To say I'm blown away by the response to the first chapter would be a understatement.

Thank you all so much for the amazingly kind reviews! That Was Such A Face Palm, lexgracemutkus0414, SomethingMoreCreative, MistressBlack523, annabeth137, and Kira Liven, you are all incredibly fantastic people for reviewing. Also, thanks to the 7 people that faved and the eleven that followed! You all rock, too!

Enjoy!

Percy

To say I'm shocked when Annabeth Chase comes rushing up to me after school would be the understatement of the century. After the events that took place two months ago, I never thought that she would every acknowledge me again, and yet there she is, marching over to the front of the school determinedly as her blonde curls fly back in the breeze. Annabeth's dragging another kid along with her, a boy from my woodshop class named Oscar or something, and her eyes harden as she approaches.

"Percy," Her tone is clipped, professional as she approaches where I'm leaning against the front doors. The lack of emotion in it freaks me out. "I need to talk to you."

For a moment, unreasonable hope swells up in my chest before I remember the other boy standing there. If Annabeth were to talk to me about… that… she would have wanted there to be no other witnesses. "About what?" I ask cautiously, meeting the bewildered gaze of Oscar.

"About…" Annabeth sighs, before pulling the other boy and I in close, as if she's a little kid about to share a secret. "About why I had to leave third period."

I stare at her blankly. We have third period together, and I'm pretty sure I would know if something life-altering happened to her during Algebra II. "You weren't there in third period? Really?"

For a moment, Annabeth's eyes are filled with something akin to hurt, before she straightens and it is replaced by mild annoyance. "The PA system paged me in front of everybody! Everyone was looking as I had to take the walk of shame to the front office."

I look at her for a minute, bewildered. No one listens to the PA system in our class, and we were all so loud today I doubt we could have heard it anyways. "Okay, okay. So what does this have to do with you and Oscar wanting me to talk to you?"

"Um, my name's Grover," The boy, who had stayed quiet during this entire conversation, finally speaks up. I notice for the first time that he has metal crutches on his arms, helping him stand. "Although kudos for remembering that I was named after a Sesame Street character."

I give him a light fist bump, as Annabeth rolls her eyes at our budding bromance. Her posture's tense, face void of all emotion. Something must really be wrong. I turn to face her, my eyes full of concern. "But seriously, why do you need to talk to us? What's going on?"

Annabeth's mouth tightens, her whole body still seeming alien to me. I'm not used to her being this closed-off. The Annabeth I remember was carefree and fun, not this unbreakable individual the rest of the world has always seen her as. And now, for the first time, I realize how it feels like to be an outsider to her, a stranger looking in. I know I should be more cautious- this is our first conversation since the fallout, after all- but I can't bring myself to care. "I met my mom," She whispers, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"Um, guys?" Grover taps me on the shoulder, and I realize that most of the school is silent, watching our exchange. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private to speak."

Annabeth blinks, snapping out of her trance, and nods, grabbing Grover's arm again and stepping away from me. I follow behind them like a sheepdog, awkwardly dodging all of the looks and questions being shot at me. The entire student body knew when Annabeth and I had our fall-out, so obviously they would be all over our first interaction. I follow the two of them into a tiny café across the street, overrun with teenagers who had just finished their school day. The air is full of roasted coffee beans and laughter as Annabeth drags us towards a back table, before sucking in a sharp breath and veering to another booth a couple feet away. I bite my bottom lip and follow, walking away from the original table, the one where we always used to sit. Things are definitely different now.

Annabeth slides into one side of the booth, and Grover and I sit on the other. She drums her fingers on the wooden surface anxiously, glancing around as if she hoped one of us would break the silence.

I'm the first one to speak. "I thought your mom was dead," I say bluntly, earning an elbow in the ribs from Grover. Granted, maybe my approach wasn't the most tactful, but it got the point across, right?

Annabeth sighs. "So did I. But she talked to me today in Mr. D's office. She said… she said that the fate of the world rests on my shoulders, as crazy as that sounds."

"You sure it wasn't just a hallucination? I mean, there are a lot of alcohol fumes in that room," It's my turn to elbow Grover. This sounds crazy to me too, but Annabeth normally go through all of the trouble to get us here unless she was sure about what was happening. Then again, did I really even know the girl standing in front of me anymore?

Annabeth bites her bottom lip, her teeth chewing on the chapped surface. "No, it was real. Trust me. She had this picture of me and her, and she said her name was Athena and that she knew all of these things about me and my life and said that she faked her death…" She trails off, burying her head in her hands. "I sound crazy, don't I?"

"Only a little," I say simply, still confused to why Annabeth needed to tell me, her ex-best friend, and Grover, a kid she's never talked to before, all of this. "So say this is real. What did Athena do that freaked you out so much?"

Grey eyes harden and meet mine as Annabeth begins to recount what had happened in the office, stopping to pull out the coin. Grover examines it slowly, as the story continues, finally with Annabeth mentioning how Athena said that Grover and I needed to accompany her. I begin to shake my head, disbelieving. Annabeth's seriously been screwed over. There is no way that there's some tiny little coin that holds all of the secrets in the world, and us, three teenagers from New York, are the only ones who can help.

"So let me get this straight," Grover places the silver coin down onto the table with a plink. "You want us to give up everything in our lives, everything we've known, and go on a roadtrip with you to find out about a mysterious coin that apparently holds the fate of the world?"

Annabeth fiddles with her fingers. "Well… yes?" Her cheeks are flushed, a sure sign that she's either angry or upset. Right now, I think it's kind of a mixture of both. Even though her story seems insane, for reasons I don't understand, she seems to have complete faith in it. But why? Annabeth's always been logical.

"Forget it," Grover struggles to his feet, leaning heavily on his crutches. "Sorry Annabeth- you seem nice, same with you, Percy- but I don't think this makes any sense. I need to get to my Eco Club meeting. It was nice talking to you." With that, he limps out the door, leaving both Annabeth and I dumbfounded.

The second the café door shuts, I let out a loud laugh. "I have to admit, I did not think he had it in him. I mean, Grover standing up to yo…" I trail off as I see Annabeth's face crumple, one hand still wrapped around the silver coin. "Hey, cheer up. Can't you just find some other kid to go on this quest?"

Annabeth glares at me, her nose turning up slightly. At that moment, she looks more like a princess than ever, sitting straight with her blonde curls spiralling down her sides. "My mother said you two have to accompany me. I don't want to challenge her rule."

I hold up my hands in mock defense, realizing suddenly that Annabeth Chase and I are having a civil conversation alone. "Okay, okay. But why do you have to listen to her? I mean, you're the one being put in danger, right? That should give you some of the decision making power. Plus, every kid disobeys their parents once in a while."

With a roll of her eyes, Annabeth looks at me exasperatedly. Maybe I was wrong about the whole 'civil' part. "Percy, you don't understand."

Those four words, so familiar yet so alien, tinged with nothing but bitterness, send a jolt through me. I think that's what makes me snap, makes me realize that I don't have to tread carefully around her any longer. There's no friendship to maintain. "You're right, I don't. And, according to you, I never have. So care to enlighten me?"

Annabeth looks at me, frustration and anger simmering just below the surface. "Don't bring our past dispute into this. And I don't know, maybe I want my mother to be proud of me for once! Some of us actually have to work to earn a mother's love."

I stare at her incredulously, barely even processing the second part of her statement. "A past dispute? That's what you've decided to call it? That was not a dispute, Annabeth. That was a full out war." It feels weird to say her name again.

"A war?" Annabeth stares at me, letting out a humourless chuckle. "Gods, Percy, you're overreacting. It's behind us now. I need your help."

At once, the reason for her cordial attitude, the barely repressed anger, all becomes clear to me. "That's why you're being so nice," I sigh, knowing it was too good to be true. "You're being selfish yet again and manipulating me because you need help! Well, too bad. I'm not your little lapdog anymore- I'm not going to follow you wherever you go. We have school! We have our families! Finals are coming! We can't just drop everything for a stupid piece of metal! Forget it, Annabeth. I'm not coming with you, and you should just give up on this ridiculous thing altogether! It isn't logical!"

Annabeth stares at me, hurt in her eyes but her mouth pressed into a thin line. She's not denying my words. For once, Percy Jackson is behaving more logical than Annabeth Chase. I open my mouth, about to continue with my tirade when an employee taps me on the shoulder, looking grim. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

I shrug off his hand, picking up my thin windbreaker from the booth. "Fine. I was just going anyways."

Annabeth's face looks desperate as she watches me stand. I don't care. She's being irrational. "Wait, Percy…" I turn, even though my mind is screaming at me to keep walking. Annabeth sighs, twisting her slender fingers together. "Two months ago, you would have wanted to come with me. When we were little, we always dreamed of going on an adventure like this! And now you have the choice… and you've rejected it."

I meet her gaze evenly. "Yeah, well a lot has changed since then. Including you." With that, I turn and walk out into the late afternoon sun, leaving her standing dumbfounded.

Driving home in my blue minivan (laugh all you want, but it's actually a very dignified car), I finally allow myself to relax. Even the thought of Annabeth has put me on edge lately, and the fact that we went back to the café- the café that we hung out in every day since freshman year, I might add- didn't help matters. There's an unbridgeable gap between us now, and if we get within five feet of one another, like today, there's a probability things will blow up.

Seconds after I finish thinking that, my minivan goes over a small bump, jostling me slightly. I don't pay attention to it- it's probably just a rock or something, but soon after, the car jolts again, and then again. I turn onto a side road, frowning. If something's wrong with the car, it's coming out of my pocket.

There's a bigger bang, and then all of the sudden the van begins spinning out of control. I yelp, grabbing onto the wheel and attempting to regain power, to no avail. The car bounces off the side of the thankfully empty road, rolling into a desolate field before screeching to a halt, sending me flying forward until my forehead smacks against the steering wheel. With a panicked gasp, I unbuckle my seatbelt and dash out of the minivan, bending over to catch my breath. What just happened?

A loud popping noise sounds from inside the van, and I inch closer. It's sounding from the backseat, a continual drone, as if someone's cracking bubble gum over and over again. I shove open the door and peer in, seeing nothing but the usual clutter- old homework sheets, swimming stuff, and empty water bottles- until a glint catches my attention.

On the right side of the seat, a small metal pen rolls around, the popping noise emerging from its inside. I lean in and pick it up, holding the small object at arm's length. It looks like a normal ballpoint pen, one all of my classmates probably have shoved inside their schoolbags. The popping alarms me, however, so with a frown, I toss the pen a couple of feet away.

There's a crack, and then a hiss, and suddenly all of the ground near the pen is black and incinerated. I gape in shock at the object, going over and picking up the small item before conducting a more thorough examination. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, I walk back to the van, looking next to where I first saw the pen. There's a note taped to the window that wasn't there before, written in small, curling script.

This may come in handy. –Athena

PS: My daughter is not a fool, Percy Jackson. It would do you well to listen to her, for her motives are not always selfish ones.

Awkward introduction to Riptide, I know. And what happened between Percy and Annabeth? Why did Percy's car go crazy? What will happen next? All of this in more coming in chapters to follow!

So yeah, hope this didn't suck too bad! School's been INSANE, so forgive me if this isn't as polished as the last chapter!

Thanks for reading,

-Jace ;)

PS: Go Team Canada! We've won 1 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze so far!