IV

Percy

Percy woke up in a room he knew well: his own cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. Just how he had gotten there was a mystery to him, because he was fairly certain that he had driven all day yesterday to get to Camp Jupiter. But it didn't matter, because when he turned, Annabeth was walking across the floor towards him. It was dark outside; Percy guessed that it was early morning. Then he noticed that Annabeth had tear tracks on her face.

Percy's smile faded. He guessed that Annabeth had been having a nightmare. Wordlessly he held out his arms, seeing the relief that spread across Annabeth's face as she continued to walk towards him.

Then the cabin floor began to shake. Annabeth whipped her head around, a panicked look on her face. Everything began to fade.

When things came back into focus, Percy was in a familiar room: his own cabin back at Camp Half-Blood. He felt the cold darkness of early morning. Then Percy turned and saw a girl he didn't recognize, walking across his floor towards him. Her curly blonde hair was ruffled as though she had come straight from bed, and Percy saw tears on her face.

Alarmed, Percy reached for Anaklusmos under his pillow and uncapped the pen. The girl's grey eyes widened when she saw his defensive position. Fresh tears stained her face. Then she did something that surprised Percy. Through her tears, she smiled.

"You've forgotten me. Goodbye, Percy..."

But then Percy woke up for real, and saw Annabeth next to him. He was relieved. Just a dream. He would never forget Annabeth.

Nonetheless, he was troubled by the dream. Demigod dreams weren't normal. Usually, they ended up connecting to something in real life.

Percy pushed himself out of bed and looked out at New Rome, his home away from home. He had a few days to get used to the city before classes would start, and he wanted to spend every single second with Annabeth. Maybe today they could try and find the best cafe.

Smiling now, Percy dressed himself in jeans and a blue shirt with a wave pattern. In fact, it was Piper who had gotten him the shirt, at Christmas. At the same time she'd given Annabeth a gray sweater with an owl on the front. Every crewmember of the Argo II had received some article of clothing from Piper, with a design that represented their heritage. Jason had a lightning bolt, Hazel had a diamond. Frank's turtleneck was bright red. Even Nico was presented with a new jacket, one that wasn't black. It was a warm, brownish-gold color, almost like the Golden Fleece.

Percy remembered feeling surprised that Nico had worn the fleece. Then again, ever since he had admitted that he had once liked Percy and started a relationship with Will Solace, the kid seemed much happier. Percy was glad. He had always felt tremendously guilty for everything Nico had gone through because a large part of it was Percy's fault. Percy didn't have any siblings, so he couldn't empathize, but he imagined that Nico losing Bianca would be similar to himself losing Annabeth. The pain was unimaginable.

Shaking the guilt from his shoulders for the moment, Percy turned as he heard Annabeth stir.

"Morning," he said, smiling at her. "Do you think they have Pop Tarts in New Rome?"

Annabeth laughed. "Sure, Seaweed Brain. Let's go and see."