Percy & Annabeth

Thursday Night

Percy's POV

I felt like I was sitting in a cauldron full of water over a pile of logs: at any moment, someone could light a match and bam, the whole camp would be having Percy Soup for dinner.

I've felt this way ever since my dad and Annabeth's mom stormed off just a few short hours ago. I can't imagine Annabeth felt any different. Every time I looked over at her, I had to remind her that if she kept biting her nails, eventually she'd be gnawing her hand off. "I can't help it," she'd mumbled. "I feel like I'm about to throw up."

I nodded. "Me too." It was hard to say what the outcome was going to be, or if there even would be an outcome at all. Honestly, I was starting to bet that neither of our parents would come out of the fields alive. The idea of a Chase and a Jackson peacefully talking and coming to an agreement was, well... let's say rare, as in the only time it's ever been recorded in history is when Annabeth and I first met. Other than that, if there's an argument, someone winds up dead.

Dinner was being served in Mess Hall, but neither I nor Annabeth were hungry. Instead, we were sitting on the beach, just waiting.

"It's nice here," Annabeth said after a good twenty minutes of silence. The sun was just on the brink of setting which made her skin glow. I found myself staring.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It smells nice."

"Not just that," she said. "For the few hours that we had it, I felt free, you know? Like, for the first time in my life, I didn't have any rules to follow or expectations to live up to."

I ducked my head and thought back to mine and my dad's discussion. "I know what you mean," I said. "I don't think I ever would have felt that way though had I come here without you."

Annabeth gave me a shy smile and pecked my cheek. "Well, I would have been Mrs. Castellan. Imagine that."

If I hadn't had to throw up before, I really did now. As cheesy and cliché as this sounds, the thought of her being with anyone else was infuriating. I even found myself crushing the sand beneath my fingertips into even smaller particles.

"But," Annabeth continued. "there's nothing we can do about it now."

I removed my fingers from the depths of the sand and rested them on hers. Then, I gave her a reassuring grin. "Whatever happens," I said while squeezing her hand. "I'm not leaving you."

Annabeth chuckled. "I should be saying that to you. You're the one who's stuck here until you die."

I shrugged, looking around. The sun turned the water into a dark teal color, and there was no wind today, so the surface of the lake stayed put. The woods collected to our left, and to our right, the strawberry field stretched as far as I could see. Right then, a very small gust of wind rustled my hair, as if someone heard me thinking about it. The scent of strawberries filled my nose. I took a deep breath in. "It's nice here," I reminded her.

She smiled in agreement and turned her head back to the water. For another few moments, we sat just like that in silence. The sound of footsteps coming down the path was the first thing to break that. I turned around to see Chiron hurrying towards us. In alert, I jumped to my feet. "What did they say?" I asked. Okay, more like demanded.

He was short of breath and took a few gasps before he could get any words out. "I-I...They're coming to talk to you."

"They're still alive?" Annabeth piped in, also on her feet. "That's an accomplishment on its own." Well, at least I wasn't the only one thinking it.

"Do you know anything, Chiron?" I tried again.

He shook his head. "They told me nothing. So just be prepared for anything."