Julia

Summary: He was smiling. They all were smiling. How come they were always smiling? As Julia grew up, she realized the answer.

Song Inspiration: Carmen by Lana Del Rey (I recommend listening to this while you read, but it's not needed if you don't want too)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO.

She didn't really notice at first.

It wasn't that noticeable. He did it all the time. They did it all the time. Still, she got excited when Percy Jackson would come to Camp Jupiter for some big ceremony or party or a grand opening of a New Rome store or a war counsel or just welcoming home people who had dared to go on quests.

Julia would always attend the ceremonies. She would attend them to see his smile. His girlfriend would be there, Annabeth Chase. She would smile too. Praetor Reyna and Praetor Jason would welcome him, smiling. Piper McLean would hug him, smiling. Frank Zhang would bow almost jokingly and then hug him, smiling. Hazel Levesque would hug him and kiss him on the cheek, smiling. Leo Valdez would join them on the stage, all the way from Camp Halfblood, smiling. Nico Di Angelo, the Ambassador of Pluto, would shake his hand, smiling. Julia would watch from the crowd.

Smiling.

She would see him on his trips to the camp, hanging with his friends, strolling through the shops of New Rome. He would be laughing at a joke and his head would tilt back in a way that made your stomach flutter and your heart beat faster.

Julia wanted to be Percy Jackson.

Everybody loved Percy Jackson. The girls loved Percy Jackson. They would giggle about him behind their hands and admire his looks from afar, no matter what age. The boys loved Percy Jackson. They either wanted to be him or be with him. His laugh was like a heavenly noise to all of them. His friendship, to them, was a treasure. If you were friends with Percy Jackson, you were the equivalent of being friends with a god.

One day, when Julia was nine, two years from the day the seven and Nico Di Angelo returned on the Argo II, she found Percy Jackson taking a night walk. She was outside because her dog had been barking due to needing to go the bathroom.

He was about to past her house, wearing a dark hoodie and a pair of jeans. His shoes were the latest brand. It was late at night, almost eleven, and she wasn't expecting to see somebody out and about.

"Hello?" Julia called automatically. He looked up, surprised. He was more shocked then her that somebody was outside at this time of night.

"Hi." Percy suddenly slipped into a different expression, the same smile he gave at the ceremonies. It had never seemed so fake before then it did now. Was it always that way?

"Is that you, Percy?" She asked. Maybe it wasn't him; maybe it was just somebody going for a night stroll. A really late night stroll.

"Yep." He shrugged. His hands were still in his pockets. He studied Julia with a confused expression. "What are you doing up?"

"Oh," she blushed "Carlos had to go to the bathroom."

The dog himself smelled some bushes in her neighbor's yard. He sniffed and sniffed, not giving up until he found the perfect place. Julia always got impatient when he got like this.

"Oh," Percy repeated her word. "Well, have a good night."

Percy began walking away. Julia couldn't let him go away. They had only just started talking. Just wait until Kelsey, her older sister, hears about this. She had to stall him just a bit longer.

"Wait, what are you doing out so late?" She called.

He froze in his steps as if the question didn't make sense to him. He turned around and gave a nervous laugh. His smile seemed to falter.

"Wow, the only real question I get about myself now is 'what's your favorite party favor?'" Percy seemed startled by her question. "Nobody's asked a question like yours since the Second Giant War."

Julia frowned. She didn't expect to get this reaction from him. She really did want to know why he was out so late though. Curiosity really was going to kill her one day.

"I like walking at night." Percy finally answered her question. "Clears my thoughts. I have nobody to pretend for at night. I don't have to smile. I don't have to hold my posture up. I don't have to pretend to laugh at jokes. I don't have to be the perfect hero who saved the world. I'm just Percy Jackson."

"But, you're the Percy Jackson."

"Contrary to popular belief, there is no 'the' in front of my name. You can keep telling yourself that for your entire life, but my name is just Percy Jackson, two words." Percy nodded at her.

Julia tried to process his words, but her mind was too young to understand his meaning and the older boy noticed that. So he smiled at her, a real, meaningful smile and then gave her a wink.

"Good night, Julia."

The next ceremony Percy attended Julia was more perceptive then usual. Ever since their conversation, she had been bothered by what he had said. It just clung onto her thoughts and wouldn't let go.

He was smiling. They all were smiling. How come they are always smiling?

Now that Julia saw his true smile, this one seemed so obviously fake. They all had the same smile on, every single one of them. They all looked perfect, every single one of them. Everybody on that stage looked to be more plastic then a Barbie doll collection.

Why had she never noticed it before?

When Julia turned twelve, she joined Camp Jupiter. Percy and Annabeth had become permanent residents of New Rome, Annabeth pregnant with their second child. They still did the ceremonies, the parties, the war councils. They still were as plastic as dolls.

Julia quickly got quests and friends. As she got older, she got more quests and more friends. By the time she was fifteen, she had reached the top. She was raised as Praetor on the battlefield after a huge war.

Julia was a hero.

For the first year, it was brilliant, she was a role model. She was truly happy. She had a boyfriend. She was in love. She was beautiful. She had come far. She hadn't thought about Percy's words for years.

Julia was smiling. Then it wasn't smiling anymore.

She didn't really notice at first.

It wasn't that noticeable. She would be attending big ceremonies or party or a grand opening of a New Rome store or a war counsel or just welcoming home people who had dared to go on quests.

Everybody would attend the ceremonies. Julia would award the heroes from their daring quests, smiling. She would pin a badge on their chests, smiling. They would look at her, smiling. Everybody in the crowd would look up to the stage.

Smiling.

Julia would be hanging with her friends, strolling through the shops of New Rome. She would be laughing at a joke and her head would tilt back in a way that made your stomach flutter and your heart beat faster.

Everybody loved Julia. The boys loved Julia. They would check her out, flirt with her, and admire her looks from afar, no matter what age. The girls loved Julia. They either wanted to be her or be with her. Her laugh was like a heavenly noise to all of them. Her friendship, to them, was a treasure. If you were friends with Julia, you were the equivalent of being friends with a god.

She didn't notice she had stopped smiling until she didn't smile in private anymore. What was there to smile about when you were alone? Julia was never alone anymore. She found herself treasuring these moments she got to herself. Her smile had turned into the same over and over again; it was plastic like a Barbie doll.

Julia started night-walking at the age of seventeen. She would pass the Jackson's house and wonder how she got where she was. She was the Julia, Praetor of New Rome, Hero of Camp Halfblood. She was perfect, charming, and beautiful, she was a celebrity.

The only question she got now and days was "What's your favorite party favor?"

After her night strolls, she would crash in her bed in her Praetor house, sobbing until sunlight peaked through the window. She would cry and cry, her mascara running down her cheeks. But as the sun started to peak through that window, she would wash off her face and apply even more makeup, covering the bags under her eyes.

She was smiling again. Her friends were smiling the same smile as her. The sun was like an on button. She was perfect again, she was laughing again, and she was smiling. Her smiles were never real.

She was smiling. They all were smiling. How come they were always smiling?

Review with your thoughts. What do you think? Did you cry? Did you look up the song and listen to it while you read?