A/N: I do normally try to keep my notes to a minimum but I was surprised how many people reached out last week about the miscommunication trope! Are most tropes overused? Yes. Do I love a good, trope-y fanfiction? Also yes. One other thing I love is a slow burn, and you definitely can't have that when the couple you're writing about is in a healthy long-term relationship. So, enjoy the tropes or feel free to keep scrolling. I hope to write this story in a way that's fun and still authentic to the characters we love. Thanks everyone!
Annabeth
I had originally believed I was going to have an uneventful night.
I would go to my best friend's engagement party, drink, mingle, and go home with my boyfriend. That was supposed to be it. I wasn't a gambler—I had always seen it as unwise—but twenty-four hours ago, I would have bet all my assets against winding up back at Camp Half-Blood with Percy Jackson.
We were surrounded by a group of campers, with more flocking up from the valley below. It was summer, so there would be a lot of kids here because camp was in full swing. Whoever was on patrol must have sounded the alarm when Peleus the dragon first reacted to us. Some had weapons, and some were clearly just coming to see what was going on.
I stood awkwardly behind Percy as the campers swarmed, asking questions. Our previous exchange still hung in the air, but we clearly weren't going to have time to talk about it.
I looked over the valley. I could see the strawberry fields, the cabins, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. The memories flooded in, and I thought about all the things that had happened to me here. This place was the only home I had known for a long time. I thought about tending the strawberry fields with Grover, and learning to fight in the arena with Luke and Clarisse. And Percy, I thought about Percy. I thought about all the mundane things that had meant so much to me, like doing our chores together, and all the important things, like our kiss under the lake. I thought about how we had literally grown up together here, through the good and the bad.
And I thought about how it had all disappeared as fast as it came.
"Campers, back to your usual activities, please," a familiar voice bellowed from the back of the crowd. The campers started to depart, and I noted that my former mentor still had the ability to command the situation with ease.
Some campers grumbled as they headed back down the hill, clearly wanting to be involved in whatever drama was happening. That had always been me when I'd been here, I always needed to be the first to assess any situation. Soon, I was left on Half-Blood Hill with Percy, Chiron and an unknown camper.
"Annabeth," Chiron said softly, and I wanted to cry for the tenth time tonight. I felt small. I hadn't seen the centaur for almost as long as I hadn't seen Percy, and he had been one of the hardest goodbyes. He still looked the same: his brown beard was trimmed for the summer and he wore a t-shirt on his human half.
"Percy, what is this?" the camper asked, and I looked at her face for the first time.
It was the girl from the photo; she had short, wavy black hair cropped at her chin and light blue eyes. She wore jean shorts and a cutoff gray t-shirt, revealing scarred and calloused arms and hands.
"I told you I was chasing a lead for your problem," Percy responded.
"That's great, I just wasn't expecting you to bring a person," she said.
"Let's talk about this at the Big House," Chiron frowned. "Annabeth looks like she could use a cup of tea," he glanced down at my bare feet, "and some shoes."
/\
The Big House looked exactly the same, as did many things we passed on our walk down to the valley. The rock wall still spewed lava, and the weapons racks still sat stocked next to the sparring ring. I figured they would have put a fresh coat of paint on the old building, but it stood looking just as it had ten years ago.
The girl introduced herself as Cara on the walk. She tried to ask Percy what was going on, a question I was very curious about myself, but he deferred the conversation until after we got settled in the Big House.
At this point, I felt numb. Seeing camp should have had a greater effect on me, but I was just happy my legs were still moving. And truthfully, I was still focused on what Percy had said to me on the hill. Annabeth, you broke up with me.
Except I was very, very certain I hadn't. After everything happened, I talked to Sally, Rachel, and Grover. Everyone confirmed the same story. He doesn't want to talk to you, Annabeth.
I didn't have enough mental capacity to make sense of it all right now, which wasn't a feeling I enjoyed. Instead, I trudged along at Percy's side and got settled in the Big House sitting room after we arrived.
Chiron made small talk for a few minutes and prepped some tea before the front door swung open in a dramatic fashion. A wide-eyed, curly-haired satyr and another unknown camper stood in the doorway.
I locked eyes with Percy, and then with Grover. Grover kept staring at me. Percy looked at me, then at Chiron, and then at Grover. Chiron stared at all three of us. Cara gave the other camper a look like "don't ask me what's going on."
Grover didn't say anything, he walked over to me and I stood up, unsure of what to do. To my surprise, he threw his arms around me and pulled me into a tight embrace, almost knocking the breath out of me.
"What happened to you?" he asked. I didn't know if he was talking about my appearance, the fact that I disappeared for ten years, or both. Probably both.
"Hi, Grover," I said softly as I hugged him back.
Grover let me go and sat down as the other camper entered the room. He wore an orange camp hoodie and sweatpants, and looked vaguely unwell. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and he looked paler than he should be. I recognized him as the second kid from the photo.
"Hey, man," he said to Percy and the two shared a quick fist bump. He sat down next to Cara, and they exchanged another look I couldn't decipher.
"So, Percy," Chiron started, "I believe you owe everyone a bit of an explanation."
Percy looked a bit hesitant, like he hadn't thought through the reality of this moment. "Right," he took a breath.
"Annabeth, this is Phillip and Cara, both fourth year campers, and children of Hermes and Hephaestus. A few days ago, Cara received a prophecy, and we haven't been able to figure out how to proceed."
"Do you think I'm involved?" I asked, afraid to hear his answer.
"I do," he said.
Of course. Why else would he have brought me here? I asked him what the prophecy was, and Cara spoke up.
The messenger's son deceived
to break the curse and set them free
A trap for forethought's apprentice is weaved
And from wisdom reclaimed of ten years past
An end to deception shall come at last
Mentally, I honed in on the two words in the prophecy that I thought could have anything to do with me, weaved and wisdom. Somehow, I didn't think Percy had asked me to come here for my weaving skills.
I shuddered, thinking both about the prophecy and about being covered in spider silk in a cavern below the city of Rome. It was usually so easy to keep the memories at bay, but today they had unrestricted access.
"'The messenger's son deceived…'" I said the first line out loud, trying to make sense of it, and I looked at Phillip, son of Hermes. "Percy said there was trouble?"
Phillip sighed and pulled up the sleeve of his hoodie. On the inside of his forearm was a very angry looking tattoo of a snake. The skin around the image was red and raised.
"I might have gotten myself cursed," he mumbled, pulling his sleeve down. "There was an old lady in an alley, she was offering me a deal, but I don't remember for what. it's all kind of hazy," he admitted sheepishly.
"And like an idiot, he accepted," Cara added with an eye roll. "Isn't the first thing we learn here not to make back-alley deals with strange women?"
"I must have missed that lesson," Phillip laughed weakly. "The second line seemingly refers to whatever this curse is, but we can't figure out who 'them' is, since I'm the only one cursed. Unless there are others we don't know about. The last line, too, sounds like it relates back to the first."
"We're stuck on A trap for forethought's apprentice is weaved, and from wisdom reclaimed of ten years past," Cara said.
"That was my lead," Percy said to the campers. "See, Annabeth here is a daughter of Athena, and ten years ago she decided she wasn't going to be a demigod anymore."
I cringed as Percy threw my earlier words back at me. Cara and Phillip both looked at me, and I wanted to shrink back into my chair. First, I didn't like being associated with Athena anymore, and second, I had caught a glimpse of myself in the Big house windows on the way in. My hair had fallen out of my updo and was tangled in every direction; I had mascara smeared around my eyes, a ripped dress, and was wearing tennis shoes from the camp's lost and found. Grover was nervously chewing on a paper plate next to Chiron.
"Is this true?" Chiron asked.
"That's not… exactly how it happened." I tried to think of something to say that wasn't going to cause me to blow up at him again. The way he accused me of simply deciding not to come around anymore was making me angry for the second time tonight. "I just decided to focus on my life in New York, that's all. I had a business to start and bills to pay. You know, adult stuff."
I looked at Cara and Phillip, who probably had no concept of "adult stuff" at their age. I certainly didn't when I was at camp, not really. At that time, all that mattered were the multiple mythical crises and whether Percy was going to ask me to the summer fireworks.
"Right, well, where do you suggest going from here, Percy?" Chiron asked.
There was an uncomfortable silence before Percy spoke. "I don't know," he admitted.
"You don't know?" I nearly yelled at him. "You pulled me out of an important event, made me ride a pegasus to Long Island, and brought me back to camp when you don't even have any solid ideas? Realistically, no reason for me to be here at all?"
"You have to admit that you fit that line perfectly," was his response. He didn't acknowledge my accusations, however I also didn't acknowledge that I agreed with him. "And it must have felt nice to get back on the horse," he grinned at the joke, and I ignored him.
"This could have been an email," I grumbled.
"Do you really think you would have agreed to see me if I had sent you an email?"
I crossed my arms and looked straight ahead. Grover nervously bit off a large chunk of his paper plate.
We all sat in silence for a moment before Cara spoke up.
"We've been researching the curse to see if we can identify the symbol, but so far no luck. We're also focusing our search around the city, since that's where Phillip made his deal," she said, shooting another look at Phillip. She seemed annoyed with him, but I couldn't get a read on whether it was because she didn't like him, because they had a brother-sister relationship, or something more.
"That's a good start," I agreed. "Can you write down the prophecy and send me a picture of the symbol?"
She agreed, and I wrote down my email address on a sheet of paper.
The conversation went on for a while longer, and we talked about curse mythology and ideas. I actively tried to ignore Percy. Every time I glanced at him I started fuming. How dare he think he can waltz back into my life after ten years of radio silence, and then act like everything is fine?
Phillip eventually excused himself. Grover also left, saying he had to go meet Juniper. I was glad to hear they were still together. I gave him another hug, unsure if I would see him again after this. I still wasn't sure what to make of everything, but I definitely wasn't committing to anyone that I would come back again.
Eventually, Percy agreed to drive me back to Manhattan. He promised it would be in a camp vehicle, and not a pegasus, but I was not looking forward to sitting in the car with him for that long. As we were leaving, Chiron spoke.
"You know you are always welcome here, Annabeth."
His comment was the nail in the coffin for the evening, and I knew I needed to leave. I couldn't handle anymore emotional whiplash or guilt.
We didn't speak much in the car. Traffic was light because it had turned into the early hours of the morning. I leaned my head up against the window, feeling the cool glass on my forehead and letting a few silent tears escape. Percy didn't press me on anything or try to start a conversation. I'm sure he could sense that I was at my limit, and that seeing him and visiting camp had taken everything out of me.
When we had a few minutes left in the drive, I spoke.
"Why are you still at camp?" I asked.
"I'm an instructor there during the summers," he explained. "I teach now, for New York Public Schools, so I head to camp during the summer to teach combat. It's a good way to stay involved, and they pay me a stipend so I don't have to find a summer job in the city."
"You're a teacher? I asked, turning my head to look at him for the first time during the drive.
"Yeah, I teach earth science, heavy on the oceanography section. It's nice. I enjoy working with the kids, and getting to help the ones that are like me. Plus I keep a lookout for unclaimed demigods, and get them sent in the right direction."
I'd never imagined Percy as a teacher, given how much he hated school when we were younger, but hearing him explain it made perfect sense. I could see him on the other side, mentoring the kids and being the cool teacher they all secretly liked. I bet he still complained about having to grade assignments and read papers, though.
We pulled up in front of my house, and I noticed someone sitting on the steps of my brownstone. Grayson. He was dressed for an early morning run, but had two takeout coffees sitting next to him. I had completely forgotten to let him know that I was okay. He noticed me through the car window as we pulled up, and he raised an eyebrow at me. I quickly pulled down the visor mirror of the car and pulled my hair back, along with wiping off as much rogue mascara as possible.
I knew I only had a moment before Grayson knocked on the window to see if I was okay, so I turned to Percy quickly.
"I said this earlier, but just to reiterate, I'm willing to help but I really don't feel prepared to be dragged into this. Also," I glanced at Grayson, still seated on my steps, "I think you and I need to have another conversation at some point." I didn't elaborate, but by his silence I was sure he knew what I meant.
"Yeah, I agree," he said, and I noticed he was also looking at Grayson.
"Bye, Percy," I said while exiting the car, and I realized I never said that the last time we saw each other—ten years ago in the airport, when I'd been so sure I would be seeing his smiling face in just a few months. He drove away, and I watched him go. If this was the last time I saw him, it was more closure than I got before.
Grayson stood up and handed me a coffee as I approached him on the steps. "What are you doing here?" I asked with a small smile.
"You left the party last night, and didn't tell anyone where you were going, so I decided to check in on you this morning. I was debating calling in reinforcements when you showed up just now."
"Sorry," I grimaced, genuinely feeling awful and making a mental note to call Kennedy later. "It's a really long story."
We sat on the steps, and I gave him a largely sanitized recap of the night. I told him I ran into a friend from school at Kennedy's party, coincidentally, and we got to catching up. I stumbled through the rest of the story, explaining that my friend was going to meet up with some other people we knew from school, and it turned into an impromptu reunion. I got caught up and didn't have my phone. It wasn't the best story, and truthfully it didn't sound anything like me, but it was mostly true and Grayson didn't question me. However, I knew he was wondering why I was wearing a random pair of shoes that weren't mine.
"So that's who you were in the car with, your friend from school?" he asked at the end of my story.
"Yes," I answered truthfully. "That was Percy. He's just… someone that I used to know."
