GOLD RUSH ↬ p. jackson x reader {book one}

I EMBARK ON MY FIRST EVER QUEST

I FOUND THE STARS OF GOOD COMFORT.

Nothing namely about them was such a wonderful way of calming down, it was just because they were there. The moon was like an old friend.

I was so used to going on nightly adventures by the beach and hoping that by morning, I'd be a claimed demigod and far from my bunk at the Hermes Cabin. Tonight was yet another one of no luck. It was frankly embarrassing at this point.

I had been pondering my latest dream. It had made me really self conscious. It had not been one of those important–prophetic–dreams that had plagued me for my entire life and warned me against bad things up and coming. It was actually the most normal dream for a teenage girl, though it was making me feel greatly intrusive.

I did not look at the surroundings as I was extremely engulfed in what stood right before me — a very certain brunette with sea green eyes and an admittedly handsome face. And it was coming closer to me. Closer and closer. Leaning in. Eyes closing with every millimeter it drew nearer.

Gross! There was no way I was kissing Percy Jackson in the near future. I prayed it was the kind of vision where I was looking through the lense of somebody else's experience, because I barely knew the guy. It was either a prophecy out of my usual place of expertise or it really was a cursed dream given from Aphrodite—honestly, the latter was more horrifying.

Then, screams for help kind of distracted me from my whole 'mysteriously sitting on the front porch and staring at the sky with melancholy' thing that I had going on. Whoever was shouting was going to pay for disrupting me.

I trudged towards the beach and caught a glimpse of Annabeth and Tyson heading in the same direction. Part of me wanted to do a full 180º and go back to bed—besides, I had a whole day of activities ahead of me. Whoever was being tortured or attacked probably deserved it, right?
Unfortunately, the Good Samaritan part of me realized that pairing was only relevant to the one and only Percy Jackson and there was no denying that something kept drawing me to him.

"Annabeth?" I called, jogging to catch up with them. She didn't look back at me, but Tyson did.
"Hi." He grinned. "Are you coming to save Percy with us?"
I almost stopped in my tracks but, forgetting that this was sounding very life or death–esque, there was no time for small talk. I shot him an awkward thumbs up.

When we finally neared Percy Jackson, Annabeth sent me an uneasy scowl but focused more on how the unscathed son of Poseidon had just been begging for someone to come help him.
"What's going on?" Annabeth asked. "I heard you calling for help!"
"Me, too!" Tyson said. "Heard you yell, 'Bad things are attacking!'"
I just made uncomfortable eye contact, feeling very out of place. "Are you okay?"

"I didn't call you guys," He said. "I'm fine."
"But then who ..." Annabeth noticed the four yellow duffel bags, the thermos and the bottle of vitamins he was holding. "What—"
"Just listen," Percy said. "We don't have much time."

He told us about some kind of conversation with Hermes. The only real thing I got out of it was when he paused and said to me, firmly, that "Hermes says he isn't your dad, by the way. But he wishes you good luck on your parental escapades." By the time he was finished, I could hear screeching in the distance-patrol harpies picking up our scent. Those harpies never catch me!

"Percy," Annabeth said, "we have to do the quest."
"We'll get expelled, you know. Trust me, I'm an expert at getting expelled."
"So? If we fail, there won't be any camp to come back to."
"Yeah, but you promised Chiron—"
"I promised I'd keep you from danger. I can only do that by coming with you! Tyson can stay behind and tell them—"

"I want to go," Tyson said.
"No!" Annabeth's voice sounded close to panic. "I mean ... Percy, come on. You know that's impossible."
"Well, since this doesn't involve me..." I took a few steps back, sending the signal that I was okay with staying behind and telling everybody else whatever Annabeth was wanting to tell them. Whoever them was.