Do-over (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

6. The Kindly Ones aren't even kind

It wasn't long until Grover knocked on my door. I tried burying my head into my pillow but it did nothing to block out the sound of Grover trying to get into my cabin.

It's a shame. I was enjoying just laying on my bed.

Minutes later, all three of us were standing by Thalia's pine tree, a backpack filled with all sorts of quest supplies slung over our shoulders. Argus, as usual, was there next to Chiron who had come to see us off.

'This is Argus,' Chiron said as he caught me trying to win a staring competition with one of Argus' eyes. 'He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things.'

I resisted the urge to shake my head. If there was one thing Chiron sucked more than giving pep talks, it was making jokes.

Before my laughter could burst out of me, I heard footsteps gradually approaching us. I looked down back towards Camp and saw the sprinting figure of Luke running up the Half-Blood Hill, a familiar pair of basketball shoes in his hands.

'Hey!' he said, trying to catch his breath. 'Glad I caught you.'

I eyed the shoes carefully. I suddenly remembered why they looked so familiar. Gods, it seemed like so long ago.

'Just wanted to say good luck,' Luke said smiling. 'And I thought...um, maybe you could use these.'

He handed me the shoes, which I took gingerly. I might have very well been handed a pair of nuclear bombs.

'Maia!' Luke snapped me back into reality. I had to tighten my grip on the shoes to keep them from flying off to gods knows where. The white bird wings folded back into the heel of the shoe once they realised nobody was wearing them.

'Awesome!' Grover exclaimed in excitement. If only he knew what the shoes would drag him into.

'Those served me well when I was on my quest,' Luke explained before his expression turned sad. 'Gift from my dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...'

I couldn't help but feel a bit bad for Luke. He sounded like he really cared about what his dad thought of him, almost like he felt disappointed in himself for failing his quest.

That made me wonder whether Luke rebelled because he wanted some recognition from his father. No matter how absurd that thought sounded, the longer I thought about it, the more it sounded like a reality.

'Thanks, man.' I found myself saying.

'Listen, Percy...' Luke started looking oddly uncomfortable. 'A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just...kill some monsters for me, okay?'

Watching Luke run back to camp made me think about his words. Was he hoping that I would succeed in retrieving the bolt or was he hoping for another thing altogether? Was he hoping I would fail and start a war, all in Kronos' favour?

'Hey, Percy,' a voice echoed in my ear. It took a while for me to focus on the present again and when I did, I was met with the face of Annabeth Chase, the blush from seeing Luke already fading from her cheeks.

'Yeah, yeah,' I blinked. 'I'm here.'

Annabeth rolled her eyes, 'You always do that. You would stare into space whenever you see Luke. Are you sure you're okay?'

'Yeah, I'm fine,' I decided to play it off. 'Nothing wrong with me. I swear.'

'Whatever you say, Seaweed Brain.' she rolled her eyes again before walking to the white SUV with Argus right behind her.

'Hey, Grover?' I asked without thinking much. 'You want new shoes?'

I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth but seeing the way Grover's face lit up, I couldn't take it back. Then again, those cursed shoes did serve us well against Medusa and the Waterland incident.