Abigail's POV
I gathered my things, stuffing them in my bag as the last bell rang. My head was pounding. All-day, there had been two tiny voices in my head, one that said that Kace and I should go with Annabeth and the other that disagreed. If we went, we could meet others that led lives similar to ours, but how could we know that they were someone we could trust. They could be monsters in disguise that were waiting for the right chance to kill us. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't see who I was walking into. A certain annoying boy. "Do you need glasses now too?" Kace asked, poking me in the head. "I'm thinking about the things that could go wrong if we're actually going to go with them," I snapped at him. His expression became serious, the small smirk he had disappearing. "So you've been thinking about that too," he murmured. We started walking through the halls, heading toward the front to leave. I was about to head for my bike when Kace poked me in the back. I turned to see him angling his head slightly toward the field. "You're not thinking about going, are you?" I asked incredulously. "Well, I was thinking if we went and were betrayed by the, with your ability, there isn't much harm that could happen. Plus," he added, "you don't have to come with me. I can go by myself if you seriously don't want to." I sighed. "I'm not that cold to abandon my best friend." "Great!" he exclaimed. "So do you have any chocolate?" "No, and don't expect any until we make it to this camp without being betrayed." We were walking through on the path to the field in the back. Kace looked at me and placed his hands together in a pleading gesture. His eyes became a little glassy as he started pleading. Even though he was at least half a head taller than me, sometimes I think he's a tiny puppy rather than my annoying best friend. "Pleaseee?" he asked. I flicked him on the head. "No."
The whole way over to the field, it went back and forth, him begging for candy and me refusing. It was only until we caught sight of the strangest group in the middle of the field. A black pegasus and a cream-colored one stood by Annabeth and the sea-green eyed boy, with the latter seemingly talking to the black pegasus. "What in the world?" I asked wonderingly. They turned around, their faces turning serious before they realized it was us. "Oh, you guys came!" said the boy excitedly as Annabeth waved at us, smiling. "I'm Percy Jackson, by the way." "So you guys can ride Porkpie," Annabeth said, gesturing to the cream-colored horse. "Percy and I'll ride Blackjack." Blackjack whinnied, and Kace's face went pale. About the color as white paper. If I didn't know him, I would've laughed, but I knew him well. Better than I probably knew myself. The only times he'd ever turned that color was when he was either terrified out of his wits or when he'd discovered something he really didn't like. "You alright… um…" Percy trailed off. He frowned. "Wait, have you ever told us your names?" "I hope you won't take offense, but we'll wait when we can reach this camp of yours without any betrayal," I replied. Annabeth shrugged. "Makes sense." Kace climbed on Porkpie first, and I noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.
As he settled himself, he smirked down at me. "Coming?" I rolled my eyes as I climbed up behind him. It was only when I was seated that I realized exactly how close I was to Kace. I flushed as I realized I had to hold onto him to avoid falling off. Then I shook my head. What was I thinking? We're just best friends I thought furiously. Don't badum me, stupid heart. To distract myself, I decided to ask Kace why he had paled as I reached an arm around to steady myself. My, my. What happened that has startled my best friend into turning into the color of paper? He turned his head slightly. I… He broke off and sighed deeply as the pegasi reared back before charging forward, spreading their wings. I don't like heights. He finally said. His hands were shaking again. Hey, don't- I broke off, thinking furiously. That isn't the only thing bothering you, is it? He shook his head slightly as we watched Percy and Annabeth fly in front of us. I heard them talk. The pegasi.
Well, that wasn't the answer I was expecting. I could feel my arm going slightly numb as I stared at him in shock. Thankfully, Kace grabbed my hand, keeping me from falling to my death. He sighed exasperatedly, scowling at me. Well, the good thing that came out of me almost falling off was that he was back to his normal self; surly, annoying, and sarcastic. "Could you not get close to dying this often?" he asked. "I don't know. Maybe I could if you didn't make me so shocked at the amount of stupidity that you have," I snapped back. "But I do believe what you just told me." "So what should we do?" "Let's see if the people at this camp know why," I suggested. Kace was about to reply when Porkpie suddenly began descending, at a really fast pace. Blackjack was diving right next to us when Annabeth yelled over at us. "There's something wrong! Maybe you two can't feel it, but there's something lurking near the hill we're trying to head to!" Kace and I exchanged looks. Wouldn't be a trip without some kind of monster trying to kill us.