The Beginning and Ending of Everything

Chapter One

[Percy - 1st person - Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 - Jackson-Blofis residence]

I shift my body and groan. I don't want to get up, but we have school today.

I smile down at Annabeth's sleeping face. Her breath came out in cute little puffs, lifting a curl lying across her face on every exhale. Because my right arm is around her waist, I use my left to play with her blonde curls.

Asleep, she looked peaceful, not burdened. She looked safe. As soon as her eyes opened, I knew they would be scanning the room for threats. Annabeth would shift into a battle-ready pose.

We had been sleeping together, cuddling, since the war. We found that it was nice; plus, it helped reduce the number of nightmares and bad memories. But when they inevitably did come, we could calm each other down. "Annie, we have to get up. We have school today." I whispered.

When my Wise Girl heard the nickname, she grabbed my arm, took it off her waist, and pushed me off the bed, all in one motion.

"Ow," I said, rubbing my arm.

"Do not call me Annie," she says, getting out of bed. I guess I deserved it.

[~~~~~~]

"Please?" I whine, trying to get Annabeth to let me copy her homework after school.

I was wearing jeans and a camp shirt with a gray hoodie thrown on top. Annabeth had black jeans with a few rips and a mellow yellow shirt that just barely poked out from under her sweatshirt. Her sweatshirt was pale blue with words in white print that I couldn't read but would probably try to decipher anyway, later, when we weren't walking.

Both of us had our camp necklaces tucked underneath our shirts. No matter how much some of those memories hurt us or how much we wanted to forget them, the beaded memories were too meaningful for us not to wear them or leave them behind.

Hey, that rhymes! Mellow, yellow. And she has a pale blue sweatshirt on, and I have a gray one. That's so ironic. I wonder if we've done that before without noticing—

Dang it! What was I thinking about? Oh yeah. I need to focus on no tortu— I mean homework. I meant homework. Totally. Either way, I have to win this argument. Against a daughter of Athena. Against my girlfriend. Against Annabeth. Styx. I'm screwed.
She sighed. "No, Percy."

"But—" I started again, but Annabeth cut me off when she put her dagger to my throat.

"No." She said again, firm. She stared right into my baby seal eyes, said no, and threatened me. I wanted to let my jaw drop, but then again, there was the knife.

"Okay, okay," I said slowly while backing up with my hands in the air. Annabeth bent over to strap her knife away on her calf. I let out a breath and wrapped my left arm carefully around her shoulders. She wrapped her right arm around my waist. We kept walking.

A few minutes later, I thoughtfully remarked, "y'know, you're really cute when you threaten me, Wise Girl."

"Shut up," she grumbled, nudging my shoulder with hers.

[Percy - 1st person - Wednesday, October 4th, 2023 - 5th period (English) - Goode High School]

I hate English. The language and the class. They're the worst things invented (to torture me, specifically). My dyslexia and ADHD made them terrible, especially since Annabeth's not here with me.

"Pay attention, Percy," my teacher said sternly. I looked up from where my head was lying on my desk, mouth open.

"Huh?" I had laid my head down with my head turned to the window, drowning out his voice, twiddling Riptide. In pen form, of course. I looked up. Paul's disapproving expression was sprinkled with veiled humor.