Penny Ranger and the Lightning Thief

Chapter VII: I Fail to Find My Friend a Bed

I had to run to catch up to Annabeth, who was was speed walking as fast as she could towards the Hermes cabin.

"You drool in your sleep? Is that really the best you can do?" I teased her.

"Just shut up!" she told me, an undertone of frustration noticeable in her voice.

I could have sworn I saw a slight blush on her face.

However, I decided I would have more chances of survival if I didn't push that particular subject. So I made the smart choice and stayed quiet.

That is, until we got closer to cabin eleven and she began running her hands through her hair over and over again, as if she was trying to straighten it or something.

"Annabeth, are you alright?"

She seemed surprised by my question.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be alright?" she replied nervously.

I frowned in confusion. Annabeth was never nervous. Then I remembered that cabin eleven was the home of a particular demigod.

"Is this about Luke?" I asked her with a smile.

Her eyes opened and her head turned towards me so fast I was afraid she'd injure her neck. She was definitely blushing now.

"W-what?! Why would it b-be about Luke?!" she stuttered.

Yup, it was definitely about Luke.

"Annabeth, he might not even be there right now." I told her in an effort to calm her down.

She shook her head.

"You don't know that! There is no way you know that!"

I sighed. She had brains for everything else but as soon as you mentioned Luke those brains melted into a puddle of goo. Well, it wasn't that extreme. But she definitely had a soft spot for him.

"Tell you what, I'll go in first and see if they have any free space. That should give you enough time to get ready for your crush." I told her with a smirk.

"I do not have a crush on Luke!"

"And I'm Helen of Troy." I called back to her as I entered the cabin.

Several sets of eyes immediately turned towards me. A sort of awkward silence settled over the room. Eventually, I decided I had had enough of it.

"Okay, people! I'm not a painting on display here!"

"I mean, you wouldn't be too bad of a model."

I turned to my left to see Max stepping out of the crowd, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Well, if you're the one painting it I think I'll pass." I replied with a smirk of my own.

Several of his siblings sniggered while Max lowered his head and let out a light laugh.

"Alright, I'll give you that one. What brings you here Penny?"

"Remember the new kid? The one who got here two days ago?"

"Yeah. Percy, wasn't it?"

I nodded in confirmation.

"He needs a place to stay. Got any spare beds?"

The smiles of most of the cabin's occupants vanished. I even heard a couple of groans. Max's smile fell as he looked back at me.

"Penny, you know it's already cramped here. I could try to find him a bed roll and clear a spot on the floor but that's as much as I can do."