Percy Jackson: Genderbent

Chapter 9

Perci's POV:

It's been about a week since all the drama and break-ups. Neither Piper or Jason will tell me why they broke up. I just hope it makes them happier. I've been hanging out with the boys and girls in equal measures, and have fun with both of them. It's gotten less awkward having out with the girls, but that doesn't mean I don't tune out when they start talking about cute boys at camp, who they're dating, etc. Really, most of that is Piper, but still. I don't really care. Their business is their business, and not really anyone else's. 

The guys are warming up to me, and it's less awkward when I talk to them. I've gotten used to being a girl, and to be honest, it's not all that bad. It would be better if I knew when I was going to turn into a boy again, but... you can't have everything. I've tried to ask Aphrodite so many times, giving some of my food to her, trying to Iris Message her, and lots of other failed attempts. She never responds. When I talked to Piper and Annabeth about it (Hazel and Frank had left a while ago, they weren't staying long anyway), they both gave each other a knowing looks. "What?" I had asked them. "Maybe Aphrodite is waiting for things to get a little more... interesting." Piper had finally replied. Annabeth had just nodded, and they went back to talking to whatever they were talking about before. 

I had started hanging out with Nico a lot more, too. Sometimes it was with the group, sometimes with only the guys, but most times just the two of us. We would sit by the lake, skipping stones, talking about random things, or walking through the forest, also talking about random things. Once you got past the creepy aura and his 'nobody cares about me' rant, he's actually an okay guy. I secretly started to enjoy these times. When I was with Nico, I forgot I was a girl. He just treated me like a normal person. It was nice. Most of the time, we never talked about demigod stuff. We never talked about the greek myths, the gods, monsters, our parents, or even the going ons of camp. Mostly, we talked about what it would be like to be mortal, and things like that. Sometimes we laughed over mortal problems, and wished that our biggest problem would be that our cellphones were missing or that someone was being an idiot.

I also hung out with Annabeth. For the first few days, there was tension in the air between us, thinking of the recent break up. But that faded away, and we hung out as friends. It wasn't the same, though. I missed the times when we would take a moonlit stroll on the beach, or when we would just sit down in the shade of a tree watching the camp, enjoying her company, knowing that she was mine and no one else's. I missed it when we kissed, how fireworks would explode inside when our lips touched. Friendship fell short of all that. WAY short. But at least it was something.  

I also hung out by myself a lot, too. When I was with the girls, I still felt faintly awkward. Most of it had faded over time, but there was always the fact that I was a boy. That fact could never change, and it made hanging out with them alone at least a tiny bit awkward. The same with the guys. Even though I was Percy, they didn't know that. I was a girl now, so it was awkward... just in general. Even though we tried to cover it up best we could, it was still there. I was a girl. I was kind of an intruder to the group. So I spent time by myself, not really fitting with either group or gender. 

Sometimes, I would hang out with the pegasi. I don't know why, maybe it was because my dad was the Lord of Horses, or they didn't care that I was a girl now, or both. Either way, they were cool. Especially Blackjack. But then again, what else is new? I also liked to talk to the nymphs at the bottom of the lake, or the fish. They were fun. Every once in a while, a sea creature would require my assistance. It was nice helping them. 

Overall, I settled into camp life pretty nicely. I was still attracting some stares (for some reason) but not nearly as much anymore. But seriously, I get it for the first few days, but after about a week? Most people here are used to me now. So why the staring? Maybe it was because I hadn't answered a lot of questions about myself. I just didn't want to attract attention. After being one of the main demigods in two prophecies, I'd had enough attention to last the rest of my life.