Chapter 2

I wake from my nightmare ridden sleep in one of our infirmaries, with Percy hanging over me like a hawk. As my vision clears, I can see sunlight through the open window and Percy's sad half-smile on his face.

"Hey" he says simply.

"Hey" I say back.

There is a moment of silence while we try to figure out what to say. Because, what do you say to someone who you've just gone through a war with?

"Thalia" I begin to say but he interrupts me "I know. I'm sorry."

Suddenly all of the feelings I've been holding in since before the battle started suddenly come rushing out. I start bawling my eyes out. Percy sits down in a chair beside me and starts to stroke my hair as he lightly kisses my forehead.

"Tell me everything" He says.

So, I do.

I tell him about my adventures with Thalia and Luke from when I was younger and my near death experiences during the war. I recounted our own stories from my point of view and I talked and talked until I didn't think I could talk anymore. Then he started talking, about his experiences in New Rome, Frank and Hazel, and his ex step-father, Gabe. We sat there for the longest time, just discussing our past, the only thing we were sure of.

"So, what next?" Percy asked after a while. "We still have our whole lives to think about."

He was right. For the first time in our lives, we were safe. No extreme monsters, no prophecies, no gods trying to kill us. And I realised that without any of that, the rest of my life was unplanned and unknown.

"I honestly don't know." I said.

We stared at each other, my grey eyes meeting his sea green ones.

"Do you mind letting me get over my grieving period first, Seaweed Brain? You're rushing things too fast for me." I said.

He laughed, which was one of the best sounds in the world. "You're right, Wise Girl."

"Aren't I always?" I replied with a sly grin.

We both stood up from our spots in the depressing infirmary and walked downstairs to the lobby. Leo, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Jason and Nico were deep in discussion as we arrived. Leo was wearing his usual attire and was in a great mood, as per usual. Frank was looking tough as he always was. Hazel look worried and Jason and Nico just looked like they had been crying. So did Piper. Upon noticing us, Leo looked up and smiled.

"Percy! Annabeth!" he called. "I've got great news" he said once we were standing beside him.

"Does involve all of us?" Frank asked weakly.

"Yes, my iguana friend, it does." Leo said. "Considering that the Agro II is ,well, completely destroyed, I have rented a home in New Rome!"

"But, why Leo?" I asked.

"Look, I asked Chiron and Lupa and they said that it would be good for us to start living kind of independently, so a house was the best option." He replied. Upon seeing the looks on our faces he added "Oh come on, it'll be fun. It's just until we get the rest of our lives sorted out!"

"Is he joking? Please tell me he's joking." Piper said to no one in particular.

"We are leaving…" Leo said ignoring Piper's comment as he checked his watch "Now."

We had no luggage or personal items with us, so we basically just left after saying good bye to everyone. Katie Gardner, Travis and Connor, and Clarisse were among those who would be returning to Camp Half-Blood for the rest of the summer. We made sure we had a huge stack of ambrosia and nectar, just in case. Once outside, we decided on flying to New Rome. Blackjack and his gang were more than happy to take us, except for Nico, who just decided to shadow travel.

"So this is it?" I asked, whilst I stood in front of a cute 2 story house, complete with a garden, conveniently located beside the beach and an ice cream parlour.

"I think so," Leo said "Let's see if the keys fit."

He walked up to the door while we followed and tried the keys. The door opened swiftly and lead into a nice hallway.

"Cool." Percy said. Although I didn't really see what was cool about it. We proceeded to tour the house, which had 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms a kitchen, a basement and a very quaint upstairs. But that was really all it was, quaint. I thought it seemed like the type of place a grandmother would live and it was a huge change from the scenery of the war we had just fought. It was almost boring. I felt a really stupid kind of scared flow through me. I really didn't want to have a safe and boring life. I wanted to have one with adventure and fun. Percy seemed to somehow read my thoughts and he grabbed my hand and squeezed it as we followed Leo through the house.

"It's only temporary." Percy whispered in my ear, "We can still travel."

I knew we could travel; of course, this grandmotherly house was definitely not a prison.

I would be sharing the master bedroom with Hazel and Piper. It was large and spacious with huge windows that looked like they belonged in a church. There were 3 beds in the room and that was pretty much it for furniture. They were double beds and they looked terribly plain. Just how I feared my life was going to become.

That night, after dinner, I found a way that lead to the rooftop. I sat on it and stared at the sky. I nearly fell asleep when I noticed Percy come on to the roof. He put a blanket around my shoulders and sat down beside me.

"So, how do you feel, Wise Girl?" he said softly.

"You really want to know?" I asked

"Very much so."

"Tired." I yawned.

"Me too. So tired." He said.

And together, we fell asleep on that dreaded roof.

Author's Note:

Sorry, not my best work. Next chapter will be funnier and the chapters after that will be more like the first one. Review and tell me which ones you like better: Chapters like this, Funny Chapters or Serious (sort-of) chapters like the first one. Also tell me what your favourite song (or album) is for writing. Mine is My Head Is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men. I will try to post another chapter tomorrow. WHY MUST MY CHAPTERS BE SO SHORT!?