ꜱᴘɪᴅᴇʀ ʙɪᴛᴇꜱ: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴄᴀʙᴇᴛʜ/ꜱᴏʟᴀɴɢᴇʟᴏ ᴘʀᴏᴊᴇᴄᴛ

ᴠɪ ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ | ᴘᴇʀᴄʏ ʟɪᴠᴇꜱ ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ

He was so happy when the war was over, and even happier that his Wise Girl was alive and okay. Sure, Clarisse had to re-break Annabeth's ankle since it healed wrong, and she was hobbling around camp on crutches, but she was alive. Then a year later she broke her ankle a second time, but they were together, and that's all that mattered.

And Percy was late for their date. Shoot. He changed out of his flowery swim trunks and into some real pants and burst out of his cabin towards the docks over the lake.

Nights at Camp Half-Blood like this one were exceptionally serene. All of the canoes had been tied up or dragged far enough onto the shore so that they wouldn't float away. Stars dotted an inky night.

Percy remembers that night so well like it happened just last week. The sky was so clear, he could make out all of his favorite constellations.

It was past lights out; nobody would interrupt him and Annabeth. They could cuddle and gaze at the stars, and nobody would notice if Annabeth spent the night with Percy in his cabin. Either that or nobody would care. They were, after all, everyone's favorite couple.

It should've been a perfect night.

But Percy knew something was off as soon as he saw Annabeth, staring into the distance, legs dangling off the side of the dock. Something had been off with her for a week or so, yet she insisted that she was fine. There was nothing to worry about. She was just a little nervous about going to college. That was all.

So he trusted her. He trusted that things would just get better on their own.

"Hey there, Wise Girl." Percy moved Annabeth's crutches out of the way so he could sit down next to her, noting that she still hadn't told him how her injury came about. He threw an arm around her and pulled her close. He was the luckiest guy in the world. "What did you want to tell me? Or did you want to show me something? New designs?"

"Chiron and Mr. D offered me a job as a training director," Annabeth said, still staring ahead at the water.

"Congratulations," Percy laughed. He'd thought it was funny. How could he have been so stupid? He later considered that maybe it wasn't a sudden offer; maybe Annabeth had asked for that job.

"I'm going to take it," she said at last.

"What?" Percy didn't understand. He still doesn't understand. "What about New Rome?"

"I'm not going."

Percy tried. He really tried to understand, but he never could. "What happened? You seemed excited about those architecture classes..."

"I'm not taking the damn classes, Percy." He stopped talking. Things were bad if Annabeth was swearing in English. Swearing in Ancient Greek was cute and fun. She did it when she was solving a hard problem or when Percy did something stupid.

But swearing in English was always a bad sign coming from her. Something was going to Hades.

"Listen I don't want to get into it but I can't go with you. I'm sorry," Annabeth said. Her voice cracked when she spoke. "I'm really sorry."

"No, please get into it; I'm worried," Percy said. "This isn't like you."

"I can't. It's complicated."

"Is it me?" Percy asked. "Is there anything I can do?"

Annabeth seemed to be at a major loss for words. Percy was getting nervous. He was bordering on scared.

She finally looked over at him. The storm that always seemed to be brewing in her eyes had died. In its place was a dull, almost haunting abyss. "I... I think I need space."

"I'll miss you," said Percy. Gods, he was so stupid. He still wasn't getting it.

"You'll find someone else," said Annabeth.

Then he got it. It was time to panic. "I don't want to find someone else; I want to be with you."

Annabeth didn't say anything. She just put her Yankees cap on backward. Even though they'd won the war, it still wasn't turning her invisible, Percy later realized. Was something the matter with her mother?

"I'm sorry," she said again. She used her palm and her good leg to push herself up onto her feet. Seeing that she was struggling, Percy picked up her crutches and handed them to her, making sure that she wouldn't fall over. He may have just been dumped for a reason unbeknownst to him, but he wasn't a jerk.

Annabeth hobbled back towards her cabin.

Percy thought that night would've ended with him carrying her off to bed.

That was almost ten years ago.

Now Percy's in the kitchen wearing Paul's "kiss the cook" apron and trying to make whatever nerve-calming concoction Cletus gave him for his mother. Hopefully, that'll do the trick. Percy is seriously starting to worry about this flight. What's he supposed to do if his mom has a panic attack? Or if she forgets to take her medications? She's been so forgetful lately.

"Percy, is that you?" his mother calls from her bedroom.

"In the kitchen!"

"What are you cooking? I can make a dinner you know," she says.

Percy shows Sally the assortment of herbs on the counter. "This stuff is supposed to ease our nerves on the flight. I'm practicing the recipe to make sure I get it right, but if this works, we'll never get plane-sick again."

"Who gave you this?" She's holding the note with the recipe on it.

"Oh, uh, just a friend from work," Percy lies. His mom doesn't know about him seeing a therapist. She wouldn't be mad to find out; he just doesn't want to worry her.

She coughs, and Percy leads her to the couch. "Sit down and rest, Mom. I can heat up the leftover lasagna."

"I do love lasagna." Sally smiles from the couch. "I'm looking forward to the wedding this weekend. Thank you for letting me be your date."

"There's nobody I'd rather go with."

Neither of them addresses it, but there's an understanding in the air that this trip is not going to be pleasant, and maybe it wasn't fair to ask Nico to go in on plane tickets for the same flight with them. Sally's absolutely terrified to fly. That shouldn't be anyone's problem except her's and Percy's.

"Who all's going to be there? I miss your old friends," she says as Percy puts the leftovers in the oven.

"Well, you already know we're flying over with Nico, and Leo's also in the wedding party. I think Rachel and Piper are going to be there too," Percy says.

"What about Jason? I always liked him." Sally is forgetful sometimes now. Most of the time it's just a minor inconvenience. Other times, like now, it makes Percy want to bury himself alive in leftover lasagna.

He should probably remind her of where Jason really is, but she's in such a good mood. Besides, she's been known to remember things on her own after a few hours.

So Percy just says, "I don't think he's going to be able to make it."

"Ah, that's a shame," his mother says. "How about Annabeth? It'll be nice to see her again. I bet she's doing wonderful things. Such a bright girl."

Percy smiles. He's pretty sure the only reason he hasn't turned sour on the Annabeth thing is Sally. She's always seen the best in Annabeth, despite her being the woman who broke her only son's heart.

"I bet she's doing great too," Percy says.

He sits on the couch and watches Wheel of Fortune for a few minutes. The winning puzzle is "MYTHOLOGICAL HERO ACHILLES". Then, the oven timer goes off and Percy scrapes the lasagna onto a plate and serves it to Sally, who takes it with shaky hands.

"Careful, it's hot," he says. He puts some lasagna on his plate and they eat dinner on the coffee table together over an episode of Jeopardy. The daily double is: "Greek name for Cupid".