𝒊𝒊𝒊. 𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

𝒊.

Noelle arrived at Percy's small Manhattan apartment a half hour before they planned to leave and meet Grover at Westover Hall. They had agreed Rhode Island would be a little out of the way on their way to Maine.

So, her dad reluctantly let her drive all the way to New York on her own in one of his bakery's delivery vans, even if she was still fifteen. He trusted her and she was close enough to being sixteen and getting her license anyway. Besides, Noelle was very adamant that her dad stay home with his wife and baby boy. She could take care of herself.

Noelle slid the hood of her parka off her head. The parka was solid white, faux fur lining the hood. She had gotten it last summer during her adventures with Percy in the Sea of Monsters on the sorceress Circe's island. She had forgotten about it until she found it while unpacking after arriving at her place in Province. Now you wouldn't see her wearing anything else in the cold winter months.

The brunette girl raised her fist to the door, knocking thrice. She dropped her hand and nervously fiddled with buckle of her sheath that was home to her magical throwing knife. A moment later, Sally Jackson was opening the door with a smile on her face.

"Noelle, dear." The woman pulled the brunette into a tight hug. "How are you?"

Noelle hugged her back. "I'm okay, all things considered."

Sally pulled away, a sad smile on her face. "I understand. Well, we'll be going soon. Percy just has to finish packing the essentials."

Noelle nodded. "Sounds good."

Speaking of the devil, Percy rounded the corner into the kitchen/entryway area. "Hey, mom? Do you know if we have any extra ambrosia? I swear I had more than this," he said, looking at the small Ziploc baggie with ambrosia that was in his hand.

"Percy, why don't you say hello first," Sally said.

Percy looked up, a smile making its way onto his face at the sight of his girlfriend. "Noelle..." He set the bag of ambrosia on the small kitchen table to his right. Noelle met him halfway, hugging him tightly. "I missed you," he whispered into her hair.

Noelle buried her face into his chest, inhaling his scent. "I missed you, too."

"I'll go look for that ambrosia," Sally announced quietly, leaving the couple alone.

"How's your dad?" Percy asked softly after a few more seconds of silence.

"He's good, but he's worried about me. I had a very hard time trying to convince him to let me drive here on my own," Noelle said. 

"Yeah, how was that drive?" 

"Very lonely, but it's something I'll have to get used to."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Noelle opened her mouth to answer, but Sally came back into the room holding up a larger bag of ambrosia. "Found it!" she cheered.

Noelle pulled out of Percy's hold, kissing his cheek. "I'll tell you later. We should probably get going if we want to get there on time."

~

It was a bit longer than eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine with the slight detour to pick up Thalia and Annabeth. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, Noelle, and Percy hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what they were about to do, they were too nervous to talk much. Except for Sally. She tended to talk more when she was nervous. By the time they finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told the girls every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about Percy.