Running Over Water

[2 - Burgers + Barry]

Percy

The next morning, Annabeth was already up and ready by the time I woke up. I rub my bleary eyes, focusing on something to make my eyesight less foggy.

I slept really well last night, no nightmares or nothing. And this bed was flawless. It had the perfect amount of squishiness and the ideal amount of padding. I know nothing about mattresses, but this one right here was absolutely superb. I know I'm talking like I'm mattress expert, but really, this is a good mattress.

Annabeth walked out of the bathroom, wearing shorts and a tank-top. I heard it was going to be scorching hot today. A bad day to be going out, but we can stand the heat.

"Someone's excited today," I say as I stand up, stretching my legs and arms. I yearned for the feeling of sleep but once I was awake, it takes awhile for me to go back to sleep.

"I'm not excited, I just want to get out and see the great outdoors," she frowns but I know she's thrilled to be here. She's been bugging me about it for the past few weeks. 'Oh, Percy! I can't wait to go to Central City!' Or 'gods, Percy. I'm so excited to go on vacation. It all feels surreal!'

"Right, right," I give her a look. "I'm just going to go shower before you yell at me."

As I hopped over to the bathroom, a light smile played on her lips. "Good idea, Seaweed Brain!" I hear her muffled voice as soon as I shut the door and I smile at myself.

•••

After a quick complimentary breakfast, (they had a waffle maker!) we headed outside.

I didn't know where we were going, Annabeth was the one leading the way. She was walking ahead of me by a few feet, her hair swishing back and forth as she walked. Her hair was in a ponytail with her New York Yankees cap, she wasn't invisible by the way. That would've been confusing.

I trailed behind her for a while. We walked around a park, looked at some boring statues, took pictures with a random dog, and found a guy dressed up in a unicorn onesie dancing on the sidewalk. A very interesting start to our day, but I wouldn't asked for it any different.

It was just after noon when we started to get hungry. So we decided to go find a place to eat. Annabeth pulled out her phone to look at nearby restaurants. And yes, you heard me right, I did say phone.

Ever since Leo and Calypso came back to camp,  he's made an insertable chip to block the signal to monsters, which you put in your phone. Right now, he pretty much has his own manufacturing business because he and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin have created around a hundred of these chips for the campers and for Camp Jupiter as well.

"What'd you find?" I ask while peering over her shoulder and then letting my head rest on it. I blew a strand of her hair away that was in my face.

"Are you craving burgers? There's a place called Big Belly Burger not far from here," she looks at me and kisses the top of my head. A weird noise gurgles from my mouth and I hope she understands that's a yes. With my head on still her shoulder, she gives it a pat and I reluctantly lift it.

I was tired, if you couldn't tell.

She starts walking down the sidewalk and I ran after her, my feet starting to ache after all this walking. Even after being in two wars, walking was always a pain for me, unbelievable, I know.

After walking two blocks, which felt like ten, we reached this so-called Big Belly Burger. I'm questioning the reasoning behind the name.

Thank gods, it wasn't busy. I didn't realize how hungry I was until we walked in, immediately whiffing the scent of French fries.