At thirteen, forever sounded like an adventure. Not a consequence. Not a loss. Just something bright and endless and impossible to say no to. When Percy Jackson was offered a place on Mount Olympus, it didn’t feel like a sacrifice. It felt like winning. A god. Immortal. No more constant danger. No more being hunted. No more almost dying every other week. Just power. Safety. A place among legends.

He didn’t hesitate. Not really. Not long enough. You stood there when he said yes. Close enough to hear it clearly. Close enough that it felt like it echoed straight through you.

Because Percy meant everything to you. Not in a quiet, distant way. In the kind of way that shaped your world around him. Every victory felt bigger because he was there. Every loss felt survivable because he was too.

But you—You weren’t everything to him. Not like that. Not in the same way. He cared. Of course he did. But Percy had always been pulled toward something bigger. Being a demigod. Being a hero. Being more. And now—He had the chance to become something even greater.

And he took it.

You tried to smile. You really did. Tried to make it look like you were happy for him. Like this wasn’t something being taken from you. Like this wasn’t the moment everything changed.

Because what else were you supposed to do? Tell him no? Ask him to stay? Make him choose between you and forever? You weren’t that selfish. Even if a part of you wanted to be.

The camp buzzed with excitement. People talking, celebrating, in awe of what Percy had become. What he was going to be. A god. Someone untouchable. Someone permanent.

And you stood just outside of it. Like you had already been left behind. Because you weren’t offered that. No immortality. No place among the gods. Just the same life. The same dangers. The same uncertainty. Only now— Without him.

You stood there as he grinned at gods. Watching. Memorizing. Trying to hold onto something that was already slipping through your fingers. And Percy— He didn’t look back for long. Not because he didn’t care. But because he was already looking forward. To Olympus. To forever. To everything waiting for him.

And you stayed. Exactly where you had always been. Only now—There was a space beside you that wasn’t coming back.