Chapter fifteen! Wee!

Song I like listening to (since there isn't a song for this chapter. Only songs for dramatic bits!): Headlights - Morning Parade

If you feel like listening to that song while reading, be my guest. It might work...eh, maybe not. It's a good song, though!

Let it commence.

Annabeth

Percy started choking on the cracker, then groaned in pain. His hand flew up to his chest while he grimaced, and he leaned back down to the ground.

"You okay?" I asked. His face was turning red, but he managed to swallow the cracker.

"Yeah…fine," he muttered. "It's getting better already."

I looked nervously at the thermos. Should I give him more, or…?

"Don't. I'm fine. I'd rather not turn to ashes," Percy said, wincing as he sat up again.

"There might be an ACE bandage in here somewhere," I said, rummaging through the backpack. "We can tighten up your chest so it won't hurt as much." I suddenly froze at the thought that he'd have to go shirtless. My hand hovered over the bandage, my mind racing.

"No, I'm fine," he grunted. "Just give me a minute."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Or was it disappointment?

Ugh! Get your mind out of the gutter! I yelled at myself.

"Okay," I said carefully. "Just lie down. You want your ribs to heal normally."

"Yes, doctor," he said, grinning at me from the floor.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to know how to get to the Underworld, or not?"

"Oh, yeah. Tell me how you figured that out."

"Like I said, I knocked the monster to the ground and held the sword at its throat. After a few choice words that I won't repeat, the monster told me that the entrance is in LA. DOA Recording Studio or something like that. Why it's a recording studio is beyond me."

"Great! When do we leave?" He started to sit up, but I pushed him back down.

"What do you think you're doing? We have to wait for you to get healed, first. We can't go across the entire state if you have busted ribs."

He scowled at me. "How do you know where LA is?"

"I looked it up," I said, pointing at the last standing computer.

"Fine. You know, I think I'm feeling better. Amazing how those crackers work."

"Okay, what would your reaction be if I hit you there?"

"You know, the view is great from the floor. You should try it some time."

"Uh huh," I said.

The room was suddenly lit up with flashing blue and red lights and these shrieking noises outside.

"What's that?" Percy asked.

"I don't know. You stay here and I'll check." I got up from the floor and walked carefully over to the glass doors. I saw several cars parked outside the door, and some men and women got out in these uniforms. They had guns.

"Trouble. We've got to get out of here." I shoved everything inside the backpack and helped Percy up. He was trying to hide the pain on his face, but I knew better.

"How are we going to get out?" he groaned. I heard footsteps on the stairs outside.

I looked around, panic settling in. They would think that we did all of this mess, and they didn't look friendly.

I saw a small door at the other side of the library. We started walking as fast as we could towards it, Percy leaning heavily on me. If we could just…

The main doors flew open, and in a panic I whipped out my hat and shoved in on Percy's head.

"Hey!" he protested.

I took a hold of his arm and we ducked behind a cart full of books.

"Police officers!" a man yelled with a badge, pointing his gun around.

"Percy," I hissed. "Get out of here. They can't see you. You can leave, and I'll find a way to get out of here."

"No way," I heard him say somewhere to my left. "I'm taking off this stupid hat and giving it to you."

"Not likely," I said, finding his head and putting my hand on top of the hat. "Get out of here and then throw the hat to me when you're near the exit. That way we can both get out."

"Start scouting the area," a woman said with a badge. "The people who did this might still be in here. Check the damage for any injured."

"Go, now!" I whispered.

I heard him get up and hobble over to the door. It was only a couple yards behind us. Glancing around to see if any of the police officers were nearby, I turned around and saw Percy toss the hat to me. He was standing in between the doorway. I started to crawl towards it.

"Over there!"

Jumping to my feet, I sprinted towards the hat and scooped it up, smashing it on my head.

"What the-?" I heard a gunshot behind me, and I ducked down and saw wood splinter when the bullet hit.

I made the last few steps toward the door and burst through, grabbing Percy's arm and diving in the decorative bushes by the door.

Police streamed through the door, looking around. We peered up through the leaves.

"She got away. Looks like she had an accomplice. Scout the surrounding area. She might've had a getaway car. Look for anything suspicious," an officer ordered. Three police officers ran off to their cars.

"Let's assess the damages," the officer said, and they walked back inside.

I let out the air I was holding and took off the hat.

"Well, that was fun," Percy said. "I'm glad you took off the hat, though. I felt like I was in here by myself."

"Come on, Seaweed Brain. Are your ribs okay? Because we've got to get out of here."

"They're fine. I might need just a small corner of a cracker though. They aren't healing fast enough."

"No. I'm too afraid to do that. We'll have to get the bandage on you."

"Fine," he muttered. "I feel like I'm slowing us down."

I fumbled around in the backpack for the ACE bandage with what little arm space I had. My elbow barely hit Percy's chest and he sucked in sharply.

"Sorry, sorry! Here, I've got it."

I looked around one more time, and then stepped out, helping Percy up. We walked carefully over to a small patch of grass out of sight of the library.

"Uh…" I said stupidly.

"What?" He smirked.

"Nothing," I said, pushing away the awkwardness. "Can you get your shirt off by yourself?"

He tried to raise his arms, but he pulled them quickly down. "Ow, ow. Er, no."

"Okay," I said, saying it more to myself. I set down the backpack and took the bottom of his shirt in my hands, trying hard not to blush. I lifted it gingerly over his head, making sure not to bump him. His arms went up, and I felt him tense, but he didn't say anything. When his arms came back down, I tried avoiding looking at his bare chest. He was fit. Like, really fit. And tan. Was that a…six pack?

Stop being such a perv, I screamed at myself.

He seemed slightly embarrassed, too, but he tried to smirk it off.

"Not every day you see a guy shirtless?" he asked.

"Stop being an idiot, Percy," I said, avoiding his gaze. I busied myself by unraveling the bandage.

"Okay," I said to myself again. "Okay, lift up your arms a bit so I can get this bandage around you."

He did it silently, and I pressed the bandage to his chest, being careful not to touch his skin. I looped it around his body, and my fingers brushed his back. I felt goosebumps erupt on his skin, and I quickly jerked my hands away. Once I managed to get it around him tightly, I used the clip to stick it in place.

"You can put your arms down," I said.

"Thank you, Doctor Chase," he said seriously.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, tossing the shirt at him a bit harder than necessary. "Just put your shirt back on. Your ribs shouldn't hurt so much anymore."

He slid the shirt back on, and I swung the backpack on my shoulder.

"Let's find a bus that can take us to LA. I think we have some money in our backpack," I said.

He grinned. "DOA Recording Studios here we come!"

AGH I SHIP THEM SO HARD.

Haha, that was such a fun chapter to write! Especially Annabeth's awkwardness about the shirt. I can't remember who said this, but a reviewer wanted Annabeth to check Percy out. Was that good? Hehehehe.

Anyway, I'll see you guys soon with the next chapter! Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think :)

OKAY BYE.

R&R Annabeth's awkwardness...