An: Hi! This is my first story ever. I got the idea from a headcanon on Pinterest. Sorry I don't have a link. I'm not sure how great it is, but I hope you enjoy anyway! Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own pjo or any of the characters mentioned.
Percy woke to what sounded like a small army going to war. First he heard shrieking and then a lot of people running very fast. He sprang out of bed and grabbed riptide, noticing that is was two-thirty in the morning. He ran out the door to see children of Athena stampeding out of their cabin with a look of terror in their eyes. Some had weapons drawn and aimed toward the door they just came through, but no one looked too excited to go back in and fight.
Percy ran up to Annabeth, who was on the edge of the crowd, her arms wrapped around one of her younger half-siblings. This can't be good.
"What happened?" Percy asked his girlfriend worriedly. His question was only met with a distant look on Annabeth's face. He gave a start and ran to one of the boys nearest the cabin holding a sword.
"What's going on?" Percy asked again.
"Go and see for yourself. I'm not going back in there." He sprinted off muttering something about a giant thing with furry legs. Okay then. Percy drew riptide and prepared himself for whatever could make Athena kids scared. He stepped in the door and saw… nothing. There was no threat in this cabin that Percy could see. He stepped back out and looked at one of the kids quizzically.
"On the floor." She pointed behind Percy. He turned and looked down. A spider about an inch long skittered under a bunk bed. Ohh…
Percy calmly put away riptide and walked into the bathroom. He got a piece of toilet paper and went back to kill this malicious foe. It squished. He wiped it up. He flushed it. Percy emerged like a hero and announced that the spider was dead. Everyone cheered. The onlookers that had been disrupted by the noise finally realized what was going on, sighed, and went back to bed. Though no eight-legged creatures were in the room anymore, none of the kids moved from the lawn.
"Umm, guys? Are you going to go back to bed?" A few of the campers looked at him nervously, some like he was downright insane.
Percy sighed, "There're enough bunks in my cabin if you want to sleep there tonight." The crowd thundered off in that direction. All except Annabeth. He walked up to her again.
"Hey…" He put his hand on Annabeth's shoulder. He realized why she was so distant now. She was remembering the time she spent with Arachne in Rome. He kissed her forehead
"You okay?" Percy asked carefully.
"…on the ceiling….came down…in my hair…." She muttered.
"I have a feeling you're not going to get much sleep tonight…?" Percy guessed. She shook her head. The two spent the next few hours on the beach, listening to the waves and watching the sun start to rise over the water. Annabeth had calmed down now and they figured they could finally go to bed.
Then there was a crab that they mistook for a spider. It was a long night.