Chapter Text
Clarisse
Clarisse La Rue hated when new campers asked that question:
“Why didn’t anyone figure out what Castellan was doing and stop him?”
It made it seem like it was so easy, like suspecting your friends were going to turn traitor was supposed to be a natural reaction. Anyone who had known the guy personally gave the kids evil looks before moving on to teaching about the battle itself.
She begged off on teaching contemporary demigod history whenever she could. Talking about herself and her friends in the same way she was supposed to talk about Theseus and Odysseus didn’t sit right. She was human, so had they all been.
She snorted as her thoughts turned to the dead son of Hermes. Opinions were split, as they usually were. Hers were simple. Kid wanted to protect demigods, he ended up killing plenty.
He went on one quest, saw his friends killed, and then thought that that entitled him to bring “justice” to the Gods. She always justified it as him being an idiot, that any real hero wouldn’t have turned traitor after just one quest.
She didn’t hate the question because it was hard to answer, and it was a difficult one to answer. What were they supposed to say, that most people on both sides were more sympathetic to the traitors that lost than the loyalists that won?
No. She hated the question because she wondered if they were going to be asking the same thing about her in the future. Why didn’t Clarisse La Rue stop Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase before they turned?
Gaia had died hard. She had lost good siblings, so had most people. The Hephaestus kid never came back. The Seven had become Six.
She had been with them at Manhattan. Prissy and Miss Princess were her friends. She thought so. They thought so, at least she hoped they thought so.
But they had gone through something no demigod had ever gone through.
Tartarus.
No one said the T-word when they were around either of them. Even months after.
They held onto each other hard. Whenever they were alone, they seemed like shells of their former selves. Chase was as smart as ever, Jackson just as stubborn, but there was always a dead quality in their eyes. They didn’t smile, not unless they were around old friends, but Clarisse had a sneaking suspicion that they only ever truly smiled around each other.
Around each other they seemed more like themselves. Their eyes gained back some of that old life that they had before they had fallen.
But there was something else. Something more.
Chiron had long since given up on keeping them separated. Annabeth slept in Cabin 3 more often than she did with her siblings. Malcolm did more and more Athenian Counselor duties nowadays.
When they were together, sometimes she could see something darker behind those eyes of theirs. Something hidden that is brought out only in the company of one they trust so much.
Percy was powerful. She had known that for a long time. She could beat him maybe 3/10 times in a sparring ring nowadays, but she can tell he’s holding back. He has to. His every instinct has been refined to kill or be killed after Tartarus.
But it’s not his sword skills that worry her.
Annabeth was always a great strategist. Anyone who didn’t know that was just an idiot. They had played a few chess games and she always lost after a few moves, her aggressive style too easy to read for the daughter of Athena.
But it’s not her strategy skills that worry her.
They had gone on a picnic. It wasn’t her idea. She had grumbled and brought along her spear but every veteran of the Titan War went. There were fewer left than she thought there would be.
Percy and Annabeth were curled up by a tree. The rest of them were spread out a bit. She and Chris were close together when the monsters came. They had laughed a little at the audacity before they had seen their numbers. There were more than a few of the bigger ones, a cyclops here and there, packs of empousai, the Minotaur (that thing just needs to learn to give up). She looked to Jackson to lead, but the two were still curled up with not a care in the world.
The rest of them had formed up a shield wall on her orders. It wasn’t needed.
“Perce.” Annabeth said out loud “Can you take care of them?”.
“Sure.” The Son of Poseidon said simply.
She remembered the rest of them looking incredulously at the two of them. Katie Gardner and the Stoll brothers had looked at Clarisse with worried expressions. Had they snapped?
The answer had come a moment later. Percy lifted his hand and clenched.
A hundred monsters turned to dust just steps away from them.
Their screams stayed with Clarisse for a long time. She had killed monsters hard before, but the pain it would take to make them scream that hard? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it would take.
The inevitable questions went unanswered of course. The two were silent on the matter and it was too unnerving to continue asking them but Malcolm had confided in the other counselors that it was likely Percy’s control of liquids. Blood. He had just… twisted the blood of monsters. When Will Solace asks if he could do it with human blood, the silence permeating the meeting room seemed to answer the question. No one wanted to know.
One of her idiot siblings had challenged Annabeth to a swordfight. He wasn’t nice about it. She liked using daggers, kept one on her hip at all times, but she had laughed a little before accepting. The kid didn’t believe the stories. She didn’t blame him, Clarisse probably wouldn’t have believed if it was her first year. But that didn’t mean he should have taunted her that way. He had mentioned the T-word and in seconds the boy was sent to the Apollo cabin with two twisted ankles and a broken shoulder.
She had tried to intervene, but Percy had given her a glare that could pierce armor.
Percy’s sword skills were hard to match, but weapons were useless if he could take you down with a gesture.
Annabeth’s strategies were hard to counter, but when your plans ended at knocking her out and hers ended at killing you slowly it was difficult to truly compare.
Clarisse thought she understood anger. Her father was the God of War after all. There were moments where one of them would look up at the sky and whispered something, and sometimes… sometimes thunder rumbled in response
Percy and Annabeth had stopped burning portions of their food before meals.
Mr. D looked at them, and for brief moments she thought she saw worry on his face, before he schooled it with his usual indifference
She had enlisted the Stoll brothers to try and listen to what they whispered about. They were so caught up in themselves all the time, they shut out the world around them and just talked. She and Chris weren’t like that, but she didn’t mind. The Golden Couple of Camp Half-Blood just had a different relationship. The twins had some difficulty but Hermes was a sneak above sneaks and his sons inherited much of that.
“Say the word.” Percy would say.
“Not yet.” Annabeth would answer.
Luke had gone on one quest and turned. That was unjustified, she had argued to herself so long ago.
Percy and Annabeth had gone where Gods dare not tread, where Primordials reign supreme and where monsters were born. What could justify it more?
Chiron was worried. That much was obvious. He tried to reach out to both of them at times, but both simply turned away from the old teacher. He was out of his element. None had gone to Tartarus and come back. For all that Chiron had wanted to see his students reach new heights, she knew this was far from what he wanted.
One of the Counsellors meetings had come to a close, the centaur and Mr. D had left, and the counsellors were seated in the room just talking. She had eyed Annabeth speaking with Malcolm. After today, she would no longer be attending, having officially decided to step down.
She and Percy stood to leave, but sea-green and wisdom-grey eyes bore on her as they walked.
“Clarisse.”
“Prissy. Miss Princess. What is it?” She asked. They were still her friends.
The Son of Poseidon unhooked a dagger from behind him and brought it slowly towards her.
“You know I like using spears P.” She joked as she took the dagger and unsheathed it.
The ancient Greek letters on the metal shone bright blue.
“It’s for me.” He said softly. She was dimly aware that every eye in the room was trained on the trio.
“You need help explaining how gifts work?” Clarisse remembered thinking that he couldn’t be serious. That she had misunderstood.
“It’ll slow him down. He won’t be able to… fight you as easily.” Annabeth chimed in, explaining as if it were any old book or architectural piece.
“You’ll protect the camp, the campers. I know you well enough to know that. You’re the only one I trust who can do it if it needs to be done.” Percy whispered. His eyes seemed to hide so much of that darkness at that moment, as if the old Percy was there in front of her.
“You’re insane. The both of you. This isn’t fucking healthy, this isn’t a fucking joke.” Clarisse stood slowly, rage and sorrow filled her in equal measure. “I swear to the Gods if this-“
“Swear it on the Styx.” Percy interrupted her. “Swear you won’t hesitate if I become a threat to campers.” You could hear a pin drop in the room. Malcolm looked scared, The Stolls and Katie were fidgeting, Solace looked at the ground. The others just stared with wide eyes and open mouths.
“I swear it on the Styx.” Clarisse remembered her oath. Thunder rumbled. She didn’t know why she had done it. Why the two of them had trusted her of all people to keep it.
This was a far cry from Castellan’s betrayal. He had kept it secret, spread his hatred for the gods in whispered conversations. Some knew, some suspected.
Every older camper knew that Percy and Annabeth were planning something. None were sure if they wanted to stop them. None were sure if they even could.
Chiron seemed to only have two moods, melancholy and focus. When he thought none were looking he liked to stare into the sea and Clarisse could only wonder what he thought. The only other mood people saw him in was when he was focusing on teaching campers.
The days flowed like water. Training, working, games, teaching.
Percy and Annabeth were just the same as ever, reclusive to all but old friends. New campers pointed and whispered in awe. Old ones stared in either fear or admiration.
She realized now what she felt. Manhattan. Gaia. The waiting. The knowledge that there was a battle coming and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it. Only wait.
So wait she did.
She doesn’t know why they ended up choosing that day. Annabeth probably had a reason. Maybe the proximity to the solstice? Were the gods busier? Less attentive? She couldn’t claim to know the mind of the smartest mortal woman in the world. For the Camp, it was a dual birthday. One of her sisters, one of the Hecate kids.
She felt it before it started. Most were gathered in the dining hall at the Big House, a few were milling about the camp in random places. She made her way to the Amphitheatre, almost as if she were in a trance.
There were two others there at the top of the steps. Solace and the Hades kid. She didn’t pay much attention to the gossip but even she knew the two were dating.
“Will.” She started, as she noticed Mr. D standing in the middle of the circular area while the two demigods were on opposite sides. “Solace. Is this it?”
Will Solace was at Manhattan. The veteran looked her in the eyes with a somber expression and it was all she needed. Di Angelo just stared, ignoring her presence.
“Alright. Let’s get back. Get the campers armed, armored, and in the cabins.” She said before taking a look back at the trio. She couldn’t make out what the God was saying, but she doubted it was friendly.
“I’ll be in my father’s domain. What happens here… it might end up having far-reaching consequences.” The son of the King of the Underwold told his boyfriend, and she politely looked away as they shared a tender moment, before he ran off to the nearest shadow.
The son of Apollo looked a little worried but she snapped it out of him with a literal snap of her fingers, but the demigod wasn’t the only one whose attention was drawn onto her.
She felt their eyes on her. She looked back as the three were staring. Dionysus with indifference. Percy with concern. Annabeth with cold calculation.
Clarisse was many things. She wasn’t an idiot. She got the message. She ran, Will hot on her tails.
It was almost dark. Campers were probably starting to make their way to the theatre for the nightly campfire. Not if she could help it.
“Get yourselves armed and armored and into your cabins. Now!” She bellowed as the two counsellors reached the Big House.
The campers looked at her as if she was crazy. “Cabin Seven, we need to prepare supplies for medical emergencies. Although I pray to the Gods we won’t need them.” Will instructed beside her.
That got more campers worried.
“Will. Clarisse. What’s going on?” The Stoll brothers ran up. Katie, Malcolm and the other counsellors followed behind. She could hear galloping. Chiron was on his way as well.
Something must have shown on her face because Malcolm decided to hazard a guess. “It’s them isn’t it…”
It didn’t take much for people to understand who “them” meant. At least for the veteran counsellors. Faces fell. Eyes watered.
“Arms and Armor! Then we’re barricading ourselves into our cabins! No one opens unless they hear my or Chiron’s voice! Got that!”
“Clarisse. What is-“ Chiron asked as soon as he came to a stop near her, the campers already buzzing to follow her instructions.
“And I mean it! Mine or Chiron’s! No one else’s! You hear Jackson or Chase asking you to open up you hunker down and say no!” She added. Chiron’s face fell. More than a few campers started to protest. She had no doubt that if Percy “Savior of Olympus” Jackson asked for something, more than a few of the newbies would jump to get it for him.
“No…”
She gave Chiron what she hoped was a look of pity before she went to get her spear.
She just prayed she wouldn’t need it.
Dionysus was an Olympian. One of the 12. He had to be on the Council for a reason right?
The Ares Cabin wasn’t meant to be hidden in. It was a little cramped, with most of the younger ones having to go up and sit on their bunks. Anyone older stood or sat on the ground, their senses trained towards the outside.
The first noises were faint. There was shouting from far off. The God of Madness had a loud voice when he wanted to. Chiron’s pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears.
The fighting moved towards the cabins. The hand on her spear gripped tighter. Chris placed his on her shoulder, and she felt a sense of relief. He had asked to stay with her instead of with the rest of the Hermes Cabin.
The cracking sound of splintering wood brought her out of her reverie and she held her breath.
“Might have been the big house.” Chris said, his voice interrupting the silence permeating the cabin.
‘It might have been another cabin’ no one added.
“You dare?! I am a God!” She heard a bellow. That would be Mr. D. He must still be going strong.
A strong glow seemed to emanate from the outside, beams of light shone through the cracks in the wood. She gripped her spear tighter.
“He must be showing his true form.” One of the other veterans piped up. “Doubt they can last long now.”
There were grumbles at that. She hadn’t been paying attention to where her siblings’ loyalties lay and for a moment she was worried.
“No mortal can see a God in true form. They’re either fighting blind or already dead.” Chris said. She knew where his lay. Whatever choice she made, he’d make.
“No mortals could go to Tartarus and come back either.” She said aloud. It wasn’t reassuring, but it was true.
The sounds of fighting continued unabated and her sibling who had first spoken up turned white as a sheet. The younger ones were doing their best not to cower but…
She could hear vines growing and being whipped. At least that’s what she thought it was. Steel clashed. Mr. D had never shown that he used a weapon but he probably had one right?
A shout of pain. A girl’s. Annabeth.
A roar of rage. Percy’s. Definitely Percy’s.
The sounds were directly outside cabin now. The fight had moved into the middle of the U-shape. She wondered what the other counsellors were thinking at the moment. Her spear hand gripped tighter.
A scream of pain. She grimaced at the sound. Mr. D didn’t usually make noises like that.
There were more than a few campers around her who must have thought that the demigods had no chance of winning because they got looks on their faces that betrayed their inner panic. She took note of those that seemed to be internally rooting for the demigods before she paused.
Who was she rooting for anyway?
Things had gotten quiet outside.
“Beg.” They could barely hear the words over the wind.
There were some whimpering sounds before a sharp crack and a yelp of pain.
“Beg.” The words were more forceful now. They carried above the wind. Percy’s voice was clear.
“Please.” That was Dionysus. She sighed and shifted her spear to another hand, putting on her helmet. The others were too shocked to respond.
“Louder if you please.” Annabeth’s voice carried just as much as Percy’s.
“Please! Mercy!” She closed her eyes. A God was begging. Chris sat down on the nearest bed, his shock apparent.
There was a hushed discussion between the two demigods before she heard a clear voice again.
“What are our names?”
“Perry Johnso-“ The answer was cut off by another scream of pain. She wasn’t even sure if Mr. D was trying to be defiant or if he was just too used to naming the campers wrongly. Even some of the veterans who were rooting for them were starting to pale.
“Names?”
“Percy Jackson! Annabeth Chase!” Mr. D sounded out of breath. Like it was a struggle just to speak.
“See I knew you had it in you! Now was that so hard?!” Percy’s tone was cruel. Annabeth’s laughter sounded crueler.
Clarisse swallowed. He couldn’t be saved. Not if she wanted her cabin to survive. A gentle mental push reassured her that she was making the right decision to wait. She was glad her father at least cared enough not to encourage a suicidal charge.
There was a snap and the sound of a body dropping onto the ground.
She heard a few gasps from around her and she decided to wait. There was no point in rushing out there after all.
So she waited.
And waited.
The fight had gone on for a few hours, but Clarisse sat through the night.
A few of her campers had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. Most were awake, just sitting. Some were praying. Some whispered. Some just seemed to stare off into nothingness.
She waited. Chris’s hand on her shoulder felt like all the nectar and ambrosia in the world for how much better it made her feel.
Half of her cabin had fallen asleep. It had been a few hours of no noise, and now sunlight seemed to stream in through some of the gaps in the cabin, but still no sign of Chiron.
She wasn’t sure if he had decided to hole up in the Big House or go fight. And if he did fight, which side did he pick?
Regardless, she motioned for some of the barricades to be moved. She doubted the door would have held anyway. Chris and a few others scrambled at her gesture, moving them quickly.
“Stay. Don’t come out unless I say so alright?” Her voice seemed more anxious than normal.
Chris put his hand on her shoulder and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Careful.”
She stepped outside to see the beginnings of dawn. Orange beams came down from the heavens as Apollo’s chariot started its morning ride across the sky.
The carnage outside was brutal.
Grapevines were strewn about the camp, wooden bits and pieces of debris stuck amongst them. A quick scan of the cabins showed no visual damage on most. She looked towards the Big House.
Or what was left of the Big House. Most of the house was bits, scattered around the base like blocks of Jenga after a particularly lengthy game. The dagger on her hip felt heavier.
“Gods.” Someone behind her muttered. A few of her cabinmates had decided not to close the door yet and instead gazed at the battleground.
She took a few steps and a breath. Right. She remembered her oath.
They hadn’t threatened the campers yet.
She resolved to look for Mr. D. She never liked him, he never liked her.
But as she came up on the body she dimly admitted that no one deserved that.
The God’s body was mangled and broken, Golden Ichor flowed like a pool around it. Several arms and legs just seemed to… twist. The God’s eyes were… gone. Just gone. It looked like they had exploded, along with parts of his face and skull.
Clarisse had seen a lot of things, but Mr. D had been a constant. He had been at Camp far before she was born and she was sure he would have been there far after her death.
“Di Immortales.” She cursed. Was he really dead? Didn’t Gods… fade? She didn’t want to poke around at anything so she said a quick prayer to her dad before running off. She checked every cabin first. No structural damage on anything, so no campers hurt. Probably.
Cabin 12’s door was open. She cursed.
Pollux. Mr. D’s only remaining Half-Blood. The dagger on her belt felt heavy.
He was limp, his head rested on the back of the cabin. There was blood on the wall. Stepping inside Clarisse let out a breath as she wasn’t smited immediately. Not like the God of wine could smite anyone anymore.
Pollux still had a pulse so she lifted the younger boy as she ran to the Apollo cabin.
“Solace! I got someone who needs a medic!”
She heard a litany of curses from inside before the scraping of furniture. The door opened to let her see at least 5 arrows nocked in her direction.
“Gods. It’s really you. Who…?” At a wave, the Apollo campers had their arrows relaxed and their bowstrings taut.
She just handed the boy over roughly. “Hit on the head I think.”
Solace grimaced when he recognized the face. “Must have run outside sometime last night.”
He handed him over to one of his sisters before grabbing his own bow and stepping outside to join her. “What’s the plan?”
She grunted. Fine. “We’re clear I think. ‘Dunno where they are but our resident God’s bought it.” She gestured to the center.
She let him walk up to the body and watched as the veteran of two wars retched at just what Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had wrought.
“di Immortales” He whispered.
The two set out and issued the all-clear to every cabin, avoiding the northeast edge of the U-shape for now. The campers set out slowly, carefully. Most had bags under their eyes.
Most of the other counsellors had resolved to keep the sight of the God’s body from the younger campers, issuing orders for groups to stick together and away from the center. Her hand itched toward the dagger as her eyes were drawn to the cabin where a camper lay unconscious. She ordered teams to search for Chiron. The ruins of the Big House were a good place to start.
“Do you think he meant to hurt him?” Katie asked, her voice almost a whisper. “Pollux was at Manhattan. He and Percy…”
“If I had to hear my dad beg like that I probably would have gone out there too.” Travis responded first. Connor nodded. The Stoll twins’ usual energy was gone.
“I promised that if they threatened any campers…” Clarisse started. “I swore to stop them.”
“We should rally the camp then, we have the numbers and they have to be tired after last night.” The Counsellor for Cabin 16, one of Nemesis’s kids, advised. “If they’re still at camp.” He was young. She remembered being that young once.
“You’re wrong on both counts kid. We don’t have the numbers.” She snorted. “If you asked your cabin to stand against them, how many would get in the phalanx with you?”
His brow furrowed. “Alright maybe half of my siblings might be too young or too cowardly but-“
“And if the two of them waltzed in here and asked for people to come with them as they marched on Olympus the other half would march right along with them.” She interrupted. She eyed the rest of the counsellors. The Stoll twins seemed to look a little guilty, and she had a sneaking suspicion that Lou Ellen and Malcolm weren’t looking at her in the eyes for a reason. “And that holds true for the rest of the camp too.” She didn’t say it out loud but even some of the more clueless ones saw her eye the entire circle of counsellors. The kid from Cabin 16 seemed to shift as he eyed the people standing beside him.
Her soul wrenched. If they walked up to her and asked for her help would she give it? The dagger on her belt felt heavy once more.
“And of the ones who’d fight them, we don’t exactly have the cream of the crop. The rest of the Seven are at New Rome or out somewhere.” As much as she hated to admit it, Lightning boy probably could even the odds somewhat.
“The Hunters are out wherever they are, and two of the three most powerful Manhattan vets are the people we’re thinking of fighting.” Jake Mason from the Hephaestus Cabin added, nodding at her. “Clarisse is good but…”
She gritted her teeth. “Realistically… I could maybe take one of them out with some help.” It may have been the truth, but it still hurt to say it aloud.
“They’re at the beach.”
She turned around to find Clovis. The usually asleep camp counsellor spoke in a drowsy voice. “They’re just sitting there.”
A few of the others paled. She held up a hand and motioned for them to stay put. She felt their eyes on the back of her head as she marched to the shore.
The waves were calm.
They were attached together as usual. The daughter of Athena reclined on her boyfriend as if he was a couch, while he idly stroked her hair.
They sat as if they hadn’t just killed a God last night.
“Pollux is in Cabin 7 right now.” She started. Her eyes were trained on the back of the brunette’s head.
Percy turned, and Clarisse would swear on the styx he had concern on his face. “Is he… Is it bad?”
“Jury’s still out. Solace thinks he’ll make it though.”
He nodded. Annabeth straightened and gave him a smile. “Hey. He attacked you. It’s not your fault.”
Percy just exhaled, his forehead touching hers.
“Divide and Conquer”
Ares was the God of War for a reason. Just because Athena was better at strategy didn’t mean he didn’t have his own talents in the art.
“Whose idea was it?”
They seemed to pause for a moment before Annabeth spoke. “They let us fall.”
“They let her fall.” Percy added a moment later. Talk about a one-track mind.
“You know she’s using you right Prissy?” Clarisse probed. Percy had the raw power but it was the daughter of Athena who gave him direction. One without the other wouldn’t be able to do much against Olympus, and considering that she had to have some big overall plan in mind…
“Yeah.” Percy replied without pause. “I know.”
“You could join us Clarisse. There are few who we’d trust more than you to fight with us.” Annabeth asked, her eyes flicked over to the daughter of Ares before softening once more onto her boyfriend.
She wondered if this was how all those traitors had felt during the first War. That inescapable pull towards the edge that seemed so inviting.
“I actually like my dad, thank you very much.” She answered, although she thought that there was little resolve in her voice.
They didn’t respond at all. The blonde probably knew how she was going to answer before she had even asked the question.
Clarisse right hand curled tighter around her spear, and her left drew the dagger slowly.
“I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
She managed to take all of three steps before she could feel a painful wrenching that lifted her up and over them. She flailed in the air for a good few seconds before she landed in the ocean.
Dropping her spear for the weight she struggled upwards, taking a breath as her head broke the water’s surface.
She almost didn’t notice the water swirling like a whirlpool until she was lifted up, a mini-cyclone of water keeping her suspended in the air.
“I’m sorry. I lied.” Annabeth spoke without remorse.
Lied about what? Clarisse looked to the dagger in her hand, at the glowing Greek letters before she cursed and threw the weapon at her head with a precise aim.
A tendril of water caught it just before it would have hit her in the head.
“Don’t kill her.” She told her boyfriend, whose hand was held up in a vice grip, controlling the water. “Just… send her back to camp.”
“You’re like a dog Jackson. If she told you to roll over you’d fucking do it!” Clarisse taunted. “Think for yourself Prissy! What happened to the kid with spunk who decided to hit me with toilet water on his first day here huh?!”
An irritated look came across his face before he flicked his hand upwards. The skyline dominated her view as she flew back towards the cabins.
“DI IMMORTALES!” She shouted in a panic.
She could see several campers point upwards at her falling form before Lou Ellen started trying to cast a spell.
‘Just roll La Rue. Just roll.’ She thought to herself. As the ground came up towards her she braced herself and forced her knees to bend at the right moment, rolling forward and crashing into the ground. There was a piercing pain in her legs and joints, but as she took a breath she thanked the Fates that she was alive.
Will Solace took her to his cabin to treat her for broken legs. Chris held her hand the whole time.
The campers he sent to check the beach found it empty.
She had a sneaking suspicion that the day would haunt her for a long time.
“If everyone knew they were going to turn traitor, why didn’t anyone decide to stop them?”
“Why didn’t Clarisse La Rue stop them?”
“Why didn’t she stop her friends?”