Annabeth (3rd Person POV)
Annabeth sat in Paul's Prius, debating whether or not she wanted to know about the hoofprints on the hood. The sun had almost completely dipped under the horizon, painting the sky in brilliant reds and purples. And even though winter was fast approaching, Annabeth had opted to roll her window all the way down, and let the wind stream through her hair. Next to her, Percy was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, keeping beat with Maroon 5 song on the radio. His hair was ruffled -whenever was it not- and his eyes sparkled in the light of the sunset. Annabeth had to admit, he looked utterly amazing right then.
"Something on my face Wise Girl?" he murmured grinning, barely audible over the music. Annabeth flushed.
"N-no, stop distracting yourself from the road!"
"I think you're the one that should stop being distracted."
"Oh shut it." She muttered.
"Aw, you love it."
"Yeah, I do." And Annabeth was proud to see that Percy was trying to hide a blush of his own.
When Annabeth unlocked the door to the apartment, she was surprised to find it empty. Frowning, she turned her phone on to see that she had 3 missed texts from her friends.
Grover: Annabeth, we're all going out for dinner, did you have fun with Percy? ;D
Malcolm: Running off with Percy better have been worth it. I got stuck cleaning toilets.
Thalia: Annie, come home. I need to talk to you.
Annabeth stared at the screen, Thalia was home? All the rooms were empty. A bout of panic seized her, what if a monster came? What if she got attacked, and the text was her warning? What if-
"Annie?" she heard a voice say weakly.
"Thals?" Annabeth replied, turning around and gasping. Thalia stood in the hall just outside their bedroom. Even in the dim light, Annabeth could still tell there was something wrong with her friend.
"Hey," she said, giving a futile attempt at a smile.
"What's wrong Thalia?" Annabeth asked, still in shock of the broken Hunter in front of her.
"I-I had a dream," she mumbled.
"A dream or a..." Annabeth trailed off, a bit afraid.
"I don't know..."
"Can you...explain?" Annabeth asked, trying to coax the information out of her softly. Thalia sighed, and straightened her back.
"I'm not a spooked cat Annie," she said, seeming more like her old self, "don't act like I am."
"Sorry, you just," Annabeth stopped, "so what about this dream?" Thalia seemed to deflate.
"Yeah, hold on, let's go into our room. It's too dark out here for this." Obediently, Annabeth followed her into their room, wondering what could demoralize Thalia of all people.
"So..." Annabeth said, prompting Thalia to start her story. She sat down on her cold bunk, and ushered Thalia to do the same. She sighed, and plopped down on it, took a breath, and started.
"Well, in the dream, vision, whatever, I was alone in the dark. I felt trapped, like I was in a straitjacket, but I couldn't feel anything. It was weird. I mean other demigod dreams always involved pain and just general creepy-ness, but there wasn't anything like that. It was like a...good kind of trapped. And then I had these thoughts pop into my head. They were telling me to...well basically they were telling me suck it up and get over my past. At first I had no idea what they meant, but then it got bright. Seriously bright," all of a sudden, Thalia stopped.
"Is that it?" asked Annabeth, trying to conclude what the dream was about. She had a good idea, but she wasn't sure.
"No, there's more."
"Like?" Annabeth wondered, desperate for the conclusion.
"Before I woke up, a person walked up to me, and..." Thalia took another breath, "it was Luke." Annabeth, who was listening intently snapped her head up.
"Luke, like our Luke?"
"Yeah, Luke with blue eyes," Thalia clarified. Annabeth sat in silence for a moment, soaking in her newfound knowledge.
"Thals, I don't think you need me to help you understand," she said, realizing her first conclusion was indeed correct.
"Yeah, but-" Annabeth cut her off.
"No buts, this is it. That's your decision."
"But what about-" Thalia was once again interrupted.
"Don't worry about others, this is the life for you. It's what you always wanted. Don't second guess it just because of what will happen in the future," Annabeth spoke in such a confident voice, she probably could've talked herself into the decision. Thalia smiled, and with newfound resolve, she spoke.
"Can you write that down, I might use that someday."
The next morning, Annabeth woke up to Thalia's pathetic attempt at making breakfast. She sniffed the aroma of a burning meal, and immediately tossed the covers off of her body. Annabeth fumbled around in her early morning haze before rushing toward the kitchen.
"What's burning?!" she yelled, grabbing a fire extinguisher.
"Breakfast," muttered Will dryly. Annabeth took in the exhausted group around her, and her eyes lit up in realization.
"Thalia?"
"The one and only," chirped an abnormally cheerful voice.
"The last piece of bacon," groaned Connor miserably. Thalia smacked him with the dishtowel that was perched on her left shoulder.
"Don't whine. A pig going to the slaughterhouse deserves to whine. Pigs named Connor are not." At this the group cracked up, and for a moment the exhaustion was forgotten.
"Hey," asked Nico, "what time is it again?"
"4:36," replied Thalia enthusiastically, "a.m."
"You," muttered Clarisse, "are a mad woman." Internally, Annabeth agreed.
"Then go back to bed you slackers. I'm going to make pancakes."
"NO!" shouted Will. Thalia glared at him, and he gulped. "I mean, you must be tired waking up this early. I'll make breakfast for us. You go...uh, go do whatever you do at this ungodly hour." Thalia rolled her eyes, and tossed the towel to Will. As she passed Annabeth however, Thalia gave her a small smile. Annabeth gave her another back.
Ah, the joys of taking a test on a Saturday. For you obviously, you get a new chapter. I get bags under my eyes. Not exactly a fair trade if you ask me. Please review to make up for it? *insert puppy dog face here*