IMPORTANT AN: sorry for taking so long to update. I've run out of motivation for this story and im just too busy to continue writing it on a regular basis. I do still love this story but it and you deserve better so im putting it up for adoption. ive got one chapter left to post so if youd like to take over this story, just dm me please.
The sun was setting behind the mountains by the time we found the water park. The sky was turning bright orange and it was getting dark. The water park was apparently called Waterland but the sign above the gate had lost a few letters so instead, it just said, 'Wat r a d'.

The gate was locked and barbed wire lined the metal fences.

"How do we get in?" I asked.

"Maia!" Grover announced and he took off, flying up and doing an involuntary somersault over the gate. He landed and dusted himself off as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You two coming?" he asked with a grin on his face.

We had to climb in the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other. I managed to get down with only a few scratches.

I looked around. The park gave off an eerie vibe in the dark. Shadows of kiosks stretched across the path and Bill the Friendly Shark mascot was grinning at us from behind an overflowing bin. There were discarded tickets blowing around in little circles and burnt-out cigarette stubs were everywhere. I took a step forward and something cracked beneath my foot. I saw an old sweet tube on the ground, empty now. "This place is creepy," I muttered and Grover and Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Well," I said, turning to Annabeth with a small grin on my face, "after you, my brave knight."

She stuck her tongue out and took the lead. Grover and I followed her, keeping an eye on the shadows that seemed to almost be reaching for us.

We came to a gift shop that had been left open and Annabeth stopped. It was just your average assortment of water park souvenirs, snow globes with sharks in them, shark teddies, shark mugs, little shark action figures and-

"Clothes! Fresh, clean clothes!" Annabeth all but fell to her knees and worshipped the clothes rack there and then. To be fair to her though, I wasn't much better. After being on the run for so long, clean clothes that nobody would mind if we took them were more of a surprise to see than gods.

I grabbed a handful and ran to one of the changing rooms. I heard Annabeth and Grover do the same. Soon, we were all decked out in Waterland t-shirts and hoodies with Waterland pants to match. We all grabbed a Waterland backpack and shoved some spare clothes in. We were not gonna waste such a golden opportunity.

As we walked out I grabbed a small shark plushie, tucking it under my armpit. Annabeth gave me a look like, 'what are you going to do with a shark?'

I ignored her and we all walked out into the park again, ready to face whatever the world could throw at us. And we could handle it because we had clothes.

We began checking out some of the attractions while we walked. There was Ankle-Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?

Annabeth pointed at a water fight arena. "What do you say, Perc'? Round 2?"

I smirked. "Anytime, any place, Chase."

I saw Grover shake his head and he muttered something about oblivious. I ignored him.

The sun had completely disappeared behind the mountains now and the darkness was creeping in.

We finally found what we were looking for. The sign said, 'Thrill 'o Ride of Love' and underneath it said, 'this is not your parents' tunnel of love.'

The ride itself was a large bowl shape, at least 50 yards across. It would have been great for skateboarding. Around the edge were a dozen Cupid statues with their bows ready to fire. Opposite us was a tunnel, probably where the water emptied, that stretched forward into the darkness.

Grover cautiously walked to the edge. "Guys, look." At the bottom of the bowl was a collection of abandoned boats and in one of them was a large bronze shield.

"It can't be this easy, can it?" I looked over at Annabeth who was examining one of the Cupid statues. "What is it, Annabeth?"

"There's a Greek letter carved here." She pointed at the statue. "Eta, I wonder."

"Grover, do you smell any monsters?"

He shook his head. "None."

I nodded. "Well, stay on guard. It could be a trap. Grover, you stay up here and keep a lookout. Annabeth, we'll go down and grab the shield." I handed Grover my shark.

"No!" She squeaked. "I'm not going on the tunnel of love ride with you!"

"That's not- it's not- argh!" I stuttered, my face now burning red. I could see Grover trying his hardest to conceal a laugh. "Fine. I'll go, you stay up here."

But as soon as I started to make my way down, Annabeth followed. She muttered something about not letting a Seaweed Brain mess it up.

When we reached the car I found a silk scarf that shimmered with a rainbow of colours. It was beautiful and looked incredibly soft and I wanted nothing more than to rub it against my cheek. I didn't trust it one bit.

"Annabeth? What do you make of this?" I asked, pointing at the scarf.

She huffed. "Love magic. Probably belonged to Aphrodite." She snatched it up and shoved it in a pocket in her bag. "Mine now."

I shrugged and we both sat down in the car. I reached for the shield and my hand snagged on a thin piece of string, like a cobweb or something. When I looked at it, it shimmered gold.

"Uh… Annabeth."

"There's an Eta here too!" She turned to me. "Hephaestus. It's a trap. We should-" She noticed the look I was giving her and then her gaze moved to the string on my hand. She cursed in Greek.

I grabbed the shield and slipped my hand through the straps. "We need to go."

The cupids all turned into the bowl and fired their arrows, golden rope trailing behind them creating what appeared to be a hashtag above us. Smaller threads began to weave out creating a net above us. Annabeth and I scrambled out of the car as a metallic voice announced, "Live to Hephaestus TV in 1 minute!" and cameras appeared from the Cupid statues. "59… 58… 57."

We tried to climb back up the bowl but going up is a lot harder than going down. Out of the edge, hundreds of tiny little robots with spindly legs clambered out.

I realised too late what was happening as Annabeth's eyes bulged. "Sp- sp- spiders!" She tumbled back down the bowl in a panic.

I followed after her and we scrambled back into the cart.

"30… 29… 28…" the counter continued. I wished it would lose count and go back to the beginning like I always did but no such luck.

I noticed big pipes in the walls that must have been where the water came out and my eyes drifted to the entrance of the Tunnel of Love. A crazy idea came to me.

"Grover!" I looked up to where Grover was desperately trying to hold the net open for us but the net would start wrapping around his hands with gold tendrils. I pointed to the control cabin and he nodded.

Grover ran to the cabin and I turned my attention back to the spiders which were closing in.

Their pincers were snapping and I wasn't sure if they could rip flesh from bone but I wasn't about to test it.

Annabeth was hyperventilating in the seat next to me, kicking frantically at any spiders that came close. One bit my shoe and I kicked it off. It flew into the swarm, taking a chunk of my shoe with it.

I looked at Grover who shook his head as if to say, 'I've pressed everything.'

"3… 2… 1… we are live!" Spotlights flashed on, focusing on me and Annabeth.

I swore. Desperately, I reached out with my senses. I could feel the water, deep in the pipes. I pulled it towards us and a loud rumbling sound filled my ears.

I leaned over and strapped Annabeth into her seat before doing up my seatbelt seconds before a torrent of water surged from the pipes, smashing into our car and sending us spinning in circles. I could see the metallic bodies of spiders crackling in the water, occasionally shooting sparks.

Finally, our boat straightened up and rocketed into the tunnel, the spotlights following us until we turned a corner. as we tumbled through the dark, I managed to see pictures of Cupids fluttering through the skies and Romeo and Juliet kissing on a balcony.

As we neared the end of the tunnel, I spotted our next problem. The gate was blocked and the boats before us were smashed up against it.

"Unfasten your seatbelt!"

"What!?" she screamed but she was already doing it.

"Unless you want to be smashed to pieces," I buckled Ares' shield to my arm, "we're going to have to jump for it." My idea was simple: as the boat struck, we would use the force of the collision as a springboard to jump the fence. I'd heard of people surviving car crashes this way. With any luck, we'd land in the pool. I chose not to dwell on the fact that I couldn't remember the last time I'd got lucky.

Annabeth nodded in understanding and stood next to me, taking my hand.

"On my mark!" I shouted.

"No, on my mark."

I nodded. She'd probably have a better chance of knowing when to jump.

She waited… she waited… "Now!"

We jumped.

Beneath us, the boats splintered against the gate

Annabeth was right. If we'd jumped when I'd said jump we would have crashed into the fence. She got us maximum lift. But that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

We cleared the fence easily but sailed right over the pool, heading for the concrete immediately next to the pool.

Something grabbed from behind and I let out a grunt from the sudden jolt.

"Ouch!" Annabeth yelled.

Grover.

He had grabbed us, in midair, using his flying shoes, and was now trying to pull us out of a deadly dive.

"Too heavy," Grover complained. "Going down!"

We crashed down in a pile on the asphalt. Grover's head was stuck in one of those wooden cutouts that people can stick their heads into for photos. Currently, he was Bill the Friendly Shark, waving to all those friendly snacks, I mean people, who come to take his photo.

I slowly heaved myself up, massaging my new assortment of bruises. Annabeth stood next to me and gave me a grim smile. "I think that went quite well."

I remembered the Cupid cameramen and turned back to the bowl at the beginning of the ride. The cameras had turned to face us. "How do you feel that Athena just saw you ride the Thrill Ride of Love with a son of Poseidon."

She smirked and took my hand, leaning close to whisper in my ear. "THE son of Poseidon."

I fought the blush creeping up my cheeks and matched her smirk, turning to face the cameras again. "Shows over folks!"

The spotlights shut off and the cupids turned to their original position. Within seconds it was as if nothing had ever happened. Well, except for the wrecked boats pressed up against the locked gate.

I turned to Grover who handed me the little shark plushie I'd grabbed.

I gasped with delight. "You kept him!?" I hugged it tight to my chest.

"Attached now are we, Seaweed Brain?"

"Shut up," I murmured, still hugging the shark.

"It needs a name, my Lady. What are you gonna call it?"

I held the shark in front of me and examined it for a second. "Gerard," I decide.

Grover let out a bleating that almost resembled laughter and Annabeth and I broke down in a fit of giggles.

"Come on guys," Grover said, finally. "We need to go and give Ares his shield back."

"And have a little talk," I added. I hated being tricked.