Riding in the back of the van while Zoë drove us all wasn't too bad. Thalia was on music, Percy and Grover had the middle to good off in, and Annabeth and i were in the back.

Zoë wasn't even a bad companion to ride with, even if she was pissed that Percy and I had joined them.

To be totally honest, though, she wasn't the only one who was mad at me. For some reason, Annabeth was also kind of angry, and I thought it had something to do with what I said in the woods, but I didn't know for sure.

"Annie? Do you want some chips?" I asked, offering them over to her and getting the silent treatment in return.

"Jeez. I haven't seen her this mad since Percy accidentally set fire to one of her books." Grover mused, getting a dirty look thrown his way before I sighed.

"Look, Annie, I don't even know why you're mad, and I'm dumb. I'm never gonna figure it out, and I can't make it up to you unless I know." I tried to set myself up for an answer and failing.

"That won't work. You're too smart for that. But, if it's about what I said in the woods, I'm sorry. I just think you're the only person who can figure it out without me saying it." I told her, my head leaning back against my headrest, thinking about the day. All that could go wrong, and i was focused on what one person thought of me?

Then I felt her hand on mine, and all the worry washed away. It wasn't words, but maybe it didn't need to be. Maybe we could just sit here and pretend to be two normal people for a little bit before we had to be demigods.

For a while, things were great, just relaxing with some friends on a road trip, and the next, the van was broken. Which meant our carefree adventure was no one we had to care about.

"So, how about trains? I'm sure we could find one heading southwest." Biancs suggested, the rest of us heading towards the closest train station.

"Oh, hey Lord Apollo." I waved, an old man with a dirty face and messy beard.

"You kids looking for a ride headin' west?" He asked, pointing at a train with SUN WEST LINE printed on the side.

"Subtle. Well, see ya later, old time." I cheered, heading towards it and hoping on, helping Grover and Thalia who helped Percy and Bianca. Zoë refused all of our help.

"Well, this is convenient." Annabeth finally spoke, looking at the car in the middle of this cabin.

"So, was that actually Apollo, or was that a joke?" Percy asked, watching me shrug.

"I dunno. The future keeps changing." I lied. I was getting tired of lying.

"Can we talk?" I asked Annabeth, looking at the car and getting into the front seat. Either I'd sit here alone or I wouldn't be.

Eventually, the door did open, and Annabeth was there, and I didn't know what to say.

"You missed the meeting yesterday, but I opened up about my curse. I told everyone there about what it does." There was a pause, and I felt weird.

"I didn't know I could. The gods said I couldn't, but it just poured out. Now, they know that I can see and manipulate future events, as well as change some current ones. But I lose a part of me when I do, and l could make myself unstable, unable to latch onto a time period or onto time at all." I told her a partial lie.

"Who cursed you?" She asked, turning to look at me for the first time all day, her stormy Grey eyes piercing my blue and green ones.

"I can't say. But given what you know and what you'll find out over time, I don't think I'll make it another week before you figure it out." I told her, taking a big step and moving my hand over hers this this time.

"I promise, once you figure it out, I'll explain everything." I mumbled, feeling like the world was spinning a little when I saw her crack a smile, a grand realization coming to me, and I opened the door of the car, Annabeth doing the same.

"I can't say, but thinking about it, the gods didn't say anything about giving hints. So, uh, I gotta scythe, there's some time stuff going on, and I know a lot about the future." I told them, confusing them before explaining that if they guessed my curse, I didn't technically break the rules of it.

"So, uh, are you from like, the future? You knew way too much not to be." Grover asked as he looked back, getting a wink and a shrug of my shoulders in return.

"No way, dude!" Percy yelled, Zoë" swerving the car and making him bump against the door hard.

"Okay. So you're from the future, and you're cursed by someone who's associated with time and a scythe?" Thalia asked, close to the answer before Zoë spoke.

"The Titan Lord, Kronos."

The air inside the train car was chilly for a moment, despite the heat of all seven of us having been keeping it fairly warm before.

"Wow. That was easy. So, who's up for charades?" I joked, giving up as I pressed my head to the side of the train car. Saying it out loud, I could feel the last sense of peace leaving.

My foot found the side of the train car, pain shooting up my foot as I lost all my cool.

"Fuck! This was supposed to make this easier, but it's not!" I yelled, startling them before I turned, holding up my hands.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you guys, but the big cheddar said not to, and I don't wanna get zapped by my grandpa because I can't keep my mouth shut." I tried to apologize, feeling like they were judging me. How could they not? They'd lose a friend to Kronos already, and now another?

"Did you choose to come here?" Percy asked, watching me shake my head.

"Then why would we blame you? Come on, man, we're your friends and family." He tried to cheer me up, patting my shoulder before gripping it. It seemed like he was finally understanding what the future part was about.

"Thalia... Me... No way..." He mumbled, looking overwhelmed for a moment before looking at the daughter of Zeus and laughing, actually happy and joyous.

"Holy crap, that's awesome! I always wanted a little brother, and I got Tyson, and now a son? Dude, that's so cool. Weird, but I'm more surprised we live that long." He babbled, the others not yet caught up.

"Uh, Percy? Are you okay?" Grover asked, looking between Zoë and Bianca for help. What was happening.

"Oh my gods, you and Thalia have a kid in the future." Annabeth remarked, giving the answer out as she got it, chaos erupting in the train car as Percy and Thalia went from grateful they lived long enough, to confused how they hadn't killed one another, and back to why factor. They just didn't see it yet.

"This has been enough patriarchal Olympian nonsense. I am going to sleep." Zoë decided, leaving the rest of us to our own weird bubble that felt warmer.

My family, they were right here. I was never really alone.

"I get that this is exciting, and honestly what I needed to get my head on properly, we still have a mission to do." I reminded them, heading for the empty car.

"Percy and I took a pegasus in the cold wet clouds. I'm not taking the first watch." I told them, closing my door and putting the seat back as far as I could as the other door opened, Annabeth getting in and sitting there silently.

"Annie... I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you so many times, but how could I? It took me months before I realized I could give out hints." I tried to apologize, as the seat was laid down, my head turning so I could see her face, her eyes full of something I didn't understand.

"Just stop." She paused, looking at me. "Just shut up, okay? I don't want to think about it. Not tonight." She told me, taking my hand in hers as we just pretended everything was okay as sounds of chatter and laughter outside lulled us to sleep, our fingers laced through the night.