CHAPTER 5: OF FRIZZY HAIR AND YANKEES BLANKETS
Annabeth's POV:
It was getting worse.
Chiron had at least convinced Paul and Sally to return to the city, despite Sally's protesting, and crying for that matter. Since the day that Poseidon had knocked out Percy, everything had gone downhill. He was pale and clammy all the time, and couldn't even stand up without help from me or another camper. Not to mention the nightmares. I could tell when they were bothering him; his eyes darting back and forth beneath his lids while his sword arm twitched by his side. Deep purple circles had formed below his eyes.
"What's happening to me?" he asked, wiping his mouth after emptying the contents of his stomach.
"Honestly Percy, I don't know, but I promise I will…" I stopped, he was turning slightly green again, and I quickly shoved the bucket back under his face before he could vomit all over his sheets.
"Best. Girlfriend. Ever." He gasped afterward, "Holding the bucket that your disgusting boyfriend is puking in,"
"Hey, no problem" I laughed, trying to sound upbeat as he leaned back against his pillows once before more shutting his eyes. "Get better soon Kelp-Head," I whispered as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
I shut the door to the medical wing as quietly as I could, and then whipped around as I saw a flash of red, my hand already flying to my dagger.
"By gods Rachel! Don't do that!"
"Oh, sorry," Rachel muttered sheepishly, "Didn't mean to make you jump,"
"A little bit of heads up would have been nice!"
Rachel's red frizzy hair was in total disarray, as usual. She wore a white t-shirt that said "SNOOPY HAS FEELINGS TOO!" along with her usual ripped jeans with paint stains.
"Chiron's called a meeting on the porch. It's about, well, you-know-who," she shrugged, casting a glance at the medical wing.
"Ok, I'll be there in a sec,"
"Cool pies!" she turned and took off down the hallway, curly hair obscuring her face from view.
My ADHD side paused for a second to ponder exactly what "Cool Pies!" meant, before I reminded myself that Chiron was waiting and I followed Rachel out to the sunny porch. Although our relationship still was a little strained, now that Percy and I were officially dating, Rachel had backed off a little, so I attempted polite conversation with her every once and awhile. I could she why Percy liked her. She seemed carefree and cheerful like the sun god she served, and I guess everyone at Camp Halfblood could use a dose of that every once and awhile.
Jason, Thalia, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Leo, Nico, and Grover stood in a semi circle around the ping-pong table. Beside them, Chiron had returned to his wheel chair form, a New York Yankees quilt draped over his "legs".
Grover absent-mindedly chewed on a roll of tinfoil while Leo tinkered with screws and bolts that he always seemed to store in his pocket. Nico shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, casting glances at the woods surrounding the Big House. Despite the new addition of the Hades cabin to the camp, Nico still didn't really seem to fit into normal halfblood life, often looking awkward and misplaced. Not many campers besides Hazel and his previous friends would approach him; unlike his sister, he seemed to give off more of that lord-of-the-dead-talks-to-ghosts-in-his-free-time vibe.
"Annabeth," said Chiron sternly, "How is he?"
"Getting worse," I said more to my feet then anyone else. I rubbed my hands nervously on my jeans.
The positive energy within the room seemed to deflate like a week old party balloon.
"Then we go through with the quest then?" asked Hazel quietly.
I nodded grimly, "Pack your bags folks. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning, before Percy gets up. Knowing him, if he knows when we are going he will try and do something stupid."
"Fantastic, now I can be rid of you brats for at least a little while," drawled a reclining Dionysus.
Everyone glared.
The wine god looked at Chiron in utter exasperation. "What? What'd I say?"
The next morning, everyone had dragged themselves out of their comfortable cabin beds and into the stained leather seats of Argus's van by 6:00 AM.
"Tell me again why we have to leave at the crack of dawn?" yawned Leo as he dragged his duffle bag across the van floor.
The son of Hephaestus sported an extreme case of bed head, and I debated whether or not to tell him that he was still wearing his peagesus pajama bottoms. I opted no.
"It's so that Percy doesn't notice us and do something stupid, " supplied a wide-eyed Piper.
In my head I noted that she was definetly a morning person; that would come in handy for April Fools Pranks later. Next to her, Jason snored, his head flopping onto a awkward looking (as always) Nico's shoulder. Everyone else just looked glassy-eyed. Gods. One day, I would have to introduce these kids to the magic that is a cup of coffee.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! Your support is really important to the story! –Under the Willow Tree