Let Them Think That

2

Artemis PoV

It had been a couple of weeks since I had last seen Percy.

My hunters were doing well for having lost a member, no major issues arising.

They were pretty independent now.

My phone buzzed with a notification that Percy was texting me.

PJ: Do u wanna go to a carnival???

Me: Where?

PJ: Doesn't matter. Do u wanna???

Minutes later, I appeared next to Percy at a parking lot.

"Come on," he motioned for me to follow him toward a blue motorcycle.

We put on helmets and I mounted behind Percy on the vehicle.

I held his waist tightly, not wanting to fly off the contraption.

After a few minutes passed, we arrived at the carnival parking lot. We got off and grabbed some tickets.

"So, where to first, my lady?" Percy asked cheekily. I snorted. "Let's try that one."

We were buckled into this strange pod with padded bars for a door.

Percy glared at the guy when he insisted my crotch buckle was malfunctioning.

When the ride finally started, the pod was shot high into the air, and we landed in what looked like a large cone, where we rammed into several other pods.

As we funnelled down the cone, the pod went into a free fall for several seconds.

There was much screaming, and we ended up in this strange pool at the end.

Percy helped me out of the cage, a bit dizzy himself.

"Well," he coughed. "That was an interesting ride."

"Let's not do that again," I suggested.

"Sounds good to me," he replied. "What about the Ferris wheel?"

I smiled. "Sure." Surprisingly, there was no line. We clambered into the smallish seat and lowered the bar, and the ride began.

"So, what gave you the idea of going to the carnival?" I asked.

"I saw a flyer stapled to a tree," he replied. "And I kinda missed being around a friend."

"Has Annabeth been bothering you again?" I asked, sensing his agitation.

He nodded. "She continues to Iris-Message me at the most awkward of times, like when I'm bathing. It's become rather annoying."

This action specifically annoyed me greatly. I had no reasoning for why, but it did.

Percy put an arm around my shoulder, and I leaned against his chest.

"How have your hunters been holding up?" The god asked.

"They've gotten over the death of one of their members pretty well. The group is becoming rather self-reliant, so I've found myself with much more free time," I replied.

"Well, maybe we could hang out more," he reasoned.

An Iris-Message appeared, and it revealed Annabeth. "Hey, Seaweed Brain!"

Her face dropped when she saw that Percy was with another girl.

"Is that Artemis?" The girl asked hesitantly. I waved.

"Are you guys on a date?" Annabeth asked. Percy nodded. "Yeah. I told you I had a good reason for not getting back together with you."

Annabeth huffed and swiped through the message.