...
Percy
I stared into my blue pudding. Blue pudding, you ask? I had my mom smuggle in some blue food coloring. "Wow, Seaweed Brain, only you could make hospital food look fun." I looked up and broke into a grin. Annabeth was standing in the doorway. She pulled a chair over to my bed. You might also ask why I was in the hospital. Well, the cut on my shoulder got infected a little and so did my lungs. I know, anticlimactic. And guess what. It freaking sucked!
"I am pretty awesome that way," I replied. She rolled her eyes at me.
"Bored yet?" she asked. I nodded glumly. "Hungry yet?" she continued.
"I'm always hungry here," I told her.
"I'll go get you some more food that you can turn blue," she said.
"Make sure it's really greasy or really sugary."
"Percy, we're in a hospital. Making you healthier, get it?"
"No." Then, for the first time that I've ever seen, she did a face palm. A nurse in starched blue scrubs walked in.
"Time for meds," she told me.
"Aw, that stuff makes me act all loopy!" I protested. It was notwithstanding. I pouted for five minutes before she finally shoved the pills down my throat. Not literally, but still. Annabeth was laughing at me the whole time. Then they both left, the nurse for good (I hope), Annabeth for my food.
Annabeth
I ordered Percy a pretzel with cheese and a blue slushie from the hospital cafeteria. When I got back, his meds had kicked in and he was talking happily and illogically. "And then I knew all the fishies and other sea creatures were gonna spread some serious gossip about me and some girl at the bottom of the ocean," he said around mouthfuls of pretzel. Okay, so it made sense to some of us. He still sounded happy in that infectious, stupid way.
I wasn't really listening to him anymore, and he kept babbling about our adventures. Every once and while I would nod, mumble my agreement, or steal a little piece of his pretzel, even though it was coated heavily with sea salt. "I almost went crazy when you fell," Percy told me. "Thalia had to hold me back to keep me from jumping off the cliff after you. That's when they told me who Artemis was. I mean, I knew who she was, I just had never met her, and I'd never seen her either."
"That's nice, Percy," I said.
"Then, later, in the desert outside Hephaestus's dump, Aphrodite came and told me something."
I was interested now. "What did she tell you?" I asked. He blushed. Oh boy.
"Nothing... Just- no, nothing," he replied. I sighed. He would never admit that he liked me, even if he was hyped up on loopy pills. I bet it was Rachel holding him back. Why did she have to be so charmingly mortal? He seemed to think of her as a breath of fresh air.
"Well, Kelp-for-Brains, I have to go, or I'll miss my flight," I told him. He looked genuinely disappointed.
"Okay, but Iris-message me," he said. He assumed his brooding expression.
"Sure." I walked out, thinking about how cute he looked like that. Get a hold of yourself, I thought. It's just Percy. Just was an understatement. He had always been good looking, but he was just getting better with age. This time I chose to run into his father. Double shit. "Oh," I said. "Lord Poseidon." He was looking at me really funny.
I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, but the sea god said two simple words. "Thank you," he told me. I swallowed and nodded. I hurried away and sprinted out the double doors of the hospital. I didn't stop until I reached the bus stop. There I spotted a familiar head of red hair.
I sat down next to her, hoping she wouldn't recognize me. No such luck. "Annabeth?" Rachel asked. I smiled and looked at her.
"Hey, Rachel!" I said with fake pleasantness. I don't think she got it.
"Um, did you just come from the hospital?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Is it Percy?"
I nodded again.
"Is he okay?" No, you idiot, he's in the hospital. I pursed my lips.
"He has pneumonia and an infected cut on his shoulder," I told her.
"Are you okay?" she asked. What was I, a murder suspect?
But I shook my head no.
"What happened?" Holy Athena, that was a lot of questions. But I let it all out; I told her the whole story. And when I was done she just sat there. "You did well," she told me. I didn't say anything. "And I'm sure he really appreciates it," she continued. "Do you think I should go see him?" she asked.
I looked at her and smiled, none of it fake this time. "I think he'd like that," I whispered. And, with that, my bus pulled up, and I left her there. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Rachel Elizabeth Dare had just helped me get over my best friend's death.
THE END.