***This one-shot takes place during Trials of Apollo, Book One: The Hidden Oracle, immediately after Percy leaves Apollo/Lester and Meg in the woods near Camp Half-Blood. It also touches a little bit on what's going on with Annabeth near the beginning of the first Magnus Chase book, The Sword of Summer.
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters, magical weapons, or damaged cars belong to me, I'm just borrowing them [and the one line of dialogue taken from The Hidden Oracle].***
PERCY:
When Apollo showed up at my door, my first thought was Why? When he came upstairs with a young demigod in tow and explained that Zeus had turned him mortal as a punishment for the war with Gaea and the giants last summer, I felt the familiar twinges of an Olympian-sized headache beginning. I did stomp on his attempt to recruit me for another gods-only-knew-how-long cross-country quest because I've made promises that require me to be, you know, around. But the poor guy looked so beaten down, and beaten up, that I offered to at least drive him and his new demigod friend/master/whatever, Meg, out to Camp Half-Blood. Because surely, surely, I thought, nothing too bad can happen on one pretty quick drive across Long Island.
Naturally, I was wrong.
After breaking a dozen traffic laws and wedging Paul's Prius between a couple of trees, we got attacked by plague spirits. And I ran right through one.
Stupid, right? A guy with as much quest experience as I have should probably know better. What can I say? I was having an off day. Or maybe my brain was just fried from spending so much time studying for my SATs. Fortunately, I didn't die (which was good, since Annabeth would have killed me), but I did end up with a colossal cold. My head throbbed, my eyes watered, my throat was sore, and breathing through my nose had become impossible. To top it off, I didn't even manage to destroy the plague spirit.
Luckily, an ugly peach baby helped us out (don't even ask). Meg and Apollo headed toward camp. I headed back to where the Prius was currently drawing attention from some police officers.
As I trudged down the hill back to the car, I wished Annabeth was with me. Maybe not to see me with this uber-disgusting head cold (I generally try not to gross out my girlfriend), but because she's much better at dealing with the police, or any other authority figure, than I am. Even after combat, she gives off that honor student vibe. I give off more of a juvenile delinquent vibe. My second choice would have been either Hazel or Piper for their Mist and charmspeak tricks, but unfortunately both of them were in California. So this one was all on me.
"Officer?" I called. "Sorry, I'm up here. Can you tell me where Manhattan is?"
Playing dumb is one of my specialties. I figured my best bet would be to act like a confused, sick kid from the far end of Long Island, just trying to get into the city to meet his parents for dinner; it wasn't too far off the truth, either.
Luckily, it worked. The fact that I kept sneezing and sounded terrible probably helped. The officers were surprisingly friendly as they helped me inch the car out of the trees. I cringed as bark and branches scratched the paint, and the side mirrors were a lost cause. But on the plus side, the barbed wire fence I'd plowed through hadn't popped the tires. Thank the gods. I guess.
"Nothing that can't be fixed, son," one of the officers told me once we got the car back on the road. I must have really looked bad because he actually reached through the open window to pat my shoulder. "Just stay on this road here until you see the exit to get onto 495-West, and follow that into the city, towards the Midtown Tunnel. That should get you to the Upper East Side."
"Straight ahead to 495, then Midtown Tunnel to the Upper East Side. Got it," I said, although I'm pretty sure it didn't come out exactly right through my stuffed up nose. "Thanks, officer."
I had a two hour drive back across Long Island to figure out how the heck I was going to explain this to my mom and Paul. By the time I found a parking spot about half a block down from our building, I still had nothing. To make matters worse, my sinuses were pounding, giving me a splitting headache. All I wanted to do was lay down for about sixteen hours. Thanks a lot, Apollo, I thought as I dragged myself up the five flights of stairs to my apartment. I try to help the disgraced god of healing, and I end up sick.
When I tossed the car keys on the kitchen counter and told my mom what had happened, she didn't say much. She just sighed and said, "Well, honey, that's why we have insurance. I'm just glad you're safe." Reaching out, she brushed her hand across my face, then frowned and felt my forehead. "Percy, you're burning up."
"Uh, yeah. Kind of took a hit from a plague spirit." I sneezed, unintentionally proving my point.
"Of course you did." My mom sighed again. "Why don't you go lay down, sweetheart? I'll bring you some chicken soup in a little bit."
"Thanks, Mom. You're the best."
On the way to my room, I grabbed my SAT prep book off the coffee table. Like I'd told Apollo, I've made promises. One of which was a promise to myself that I would pass the stupid SAT on my third try so I wouldn't have to take the dam thing again. However, once I laid down in my room, I didn't make a whole lot of progress with studying. My head was pounding too badly and my eyes were watering so much the page kept going blurry. Finally, I gave up, tossing the book across the room. It landed with a ka-flump on top of a pile of dirty clothes.
The chicken soup my mom brought helped a little bit, but I was still feeling almost as bad as the time Polybotes hit me with poison gas when my mom came in later that evening holding the phone.
Annabeth, she mouthed. I hauled myself into a sitting position and took the phone. Annabeth had been very vague about why exactly she and her dad, who'd flown in all the way from San Francisco, had to go to Boston. All I really knew was that it was some type of family emergency with the relatives who lived there. Since she'd left a few days ago, I'd only heard from her once, but she'd sounded okay then. Today, when she said, "Hey, Percy," she sounded like she, too, had a bad head cold.
I winced, thinking I'd given it to her, but then I remembered I hadn't had a cold when I'd kissed Annabeth good-bye. Which meant she'd been crying. I sat up straight and asked urgently, "Are you alright?"
"Yes." What sounded suspiciously like sniffling came from the other end of the line. "And no. I mean, I'm fine, but," her voice caught, "just, um, family issues. It's not…it's not good."
My heart twisted. "What's going on?"
She drew a shaky breath. "I—I can't go into it right now, Percy."
"Okay. Can I do anything?"
"No, I just, um, wanted to hear your voice." More sniffling. "I mean, I know that sounds dumb, but…"
"Nah, it's cool." I cast around for something to say and my eyes fell on the SAT book I'd tossed in the corner. "Hey, this will make you happy—I've been staying on track with my SAT prep."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep. Because I swear to Olympus I will not have to take this stupid test a fourth time."
"You'll pass. I know you will."
"Thanks. I wish I believed that." I flopped back onto my pillow. "So, uh, how's your dad?" I asked before I realized that I should probably be keeping Annabeth's mind off her family at the moment.
"He's fine. I mean, not right now, he's pretty upset about—everything, but otherwise, he's fine. He's out picking up food right now, which is why I thought I'd call you."
"Because he doesn't know we're dating yet?" I teased. "You have to keep me a secret?"
She actually managed a tiny laugh. "Exactly. Can't let him know that I like boys."
"Boys?" I asked. "As in more than one? Should I be worried?"
Another small laugh. "No worries, Seaweed Brain. You're the only guy for me. Besides, I don't have the energy to keep someone else alive, too."
Before I could respond, Annabeth made a small gasping sound, like she'd been punched in the stomach, then suddenly she started crying.
"Annabeth?" I sat up so fast my sinuses started pounding again and I nearly gave myself vertigo, but I ignored it. "Hey, babe, what's wrong?"
More crying. I wished more than anything that I was in Boston right now. "Annabeth, hey, whatever's going on, it…it'll be okay. Is your dad going to be back soon?"
She drew a shaky breath. "Yeah, yeah, he should be. I'm—I'm fine, really. It's just—" she broke off in tears again. My heart felt like it was clenched in a vise.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell me about it?" I asked gently.
"No…I mean, yes…I just can't—can't go into it right now." Annabeth took another deep breath. When she spoke again she sounded slightly more under control, although still shaky. "But I'll tell you when I come home, okay?"
I was reluctant to let it drop, but I also know her, and I knew it wasn't going to do any good to press her when she was this upset. "Okay. Are you sure there isn't anything else I can do? Like, can I help somehow?"
"Meet me at the station?" Her voice sounded unusually small, which hurt to hear. Whatever was going on, it was taking a toll. "I'm not sure yet when I'll be coming back, but…"
"Definitely," I told her. "Just let me know where and when, and I'll be there."
"You're the best." She paused, then added, "Are you okay? Your voice sounds weird…are you sick?"
"Just a head cold." I waved a hand before remembering I was on a phone call, not an Iris-message. Partly because IM's hadn't been working that great ever since the war with Gaea last summer. "I'll live."
Annabeth made a noise on the other end that might have been either a sob or a laugh; it worried me that I couldn't tell which. "Yeah, you'd better. You promised me you wouldn't…wouldn't get yourself killed while I'm gone, remember?"
"I remember." I tried not to think about the whole Apollo-as-mortal problem of the moment. Right now, all I wanted to do was make Annabeth feel better. "I'll be there at the station when you get home. I promise."
"I miss you."
"I miss you, too, Wise Girl." I swallowed the lump out of my throat. "And, hey, whatever's going on, you'll figure it out. You always do."
A hitch on the other end of the line, like a sob. "Maybe. I hope so." In the background, I could hear a door open and close, then some shuffling noises. "Listen, Percy, my dad just got here with dinner. But as soon as I know when I'll be back in New York, I'll let you know."
"I'll be here." I hesitated, hoping I wasn't on speakerphone since her dad was in the room, then added, "I love you."
"I love you, too." No matter how many times I heard her say it, the words always made me feel warm inside. "I'll see you in a few days."
"See you then."
After hanging up, I slumped back onto my bed feeling completely drained. Between Apollo showing up, the unfortunately exciting drive out onto Long Island, and whatever was going on with Annabeth, it had been a very long day. A sneeze rose up from my chest and exploded out my nose, sending my sinuses clanging like painful bells and leaving my eyes even more watery. My head throbbed and I groaned. Just another glamorous day in the life of a hero.
***Note (and Magnus Chase SPOILER ALERT): This conversation takes place the same day Annabeth learns that Magnus has died, before she meets him in the funeral home. In the book, Magnus mentions that she looked pretty broken up and like she'd been crying, so I figured there was a chance she'd reach out to Percy for comfort after learning her cousin was dead, and wanted to tie that into what happens after Percy leaves Apollo and Meg in the woods and heads home. Not sure if the dates exactly line up in the books, but I've tried to be as canon-compliant as possible. Thanks for reading!***