Chasing Legends (Male Reader x Annabeth Chase)

Chapter Eight

8| Chili Dogs and Garden Gnome's

So, there they were, Annabeth, Grover, Percy and Y/N all walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind them, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in their noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

Percy was pretty much in shock himself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling them along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—" Annabeth began.

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?" Percy retorted.

"You didn't need to protect us, Percy. We would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

"Shut up, goat boy," said Annabeth.

Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

Y/N sighed, kicking a random rock as they sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. It was just about now Y/N really began to crave his sister sweet potato pie. What he'd give to see her.

After a few minutes, Annabeth fell behind and into line next to Y/N. The two walked in silence next to one another for a bit before Y/N broke the silence.

"You were awfully hard on Percy." He let his voice fall to a whisper.

"Was I?" She whispered back, if Y/N didn't know any better he'd have said she sounded a bit remorseful. "I appreciate him coming back for us. That was really brave."

"Very much so." Y/N agreed. "Had he not, I probably would've been diced like chicken."

She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if he died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for him, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."

The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind them, leaving them in almost total darkness. Y/N couldn't see anything of Annabeth except a glint of her blonde hair.

"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" Y/N asked her.

"No ... only short field trips. My dad—" she paused for second.

"It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her.  "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not."

Y/N could've sworn he'd heard doubt in her voice.

"I'd say you're pretty good with that knife," he'd said.

"You think so?"

"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me."

Despite not really being able to see, Y/N thought he was able to catch a smile creep it's way onto her face,

"Oh, and uh— thanks for the save. Y'know when you..." Y/N stumbled through his sentence recalling when the girl had wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him in, so effortlessly.