Her Old Friend... (Annabeth Chase x Male Reader)

Percy and Me Ruin a Bus

It didn't take me long to pack. I decided bring my guitar, I knew a good amount of songs on it, which left me with my clothing and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. Thesecoins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side andthe Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, butOlympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortaltransactions—so any godly transactions. He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bagfull of ambrosia squares, since Percy couldn't be trusted due to his dumbness and Grover would probably lose it, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food,Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of itwould make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told Percy had been a twelfth-birthdaypresent from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, toread when she got bored, which is a rare occasion, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve, because why not.  Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, becausewhen it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orangebackpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddygoat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 andHilary Duff 's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, andthe Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter ofZeus, my sister.Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus. He pulled Percy aside for a bit and then let him come back. I heard footsteps behind us.Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes."Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. I rolled my eyes, because I was jealous. How did she crush on him. He's 7 years older than her! "Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told us. "And I thought . . . um, maybe you could use these."He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. Luke said, "Maia!"White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoesflapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared."Awesome!" Grover said.Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't usethem much these days. . . ." His expression turned sad.I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. He was like my older brother. It made Percy blush almost as much as Annabeth."Hey, man," I said. "Thanks.""Listen, Y/N, Percy . . ." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just . . . killsome monsters for me, okay?"We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug toAnnabeth, who looked like she might pass out. Then he hugged me, I must've sparked him a bit, cause he looked at me a bit confused. I smiled sheepishly. After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating.""Am not.""You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?""Oh . . . why do I want to go anywhere with you, Y/N?" "Because you love me." She stomped down the other side of the hill,  where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. "Bye!" I yelled from behind her, Argus followed, jingling his car keys. Percy picked up the flying shoes and I had a sudden feeling of envy, becoming territorial over the sky. Percy looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?" Chiron shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air . . . that would not be wise foryou." He nodded, looking disappointed, he looked to me but I shook my head. "Nuh uh Percy. I can fly without flying shoes." He turned to Grover. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"His eyes lit up. "Me?"Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy wasready for launch."Maia!" he shouted.He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass.The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos."Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!""Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading towardthe van. "Have fun bud!" I yelled after him. Then realized he could die, so then I ran his direction yelling, "GROVER!"