Annabeth
I drove my car straight through the magic border of camp and down into the valley, pulling up next to the Big House. Peleus the dragon was in his usual sleeping spot, and he lifted his head at me as I passed. He must have remembered me, either from two weeks ago or all those years ago.
I got out and looked around. It was pretty quiet; I didn't see any campers or creatures. With capture the flag coming up, everyone must have been down at the arena. I took a moment to really take in the camp in a way I hadn't during my first visit. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I focused on the nostalgic scent of grass and the distant saltiness of the Long Island Sound. Something deep inside me seemed to relax.
I heard someone call my name and I turned around to find Cara, smiling and waving as she approached.
"Everyone is down at the training ring," she confirmed, "Percy sent me to come get you."
We got caught up as we walked. I asked her about the machine she was building for her quest, and she promised to show it to me before I left.
"I wanted to say thank you, too," she said.
"Thanks for what?" I asked, genuinely curious. I'd barely contributed to her quest outside our time at the library.
"For helping me. I've been on quests before, but this is the first time I received a prophecy that's all my own. And I was doing a bad job, that's why Percy went to find you."
I flashed back to seven year old Annabeth, who was so desperate to receive a prophecy and prove herself. Then when I finally got my chance at 14, it was an unmitigated disaster. I had never felt more like a failure. At one point, I thought I had gotten all three of my best friends killed, including the guy I had just sort of confessed my feelings for. I cried for weeks until he reappeared at his own funeral. And then, even though it turned out everyone was alive, my other ex-best friend got possessed by Kronos, and I couldn't stop that either. I made peace with everything a long time ago, but when I was her age, that had been one of the worst summers of my life.
Instead of sharing all my shortcomings with Cara, I settled on saying, "You're doing a great job," and meant it, hoping she believed me.
"We'll see," she said, dropping her gaze to her feet, clearly as lost in thought as I was and obviously still doubting herself. I wouldn't have believed me either when I was her age. "I wanted to say thank you, though, because Phillip told me about everything with you and Percy. That he's your ex-boyfriend. I don't know the details, obviously, but I bet that must be hard for you."
That was an understatement, it had been taking up all of my mental energy for the past two weeks. I wasn't going to say that to Cara, however.
"It's not a problem," I said, even though it was a problem. "Percy and I are adults, we can set aside our differences to help someone who needs it." Even though I had nearly thrown my shoes at him because I was so mad the last time I was here.
"What about you? You and Phillip seem really close," I continued, enjoying the girl talk and wanting to get the focus off my relationship, or lack thereof, with Percy.
She blushed and looked down at her feet again, and I smiled. Some things never change.
"Phillip's my best friend. We're really close, but I don't think… there was a moment last summer when I thought maybe… but, he's my best friend."
I flashed back again to the summer of my 15th year, having just come back to camp the year after Percy and I had kissed for the first time, all while knowing he was spending time with Rachel Dare. If someone had asked me about our relationship status back then, I probably would have said the same thing verbatim. It was confusing, and tumultuous, and I waffled between thinking he felt the same way and being sure he didn't think about me at all. I wanted to offer her what reassurance I could, because I had seen the look on Phillip's face when he thought she was in danger in the library.
"Percy and I started dating when we were about your age. It took us years of going back and forth before we finally confessed our feelings for each other, but he was always my best friend too. We may have broken up, but it was worth it. Boys are clueless, and honestly they never completely grow out of that, so you should tell him how you feel. I can tell he cares about you."
She was silent as she continued to look at her feet, but I could tell she was considering my words. I wasn't sure how much weight my advice held, considering Percy and I had indeed broken up, but I meant what I said. I wouldn't trade those years for anything.
We approached the arena, and it looked like the whole camp was there. I waved at Grover and Chiron, who started to make their way over to us from their place on the sidelines. Percy stood in the center of the ring, shouting instructions. There would be a series of demonstrations, and then the campers would move into a sudden death style tournament round. The winner would claim an advantage for their team to use during capture the flag.
"My dear," Chiron said as he approached, "I'm so glad you came back."
"It's really good to see you, Chiron," I responded, finding the ability to voice my feelings much more easily than two weeks ago.
"Percy is really excited that you're here," Grover said, but both Cara and Chiron gave him a look that made him go quiet.
Percy noticed me as he was finishing up his speech, and I could almost see the gears start turning in his head. He smirked at me, and I knew immediately how this was going to go.
"Perfect timing," he said, "our guest for the first demonstration has just arrived."
He gestured for me to come into the ring, and I clamored over the side of the railing. I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to come here, but having to fight Percy in front of a hundred or so campers was still slightly intimidating.
"Are you about to kick my ass in front of a bunch of teenagers?" I asked him quietly through a plastered on smile.
He laughed, and responded "No, I'll go easy on you."
After turning back to the crowd, he launched into the demonstration using his best instructor voice. He winked at me, and I was slightly worried that I might swoon. He was putting on a show.
"This is Annabeth, for those that don't know her. Veteran camper, daughter of Athena, and the best battle strategist I know." I nodded at the crowd. "What's your weapon of choice?" he asked.
I held up my dagger.
"Perfect for close combat situations," he continued, "but also good for long range if you're confident in your aim. Never throw a knife unless you are 100% sure you're going to hit your target, or else you'll be unarmed and your enemy will have a new weapon."
Percy uncapped Riptide, and I stood in the familiar glow of the bronze weapon. I tried to remember that we had sparred hundreds of times before, and I had beaten him just as often as he had beaten me. We were equally matched.
"Ready?" He asked me.
"As I'll ever be," I responded.
The duel began, and Percy brought Riptide down slower than he normally would. I blocked it easily, and took a few steps back after directing the sword upward. I lunged, but Percy lunged too and grabbed my waist, lifting me off the ground for a moment, and redirected me back.
"That's absolutely not fair," I gasped, not wanting to think about how his hands felt on my body. We stood face to face, and he dropped his gaze to my bandaged arm. He brought his free hand up slowly and brushed over the injured area, making me shiver. There was real concern in his eyes as he traced his fingers lightly over the bandages.
At the same time, he used the handle end of his sword to knock the dagger out of my hand. I swore as he raised Riptide.
"Distraction is a perfectly acceptable battle tactic," he called to the crowd of campers. I heard Cara shout "come on, Annabeth!"
I dropped to a crouch as Percy brought his weapon down in a swing over my head. I rolled, came up behind him, and managed to catch his sword with my dagger as I hooked my arm around his body. The front of my body was flush against his backside, and we stood like that for a moment in a deadlock before he grabbed my elbow and spun me around to face him.
I jumped back, and we had a few more moments of traditional sparring. I blocked every move he made, my dagger absorbing the blows beautifully. I could tell he was indeed taking it easy on me, and I was starting to get tired. If this kept up, he would win this fight.
I tried to think about any advantages I had over him, and my mind flashed back to his words from a few minutes ago.
She's the best battle strategist I know.
Distraction is a perfectly acceptable tactic.
I wasn't going to beat Percy by sheer physical skill. I needed something else to give me the edge in this fight.
The next time he stepped towards me, I took a step closer to him rather than away. I grabbed his wrist, and he let me drive his hand upward while using the motion to pull myself closer. We were nearly nose to nose, and I could tell he didn't know what I was planning. However, to his detriment, he didn't try and create any space between us. His free hand drifted up to my waist and rested there lightly, preparing to push me backwards before I spoke.
"This is just like old times, isn't it, Seaweed Brain?"
His eyes widened, and I knew he was feeling the same way I felt when he called me Wise Girl in the library. I seized on this momentary distraction, tucked my foot behind his ankle, and used all my weight to send us both tumbling to the ground.
I controlled my fall, and while Percy landed on his back, I landed on top of him, straddling his waist with my palm splayed on the ground next to his face. My dagger was at his throat as I leaned down to whisper in his ear.
"Distraction is a perfectly acceptable battle tactic," I murmured before pulling back. Phillip, who had materialized next to Cara, let out a low whistle as I helped Percy to his feet.
Percy was staring at me with a hungry look in his eyes as he got to his feet. He raised his voice loud enough for the crowd, but didn't take his eyes off me.
"We'll definitely be having a rematch later today, but if this was the tournament I'd be out. It's sudden death, no losers bracket. Everyone into positions for the first round."
Campers started to flood the ring, but I couldn't take my eyes off him either. He took a few steps towards me as I took a few steps back out of the arena. After a moment, I turned and ran out of the ring.
Chiron was chuckling when I returned to my spot next to him on the sidelines. Grover was shoving a drachma into his pocket.
"Percy has been a fantastic asset to have during the summers, but I always appreciate when someone is able to take him down."
I laughed at this, recognizing the good nature in Chiron's comment. For a long time, Percy truly did have a larger than life reputation. I guess he deserved it after being the hero of two wars, but I agreed with Chiron. He needed someone to humble him on occasion.
The sounds of weapons colliding filled the air, and shortly the first round of sparring was over. Cara and Phillip both won their matches. Phillip had taken down a solid looking Ares camper, which was even more impressive in his weakened state.
"Don't think you're getting off that easy, Annabeth," Percy called in between rounds, "you came here to train didn't you?"
He waved his arm in a big motion towards himself. A grin spread on my face from ear to ear, and I jumped back into the ring.
/\
Later, after all the sparring was done and a winner had been declared, Percy and I walked back up to the Big House.
Evening was creeping in, and the sky was beginning to have a golden hue. Crickets chirped in the distance, and I was nostalgic for a different time. I had tried to push the memories down for so long, but they didn't hurt as much as I expected them to.
I was completely worn out, and I knew I was going to be sore tomorrow. I had used muscles that I'd forgotten I had. But, I felt stronger, and my skills had come back to me with ease. That was all that mattered.
We'd been keeping the conversation light, but the energy was still charged between us. I kept coming back to the feeling of his hands on my waist, and his fingers running over my bandaged arm. I wondered if he felt it too. Our next round of sparring had been just as bad, and I nearly lost all focus at one point when his hand grazed the small of my back. It had always been like this between us. Even when we were younger, we just gravitated toward each other. The feeling had been painfully intense when we were teenagers, and the intensity hadn't lessened now. I couldn't believe I was experiencing this for a second time in my life.
I tried to keep the focus of conversation on the event today and capture the flag next week. The advantage was a five minute head start, which definitely could be make or break.
"I think it's good for the campers to have an outside perspective on things, too," he was saying as we approached my car. "Maybe next year you can come back and do another demonstration day. I know Cara specifically has been enjoying learning from you."
"Next year?" I asked. He'd said it so casually, like he just wanted to slip it in without me noticing, whether it was intentional or not.
He looked away from me and scratched the back of his head, as if embarrassed that I'd noticed. "Uh, yeah, I don't know. I was just thinking it would be nice for you to stay involved. I meant what I said earlier, you're the best strategist I know."
I thought about his words. The only reason I'd been able to come here today was because my plans fell through, and the only reason I needed to come here today was because being involved with the mythical world was making me a target again. Hopefully, when everything was resolved I wouldn't need to train anymore. If I wanted things to go back to the way they were before, that was. I had more fun today than I would have at the Met.
But for some reason, I just couldn't admit that out loud. So instead I said the worst thing I possibly could.
"I don't know, I don't think there will really be a reason for me to come back here once Cara's prophecy is solved."
His face dropped, and I regretted saying that immediately. Once they were out of my mouth the words were like a knife to my own heart, and I suspected he felt the same way. It was the safe, cowardly thing to say, and choosing not to come back was the safe, cowardly thing to do, too. I'd once accused Percy of running away near this exact spot, and now I was the one doing the exact same thing. The truth was, today was the most fun I'd had in a long time, and a small part of my heart felt like it was whole again. Why couldn't I bring myself to say that to him?
You're a coward, Percy Jackson!
No, you're a coward, Annabeth Chase.
"Percy, hey, I didn't mean…" I tried to walk my statement back, but I could tell he had already taken it to heart. His body had stiffened, and he swayed backwards, away from me.
"No, you're right, I know you have a lot going on in your life now. I'm sorry I dragged you into all this. It'll probably be a weight off your shoulders once this situation is resolved."
Instinctively, I wanted to go to him. I wanted to hold him and tell him that I was sorry and I didn't mean it. My words, our breakup, all of it. But our lives had drifted so far apart at this point that I didn't think that was an option. The Fates had separated us, and there had to be a reason. Plus, I didn't think I could handle getting hurt again. Losing him the first time had devastated me, and I didn't think I would survive losing him again.
But the Fates had also brought us back together, even if it was for a short time. I finally felt like my heart was truly mending, and I wasn't sure if it was because of him, or because I was reclaiming the life I had been so desperate to put behind me. For the second time, I recognized that I couldn't exist like this for long, with one foot in and one foot out of this life. With one foot in and one foot out with Percy. It was going to tear me apart.
"I'll see you later," he said, gently patting a fist on the hood of my car as he walked away. "Let me know if you want to train anymore."
I watched him go, returning to camp and to the life that I was desperately trying to convince myself I didn't want. I forced myself to climb into my car, and I cried the whole way back to Manhattan.
A/N: Next week's chapter isn't my fav but it's super important for the plot, BUT the chapter after that is legit my favorite chapter in this whole thing. Should I post both at the same time? (Spoiler: the next chapter title contains the word "breakup" iykyk)
It's officially the time of year in Minnesota where it's too cold to go outside, so I've been pouring all my energy into PJO fic this year. I posted a new one-shot last week, and I have a few more in my drafts so make sure to subscribe if ya don't want to miss anything!
Love you guys, please take care of yourselves during the holiday season.
