Well Argus dropped us off about 3 hours later by a little river somewhere in New Jersey. I think. There had been a change of plans. Trouble was brewing back at camp and Argus needed to get back there to help, so he was leaving me and Annabeth to find our way to Grover and California on our own.
I shook Annabeth awake who, quickly realizing her position jumped wide awake and promptly hit her head on the ceiling of the car. We'd been on many quests before and every time I still got the same sick feeling in my stomach of waving to Argus driving away and wondering if this might be the last time I would ever see him.
Annabeth decided that we probably shouldn't go anywhere for tonight since it was already late afternoon and that instead we should make camp by the river. I couldn't do much more than agree so we headed to a big oak tree near the river and made a fire. Annabeth went off to collect wood and I had to make the pit.
I had scraped all of the dirt away with a weirdly shaped rock, leaving a hole in the ground. As I added the rocks around the edges so the fire wouldn't escape, my mind drifted to Hoover Dam. I had first met Rachel there, I remembered. On that quest for Annabeth, I had bumped into her trying to escape from evil skeleton things. It seemed so long ago when in reality it hadn't been too long at all. I smiled thinking about it.
I added that last rock to the fire and seeing Annabeth wasn't back yet, decided to take a quick swim. Racing over to the river, I cannonballed into the water making a huge splash. I swam around for awhile; enjoying myself one last time before this quest really got started. The sun was setting by the time I took my head out of the water to see Annabeth standing there, hands on her hips, not looking happy at all.
"Hey Annabeth," I said nervously, testing her mood. Her mouth quirked into a smile that it was trying to resist and I knew I was off the hook. I pulled myself up into the river bank, just leaving my feet dangling in the water. The rest off me was still completely dry. Annabeth came and sat next to me.
"Hey," she responded. "So…why exactly are you swimming in the river on the first night of a quest?" I shrugged my shoulders.
"I need a break before I begin another quest that will probably end around my 16th birthday. This might be the end of the world and I wanted to take the time to swim for fun one last time, I guess," I said, trying to make the heavy subject sound casual.
Annabeth sighed beside me and shifted around. "I often wonder what its like to be in your shoes. You have the fate of the world on your shoulders constantly but you almost never show that it bothers you. It takes such strength to do that."
I looked up at her steely gray eyes that were searching my face fruitlessly, trying to understand when she knew that she couldn't. "I'm not as strong as you think I am," I said quietly.
"Sure you are," she said. "Look at everything you've done."
"That's the problem," I said, anger rising in the pit of my stomach. "Look at what's happened. I was almost to weak to make it out of Calypso's garden, I couldn't contain my own power at Mt. St. Helens, Kronos froze me immediately when he rose, and I couldn't even stab him with my sword when I saw Luke's body in the coffin. You call that strong?" I snorted with disgust at myself.
"You didn't stab Kronos because his body was in Luke's form?" Annabeth asked astounded, looking at me intensely.
"I know I'm weak for it but I was in such shock and confusion," I said miserably. "The weight of Olympus is so big. Sometimes I wish I had never been a half blood or maybe it would have been better off dying before I even knew about the prophecy. But then I would have never found my father, or met Grover, or had these adventures, and most of all, I would have never met you. But I'm really not brave at all. I'm terrified of what's going to happen. But I can't ever show it and there's no choice in this business. I'm nothing without the prophecy. "
She flung her arms around me in an awkward hug, but kind of sweet at the same time. When she let go she didn't look embarrassed one bit. She looked me in the eye and said," Percy, last year when I was saying that you were the bravest friend I'd ever had, I wasn't lying."
"I bet Luke was braver," I muttered under my breath.
"Give it up with the whole Luke thing Percy," Annabeth sighed.
"Whatever," I said.
"Percy."
"What?"
"Look at me." I looked up at her and her eyes were kind. Our faces weren't that far apart. Like two inches at the most. "You are the greatest, bestest friend that I have ever had. You've stood by me this entire time and never once wavered. That is why you're braver than Luke. I know that you will always have my back and that you really would hold up the weight of the world for me. It's almost like my life doesn't exist without you now." She smiled slightly. "If you died today, I would probably hole up in my cabin at camp and forget the world. Forget Kronos. That's the power you hold over me that Luke never did. I mean if Luke had said fight I would've and I probably would've have followed him anywhere too. But with you, it different. You give me a reason to fight. I look at you during a battle and I get renewed with energy. You make me want to, without telling me to.
"Then just making it even worse, you don't use your power Percy. You have the power to make me want to jump off a building because you could make me see the reason behind doing it. But you never do. You're never trying to live up to your father or be somebody else. You don't have too and the person that is always staring me in the face isn't trying to be Poseidon or a great hero. You're just Percy and I'm just Annabeth. I can be the girl I always wished I was when I'm with you. That's why you are the bravest and greatest friend I've ever known."
I sat a little stunned at this proclamation. Who knew I had this power over her? I mean, it's not like I mind or anything. "But I do try and live up to my fathers reputation," I whispered.
"Well everyone does to some degree. The difference is, you don't let it consume you and let it take over who you really are. Plus, you don't show it by turning to the dark side and starting a Titan war," she added. I had to smile at that
"Thank you," I said and wrapped my arms around her tightly.
"No problem Seaweed Brain," she said once I let go of her. "So what now?"
"This," I said. And with that I scooped her up like a damsel in distress and jumped in the river, for maybe the last time.
