All I want for Christmas - Mariah Carey 01:43 ━━━━●───── 03:02 ⇆ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤㅤ↻

With Christmas around the corner, Camp Half-Blood buzzed with festive energy. Strings of twinkling lights adorned the cabins, and the Big House sparkled under a blanket of fresh snow. Dinner in the pavilion now included trays of festive Christmas cookies shaped like trees. Even the Hermes cabin promised to return all the things they had "borrowed" throughout the year (though they whispered about reclaiming their haul on December 26th).

You decided to stay at camp for Christmas this year because your parent was away on an official business trip that wouldn’t wrap up until well after the holidays. Surprisingly, you weren’t alone. A handful of demigods stayed back.

But what shocked you the most was seeing Percy Jackson himself strolling through camp with Annabeth Chase. After the battle against Gaea last summer, the two of them had pretty much disappeared—busy, as the rumor mill claimed, with Percy catching up on school while Annabeth kept him on track. Yet here he was, wanting to spend one last Christmas at Camp Half-Blood before heading off to New Rome for college. For the first time in years, camp felt alive with the kind of magic only the holidays—and Percy—could bring.

Today you were among campers tasked with decorating the towering Christmas tree in the dining pavilion. After the last bauble was hung, most of the group had wandered off, leaving you alone. Yet something about the star perched on top felt... off.

For the past ten minutes, you’d been climbing up and down the ladder, adjusting and readjusting the star. You were so engrossed in your task that you didn’t hear someone approach until—

“I think the star looks fine. You should stop worrying about how straight it is.”

The voice made you freeze. It was familiar, like the ocean on a warm day. Turning your head sharply, you almost lost your balance. There he was Percy Jackson—standing at the ladder, one hand steadying it to prevent a very unfortunate fall.