Alacrity

XV.

XV. The Worst Last Day

"Perseus Jackson," Lyra pinched and slapped his cheeks until they rivaled her sunburn, doing her best to hide her mischievous smile whilst she sniffled and produced an impressive amount of fake tears, "Saved my life. Had it not been for him, I never would have escaped my captor, and I would never get to see my brother again."

She threw her arms around Percy for effect and sobbed into his shoulder. She heard the reporters chatter in the background about how he had bravely stolen a gun from Ares and battled him on the beach to save his friends - quite honestly, Lyra was surprised she was able to contain her smile and continue acting as well as she thought she was.

"All I want," Percy choked out when Lyra pulled away, though not before he, too, pinched her cheeks and grinned at her scowl, "is to see my loving stepfather again. Every time I saw him on TV, calling me a delinquent punk, I knew... somehow we would be okay. And I know he'll want to reward each and every person in this beautiful city of Los Angeles with a free major appliance from his store. Here's the phone number."

Lyra wrapped her arm around Annabeth's shoulder with a grin when the police and reporters passed around a hat and raised enough money for four tickets on the soonest flight to New York.

She hated every moment of the flight - each time the plane experienced the slightest bit of turbulence, she convinced herself that they were going to fall from the sky; and Lyra didn't want to die simply because she was in the plane with one of the people Zeus would most like to send back to Hades. Her companions didn't seem much calmer; Annabeth alternated between gripping Lyra's arm and the arm of her seat, and Percy dry heaved into the provided vomit-bags each time the plane shook.

But finally, after all too long, they touched down safely at LaGuardia. Lyra kissed the ground of the airport, only for Annabeth to pull her back up by the back of her t-shirt, "That's disgusting, Lyra!"

"Sweet, sweet ground," she made another dive to kiss the floor, but her friend yanked on a strand of her hair and slapped her upside the head. Lyra rolled her eyes and straightened out her shirt, sticking her tongue out at the girl, "So how are we supposed to get out of here? We're local celebrities now."

Annabeth managed to distract the local press by slapping on her Yankees cap and shouting that she had seen them by the frozen yogurt, before rejoining them at baggage claim.

"Good luck," Lyra pinched Percy's cheek once more when they reached the taxi stand - now that she knew she could, and gave him a small smile; it only widened when she saw him place his hands in his pocket, "Don't be stupid. Remember how much Zeus wants to kill you."

"Thanks, Lyra," Percy said sarcastically, and he clambered into a taxi, giving them one last small smile before the cabbie tore down the streets. Annabeth blanched, "I hope he's okay."

"He'll be fine," Lyra held out her arm and signaled for a taxi, opening the door for her friends, "Let's get back home. I just want to see my brother."

She had fallen asleep on the taxi ride to Camp, but as soon as Annabeth shook her shoulder Lyra bounded out of the taxi and raced up the hill towards the border to Camp, leaving Annabeth and Grover to pay the cabbie.

She flew past the Big House, shouting a quick 'hello' to Mr. D and Chiron, who were playing pinochle on the front porch. Chiron's voice faded in the wind, and she assumed Annabeth and Grover would fill him in - she didn't care, all she wanted to do was see Luke.

The peeling brown paint of her cabin seemed almost spectacularly different, and she was all-too aware of the lack of disgust as she wiped her feet on the small entry mat, for once not unhappy to enter.