"And know I'm here," I finished.
Katniss looked at me with sorry eyes. I, of course, left out the part of mine and Percy's feelings for eachother.
"Oh, Annabeth," she whispered. "Is there anything I could do for you?"
All I want is for Percy to talk to me again, I thought. Or at least let me know in someway that he's truly alright.
But I shook my head. "Nah," I told her. "Just someone to talk to is thanks enough."
Katniss smiled. "Ok, then I believe your prep team is ready."
Boy, ready they were. Honestly? I'd rather journey through Tartarus again. Why do people always assume I'm a girly girl simply because I'm blond? It doesn't make sense.
Eventually, they stopped, left, and a few minutes later another girl walked in. She had tan skin, crystal blue eyes, and short black hair. She studied me for a moment, said her name was Twist, then we sat down to talk.
"Ok, Annabeth," She began. "To me, the Tribute Parade is a time to start gaining sponsors. Since you're district is coal, however, we don't have the widest selection. But I do have a suggestion."
The world seemed to close around me. I don't know why.
"I was thinking," Twist continued. "That we could dress you up as a pickaxe, and Perseus up as a piece of coal."
That was actually a good idea. The shrinking feeling subsided, and I could breath in my robe again.
Twist talked to me more about the idea, and how it would be possible. She also wanted to use as little makeup as possible, which was fine by me.
Soon, I was all dressed up. And I have to say, I liked it. It was a gleaming bronze dress, with long sleeves. My hair was also pointed out to two sides, and looked like the head of the pickaxe.
"T-thank you, Twist," I managed to get out. "It's so, simple. Yet, so me."
When Katniss walked in, she nearly cried. "I knew you could do it, Twist!"
"Eh," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "My sister, Dynamica, is nearly done with Perseus."
"Why is it taking them so long to dress a piece of coal?" I asked.
"Well," Katniss responded. "Last I checked, Dy was throwing food at him. Demanding him to eat."
"Oh, makes sense," I mused.
Percy's was nice. He was dressed in all black, and, thanks to Dynamica, had some more weight. Also, strapped to the back of him, were lots of red and yellow and orange streamers.
"The weather's gonna be windy tonight," Dynamica told us. "So, I got creative!"
"It's wonderful, Dy," Katniss told her.
Yes, It is, I thought. Because Percy seems like himself again.
And I was right. The whole time we waited for the parade to start, he was joking around, and talking to me.
Our chariot began to move, and Percy grabbed my hand.