I know I already said this in the author's note in the last chapter, but just a heads up. This may be the last time I update for a while, so I'll make this chapter extra special, or at least try to. I wish sometimes I didn't have to go to school and just go to straight up art school, where I belong! I would love it even better if we didn't have to have math class alone…
Oh, and by the way everyone, Happy New Year! Glad I've got a fresh slate, 2011 wasn't my best year.
Chapter Seven: Nico's Persistence Pays Off, Sort Of
After Annabeth had got him back into bed, she had run over to the dining pavilion to get some food for Percy and herself. She had scraped some of her food into the fire, and did the same with Percy's food. Annabeth had gotten a big plate of eggs toast and bacon so she could divvy it up onto two different plates, "Oh my gods, thank you!" Percy exclaimed as she handed him his food. It had got quiet, because the two of them were too busy chomping down on their breakfast.
"Percy, I just realized something a few minutes ago." Percy looked up from his breakfast plate, which was sitting in his lap, and motioned her to go on, "I forgot our camp stuff back at your apartment, I should run over and grab it, and I can tell your mom that you're okay." Percy nodded,
"Sounds like a plan, and I could hang out with Nico…" He was cut off by Annabeth, who was beginning to gather up their plates,
"I don't think so, Seaweed Brain. I already told you, Will said, he wants you to stay in bed, and not do anything that can take your energy down a lot." She walked back over to Percy, and kissed him lightly on the forehead, "Now stay in bed, alright?" He crossed his arms over his chest again, and pouted,
"Okay…" He grumbled. "Well maybe I can play video games with-"
"No." Annabeth said, tidying up the room a little more.
"Just for a few minutes-"
"No." Again, continuing to clean up the room.
"Come on!"
"No! Percy, don't you understand how bad you got hurt? You got attacked by a Manticore, a Manticore. It's like you have the flu, if you do something that requires walking around, you're going to break out into sweat, and very easily pass out!" Percy chuckled,
"I love your nerdy talk."
Annabeth threw her hands in the air, "Gah! Are you even listening to me?" She stormed out of the room with the breakfast plates. A few minutes later, Percy started to doze off, but snapped back awake when Annabeth looked like she was going to attack the room with cleaning supplies. In her hands was Demeter's Super Cleaning Spray 3000, a feather duster, paper towels, and new bed sheets, since the other ones were bloodied, and Percy hadn't noticed that yet. He finally noticed it, and got so freaked out, he fell out of bed again, "Oh, good. I was just about to tell you to get off the bed anyway." She stated frankly, and tore the old sheets off, and put on the new ones.
"I'm sorry, but did I piss you off somehow?" Percy asked. She turned around a gave him a glare that could bury you six feet under,
"I don't know Percy, what couldn't I be pissed off at you about? The fact that you almost died? I almost died myself; from all the stress you've put me under the past few hours. Almost everyone who gets poisoned from one of those things has died; you could've been one of them! And I can't lose you again, Percy." (A.N. For those who haven't read SoN or TLH yet, skip this part, or read it at your own risk! You've been warned…) She sat on the bed across from Percy, "I just can't. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep…You mean that much to me Percy. If you were gone for good, I could never forgive myself; I wouldn't be able to... live with myself."
Percy looked down at the floor and scratched the back of his neck, "I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault that I disappeared. I'm sorry that I worried you so much." He gently lifted her chin up, so she was looking directly at him, "I hope you know that." Annabeth rushed into his arms, straddling his waist, and burying her face into his shoulder,
"Don't you dare leave me again, Jackson." Annabeth said, bawling like crazy now. He hugged her tighter, strengthening the feeling of her sobbing. After she calmed down a little, she wiped her tear soaked face across the sleeve of her T-shirt, and walked out of the room, leaving Percy in his storm cloud of emotions and thoughts that swam in around in his head. He felt like his head was buzzing, how could he have left her like that? (A.N. You can read now…) Percy stood up out of the chair, and limped to the door in a jerky way. He needed a shower, and he knew Chiron wouldn't mind if he used one of the guest bathrooms. A hot shower might clear his head and make him feel better. He was about to get undressed but heard someone enter the Big House,
Percy poked his head out of the bathroom, "Who's there? Is that you, Annabeth?" He walked through the house, shirtless,
"Really, Percy?" Nico was leaning against the doorway, holding a bag from Wal-Mart. "Well…I heard that you got hurt, so, uh, I got you some stuff. So, you know, you don't look like a hobo when you're better, and so you don't smell like one, either." Nico handed him the plastic bag, and handed a bouquet of black roses from behind his back. Percy was about to run his finger across the petals, but Nico grabbed his hand in midair, "Um, I wouldn't do that, if I were you. Those are from Hades, yeah it sounds weird, but read the card, and you'll get it." Percy carefully pulled the card off the flowers on the cover it had a pink cover with a fuzzy bunny on it, Percy looked at his card in suspicion, and opened the card. On the inside, was a picture of a gravesite, and the grave somehow had his name on it. The message on the right read,
Happy birthday, sucker, and by the way, if you haven't noticed yet, the flowers had, who would've guessed it, Manticore venom, injected into them, ha!
-Hades
Percy tucked the card back into the bouquet; some gods had a sick sense of humor. "Very cute." Percy grumbled, snatching the bag from Nico. Inside it was, Axe deodorant and soap, shaving cream, razor, and a teddy bear, holding a heart. "This doesn't have C4 stuffed in it from Ares, does it?" Percy said sarcastically. Nico furrowed his eyebrows, and looked at him in a freaked out way,
"No…" Nico said, slowly walking away, "Going back to my cabin, bye!" He scrambled away. Percy stared at the spot his cousin was standing at earlier; he never even got the chance to say thanks. Percy tossed the bear onto his freshly made bed, tossed the roses and sick excuse of a card into the trash, and brought the rest of his stuff into the bathroom. Percy washed up, and kept his balance, pretty good. He almost fell enough times, but other than that, he was fine. Percy wrapped a towel around his lean waist and put a washcloth around his neck, and massaged some shaving cream onto his face. He had gotten a bit of a five o' clock shadow, after all. After shaving his face, he wiped the leftover cream off his face with the washcloth, and limped back to his room. He sat at the edge of the bed, hanging his head, causing water to drip from his damp hair. He cursed when he remembered his only clothes were his sweaty, clothes that smelled like a gym, that he had worn to camp. He would have to wait until Annabeth got back from the apartment with his bag before he could change, damn it…
Just then, Annabeth walked into the room, but yelped in surprise at Percy, "What? You've seen me shirtless before…" She shook her head,
"Yeah, sorry. Um, I'm going out to get our stuff, okay?" He shook his hair like a soaking wet dog, making Annabeth squeal in surprise, but she had a right, he had enlarged the water, making the impact of the water more like a buckets worth, "Percy! Now I'm soaking wet, do you want me to get your stuff or not?" He rolled his eyes and willed her dry,
"Relax, Wise Girl. I've got your back." He said, placing the washcloth on his head, and running it through to get his hair dried. She sighed,
"I'm leaving now, do you need anything out?" She said, beginning to walk out of the room.
"Could you get me some lunch?" He stood up, grabbing her around the waist playfully and whispering, "I'll make it worth your while." She smirked and whirled around, grabbing him by the chin, forcing him to give her a kiss,
"Alright, then." She readjusted her hoodie, and walked out the room. "Love you, Percy!"
He shook his head, what did she just say? A smile grew on his face, "Love you, Annabeth." He muttered, smiling to himself.
Nico stuck his head into the entrance of the Big House, but was grabbed by the neck and pinned up against the wall by Mr.D, "Who are you, and why are you snooping around? I can turn you into a poodle, right here, right now! Speak!" He lessened the grip on Nico's fragile neck, but only a little bit, "It's, me, sir! Nico Di Angelo, I was just here to play video games with Percy!" Dionysus looked at him with a crazed look, which got more and more intense as he leaned closer to Nico's face, but then it went to a slack, calm face as fast as the other one had started,
"Oh, okay." He let go of Nico, and he was about to run off, but grabbed the young boy again, "Wait, did you say Peter? Peter Johnston? Answer me, Nikki Diamartino!" Nico rolled his eyes at the god; he could barely handle remembering a name alone!
"Uh, actually it's Percy. Percy Jackson?" Dionysus grumbled and released him, wandering off to the porch. Nico ran into Percy's room, "What's up, cousin? How about we play some, Modern Warfare Three?" Percy shook his head,
"Will and Annabeth said I need to rest." Nico let the hand holding the game and controllers go slack at his side.
"You're joking right now, aren't you?" Percy raised an eyebrow and shook his head, "No? Let me ask you something, Mister Jackson. Are you going to let some rules hold you back from playing the best-freaking-game-on-earth?" He raised the game over his head between the words until he was holding it high above his head."
"Yes." Percy said, dully, rolling onto his side and tucking the pillow between his neck, "Sorry, Nico. If I don't follow the rules in this case, Will and Annabeth are going to be out for blood, my blood." Nico sighed, but then an idea popped into his head,
"I'll be right back, hold onto these!" He tossed the controllers and game into Percy's lap, and he looked at the back of the container for the game.
Nico sprinted to the camp store, which was run by some son of Hermes, which was by far the dumbest idea of all time. Nico was pretty sure the kid's name was Nick, and Nick was sitting behind the counter, boots propped on the table, aviators on to cover his eyes, he was in the middle of snoozing. Nico was about to shake the kid awake, but Nick put his hand up, "Don't worry, I'm up." He straightened up his glasses and stood up from his seat, "Nicks the name, stealing, er, I mean selling's the game. Ask what you want, and I'll ask a price. They're reasonable, best in the camp." In camp, you mean other people were doing stuff like this? Nico thought to himself.
"I need a T.V. for my bud's room." Nico said, but tensed up when Nick looked at him over the top of his glasses.
"You talkin' about Jackson? Can't he get it himself?" Nick scratched his brown head of hair.
"Yeah. I just need a smaller one." Nick shrugged at Nico,
"'Kay, let me see…" He walked into the small back room of the outdoor store and came back out with a small flat screen T.V. "Smallest one I got. I'll give it to you for, let's say, a hundred bucks." Nico's eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets, "I'll take it!" He took out three fifties and handed them Nick, he slid the box that contained the T.V. to Nico, who ran back to Percy's room.
Percy was crashed out holding Modern Warfare Three when Nico ran into the room, "Percy, Percy! I got a T.V.! Now all I have to do is get my Xbox, and we can play video games in here!" He felt someone behind him, and he faced him, Will.
"What about Xbox? I don't think so, Percy's all drugged up again anyway he won't be awake for a while. But, I'll put this over here…" Will sidestepped past Nico and set the T.V. in the corner on the table, "You'll have to wait to play video games later, when Percy feels up to it." Will took the game and controller and set them onto the table as well. Nico pouted, and walked past Annabeth as he was heading back to his cabin,
"What's wrong, Nico?" Annabeth looked down at Nico, but he didn't answer. She shrugged to herself and dropped her luggage off at her cabin, and dropped Percy's bag off at his cabin. She had bought McDonald's for him to eat for lunch. "Hey, Will." He tipped his head to her and stepped out of the room, back to his cabin. She set the bag of food at his side table, and pulled a chair up by his side, "Sleep well, Seaweed Brain."
Aw…
Okay people, I hope everyone had a good New Year's. And I'll say this one more time, I may not update for a while, I have to go back to school Tuesday, and that slashes my writing time. I might write one more chapter; even though I said at the top this may be the last one…I lied! Not really, I just wrote that AU this morning, and I'm currently writing this at 12:27 AM of January 2, 2012, large time difference, right there. I wrote this chapter and put extra fancy sauce on it, for you guys…you're welcome. I think this is the longest chapter I've written for this story, yet.
Okay people, now I need to sleep; or I'm going to freaking die! 0.o
I'm out of here,
~iGwyn12
zzzzZZZZZzzzzZZZZZzzz
P.S. Have you guys heard of that picture book Go the Fuck to Sleep? Look up the audio recording with Samuel L. Jackson reading it, I rolled over laughing. I understand it perfectly, and I don't even have kids! Some parents think it's terrible because it has cuss words, but still, they can't deny it's not funny at all!
Here's the link, just copy and paste it. It should work.
.com/watch?v=cQZmU2GnUdA