𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒 | P. Jackson, A. Chase¹

1. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳

She shrugged, sitting up. "I don't know. I was just asking."

Sally Jackson sat up front, driving. She gave Percy a look, eyeing him and Olivia as the latter rested her head on his shoulder again. Percy had to silently beg her not to say anything. Ever since he told her about the whole "maybe I think Olivia's kind of cute" thing, she'd been embarrassingly interested in them. Percy's face felt hot as she gave him a classic I'm not saying anything! smile, turning her eyes back to the road.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. In the months since summer ended, Percy hadn't seen Annabeth or Thalia in months, Olivia being the only one that was still interacting with all of them. Well, mostly with him, but still. But between the blizzard and the thought of what they were on their way to do, they were too nervous to talk much.  Except Percy's mom. She talked more when she was nervous.

Percy was getting sick of all the baby stories she insisted on telling. By the time they finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told the girls every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about him. He wanted to curl into a ball and hurl himself into the River Styx.

When they finally arrived, Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."

Westover Hall looked... for lack of a better word, evil. It was black stone, with towers even Hades would complain about. The group stood in front of the set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff, which seemed dangerous, but who was Percy to judge?

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" his mom asked.

"No, thanks, Mom," Percy said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

She frowned. "But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."

Percy was blushing. He could feel his face burning.

"It's okay, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth assured her. "We'll keep him out of trouble."

Percy watched as his mother relaxed. He understood it. He'd be dead a thousand times over if not for the girls "All right, dears," she said softly. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."

"Extra sweaters?" she asked. "You have my cell phone number?"

"Mom—" Percy cut her off.

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?" she continued.

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine." Percy snapped. "Come on, guys."

She looked a little hurt, and Percy felt a pang of guilt. Evidently, Olivia was also displeased with him, because when he offered to help her out of the car, she swatted his hand away and climbed out herself. Percy's mom drove off without a word, and he sighed.

Once the car was out of sight, Thalia said to Percy, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."

"She's pretty okay," he agreed. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"

As soon as she heard the words, Thalia gave Percy an infuriated side eye. "If that was any of your business, Percy—"

"Okay, inside,"Olivia interrupted before they could argue like they'd done all summer at camp. "Grover's waiting. And we need a plan."