Time and Earth: A Doctor Who and PJO Crossover (Bk 1)

Chapter 7: The Sword in the Forge

Chapter 7: The Sword in the Forge

I made a beeline for the Athena cabin.

Annabeth, whether she liked it or not, was going to hear my entire recount of what had happened.

Being a nerd, the Athena cabin was one of my sanctuaries. The building was the same shade as Annabeth's eyes, with an owl carved over the doorway and plain white curtains dressing the windows.

Breathing hard from my run from one side of the camp to the other, I entered, the beds out of my way, pushed aside. It was a characteristic of the place I'd always loved, the beds swept aside; Annabeth always said that Athena kids had trouble sleeping. The fact had been a single wisp of hope that I might be one of Athena's children.

The place was a mixture of a classroom, a mechanical workshop, and a library. I knew exactly which third my friend was going to be in.

Normally, the Athena kids didn't really like anyone who wasn't one of their own entering, but since I was one of Annabeth's closest friends, I'd become an honorary member.

Annabeth hadn't moved from when I'd last spoken to her, hours before I'd left for the combat arena with Will. She was hunched over her desk in the library section, lamp casting amber shadows on her face. Her blonde hair was tied up into a messy bun, and her Camp Half-Blood shirt was covered by an oversized grey hoodie, falling past her shorts which I had to assume she was wearing. I knew whose hoodie that was.

"Annabeth," I sighed, pulling up a chair next to her, making sure I didn't scrape the chair leg against the floor. Annabeth and her siblings hated that.

The daughter of Athena only 'hmphed' in recognition, scribbling onto a piece of paper, jabbing at her calculator like it was a spider she intended to kill.

"You wouldn't believe what just happened," I added, crossing my legs atop the chair.

That at least, got her attention, her grey eyes lifted to mine, and I grinned in victory.

By the time I finished my tale, Annabeth had dropped her pencil and had turned to face me. Her grey eyes were bright with excitement and relief as if she'd been waiting for something like this for years. She chuckled, shaking her head softly, a small smile played on her lips. "Gods you've got it bad Lucy."

I crossed my arms, content to see that smile on my friend, no matter how bittersweet it was.

"I do not have it bad. He specifically said we'd go as friends."

Annabeth scoffed, her eyebrows curving skeptically, "Right. Leo Valdez asks a girl out 'as friends.'" She laughed again, her eyes closing as she did so, "Have you met the kid?"

"Really feeling the love, Annabeth."

Her following grin was filled with sea salt, waves curling with nostalgia. It hadn't been too long ago that I'd counseled her over her crush on Percy, being the only person she trusted enough to spill the beans too.

Playing Switzerland between them, especially in the past two years, had been torturous.

The mist in her eyes began to turn melancholy, but before they could do so, Annabeth perked up and walked toward her trunk on the other side of the cabin. "Do you have anything to wear?" she called back, forcing me to follow.

"It's the fireworks, it's not formal or anything," I replied as we passed through the library and into the living quarters.

Demigods brushed past us, practically jumping out of the way when they saw Annabeth coming past with a purpose she hadn't had in weeks. It was a signal that Annabeth Chase was for now, back in business.