Percy

What now? The question that everyone was thinking, but no one asked. Annabeth's head rested on my shoulder; her bright gray eyes staring off into the distance. Leo was in the engine room comforting Hazel, and Jason was across the hall, silently staring at the magic windows that currently showed Camp Half Blood.

If you look really close, you can see Mr. D on his lawn chair outside the Big House with a Diet Coke, Chiron training Leo, Piper, and Jason in swordplay, and Annabeth and I in Ancient Greek. (Well, I'm asleep.) And then there's Frank, standing in the middle of camp, spear raised triumphantly.

Frank.

As I thought about my friend, the one who stayed by my side and thought I was great when I couldn't even remember who I was, I started to get mad. Mad that he had to die. Mad that we couldn't do anything to stop it.

And then the gears started turning.

"Annabeth." I nudged her and she sat up.

"What?"

"I figured it out."

"You figured what out?"

"How we can save Frank."

She turned to look me in the eye, hers now dark and stormy. "Percy…"

I brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Listen."

"But Percy-" I stopped her. "Just listen, Wise Girl."

I told her my plan and she stared at me in amazement. "Do you really think it will work? I mean, I know we can get access to the Styx because of Hazel's dad, but there's a chance it might kill him, right?"

"Annabeth, he is going to die if we don't do something. Sometimes, taking a risk is better than surrender."

She was quiet for a moment, then reached up to wrap her arms around me. "You're right." She whispered.

Hazel

Percy ran into the engine room and told Leo to set sail for Camp Half Blood, and then to LA.

"Why?" I asked.

"I know how we can save Frank." Percy replied as he sprinted down the hall.

I gasped, turning to stare at Leo, eyes and mouth wide open. He quickly put in the coordinates with his Wii controller then turned to pick me up and spin me around.

We laughed for a while, then he sobered. "Hazel, if we save Frank, then…"

"I know."

"So you're going to tell him?"

"...Leo, I…I don't know what I'm going to do yet."

"So you're saying that you're going to go back to him and I'm just supposed to forget everything that happened this week."

"No! I mean, I don't know!"

Leo sighed, "Hazel, I…" His voice soft and wobbly, "I love you."

As he leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, she knew, then and there, that she loved him too.

Frank

Woah. This is weird. Percy just Iris-messaged me and told me everything and said that they would be at Camp Half Blood to pick Piper and I up in 10 minutes. I'm supposed to bring my wood. Honestly, I'm just really excited to see Hazel.

When the Argo landed, Piper and I climbed aboard without giving Chiron the time to ask where we were going, and took off. My vision tunneled as I saw Hazel laughing with Leo.

"Hazel…?"

She looked away from Leo and took a few steps towards me. She glanced at Piper, then asked me, "Can I talk to you? Privately?"

"Um, sure."

Once we were out of earshot, she took a deep breath and began. "Frank, I—",

Just then, Annabeth interrupted and glared at me. "You know, we really need to do this thing. Maybe you can talk later?"

"Okay." I said.

"Okay." Hazel repeated, obviously relieved.

I rejoined the guys, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Annabeth and Piper each grab one of Hazel's arms and steer her down the hall.

Piper

"Oh my gods, Hazel! What were you thinking?" I hissed.

Annabeth shut the door behind us and added angrily, "He's about to do one of the most dangerous things ever and he needs something to cling to, someone to think about to keep him anchored in life! You can break up with him afterwards, when we are sure he'll live until tomorrow!"

"…Sorry..." She replied sheepishly.

I rolled my eyes and opened the door for her, "Try not to do anything stupid, okay?"

Just then, I heard Leo over the intercom saying, "This is Leo, your captain speaking. I'd like to announce that we are officially in Los Angeles, California! Next stop, the Hollywood sign!"

"I feel sick." Frank muttered.

Getting into the underworld was no problem at all, though it would have been nice to have a flashlight or something. When we reached the Styx, Frank carefully unwrapped his tiny wooden stub and held it tightly in both hands.

Percy said, "Frank, here's what you have to do. You're going to jump into the river and hold onto your wood very tightly. To survive, you must think about all of the things that make life worth living. You have to choose a spot to become your point of vulnerability and imagine yourself being pulled out of the water by that spot. Are you ready?"

"NO!" He shouted anxiously. Then he asked, "Can I talk to Hazel first?"

"Sure." Percy replied casually, folding his arms across his chest.

"Privately?"

We all turned around as Frank and Hazel walked a little ways away.

"Hazel, I know you like Leo. And I know that everyone else doesn't want me to know because they think I won't be able to handle it."
"Frank…"

"No, Hazel. I understand. But this will not change the way I feel about you. Hazel, I love you. But you know what they say: if you love something, set it free."

Tears streamed down Hazel's face as Frank plunged into the black, icy water.