When We Were 'Us'

I Maybe Shouldn't Be Involved, But She Asked- Annabeth POV

"Can I talk to you?"

I looked up from my bunk, frowning when I saw Rachel standing in the door.

"I'm surprised you want to."

She grunted, crossing her arms. "Just answer the question, Chase."

"It depends on what it's about, Rachel. If you're here to yell again I'm going to say absolutely not."

Rachel paused, seeming to think about it. "I'm not going to yell... but I do want to talk about Percy."

"And then it depends again. What about him?"

Rachel hesitated for a moment, then let out a loud sigh and walked across the room, sitting down on the currently unoccupied bed next to mine. 

"He kissed me this weekend."

I nearly dropped the book.

"He what?"

She pulled her legs up underneath herself, tucking her feet in so she was sitting crosslegged and crossing her arms defensively. "I saw him at the beach and he helped me for the day, then I went back to new Rome for a little while and we were talking... and I suggested something and he kissed me!"

I watched her for a moment. She was staring down at the floor, every bit of her stance screaming that she was on edge.

"And how do you want me to help with this?"

Rachel ran a hand through her hair. "I liked it! And I talked to him about it and we want to see if we can have a relationship... and he told me he cussed out Apollo, which was interesting-"

"Rachel." I interrupted her. "Are you asking me to help you get together with Percy? Because it's probably weird for his ex to help his future girlfriend get together with him."

She shook her head quickly. "No, I've got that covered, it's fine. I need help making an argument to the gods."

"Now that I'm down for. What are you arguing?" I set the book aside and sat up.

"Well, to be in a relationship with Percy I have to convince them that I, as the Oracle's host, can be in a relationship. I need to find loopholes."

"Okay... give me twenty minutes?"

Rachel nodded and got up. "I'll go back to my cave then."

I let her go. Once she walked out of the door I flopped back on my bed, throwing my arms out.

"Am I really doing this?" I asked the ceiling. "Helping the girl who wants to get with my ex?"

Why not? Asked a little voice in my head. You're with Luke now, you made that decision a while ago.

I guess there's something in me that wants Percy still, he was a huge part of my life for years. But I know, I made the decision, and I'm happy with that. So why not try to make it up to Percy by trying to make him happy too?

Yes.

I got up and went over to the communal bookshelf that we'd been stocking up for years. Everything was organized by subject, so I went to where the books for mythology should be, running a fingertip along the spines.

Picking a few that might tell me what I needed, I walked back to my bed and got to work.

-------------

"Rachel? I think I have a solution for you." I leaned against the opening of the Oracle's cave, holding one of the books I'd been looking into.

"Come on in."

She was standing in the middle of the room, staring at a painting that she'd just hung on the wall.

"Does it look straight to you?"

I walked over to stand next to her, looking at the painting as well. It was a pretty sunset image, with a silhouetted couple embracing in front of what looked like the ocean.

"It could be tipped a bit to the left."

Rachel walked over to the painting and shifted it a little bit. "Like that?"

"Little more, same direction." I nodded.

She moved it again.

"Perfect. That's gorgeous, by the way."

Rachel smiled a little as she turned around. "Well it was a dream I kept having, so I painted it to get it out of my head. Then this weekend-"

I connected the dots. "It's you and Percy."

She nodded, looking at it again. "It was really weird, when he kissed me I suddenly had this moment where the dream flashed past my eyes. It was definitely the first time I ever was involved directly with a prophecy dream I had."

"First time for everything." I held up the book. "Speaking of."

"Alright, lets get this show on the road."