A/N: i think i need to put a disclaimer here, but you guys already know what I mean. Read on and Enjoy!


Road Trip!

Annabeth was groggy. It was 5 AM on a Saturday, and she was mildly pissed at having to wake up at this ungodly hour of the morning. But after subconsciously reminding herself that the early rising was to get ready for the road trip, she knew it was necessary.

Percy was still sleeping, his black hair tousled and messy, and a little pile of drool had pooled next to his cheek as he slept. Annabeth gave herself a few seconds as she smiled at the adorable position Percy was in. After a heated makeout session the night before, they had fallen asleep cuddling, his arms around her.

Shaking herself out of the reminiscent stupor, she remembered why she was up. The road trip! Yes, the road trip the Seven, plus Nico and Reyna ( A/N: Yes They're a ship in this fic, deal with it) had been planning for months now. Ever since Percy's mom had published her first novel and used a portion of the money to pay for a huge Minivan. It was "just in case," as she had so mildly put it, with a sideways glance at Annabeth.

Annabeth knew exactly what that meant, and boy, oh boy, was she ever not ready for that. Nope, she had thrown that thought directly into her brain's trash receptacle with all the other embarrassing memories and proceeded without further thought. Percy, on the other hand, completely ignored that and instead took it as a "Maybe you'll need it for long trips," and that's where he got the idea for the road trip.

The plan was to venture out on a 16-hour drive, from Manhattan to Missouri state park, where they would be camping for 2 weeks. Both camps had agreed that they would be totally fine without the Seven and said they would IM should anything happen. Annabeth was wary, but she knew that the campers could take care of themselves, and Chiron and the Centurions were both there to help.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she trudged down the stairs of their condo and walked over to the kitchen to start making herself and Percy coffee. Yep, ever since Reyna had introduced her to the brown morning potion, she had been addicted. Before coffee, Annabeth would have to rely on her stamina to stay up, especially when working late nights or early in the morning when the whole world was asleep. Now, all she needed was a cup of joe and she was as right as rain. Percy said it was bad for her, but Annabeth argued that she needed it to work, and it's not like Percy was gonna argue with that.

Annabeth finished the coffees and brought them upstairs. Then, setting one down on her bedside table, she brought the other to Percy's, set it down, and gently jostled the demigod's shoulder. Percy made a snuffling noise but then Annabeth shook him hard. Percy grunted but didn't move. Annabeth debated splashing him with a cup of ice water but realized that her boyfriend was immune to that kind of thing. With a mischievous smile, Annabeth jumped up and body-slammed the bed, shaking Percy so hard that he almost fell out of the bed.

Unceremoniously ripped from his slumber, Percy jumped out of bed, grabbed Riptide, uncapped it, and nearly took Annabeth's head off as he swung it around blindly. Annabeth pulled out her new knife, ενόραση*, or Insight, and disarmed Percy, taking care not to touch him with the Stygian iron, Celestial bronze blade.

Nico and Leo had helped to forge it, and in its dormant form, it could transform into a rose gold compass**. It was imbued with magic, and whenever Annabeth pulled the pin out, the compass would transform into the dagger and she could toss the pin away. Similar to Percy's sword, however, the pin would magically reform in her hair, turning it effectively into a weightless, malleable-yet-rigid ponytail, for the duration of whatever scuffle or fight she was in. Afterward, all she had to do was pull the pin out of her hair and it would turn back to normal.

Riptide clattered to the ground in front of the bed and Percy flumped down back onto the mattress. He grinned at Annabeth, and despite being groggy and annoyed at him for causing a ruckus, she grinned back as she, too, flumped down on the bed. Percy grew thoughtful. "Isn't today… the road trip?"

Confirming his suspicions, Annabeth nodded and said, "C'mon, finish up your coffee so that we can go pack the car."

Percy looked at his bedside table and as he picked up the still-steaming mug, he glanced at the wall clock to check the time: 5:14 AM. The Seven had been together in New York for about a month, and so they were set to depart today, May 11th, for their 2-week camping trip in Missouri. If all went according to plan, they would return in time for Jason, Piper, Reyna, Frank, and Hazel to fly back to Berkeley, right as summer started.

Calypso would be staying behind to maintain her and Leo's shop, and although Leo complained, she told him that he needed to spend some quality time with his friends rather than being cooped up in his workshop for two weeks. Leo hadn't spoken of it since.

Finishing their coffees, Percy and Annabeth made their way around the small apartment, getting dressed while making last-minute preparations for the trip. Finally, everything was good to go. Annabeth and Percy were wearing comfortable clothes, and they had finished packing the car. Throughout the past few weeks, The Seven had all been dropping stuff off at Annabeth and Percy's so that when the day came to leave, all anyone had to do was grab their e-readers, their books, their video games, their snacks for the road, hop in, and leave. They had all chosen to sleep in different tents, with Annabeth, Piper, and Frank in one, Jason, Percy, and Reyna in another, and finally, Leo, Hazel, and Nico in the last.

After running around the house rigorously checking everything and turning all appliances but the fridge off, Percy and Annabeth left the house, making sure to close the door and lock it behind them.

Annabeth made a beeline for the driver's seat while Percy started to yell "Shotgun!" but Annabeth smacked him on the arm before he woke up the whole neighbourhood. Buckling herself up, Annabeth checked her watch and the clock-face told her it was 6:15 AM. She grinned as she started the car and backed it out of the driveway. Right on time. At six-thirty, they had gathered everyone and it was time to go. Everyone said goodbye to Mrs. Jackson when they stopped at the apartment so Percy could let his mom know they were leaving.

As everyone stretched and prepared themselves for the journey ahead, people debated their final spots for the road. It was a massive car, and a lot of the stuff they had packed was on the roof, so it was pretty roomy. Frank asked if he could drive first, and Annabeth dibsed shotgun before anyone could say anything, but no-one was gonna argue with her anyway. So, she smugly plonked herself down next to Frank, took out her extensive collection of maps, and began to pore over them as she tried to discern the best route for the trip.

Leo asked for the whole back and everyone said yes, because who wants to sit next to a higher-than-average ADHD son of Hephaestus on a 16-hour road trip? The only thing left was the second row, and the car shook as everyone but Nico and Leo struggled to get a window seat.

By the time the shaking stopped, the order in which people sat in was, from left-to-right: Percy, Jason, Piper, Hazel, and Reyna.

Nico looked at Leo and said, "I'll sit with you in the back, but only if you create some sort of wall between us and don't bother me." Between the fact that he was a son of Hades and DEFINITELY not a morning person, Nico looked like a mildly-annoyed vampire, and Leo did NOT want to mess with said mildly-annoyed Vampire. Besides, the situation benefited him too. No vampire, a mildly secluded area where he could whatever he wanted, and a half window-seat as well.

He pretended to think about it for three seconds before offering his hand out to Nico. "Deal," he said, before immediately withdrawing it at the dangerous look Nico was giving him.

Leo walked over to the back, popped open the trunk, and wormed his way around the pile of bags and supplies until he popped out in the third row. Piper looked back at him and snickered. "Where's Nico?" Leo panted and then replied "He's coming, but don't bother me until he's here. Also, Percy'd better get out there and close the trunk before we go." As Percy got out to do said task, Leo began pulling out screws, nuts and other odds and ends not worth explaining out of his tool belt. He also pulled out two pieces of fabric, 6 sheets of a silvery, thin-yet-firm metal, scissors, a spool of string and a ton of foam and started assembling it all. By the time Nico popped out on the other side of the back seat, Leo had finished his mini-project.

He pulled a cord and the whole thing expanded with a noise like coins falling, filling the middle of the back seat with a huge, soundproof barrier. On Leo's side, multiple monitors showing all sorts of stats and other miscellaneous websites littered the stainless steel panel. Leo pushed a seemingly flat part of the console and it opened up to reveal a small nook filled with a bunch of mechanical odds and ends. On Nico's side, however, a soft black cushion extended from the velvety black panel and a framework of canopy extended to cover the whole of Nico's side of the back seat.

A glowing orange button labelled "RETRACT" revealed itself, and Nico pressed it out of curiosity. Suddenly, the canopy, button, and pillow disappeared, leaving only the seat and the velvety panel. Everyone had turned their heads to watch in fascination what was going on, but when Nico was revealed, red-faced and in shock at what had just happened, peals of laughter erupted from within the vehicle as Nico struggled to maintain his dignity.

Leo, still chuckling, reached around and slid open a previously uncovered hatch, and said, "If you want the canopy back, just press the button again." This time, there were two buttons, one labelled, "EXPAND", and the other, "RETRACT". The retract button was still glowing, but the expand button was a teal blue and was the same size and shape as the other. Nico was hesitant, but Leo made a "Go ahead" motion with his hand and Nico tentatively pressed the button. Everyone watched with intrigue as the canopy and pillow unfolded, this time much slower, and now, a dim light hung from the top to provide some illumination for the Son of Hades.

A small chain hung from the lamp, and when Nico pulled it, all light went out in his little compartment. Nico closed his eyes and lay his head down on the pillow. A blanket ejected from the console and settled quietly on his shoulders. A few moments later, everyone could hear the soft snores coming from his nook.

Leo grinned. "I guess it's a good thing that I soundproofed his part of the car then."

Everyone rolled their eyes and Annabeth shook her head. "Alright Leo, enough antics. You got the stopwatch queued up?"

Leo held up a contraption that looked like something you would see on a bomb. "Do I ever!"

Annabeth turned her head to Frank. "Alright then, ladies and gents, let's get this show on the road!"

END OF PT. 1 OF 2


*pronounced ÉNO-ra-sì

** Go to tny,im/nSZ for image

B/N: Hey! This is Emily, one of the beta of this story. On behalf of all of the other beta, we apologize for the weird Stygian Iron part but the author doesn't want to change that. We tried to make him change it but he won't budge. So sorry if you have an issue with it.

A/N: yeah so you already know, there wont be another chapter. Im back here for the last time to let anyone know who cares. Sorry.

- PYB543