Remembering

Chp. 10: Fresh Start

The emotions flooded his body, churning in his chest. Percy needed to sit down. He needed to collect his thoughts. There was just so much happening, he didn't even have time to think. First there was the whole thing with Annabeth and her apologizing to him and then assembly where Reyna apologized to the campers. So much had been going on....

Okay, Percy. Breathe.

Percy sat on the ground, resting his head against the wall of the temple. Yesterday, he had unlocked some kind of power. Something that was so strong that he could literally control the flow, strength, and direction of water. When Annabeth came to him to apologize for her outburst yesterday, she asked about his rediscovery. He simply said that it was no big deal, and probably something to do with being the son of Poseidon.

That wasn't further from the truth.

Percy couldn't ignore the flooding of memories any longer. The water held so much he didn't know before...things he was dying to understand, to figure out, to share with the world.

But he had to tell one person first.

                                                    ~

"Annabeth? Are you there?" Percy's usually sweet voice was mingled with a hint of despair. Annabeth sprang up from her chair. Ever since the incident on the Argo II, Percy never initiated their interactions. It would always be her reaching out, her talking to him, her leaving lessons early....she knew she deserved his coldness after what she'd done. But now... he was approaching her, knocking at her door, calling her name...she swung open the door handle.

"Percy?" His hair was disheveled, eyes drooping with exhaustion-a polar opposite of the collected boy who split her and Reyna apart yesterday.

He rushed past her and sank down in the chair she was just sitting in. Annabeth sat across from him on her bed. Percy took a few quick breaths to calm himself, then-

"I lied to you." What was he talking about?

"I lied when I said the water thing was no big deal. When the water came onto my hands, I got a surge of memories. Like memories I didn't know I had."

"What happened in these memories?"

"They were all over the place, but the only thing they had in common was that I was controlling water. Pouring toilet water on Clarisse, crashing a wave over Luke, exploding Mt. St. Helens after..."

Annabeth stilled with bated breath. Did he remember their most sacred memory? The moment where the bindings on their friendship loosened to something more?

"Yeah, a lot of memories." Annabeth's heart dropped, but she forced a neutral expression. Did he not remember their kiss, or did he remember and wasn't ready to tell her?

Snap out of it, Annabeth. Her priority was Percy right now.

"Well, water is considered to retain memories in most cultures. The physical properties of water allow it to retain the memory of a substance even after multiple dilations, making it useful for homeopathic medicine. In a spiritual sense, Greeks and Romans have the River Mnemosyne, the water of memory."

"So you're saying the River Mnemosyne could help me?"

"I mean, maybe. But the only way to reach it is to dip in the River Lethe-"

Percy's face hardened.

"Oh my gods!" Annabeth gasped. "Percy you can't possibly think that's a good idea! If you're not able to come out, you'll lose your memory for good."

"But if I do, I'll dip in the River Mnemosyne and remember everything. Even us."

Annabeth clenched her fists. She wanted that...she wanted that more than anything. But she could not risk Percy's life for the mere prospect of success. "If we took this quest, hypothetically," she added when Percy looked up. "then Jason would come too, since it may recover his memory as well. So that makes 3 people-"

"3 people? We just counted me and Jason?"

Annabeth's gaze hardened. "I'm coming with you Percy. You're not going to take a dip in the River Lethe and not take me."

Percy's heart flipped. Despite hiding it well, Annabeth had hurt him when she slammed the door on the Argo II. But here she was, opening the door once again. An image of them standing side by side on the quest popped in his head, and a smile graced his features. "So you, me, Jason: 3 people make a quest. Now we just have to run this by Reyna and-"

"Slow down. You can't just rush into everything! We have to think this through before talking to Reyna-"

The clanging of a bell cut her off. Percy narrowed his eyes, meaning clear. Are you going to leave me again?

Annabeth stayed in her chair, unmoving. A wave of relief washed over him: she wasn't going to leave him. Maybe now, they could try to have a fresh start.

Annabeth got up to grab a loose sheet of paper and a pencil. Plopping down on her chair once more, she looked directly at him, gray eyes startling. "Let's make this work."

Somehow, Percy got the feeling she wasn't just talking about the quest.