The Beginning and Ending of Everything

Chapter Two

     Dedicated to @YodaPuppy65 for adding this story to their reading lists. Thank you!

The next update after this will be on Nov. 6!

Percy POV-October 3, 2024

I sat, staring, at nothing. My brain was foggy. I can't remember anything.

A hand slapped the back of my head. Everything snapped into focus. I saw Annabeth walk past me. She must have been the one to hit me. "Wake up, Percy. We have to leave in ten minutes." She says.

I looked at the clock on the microwave behind her, 7:19 AM. I looked down in front of me.

BLUE PANCAKES?!?!

The time flew out of my mind, so did Annabeth, so did school, and so did everything else besides these beautiful masterpieces. I looked around, eager to eat my pancakes.

I frowned. I didn't see a fire anywhere. I looked at my pancakes again. We've never even have had a fireplace here. So what have we been doing?

I stared at my pancakes, trying to find a different solution. I looked at the clock. 7:22 AM.

"Why aren't you eating your pancakes, Perce? I made them for you; the least you could do us to eat them." Annabeth says.

Annabeth made them? Oh, yeah. I didn't make them; Paul's already at work, and mom's nine months pregnant. I looked at Annabeth, still confused, and said, "Thanks, Annie. But where do we burn them?"

She looked at me in mock shock, I hope, anyway. "You want to burn them?! They're not that bad! I used your mom's recipe!" I quickly retracted, "No, no! They look delicious! But-"

She cut me off, "You haven't even eaten any?! Perseus Jackson. We leave in five minutes, and you still have to brush your teeth!"

"But I can't eat any! I have to burn some first, remember?"

Annabeth's angry face melted into a look of shock, then amusement. She started laughing hard. "You-" Laugh. "Think-" Laugh. "That-" Laugh. "We-"

She cut herself off with a gasp and kept laughing. She was laughing too hard to finish her sentence, her hand bracing herself on the counter so she wouldn't fall over. I stared at her in confusion.

When she finally stopped laughing, she stood up, wiping under her eyes with a hand. "Percy, we've been not doing it for almost two months now."

What? Two months? How are we alive? Annabeth saw my look of bewilderment and laughed again. I liked her laugh. She should laugh more often. We both should.

"Percy, you don't remember? It's been two months." I shook my head, "No...?"

"Wow. You're more tired than I thought. So we've been burning food when we can, but we don't have a fireplace, so we don't normally do it. The rest of the time, the gods just, kind of, let it slide? I don't know. I'm assuming it's because of the whole 'Saved Olympus Twice' thing, and some of them probably don't like it, but they usually just let us. Do you remember now?"

I thought about what she just said. It sounded familiar but absolutely crazy at the same time. She looked at me. "You don't remember, do you?" She asked in amusement. I shook my head. She laughed, "Just eat your pancakes, Perce."

I replied, "Yes, ma'am." I looked at my pancakes, a little worried about what would happen if I ate them. I shrugged. I believed Annabeth.

I grabbed the blue syrup, letting it flow over the blue pancakes. I kept pouring and pouring. Annabeth snatched the syrup right out of my hands. "You're going to spasm out of control with that much sugar." She states. I crossed my arms and pouted.