The Good and The Bad ~ Percabeth

thirty three

[unedited]

a.c.

I'd forgotten how much of a luxury is just to wake up to an iPhone alarm or Percy's gentle shake in the mornings. The rush of the busy Athena campers is almost too much for me, and there aren't even that many of them here. Most of them went home for Christmas, but the odd few are still here and it's enough to make me groan and turn my face over into my pillow.

Eventually, I get up and dress myself in regular jeans and a camp t-shirt. The plain cotton shirt feels comfortable on me, unlike some of the other clothes I've started wearing. It's not as cute, which shouldn't bother me, but it'll be nice to get back to my regular wardrobe when we get back to New York. I throw my hair up in a ponytail and head to breakfast.

The campers at the Athena table are discussing one of the lessons they had yesterday over breakfast. It's about a relatively common myth, but something about the way they're discussing makes it seem like you had to be there, so I don't pitch in. I'm not mad about it though; I get to enjoy my godly meal in peace. Oh, how I've missed the rich food of Olympus. Mr. D makes a few announcements over breakfast, and then the kids all scatter off to wherever it is they need to be. I have no set plans, so I walk over to where Chiron is sitting by his lonesome, reading a thick book. "Ah, good morning, child. Did you sleep well?"

I nod.

"Good. Come, have a seat." He motions his hand to the bench at his head table. I sit, and he smiles at me. "Now, Annabeth, how have you been doing? How is school? How's Percy?"

"It's all good, sir, very good," I say. I don't know why it feels like a lie. It has been good. It is good. "I've made some friends and I'm enjoying my classes."

"Lovely," he says, grinning. "High school can be such a fun time. I always enjoyed my time there." His soft smile turns a little tougher for a moment. "Have you had any trouble with anything from our world?"

I'm quiet for a while. "Not a peep, Chiron," I say honestly, and speak what's been on my mind over the past few weeks and months. "Haven't even caught a whiff. It's too quiet for my liking. We're getting too comfortable. Is that a bad thing?"

Chiron stares out at the beach volleyball courts. I almost wonder if he didn't hear what I said. Finally, without looking at me he says, "You will never know the luxury of comfort, Annabeth. Even now, when you think you're getting too comfortable, you're still alert. You would surprise yourself, I believe. That being said, it is good to be on guard. I would be surprised if some form of altercation didn't arise before you graduate, but you'll be fine."

I nod. I don't really know what else to say. He's right. We're naturally inclined to assume that everything is an attack. We can defend ourselves. I've met almost every monster there is at some point in my life, and destroyed groups of them singlehandedly when I was, like, twelve. Percy was there, of course, but when he was that young, having him there was almost most work than fighting alone.

"Enjoy your time here. Some of the activities could benefit from your expertise. Take a walk around."

"Okay, Chiron," I say. "I'll talk to you later."

He acknowledges me with a nod, and I walk away slowly. I make my way over to the Poseidon cabin, because I didn't see Percy at breakfast. He must've overslept.

I make my way into the cabin, and the temperature seems to drop. Percy likes it cold, but it feels empty and lonely. "Hello?"

"Uh, Annabeth, hey, is that you?" Percy's voice sounds panicked, so I shuffle into the room a little quicker. He's standing near his bed, and there are papers everywhere.

"What... what are you doing?" I ask. The papers in here are his old Greek assignments. There are books from the library and old worksheets from camp itself. 

"Just some reading," he says, voice strained. "Wasn't feeling up for breakfast. Being back here makes me remember that I, uh, love learning about my real life. Cool stuff. Have you read this?"

I don't even look at what book he's holding. "Of course I have. Cut the shit. what's wrong?" I don't like seeing discomfort in my lover's eyes. It's a familiar look, though. I know what's going on. "You had a dream."

"I've been so good for months," he says, voice rising. "Then I had one. And it was weird."

I sit down at the foot of his bed. "Okay then. Tell me everything."

He brushes a few papers aside and sits beside me. "It was at school. Like, high school. There were voices. A female's voice and a male's. I couldn't identify them, but I recognized them. The man was telling the woman that she was useless. That they hadn't found anything. She told him the bait would work soon. She said she was positive something was brewing, and she was keeping an eye on... them."

"That's vague," I say, frowning. "Was there anything else?"

"Then the guy said," he swallows, and looks at me like it's his fault. "That it would be a shame if the students went down, because killing mortals is always more complicated than it is fun, but if it means ending Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, he'll do it."

The room is cold. I feel cold. I furrow my brow and peer at Percy. We're thinking the same thing; monsters don't talk like that. 

"Are we  putting our friends in danger by being near them?" Percy asks quietly. "I can't say I feel so emotionally invested in my relationship with Nadir, but at the same time, if anything happened to those guys or Becki, and it was my fault, I would never forgive myself. They're just mortals, but they're supposed to have that luxury of not having to worry about us and what goes on in our world."

"I know, babe," I say, "But we don't know that anything is going to happen. And whoever it is, if we don't know them , they can't be that important. We can take them and we can protect our friends. It'll be okay."

He nods. "Okay."

"Now come on. Let's get some breakfast in you."

- - - - - - - - - - -

Enjoy your day!

Thank the gods for everything in your life that brings you happiness.

Love, tumblingupwards