Opal Sparks, Percy Jackson

XII. Yearning disguised as "trust"

Opal Sparks . . .
XII. Yearning disguised as "trust"

The five of them dashed down the street and into the lobby of Multnomah County Library. Looking at a place like this, Gale wished he was into reading more. It was filled to the brim  with books on shelves, organized by genre and intended audience. Tables and seating areas were dotted around the building, some of the chairs being for leisure, others being normal chairs stationed at tables. Some tables had computers, others had stacks of books on top of them. Plants were littered around the area, and the walls were decorated with theme appropriate decals or posters advertising different services like the CD rentals or access to printing. The library wasn't completely silent, but had enough going on to provide a nice ambiance. It was a nice vibe, one that was good to do your school work in or hang out after a hard day of work.

There wasn't any time to admire the library, though. They continued jogging through the building, looking for Ella's nest, when Percy froze in his tracks. Gale looked behind him, noticing the mixture of concern and confusion on Percy's face.

"Percy?" Frank asked. "What's wrong?"

Percy didn't answer. He looked like he was thinking about something before the thought slipped away, and he was desperately trying to bring it back. He furrows his eyebrows in anger and suddenly slams his fist into the side of a bookshelf, causing Gale to jump and concerned looks from others.

"Percy...?" Gale asks gently. Percy looks at him, but he can't interpret the look he gets from Percy. It wasn't one he had ever gotten before. It makes him nervous.

"I'm– I'm alright," Percy reassured them. Gale could sense the dishonesty in his words. He couldn't fully interpret Percy's face, but he could tell it wasn't one of someone who was okay. He wanted to say that it was related to the amnesia, purely to satiate his peace of mind. "Just got dizzy for a sec. Let's find a way to the roof."

The others didn't seem convinced, but nodded as they continued their walk. Gale and Percy lagged behind a bit, far enough so that the others couldn't hear them too well.

Gale turned to Percy. It felt awkward, and he wasn't sure how to navigate that. "Um, are you sure you're alright?" he stammers out. "Is.. is it the amnesia–?"

"Why did you lie?" Percy asks.

It feels like a slap in the face.

"What do you mean?"

"About your mom... and you killing her."

"It wasn't really a lie," Gale blurts out. "It was just... leaving some things out."

Percy doesn't seem to like the comment. "Okay, then. Why did you leave that out?"

"It wasn't really any of your business," Gale says, his mouth moving before his brain. He's growing agitated, and uses his right hand to grab onto his left in an attempt to stop the electricity.

"Our whole talk was about sharing our business," Percy replies. "I literally promised to share my business when I got it all back."

"Why do you even care?" Gale says, defensive about the topic of him killing his mother. "Do you look at me differently now? Is that why you're upset? Does the prospect of me killing my own mother throw you off?"

"Does it even matter?"

"Yeah, it does," Gale insisted. Despite his persistence, he feels himself shutting down. He didn't fully realize how much the death of his mother was a sore spot for him. He wanted to strike down Phineas for even mentioning her. In his mind he's telling himself that he didn't kill her, he wasn't the reason for the death, just to keep himself sane. "You're upset, and I don't know why–"