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i.
Chiron’s tail flickers as Travis Stoll sneaks up behind him, almost as if it has a mind of its own. All of the counselors have been called for a meeting, which isn’t that unusual for the beginning of summer.
There have only been three reported falls from the Lava Wall and one hospitalization, something that Percy considers a win. When he tells this to Annabeth, who sits to his left, she gives him a blank stare in response. Fortunately for him, Chiron stomps his hooves to gather everyone’s attention. The room immediately quiets down, the only sound being the quiet whizz of the overhead fan.
Everyone, except for Percy, is still sweating.
“So it’s come to my-- Lou Ellen, we have talked about this.” Chiron crosses his arms over his broad chest and gives Lou Ellen a very pointed look. She sighs, purses her lips, and appears to be very saddened at the prospect of giving Silena Beauregard her nose back. She does it anyway.
“It has come to my attention that relationships among cabins have been… fractured, to say the least.” All eyes fall on Clarisse la Rue, who is decidedly unamused. She continues sharpening her knife. “To fix that, I have decided to introduce a new game to camp. Spoons!”
With that, Chiron walks up to the table everyone’s sitting around, and dumps the contents of the bag he’s holding. Hundreds of spoons fall in front of them. It’s still quiet. Percy’s ninety percent sure he can hear Mr. D putting a curse on an unsuspecting camper in the distance. Nothing out of the ordinary.
“Spoons,” Lee Fletcher says slowly, like the utensil is a new, foreign concept. It might as well be, because not a single person in the room has any idea what Chiron is talking about. Maybe except for Chiron himself, but even he looks a little miffed.
“Spoons,” Chiron confirms. “You know, the mortal game.”
No one, in fact, knows. They’ve spent their entire lives either running from monsters or killing them. Percy is confused as to why Chiron’s confused.
Begrudgingly, Chiron is forced to explain the mechanisms of Spoons. Everyone is given a spoon, which is supposed to be visible on their persons at all times. They are also given a target, and the point is to catch them without their spoon. There are certain times and areas where no one can be gotten out, like when they’re participating in an activity session or sleeping.
“Can we throw our spoon at someone to assassinate them?” Clarisse asks without bothering to look up. Percy mouths assassinate to Annabeth. She makes a show of shivering.
Chiron furrows his brows, probably surprised that Clarisse is speaking. “If you really have to, yes.”
Clarisse grabs a spoon and begins sharpening the end of that, too.
ii.
Turns out getting a bunch of demigods with ADHD to remember to keep a spoon on them twenty-four/seven isn’t the easiest task. Twenty kids are out before Percy can even blink.
iii.
“Who do you have?” Annabeth demands as Percy walks towards the armory with Camila Flores. She’s a thirteen-year-old daughter of Tyche that has a penchant for getting into trouble and escaping miraculously unscathed. She’s been begging all summer for Percy to spar with her, and Percy figures she wouldn’t be the worst partner in the world, given her fortune.
“I have Clarisse,” Camila pipes up. Both Annabeth and Percy turn to her.
“Uh,” Annabeth starts, probably to say I wasn’t asking you, but backtracks. Instead, she says, “Good luck with that.”
Camila and Percy share a look, and Annabeth registers the implication. Right. But she’s still a woman on a mission.
“So, who do you have?” Annabeth taps her foot impatiently. The sun provides a soft halo around her golden hair, and Percy tilts his head in an effort to remove it. His attempt is futile.
“I’m not telling you.” Percy lifts one shoulder in a haphazard shrug and steers Camila’s body towards the doors. Unfortunately for Percy, he’s been assigned Camila, whose spoon is clutched tightly in her grubby hands.
“Well, I know who has you.” Annabeth crosses her arms over her chest, rolls back her shoulders. Percy eyes her precariously. She could be bluffing, but she also could be looking out for him. But there’s too much to be left to chance, so he turns his nose up at her and walks away with Camila. He leaves Annabeth’s stuck in her spot, mouth agape.
“You will rue this day, Percy Jackson!”
Yeah. Okay.
iv.
At first, Percy considers it a strange plan to unite the campers by starting a game that’s essentially every-person-for-themselves. But then he sees Lou Ellen and Silena whispering a bit manically behind some shrubbery, heads bent reverentially.
He understands.
v.
Cabin inspection is an interesting affair. Percy stands awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure what to do with his hands. Twelve-year-old Nico di Angelo stands in the doorway with a clipboard, eyes scanning the beds and shelves. Nico scribbles something down. Amendment-- he’s actually scribbling a lot of things down. They stand across from each other for at least two minutes, Nico’s eyes trained on his clipboard. And it’s weird, to Percy, that this scrawny kid holds the same position as him.
Nico’s also spent the vast majority (read: seventy years) of his life in the Lotus casino and Percy isn’t even sure the boy can read.
So he asks as much. “Can you read?”
Nico looks up, straight-faced. “Can you?”
Touché.
(When he asks Chiron later, it’s revealed that Nico had just been writing down the lyrics to Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship ft Leighton Meester).
vi.
Silena and Katie Gardner watch from the porch as Chiron whispers feverishly into a telephone, both girls holding baskets filled to the brim with strawberries.
Katie tilts her head. “I feel like he’s always hiding something from us.”
“That’s why his tail is so big,” Silena says, nodding very solemnly. “It’s full of secrets.”
“I heard that!”
Chiron materializes in front of the window, startling the pair so badly that half of their harvested strawberries are now rolling along the deck. He squints at the girls before continuing his conversation and it’s very clear that after fifty-odd years of working together, Mr. D is rubbing off on him. Katie moves to pick up the strawberries, but Silena slaps her hand like she’s scolding a child.
“Jeez,” Katie mumbles, slapping Silena’s hand right back. She picks up the red fruit despite the protests. Five-second rule and everything. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the stables.”
“I heard that too!”
They ignore him.
“You’re out,” Silena states matter-of-factly. Katie scrunches her face up, and Silena nods towards Katie’s spoon on the ground. It had previously been tucked into the scrunchie around around her wrist and it’s deduced that it probably had fallen out when Chiron pressed his face against the window, a little too here’s Johnny! for Katie’s taste.
Shit.
“You’re good at this,” Katie appraises, a smile slowly blooming. Bringing things to life is one of her specialities, and there is nothing more lively than her smile in that very moment.
Silena’s dark eyes gleam. “I know.”
vii.
The lake isn’t the worst place to take a nap, but Percy would be lying if he said he didn’t prefer his actual bed. He can’t return back to his cabin because Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis, has been staked outside his door for two hours, waiting to strike.
So Percy is napping at the bottom of the lake.
He’s still sleeping when he feels rocks hit various parts of his body. The first body part is his head, then his arm, then his shoulder. Percy knows when he’s being summoned, so he propels himself to the top of the lake, surfacing with a scowl.
Annabeth looms over him on the dock and a rock hits Percy square in the face.
“ Ow!” It’s mostly said as a reflex instead of a reaction to genuine pain. The water is his home, and his home makes him nearly invincible.
“Sorry!” She covers her mouth. “I thought you were still down there.”
Percy rubs his nose, swims to the dock, holds onto the edge. He hauls himself up, returning to land completely dry. A book is held Annabeth’s hands and she has that slight furrow in her eyebrow that only appears when she’s concentrating. He follows her as they walk away from the lake, not entirely sure where they're going.
“So what’s up?” The sun is high and bright, beating relentlessly onto Percy’s brown skin. He has to use his free hand to cover his eyes so he can get a good look at her.
“Okay, so I was talking to Travis,” she begins, which is never a good sign in Percy’s opinion, “and he was trying to tell me that DC isn’t apart of Virginia--”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Percy shakes his head. “Isn’t Travis from DC?”
“Yes, but I’m from Virginia, so obviously I would know.” Annabeth rolls her eyes and Percy is astounded. He won’t declare himself a geography expert by any means, but he knows that DC is its own district, hence it being called District of Columbia. He doesn’t point that out.
“Who told you that DC was apart Virginia?” he asks, swallowing down his laughter.
“Delilah.” She blinks. Delilah Lawrence was the head counselor of the Athena Cabin when Annabeth first arrived. Percy’s pretty sure she went to Brown. The idea is scary. “She told me that Virginia and Maryland have shared custody of DC. I don’t know the logistics, but yeah.”
But yeah.
“Anyway, that isn’t what I wanted to talk to you about. I got sidetracked. What I really wanted to talk about is the design of the new dining pavilion-- I really think having rotating tables would increase efficiency and…”
Percy listens.
viii.
Luck can only take you so far.
After sparring practice, Percy tags Camila on her shoulder, her spoon nowhere in sight.
“No!” Camila cries out, dramatically falling to the ground. Percy stares.
“Did you seriously just maim a thirteen-year-old?” Katie Gardner asks, standing on top of the arena. She shakes her head in disappointment, and Percy is scared for Katie’s future children. He’s sputtering out a response when Katie descends into the pit, reaching for Camila. She pulls the nuisance into a motherly hug, with Camila facing Percy.
He’s about to apologize even though he knows he hasn’t done anything wrong, when Camila looks up and smiles, eyes dancing with what Percy horrifically recognizes as amusement.
Oh, she’s good.
ix.
When Percy complains about the difficulty of keeping his spoon on him at all times, Annabeth wordlessly takes the hair tie out of her ponytail and delicately slides it over his fingers. He watches as she does some weird twisty thing and voila! His spoon is now tied to his wrist.
“Thanks.” The corners of Percy’s lips turn upward, threatening to blossom into a smile.
Annabeth shrugs and combs her finger through her curly hair. “No problem.”
x.
Camila had assassinated Clarisse, Butch, Drew Tanaka, Quincy from the Apollo cabin, and Mr. D. In that order.
“Mr. D was playing?” Percy asks, not bothering to hide the incredulous tone in his voice.
“No.”
Camila is doing a handstand at the edge of the volleyball pit, balancing dangerously on the edge. She laughs brazenly as she tumbles over and lands upright, almost like a cat. Percy wonders which life she’s on.
It’s left at that.
xi.
Lee Fletcher’s screams can be heard from the Lava Wall.
Percy doesn’t want to know.
(He finds out anyway. Apparently Silena is a woman on a mission, too).
xii.
“What did you do?”
“Chiron said Clarisse could throw hers.”
“You notched your spoon in a bow and shot it into Connor’s calf.” Percy looks at Michael Yew in disbelief, who is way too nonchalant for the situation at hand. A few yards away, Connor Stoll is withering on the ground with his head in Drew’s lap, Will Solace forcing nectar down his throat.
“So, it seems to me like you know what I did.” Michael raises an eyebrow. “He’ll survive.”
Unfortunately, Michael is a lot like his father. Maybe Percy’s mom was onto something when she kept him from this place.
xiii.
Percy’s new target is Charles Beckendorf. Annabeth’s is Jake Mason. Neither of them realize that they both have Hephaestus children until they’re standing outside the Forge at ten pm, nearing curfew. Percy swears he can see Annabeth blushing in the moonlight.
“I'll help you if you help me,” Annabeth instantly says, outstretching her hand. He doesn’t hesitate to take it.
Annabeth stands on Percy’s shoulders to peer through the high windows, and she watches as Jake and Beckendorf diligently work on a project, spoons set on the table.
(It just so happens to be the rotating tables that Annabeth had been talking about a few days prior, and she wants to feel a little bad, but can’t bring herself to. All’s fair in love and war).
When they ambush Jake and Beckendorf, Percy is nearly incapacitated by the latter’s blow torch. However, Beckendorf doesn’t seem too upset by the turn of events, wiggling his eyebrows as he throws his spoon in the air for Percy to catch. In confusion, Percy wiggles his eyebrows back.
“I like it better when you’re arguing,” Jake says, handing his spoon to Annabeth. “You guys are scary together.”
Annabeth holds her hand up for a hi-five, and without looking, Percy presses his hand against hers.
Beckendorf turns around and coughs.
xiv.
Clarisse is on kitchen duty for attempting to maim Camila. Michael is on kitchen duty for actually maiming Connor. Connor is on kitchen duty for… well, being Connor. When Michael and Clarisse ask, Connor refuses to give details, but maintains that it's not his fault that they didn't check the box before opening it.
It’s a delicate balance.
xv.
Percy sits with Annabeth on the beach in the early morning as the sun preens, making a diagram of everyone at camp.
There are less than fifteen people left in the game, and Percy only knows of Annabeth, Silena, and Travis. He knows that Damien was eliminated by Will, but Will is out of the game and Percy doesn’t know who eliminated him. It’s exhausting trying to keep up, and he has half a mind to throw in the towel. All Percy wants to do is walk around camp without the fear that someone is going jump out of nowhere and cobble him over the head.
But Sally Jackson didn’t raise a quitter.
So he watches the sky swirl in on itself, takes note of the soft glow beckoning on the horizon. Their project lays stretched across both of their laps and the grass is wet beneath them. Percy digs his hands into the ground, taking root.
“That means that Silena has Clovis--”
“How is he still in the game?” Percy inquires.
“I feel like he just slept through all of it.” He doesn’t know why he asked. “And I think Clovis has me. Which means Silena is one person removed from having me. Which means before she destroys me, we have to destroy her.”
Percy balks.
“Destroying in the completely theoretical sense, of course,” Annabeth hastily amends. He doesn’t believe her in the slightest. “ Anyway .”
Without further explanation, they continue with their theories, drawing lines across cabins and crossing out people who’ve been assassinated. Annabeth ducks beneath Percy’s arm to rectify that Pollux had been eliminated by Katie Gardner, not Miranda Gardiner, who’d probably eliminate them (permanently, like from life) if she found out the mistake was made. Percy reaches over Annabeth to connect Camila and Mr. D, draws devil horns over the latter. They move around each other seamlessly.
xvi.
The Hunters take refuge in the Artemis cabin while the goddess in question deals with Very Important Olympus Issues.
“I like your arrow,” Michael comments, walking back from the kitchen. Fifteen pairs of eyes lift up, and Michael considers making a run for it.
“How would thee like my arrow in thy face?”
He sprints.
xvii.
As Apollo’s cabin leads everyone in a campfire sing-a-long, Percy sits sandwiched between Annabeth and Thalia, who excitedly exchange stories about the time they spent apart. Percy would participate, but he’s concentrated on the way Clovis is walking around the amphitheater without a spoon while Silena sits behind Drew and intricately braids her hair.
It makes no sense. If Silena’s target is Clovis, why hasn’t she gone for the kill?
Unless...
His mind goes through the web that he and Annabeth concocted that morning. Silena to Ethan to Harley to… Clovis? No. Percy remembers hearing something about Chiron having a very stern talk with Harley about camp safety and wanting to return everyone home with all of their limbs. He remembers Will walking around with a limp, bandage over his temple, spoonless.
Harley eliminated Will, but Silena eliminated Harley, which means Silena has Percy, not Clovis. Annabeth has a lot of explaining to do.
xviii.
The stables have an… interesting smell, to say the least. It’s very clear why Chiron doesn’t like it there.
Percy feeds Blackjack a sugar cube and they talk about their day. Blackjack tells the story of a boy named Josh or John or something or the other, son of Aphrodite. Jack apparently had been talking to Blackjack while riding him, not entirely comprehending that Blackjack could understand everything he said.
I know you guys are playing some games with spoons, Boss. Jimmy had his crush and she cried when he killed her. I thought murder was illegal here.
Percy frowns and tosses another sugar cube towards Blackjack. “He didn’t literally kill her. He killed-- eliminated her from the game. Murder is still, you know, very much illegal.”
Whatever you say, Boss.
xix.
“Nuh-uh,” Travis gasps, hand placed over his heart. His hazel eyes widen infinitely.
Percy beams. “Uh-huh.”
xx.
Dozens of campers watch in shock as Clarisse, Butch, Drew, Quincy, and Mr. D sit around a table in the Big House, talking animatedly. From Percy’s viewpoint, he sees a white board that has a singular, blown up headshot on it with a very large X drawn across the picture.
Camila Flores should probably go into Witness Protection.
“I think the world is ending,” Charlie says, appearing next to Percy.
“Hmm, I guess Chiron has a brain after all.”
“Katie!” Chiron yells. “You are one comment away from kitchen duty!”
Katie pops a strawberry into her mouth. She's gotten really good at ignoring him.
xxi.
Grover returns from Connecticut with a ten-year-old boy named Zack, claimed by Nike mere moments after stepping inside the camp’s boundaries.
Holly Victor steps forward, places a hand on Zack’s shoulders. “You have to avenge me, brother.”
“What?” Zack asks, looking around wildly. He’s probably had the longest day of his life and it doesn’t help that he’s being spoken to in riddles.
“No one is being avenged, Holly.” Holly’s twin sister, Laurel, steps between them. “The game is almost over. And if anyone were to be avenged, it’d be me.”
Percy steps between them and grabs Zack by the shoulders. “Okay, I’ll be taking over from here,” he proclaims. No one objects.
xxii.
Bianca di Angelo tries to wrestle her little brother from Travis, who has unofficially taken Nico under his wing. Bianca’s blabbering about family time while Travis is saying something about shadow travel and tail curlers, but Nico doesn’t seem to mind their bickering. The spoon that dangles from Travis’ camp necklace glistens in the sun.
Annabeth breathes a sigh of relief as she watches the scene, her and Percy sitting next to each other, sharing a clementine before their mythology lesson.
“We have to do cabin inspections tomorrow,” Annabeth tells him, taking a slice from Percy’s hands.
He sighs loftily. “I know.”
Cabin inspections mean Percy waking up even earlier than usual to clean his cabin, and then going to nineteen other cabins to make sure their cabin is clean. It’s a whole ordeal. It doesn’t help that some people (cough, Lou Ellen) use their powers for evil to make their cabin seem cleaner than reality. Percy can’t really complain because of that one time she Misted away the gaping hole in his wall that he totally made by accident.
“You have Travis right?” Annabeth asks, eyeing the last slice. Percy nods and lets her have it. “Too bad you can’t get him out tomorrow. He’d probably be so sleepy and vulnerable. It would’ve been fun to ambush him.”
Yes, so fun, Percy thinks, but doesn’t say it.
“You still have Brooke?”
“Yes,” she grumbles, forcing down the clementine down her throat. “Butch won’t help me. Traitor.”
Brooke Cassidy is a daughter of Iris and Percy isn’t sure if she genuinely exists or if the camp is pulling a really weird, long and elaborate prank on him. Sure, he likes to mind his business, but he’s ninety-nine percent sure he’s never seen the girl. The sentiment is shared by Annabeth.
It’s still funny though, because Annabeth is one of the best actresses he’s ever seen.
Traitor.
Percy throws the clementine peel in the nearest garbage bin. They walk to the Big House together, certainly not arguing about the logistics of the demigod college process, the back of their hands brushing together carelessly.
xxiii.
The summer breeze gently kisses Percy’s cheeks as he watches Annabeth lazily pad out of her cabin, hands rubbing her eyes. He purposefully ignores Malcolm’s curious glances because hello , it’s not a secret that they’re doing cabin inspections together. It’s on that larger-than-necessary chores sheet plastered on the tree next to the dining pavilion.
“Are you ready?” she yawns.
Percy grins, tempering down his excitement. “Are you?”
Annabeth shoots him a look that he dutifully ignores, and they pick up the infamous Inspections Clipboard from Mr. D. The first stop is rather uneventful because, as previously mentioned, Lou Ellen has a very unconventional way of cleaning up her cabin.
They give Hecate a ten and move on.
Nine cabins later, Percy and Annabeth stand in front of Travis’ humble abode, conversations tumbling out of the cabin and into the air shamelessly. Most kids are claimed, but Hermes is still a busy man. It’s gross. As predicted, although many campers are awake and talking, the cabin is still a mess. There are too many swords sloppily thrown on the floor, a bunch of dirty camp shirts, funky smelling jars, and something moving beneath a pile of armor. Percy hopes it’s a dog.
“This place gives me... anxiety,” Annabeth says, sticking close to the wall. Percy agrees. They give the cabin a five for somewhat trying and leave before they catch anything.
Travis was still asleep in his bunk, sleepy and vulnerable, just like Annabeth said. Too bad he’s not Percy’s actual target.
As they walk towards the sweet smell of the Aphrodite cabin, a stark contrast to the foul odor they just experienced, Percy presses a hand against the side of Annabeth’s face, his touch calculatedly casual. She’s comfortable in her perceived protection, wrists bare, hair falling wildly past her shoulders. Her breath hitches and blood rushes to her cheeks. The golden halo returns.
“Percy--”
“You’re out.”
Something akin to a storm brews behind her impossibly gray eyes, and she recoils from his hand.
“ What? ” she all but screeches. Birds fly from their perch. Percy, incredibly confused, licks his lips. In incredible confusion.
“Um… you’re out,” he repeats, but the lilt at the end makes it sound like a question. He scrunches his nose and backs away, and he doesn’t think he’s imagining the steam coming from her ears.
“Oh my gods.” She covers her face with her hands and drops to her knees. “But we-- Travis -- he had his spoon!”
“I got him out two days ago. And he agreed to keep his spoon on him to make it look like he was still in the game.”
“There has to be some kind of rule against that,” Annabeth says a little too viciously for someone still on the ground.
Percy narrows his eyes. “You’re the one that outright lied to me! You went out of your way to make up a fake web of kills!”
She considers this. A few moments pass.
“I did do that,” she carefully admits.
“Did you form an alliance with Silena or something?”
“Or something.” She gets up from her spot on the grass, places herself out of his reach. Her face is still a violent shade of red. “You won.”
“I-- what?”
“You won. I’m out. Now give me my hair tie back.”
Reluctantly, Percy slides the elastic off his wrist and hands it to Annabeth, not bothering to untangle the spoon. She yanks it away from him, jaw clenched. He wants to say sorry or something, because she’s definitely angry with him, when he feels something touching his elbow.
A hand.
No.
“I told you we had to destroy her.” Annabeth shrugs.
No.
xxiv.
There is a rule where if someone tries to assassinate someone else and fails, that person can stun them, resulting in the attempted assassin having to spend twenty-four hours without their spoon. Percy had Annabeth, Annabeth had Silena, Silena had Percy and stunned Annabeth.
He rues the day.
xxvi.
As Percy walks towards the stables with Butch, he passes a gaggle of boys half-dressed in armor. Most of them make conscious efforts not to look in their direction, but a kid with curly black hair and dark eyes hesitantly makes eye contact.
“Hey Samuel,” Percy greets, albeit reluctantly. Samuel is acting very, very suspicious, but his eyes literally light up as soon as Percy speaks.
“You remember my name?”
“Yes?” Technically, the only reason Percy knows his name is because he had to assassinate the eleven-year-old, but he doesn’t mention it.
“Wow.” His smile is pure. Samuel’s friends, who had continued walking, call his name. “See you later, Percy!”
xxv.
Silena’s crown is made up of the spoons she collected from her kills, decorating her head like spoils of war. It’s kind of unnerving. She wears it for the entire day, including for the fourth of July fireworks.
Percy stands at the edge of the crowd with Grover, watching the sky explode into reds and yellows and oranges. It’s a sight to behold and the loud noises ironically anchor Percy, putting him at ease. He lost the game, but he’s still there at camp with his friends. He likes this life sometimes, even if it doesn’t like him back.
“Do you think she’s going to eat all that?” Grover asks, biting his nails.
“Who’s going to eat what?”
“Silena. Is she going to eat all of her spoons?”
Percy doesn’t dignify that with a response, but Grover takes that as a no. Percy watches as he trots over to the blanket Silena and Beckendorf are sitting on, watches Silena’s body shake with laughter as she takes a spoon from her hair and hands it to Grover. He chomps on it gratuitously.
Someone occupies Grover’s spot next to him, and Percy purposefully turns his head away.
“I have nothing to say to you,” Annabeth states.
“I have nothing to say to you.”
Silence.
“Can we say nothing to each other on the beach?” she suggests. “Preferably with this blanket I brought?”
He pretends like he’s pondering it for a little too long because Annabeth gives him one of her stares like she’d laser him with her eyes if she could. A laugh escapes Percy’s mouth, bright and loud, and he agrees.
xxvii.
The end of summer sneaks up on all of them, coming in like a whisper against the back of Percy's neck. His mom awaits him at the end of Half-Blood Hill, and he's putting away up the last of his clothes before meeting her. This year has been uncharacteristically kind to him, and Percy doesn't want to say goodbye before he has to. So many people that Percy has come to know and love are leaving their posts as counselors permanently, like Katie and Travis and Beckendorf and Silena. Life after camp has always been an abstract concept to Percy, because eighteen seems so far away, but it's going to creep up on him just like August did, only realizing it's the end when he's staring at the lake for the last time.
"You're leaving early," Annabeth says from the doorway, her bag hanging from her shoulder.
"So are you," Percy points out, zipping up his own duffle bag. It's the first summer where he's had the time to pack his things and have a serene drive to camp, Thank You for the Venom by My Chemical Romance blasting at full volume, much to Sally's dismay.
She brushes a stray lock from her hair, and he notices then the spoon dangling from her ponytail. It's been a month and she still hasn't taken it out from her hair tie. It looks a little kooky, but Percy doesn't say anything because he was raised better than that. Instead, he wraps his hand around the handle and meets Annabeth on the steps.
"Race you to the--"
Percy doesn't even get to finish his question, because she's already off and running, her golden curls bouncing with every step.
He can't help the smile that fully blossoms, stretching from cheek to cheek. He knows he's going to have to put this part of his life behind him, venture off into the real world with college and jobs and 401ks and whatnots. But for now, he will focus on Annabeth's unrestrained laughter, the sound of her feet against the grass.
He follows.