Aftermath-Percabeth

Chapter Fifteen

Two days later

"Thanks again for the ride," Percy replied, readjusted his I love Utah tourist shirt he purchased along the way since he had spilled a blue slushy on himself.

Will nodded. "No problem. Good luck getting that thing home."

"Yeah, I can't believe it actually made the trip," Nico added. "It only broke down around twenty million times."

Annabeth smirked. "Well, good luck at New Rome. I hope you two don't get attacked by harpies."

They all laughed, remembering the time on the way there they'd been attacked by harpies when they approached them for directions.

They watched as Will and Nico headed off towards the campus of New Rome, hand in hand.

"You ready to get some dinner?" Annabeth asked as she crawled into the driver seat.

Percy nodded vigorously. "I'm starving!"

Annabeth laughed as she ruffled Percy's hair. "I'm glad we made it, even if it was a little late than expected."

The drive to their favorite California restaurant was silent. Nothing made noise except Percy tapping his foot and Annabeth's humming.

When they arrived they walked in, hand in hand. They had arranged a sort of reunion for their closest friends from New Rome. Some were demigods, others were legacies, but they all were around the same age and suffered the same trauma.

When they entered they were both immediately pulled into a hug by a frantic Hazel. "You two scared me! I can't believe you waited a day before calling!"

"Sorry, Hazel," Percy replied, scratching his neck. "We didn't have service."

"Service, pfft!" Hazel yelled before leading them to a table where their other friends were waiting. "Pathetic excuse!"

Hazel was entering her second year of college the next school year. She'd skipped a few grades as she was smart enough, and to be closer in grades to Frank, who was entering his third year.

Some other friends that had been invited were Jason and Piper, who were both graduated; Reyna, Dakota, and a few legacies they'd been friends with in classes.

"Hey, Mark," Annabeth greeted. She shook hands with a boy with ashy blonde hair and a tan complexion. His skill was hollow and his eyes often seemed mysterious with their deep brown, almost black, appearance. He was a distant legacy of Apollo and had been a fellow architect major with Annabeth.

"Hey, how's New York treating you?" he asked, a grin appearing on his face. "We all miss you here."

"Really? After all these years?" Annabeth joked.

He smiled. "Yes, silly."

Despite his sulking appearance Mark was a very friendly guy who wasn't hard to get along with. Well, for Annabeth, anyways.

"Hey, Mark, is it?" Percy asked, wrapping his arm protectively around Annabeth's shoulder. Annabeth reluctantly wiggled free.

He nodded. "Yeah. Great to see you, Percy. How's New York?"

"Great, just great," he replied through gritted teeth. "Annabeth, may I speak to you?"

Annabeth frowned. "Sure?"

She followed Percy to the corner of the restaurant.

"What the hell was that for?" Annabeth whispered.