The Other Castellan

Does This Mean Percy And Annabeth Will Eventually Be A Thing? Pt. 1

Chapter 35: Does This Mean Percy And Annabeth Will Eventually Be A Thing? Pt. 1

The next afternoon, the train finally arrived in Denver. Excellent. Lucas wanted to talk to Hermes, and an Iris Message would be a great way to do it. It would be much more polite than the other methods he could use.

And yes, Lucas was aware that the chance of Hermes actually answering was close to none, but it wouldn't hurt to try, right?

So, when Annabeth mentioned that she wanted to IM Chiron, Lucas agreed. Naturally. Okay, so he was a bit wary of talking to Chiron at the moment, but it'd be fine, wouldn't it? Chiron wouldn't be able to drag him back to the camp or do anything.

"So," Lucas said, "would anybody care to tell me why Percy is framed for causing a bus accident in New Jersey? And why nobody told me?"

None of them answered him. Oh gods, were they feeling guilty? They better not be. What Lucas wanted was to know what happened.

"It just slipped our mind!" Annabeth exclaimed. "It's not really that important."

"Except for the Kindly Ones," Grover said.

"Encountering the bloody Kindly Ones isn't important?" Lucas exclaimed. "Oh, yes, and while we're at it, why don't I tell you about that time I saw someone hatch a dragon in a wooden hut?"

"What," Annabeth said. "What the Hades, Lucas?"

"No complaining," Lucas replied. "If yours isn't important, then neither is mine. So, why don't we let this go, and find a place to IM Chiron like you wanted to?"

It took some convincing and cajoling, but eventually, they agreed, so they got off the train, wandering through downtown for a while, before finally finding an empty do-it-yourself car wash. The air was dry and hot, which was a refreshing change from the humidity of St. Louis—even if it felt a bit strange—and the Rocky Mountains loomed over them, which Lucas kept staring at in their half an hour wandering. It was tall and pretty and Lucas couldn't help but admire it. He had never seen them before, though he had heard of it, and it was much more amazing in person.

Eventually, they entered the stall farthest from the street, while Lucas kept an eye out for police. The last thing they needed right now was to be arrested. It'd probably be fun, but they were on a deadline. There was only a week left before the solstice, when they'd have to get the Master Bolt back to Zeus, and getting arrested would just slow them down, even if getting arrested was on Lucas's bucket list.

Besides, Lucas was pretty sure that they were known as terrorists by now. What even happened to terrorists who got caught? He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," Grover grumbled, fishing in his pocket for change. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

She shook her head. "Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

"Here," Lucas cut in, handing Grover a quarter. He still had plenty of money left.

"Excellent," Grover declared. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?"

"IM'ing," Grover replied, feeding in the three quarters and setting in the knob to "FINE MIST."

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."