Percy Jackson, the Son of Olympus: The Lightning Thief

| Chapter XVII || Arty Crashes the Quest |

*January 5 XXXX*

*Percy's Point of View*

***

As the train stopped, I nudged Annabeth. "Hey, it's our stop," I said softly. She groaned, stirring slightly. Only slightly.

I turned to Travis, tapping his shoulder. His eyes opened immediately and he yawned. "Is this our stop?" he asked.

"No. The train broke down because unicorn's vomited rainbows all over the tracks; of course it's our stop!" I said sarcastically. "Now all we have to do is switch trains here and we'll be at Los Angeles."

He nodded and then looked down at Annabeth. "What will we do with Annabeth if she doesn't wake up?" he asked.

I sighed. Annabeth was a heavy sleeper when she wanted to be. I guess I'll just have to carry her if she won't wake up. She can't blame me for sleeping through our stop. Besides, she'd be much angrier if we just left her on the train. Seeing no other choice, I slid my arms under her back and legs, picking her up. "Let's go," I said.

He nodded and grabbed our bags, and then we got off the train, sitting down on the bench as we waited for the next train to arrive. Annabeth curled up in my arms, gripping the front of my shirt. Travis whistled, causing me to hit him. He just chuckled. "Sorry, but I've got to say, you two make a great couple," he whispered in my ear.

I blushed so red it must've looked like my head had been replaced by a tomato. I looked away so Travis wouldn't see my blush.

Soon, our next train came, and we boarded.

Annabeth was still asleep, so I assumed that she was exhausted. I guess she was still frightened by the water/spider-waterslide prank. I couldn't blame her. She was a daughter of Athena. All children of Athena had Arachnophobia, because Arachne hated Athena for turning her into a spider in the first place. Her hands were forming fists, gripping the front of my shirt. Assuming that she was having a nightmare, I rubbed small circles onto her back, soothing her.

Her tense body relaxed, but she still gripped my shirt tightly. Her head moved so it was resting in the crook of my neck, right against my collarbone. I didn't mind. We were good friends, so I didn't see anything wrong with it, but Travis couldn't stop laughing for some reason.

Thankfully, he eventually got bored and started to play pranks on the other passengers on board. At least he would be too busy running from the angry mob of citizens to bother me. I just hoped that he would be able to join us when we left...

***

*ARTEMIS' POINT OF VIEW*

***

I continued staring at the glowing screen, watching Percy as he sat on the train with his two companions. I was watching through what was sort of like a one-way Iris message, which allowed me to see anywhere in the mortal world.

I felt an ugly feeling well up in my heart as I saw the girl on his lap, sleeping on his chest. I don't know why though, and I didn't recognize the feeling, but I was certain about one thing; I didn't like it one bit. The feeling just kept growing as I saw him rubbing her back soothingly. It looked like he was comforting her from a nightmare. But...he only does that for me!

I took out my hunting knives and slashed through the image, causing it to shatter and disappear. I felt something wet drip down my face and noticed that I was crying. 'Why?' I wondered. I'd never cried before. I quickly wiped it away. I couldn't show weakness, I am a hunter.

I guessed that I just missed spending time with Percy. He was my best friend, other than Zoë. My other hunters were followers, but they treated me with too much reverence to be friends. I sighed and collapsed on the couch that was in my temple, putting my arm over my face.

I just hoped Percy sorted everything out soon, because I was getting bored without him around. Ever since Percy left, father made sure to have me watched twenty-four/seven, because he still didn't trust me after the prank that Percy and I pulled. I had to work extra hard to go back to being the good little girl I was before.

Sighing, I got up. Flattery and gifts always worked the best on him. 'I wonder...what should I get him?' An idea suddenly came to mind. 'I know! I'll help Percy retrieve father's Master Bolt! Then he'll forgive me and forget all about the prank!' I smiled. It was a perfect win-win situation. I would get to see Percy, and fix my position with father at the same time!

I quickly ran into my bathroom to get ready. Once I was washed and dressed, I fixed my hair and went down to the Olympian café to get something for Percy.

I left with a large box filled with freshly baked delicacies. I then teleported away, leaving everyone around me wondering where I went...

***

I reappeared on a train, sitting in one of the seats in an empty compartment.

Getting up, I walked along the train until I came to a compartment with people.

Percy was sitting near the end of the compartment, the girl, Annabeth, still in his lap. I felt that ugly feeling return but managed to push it down, walking towards him, holding the box.

As I approached, Percy looked up, hearing my footsteps. His eyes widened when he saw me and a smile made its way onto his face. He quickly and carefully placed Annabeth on the seat next to his, untangling himself from her grip.

He stood and I smiled, giving him the box. He looked down at it but quickly placed it on his seat, instead, wrapping me in a hug. I smiled into his shoulder, glad that he likes me more than his food. He had once told me that food was his most favorite thing in the world, but I guess he just proved that wrong.

"I missed you. Also, thanks for the cookies," he whispered in my ear.

"I missed you too. Everything on Olympus is so boring without you," I replied.

He chuckled, and then pulled away. "Great. Well, as soon as this is over, we can go play another prank," he said.

Suddenly, we were interrupted by Percy's other companion, a boy. "Wait. I didn't believe you at first Perce, but you're saying that she really is your pranking partner?" he asked disbelievingly.

I glared at him. "Yes. Is it that surprising? Don't doubt Percy. He's never, ever lied about anything in his entire life," I growled at him.

Percy gave a strange sound. "Well...there was the thing about...you know..."

I immediately knew he was talking about the Chaos thing, but I cut him off. "That wasn't a lie; that was a secret. It doesn't count," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms.

Meanwhile, the other boy－Travis, I think－quickly held up his hands in submission and backed away. "Okay, no need to get feisty. Sorry," he said, sitting back down in his seat, hiding behind a newspaper, which he most likely wasn't even reading.

I ignored him after that and turned back to Percy. "Let me be honest with you Percy," I started.

He nodded, sending me a questioning look.

I prepared myself, and said it. "One of the reasons why I'm here is because I'd like to help you with your quest. I need some way to make it up to father so that he trusts me again," I confessed, deciding to keep the second reason a secret for now.

Percy laughed again and led me to the seats. He then sat beside me as I sat down. For the rest of the trip, we talked about different things, planning on how we were going to find father's Master Bolt and the Helm of Darkness...

***

Published: Saturday, December 3, 2016

~CSP2708~