was a part of it, at first Percy…”

“What does Percy have to do with this?”

“I was getting to that, so at first, they interpreted the prophecy with Percy out of mind, then one of the hunters they planned on taking fell sick and couldn’t go. They were planning to go without following the prophecy completely, but Percy had other plans. I was out of my cabin to see what Bianca was doing, and Percy found me. He told me his plan to follow them, and I asked him to protect Bianca for me.” Then he said in a quiet voice “I still can’t believe I had a crush on that guy, where was I, oh right. I asked Percy to protect Bianca for me, but when he came back, she wasn’t with him. He handed me a Hades mythomagic figure, he told me she died a hero, but I wasn’t having that. Then some skeletons came from the forest, and I screamed. The fell through a hole I made in the ground, and the sign of Hades appeared over my head. I didn’t notice it though, I ran for the woods.” He finished his story, tears falling from his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Nico.” I wrapped him in a side hug.

“It’s cool, I may have lost Bianca, but now I have you and Hazel, my amazing little sisters”

“Thanks for sharing” I felt a lot better now. Well at least not alone.

“Thank you, too.”

“This is going to sound so wrong, but it feels nice to know that other people also have ghosts”

“That does sound very wrong, but agree.”

“I don’t want to live with ghosts though, at least not one that represents my best friend” "Or is it ex-best friend now? No Cresent, you can't be thinking like that."

“So you’re going to try talking to them”

“Ya, I think I will, thanks for the talk, Nico" "I have to be confident"

I got from my bed and started for the door. Then Nico called out to me again. “Forgetting something?” He was holding up my headband, I walked back to him and he handed it to me. I adjusted it on my head, leaving a few strands of my hair in the front.

“See you later, Neeks” And with that, I was out the door.

Notes:

Chapter 3: Opportunity (Cresent's POV)

Summary:

Here's Cresent's POV of Chapter 2, also all chapters from here are set in the past until I say otherwise, so don't get all mixed up.

Notes:

I had no ideas for this chapter, so I wrote this. the songs for this chapter are Opportunity and Youngblood

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

I was out for my walk (just kidding I was going for a snack at the dining pavilion) when I suddenly heard a LOT of screaming coming from Half-blood Hill. So being the very sensible person I was. I went to check it out.

As I walked, a boy with curly red hair reached the top of the hill. He noticed Peleus, the dragon that guards the Golden Fleece and Thalia’s tree. The idiot didn’t notice a rock behind him as he backed away and came tumbling down the hill (it was hilarious and very hard not to laugh at).

At that point, I had reached the base of the hill, and he landed right in front of me, face first. When he looked up the first thing I noticed were his solid gold eyes. They had a confident shine in them, which was weird for a boy who just come rolling down a hill. His red hair fell on his face in a dorky, cute way, which I may or may not have smiled at. He had a few piercings on his ears and was wearing a black hoody with a star on the front.

It was very obvious that this guy was new, which was amazing cause I was new too, and was having trouble making friends (don’t tell Will though, I don’t want to bother him) I arrived a few weeks ago, and got claimed a while after that, a daughter of hades I was apparently. I had a whole cabin to myself, with not a single sign of anyone else.

I was also introverted and autistic, so human (or is it demigod) interactions didn’t come that easily to me. I wanted someone to hang out with and talk to, but getting out there was always so hard, especially after what happened last time. Anyways, the new guy started to get up but instantly fell back down. His ankle seemed to be broken, and we weren’t necessarily close to the infirmary.

So I decided that as my one good deed of the day, I used the nearest shadow to send him to the infirmary, causing me to be fatigued. I knew that Will would be in the infirmary and knew it was probably me who sent the new guy there, so I wasn’t that worried, also new guy would probably pass out, so no worrying about him panicking. I went back to my snack quest before heading to my cabin for a well-earned rest.

When I woke up from my quick nap, I found a kit Kat waiting for me on the nightstand, because Will knew me too well, and a glass of water. I took the food and headed out, wanting to check on my buddy in the infirmary.

I reached the infirmary and heard voices inside. “He’s awake, yes. Ok Cresent, you only have one shot of this. DON’T. MESS. UP”  While I was giving my little motivation speech in my head, Will came over and opened the door, because only Will could have such bad timing. I tried to act like I was about to open the door on my own and walked through. “Ok, fingers crossed”

“Hey, I just wanted to check in on the new guy” I said trying to stay calm and collected.

“Hi, I’m over here, and I have a name, by the way.” So he thinks he’s funny. No problem, I can fix that.

“Ya, well I can’t exactly ask if the person is passed out, now can I.”

“Ok, I guess you’re right, I’m Quinn, Quinn Mechai, and you?” Shocked Will didn’t mention me already but fine. “Also they have a cool name”

“Cresent Solace, what does your name mean?" Can you blame me for asking, it's a nice name and I would like to know what it means.

"Victory or victorious in Thai." He's foreign too, today keeps getting better.

"Cool, nice to meet you, Victory. Now, if you’re feeling better, would you like a tour of camp?” “Smooth Cres, smooth”

“I’d love that, thanks” “Yesssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Quinn got out of his cot and followed me out of the infirmary. I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be.

I think this is one of my fav chapters, now here is my essay for any idiots who would want to read it

From Crisis to Clarity: How access to clean water improves lives. 

Clean water is important for many things. It is a must for our survival, as it used in multiple aspects of our lives. We use it for keeping ourselves clean and healthy. While this is the case, a large population of people do not have access to clean water. A lot of people could be healthier and lead better lives with our help, and here is how.

How does clean water improve our lives?

Clean water has multiple benefits. It keeps us healthy and hydrated. Clean water keeps us clean as well. We use it to cook, clean ourselves and drinking. If we only had contaminated water, We would all be sick and obviously less capable to do different tasks.

Everyday, we use clean water to hydrate ourselves, making sure we can still commit to all our daily tasks with ease. We use it to cook food, to give us nutrition and energy for our bodies to use. We use it to wash ourselves, making sure we look and smell our best. Clean water is important for many reason, this just listing a few.

What about the rest?

Not everyone has access to clean water. Even though there is a large population that does have access, many people don’t and are at risk of getting diseases that could easily be avoided if they had clean water. Contaminated water collected form unsupervised wells, springs, lakes, ponds, etc., can cause great illness if not cleansed properly, which in most cases, is not. 

In some cases, clean water is available, but not necessarily accessible. People have to travel far distances to collect the water, and then come back to their homes. This isn’t a sustainable way to live, going back and forth for such a basic necessity. According to the WHO, this happens “not only between rural and urban areas but also in towns and cities where people living in low-income, informal or illegal settlements usually have less access to improved sources of drinking-water than other residents.” leading to people searching for anything in the would suffice, even if it is unsanitary.

Some of these people don’t have as much of a choice as the rest of us. These people aren’t able to simple go to their kitchen and instantly get a cup of water, clean water. As many things are, it is more complicated than that. It is up to us to come up with ways to help there people attain the healthier live that the rest of us can already.

How can we help?

Water is a truly sacred thing. It should also be available and accessible to everyone. Some ways we can help other communities access clean water is donating into creating better water-cleaning facilities and educating these people on the better ways they can clean their water, so we can all be lovely and healthy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, clean water is a very important asset in our lives and it is upon us, the more fortunate people to share it with as many as we can. Water is crucial for our survival, and with our contributions and teachings, far more people will be able to access it. Everyone should be clean, it’s possible and with our help it will happen.

This is my longest post for sure, if you made it this far, here is a cookie 🍪🥠🏺

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