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annabeth turned to face the audience. she looked terrible. her eyes were puffy from crying. "he was the bravest friend i had ever had," she managed to say with a thick voice. "he..." she started. then she saw percy. "he's right there!"
heads turned and everyone gasped. people crowded around percy, clapping him on the back, most looking genuinely happy to see him. chiron clopped over with a grin on his face.
"percy!" he exclaimed. "gods, i've never been so happy to see a camper return. but i must ask-"
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" annabeth yelled as she pushed to the front of the crowd. percy thought she was going to punch him, or actually kill him, but instead, she hugged him so tightly, he thought she was going to crack his ribs. the other campers fell silent and annabeth realized she was making a scene. she pushed him back, more tears running down her face. "i- we thought you were dead, percy!"
"i'm sorry, i got lost," he said.
"LOST?" she yelled. "it's been two weeks, where in the world-"
"annabeth," chiron interrupted. "perhaps we should finish this conversation in private. what matters is that percy is alive and safe! everyone, return to your normal activities." without another word, annabeth stormed past percy, grabbing his wrist and essentially dragging him to the big house. chiron galloped past them, getting there before they did.
"annabeth, i'm sorry," percy said. she didn't respond for a minute, stopping at the bottom of the stairs of the big house. she turned to him, tear streaks dried on her cheeks.
"i'm just..." she took a breath. "we'll talk more about it inside. or later. at least you aren't dead. idiot."
-
percy didn't tell them everything. he couldn't bring himself to talk about calypso. especially with annabeth's eyes on him. he told them he'd caused the explosion at mount st. helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. and he simply said he'd been marooned on an island and hephaestus found him and told percy he could leave. a magic raft had brought him back to camp.
"you've been gone two weeks." annabeth's voice was steadier now but she still didn't look okay. "when i heard the explosion, i thought..." her voice caught in her throat.
"i know," percy said. "i'm sorry. i know how to get through the labyrinth though. hephaestus told me. kind of. he told me i already knew. and i do, i understand now." he told them his idea.
annabeth's jaw dropped. "percy, that's crazy!"
but chiron explained that this wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened. many half-bloods had used mortals with clear vision to lead them. but annabeth was not having it.
"but this is my quest. i need to lead it. and this is supposed to help? please! it's wrong. it's cowardly. it's-"
"hard to admit we need a mortal's help. but we do," percy told her. annabeth glared at him.
"you are the single most annoying person i have ever met," she said before storming out of the room. percy stared at the doorway.
"so much for the bravest friend she's ever had," he muttered.
"she will calm down, she's just jealous," chiron said.
"that's stupid. she's not... it's not like..."
chiron chuckled. "it hardly matters. annabeth is very territorial about her friends. especially you. she was quite worried. and i think she suspects where you were marooned." percy met his eyes and he knew chiron had guessed about calypso too. "don't dwell on your choices. you're back, that's what matters. now, i would suggest getting some rest. tomorrow, argus will take you and annabeth to manhattan. you might want to stop by your mother's. she is... understandably distraught."
percy's heart sunk. he hadn't even thought about his mother while on calypso's island. he nodded, getting up from the table wordlessly and slowly walking back to his cabin. the sun was beginning to set as he reached his cabin door. percy entered, closing the door behind him and sitting on his bed. he placed his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees. percy's mind was moving so fast, he couldn't focus on a single thought.
probably around seven minutes or so had passed when he heard a knock on the door. percy got up and walked over, opening the door to find annabeth. she was wearing leggings and a hoodie, with her hair in a ponytail. he couldn't see her face too well, as the sun was behind her, but he assumed she wasn't exactly happy. before percy could speak, annabeth threw her arms around him. her body shook with what he could only assume was crying.
"hey," he said, quickly hugging her back. "it's okay." he walked backward, bringing her into the cabin so he could close the door.
"i thought you were dead," she told him again. "percy, i thought you were dead." her breathing was so heavy, it almost felt like she was hyperventilating. percy had never seen her like this.
"i know," he whispered. "i know. i'm sorry. i never wanted to scare you. i'm alive. i'm here." she didn't say anything but he could tell she was trying to control her breathing. percy didn't know what else to say, so he kept whispering to her that he was okay and that he was sorry. eventually her breathing slowed and she calmed down. she took a step back, wiping her face with her hands and taking a deep breath.
annabeth cleared her throat. "sorry," she whispered. "i just... i don't know. i just needed to see you again and... i guess i broke down a little."
"it's okay. come here," he whispered, taking her hand and pulling her to sit on the bed. percy kept her hand in his, giving her the opportunity to pull away if she wanted to. but she didn't.
"where were you?" annabeth asked after a moment. by now the sun had set so the only light was the moon coming in through the window and the glow of the water fountain in the room illuminating her face.
percy hesitated. he knew what she assumed, but he still wasn't sure how to tell her exactly. chiron had said she was territorial of her friends, but especially him. so he wasn't sure how she'd react. "i... calypso's island," he said quietly. "i was with calypso."
she nodded, her eyes focusing on the fountain in the room. "i thought so," she said quietly. "did you..." her voice caught in her throat. "did you want to stay there?"
"i mean... no," he said. annabeth gave him a look that told him she didn't believe him. "she offered. and i considered it only because she told me i could escape the prophecy. but i knew it wasn't an option. and more than that, i knew i didn't want to stay there. the idea of it may have been appealing but... i never would've been happy there."
she nodded silently, looking at our hands which were still joined. wordlessly, annabeth scooted closer until she was directly next to him and she rested her head against percy's shoulder.
"i want to be here," he said quietly. "i want to be here with you."
annabeth pressed her cheek into his shoulder to get closer to him, but she didn't say anything for a while. eventually, she spoke.
"i'm glad you came back," she said. "i want you here with me too."
percy turned his head to look out the window. the moon glowed brightly against the dark sky. "hey, it's kind of late," he told her. "and we have to leave in the morning. you should go get some sleep." she nodded, standing up. their hands were still locked together so she pulled him up and into another tight hug. hugging her, percy picked up the faint scent of lemon and he remembered when they hugged before they went into the labyrinth and her hair had smelled of lemon then too. "it's okay," he whispered again.
she nodded, pulling back. annabeth looked him in the eyes at first, then her gaze traveled all around his face, taking in his features. he walked her to the door, opening it a little and making sure the coast was clear. percy let her slip out of the door, their hands finally detaching.
"goodnight," she whispered.
"goodnight, annabeth" he replied.
percy started to close the door when she quickly said, "wait!" making sure to keep her voice low. he opened the door back up and annabeth stepped forward and kissed him, her hand coming up to rest on his shoulder. he didn't get much time to react, only able to reach out and grab a random fistful of her hoodie. she pulled away, giving him a shy smile. "i'm glad you're not dead, seaweed brain," she says softly.
luckily, percy remembered how to speak to reply. "me too." he let go of her hoodie and she took in his features one more time before turning and running quickly and quietly to her cabin. percy closed his door after she left, leaning against it for a moment, trying to process what just happen and determine if it was a dream or not.