Chapter One:
Chapter One:
An Unexpected Surprise
Percy's POV
Annabeth glared at me like she was going to punch me. And then she did something that surprised me even more. She kissed me.
"Shh brave one," she said. "Rest and heal. No harm will come to you here. I am Calipso."
"They send a person who can never stay." She whispered. "Who can never accept my offer of companionship for more than a little while. They send me a person I can't help…just the sort of person a can't help but fall in love with." The night was quiet except for the gurgle of the fountains lapping on the shore. It took me a long time to realize what she was saying. "Me?" I asked. "If you could see your face." She suppressed a smile though her eyes were still teary. "Of coarse you."
Memories. They stuck in my head. Biting at me, taunting me. Why were they sill stinging? Why. Kronos wasn't the only thing on my mind. I heard a knock on my door. "Percy, last day of school!" My mom said.
Camp halfblood was the best place on the planet to me, and a lot of other halfbloods. But now it was like I didn't even want to be there. I hadn't seen Annabeth since the labrinynth. And now it was like the kiss she gave me was still happening. I just had to tell my mom. "So mom." On Mount St. Helens, I need to tell you something about it. Um, I told you about the telekhines, right? Well before they tried to kill me, Annabeth kind of… kissed me." My mom's face looked shocked and happy at the same time. She took a deep breath and smiled so wide. "That's great honey!!" My mom said. "No, it's not. Because, I kind of flew to a phantom island. It sounds weird but it's real. And, there was this girl, I kind of fell in love with her." The happy expression on my mom's face melted. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry, I, I…" "It's not your fault, mom." I interrupted. "And why didn't she leave with you?" My mom said. Tears welled up in my eyes. "She couldn't. She, she, she has to stay there. And I can't visit her either. No man can ever find it twice. Ogygia." I told my mom. "Let's take you to school." She replied. "Yeah."
"Hey Percy, Paul asked me something. He asked me to marry him. Are you okay with that.?" My mom asked on our way. "Yeah. Of course!!" I said. "Really? I thought it would be weird for you." My mom sounded happy. "Paul makes you so happy." My mom was always so happy when he was around. She smiled that smile that always makes you feel like you're sitting under a warm blanket eating cookies by a fire place.
I was getting through the school day fine. I was starting to think that I wasn't in any sort of danger. RING RING!! I had gotten through the entire school year without getting expelled!! My mom would be so happy!! I rushed out just to make sure I couldn't get expelled at the last minute. But then right when I got outside, the ground started shaking, then knocking people down, the shaking got worse, and then worse, and then worse, and then it stopped. I knew that my dad needed me. I went to the sea. My dad wasn't there. But then a huge wave lapped around me pulling me in. I knew what I had to do. I walked in deeper to the water. Now I was neck deep. Teachers rushed over to me to make sure I was okay. But by the time they could get to me, I was head under the water. I walked in deeper. For almost an hour, I walked as deep as I could, and then I saw a giant trench, a drop off actually. More like an abyss. I jumped into it. Like gravity still applied, I was falling. 400 feet, 500, 600, and then I saw the bottom. Before I could scream, the water cushioned my fall. But there was no impact. I was alive and alright. I looked forward, and my eyes got wide. I saw Poseidon's castle. It was huge!! I figured now was a good time to iris message my mom. "Mom?" I called. Now I saw her face through a glass of water. She and Paul were on a date at a fancy restaurant. Woops. It was Paul's water. He looked into it. Then his eyes closed. His head fell backwards. He had fainted. "Percy, where are you?" Looking at the landscape behind me she looked worried and bewildered. "Poseidon's castle." I said. "Oh my gods Percy!! Are you alright, can you breath?" She asked. "Yes, I'm fine." I replied. "Percy, I felt the earthquake. Is that why you came here?" She asked. "Yes it was. Poseidon was summoning me. Seriously. I went down to the ocean, and the ocean waves pulled me in. I have to go, some one is coming out of the castle, bye." And before she could respond, I broke the connection. After the person came out, he bowed somehow knowing me. Then, a huge light emerged, I shut my eyes, but I could feel it growing stronger. Then it dimmed. I looked and there was Poseidon. "Dad?" I asked. "Yes son." We smiled at each other. "Come in son." He told me. "A, alright." I stuttered. The palace was even better on the inside. I told my dad everything I told my mom. But it didn't feel like I was talking to a god. It felt like I was talking to a normal dad. And listened like nothing else was in the room but me and him. It didn't feel like one of those times when he neglected me, not paying attention to me at all. This and when he went to my birthday party, showed me he cared more about me than anything. I was happy. "Yes Percy. Times are hard. And Percy let me tell you something. I want you to know that you are a great son, and care about you. But with everything happening with Kronos, it's just so hard. You aren't supposed to be here. I needed to see you though. And to tell you that what you will face is by far your biggest challenge yet. Kronos has practically risen again. It is up to you son." Poseidon said. And then in a wave of his hand. I teleported back to the shore dried off. I sat down and looked at my watch. It read midnight. I started off for home. Mom and Paul waited by our door. "Percy!" Paul ran to give me a hug. It was awkward, but I hugged him. "Why didn't you tell me earlier champ?" he said. You told him? I mouthed. When you sent an iris message, he saw the seascape background, and knew instantly your father was Poseidon. She mouthed back. "We need to get you to camp Halfblood. As quick as possible." My mom said. Paul nodded. In the car ride we talked, but we all knew that I couldn't not talk about Paul knowing. "So were you shocked." I asked Paul. "Yes. But also I knew that the strange things happening were not just weather." Paul said. "But what is the big deal here? Why are the halfbloods in danger?" He asked. "Kronos has risen. Again." Paul's eyes got wide. "This happened before?" He asked. I didn't answer. He took the hint. I didn't want to talk about it. "Here we are." My mom said. I got out and for some reason so did Paul. "Percy, will you be my best man?" He asked. "Sure, so you're going to be my step dad, huh?" I asked awkwardly. "Yes. Well have fun at camp kiddo." He told me. "Will do." I said. I entered the borders. Every camper was sleeping. I knew it would be rude, but I had to make a visit to a friend.
I knocked on the Athena cabin's door. A tired looking half sister of Annabeth's answered the door. She flashed me a fake smile. "What a surprise Percy. Why are you here?" She asked. "I need to talk to Annabeth." I said quickly. Just before she could call for Annabeth, Annabeth was walking toward the door. She wore a long nightgown with spaghetti straps. "Seaweed brain!! It's 3:00 in the morning!!" She said. "2:00, actually. Come outside, it's nice out here." I told her. Her half sister just smiled, and laughed. "Have fun you two." She said. The door to the Athena cabin shut. "Come on, you have to be at least a little happy to see me." I told her. "You weren't supposed to be here until next week." She said. "I know. But I have urgent news. Kronos is back." I told her. "Funny joke." She said laughing. "I talked to my dad, under the sea, at his palace." I told her. The smiled faded. "Why didn't you tell Chiron first?" She asked. "Well, I kind of wanted to see you. I missed you." I had to admit it. She smiled one of those rare smiles that I get barely ever, the ones that I would get a lot more if she would stop trying to hide them. But now she was closer to me than she was a second before. We got up and walked toward the beach. Once we got there I asked her to sit down. "Okay." She said. We talked. Kind of losing track of all of our problems. I felt the same way I always did when I was with her. Confused, excited, and a feeling that I couldn't understand. After an hour or two, we watched the sunrise and like I said, talked. The sun was coming up now. "Want to swim?" I asked. "What about sharks?" She asked. "They won't bug us." I said. "Well, okay." She said. I grabbed her hand. Which felt soft and nice. We walked in deep. "I'm not wet! I can talk under water!" She said. "Yeah, duh, son of Poseidon!!" I said. She punched my arm. "Shut up and don't ruin this moment." She said. Was I really riddling this funny feeling I got with her out? I thought maybe it was… no, it couldn't be what I thought. We walked down into the ocean, swimming deeper under. "Ahhh!!" Annabeth screamed. "Shark!" She yelled. "No don't run!! It will scare him!!" I tried to tell her. Then I tried to tell the shark to stop chasing her. It was to late. There was a deep bleeding cut from the bite. Nothing to terrible, but it still needed to be reported to the big house. "No!!" I screamed. Annabeth was floating around in the water I swam after her. Then she swam to an abyss. But not the abyss like when I saw my dad. It had no light coming from it. None of it. I went after her, but she disappeared in the hole. I looked for her, but I couldn't find her. I would have looked all night until I found her, but Tyson pulled me out. "Chiron told me to get Percy." He said to me. "Annabeth too. But Tyson can't find her." Tyson said. "Noo!!" I screamed back. But then I decided not to tell Tyson about Annabeth. He thought she was just about the coolest person. He would be so upset. He pulled all the way to Chiron.
"Hi Percy. Where is Annabeth?" Chiron asked. Tyson was still in the room, so I made up some stupid lie. "She's sleeping, I didn't want to wake her." I lied. Chiron had a hint of suspicion in his eyes, he narrowed them, but then his natural smile reappeared. "Tyson, please exit the room." He said. "Percy, tell Annabeth as soon as possible. Kronos is awake and ready to battle. And chances are that he will take any hostage he can. You, Annabeth, that mortal girl, Tyson, and Grover are the likeliest. We have already called the mortal. She will arrive at camp shortly." Chiron said. Not that that bothered me. I just had one question. "Aren't mortals not allowed through the boundaries?" I asked. "Not usually. But like monsters and your brother Tyson, they can be summoned. In which case, she can if someone from the camp invites her in." He answered. "Oh." I said back. Then Annabeth's half brother Malcolm walked in. At first I thought he found out about Annabeth getting lost, but he just told me a mortal was waiting for me at the border line. I nodded, and walked out of the room, secretly happy to get away from Chiron. I met Rachel at the border. I let her inside the border. "Why am I here?" She asked. "We sealed the entrance to the labrinynth in here, it's safe. Kronos rose again, and you might get kidnapped." It was raining outside. Bolts of lightning were dangerously close. Zeus may hate me, but this was a warning. One lightning bolt was so close to hitting Rachel, then I pulled her in before it could. "Where's Annabeth?" Rachel asked. "I want to give her a design I had for I new monument for the gods. We could put this here and…" I cut her off. "Follow me." Once we were in the Poseidon cabin, I made sure Tyson wasn't in the room. Then I shut and locked the door. She sat down on a bunk. "Annabeth is, um, well she's…" I didn't know how to say it. Was I supposed to just tell her "Annabeth's disappeared into a black hole?" No. Rachel looked grim. "She's lost at sea." I told Rachel.
Annabeth's POV
I woke up on some weird island. At first I thought that it was a small island at sea, but when I went into the water, I couldn't feel or smell salt. How did I get on an island with fresh water lost at sea? Then a girl came out of a cave. "Oh my. You've woke up. She ran to me, got down on her knees, and dabbed my cut with a damp cloth. "What's your name?" I asked. "Calypso." She said. "What is yours?" She asked. "Annabeth." She gasped. She looked at me like I was a rare in endangered animal. She held her breath in and dropped her cloth. Without blinking, talking, or breathing, she got up and walked into her house in the cave. I shrugged. I walked around the island for hours. Then, when it had been about four hours, I guessed, Calypso came out. I ran to her. She gulped hard. Got up and said hi. "Hi." I replied. "I'm sorry about today." She said to me. "It's alright." I said. There was a long silence but I broke it. "Why did you run away?" I asked. She blinked twice quickly, gulped, pulled me up a chair and pulled he one. "There was a boy. He was beautiful. A demigod like you. He fell on my island in a volcano eruption." She started. Something sounded familiar. "He… he, we, I should say. We spent so much time together. I felt so good. But alas, he could never stay. It broke my heart." She said. "You loved him." I guessed. "Yes." She said. That was the end of that for the night. Then, in the morning, I had to get the rest of the story. "Calypso, the story. Finish it, what does it have to do with my name?" I asked. I guess I was being pushy. We went to the same place she told me the first part of the story. "The boy spoke of you." "What?" I asked, shocked. "Percy Jackson." She said. My face turned pale. I looked right at Calypso. I blinked quickly. "He loved you." I said. "Yes." She said. I didn't know why at all, but I felt like crying. It felt like my hearts had been ripped out of my chest. Like my life had just flashed before my eyes. Then I realized why. For all of these years… did I love Percy Jackson? "I'll never see him." She said. Tears welled up in her eyes. She wept. I tried to comfort her, but I couldn't. I was jealous of her. I liked her, she was a nice girl. And she was who Percy belonged with. Not me. Not like a boy like him like me anyway. I had been here for four days, right? Then I remembered all the stories about Calypso and Ogygia. I had probably been here for weeks. So much had happened. All I could think about was the swim I had with Percy. And the last thing I heard from him was no. I missed him. It was soon dark outside. Nighttime. Then lightning started getting close to us. Earthquakes, every single natural disaster ever. And I had a feeling it wasn't the gods. "Annabeth, the cave is Collapsing!!" Calypso yelled over all ruckuses. "Run, get out!" Annabeth said. She analyzed the cave. "That rock, one person through, and it will collapse!" I said. "You go through!" Calypso told me. "No, you!" I argued. We kept spatting back, but the cave cracked louder every time. I grabbed her arm and pushed her out. She ran to the lake. For the first time, she could step out of her boundaries. But then lightning almost struck her. She ran from hurricanes and tornadoes. I contemplated how to get out without getting squished. I tried to run through. The bolder on the top of the cave smashed to the ground, trapping me in. The bolder created a loud, dark, small, and scary area. Not that I had time to analyze it. The cave walls and ceiling collapsed on top of me. I shut my eyes and more darkness crept up inside of me, I coughed, with dust floating around. Screaming for Calypso to help me, I figured she couldn't here me. "HELP!!" I tried one last time. The weight of the rocks was crushing me. I couldn't here Calypso anymore. I saw a star, it was a hole in the cave. I longed to see Percy again. If I didn't make it through this, who would tell him how I really felt about him? Who would tell him that I regret calling him seaweed brain for all of those years. Stupid Aphrodite. Wait a second. I held the weight of the sky once. Also, so did Percy. He did that partly for me. Then, I weird strength got into me. I pushed the rocks crushing me away, and then I pushed the boulder covering the entrance away. I felt fresh air wrap around my body, filling me with contentment and relief that I had rarely ever felt. I looked to the ground. There was Calypso sitting on the ground not moving with her eyes closed. I ran to her. "Calypso? Calypso, please be alive!!" Tears streamed down my face that could not be stopped. I felt her heart. She was still alive. These storms weren't after her, they were after me. I was so angry!! I knew that these storms were a cause of Kronos. I snowstorm came. Lightning rumbled. And the hurricanes and tornadoes wrapped around my fear. The only source of light was the fires, burning everything in sight. But I was a daughter of Athena. If there was one girl who could handle this, it was me. I saw a boat. Maybe we could sail away. After all, the gods probably did give her all the permission in the world to leave the island. Oh wait, lightning was attracted to water.
I bared through all of the disasters. Fire raged around us, I tried to wake Calypso. We were trapped in a circle of fire. It was getting skinnier. Lightning was hitting inside it. I tried as hard as I could to keep us safe. Some bolts were closer than others. One hit about four inches away from me and Calypso. She woke at that. "How did you get out of the cave?" She asked. "I'm a daughter of Athena, I have ways. Look out!!" I pushed her away from a bolt of lightning. "We're trapped!!" I informed Calypso. "I can see that." She replied. "We need to dodge the lightning bolts long enough for the rain or the hurricane to spread over here." I said. "Alright." Calypso agreed with a nod. We ran around like schoolgirls, it looked like just running in circles. The hurricane was coming closer. Water spat through the hurricane. But getting out was not as easy as Annabeth had planned. The steam blinded them. The tornado's pull was rough. Pushing them down. Sandstorms. The storms were tiring. Maybe they could survive through them. Sand settled. Wind was lesser now. But the hurricane was terrible. It exploded, flowing out a literal ocean. Lightning was gone, good thing too. We swam to the top. Seeing everything flooded. The sun was coming out, all the clouds splashing down. The water drained in to the never ending lake. We were happy that the lava from the volcanoes had mixed with the water creating taller land, or we would have had to swim home. I spoke to soon. Our boat was gone. Probably swept away by the hurricane and then splashed somewhere far away out of reach. "We're stuck." Calypso said. "No we're not." I told her. "But our boat is gone." She said. "I know. We can build one." I said. "But all of our materials are somewhere lost. It's not safe here. The storms will be back. And when they are, they'll be worse. Do you really want to stay here for that?" I asked. Calypso shrugged. "What are our materials?" She asked me. "Clay. Calypso, if you want to live, dig for clay." I told her. "What about wood?" She asked. "It all got swept away." I remembered. Calypso dug deep. Even though I often got jealous of Rachel, I liked her. Then I remembered a drawing of a boat she had. It would be perfect!! Calypso dug and I set up the boat. It was the normal design of a boat, accept more stable. "Don't let it dry. It will sink." I told Calypso. She nodded. The island had been wiped out. Nothing but sand and dirt. Annabeth tried to start a fire as it got late. Finally it worked. "So Annabeth, what will we burn to keep this fire going?" Calypso asked. "Nothing at all." I said. We had extra clay, I molded a cup from it. I held it over the fire as the fire died. I handed the cup to Calypso. She knew what I was doing. She nodded and ran to the lake. "Boil the water for ten minutes, all of the germs are out of it." She said. "I know." I replied, watching the skies get darker. It was not only night, but clouds inched in on the sky. Slowly dictating every inch of sky. "We're ready." I said, as I let down a mighty gulp. Calypso nodded, as she did so often. We ran to the boat. "Get in, hurry!!" The first lightning bolt struck. We boarded the boat, sailing immediately. We watched the storms disappear behind us. The lava chased us as we sailed away. I was scared, as was Calypso. "Where are we going now?" She asked me. "I don't know, I guess wherever the sea takes us." I replied.
Percy's POV
A month!! She's been gone a month!! I couldn't face it!! Rachel could tell I was tense. "Percy, her funeral's tomorrow, are you coming?" Rachel said. "She's not dead!!" I yelled. "No not dead. She's just been missing for a month, but not dead." Rachel said. Then her voice got sweeter. She put a hand on my shoulder. "I don't think she is alive." I swatted Rachel's hand away. "Go away." I told her coldly. She just sighed, shook her head, and walked away. But I couldn't sake the feeling that I was supposed to look for her. If I knew Annabeth in any way, she was out there somewhere, figuring out the way home. I waited until it was dark, midnight, and then I "borrowed" a canoe and sailed off on an adventure. Weird storms had been happening lately, every natural disaster all around the world. I was worried about Annabeth. The storms could not wonder into the borders of the camp. But I saw them from the Poseidon cabin. The mortals fled and figured it was the end of the world, but not if I had anything to say about it. I knew the storms were after Annabeth, they would have been after me, but I was in the camp borders. Oh why did I have mess everything up? This was all my fault. Then something struck me. My mom and Paul!! All of these storms, the mortals had to be affected. Rachel ran after me. "Where are you going? Are you crazy? Once you get out of these borders you'll get struck be lightning!!" I didn't answer, I just sailed farther until Rachel's voice was just a disappearing shadow. Then it was gone. I sailed as far as I could. With nothing in sight, it was a foggy night. There was nothing in front of me. Open sea. That's all there was for miles. If the storms were after Annabeth, I just went toward them. She would be trying to get away from them. Why was I doing this? I knew Annabeth could find her way out, couldn't she? I wasn't so sure. The feeling I got around her was growing stronger, and she wasn't even here. What was the feeling that always crept into my heart? Strangely, it felt like the feeling I got with Calypso when I was on her island. But did that mean… yes. I was in love with Annabeth Chase. What about Calypso. Two years ago Aphrodite told me she liked me, and so she would make it hard for me in the romance department. Well, from this point, I didn't like Aphrodite very much. I tried to phase it out of my mind. But I couldn't faze it out. I watched as the storms get closer. But there was no land before me. Then it hit me. When Annabeth got bitten by the shark, she went somewhere. Somewhere where people who are hurt go. Ogygia. Annabeth was stuck on Ogygia. I wouldn't find her, ever. She would have the boat, unless it washed away. I started to worry. She had no way home. Usually people can't land Ogygia twice. But I was so sure that the gods would make an acceptation this once. So, I leaped off my canoe, holding my breath, I let myself sink to the bottom of the sea, I looked for a dark pit, of something. Then I found a good hole in the bottom of the ocean. My breath was running out. Before I drown, I fainted, which I hoped was normal when you go to Ogygia. Then, before I ran out of breath, I washed up in Ogygia. No, they weren't there!! "Ahhh!!" I jumped away from a bolt of lightning.
I saw a boat in the distance, well, it wasn't a boat really. It was half of a boat with a girl hanging on to the side and another trying to swim it to shore. One waved. "Help!! Help!!" They screamed. I couldn't tell one voice from another. I swam up helped them. As I got closer I saw Annabeth and Calypso. My heart raced. "Percy!!" They yelled, both as shocked as I was. I pulled them on to shore. "We were sailing when a shark ripped our boat apart. We got it to shore as quick as possible." Calypso said. "Look out!!" Annabeth said, pushing me away from lightning. I grabbed Calypso and Annabeth's hands and got to the boat. We all took a paddle and paddled back. How long was I gone for, Percy?" Annabeth asked. "A month!! And you scared me so much!! I…" I stopped, I saw Calypso's face, tears streaking down her face. "What's wrong?" I asked her. She shook her head, "You two are friends, and you get along so well. I never had friends. Just sisters. But they always hated me." She said. Annabeth gasped. "How horrible!!" We said.
It had probably been days. But it only felt like hours. As time passed, we talked, but not much after that moment. Calypso cried the whole time. When camp half blood was in sight, Annabeth screamed of happiness. Then the expression on Calypso's face changed. She had a dreamy look on her face. She was looking directly at Conner and Travis Stoll. Actually at Travis. And that was that. Something formed inside me, a mix of anger, of sadness, and of jealousy. But when I looked at Annabeth it all flowed away. This was how it was meant to be. I felt it. But now there was Kronos to defeat. And there was a whole new challenge ahead of them. Rachel was on the shore, talking with Malcolm. It was night, a clear beautiful night. Rachel and Malcolm had a picnic and a blanket, they were counting the stars. I wondered if it was a date or not.
We docked the boat and walked toward the big house. Everyone ran toward us. Giving Annabeth hugs and the Demeter kids made flowers bloom and they picked them for her. Travis Stoll just looked at Calypso. It was a dreamy stare where you don't want to blink, but you have to. I knew she felt the same way. I pulled Annabeth through the crowds of campers, and took her to the Poseidon cabin. "Annabeth. When I came to rescue you, something kind of bothered me." I hoped I didn't sound stupid. "I, Annabeth, I…" at that moment Chiron walked in. "Come children, you have a celebration!!" So there we stood. On a large podium Chiron called every camper here, no matter if it was midnight. Mr. D gave the speech, so of coarse I didn't feel welcome. "We are all called here because three brats made it back alive from crossing a dangerous ocean. Bla bla bla." He said. They all trailed off. I had to talk to Chiron. "Where will Calypso be staying?" I asked. "Possibly the Athena cabin, with Rachel, or maybe the Hermes cabin." Chiron answered. "Since she doesn't have a godly parent." Chiron followed up. "Parent!! Oh my gods!! My mom!!" I said. "Her wedding is in one week." I said. "Yes Percy, we aren't informed if your mom is still alive. I'm sorry." Chiron told me lightly. I ran to the fountain in the Poseidon cabin. I tried to Iris message her, and a graveyard appeared. I got worried, but then I saw her, standing up, looking at the graves, but she was still breathing. I let my shoulders go and called her name. "Mom are you there?" I yelled again. She ran to the fountain in the graveyard. "Oh Percy, thank gods you stayed at camp!!" She said. "I wish I could hug you!!" She said. "Mom I didn't stay at camp. Annabeth went missing, and I went searching for her. She's here now." I said. "What about the storms? Are you alright?" She asked. "I'm fine, I'm back at camp now." I said. The sun was rising a sunny day now. "I have to go mom." I told her. "Bye Percy, be careful." She said. And with a whip of my arm, the connection was lost. The sun was almost out, this would be a perfect time to tell Annabeth.
Annabeth's POV
I was overjoyed to be back at camp, but no one left me alone. I wanted to tell Percy how I really felt about him. But I didn't get a moment alone. It had been days since I'd been able to say three words to him. I sat by the border. "Hey." A voice from behind me said. I wanted it to be Percy, and I thought it was too. But it was actually, it was Rick Kindle from the Hermes Cabin. I looked behind me. "Hi." I said. Rick Kindle never talked me, ever. "So, I was just looking for you and I couldn't find you, but here you were, here." He said. He wasn't the smartest boy around, but he was cute. His blond hair shimmered in the wind. His big blue eyes almost made me ignore every thing he was saying. My heart ached, he reminded me of Luke. I never liked him, but now that he talked me, I kind of got nervous and bubbly. "I mean, um, hey, what's up?" Then I made a smart move, I tripped on the tree. He laughed, and I fake laughed. "Anyway, you want to go out with me, like, sneak out of the border?" He asked. I knew he was a trouble maker, but sneaking out of the border? That was just plain stupid. "Well I don't..." He pushed my hair behind my ears. "Come on, I do it all the time." He flashed me his best get a girl look, I was under his spell. I stood there and watched him walk away. Percy came around a corner. "Hey, um, I just, do, do, do, do you want to go out with me on Saturday?" He asked. I was still daydreaming about Rick. "I can't." I said. It was stupid of me, but I couldn't help it. Rick was a great guy, I thought.
It was Saturday, and I was getting ready for the date with Rick. But as Percy tried to talk to me, I couldn't even pay attention. Some words I made out. Why, Wish, and one word more, Love. I met Jake at the border. "Ready?" He asked me. "Yeah." I couldn't say much. I was stunned by how great he looked. His long hair ran paths onto his face. His eyes shimmered in the moon light. "Let's hurry, the harpies come out in just a few minutes." He told me. I was suspicious at how he knew that, but I had snuck out once before on my trip to the sea of monsters, and dragged out by a shark to Ogygia. There I was. Out of the border. Once we got to the main road, I saw a car waiting. Scratch that. It was a huge black truck with purple and blue flames painted on it and a double lift kit. The engine was supped up and ready. He entered Shotgun and I entered in the back. "Sup dude." He high punched his fist onto his friends that apparently was driving. "So, where we going and how are you paying for it?" Rick said, following up with a burp. "Excuse me?" I said angrily. "You heard me." He said. "I'm not paying for this gas, I need seventy fifty." He said, luckily not burping. "I didn't bring any money!!" I yelled, slamming my hand on the glove compartment. "What's wrong?" He asked. "You!!" I told him. He sighed. "Alright, I'll pay for dinner, and Toby can wait for seventy fifty." Rick said. Then he whispered "That's just a code for he's never going to get it." I nodded and smiled. The car was silent for a moment or two. "Here's our stop, Toby." He said. I looked around to find the restaurant or movie theater we were going to. I couldn't find one. But Rick was getting out of the car, so I followed. He walked up to the door of and old MacDonald's with the D and a falling off and the neon broken. Here we are. My jaw hung open. He opened the door for me. "Here?" I asked. "Oh, ok, let's just go back…" he started. I interrupted him. "No, no, here is fine." I said. His smile returned. We walked in. The outside made the inside look like a five star restaurant outside. There was food across the floor, and judging by the green stuff on it, it hadn't been dropped recently; also there were mouse traps on every corner and tables that were unclean and unfit to be in a restaurant, or be viewed by the public. I had no like for this place. I sat down at a table while Rick ordered. When we got our food, it was cold and wet, as if it had just gotten out of the freezer. I swallowed hard. There was one small television placed on a counter by the kitchen. "And in other news… the new alerts!! A tornado watches for long island. This just in!! Hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and lightning storms definite!! We're doomed!!" She yelled. They were after me. "It's not true." Rick said. But he sounded unsure. He called Toby to pick us up. We saw the storms coming. I feared it, because I had been in these storms. I gulped hard. The sound of harsh winds shook the building, rain and snow rapidly hitting the roof. "Ahhh!!" Rick screamed. "Help us!!" Then, in a quick second, a bolt flashed and lightning hit the power out. "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! MOMMY MAKE IT STOP!!" I couldn't believe he said that. "I'll fix the power in the back, you stay here." I told Rick. "Alright." He said, calming down. I went out back, not all the storms had gotten here, but lightning had. Often I had to duck or roll to avoid being shocked, although it was pie compared to what happened on the island. Rick appeared in the doorway. "Is the power on yet?" He asked. "It can't be fixed." I told him. "What do you mean it can't be fixed?" He said angrily. "I mean just that, it can't be fixed." I replied. "That's Toby." He noticed. "Wait one minute." I told him. He ran to the front of the MacDonald's at the sight of a close lightning bolt. The storms were almost here. Rick went as fast as he could, opened the truck's door, and hopped in. "Step on it!!" He yelled to the scared Toby. There I was. Stranded, some MacDonald's somewhere, and worse, the storms of a lifetime were coming. If I didn't make it back to camp now, this storm would surely kill me, since the other one didn't. I could since that this was going to be worse than the last one. A small earthquake quaked the ground. It got harder faster. Volcanoes sprouted from the ground quickly but still a little slow. Lave streamed down the sides of them. She could not survive, there was no way out now, but then I saw him. A figure running down the street. As I got a better look, I saw none other than Percy Jackson. "Percy!!" I yelled for him.
Percy's POV
Wow. That was one crazy day. I had heard about her date with Rick. Something in me told me that if they left the border something like this would happen. So in the name of love, I followed the truck, although running was not my skill, I had yelled various time to Annabeth, and at camp I tried to tell her, but she was to in love with Rick. Anyway, there I was, waving to Annabeth, running quickly. Then, right when I was close enough to her to give her a hug, a bolt struck between us. "Aaaaaahhhh!!" She yelled. I lifted her up before a fast moving gush of lava could sweep her away. The wind of the tornado was almost too much to bear. At least I had the least bit of control over the hurricanes. I sat Annabeth down. "Thanks." She said, breathing deeply. "No problem." I said. "Look out!!" I then lunged to save Annabeth from the bolt of lightning that had almost struck her. I barely got away from the bolt, because of the jump to save Annabeth. But then the jump had saved her, but created a new problem. I guess the fear knocked her out. Then an earth quake shook the ground. I picked up Annabeth like a baby and ran. The ocean was not too far, I was safe there. So I ran for it. Annabeth woke up about halfway there. "Percy, you saved my life." She said, astonished. "Yeah, let's not cocky yet. For the next few minutes I could avoid a few problems. We were there. I ran in. "But Percy…" She started. "It's the only way." I told her. I ran desperately into the water, still carrying Annabeth. We were deep, which meant we were safe. Somehow I knew where to go to get to my dad's castle. Hours, but once we were there I let Annabeth sand. "Whoa." Was all she could say. I told the guards who I was and they let me come in. When Poseidon saw me his eyes got wide and he looked shocked. "Son, why are here? You should be at camp." He said. "I know, long story." He invited us to stay there for the night until the storms passed over. I and Annabeth each stayed in a guestroom. Poseidon had about fifty of them. "Knock knock," a familiar girl's voice said. "Come in." I said. "What took you so long seaweed brain?" I gave Annabeth a death stare and looked into her beautiful grey eyes. There she was, and I had never looked deep into her eyes before. My frown died. She returned the favor. Then something passed over me. A feeling which I was very unfamiliar with. For a second I only could stare at how beautiful she looked right now. Still looking, I said something, actually, my mouth thought for me. Scratch that. My heart thought for me. "There is something that I've been trying to tell you. I think that I'm in love." I had to say. She broke her stare. "What?" She looked puzzled and shocked, emotionless. "I…" Then a girl walked in. Long red hair, big brown eyes, and a smile of blinding teeth. "Hello." She said. I fell over at the site of her. I thought I saw a hint of jealousy in Annabeth's eyes. "Percy, would you like to see the castle, since you didn't get to last time you were here?" She asked. "Are you the girl who will be giving me the tour?" I asked. "Yes. I know the castle very well." She smiled again. "Can I come with you?" Annabeth asked, as if it were Rachel that was standing there. "No, you will go next." She told Annabeth. Then when I wasn't looking, she sneered at Annabeth and mouthed the words, "He's mine." Annabeth pretended like she was ringing the girl's neck. The girl closed the door. "What's your name?" I asked. "Nowell." She said. "Nowell." I repeated. Was I in love? With three girls? I thought of Calypso, Annabeth, and Nowell. But now… who was the one? Nowell looked at me with a smile. Those smiles of her's were impenetrable. We stopped the tour. "Nowell, I like you but…" Her smile faded. I couldn't help what I did next. "Do you want to go out with me?" Her smile returned. "Of coarse." She said. Man I hated Aphrodite. We walked up and down the castle holding hands, although I looked angry and vengeful at that moment. I knew what I had to do. I was going after Aphrodite.
I told my dad not to tell Annabeth where I was going. She would try to get me. I told him to also make sure neither Nowell nor Annabeth got out of this castle. If they tried to go after or ask where I was going to tell them I was going to see if the storms were clear. Then I asked my dad if he knew where Aphrodite lived. He said no. Well, I had to guess. Where was the most romantic place I knew about? Olympus. Oh no, I had been to Olympus once, and my uncle Zeus wasn't very happy to see me. But Zeus had better let me in. I was not going let my love, or loves, or, whatever, slip through my fingertips. Who would I choice? I had no clue. They all meant so much to me. No, I was going to tell Aphrodite off. And in return… she was going to tell me who I really loved. And I wasn't going to waste any time. Right when I walked outside I called some great whites to give me ride up. They went really fast. But I thought people at the shore would find it suspicious that I was riding great whites. It was sunny outside when I got up. I was just off the coast of Long Island, and I needed to get to New York. So I caught a ride at the nearest taxi. Right when the ride was over, the taxi driver asked me a question that I wasn't prepared for. "Hey kid, you got money?" Some dried mustard fell of his fat upper lip when he said it. "Um, yeah, about that…" Then I ran out of the taxi. "Hey kid get back here!!" He stood outside and yelled, but was too lazy to try and catch up with me. And there was the empire state building. Tall and thin, I knew the guard there. Upon entrance, some people whispered among themselves. Some just stared at me. I walked up to the desk. And then I saw a guy reading a good book. Just the way I had left him. "I need an audience with Zeus." I said. Without lowering the book he said, "Excuse me?" He lowered his book now. "You heard me." I said. He now stared at me shocked. "You." He said. "I haven't seen you in…" He shook his head. "You can't be Percy Jackson." He concluded. "That's my name, don't ware it out." I told him. "You know what to do." He said handing me card. I did know what do. And I did it. But now looking at Olympus, even after seeing it once, it still surprised me. So there I was, on Olympus, getting ready to find Aphrodite. I walked around for a little while, trying hard to avoid Zeus. I didn't see him anywhere, but you didn't know. There she was, by a lake with her boyfriend Ares. Ares sensed I was here. "What are you doing here kid. He said without looking at me. But I could tell he was ticked off that I was here. "Go Ares, I'll take care of him." Aphrodite said. "What is it kid?" She said when he was gone. "Why are you doing this to me, it's torture?" She looked at me evilly. "Look kid. I'm helping you." She said angrily. "HELPING ME!! You've ruined my life!! Why can't you just tell me who I love?!" She looked angry. "You already know!! It takes strength to tell yourself who love. Think about it. I'll give you a hint. She's always loved you. But you were just clueless to figure it out until now." She said always. That meant that I had to have known this girl for a long time. That exed out Nowell. "And she always thought of great plans, lifesavers sometimes." That exed out Calypso, that left… Annabeth.
Annabeth's POV
I really hate that girl. When Percy got back it was the next day. We didn't talk the entire way to Long Island. But he said we shouldn't take a taxi. Idk. We got Chiron to come pick us up. "Children, sneaking out of the boundary for no reason, I have half the mind to expel you… you're lucky that Mr. D was away this entire time, otherwise you children would have been in deep doodoo." He said. "We know." We said at the same time. Then, when we were there, I pulled Annabeth aside to the lake. "Annabeth, I began to tell you something at my dad's castle, I love someone." She got glum. "Who is it?" I even thought he saw a tear come out of my eye. "It's that Nowell girl, isn't it?" She burst out in tears. "I always knew you would think Calypso was better than me!!" I balled. "It's you."He said. "I knew… what?" I stopped crying. "I'm in love with Annabeth Chase." My eyes got wide. "That's me." I blinked fast. "I love you too!!" I had to say it. I was in love with Percy Jackson. And there I was. Percy glared at me like he was going to punch me. And then he did something that totally surprised me even more. He kissed me. A crowd formed. "Finally!!" Some kids said. Grover formed. "What is it?" He yelled over the racket. He pushed his way through the crowd with his elbows. Rachel did the same. "Omg." Rachel said. Grover just stood there and watched. Then, Percy asked me a question. "Will you be my girlfriend?" The entire crowd "Awwed" like he was asking me to marry him. "Yes!!"
Later that night I couldn't sleep. I was so excited. But I didn't know about the day after.
I finally fell asleep that night around midnight. Then I woke up at about 2:00 in the morning. I heard a noise outside of the Athena cabin. When I went outside, the noise sounded farther away. I picked up the pace. There was nothing anywhere. I looked around for a long time. Nothing anywhere. After a while, I was beginning to give up. But then I saw something very surprising. A glow, but not just any glow. It was pitch black in the faint light of a near rising sun. The glow seemed to come nearer to me. It crept up to me slowly, as if a person walking. I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I tried to run away, but I couldn't move. The glow scared me, but it couldn't come in the boundary, right? I was fine. As I thought, it stopped at the boundary. But once he got there, the light wore off, and standing before me was Luke.