The Other Castellan

Does This Mean Percy And Annabeth Will Eventually Be A Thing? Pt. 2

Chapter 36: Does This Mean Percy And Annabeth Will Eventually Be A Thing? Pt. 2

Spoiler alert: it was not a piece of cake.

It had started out fine. Ridiculously smoothly, even. So what had gone wrong? Did one of them piss off the Fates or something? If one of them did, it was probably Percy. Percy with his lack of filter and sarcasm towards everyone around him would anger anyone, especially gods who are used to a ton of respect.

Anyway, by the time they got to the water park, the sun had nearly disappeared behind the mountains, and the day was beginning to cool. Judging by the sign that hung there, the park was once called WATERLAND, but time had made the letters fade, and some of the letters had been punched out. Now it just read WAT R A D.

A quick glance at the park told Lucas all he needed to know. The main gate was heavily padlocked and topped with barbed wire, while inside were huge dry water slides and tubes and pipes that led to empty pools, looping everywhere. Faded tickets and advertisements fluttered weakly on the asphalt. It was obvious: the park was abandoned, with no one to take care of it. The security measures weren't even that good.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy said, staring at the barbed wire, "then I'd hate to see what she looks like."

And this is exactly why Percy is the most likely person to piss off the Fates. And yeah, maybe Lucas would agree with him, but you don't say stuff like this out loud.

"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful." At least someone gets him.

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a god. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Grover added.

"Who is she, Echidna?"

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Aphrodite, dumbass," he said. "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to someone," Percy said. "Hephaestus."

"And Poseidon is married to Amphitrite," Lucas replied. "What's your point?"

"Oh. So how do we get in?"

"Maia!" Grover shouted, hovering as his shoes sprouted wings. He flew over the fence, accidentally doing a wonky somersault in the air and made a stumbled landing, dusting off his jeans as if it was completely intentional. "You guys coming?"

Lucas rolled his eyes, putting his hand on the padlock and disabling it. Then, he pulled the gate open, and slipped through the opening, following Grover through the different attractions as Annabeth and Percy trailed after him. Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit—seriously, did all of these names have to be so cheesy?

Whatever. Lucas didn't have a particularly good feeling about the park. The names didn't really matter. The park was too quiet, with no monsters or any sign of life except for plant life. It was unnatural. Monsters didn't exactly stay away from half-bloods, especially not three of them, one of them being a kid of one of the Big Three. This was practically a buffet for monsters. So why was the park empty?

Eventually, the four of them reached a souvenir shop that was still open, despite literally everything else being boarded up and abandoned. It didn't make sense, but hey, it still had merchandise, so Lucas wasn't complaining. Besides, it held rows upon rows of—

"Clothes," Lucas declared.

At the same time, Annabeth said, "Fresh clothes." They looked at each other and laughed.