𝑻𝑶𝑮𝑬𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹 ⁽ᵖᵉʳᶜʸ ʲᵃᶜᵏˢᵒⁿ ˣ ᵒᶜ⁾

𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩

LUKE

Luke Castellan stood outside of the borders of Camp Half-Blood staring up at Thalia's tree. The sight of the poisoned tree made a run of emotions overcome him. Everyday, all day, the only thing he felt was rage. A blinding rage that only burned hotter as the seconds passed. It's what fueled him to continue plotting against the Olympians and see through to their demise.

The only person he was hoping to see was the one person he knew he hurt the most. His younger sister, his happiness, his biggest weakness, and strongest weapon: Alana Castellan. Her face was what haunted him the most everytime he closed his eyes. He would remember her smile and the warmth it always radiated. But then the pain-stricken expression on her face the last time he saw her always ruined that beautiful picture.

Suddenly, the sound of a tree branching snapping caught his attention and he refocused his attention to Thalia's tree. Emerging was Lana, a solemn expression on her face. She looked so different, yet similar in his eyes, the main difference being the sad aura that she radiated off. Before he left, she always had a wide smile on her face and made everyone smile alongside her. Now, she looked like a rose that had welted away due to neglect.

He continued to watch her with interest in his eyes as he tried to blend into the shadows, a technique he learned from a colleague. She sat down beside Thalia's tree and turned towards it, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath.

"Hey, Thals."

Just hearing her voice made his heart clench painfully. It's been so long that he had almost forgotten what it had sounded like. It didn't help him much either that the last thing she said to him made him want to die.

"Things are...really shit right now." She bitterly laughs and runs a hand through her hair. "But Percy has been looking out for me. You would really like him."

Luke could feel his teeth grind against themselves from the mere mention of Percy Jackson.

"It reminds me of you and...and Luke."

The resentment that had just engulfed him distinguished immediately.

"I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I hate him. I hate him. I hate him so much that it makes me hate myself because I see so much of him within me."

The son of Hermes stumbled on his feet, the weight of her words knocking into him like a wrecking ball. That was the last thing he was expecting her to say. He understood that she might've held negative feelings towards him, but hate? No, never hate.

"Everyone wants me to leave camp and never come back because of him. Even when he isn't here, he still has an effect on my life." She sighed and buried her face into her hands, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go back to New York and go bowling and go to school. I want to be normal. I don't want to be Alana Castellan anymore."