Percy never thought he would survive to his senior year. He was currently on his way to pick up Annabeth from Camp Half-Blood so that they could go to Goode together. He was thrilled that she had decided to go to the same school as him. Paul had given Percy the old car that Blackjack had dented for his seventeenth birthday and Paul got himself a new Prius. Percy had the windows rolled down because the air conditioner was broken. Apparently someone from the Hephaestus cabin needed a part from his car and no one was willing tell him who it was or what they needed it for. Annabeth was waiting for him by Thalia's tree. As he drove closer, Percy noticed someone in the shadows next to her. When he was at the base of the hill, he saw that it was Nico. He shifted the car into park and waited as the two made their way down.
"Hey, Percy." Nico said. He opened the rear passenger door and plopped in the backseat, closing the door on his way in. He took out some earbuds attached to an MP3 player from his backpack. He blasted the music so loud, Percy could hear Patrick Stump telling him to light 'em up.
"Hey." Percy turned to Annabeth who just opened the car door. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before sitting down.
"What's Nico doing here?" he asked, glancing back at the demigod.
Annabeth closed the door then moved to change the radio to a news station. "Will managed to convince Nico to register for school and the only one who would take him on such short notice was Goode. He wanted to take his skeleton chauffeur to school every day but I persuaded him to carpool with us."
"More like threatened," Nico muttered. Annabeth cast a wicked glance back at him. Nico saw it and shrugged. He pulled out one earbud before saying,"The Mist would cover up anything they might see. There's no real danger in me going to school with Jules."
"Nico, we've been over this." Annabeth said. "If something were to happen on the streets, having the three of us together would be the best plan of defense. Even Chiron thinks this way is better. You know the history of having three on a quest and how powerful it is—"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Nico leaned back into his seat as he put his earbud back in. He turned his attention to something out of the window to which Annabeth gave a little huff.
"Um, okay." Percy was a little disappointed that he didn't get to spend more time with Annabeth alone, but he'll take any time he can get with her. He reached for the gear shift but then glanced in his rearview mirror. "Hey, Nico. If you don't put on your seat belt this baby isn't going to go anywhere. You don't want to make Annabeth late for her first class of the year."
This time, when Annabeth glared at Nico, he hastily reached for the strap and almost caught his fingers in the buckle when he tried to fasten it. Percy chuckled and shifted the car into drive. This was going to be an interesting senior year.