Red Skies at Morning | Clarisse La Rue x OC | Percy Jackson AU

The Gang's All Here

I know, very short chapter compared to usual but it's been what, three months since the last update? I figured I'd rather give ya'll what I have now than make you wait another three months for a barely longer chapter. Also, there would have been a time skip at the end and honestly, I kinda hate putting those in the middle of chapters. In a perfect, edited version of this book (one day), I'd remove all time skips in the middle of the chapter and instead just have better, more content-filled chapters and any necessary time skip would happen between chapters instead. 
Also, the title is almost guaranteed to change, but I think at this point you'll have to wait for the inevitable complete editing of the entire book before I have the time and energy to make good chapter titles. Bro idk what I was doing when I first started writing this book, I was pumping out chapters and fairly good titles nearly weekly. What was I on freshman year and where do I find it again...

Clarisse showed me to the captain's quarters, where we discovered that there wasn't any ice on the ship. So I had to settle for a couple of Dr Pepper cans from the mini-fridge to nurse my swollen face.

Clarisse pushed a table into the middle of the room and explained that the others would be back for dinner after their tour, meaning there was time for her to interrogate me before they arrived.

The first thing she demanded I tell her was how I'd managed to catch up to her at all. I tried to explain in the most convoluted, vague, and unhelpful way possible, going on about the energy in the air and good vibes, but after a while, I realized she wasn't going to let me wriggle out of an explanation.

I let her in on my hypothesis about my mother, the paper wrapper, and the way I'd experimented with the wind while chasing her ship. Clarisse was very amused by the idea of my mother being a wind goddess

"No wonder you can't throw a punch!" Clarisse snickered.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I waved one of my Dr Pepper cans at her.

It felt like ages since we'd been this relaxed around each other. I couldn't remember when exactly, but sometime after my nightmares had started including Clarisse, our relationship had subtly started to become strained. It wasn't obvious, but I was noticeably anxious about more than Thalia's tree, and Clarisse must have picked up on that. I'd slowly been driving us apart, and then Clarisse started acting weird and even more unreasonable than usual after meeting with the Oracle and things had only gotten worse. But now we'd put it behind us. We were back to normal; poking fun and blabbering nonsense.

"... and that's when they dragged me up to the top deck." I finished my story.

"Dang! They really messed you up," Clarisse pointed a finger in my face. "Maybe I should give those two a raise."

Both my hands were full with the Dr Pepper cans, so jabbed her in the side with my heel while we both snickered.

"Is there a porthole open? It's a little drafty," Clarisse grinned, rubbing her arms and pretending to shiver.

"Oh yeah, laugh while you can. Just you wait 'till I figure out how to make tornados or whatever. I'll wipe the floor with you!"

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try."

Our laughter died down and a short pause flowed into a comfortable silence. The atmosphere felt comfortable enough that I decided to bring up the topic that I'd been meaning to since I'd first seen her.

"You know," I started, "I sure went through a lot of trouble to get here..." Clarisse's grin was quickly swapped out for a suspicious scowl and she crossed her. My jaw clamped shut with an audible clack and we slipped back into silence.

We frowned at each other. My own questions and anxieties reflected back at me.

Clarisse broke the silence.