The Needle

Percy POV

Annabeth Chase was one feisty girl. She told me off in the middle of the hallway, which only enhanced my interest in her, especially since she was a very attractive and naturally beautiful girl. Of course, I was not a predator, so I wasn't going to go after her if she wasn't interested. However, that didn't mean that I couldn't have fun and annoy her.

The rest of the school day was uneventful. The only time I enjoyed in school was when I was with my friends, and of course, when I was with a girl.

I sighed as I thought about Rachel. I truly felt bad about dumping her, but the truth was that she was getting too close to me. There was a reason that I dated girls for short time periods. 6 weeks actually broke the rule that I established for myself.

As much as I wanted the school to end, I also wasn't looking forward to my appointment.

"Hey bro, do you need me to give you a ride today?" asked Grover, my best friend.

"No, I think I'm good."

"Percy, you never know how you feel after one of your appointment. Sometimes, you're good and sometimes you're not."

Grover was an amazing best friend because he was always looking after me. He was also one of only four individuals that knew my secret. I trusted him very much, and he understood my situation and thus, accepted my playboy actions without judgment.

"I'm fine, Grover. It's the first one this month, so I'll be completely okay, but thank you."

"All right, be careful Percy. Call me if you need help rather than trying to go home yourself."

"Ok, okay. Thanks, mom," I said chuckling.

His face turned slightly red as he gave me a playful punch on the arm. It was very easy to embarrass Grover.

We saw Jason and Leo making their way over to my car, which effectively ended our current conversation. Jason was texting on his phone, which seemed to annoy Leo.

"Bro, all I'm saying is that you could spend more time with me," Leo whined.

"Is he jealous of Piper again?" I asked.

"Bro, I'm not jealous, but even you have to admit that Jason spends less time with us now. He even sits at their table from time to time," Leo said. He technically wasn't lying. However, Jason had the right to spend time with his girlfriend. Jason spent a good amount of time with us still, so Leo was just being dramatic.

"Yes, Leo is complaining again. Anyway, do you guys want to catch a Friday movie right now with me, Piper, and Leo?" Jason asked.

"Sorry Bro, I have plans," I said coolly. They'd probably think that I was going out with a girl.

"Who?" Leo asked on cue with a sly smirk.

"No one. It's family plans," I said nonchalantly. Months of lying had perfected my acting skills.

"Bro, Piper told me that her friends (including my sister) pretty much hate you."

"A few more girls hating Percy, what a shock," Leo said sarcastically. Leo wasn't wrong. Hate from the female population came with the territory of being a player.

"Bro, you dumping Rachel isn't helping my efforts to connect our friend groups. Besides, I thought that you liked her."

"You were wrong, Bro. I had a good time with her, that's all," I lied. the truth was that I was getting to like her. The realization forced me to dump her and move on. I couldn't get close to any of my sexual partners; I didn't want that for them or myself.

"All right, I gotta go. Cya guys," I said. Grover gave me a caring look as I got in my car to drive to the hospital.

***

"Percy, I honestly don't have good news for you," Dr. Solace said with a sigh. I was currently sitting in her office after spending a few minutes in a CT-scanning machine.

"It's gotten worse?" I asked in a monotone as disappointment welled up in my throat.

"No, but it's not getting better either. Right now, the current treatment is only stalling the growth of the Osteosarcoma."

"So, that's what's been happing for three months now. No change." I didn't see the big problem if the cancer wasn't getting worse.

"Percy, the treatment isn't working as well as it should. Your cancer will start to take over in time if the chemo treatment doesn't have a positive effect. I'm making a recommendation to amplify your chemo regimen after two months. You'll stay on your current regiment for the next two cycles, and then, switch to the new regiment in December."

"Wait, so I'll be getting more chemo appointments," I said in sadness. I didn't want more chemicals entering my body. I didn't want any more sick days filled with vomiting. Having cancer was bad enough.

"Your cycle will still be two weeks in length. But, instead of 5 chemo appointments in those two weeks, you'll have 7. And, some of the drugs will increase in power/dosage," Dr. Solace explained patiently.

I simply gulped the lump in my throat.

"Can you tell my mom this, Dr. Solace? I don't know how much I'm currently registering."

"Yes, of course, Percy," Dr. Solace replied sadly. She's been my doctor for a year now. We saw progress initially, but the progress had slowed greatly in the past few months. Now, the treatment was apparently not fighting my bone cancer aggressively enough.

Osteosarcoma usually occurred in the long bones and is most common amongst children and young adults. I was diagnosed a little less than two years ago after going to the doctor to check why my leg was hurting every time I swam.

The bone cancer was located on my right tibia, below my knee. When I wasn't wearing pants, you could see the slight swelling in the area if you were looking for it. Most people (ie girls) usually weren't looking at my knees when I had my pants off though.

I made my way to the chemo room as my October chemo cycle started today. There were only a few patients in the room.

"Hello, Percy. How's it going today?" Nurse Hestia asked caringly.

"Not well. Did you hear?"

"Yes, unfortunately, I did. I'm sorry, child."

I sighed as Nurse Hestia checked my temperature and brushed my hair softly. It was comforting, but I was extremely disappointed today. After a few minutes, she put the cold cap on my head, which limited the amount of chemo going to my scalp (to limit hair fall).

Dr. Solace used a combination of drugs that aren't known to induce hair fall. This chemo regimen in connection with the cold cap, fortunately, kept my hair safe from falling.

"Alright, Percy, here come's the needle. You know the drill."

I watched as the needle entered my arm and went into my bloodstream. I've lost count of how many times I've had a needle in my arms. I was about to put in headphones when a voice talked to me.

"Hi, Percy," the three kids said simultaneously as they ran up.

Tyson, Ella, and Bob Titan were cancer patients who lived at the hospital. They were orphans, so they stay at the hospital and get treatment from the government. I knew a lot of the staff and patients here because I volunteered every Sunday.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" I asked before we got into a long conversation.

The chemo was almost done when Nurse Hestia came to me again. The boys were sent back to their rooms as my smile and gaze settled on Nurse Hestia. "So, Percy, how is the alternative pain relief therapy going?" she asked cautiously.

My body ends up rejecting pain relief and nausea drugs of any kind. These drugs never worked for me as they made me sicker, so I had to turn to alternative pain relief methods. The most effective was sex.

Sex gave me pain relief and distraction while short-lived relationships with multiple girls ensured that I didn't fall in love. It hurt too much to raise hope and love someone when there's a real chance that you could get seriously sick and die.

Plus, it would be unfair for the girl. No girl deserved to have a sick boyfriend. It hurts too much to watch the people you care about become ill from cancer.

"It's fine, Nurse Hestia," I said quietly. After all, I was one of the labeled playboys of Goode High.