Chapter Text
Annabeth was determined to solve the problem. As soon as she completed this set, her calculus homework would be done and she could move on to her history study guide. Then answer questions on that weird short story for her English class. Then…okay, stop. She took a deep breath. One thing at a time. She re-focused on the notes in front of her, frowning as she tried to figure out how the sample problem her teacher had gone over in class applied to the actual homework question.
The study room was quiet. The only sounds were scratching pencils and rustling pages, accompanied by occasional frustrated sighs. Annabeth had to pride herself a little bit on the suggestion to reserve a private study room at the public library. Normally she worked on her homework in her dorm or at the Jackson-Blofis apartment, but there were always distractions, like her laptop, other girls on her floor popping in to chat, the TV, or Percy’s mom asking how things were going and bringing in snacks. Okay, Sally providing snacks was actually one of the perks of studying at the apartment, but today, with the last two weeks of the semester looming, Annabeth really just needed to focus.
Of course, if that was the case, maybe she shouldn’t have brought the most likely source of distractions with her. To be fair, Percy had been working diligently for over an hour, nearly as focused as she was as he plowed through his own stack of homework. So really she wasn’t surprised when he finally cracked.
Percy groaned, then slumped forward until his head hit his textbook with a soft thump. “How much longer until winter break?”
“Well, today is December second and classes end Friday, December fifteenth, so there are still thirteen days to get through. The same number of days there were when you asked me this question on our way to the library.”
“I’m never going to make it.” Percy groaned dramatically again and flung his arms out on top of the books and papers scattered across the table. “You’ll have to go on without me.”
“What does that even mean?” Annabeth checked her notes, then moved to the next step in the equation. “Am I supposed to take your exams for you?”
Percy lifted his head just enough to peek at her. “If you did that, I would love you forever.”
Annabeth suppressed the smile trying to creep across her face. “But then I’d have to study for your exams on top of mine. How is that fair?”
“But you like studying,” Percy whined. “It’s your thing.”
“Not enough to take on a second round of tests. No deal, Seaweed Brain.” She scribbled down the final answer to the calculus problem, then set down her pencil and stretched. “You’re just going to have to drag yourself through the next two weeks.”
“Fine.” Percy heaved a sigh as he rested his chin on his textbook. The small pout on his face was somehow endearing. “At least there’s camp to look forward to. We can spend a couple weeks together with no homework for a change.”
The words sent a jolt through Annabeth. At first, she wasn’t sure why. Then it hit her: they’d had a similar conversation a year ago, about looking forward to hanging out together at camp over winter break. And then Percy had disappeared for six months. Panic seized her, but Annabeth wrestled it away. This year was different. There was no threat or prophecy. Everything was relatively normal. Still, it took her a moment to realize Percy was still talking.
“—decide about going to your dad’s?”
“What? Oh, um, no, I haven’t decided yet. I mean, he invited me, and it sounded like he really did want me there for Christmas, so I thought maybe I’d go for a few days, like the 23rd to the 26th or something.”
“Cool. So you and I will have to do presents either before or after, right?” He looked at her expectantly.
“Are we doing presents?” Annabeth asked lightly, looking down as she closed her calculus notebook. She’d already had his present for a month, of course, but it was fun to tease him. She glanced back up just in time to see Percy sit up abruptly, his expression suddenly nervous.
“Uh, I mean, I thought so. But we don’t have to. I mean, I kind of got something for you, but if you didn’t get anything for me that’s totally fine, it’s no big deal—”
She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Percy, I’m kidding. Why don’t we do presents when I get back from my dad’s, if I go? You know, extend the holiday.”
“Oh, okay.” He flashed a grin. “Sounds good.”
She squeezed his arm, then withdrew her hand as she went back to shuffling her different stacks of study materials. “You know, this will be your last Christmas with just your mom and Paul. Next year…”
“Yeah.” Percy sat back in his chair, his gaze wandering off into space. “Pretty sure next year it’s going to be all about my baby sister. Which I’m totally cool with.”
“For sure, everybody’s going to want to spoil—” Annabeth froze. “Wait…sister?”
Percy just grinned.
“It’s a girl?” Annabeth squealed. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“I just did.”
“Percy! You could have mentioned it sooner!”
“Sorry.” But he was still beaming and he didn’t sound all that sorry. “My mom just found out a couple days ago. Apparently the baby hadn’t been in a good position to tell until now or something, but, yeah. It’s a girl. I’m going to have a baby sister!”
“That’s awesome!” Annabeth rose so she could walk around the table and hug him.
He returned the hug. “Thanks. You’re still going to help me baby-sit, right?”
“Obviously.” She pulled back enough to smile at him. Which was when she caught the mischievous glint in his eyes. She gave a small yelp of surprise as Percy tugged her off-balance so that she fell into his lap. Then he kissed her.
“Study break,” he explained.
“Mmhm.” Annabeth ran her fingers through his messy hair. “I feel like I should point out the giant plate glass window in the wall behind us, which I’m pretty sure is there to stop people from doing exactly this in the study rooms.”
Percy made a face. “See? This is why people say libraries are no fun.”
“They can be.” After checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was walking past at the moment, Annabeth indulged herself by giving him a slow, lingering kiss. Then she gently disentangled his arms from around her waist and stood up. “Okay, break’s over. Back to work.”
Percy blinked a few times, then pouted again. “That wasn’t even a five minute break. It’s Saturday. Shouldn’t we be, I don’t know, going out or something?”
“We are out,” Annabeth said as she dropped back into her chair and pulled her history study guide towards her. “We’re at the library.”
“That,” Percy said pointedly, “is not what I meant.”
Already busy scanning her history textbook for keywords, Annabeth didn’t answer.
“You’re impossible,” Percy grumbled.
She looked up, then nudged his shin with her foot. “But you love me anyway, right?”
“Yeah, I do,” Percy admitted. He cracked a smile. “Even if you won’t take all my exams for me.”
“Keep dreaming, Jackson.” Annabeth turned her attention back to her notes, then added, “But just remember, in two weeks, we’ll be at camp. Where there’s a lake. And I happen to know a guy who can make underwater air bubbles. Just saying.”
“Huh.” Percy was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Well, there’s my incentive to survive these exams.”
“Incentive?” Annabeth looked up again, impressed by his vocabulary choice.
“SAT prep word.” Percy shrugged. “I’ve been trying to work them in so I can hopefully raise my score next time I take the stupid test.”
“You will,” Annabeth said confidently. “I know you will.”
“Thanks.” They shared another smile, then dove back into their respective homework.
By the time Annabeth collapsed into bed, it was midnight. She was absolutely exhausted. After they left the library, Percy had tried to persuade her to come hang out at his apartment, but as much as she would have liked to, she’d refused. She still had too much work to get done. So she’d kissed him good-bye at the subway station, then they’d taken separate trains back to their different parts of the city. And then Annabeth had spent several more hours studying in her dorm room. Seriously, senior year was kicking her butt. As she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to relax enough to fall asleep, all the different subjects swirled like a cyclone in her mind. That’s probably why her dream started the way it did.
Annabeth dreamed she was sitting in an empty theater, watching as characters from Shakespeare plays spouted economic theories and balanced chemical equations. A girl from her AP Calculus class dropped into the seat on Annabeth’s right and began asking questions about integrals. Then a guy from her AP History class sat down on her left and began ranting about the complex ways World War I led to World War II. All the voices began whirling around, impossible to focus on, even for an ADHD demigod with excellent battle reflexes. Finally, Annabeth put her hands over her ears and ran out of the theater, ducking through a doorway she had supposed would lead into a lobby.
But it didn’t. In true dream form, she was suddenly in a completely different place, but one that she recognized. The small stone temple, with its twin pitch black doorways flanking a statue of the war god, filled her with terror and shame. It was the Temple of Fear, from Sparta. This wasn’t a memory because there was no comforting reassurance of having Piper beside her. Annabeth was now standing alone before the statue of Ares. Waves of fear broke against her, but she refused to let them drag her under. Not again.
A shadow melted from the wall, rising into the form of a smoky giant that resembled Clytius but spoke in Mimas’s voice: Are you a believer, Annabeth Chase?
Black smoke rolled off the giant. It slithered across the floor towards her and Annabeth knew instinctively that she did not want it touching her. She stumbled backward into the wall.
Her heart flung itself against her rib cage like it was trying to escape. But escape wasn’t possible. She could only stand there, pressed against the cold stone, as the thick oily smoke engulfed her.
She expected darkness. Instead, as the smoke consumed her, visions played out against the clouds. They were washed out, not like a black and white movie, but like they’d been leached of color. That in itself was disturbing, but not as bad as the visions.
In the first she was seven years old again, sitting in a library across from…gods, her cousin Magnus. She hadn’t thought about him in years. This was the Thanksgiving of the big fight between their families. They’d been playing with some weird dominoes. In the vision, she told him she was going to run away. He was the only person she’d told. In reality, she just remembered him watching her with wide eyes and her father had interrupted them before he responded. But in the vision, Magnus’s face turned boiling red and he swept his arm across the table, knocking over the tiny temple she’d been constructing. “No! You’re bad!” he yelled in his high-pitched, childish voice.
Annabeth was taken aback. She didn’t remember Magnus that well, but she definitely didn’t think he would do something like that. The vision made her question the memory though.
The next visions were worse. She was back in her bedroom in Richmond, spiders crawling all over her, webs choking her nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. This time, her stepmother stood in the doorway, arms crossed, coldly watching even as Annabeth begged for help, voice muffled by spider silk. But that wasn’t how it had really happened, was it?
The scene changed and she was in the Cyclops mansion in Brooklyn, watching Grover be devoured. Then she and Luke stumbled through slippery grass as Thalia was struck down behind them. But this time, no pine tree emerged. Time hurtled forward and she was on Olympus again, body battered, watching Percy hand her dagger to Luke. And watching, horrified, as Luke’s eyes gleamed and he stabbed Percy in the small of his back.
“Please…” she whimpered, but she didn’t know what she was asking, or who she was asking it of.
The visions continued like that, a steady stream, skipping back and forth through time, showing her every horrible, traumatizing moment in her past, but worse, so much worse, than what had really happened. She watched Thalia, Luke, and Grover die in a dozen different ways. One by one, Piper, Hazel, Jason, Frank, and Leo fell. Tyson. Rachel. Nico. Reyna. Her siblings from the Athena cabin. Other kids from camp—Silena, Beckendorf, Clarisse, friends from other cabins. She relived the worst moments of the battles of the Labyrinth and Manhattan, but this time, there were no survivors of either. Monsters devoured demigods. Annabeth fell to her knees, hands covering her eyes, but that didn’t stop the bleached out visions. They just changed. The focus shifted. Instead of showing her terrible things happening to everyone she loved, the visions narrowed to the worst that could happen to the one she loved most.
Percy turned to stone by Medusa. Percy falling from the Arch and breaking every bone in his body against the ground. Percy trapped in the Underworld. Crushed beneath the weight of the sky. Strangled in Antaeus’s grip. Chained underwater at the feet of Polybotes. Stabbed through the heart by Chrysaor. Speared by Ephialtes. Torn to shreds by Kelli. Eviscerated by Tartarus.
“No,” Annabeth moaned. She shut her eyes, but nothing stopped the visons. “Please, no more.”
But the smoke and the fear weren’t through with her yet. They dragged her back to the edge of Chaos. Nyx and her nightmare steeds breathed darkness into the abyss. Annabeth heard pained choking behind her. She turned her back on the goddess of night, knowing how foolish that choice would likely prove to be. But dread filled her at the sound and she had to see, had to know. Everything inside Annabeth felt like it was dissolving as she faced the scene she’d been forced to relive in dozens of nightmares since July. But like all the visions tonight, this was worse than even the reality had been. She watched in desperation as Akhlys gagged on poison, sputtering and shaking as she fell to the ground, clutching her throat.
“Don’t,” Annabeth whispered, but Percy didn’t hear. His eyes were wild with a kind of hungry bloodlust she had never seen on his face. Akhlys stilled. The poison tide didn’t stop. Instead, Percy faced Nyx. The poison rose around him, cresting like a wave, and swept across the cliff, crashing like a tsunami over the goddess of night and her chariot. Nyx shrieked in agony as the acid ate away at her. Percy’s expression didn’t change, still lit with cruel, hard light. Annabeth couldn’t stand it anymore. “Percy, stop! Please!”
Somehow, even in this most horrible version of events, the poison never touched her. She stood in a small safe circle of stone. Percy turned to her. A thrill of fear went down her spine. But he simply said, “Okay.” His hands dropped to his sides and the flood of poison stopped.
The vision shifted one final time. And this time, it was so close to a real memory it was hard to pick out what was true and what was twisted by the smoke. It was a night in December last year at Camp Half-Blood. The vision revealed two demigods strolling away from the campfire, hand in hand. With a jolt, Annabeth recognized herself and Percy. She was watching the scene play out like a spectator. They joked and laughed as they crossed the wide green lawn between the cabins, then stopped outside the door to Cabin Three. Part of her mind resisted, thinking that wasn’t right because Percy always walked her to her door, but apparently not in this version of the memory. In this version, she watched as Percy tugged her into the Poseidon cabin, then kissed her. Like really kissed her. Which felt really weird to watch from the outside. And also was not something that had happened that night. What was real, though, was the way they smiled at each other when they broke apart. She remembered that—it had happened outside the door of Cabin Six, and she remembered the giddy feeling she’d experienced, mistakenly thinking that they were safe at camp and would be spending plenty of time together over the next couple weeks.
And then…the vision shifted with her memory, and again it was real, as she watched herself run into the now-empty Cabin Three, looking panicked, calling Percy’s name and getting no response. The room spun and Annabeth was no longer watching the scene, she was living it. But it was worse this time. Before, she had held onto hope for six months that he would reappear. They knew about Camp Jupiter, they had Jason, it wasn’t hard to figure out about Hera drafting Percy into her little exchange program. But in the washed out, colorless world of the smoke-vision, none of that was true. Annabeth knew somehow that he wasn’t at Camp Jupiter this time. He wasn’t in New York or Alaska or the ancient lands or on Olympus or even lost in the mortal world. He was just gone. And this time, she would never get him back. Cold laughter rippled through the smoke as the vision faded into nothingness.
Annabeth woke with a sob. Cold sweat beaded her forehead and her stomach churned. The visions had seemed terrifyingly real. The feelings of loss and fear and emptiness were still with her as she struggled out of the sheets tangled around her legs. Her hands shook as she threw on jeans and a sweatshirt. Panic was blooming in her chest, rising up her throat like it was going to suffocate her.
Percy. She had to get to Percy.
Not bothering with a coat or gloves or hat, because she couldn’t find them in the dark, she simply pulled on her boots, grabbed her sword, and slipped out the door.
Outside, it was absolutely freezing. Sleet pelted her face as she jogged up the street. On some level, Annabeth knew this was crazy. It was the middle of the night. A really nasty night. But her heart was racing, a horrible feeling of dread pooling in her stomach. Still feeling disoriented by the nightmare, her only clear thought was that she had to see Percy. She had to know he was still here.
The subway station was slightly warmer, but when Annabeth reached her platform, it was only to find that the train she needed wasn’t running right now. Maintenance or something. So she stomped up a broken down escalator and charged back into the night. Several blocks later, she was shaking, but now more from cold than fear. She was an idiot for not grabbing her coat. Sleet soaked her sweatshirt and jeans. Now she was pressing forward for survival purposes as much as any other reason, since she was closer at this point to the Jackson-Blofis apartment than she was to her dorm. Her jaw hurt from fighting against her chattering teeth. Annabeth wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold in every bit of body heat she could as an icy wind whipped down the street, driving the freezing rain harder against her face. Her entire body was trembling.
When she reached Percy’s block, she hesitated for a moment, then decided against going to the door, not really wanting to wake his parents up. Besides, there was no guarantee anyone would hear the buzzer when they were all asleep. Instead, she climbed up the fire escape, which she realized was increasingly stupid by the time she hit the second floor. The frosty metal rungs of the ladder burned her fingers. She hoped she wouldn’t slip and fall to her death. That would just be embarrassing. Annabeth was starting to feel ridiculous about having rushed out into a winter storm because of a nightmare, and even more ridiculous for climbing up the fire escape, but it was way too late to turn back. She needed to get inside now.
Finally, she made it to the fifth floor. Her clothes were soaked through, her teeth chattering so hard she was afraid she’d crack one, and her tangled wet hair was plastered to her face. She could barely feel her fingers as she tapped them on Percy’s window. Through the glass, she could see him sound asleep in bed, which only added to her understanding that this was insane, but she was about to freeze to death so he really needed to wake up and let her in. Percy hadn’t moved, so she knocked harder, a sharp RAP RAP RAP. He jerked awake, then looked around blearily. She tapped the window again and he spotted her. His mouth dropped into an O of surprise, but he scrambled out of bed and opened the window.
“Annabeth, what the hell? Get in here.” Percy helped her hop down into his room, then he shut the window, cutting off the glacial blast. He was wearing basketball shorts and a t-shirt. The brief rush of cold had raised goosebumps on his arms, but he didn’t seem bothered as he put his hands on her shoulders, asking urgently, “Are you okay?”
“F-f-fine,” Annabeth managed. Her lips were so numb it was hard to speak, especially with her chattering teeth. “S-s-s-stupid n-n-n-nightmare.”
Percy’s brow furrowed. “You came all the way over here because of a nightmare?”
“Kn-know it’s dumb,” Annabeth admitted, forcing the words out, “but I had t-t-to s-see you.”
Percy’s expression softened and he pulled her into his arms. She wanted to melt into his embrace, but he stepped back again almost immediately, frowning. “Gods, you’re soaked. And your lips are blue.” He went to his dresser and dug out sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, which he handed to her. “Put these on and pass me your wet clothes. I’ll throw them in the dryer.”
“You d-don’t h-h-have to d-do that.”
“Babe, you’re like two minutes from hypothermia. Get changed and get under the covers.”
He stepped into the hallway while she stripped off her wet clothes and pulled on the dry ones, feeling increasingly foolish about the whole situation. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes when she opened the door to hand him her stuff. “Th-thanks.”
“No problem.” He nodded to his bed. “Go get under the covers.”
Although she didn’t always do what he told her, this time she did, tugging the covers tightly around her. Percy had at least five blankets on his bed, like he’d layered them against the cold. The sheets were still warm where he’d been sleeping, but Annabeth couldn’t stop shivering. She wondered if she’d accidentally crossed the line into dangerous territory, temperature-wise, but her frozen brain seemed incapable of deciding what the next step should be.
Luckily, Percy was back within two minutes. He softly shut his door, then, after a moment of hesitation, climbed under the covers with her. Under different circumstances, this might have been either awkward or awesome, but right now she just really needed to not be cold.
“Gods, you’re seriously freezing,” Percy muttered. He vigorously rubbed her arms and back. His body heat seared her cold skin. “Annabeth, what were you thinking, coming out in this storm? You could have just called me.”
“I know it s-seems st-stupid,” she murmured. A boiling hot tear dripped down her chilled cheek as the pain of the dream hit her again. “B-but it was the w-worst nightmare I’ve ever had, Percy.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded against his shoulder. Drawing in a shuddering breath, she told him about the dream, how it started with dumb school stuff, then moved to the Temple of Fear, how it replayed some of her worst memories, but in a warped way, altering the results. More tears traced their way down her face as she described watching her friends die. Watching him die, over and over and over again. And then, even though it was difficult to talk about, she described the distorted scenes with Akhlys and at Camp Half-Blood.
“And I woke up terrified and confused and I was a block away from my dorm by the time I really woke up, and by then I just wanted to keep going,” Annabeth finished. “I can’t explain it. I just had this horrible feeling. Like for a few minutes I was positive you wouldn’t even be here. That you were missing again.” She raised her head to meet his eyes. “I just had to see you.”
Percy still looked concerned, but there was something understanding in his slight smile. He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I’m right here. I’m all yours. I’m not going anywhere.”
His words warmed her up from the inside like a gulp of hot chocolate. Somewhere along the line, as she talked, she’d stopped shivering so badly. Her skin tingled as the numb cold faded. “Good. Because I like you right where you are.”
“Yeah, at the moment, I’m actually really happy right where I am.”
A weak laugh escaped her lips. “Not what I meant, but me too.”
“I’m sorry that nightmare was so bad, though. Do you think maybe it was just stress-related, because of exams and all? It sounds like that’s how it started, anyway.”
“The theater part was definitely because of exams. But the rest of it…” Annabeth sighed. Her fist was clenched around Percy’s t-shirt, her knuckles grazing his stomach, and she forced her fingers to relax. She smoothed out the wrinkles in the fabric as she said, “I don’t know, Percy. It didn’t feel like a premonition or a warning or anything, truthfully. It felt more spiteful, like someone was just trying to get under my skin. And it worked.”
He considered this, still rubbing slow circles on her back. “Do you think some monster or god or whoever was going after you specifically?”
Honestly, she hadn’t thought that far yet, but now that he mentioned it, her mind started to turn the idea over. “I guess the question would be why?”
“Isn’t that always the question?” Percy grumbled, and Annabeth managed another tiny laugh.
“True. Who knows? Maybe it was just a culmination of stress.”
“But you don’t think so.”
“Not really, no. But,” she glanced over his shoulder at the illuminated alarm clock, “it’s almost three in the morning, and I can’t even begin to think about who might be sending me horrible dreams right now.” Or what they might mean, she thought, but didn’t say. She bit her lip. “I hope it’s not a warning. I thought maybe we were finally safe. But I thought that last year, too, around this time and then…” Her voice trailed off.
Percy’s arms tightened around her. “I know.”
“I don’t want another insane quest, Percy. I know that sounds crazy coming from me, when that was all I wanted for so long, but, gods, we’ve done so much. And I just—I want different things now.”
His eyes were soft as he asked in a low voice, “Like what?”
She touched his face lightly, grateful that feeling had returned to her fingertips. Possibly because it was so late it was almost early and because she was in his arms, and in his bed, she told the truth. “Like a totally quiet, boring life with you. I mean, I know with you it’ll never really be boring, but we can try our best.”
Percy’s laugh made his chest rumble and Annabeth was suddenly incredibly glad she came over, especially now that it seemed like she wouldn’t be dying of hypothermia. “That might be your best plan yet, Wise Girl.” His expression turned serious again. “I can’t promise I won’t get kidnapped by some jerk god again. But I can promise you that I won’t go looking for a fight. Like you said, I want different things now. I’d like to be around for my baby sister, for example. And I want to go to college with you.”
“So you’re saying that the next time a god shows up asking you to go on some crazy cross-country quest—”
“I’m saying no. Unless it’ll get me instantly incinerated. Then I’ll say no, thank you.”
Annabeth laughed for real this time, then quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to muffle it. The fear she’d woken up with had left her feeling unsteady, like the tremors after an earthquake, but the panic had eased. Being here made her feel better. “How do you always do that? I can be completely miserable, but somehow you make me smile.”
The corner of Percy’s mouth quirked up. “Just a talent, I guess. Plus, I really like your smile.”
“That’s a good answer, Seaweed Brain.” It occurred to her that she hadn’t actually kissed him yet. She fixed that right away.
Percy returned the kiss. The familiar faint taste of salt on his lips helped to drive some, but not all, of the lingering fear away. Annabeth pressed closer to him because gods, he was so warm. And real. She deepened the kiss, fingers curled in his t-shirt. Outside, the wind howled and sleet pattered against the window, but inside everything was cozy and quiet.
Percy’s hand slipped under her shirt and new goosebumps rose on Annabeth’s skin that had nothing to do with the cold. She was very tempted to let things progress the way they had over the last few months on the rare occasions when the two of them had privacy and no homework. But unfortunately, right now, she still felt shaky and a little fragile from the nightmares. Tonight, this wasn’t what she needed.
She pulled away. “Stop. I can’t. Not tonight.”
“Okay.” Percy immediately moved his hands back to her waist. After a moment, he raised one to gently touch her cheek. He met her eyes and asked, “What do you need tonight?”
Annabeth felt like she’d had another gulp of hot chocolate. I have the best boyfriend ever. “Just hold me?”
“I can do that.” With Percy’s arms wrapped around her, she felt protected, the way she always did, and Annabeth relaxed into his embrace. For a minute or two, they were quiet. Annabeth traced random patterns on Percy’s chest, fighting down memories from the nightmares. She tried to focus on the way his fingers were lightly following the line of her spine. His breath brushed her cheek when he said, “Reminds me of the stables on the Argo II.”
“That was a nice night.” Annabeth stifled a yawn as she fidgeted with a loose string on his shirt. Drowsiness was hitting her hard, but she was afraid of what might happen when she closed her eyes. What if her mind was thrown back into the Temple of Fear?
“Hey,” Percy said, “did I ever tell you about the time at Yancy Academy when Grover and I totally pulled an epic prank on some bullies?”
Annabeth frowned. “No, I don’t think so. Why?”
“It’s just a good story. And believe me, these guys totally deserved what happened because they’d been giving wedgies to all the younger kids. So anyway, we were in the cafeteria when Grover gets this brilliant idea…” Percy quietly told her the story, and by the time he finished, Annabeth found herself grinning at the image of the bullies with Cheez-Whiz and Doritos stuck in their hair.
“Wow, Seaweed Brain. Sounds like you two were kind of troublemakers. But for a good cause.”
“Oh there’s no ‘kind of’ about it. I’m a straight-up troublemaker. But I try to help people out when I can.” Percy rolled onto his back, one arm behind his head, the other curled protectively around her shoulders. Annabeth snuggled against his chest as he continued. “Like this one time, I got a month of detention. Probably lucky I wasn’t suspended, but see, these eighth graders were picking on this scrawny little sixth grade guy, so…” As he talked in a low voice, telling her stories about schools he’d been to, mostly normal stuff (for him anyway), Annabeth felt her eyelids getting heavier. Percy was absent-mindedly playing with her hair, which was strangely soothing. She yawned. Percy glanced at her, then told another story, his voice a little softer this time.
Annabeth drifted off to sleep, secure in the comfortable warmth of being with Percy, safe in their cocoon of blankets.
She did have a dream, but it was definitely not a nightmare. She dreamt of standing on the beach at Camp Half-Blood, looking at the star-strewn sky over Long Island Sound. She was alone, but it was okay. Standing by the water made her feel calm. As she watched, one bright star detached itself from the heavens, floating towards the sea. A falling star. As it sank through the sky, a woman’s voice glided across the water, saying, “I will help you, daughter of Athena. Find me on the island where the lady rises from the sea.” That was all. It was a short dream, and in the morning, Annabeth barely remembered it. Of course, that could’ve been because she had other things to worry about when she woke up. Namely, Sally Jackson standing in Percy’s doorway, arms crossed, looking at the two of them with raised eyebrows.
“Oh, um.” Annabeth brushed the hair out of her face as she sat up, a guilty flush creeping up her neck. “Hi, Sally.”
“Good morning, Annabeth.”
Not wanting to look at the doorway, Annabeth shook Percy’s shoulder. “Wake up.”
“Huh, what?” Percy blinked, confused, then started to smile when he saw her. Until he spotted his mother. “Uh-oh.”
“Good morning, Perseus.”
“Mom, I can explain—”
“Yes, you can. I’ll see you both in the kitchen in one minute.” With that, Sally disappeared down the hallway.
Annabeth shot Percy an apologetic look. “Sorry.”
“S’okay.” He kissed her hand. “Worth it.”
Sally Jackson normally exuded warmth and kindness. She was not someone Annabeth would ever have referred to as intimidating (except maybe if someone threatened Percy). But there was something more than a little frightening about facing her this morning. Especially since Annabeth was wearing Percy’s t-shirt and sweatpants, as her own clothes were presumably still in the dryer. Sally’s arms were crossed over her baby bump and her face was set in the no-nonsense expression Annabeth had seen on Percy’s face numerous times, usually when he was trying to get information from a monster. Sally looked from her son to Annabeth, then back. “Explain.”
They tried. Annabeth told her about the nightmare and her impulsive decision to rush here in the freezing rain. “It was totally stupid and irresponsible, I know. But, honestly, I was that scared. It was,” she looked down, not able to hide the quiver in her voice, “the worst nightmare I’ve ever had. It manipulated my memories, made me wonder what was even real.”
Percy took her hand, which she appreciated, even if now maybe wasn’t the ideal moment for the gesture. He did her the favor of picking up the explanation, though. “There was sleet and freezing rain last night, Mom, so when Annabeth got here, she was freezing. Borderline hypothermia, seriously. I was really worried. So I gave her some dry clothes, left the room while she changed,” he emphasized pointedly, “and threw her stuff in the dryer. When I came back she was still shivering like crazy so I figured, you know, from first aid, uh,” Percy’s voice faltered as his cheeks turned red, “body heat?”
Annabeth winced. “That is true, though. I couldn’t get warm, even under all the covers.”
Sally pursed her lips. “For future reference, a good first step might be a cup of hot tea. But I hope you don’t seriously expect me to believe that if there hadn’t been a medical emergency, Percy would have politely slept on the couch.” Yeah, Percy definitely got his sarcasm from his mother.
“Maybe,” Percy said defensively. When they both looked at him, he relented. “Okay, probably not. But Mom, honestly, I was genuinely worried about her. And we just talked.”
“Kissed once,” Annabeth supplied.
Percy stared at her. “Really? Now?”
She shrugged and smiled sweetly at him. “We’re not climbing out of this hole, Seaweed Brain. Might as well keep digging.”
Sally cracked a smile. “I believe you. And I’m sorry you were that frightened, Annabeth. But you two are seventeen. You have big plans for college and I’m so proud of how hard you’ve been working. I just don’t want you to get caught up and have to deal with consequences you’re not ready to handle yet. So, as Percy’s mother, I’m required by law to make sure that you both do know how this happens, right?” She pointed to her baby bump.
Oh gods. Annabeth wished she had Nico’s ability to disappear into the shadows. But she didn’t. She also couldn’t meet Sally’s eyes as she nodded. Percy’s face was so brightly red she could almost feel the heat rising off him like a lobster in a pot. “Um, yeah, Mom, everyone here has taken health class and is aware of how that happens. And I really prefer not to think that about you guys.”
“Ditto, honey.” Sally sighed. “Look, if it happens again because of nightmares,” she added sternly, “just leave the door open.”
“Sure, Sally.”
“No problem.”
“Good.” Sally clapped her hands. “Now that the uncomfortable part is over, who wants breakfast?”