Chapter 5 Annabeth's POV
Eventually I fell asleep. I hoped that I didn't have dreams but I wasn't that lucky. The second I dozed of I it started.
—
I was in a cavern much like the one that I had fought Arachne in. I was standing in front of the faded tapestry of me and Percy at the bottom of the canoe lake. I tried to walk forward but I couldn't. Of course I couldn't… screw dreams. I could see a figure standing in the shadows just out of sight. The figure started walking farther in the vast cavern. I saw that it was Percy. He had the same crooked smile and disheveled hair that he had when he was seventeen. He was still tan and muscular… he was my Percy. Seeing him like this made me feel weak because it made me want him again. I wish I wasn't as conscious as I always was in dreams. It allowed me to think but I couldn't do anything to stop what what happens in nightmares. As Percy walked closer I could see that he looked tired and pained, it was as if he hadn't slept in weeks. His smile seemed to be taking more effort than it should. I still couldn't move and Percy had stopped getting closer. He seemed to try but he couldn't. His grin faded and a horrified look replaced it. I could see his face starting to… what was happening? He was literally fading away from me. I tried to scream but I couldn't speak. I tried and tried but it was no use, he was almost gone. I got one last glimpse of his face before he vanished. Finally I could move. Useless. I sunk to the floor of the caver in tears. It's not real.
—
I woke up with a jolt as the plane hit the ground. It felt like an eternity before I got of the plane and got my luggage. I got a taxi and went to my hotel and checked in. I walked over to the elevator with my suitcase and got in. Ironically my room was on the third floor. Just like cabin three, I thought as a man walked into the elevator. I got to my room and took a shower and changed. There was no way that I was going to see Percy until I figured out what I was going to say. I sat in Hotel room looking out at the ocean. The view was beautiful but it was almost distracting because I just ended up thinking about Percy instead of what to say to him. That's all I needed to worry about. Chiron had given me all the other information I needed. He had somehow even gotten his freaking work and class schedule.
Okay, calm down I told myself. I took a deep breath, hoping that would calm me down. It didn't. I started running through different scenarios in my head. I began by thinking about where I would see him. Do I show up at his house, show up at his school, his job. Chiron told me that he was working part time at an aquarium here in Florida. I'll just show up there casually and talk to him. Okay I had figured that out. What would I say? I didn't even now how I would tell him that he had a sister, what if I said something embarrassing. Like, I can't stop thinking about you and I might be in love with you.
It's okay, I told myself. I'll just focus on the fact that he has as sister. I won't give either of us a chance to think about anything else. If I just ignore the fact that I'm, maybe, in love with him… again, than it'll be easier to forget about that problem.
I'll just tell him straight out that Cassandra is at camp. Okay, now I've figured that out. Wait, I thought to myself, what if he has a girlfriend. Oh my gods, I'm acting like an Aphrodite girl. That would be really awkward, though. Oh god, this not going well.
To calm dow I decided to call Thalia.
"Hello," she answered on the first ring.
"Hey, it's Annabeth."
"Hi!" She said. "Have you seen Percy yet?"
"Thals, I've been here for like four hours," I said.
"Oh… right." she said giggling.
"So how's it going there?" I asked. "How's Nico?"
"Oh, shut up, I'm not an Aphrodite girl," she said.
"The jury's still out on that," I said, cracking a smile.
"Ha, ha, ha. What's your plan with Percy?"
"Basically I'm gonna just act as casual as possible."
"Not to rain on your parade, but I have a feeling that that will not be easy."
"I know," I groaned.
"Well I should probably go. Chiron wants to talk to me. It'll probably be nothing but I'll get hell if I don't."
"Well you're already dating Nico." I laughed.
"Hilarious," she said. "Goodbye."
I hung up and plugged my phone in to charge. I lay down on my bed and tried to find something onTV. The only things on were on were The Notebook and Breaking Dawn. Bullshit. I turned off the TV and turned on my phone again to read. I had already read every book on my phone several times and I got to the point of bored where you only focus on time. Uhhhhhh. After that I just went to sleep. Well I tried to go to sleep. Of course I couldn't. I tried the TV again only to find Breaking Daw Part Two and the The Last Song. You literally have to be kidding me. I basically repeated this routine for about an hour before I just put on a quote- relaxing playlist- unquote, on Spotify. I eventually drifted off only to have yet another nightmare that I had forgotten about by morning. I hoped that if I didn't acknowledge that it was morning, it might go away. But it didn't, obviously, so I prepared myself to see him. Percy.