A/N- review please!!!!!
*The song featured is "Two is better than One" by Girls Like Boys*
Disclaimer: the Percy Jackson series is not mine, neither is "Two Is Better Than One"
Second Chances, Dangerous HomecomingsOkay, Percy, just think. Calm down. It's not the prom or anything. Yeah, you're right. It's only homecoming!
I was really freaking out. My bedroom floor was going to be permanently indented from all my pacing if I didn't stop soon. But how could I? Annabeth just asked me if I would go to her school's homecoming with her. And I had no idea what to say. Sure, we had been going on small dates and stuff ever since our last kiss underwater after our fellow campers delightfully tossed us in the camp's lake, but nothing this major.
I asked my mom about this as soon as I got home from Annabeth's dorm. She had laughed at me then pulled me in for a hug.
"Oh, Percy. You and that girl have been through so much together, and now something as simple as homecoming sends you into a wave of panic. Just listen to your heart and do what is right. You always have."
Okay, now I just had to find out what my heart was trying to tell me, as silly as it was. But Annabeth told me to tell her this afternoon and I had to call her soon. And I had no idea what to tell her.
So when I picked up the phone, I already decided what to say.
"Hello?"
"Annabeth? It's Percy."
"Hey, Seaweed Brain. So what's the deal?"
"Ok, Annabeth, here's the thing. I just am not sure what to say. I don't know whether I want to go or not, so I have no idea what to tell you." I heard her sigh on the other end.
"That's okay, Percy. I get it. I didn't really want to go either."
That was not what I was trying to say. "But I didn't-"
"Me neither. Talk to you later, Percy." She hung up. I groaned. Why did girls have to be so hard to figure out?
"Mom?" I called through the apartment, trying to figure out where she had gone.
"In the kitchen, Percy!" she called.
"Mom? I don't know what to tell her. She thought I was trying to say no to her gently. But that was not what I wanted to say. She got the wrong impression, and she hung up on me." My mom turned around, a blue icing-covered spatula in hand.
"Aw, honey, I'm sorry. Try calling her back and explaining."
"I did. And she won't answer."
"Send her an Iris message, then."
Of course. I, a demigod, had not thought of that, but my mother, a mortal, had. Now I just needed to find a golden drachma.
Ten minutes later, golden drachma in hand (under the bed is an amazing place to check if you are having trouble finding something), I was standing out back of our little house, holding the hose.
"Oh goddess, accept my offering," I said, squeezing the handle on the hose and tossing the drachma into the water.
A second later, I saw Annabeth, sitting at her desk in what looked to be her bedroom, hunched over an architecture book.
"Annabeth." She looked up, startled, and then relaxed as she saw me. Then her face turned into a scowl and she made to wave the mist away.
"No. I need to talk to you. You got the wrong impression when I tried to talk to you. I really meant it when I said I had no idea whether to say yes or no." She snorted, and I took that to mean that she didn't believe me one bit. All right, I would just have to prove it. By being a ham. She better believe me. I was too chicken to look at her though, so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought
'Hey, you know, this could be something'
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
So maybe it's true
That I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time
To figure out the best of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes
The way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believing
That maybe it's true
That I can't live without you"
When I finished my long and impulsive speech I realized that everything I said was true. We had gone through so much together, and now we were tied together in a way that no other demigods were. And I had made up my mind.
"Hey, Annabeth? I would love to go to homecoming with you," I told her. When I got no answer, I finally was brave enough to open my eyes. What I saw surprised me.
She had tears in her eyes. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, who rarely let anyone see her being weak, was crying.
"Thank you, Percy," she told me.
"Bye, Annabeth. And you're welcome." She smiled at me and waved her hand through the image, closing our connection.
"Percy, that was beautiful."
I spun around. "Mom!" She was leaning casually against my doorframe, as though she had not just witnessed my heart-felt speech to Annabeth. My face turned beet red.
"Sorry, Percy. I was coming in to ask you to taste test my icing, but I didn't want to interrupt you. I'm glad it went well. We have to go shopping for a tux!"
"Mom, stop," I said, groaning. "We don't need to go right now."
"Oh, this is just so exciting! My baby is becoming such a big boy! Oh, I have to go tell your father, he will be so proud."
"Mom," I complained, one more time.
"Oh all right, I see you want your privacy. But we a re going out to dinner to celebrate, whether you like it or not."
I smiled. "Goodbye, Mom," I said, closing the door on her.
*****
The next week I was standing in front of my full-length mirror staring at my reflection. My new tux was crisp and clean. And I did not look like Percy Jackson. I looked like a ballroom dancer's dance partner.
When I came out of my room, my mom attacked me. "Aw, Percy, don't you look adorable!" She coughed. "I mean, don't you look stunningly handsome!"
"Thanks, Mom," I mumbled. She took out her camera and started snapping pictures furiously as I walked out the door and into the car. "Mom, stop, we're going to be late!"
"Oh all right. But I have to get pictures of you and Annabeth before you two leave. And Percy? Your dad gave me this to give to you." She handed me a box.
Inside was a corsage with a pale pink water lily and rare blue sea grass for Annabeth. I looked out the window and up at the sky.
"Thanks, Dad," I said. We were going over a bridge and I saw a big wave pass us as the car went over, and I knew he had heard me.
We arrived at Annabeth's father's house and I saw the front curtain move as we pulled up.
Her step-mom opened the door when we rang the doorbell.
"Come on in Percy, Mrs. Jackson. Annabeth has been waiting anxiously for you to get here."
"I have not!" I heard Annabeth shout from her room upstairs.
Her father came around the corner laughing. "It's good to see you again, Percy," he said, taking my hand and shaking it firmly.
"You too, sir." Then I stopped talking; Annabeth had come out of her room and was walking down the stairs.
Her gray eyes sparkled, her honey colored hair had been straightened and it flowed naturally down past her shoulders. She wore a pale, strapless, blue silk dress that stopped mid-thigh and it had a thin pink ribbon across the hips. Her pale pink ballet flats completed the ensemble, along with simple makeup.
I held out my hand for her to take as she neared the bottom of the steps and she blushed, taking my offered hand. My mom could barely contain herself as she furiously snapped pictures. Now it was my turn to blush.
"Mom!" I complained.
"Hi, Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth said, relenting as my mom pulled her into a hug.
"Annabeth, you look beautiful!" My mom nudged me.
"Oh, here Annabeth," I said, pulling out the box from my pocket.
She opened it. "Oh, Percy, it's so pretty. How did you know it would match my dress perfectly?" I blushed again.
"I didn't. My dad did." She grinned and looked upward.
"Thank you, sir," she said to the sky. Thunder rumbled, and I took that to mean that the gods had heard her.
"Well, we had better get going, we definitely do not want to be late. The Academy does not smile upon lateness," Annabeth said, pulling me towards the door as she grabbed her bag from behind the front door.
"Have fun, you two!" my mom said, waving and snapping pictures.
"Make sure to send me those," Annabeth's step-mom said, turning to my mom.
"of course!" she replied, and the two immediately went off to talk photography.
Annabeth shrugged and pulled me out the door.
"How are we getting there?" I asked politely.
"We walk. It's only three blocks. Unless you don't want to walk," Annabeth said, and without waiting for an answer, she turned and started walking down the road.
"Sure. Walking. Fun," I said, hurrying after her.
*****
"So all in all, this dance is turning out to be pretty dull," Annabeth said. "No monsters or anything. Just the way it should be," she commented, as we danced to a slow song. She spoke too soon.
I heard a crash in the distance and turned towards the doors of the Dining Hall that had been turned into a large dance floor.
Annabeth turned too, along with the rest of the school. We all watched in anticipation as the doors to the Dining Hall flew open and in ran…. Grover?
Yep, definitely my best friend, this time in Converse high tops and a Dodgers cap covering his horns.
"Blah ha ha," he bleated fearfully. Then he stopped as he saw me and Annabeth holding hands in the middle of the dance floor. "Percy? Annabeth? What are you doing here?"
"Grover? This is my school. And Seaweed Brain here is my homecoming date," Annabeth said.
"Homecoming? Well I hope you two are enjoying yourselves, but meanwhile, Percy, the minotaur you killed off a while ago is chasing me!" he yelled, coming to hide behind me. I head a distant thumping coming from outside the doors.
"Well, darn there goes a homecoming without a ferocious and bloodthirsty monster at your heels. And I had so hoped this would be it…" I sighed. Annabeth rolled her eyes and ran over to her bag on the floor. She pulled out her famous cap.
"Just in case," she said, when I stared at her.
"Good, " I said, "because I always have my pen in my pocket." Grover grinned, then scowled again.
"All I have in my pocket is a leftover burrito. Oh, well, I guess you guys are gonna have to fight without me!" he said fake-cheerfully and turned around, ready to escape.
"Oh no you don't goat boy," Annabeth said, pulling Grover to a stop by the hood on his camp sweatshirt. "We are in this together."
Just then, the Minotaur came crashing into the hall.
"That's good to know, Annabeth. Because rule number one in track and field camp was always run with a buddy!" I yelled, running like the wind for the back exit in the Dining Hall.
*****
"Percy! Slow! Down!" Grover wheezed, pulling at his fake feet in a feeble attempt to get them off. Whoops. I guess it was hard to run a quarter of a mile up a steep hill in fake feet.
I halted to a stop when we were about a half of a mile past the school, in front of the park. I had to catch my breath before talking.
"Well, that went well," I said, grinning and sliding down a nearby tree trunk to the grass.
Annabeth snorted. "Yes, well, exhibit number one," she said, panting and pointing to a dark shape at the very bottom of the hill.
"Darn it!" I said. "Come on, guys, I gotta plan."
"How about not, Percy. No offense, but aren't exactly known for your plans. They usually end us up in near death experiences. I vote Annabeth," Grover said. Annabeth smirked at me.
"Fine," I huffed.
"Okay. Then we'd better hurry. Here's the plan…" Annabeth murmured. And unfortunately, it ended up being better than my plan would have been. My plan was to just run and run until we got to the sea, where I would make the water gobble up the minotaur and render him helpless, where I would proceed to stab him with my sword. Annabeth's on the other hand was simple and surefire. We would simply hide behind trees, since the Minotaur's sense of hearing and sight was horrible, wait until he had passed us, Annabeth, invisible, would sneak up in front of him and trip him, while Grover and I stabbed him. Surefire, right? Wrong.
Okay, so everything until the tripping part went according to plan. What we didn't account for was the Minotaur actually being so top-heavy that he would fall right on top of Annabeth. And poof! No more Annabeth.
With fury, I went after the Minotaur and in one clean stab, made him disappear.
"Come on!" I shouted back to Grover as I raced on ahead. "We have got to find Annabeth!"
An hour later, still nothing. I sat down on a bench next to the road and a few seconds later, Grover trudged tiredly up to me and sat down too.
"Grover, where could she be? I have thought of every place she would be poofed to, the library, the park, her backyard, even back to the school!" Another few seconds went by in silence. Then, thunder came out of nowhere.
"Great. Just great. You couldn't have told us before?" I yelled up at the sky. Jeez, it's like they enjoy watching me work my butt off and humiliating myself at every little thing. Grover just stared at me like I was crazy.
"C'mon, dude. We are going to go get Annabeth back," I said, pulling myself up.
"Are you crazy Percy? We can't just walk up to Mt. Olympus like you own the place!" Grover said, trying to sit me back down.
"Trust me, Grover, with Zeus in control, nobody will get confused about who is really in charge of Mt. Olympus. Though sometimes I think I visit so often I should just move in. Though I don't think my uncle would appreciate that very much," I noted, frowning at the sky when it rumbled in response to my words. "But, even so, I think he could be patient enough for one more, very short visit." And with that, I turned on my heel and hailed a taxi to take me the long trip to the Empire State Building.
"Hey, Percy. What brings you to the Empire State Building?" The man at the front door winked at me and grinned.
"Oh, the usual. Just trying to disrupt the natural order of things up in Mount Olympus, 'cause I have a bone to pick with a relative, you know. What a normal demigod goes through." Even in a time like this, I could make a good joke.
"All right then, just as long as you don't flood Central Park. Again." Good times, good times. He handed me the key and I took it gratefully, pulling Grover along by his sweatshirt hood.
I walked up to the door in the main gathering room in Mount Olympus. It swung open without me knocking and I walked in like I owned the place. Which was probably not a good idea.
"Hello everyone. Dad. Uncle," I said, nodding to the two people who either a, mattered most to me out of the gods, or b, were most likely to smite me without a second notice. "I would have been here sooner, but someone," I said, drawing out the word and glaring at the person who I was talking about, "would blast me if I dared to step foot in an airport. And Grover gets seasick, or else I would have taken a speedboat."
"Percy Jackson," Zeus said in his booming voice. Was that supposed to intimidate me? Because, thanks to Annabeth, I was no longer intimidated by big, loud, and especially bossy, voices. I saw just the hint of a smirk on Zeus's face before it turned into his famous Percy-why-are-you-here-I-am-better-than-you scowl.
"Yes, Uncle?" I asked, a Kodak-moment perfect child act going on. I caught my dad's eye. I saw the familiar twinkle in his eye. But after I noticed the cheerful gleam in his sea-green eyes, I also recognized the usual don't-push-your-uncle-too-far-since-he-can-blast-you-to-pieces warning look.
"Allow me to be blunt, Percy. Why are you bothering me? I am a very important god, you know. And don't roll your eyes at me, boy, I will blast you to bits." How did he catch that? I had my eyes closed when I rolled them! "Control your son, Brother," he said, managing to glare at both me and my father at the same time.
"Percy," my dad warned.
I sighed. "I know. But I need to know something else. Why did you take Annabeth? And I want her back. Now. You guys interrupted a perfectly good homecoming night and I would love to finish it. Oh wait, I can't. It's the next day, Annabeth is gone, and my mother and her family are probably sick with worry!" I was almost screaming by the time I finished my rant. But nobody spoke.
I could not read my father's or Zeus's face. Or the only other Olympians present, Hera and Aphrodite's, for that matter.
The silence was shattered by someone throwing open the door with a bang. I turned swiftly, expecting to see a terrified Grover, who I had left outside to wait by the fountain.
Instead, I saw a furious Athena in her human form. She was wearing a cheerful white sundress and her blond hair had been cropped short. Her normal calm and wise-looking gray eyes were filled with rage.
"What is this about my daughter? Perseus Jackson, what have you done?!" she roared, stopping an inch in front of my face, finger pointed threateningly. I backed up a few huge steps.
"Wasn't that what I was just asking? Well, not about what I did, but… Hey, wait. You guys don't have her?" Athena and Poseidon shook their heads. Zeus just stared, looking bored at the scene unfolding before him.
"Well than where could she be?" I muttered.
"Well, well, well, what did I miss? Did I miss a pounding of the great Percy's scull? Or is he completely knocked out?" Ares announced as he strode arrogantly into the room.
"You…" I growled ominously. "What did you do to her?" I screamed, getting right in his face.
"Percy!" my dad said.
"It's all right, this punk needs to learn how to defend himself. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna let him do it to me. He just better get outta my face before I make his life miserable. Now, seriously, what did I miss?"
"Ares…" Zeus glared at him, warning him, daring him, to speak.
"What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Girlfriend!" I shouted.
"What are you talking about? Quit talking like you are better than me, Percy Jackson, or you will be sorry," Ares warned, taking off his usual shades and unearthing his fiery eyes that seemed to literally burn into mine. Oh, I was so tired with this. I just wanted to grab Annabeth and scram. Away from the war god who was a coward underneath his superior and macho man shell.
"Maybe I am better than you," I snarled.
"Just as long as you remember who can kick your butt off the surface of the planet, you can think whatever you want about me."
"And just as long as you remember who ran away from the fight because a demigod made you bleed, you can think whatever you want about me," I said, smugly walking away, towards my dad and Zeus.
"Percy, Percy, Percy, one of these days…." My dad did not finish his sentence, but I got his message.
"So you guys didn't poof Annabeth?" I asked, now turning to face Zeus.
"No. But it falls in your hands to find her," Zeus replied.
"No surprise there," I mumbled. I spoke again, louder this time. "I will find her. By the time the sun reaches the horizon tomorrow, she will have been found. I swear on the River Styx. But I will need some help," I said, my eyes bearing into Zeus'.
He sighed. "Fine. But only until tomorrow morning. Then you are on your own. If you dare step foot in the air after that time, you will be zapped into oblivion." I was really getting tired of the threats from the gods.
"Percy." I turned towards my dad, who held out a pouch to me. I took it and peered inside. The pouch contained forty dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas.
"Thanks, Dad," I said gratefully.
"Oh, and Percy? Be careful." I nodded, turning to go. I expected to see Ares waiting with his I-really-hope-you-don't-come-back-alive smirk that he usually reserved just for me, but he was gone. Standing in his place was a young child, bow slung over one tiny shoulder.
"Artemis." I kneeled respectively.
"Percy Jackson. I have someone who would like to accompany you on your quest." She moved to the side, revealing someone I had not seen in a long time.
"Thalia!" I exclaimed.
"Hey, Percy." She walked towards me and pulled me into a hug.
"Wow, I have not seen you in years. Still looking young, as always," I laughed, shouldering her.
"And you look older. By about two years." She laughed too, and shouldered me back.
"Father, I will take good care of him," she said, walking up and kneeling in front of Zeus.
"I know, Thalia. Good luck."
She got up and walked out the door without waiting to see if I was following.
"Hey!" I protested, running out behind her. "No one needs to take care of me!"
"Oh really?" she said, pulling me out of the path of a flying pair of shoes, presumably looking for their owner, Hermes.
"Thalia!" Grover bleated from his post next to the elevator.
"Hey Goat Boy." Thalia smiled at him as she stepped into the elevator. "Well? Come on guys, we've got a demigod to save!"
*****
We had flown back to Camp Half-Blood to see if she had been zapped there, but a bored looking Dionysus said nobody had seen her.
We had flown to her dad's place to tell him she was missing and we were trying to find her, and to tell my mom that she could go home and I would be home as soon as I could.
I have to admit, it was fun abusing Zeus's permission to let me fly while looking for Annabeth, but we were running low on funds.
There were only ten dollars left after meals and only fifteen drachmas left after Iris messages to Chiron and Annabeth's family and my mom.
We were also out of places to look. So we decided to take a break. Thalia estimated we had about ten hours left to find Annabeth, and I reasoned we could spare a half hour to relax and think of places Annabeth could be.
I walked down to one of the many California beaches, two of my three best friends by my side. I sat down close enough to the ocean that when a big wave washed up onto shore, the tips of my now-bare feet would get covered with salty seawater.
"Where to now, guys?" Grover asked, carefully sitting far enough back as to not get hit with waves.
"Honestly, Grover? I am out of ideas," I said, making the waves crash bigger so that Grover got wet.
"Hey! I can't stay dry like you two can!" Grover exclaimed, hopping up and moving even further back. Thalia sighed, content for the moment, her bow resting a few feet away from her.
"I am also out of ideas, guys. And that means we're really in trouble," Thalia added.
"Trouble is my middle name," someone behind us said. I hopped up, pen in my hands. Thalia jumped up beside me, bow at the ready.
"Oh, it's just you," I said, trying to ignore Ares as best as possible.
"What do you want, Lord Ares?" Thalia asked pointedly. She didn't like him much either, but at least she made an effort to be polite.
"What do I want? Nothing at the moment, you three have just given me all that I could ever want." Why was there a sneaking suspicion in the pit of my stomach?
Oh, yeah, because Ares was famous for setting us off on pointless quests that were likely to do serious harm or kill us. I could see the light bulb go off in Thalia's head the same time it went off in mine.
"You little liar. You did zap Annabeth. And it was all for show, to watch us scramble around like little science lab rats," Thalia accused, her face filled with anger.
"Yes to the first part, no to the second," Ares said, snapping his fingers and watching as a bench appeared in the sand. He sat down on it.
"I did zap your precious Annabeth away. But it wasn't to watch you three scramble around like test rats, as Thalia here so kindly put it, though that was quite entertaining. Zeus's face was priceless every time you got up into the air, punk, and he was sitting there helpless as you invaded his territory over and over again. The real reason was to destroy your little happy moment with her, Jackson, although the Minotaur did that quite well on his own."
"You little…" I didn't finish my threat, since Grover ran up and clamped a hand across my mouth while Thalia held on to me to keep me from strangling a god.
"Well? Where is she?" Thalia asked, trying to keep her temper as she grasped the back of my arms.
"Oh, Thalia, I believe you already know. Now go, find your precious friend before Percy here can no longer fly."
We all avoided our eyes as he transferred to his real form, and when we looked back, he was gone,
"One of these days, he is going to be strangled to death. By a large hairy spider. Then thrown into the pits of Tartarus and left to rot," I said as I rubbed the bruises on my arms Thalia had left. "I know, I know, gods cannot die. But I am dreaming. Allow me that much," I said, before Thalia or Grover could say anything.
Ten minutes later, I was standing in front of the entrance to the Underworld.
"Are you sure?" I asked Thalia.
"Positive," she replied, dragging me by my already sore arm and Grover by his hat into the music store.
"Chickens," she mumbled as we tried to drag our heals when she pulled us through the door.
"Let us in."
"No."
"Yes. Let us in."
"No," said Caron for the six or seventh time.
"Yes."
"Oh shut up!" Thalia apparently had had enough of my bickering with the Underworld's boatman for the past twenty minutes of our precious eight hours needed to find Annabeth.
"Do you know who I am, Carrie?" Thalia asked, pushing me out of the way to get up in Caron's face.
"It's Caron. And do I look like I care?" he growled.
"Whatever. I do not care what your name is. But you will care that I am a Hunter of Artemis and I can and will kick your butt if you don't let us in. Better yet, I can call Artemis herself down right now to kick your butt herself," she threatened.
Caron gulped. "Oh all right. Come on."
And we began the dark descent into the realm of Hades.
"Percy?" Grover whimpered. "Have I told you how much I hate the underworld?"
"Yes, you have." Too many times, in fact.
When we climbed off the boat, I gasped and stopped. Everything looked so much more cheerful. Even the dead were looking cheerful, if at all possible.
"What?" I mumbled.
"Persephone," Thalia stated. "It's November, so she will be here. Her powerful and summery aura brightens everything when she's down here."
"That's good for us right? Hopefully she can persuade Hades not to send us into the Underworld permanently," I noted, starting to walk towards Cerberus. He growled, but I kept going,
"Percy, are you crazy? You don't just walk straight for a three-headed Rottweiler! Especially one with…puppies?" She stopped and stared, having just seen what walked out from behind one of Cerberus's big back paws.
It was a three-headed Rottweiler puppy, as big as a German Shepard, but with faces that told me it was only a month old at the most.
I almost laughed at the thought of Cerberus being motherly, but stopped when the puppy started yapping at me and its parent growling at me.
"Don't worry, Thalia. Percy knows what he's doing," Grover said, patting Thalia's arm. "At least I hope he does."
I hoped so too. Which was why I snuck into the pet store while Thalia and Grover were Iris-messaging Chiron.
"Cerberus! Here boy! Um, girl. Um, dog!" I shouted, pulling four big red squeaky toy balls from my pouch. It was a good thing these dog toys only came into a pack of four, because I really wasn't counting on there being a Cerberus Junior waiting for us.
I threw all four balls at once, all in one direction, which coincidentally was away from the gate, and the two dogs went bounding after it, making the ground shake.
"Come on!" I yelled, running towards the gate. Alarms blared. Oops, I had forgotten one trivial detail from last time we visited the Underworld. Alive alerts, as Annabeth calls them. One step past them when you still have a heartbeat and they are set of within seconds.
"Percy! Grover, I thought you said he knew what he was doing!" Annabeth shouted, running behind me.
"I did too!" Grover replied, running and taking off his fake feet at the same time.
The three furies, one of them being my old math teacher, flew up ahead. They cackled.
"Ooh, someone's coming for a visit. Girls, it looks like we've got ourselves a late night snack! Percy was even so considerate as to bring one for each of us!" One of them trilled as they swooped down lower.
"I so do not have time for you," I yelled to them. "I need to see my uncle!"
They replied, but I tuned them out, running flat out towards the door in the distance that I knew my uncle was behind.
I threw open the door, out of breath, Annabeth and Grover panting besides me.
"I wondered when you would come to get her," a kind female voice told me. I looked up at Persephone, my half-aunt. I bowed then rushed forward to the golden sphere of light besides her throne, where Annabeth was floating, apparently unconscious.
"Can I have her back? Please?" I moaned, trying to figure out how to get Annabeth out of the sphere without injuring her or myself.
"All you had to do was ask," Persephone said, and the sphere of light disappeared, and Annabeth floated gently to the ground and opened her eyes sleepily.
"Percy? Where am I?" She took in her surroundings. "Oh. Ares?" she asked, trying to smooth out her homecoming dress as she stood up, trying to keep her dignity when she struggled weakly to stay upright. I hurried to her side to help.
"I have to give you props, Annabeth. You figured it out much quicker than we did," Thalia said, smiling when Annabeth stared at her in shock.
"Thalia! You gave up your Hunter duties to find me?" she asked, running for a hug.
"Temporarily," Thalia clarified. "Anything for a friend who I haven't seen in years. Even if Seaweed Head, or whatever you call him, is involved." I punched her shoulder, which she quickly and easily deflected.
Annabeth turned to me next, hugging me as tight as she could. "Thank you, Percy," she whispered in my ear.
"You're welcome," I replied, leaning in for a kiss.
It seemed to last for hours, but in reality, it lasted only seconds before Persephone interrupted us.
"You better not mention this to my husband when you see him next," Persephone says, leaning in close. "He won't be happy to hear that his niece and nephew came to um, visit him."
"You got it," I said, waving goodbye.
Thalia had to go as soon as Persephone zapped us to the street outside the music store, so I sent her with a message to Athena, saying her daughter was safe, and that it was indeed Ares who had taken her, which I hoped she would give him some grief over. I also told her to thank my dad for the money and Zeus for letting me fly without harm.
We all hugged her, and she was gone.
Grover had to get back to Camp for something or other, and we saw him into a taxi.
I was about to get flight tickets back to Annabeth's home, when I realized the sun was just peaking out from above the horizon. I better not push my luck.
"How about a different ride?" I asked Annabeth.
"Sure," she said, knowing just what I meant. "But let me go get a change of clothes. I am so tired of this dress."
"Good idea. I still have a few bucks left. C'mon." I led her into a department store, and a few minutes later we each walked out in shorts and a sweatshirt, holding bags with our fancy clothes.
I whistled really loud, and Blackjack came soaring down towards us after a few minutes.
Yo, boss. Haven't heard from you in a while. Need a ride?
"Yeah, thanks, Blackjack. To Annabeth's house." I sat down with Annabeth holding onto my waist for dear life as Blackjack took off into the air.
"So how was your first homecoming, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked with her eyes shut in terror.
I laughed. "Perfect."
The End