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All it took was one look for Annabeth to squeeze her eyes shut.
“I want to go home.”
“Annabeth,” Percy whined. “We literally just got here. You haven’t even been on a single ride!”
“And I‘ve decided I don’t want to.”
Annabeth crossed her arms stubbornly, even though inside she felt kinda bad. Percy had been dying to go to Six Flags Great Adventure for the last three months, but work and family emergencies and a terrible bout of a random stomach bug had made them postpone the trip multiple times.
Now they were here.
Percy, like an excited puppy, had dragged her straight to the main event: the fastest, tallest roller coaster in the world. Kingda Ka. 456 feet (139 m) tall, and accelerating from 0-123 mph (206 km/h) in 3.5 seconds.
Annabeth had held up the sky, fought the mother of all spiders, walked through the very depths of hell...yet looking at the green and blue steel coaster made her stomach turn and every single instinct in her yell run.
“Please,” she whispered.
She felt Percy’s arms wrap around her, and she burrowed into his shoulder. She really loved Percy’s hugs. His kisses were great, too. More than great, honestly. But his hugs? They were better than the sweetest ambrosia. She breathed in his scent, he always smelled like the ocean and his old spice deodorant, and reveled in the comfort of his presence.
“I know exactly what you’re doing, seaweed brain,” she mumbled into his shoulder.
She felt his laugh all through her body, the vibration further calming her, reminding her that he was there . “Is it working?”
“...no.”
“Annabeth.”
“Fine!” She said, peeking up at him. “I’ll do it.” Then, quietly: “Promise to hold my hand?”
Annabeth closed her eyes again as he kissed her forehead and slid his fingers into hers. “I promise.”
And thus they joined the throng of other adventurers waiting to ride the death contraption. Annabeth could hear the screams of current riders even though Percy tried to distract her during the nearly 90 minute wait.
Finally, it was their turn, and Annabeth forced herself to take even breaths as she was strapped in. Something about being at the point of no return made her freak out even more. The straps over her shoulders didn’t feel nearly sturdy enough, the bar across her lap wasn’t tight enough, and what if the buckle that helped hold it down broke? And did she have to pee before she got into the seat? Was she really that scared? She absolutely refused to wet her pants on the very first ride.
Please Mom, Hestia, Apollo...whoever is listening. Please don’t let me die on a roller coaster. Or of embarrassment.
Warm, smooth fingers slid into hers and Annabeth sucked in a shaky breath through her nose, grateful for Percy’s presence, though a soft chuckle had her banging his hand into the soft, flexible shoulder strap.
“It’s not funny!” She insisted, her words punctuated by a squeal as the cart began to move, curving out of the loading house and to the launch track. “Percy!”
“Annabeth, it’s alright. Nobody has ever been seriously injured on this ride...well, aside from the random bird incident, but that was one time. It’s perfectly safe.”
Rationally, Annabeth knew this. But she was still freaking out. The clicking noise of the launch device moving into place and subsequent hissing noise didn’t help her nerves, either
“Arms down; head back; hold on!” Came a chipper automated voice, and then there was silence.
Annabeth could hear her heart beating in her ears:
Thump-thump
Thump-thump
Thump-thump
Thump-thump
Thu-
Suddenly she was thrown against the seat as the train jolted forward, a flash indicating a picture being taken. The wind whipped past her, drowning out her racing heart and stealing the scream that had been wrenched from her lungs.
Impossibly, the cart seemed to go faster , hurtling down the track before sliding up, up, up, up, straight up into the sky. Annabeth caught a glimpse of the parking lot for a split second before they tipped over the top and went straight down, twisting a little on the way. Suddenly, they were level with the ground again, going over a small hill to slow down and back into the loading house.
It was all over in 28 seconds.
As they exited the ride, Annabeth's legs were shaking slightly, her breath uneven, but her body was now buzzing with excitement, not fear. Percy still held her hand.
“So?” He asked, slightly breathless himself. “What’d’ya think?”
“Let’s never do that again,” Annabeth said, trying to keep a straight face as Percy’s fell. “I’m kidding,” she said a minute later, unable to stand his baby seal eyes. She bumped his shoulder. “It was really fun, actually.”
Percy grinned, that troublemaker smirk that normally she knew held nothing behind it, but now was full of mischief. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Look,” he said, pointing at the lattice work that supported Kingda Ka’s ginormous arch in the middle. “See those tracks in the center?”
“Yes,” Annabeth said, slowly.
“That’s another ride. Let’s go in that one next!”
And so Annabeth found herself being dragged to ride after ride. All day they were tossed and turned, and she had to admit that it was really fun once she got over the initial fear that had strangely grilled her at the beginning of the day.
They got funnel cake as the sun sank lower in the sky, and Annabeth kissed the whipped cream and strawberry off Percy’s cheek. They rode the sky ride to the front of the park, snuggled close together and enjoying the vantage point of a beautiful sunset painting the sky brilliant pinks and oranges.
“I was afraid you were gonna bail on me for a minute there, wise girl,” Percy said, grinning cheekily.
Annabeth rolled her eyes, but laid her head on his shoulder and took his hand again. “I’m glad I always have your hand to hold.”
“Always,” Percy promised.
And Annabeth didn’t need to hear the words. She already knew.