The Break-In
"Do you think he'll find it here?" Percy asked as Annabeth opened a closet.
"No one ever comes up here anymore, so yeah, he won't find it." Annabeth said.
Percy had brought Annabeth into his cabin to try to hide his trident. He would've never done it, but Annabeth had put the thought in his mind that Jason might try to steal it in exchange for getting his lightning bolt back. Percy was thankful for having such a smart girlfriend.
The closet Annabeth found was in the corner of the Big House attic. Rachel was the Oracle now, so that meant no one would have any reason to come into the attic. The closet was behind a bunch of war trophies. If Percy was being honest, he'd never think to look in the attic.
Percy was holding his trident while Annabeth moved some stuff out of the way. Jason hadn't seen Percy moving his trident, so there was no way that he knew where it was.
"Try it now." Annabeth said.
Percy put his trident into the closet. There was plenty of room for it. Even better, there were a few sheets in there that he could use to hide the trident. Annabeth watched him grab a sheet and hang it so that it was hiding the trident. Percy stepped back and closed the closet.
"Nice." Annabeth said with a approving smile.
Percy smiled at her, "It was your idea."
The conch horn sounded in the distance. Percy looked out the window and saw campers streaming out of their cabins towards the dining pavilion. Percy turned to Annabeth, who was grinning widely at him.
"We should get going." Percy said.
"You think?" Annabeth asked.
Ω
Dinner was packed with campers. Word had spread about the whole showdown between Jason and Percy, and that was all anyone was talking about. It wasn't everyday that two children of the Big Three fought.
The entire time, Percy and Jason were glaring or throwing grapes at each other. Chiron and Mr. D knew something was going on but every time they tried to catch the two, they'd act like they weren't doing anything.
It wasn't even just Percy and Jason anymore. Even Piper and Annabeth were starting to fight. Percy had seen Annabeth throw a small piece of her napkin at Piper who responded by sticking her tongue out at Annabeth. Then of course there was the whole thing with the cabins. The Ares campers were making jokes about the Hephaestus cabin, mainly due to their allegiance to Jason.
Normally, dinner would be cheerful or relaxing but this time, dinner felt like being trapped in a room that was tempted to explode at any minute. Percy would always get nervous when someone would get up. All it took was one person throwing a punch or saying the wrong thing and there'd a full-fledged food fight.
So of course, Percy was happy when dinner ended. Jason must've felt the same because he ran out of the dining pavilion. Percy was a bit confused when he saw that but he didn't think too deep into it. Then he saw Piper walk up to him. He was ready for a snarky insult or accusation as soon as she got to him.
"Hey, Percy, you should really attend the campfire tonight. I heard that you might enjoy it." She said sweetly. She batted her eyelashes innocently at him.
Percy was a bit confused, he'd been planning to attend the campfire anyways. All Piper did was make him want to attend the campfire even more now.
"Okay." Percy said.
Piper smiled and walked out of the pavilion. Percy was stuck there, still confused about what that was about. It was at that moment that Annabeth stomped up to him. She wore a urgent look on her face, as if she'd just been told that the world was about to end.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
"Yes, there is." Annabeth said, "Did you not just hear what Piper said?"
"Uh, yeah," Percy said, "She told me that I should go attend the campfire. Why?"
"Why would she want you to attend the campfire if she knew that you were going anyways?" Annabeth asked, "Doesn't this at least seem a bit like a set up?"
"So, wait. You're telling me that this is a trap." Percy said.
"It seems like one." She said, "I was close enough to hear what she said. She was charm speaking you, that wasn't some innocent request. She's trying to get you to do something."
Now that Annabeth had explained it to him, Percy understood exactly what was going on. If he had to bet, he was going to go to the campfire and Jason or one of his allies would be waiting to embarrass him. He had to give it to Jason, embarrassing a confession out of him was a smart move. Too bad Annabeth had the brain of a super computer.
"You're right." Percy said.
"When am I not?" Annabeth asked, "Come on, let's go to your cabin. We can watch Netflix or something."
Percy walked out of the pavilion with Annabeth right next to him. He looked at the campfire and almost laughed. Whoever was waiting for him was going to be really confused when he didn't show up.
Percy was kind of glad that Annabeth had decided to come with him. He wouldn't have anyone else watch his back except her. He may have been the strength of the relationship, but she was definitely the brains. If it weren't for her, he'd be wide open to get attacked by Jason.
As soon as Percy to got his cabin, he knew something was wrong when the door was slightly ajar. He turned to Annabeth, who also seemed to notice something was up. Percy leaned in and listened. He could hear the sound of someone in his cabin, and they were opening drawers and closets.
"Tyson's not at camp." Percy whispered.
Annabeth nodded and drew her Drakon bone sword. Percy drew Riptide and slowly opened the door. The lights were off except for the white beam of a flashlight. Percy reached over and flicked on the light. The light filled the cabin and revealed Jason and Piper hunched over Percy's closet. They jumped when the lights came on.
Percy walked in, a smirk on his face. Annabeth stepped out from behind him, a smug smile on her face. They both looked like a evil demigod couple with their swords out and smiles on their faces.
Piper and Jason stared at the couple, they definitely weren't expecting Percy and Annabeth to come in so soon.
"Well, what do we have here?" Percy asked.
"That was a good try, Piper." Annabeth said, "You should really think your plans through."
"I thought you charm spoke him!" Jason said.
"I did!" Piper protested.
Percy walked forward and twisted his sword in his hand. He smiled creepily at Jason and Piper before turning to Annabeth, "Hey, isn't it like, really rude to go into someone's cabin without permission?"
"Oh yeah, totally." Annabeth said.
"Huh." Percy said, turning back to the couple in his cabin, "I don't remember inviting you two here."
"We can explain." Jason said.
"Oh really?" Percy said, "Go ahead, my dude."
"I was just looking for my bolt, that's it." Jason said, "I wasn't doing anything else."
Piper nodded behind him. Percy grinned, he knew Jason was lying. He knew Jason well enough, and he knew he was a horrible liar.
"Wait a minute, Percy, isn't that where you put your trident normally?" Annabeth asked from behind him.
"Yeah, now that you mention, yes it is."
Jason and Piper looked at each other nervously. Percy and Annabeth started walking forward at the same time. Piper drew her dagger and Jason flipped his coin, a golden sword falling into his hand.
"You really want to play it this way?" Percy asked.
"Drop your sword and I'll put mine away." Jason said.
"I don't believe you."
"Fine, then I don't have a choice." Jason said.
Both demigods flew at each other. Celestial bronze and Imperial gold clashed, sending a loud clang through the whole cabin. Percy slashed at Jason, though anyone watching could tell that he wasn't trying to hurt him at all.
Jason dodged and launched into his own attack, attempting to knock Riptide out of Percy's hand by jabbing his hand. He didn't slash or slice like Percy was, he was fighting the Roman way.
While the two demigods fought, their girlfriends also started fighting. This fight was definitely one-sided. Annabeth, being a daughter of Athena was easily the better fighter compared to Piper who was a Aphrodite girl. Charmspeak didn't work so well when the person you try to use it on is so resistant to it. It didn't help that Annabeth had way more experience than Piper.
Normally, the weapons would've made the fight more fair, but Annabeth had the range since she was using a sword. Piper was stuck with a dagger. Though Piper had one thing that could give her an edge. She was flexible. She was dodging most of Annabeth's slashes but she could never get close enough to even remotely threaten the daughter of Athena.
Percy and Jason sparred, each demigod suffering manly close calls. Percy was actually enjoying sparring with Jason. He liked fighting someone close to his level, though Jason was tiring faster.
Both stopped when they saw their girlfriends fighting however. Their girlfriends were actually trying to hurt each other. Percy and Jason looked at each other, a understanding passing between them. They both sheathed their weapons before running to their girlfriends.
Percy wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist and pulled her away. Annabeth let herself get dragged but she didn't stop staring at Piper like she wanted to send her to Hades the hard way.
Piper likewise was shaking from adrenaline. Jason was holding her arm that was holding the dagger.
"We'll leave!" Jason said.
"That's for the best." Percy said.
Jason dragged Piper out of the cabin. The door slammed after they left. Percy and Annabeth looked at each other before grinning. They didn't win, but they didn't lose either. Piper had messed up, and Annabeth had figured out their plan.
"Well, I think that was better than a sing-along." Percy said.
Annabeth laughed, "Agreed."
