PJO ONE SHOT 2

Percy groaned and clutched his head in his hands. He wasn't sure if there were any Gods left on Olympus, they all seemed to be fighting inside his head. He groaned again; last night he would of been lucky if he got two hours of sleep. It wasn't that he wasn't tired, no, he was downright exhausted. But he just couldn't fall asleep. No matter how hard he tried.

Every hour Percy would wake up from a nightmare of Tartarus or of Annabeth dying. Or he'd would be trying to get the Gods-damned headache to go away. He was sick. He was sick and he knew it.

But the rest of the camp didn't. Percy Jackson was a lot of things but he was not weak. Therefore, he wouldn't let anyone know he was sick because Annabeth would rush him straight up to the Infirmary and he'd be completely useless. Besides, today was a Friday and he wanted to participate in capture the flag. If only because he wanted to beat Clarisse.

From where he was laying on his bed in the Poseidon cabin, Percy looked out the window. The sun had not yet fully risen but beams of gold stabbed the sea and made it look as if it were on fire. The sand was reflecting the same colour of the sun and footprints had etched their way onto it as people walked past. The entire camp buzzed with the sound of demigods chatting and practicing their fighting skills.

Dragging himself out of bed, Percy got ready. He showered and the water made him feel a bit better though as soon as he stepped out he felt as though he was going to throw up. Then he dressed in the orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt and faded blue jeans from years of use.

When he looked in the mirror, what small piece of energy he got from the water disappeared entirely. He looked as bad as he felt. His usually tan skin was pale, his emerald eyes were dull and had shadows beneath them and his hair (which was usually quite messy) now looked as though he had been dragged through a hedge backwards. He groaned again as his stomach gave a sharp bolt of pain and the world tilted momentarily.

He was not going to puke. He was not going to puke. Percy grabbed the glass of water on the table and threw it in his face, the cold beads bought him back to his senses for a little while. He decided that it was the best he was going to look and feel so he began walking to the dining hall.

Percy wasn't hungry. Actually, at the mention of food his stomach lurched again and he had to steady himself against a tree. But if he didn't show up to breakfast then other people (such as his girlfriend, Annabeth Chase) would find out and fuss over him and Percy loathed being the centre of attention.

Maybe he could get away with not eating anything. That way, he would of shown up so nobody had the right to grow suspicious and Percy was almost one hundred percent sure that if he ate anything, he'd throw up.

When he reached the dining hall, Percy placed the minimal amount of food on his plate. A single piece of plain toast and a glass of blue coke. He sat at the Poseidon table and was, for once, extremely grateful that he was the only son of the sea God at Camp.

Just as his hand was reaching to grab the glass of coke, a shadow hovered over the table and the scent of lemons grew stronger. Annabeth. Percy's mind drifted to the day where he asked her why she liked the smell of lemons and she had told him that they were meant to repel spiders. It was an Athena thing.

"Boo!" He was bought back to the present when Annabeth said that, he looked up from where he was sitting to face her. Gods of Olympus, she was beautiful even when she didn't try to be. She wore her own Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt with the front tied in a bow and the writing was fading from how many years she had been here, her jean shorts were ripped and frayed and her grey converse shoes were stained with mud.

Most people would look at her and wonder why she didn't wear any make up or why she didn't brush her hair as often as she could. The Aphrodite girls were itching to get their hands on her to give her a make over like she was nothing more then a barbie doll.

But in Percy's eyes, Annabeth could of been covered in mud and sweat and monster's blood and he would still of felt his heart skip a beat. In Percy's eyes, she was breath taking. He smiled and for a second, he didn't feel like absolute shit from whatever virus he had caught. "Wise girl," he said with sarcasm lacing his words, "You really shouldn't scare people like that. I could've died."

She rolled her eyes and whacked him on the shoulder. Then, her smile turned into a frown and her eye brows knotted together in worry. "Are you okay?" His head pounded in answer but Percy forced himself not to wince and to grin like the idiot every one claimed him to be. "You look like hell."

Annabeth slid into the chair opposite him, her worried expression not easing a bit. Percy chuckled slightly, "You know you're not allowed to sit there, right?" He took a small sip of his drink, fearful that if he did anymore than that he'd puke right here, right now.

Again, Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to be here for long." She waved a hand, discarding the topic. "What's wrong, Seaweed Brain?" His head ached again, along with the back of his throat and darkness danced in front of his vision. Do not pass out, he told himself. Don't you dare pass out.

He cleared his throat and leaned back in his seat, his eyes dropped. He was tired, he could just fall asleep right here. No! Percy snapped his head up and ran a hand through his hair, Annabeth was still staring at him with concern. Right, priorities. "Nothing's wrong," he shrugged, "I just didn't sleep that well last night. Don't worry about it."

The daughter of Athena didn't look convinced but she dropped the subject with a half-hearted shrug. Percy placed his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand. He was just about to close his eyes and admit sleep when something sticky splashed in his face. Something sticky and blue.

His coke.

Percy wiped the coke away from his eyes and saw a laughing blonde run through the crowd and back to her table. "Annabeth!" He yelled, in response came an evil laughter that made his heart warm.

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After breakfast and his encounter with Annabeth, Percy had rushed back to his cabin and spent his fair share of time with his head in the toilet, throwing up. Once he was fairly sure that he was okay, he flushed the toilet and splashed water on his face. Again.

He felt absolutely awful. Percy hadn't realised it at the time, but how he had felt during breakfast was a blessing in disguise. Over the course of the day, he began to feel progressively worse.

The son of Poseidon took several deep breaths to suppress the growing nausea. He took a gulp of water since it was probably the only thing he could keep down. Percy had to go and start practicing for tonight, he had already gloated to Clarisse after breakfast about how he was going to mop the floor with her during capture the flag. Now it was time to live up to that.

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, Percy ran a hand through his hair. Unconsciously, his hand went to grasp riptide, his Celestial bronze sword. He uncapped it and held it next to the side of his head as he looked in the mirror.

It was hard to think of all he had done. All the Gods, Goddesses, monsters, Titans and giants he had killed and sent to Tartarus. It was hard to think of all the things he'd been through, the things he'd seen and the things he knew.

To Percy, he just looked like an ordinary seventeen year old. He wasn't remarkable in looks or anything like that. He was just average. But, Hazel had once compared him to a God so he'd always have that to boast about.

But, in the mirror with how horrible he looked now, Percy thought it was kind of silly how he had defeated some of the most powerful beings and he wasn't yet even twenty. Some even called him the most dangerous and powerful demigods in history, which seemed a bit ridiculous to him.

Running a hand through his hair, again, Percy bought the cap to the tip of riptide and the blade disappeared. Ignoring his pulsing, aching headache, the hero of Olympus walked out of the cabin.

It was hot, but Percy was shivering like he had been trapped in a block of ice for his entire life. His teeth were chattering, Percy bit his lip and clenched his teeth to hide it. Great, he thought sarcastically. Now I've probably got a fever.

Oh, he bet Hera was getting a right laugh out of this. Were the Gods betting on how long he'd last before collapsing? Were Poseidon and Ares arguing over who was going to beat whom during capture the flag? Was Athena glowering during he and Annabeth's conversation this morning whilst Aphrodite squealed?

Sometimes it was completely hilarious to Percy, the fact that the (perhaps) most powerful Gods and Goddesses were watching over his life, and everyone else's who were in Camp Half-Blood. It also amused him by thinking about all the hissy fits they threw. Honestly. He shook his head at the thought.

His eyes locked on the row of bows and arrows and an evil, mischievous smirk took control of his face. Last time he had used a bow... let's just say it wasn't exactly pretty and leave it at that.

Percy shivered slightly at the cold and ignored the urge to go back to the Poseidon cabin and replace his T-Shirt for a thick hoodie. No, that would just mean more questions and more people fussing. His head gave a sharp jolt of pain, he hissed through clenched teeth and grasped his head in his hands. Dark spots clouded in front of his eyes and the earth swayed beneath his feet.

"You alright, Jackson?" Percy wasn't sure who spoke, every thing was blurry and tilted and covered in yellow and black spots. He wasn't sure if he was standing up or laying on the ground.

Forcing the darkness away and the earth to stop spinning, Percy looked up and saw Will Solace. He cleared his throat and focused on keeping his breaths even, "Yeah," He shook his head and suppressed another shiver. "I'm fine."

Will raised an eye brow, Percy prayed to any God that he didn't have some built in detector that made him aware when someone was sick. Maybe it was an Apollo thing, Percy wasn't sure. "Really?"

He nodded and made a show of acting cocky and sarcastic. "Are you looking to spend some quality time with me in the Infirmary? Look, man, I'm flattered and all but I'm not sure Annabeth will be okay with-"

The son of Apollo rolled his eyes, cutting off Percy's rambling. "You're insufferable."

Percy grinned and placed the arrow into the slot on the bow, "So people keep telling me."

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Suited in armour and playing for the blue team (surprise, surprise), Percy was ready to win. His head hurt, he was shivering beyond belief and he felt as though he was going to throw up or pass out (or both) at any moment.

But the adrenaline pulsing through his veins kept him up right. He and Annabeth were on the same team, though Percy suspected she had done that on purpose. Next to him was Clarisse, who was on the red team, she growled. "You're going down, Jackson."

He was going down. But, probably not how Clarisse intended. He was going down via unconsciousness by him passing out. "In your dreams," He uncapped riptide and the pen grew into a sword. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Go!" Percy and Annabeth and the rest of the blue team ran like Aphrodite was chasing them and threatening them with make up and heels. They sprinted into the forest, Percy grew even more dizzy then he already was with each step.

Next to him, Annabeth was running and slashing through tree branches with her dagger. They had already hidden their flag and he and Annabeth were on guarding duty.

Percy closed his eyes briefly, the memory of the first time he had ever played capture the flag bubbling to the surface of his mind. They had been so young, only just twelve. Annabeth had been taller than him, she had despised him at first. Gods, how far they'd come.

"Have you got a plan, Wise Girl?" Percy asked, jumping over a log (which was surprisingly hard whilst trying not to pass out). His throat burned and he coughed a few times.

Annabeth shot him a worried glance but didn't mention it. "I'm a daughter of Athena," she panted. "I always have a plan." She went left, towards the creek and Percy followed her, ignoring the growing urge to cough again.

There it was. The blue flag. Percy took a deep breath, his knees threatening to collapse beneath him. Just a few more minutes, he told himself. Just a few more minutes. Annabeth twirled her blade in her hand, "Hide."

Obeying, Percy hid behind a tree with Annabeth behind the tree next to him, wisps of blonde hair flying out. The sound of footsteps grew louder, along with the pounding of his head.

Do not pass out. Do not throw up. Do not pass out. Do not throw up. But minutes passed, Percy realised that he might just do those exact two things. Though, maybe not in that order.

Somebody was by their flag. Percy knew it a second before Annabeth jumped out and placed the blade of her dagger against the throat of Clarisse. "Ha!" She cheered.

But Clarisse had lots of muscle on her, and the advantage of being a daughter of Ares, the God of war. Percy had to admit, a part of him wanted to grab some popcorn and watch the daughter of the God of war and the daughter of the Goddess of battle strategy fight, but he had to get in there. Even though he was struggling to stand up and keep from puking his guts out.

Clarisse grabbed the blade and spun it around so Annabeth's own dagger was pointed at her heart. The daughter of the war God spoke, "Nice try, sweetie. But perhaps you should stick to your books."

Annabeth growled, Percy knew from experience that Clarisse was dangerously close to getting Judo flipped. He snuck up behind Clarisse and ran the tip of riptide down her spine. He didn't press down with enough strength to cut her skin, but enough to make a shiver run down her spine.

Percy forced a smile to his face., even though the world was spinning too fast and he felt like absolute crap. "Told you I'd beat you."

Suddenly, the world disappeared in a bright white light. And then it was back. And then it was covered in yellow spots, dancing and spinning. Percy clutched his head and groaned. He was shivering uncontrollably. It was too hot. It was too cold.

Finally, Percy gave into unconsciousness.

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Percy felt something cold and wet on his forehead. His eyes fluttered open, his headache was instantly back and he coughed. A hand ran through his hair, "Seaweed Brain, why didn't you say you were sick?"

Once the coughing subsided enough for Percy to talk, he murmured, "I didn't want you all to worry." Annabeth raised a brow, waiting for him to carry on further. "Or think I was weak. It's dumb, I know. But everyone here looks up to me and if I'm laying here then I'm just useless."

Annabeth carried on weaving her fingers through his dark hair. They were in the Poseidon cabin, it was dark outside, the stars looked like diamonds and the sea looked like liquid sapphire. "You were out for quite a while," She whispered, as if she thought the stars could listen to their conversation.

The memory of Zoe Nightshade came before he could stop it. She was a huntress of Artemis, like Bianca, Nico's deceased sister. And like Thalia. I can see the stars again, milady. Her voice was so clear it was like she was right her in the room, Percy glanced out the window. Maybe she still lived in the stars, maybe they all lived in the stars. Beckendorf, Silena, Bianca.

He was bought back from memory land by Annabeth's soft voice, still nothing above a faint whisper. "Don't ever think that, Perce. You are many, many, many things, but you could never be weak. And if you are sick, so what?" She shrugged. "Nobody is going to think that just because you're sick, you're weak. Whoever thinks like that doesn't deserve the right to know you." She paused, her fingers fiddling with the beads on his Camp necklace. "I love you," she murmured.

It was deathly silent, but Percy didn't mind, it helped with his headache. The only sound was the trickle of water as it ran in the fountain in the corner of the room. The room was dimly lit, it made Annabeth's hair glow like a golden halo. "I love you, too."

His eyes were drifting shut, finally he would be able to get some sleep. Annabeth snuggled into him on the bed and placed a kiss on his cheek, "Night Seaweed Brain," She whispered.

"G'night Wise Girl."

One of my longer one shots, over 3,000 words ;)

I have read quite a lot of Percabeth sick one shots, so I decided to write one :)

Let me know your thoughts! Love you all! *Virtual Hugs*

Ro x