A/N: hope a lot of you aren't too mad at me for my absence, life just wants to remind you of other things to do. Anyway, a new chapter in BOOT!

First Friend (actual friend)

Too much too much too much too much-

I stood, paralyzed, looking at the crowd of campers at the tables. The dining area was a stone pavilion, fancy from afar and up close, stone pillars stationed at the corners to support a massive roof. It was almost like school, except the people here were closer together and actually wanted to know me. This was just too much for me on the first day.

I felt my stomach groan in protest, begging for some fuel to last the day. My brain refused to listen, telling me to get out of here as soon as possible-

"Heavens, child, are you going to stand there like a deer caught in the headlights?"

I turned to face a middle-aged man wearing a Hawaiian tiger-print shirt, his hair looked black- almost purple. Purple eyes squinted at me disapprovingly, and in those violet pupils, I saw glimpses of actions I never committed: people strangled by grapevines, warriors drunkenly staggering into battle, bloodshot eyes and dribbling at the mouth, sailors transforming into dolphins from the waist up. There was one Greek god which I showed little interest in.

"Dionysus. God of wine."

He folded his arms at my words, looking unimpressed by my knowledge. At least I acknowledged him, right?

"Yes, that's me, good for you. Now then, are you going to move or will I have to turn you into a rat?"

"You mean dolphin? I thought it was a dolphin. You turned those sailors into dolphins… for… kidnapping you..."

I didn't like the look he gave me for correcting him, nor did I like the glint that burned in his eyes.

"Rat, dolphin, I can turn a mortal into any animal I wish. I would've turned you into a rat so you could breathe on land, but a dolphin's fine by me if it gets rid of you much quicker-"

I moved aside before he finished that statement. As he strode past I heard him mutter, "Twit."

I didn't bother fighting back. It's times like these where you have to decide if the fight's worth it or not. Standing up to a punk in school? Sure, if the outcome isn't me receiving a broken arm or nose. Choosing to snap back at a God? No thanks.

My gaze switched to Luke, who was preoccupied with talking to a camper at their overcrowded table. Seeing them made me feel conflicted, a sort of longing and desire to join in on the fun, but a fear that I would blunder and make myself look idiotic.

I… I didn't feel like hanging out with Luke at the table, and both my stomach and mind were in agreement, for once. I waited for the line to die down before taking a plate of food and walking to the fire at the center of the pavilion, mimicking the other campers who scraped a portion of their meal into the flames.

Except I just dumped all of my food in. it was good food- barbeque, potato chips, some orange slices, I just wasn't hungry. And while they consecrated their offerings to the Gods and their parents out loud, I bowed my head.

Father, I prayed, help me try to fit in here. I don't feel like I belong; they're all children of the Gods, and they have one or no social troubles. I'm the one who has an overload of anxieties, and likely the only son of a Titan. I don't know what to do-

Thalia's tree.

I jerked my eyes open at the voice in my head, distinctly the voice of my dad. I looked around, unsure if anyone else had heard. The ones who met my gaze turned away just as fast as if they didn't want me to see them. Staring. I was used to staring, but it was usually one or two people in a classroom. Not a dozen or so campers in a pavilion.

Guess I'm gonna listen to the voice in my head, then. I stopped by my table and asked Luke where this "Thalia's tree" was, only for him to point at the giant pine tree on the hill with a faintly stoic gaze. Guess that was a touchy subject for him.

I didn't bother looking behind me as I left the pavilion. I could feel the eyes boring into me, hear the whispers between the tables. Gossip spreading about my pathetic quirks. Guess that's one part of my wish that'll never be realized.

It should've taken longer than it should've but I was at the tree in a matter of minutes. The tree made me feel like a garden gnome, staring up at a colossal being. The pine needles looked vibrant, the bark was a healthy brown.

I took a seat against the base, my back leaning against the trunk as my hands folded behind my head. It was a nice day, but I was wary of the lethal creatures that could appear without me noticing.

"Doubt that would happen, as the camp's guarded by the tree you're leaning against."

I yelped in panic as my father appeared right next to me, grinning as he swung a pocket watch in his hand. I was met with relief before I realized the situation: my father, a Titan, in the middle of a demigod camp.

"What're you doing here?! I thought you could only visit me in dreams!"

"Yes, I did say that. However, your presence here has given a reasonable disturbance to the timeline, causing enough temporal energy to allow me to exist in your mind. I can appear in your dreams, or create a transparent version of me in your presence- visible to you, and you alone."

I tried to process what he was saying, eyes darting around for any campers watching. "The fact that you're here, alive and at camp, waiting for me to claim you, is already contradicting what the timeline says should happen. It's like- ahh, how do I explain this?" He wrung his hands madly as he tried to find the right way to, uh…

"Explain time, or explain how my presence causes problems?"

"No, explain how your presence here was unexpected, but the Fates are already adapting. Aha!" He grabbed a bronze pocket watch from seemingly nowhere and held it up. "How aware of paradoxes are you?"

"You mean the impossible events or things that should be impossible but still exist?"

"No; I mean two doctors in the same room."

I tilted my head in confusion. What did doctors have to do with-

"A pair o' docs!"

Oh. It was a pun. I made a disgruntled groan as he cackled madly. Why did he have to be a pun-lover? Bad enough that he was probably insane-

"Excuse me?"

I looked back up at him as the laughter cut off suddenly, my father staring at me with knit brows and a rather insulted look.

"You think I'm insane?"

"How did you-"

"I'm in your head. I can hear everything you think."

Okay, that was invasive. Wait, does that mean he could see everything I'm seeing-

"Yep. I can't do anything, mind you, except talk in your head."

Oh, boy. This was going to be… interesting.

"That's one word for it. Anyways, back to the lesson," he directed his attention back at the watch in his hands, ignoring the fact I had called him insane. Well, maybe that was a little too much; then again he was alone for… how much are five million minutes in hours? Too long, probably.

"Anyways," my father ignored my internal rambling, "the paradox in this instance is called a Grandfather Paradox. I in this instance am the watch," he pointed to the tiny clock on the end of the chain. "And the only reason I'm allowed to be in this reality, the reason I'm alive and not rotting in Tartarus, is because of the chain link," he flicked a finger against the chain that held the clock, causing it to swing to and fro. "The link that you create just by being alive is strong enough to sustain my presence, but not enough to give me a physical appearance- only you can see me. Everything that you do, whether it interacts with the others or participate in major events, adds to the link," he let a part of the chain slide out of his hand, making the visible chain longer, "and my connection with you becomes stronger."

"So you're like a parasite feeding off me?"

"Wha- no! No, this isn't parasitism, it's more… I'm the one getting the benefits, you are neither hurt nor helped as you go on about life. Commensalism. Once you've done enough altercations to the current timeline the time will come for me to show myself in all of my glory."

"But," I tried wrapping my head around what he meant, "shouldn't you have been here first with me following after some years? That's how it's supposed to work, isn't it? A man and a woman fall in love, get married, start a family? I shouldn't be alive!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, there can't be anything before that; I mean, the first humans were originally organisms that evolved from cells billions of years ago-"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, yeah. The Big Bang made everything."

"Uh-huh. How sure are you?"

Why is he asking me this? The Big Bang is the literal start of the universe, the Greek Gods came along from the Titans, who were the children of the Earth and the Sky, who were… who…

"Where did Gaea and her husband came from?"

"Ah, that's not what I'm asking. Stay focused, Andrew. Are you certain that the Big Bang is the true beginning of the universe and life as we know it."

I started to reply but stopped. His raised brow and tone was giving me second thoughts, and I always wondered if there was anything before the beginning. There had to be, we didn't just come into existence after a giant explosion.

"Well… there has to be some kind of time before it, right?"

"We don't know. And we never will, most likely."

Well, that was a silly question. Now I felt rather stupid. "So what was the point of those questions then?"

"To show you that everything doesn't always have an exact, precise beginning. Sure, humanity may have evolved from organisms that crawled out of the ocean or began when God dropped a couple from heaven, but the point stands that we don't know. We may never know; maybe some kid of Athena will figure out the secrets of the universe.

"Back to the paradox," he redirected his attention on the pocket watch, "the watch exists because of the chain. I exist because of you when in actuality it should be the kid who lives because of the parent. It's impossible, and shouldn't even be a theory."

"But I'm still here," I said, looking at my hands, feeling my fingers tap against my palm to make sure I wasn't a ghost.

"Exactly! It should be impossible, you shouldn't be here- but you are! You achieved what the Fates could never have predicted, you are an example of Titans coexisting with the Gods!"

Oh, that reminds me.

"Um, speaking of," I hesitated, not sure how he would react to hearing the news, "Chiron said there's no chance for a child of a Titan to exist-"

"Well, you're the first and only exception!"

"-because they're in Tartarus."

"They're in-" his eyes widened as he repeated my statement, some of his jovialness peeling away. "Tartarus? What for?"

"They fought against the Gods. You were their leader."

"But that's absurd! We stepped down when our children came of age, I surrendered the throne to my eldest son! We raised them like any good parent, we gave them a wonderful childhood. Are they corrupted?"

"I don't think so. You didn't imprison the Cyclopes or the Hekatonkheires?"

"Of course not! They were our siblings- albeit they weren't as good-looking and they lacked any supernatural abilities as we had- but they were Gaea's kids! Why would we imprison them when they helped us learn so much?"

"..."

"Andrew, tell me what else we did wrong. Surely it can't have been that bad-"

"You were told that your children would rule the world and didn't like it, so you ate your kids when they were infants."

He made a sound like a strangled wheeze, eyes bugging out at me. I nodded in confirmation, prompting him to retch. Then came the ranting:

"THAT'S DISGUSTING! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM- SCRATCH THAT; WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?! TOTAL INFANTICIDE IS ONE THING; EATING THEM ALIVE?! NO WONDER WE'RE IMPRISONED, I WOULD HAVE ENSURED THAT I WAS PUNISHED!"

I was glad that for once I could only see and hear him, listening to him shriek in disbelief about his crimes. He continued his ranting for a few minutes or so, and if I'm gonna be honest… it was kind of funny, seeing how his eyebrows tried to achieve orbit and how his spit flew like bursts from a shotgun. I waited for him to regain his breath, panting heavily with hands held up, wondering what kind of sick deity would eat his children.

"Are you talking to the tree?"

My head whirled around at the voice, I was greeted by a camper, arms folded and eyebrow raised in either confusion or amusement. Maybe a mixture of both. I vaguely recognized her as one of the campers who walked with Chiron, though I wasn't sure if she saw my panic attack. She looked nice- tan skin, curly blond hair, athletic build- and yet I felt that if she was in a fight with a biker, the biker would be crying for his mother. So the girl in front of me could easily outsmart me.

I turned back to my father, but he had already vanished.

"Umm… yes," I said, settling on the obvious answer. "Just… talking to myself and anyone who'll listen, since everyone likely thinks I'm the crybaby."

"What makes you a crybaby?"

I looked up at her, slightly surprised by her genuine confusion. Was she not there at my breakdown?

"I broke down in front of Chiron because I thought he was going to kill me-"

"Why'd you think that?"

I drew up my knees to my chest, hugging them as I debated telling her of my flashback if I could call it that. I heard the grass rustle in front of me as she sat down, not wanting to meet her judgemental eyes.

"I… thought he was going to kill me because… I wasn't claimed yet."

"You thought he would kill you over that?"

I nodded, trying to hide the cringe that came from the lie. I neither favored nor disapproved of lying, but it was a necessary evil in my life. No one would care if I said I needed their help, they'd probably mock me for asking such a ridiculous question when they have plenty of better things to do. Incoming snide remark in three, two-

"You're one of the new kids, right?"

Again I nodded, peeking an eye up to see her calculating gaze. Where was she going with this…?

"Do you have anxiety or something that makes you panic frequently?"

"Generalized anxiety disorder, yeah."

"Then it's not my place to judge. You probably have anxiety attacks more than everyone else here, so your mind works differently."

"..." Okay, this girl was not acting her age. Ridiculous as it seemed, she was becoming my favorite person, just beaten by my former childhood friend. I raised an eyebrow. "How old are you?"

"Typically it's rude to ask a girl how old she is," she quipped with a smirk. "I'm twelve."

"You're easily the most mature person I have ever spoken to. Apart from my foster family, before they..."

A flash of grim memories prompted me to sigh bitterly, resting my head on my arms. I couldn't change what was done, and it was all my fault for no apparent reason other than being alive.

"I'm sorry. Were they nice to you?"

"Probably the best people on the planet, and I haven't met the Gods yet."

I started reminiscing how Stefan and I first met, how I earned detention for giving three kids each a bloody nose. I paid attention to my temper afterward, but that one outbreak was worth it. No one deserves to be bullied for being different, especially someone like Stefan. And as I let the memories flow out of me, the anxious weight on my chest eased up, still there but not as commanding as before.

"Stefan wasn't bothered after that," I said, relishing the image of kids veering away from the both of us. Much better to be feared by the enemy than loved for bullying. "There was even a few who offered tin cans to him since he didn't hide his habits well."

A fond chuckle escaped my lips as I recalled him not so secretly munching on empty soda cans. And then the memories came in force: Saturday mornings watching cartoons and eating pancakes, free time spent as he taught me the controls for Monster Hunter 2, he and his mother enjoying my embarrassment at stuffing my face full of homemade taquitos. I almost forgot about the girl in front of me, immersing myself in memories, but I shook my head as I returned to the present.

"Whoops. Sorry about that, kinda got lost in thought, that was rude of me."

"Don't be. You looked like you were in a happy place."

I nodded, still cherishing the image of his patient smile. He was the only one who understood what I was going through growing up. And if he were here, he'd simultaneously comfort me and gently guide me to be better.

"I didn't catch your name," I said, looking back at the girl.

"You first."

"... all right. I'm Andrew. Andrew Duncan, unclaimed."

"Annabeth Chase." She held her hand out to me and I shook it. "Daughter of Athena."

My eyebrows shot to the top of my forehead. She was Athena's daughter? "Really?"

"Yeah, why?" when I struggled to reply she sighed, and I picked up on some hidden annoyance. "If it's another blonde joke or sexist comment, I swear I'll wring-"

"It's not a joke about your hair… which looks nice, by the way. I just thought that, well, Athena wouldn't mingle with mortals, with her 'I'm-so-smart-and-divine' attitude and today's culture."

(It's a fair reason, in my opinion.)

She tilted her head, not fazed by my hasty compliment. "Today's culture?"

"Women aren't as respected as men-" (don't look at me like that, I don't think like that. I don't even know why women are underappreciated) "-and a lot of male figures are known for their role in movies instead of sciences or stuff like that."

She listened to my explanation carefully, nodding now and then. "Fair point. There are a few exceptions, wouldn't you agree?"

I shrugged. I decided it would be easier to comply rather than point out the mistakes men have made. It was nice to have someone to talk to who didn't judge me for how I behaved or generally lived. We continued talking about random topics, whatever came to mind before the horn blew again. Seems time flies when I'm actually enjoying myself.

"Stop by the Athena cabin later," Annabeth said, "I should be free to give you a proper tour of Camp Half-Blood."

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude or interrupt anything going on-"

"Relax, Andrew. You're a good kid, but you're starting to remind me of the other new guy."

"Other new guy?"

"Yeah, he showed up two nights ago," she turned away momentarily to scan the crowd of faces walking away for various activities. She lifted an arm; "There. The one who looks like they think they don't belong."

I followed her gaze to a boy just a year under my age. His hair was deep black, similar to my own and, as Annabeth said, he looked extremely uncomfortable. If possible, he looked as uncomfortable as I used to feel. Eyes darted to and fro, hands playing with each other as he tried to figure out where to go.

"Poor guy."

"Yeah, he needs some work. Especially for someone who killed the Minotaur."

"The- wait. The Minotaur? As in, half-man, half-bull?"

She nodded.

"Huh. Looks kinda like me."

"At least you're acting mature." I ignored the compliment and unheard insult, feeling my cheeks flare up.

"What's his name?"

"Percy Jackson."

Percy Jackson? I looked over at him, noting the discomfort in his face and the general aura he radiated. The kid who looked like they grew up on the coast, decent tan with deep brown hair, okay build- better than anything I could pull off. One thing remained in my mind.

What makes this kid so special?

A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. Summer break seems to distract my muse, ironic considering that most of my chapters get done when I have school. I'd like to blame my laptop for failing me at the end of May, but I know that I'm the true culprit. Hopefully, this will be enough for a wake-up call to get me writing more. Up next: the Ares cabin didn't learn the lesson to never go against the new kid.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story- if you enjoyed it, why not leave a like and/or a follow? Constructive criticism and reviews are deeply appreciated, as well as some simple appreciation.

Have a good day!