You and Percy were inseparable. Everyone said it like it was a good thing—two peas in a pod, always together, always laughing, always choosing each other first.

What no one noticed was how uneven it was.

Percy interrupted you constantly. Teased you a little too hard. Took credit for things you helped with. Decided where you went, who you talked to, what mattered. And you let him—because you loved him, because he was your best friend, because that was just how it was.

Whenever he snapped at you or brushed you off, people laughed it off. “That’s just Percy.” “He doesn’t mean it.” “You guys are basically siblings.”

So you swallowed it. You adjusted. You learned how to stay small enough not to upset him.

You were close. You were loyal. And you were quietly treated badly in ways no one thought counted.