Piper's P.O.V
"Piper?" A voice whispered, waking me up. I stirred, rubbing my eyes groggily.
"Hmm?" I mumbled, slowly opening my eyes. I found Annabeth staring at me. Her blonde hair was tied messily and she wore a camp half-blood t-shirt.
"We're stopping at a local market, Leo's found a place that we can land for a bit" she stated. I nodded, smiling.
"I'll meet you guys upstairs in a few minutes," I said, sitting up. Annabeth nodded, quietly exiting the room. I sighed, pulling on a gray shirt with hello kitty graphics and jeans. I braided my hair and smiled, walking up to the deck.
"Hey, Piper!" Hazel exclaimed, hugging me. I smiled and hugged her back. I turned to Frank and Leo, giving them smiles.
"Hey Pipes," Jason mumbles, hugging me. I smiled.
I looked for Annabeth, but couldn't find her.
"Where's Anabeth?" I asked. Jason shrugged.
"I'm not sure, she went downstairs and came up, but I didn't see where she went" he stated. I looked around. Then, my eyes lit up. I found Annabeth, standing with her back turned to us. She faced the ocean, deep in thought. I started towards her, but someone beat me to it.
Percy Jackson.
"Morning guys" Percy greeted, walking up from the rooms. We greeted him back. He glanced at us, but his attention was on Annabeth. His eyes darkened and he tensed. He ran a hair through his messy hair, sighing. He looked to the ocean, a tear slid down his cheek.
"Percy, you okay?" I asked as everyone turned to him. His expression became guarded, alert. He looked at us, his eyes landed on Jason. He had an expression I couldn't quite define. He ignored me, walking to Annabeth.
I saw him wrap his arms around her waist, she leaned into him. I guess she knew it was him because I've seen Annabeth wary of physical contact at times. Her eyes turned to us, I gasped quietly. Her gray eyes were wet, sparkling with tears. I looked to Jason, wondering if he knew what was wrong. He just shrugged. Annabeth turned back to Percy, putting a hand on his cheek.
Percy's eyes were also glistening with tears. I was confused. Why were the two of them crying?
Annabeth hugged him, whispering to him. Suddenly, the shadows on the ship gathered near them. Percy smiled, it wasn't genuine. Nico Di Angelo appeared, eyes darting around. Hazel started forward, but he turned to Annabeth and Percy. His expression was sad, solemn even.
"Hey, sorry I'm late" he apologized. I turned to Hazel, who had a look of confusion on her face. I wasn't sure if we were talking to us or not. Percy nodded, then surprised us all.
He put a hand on Nico's shoulder, almost comfortingly. Nico looked at us, that's when I really gasped. His black eyes were dark, like really dark and that wasn't the surprising part. Nico had tears in his eyes. He turned back to Annabeth and Percy.
"It's alright guys," Annabeth managed, her voice sounded shaky. Nico nodded, the slightest of movements before doing the unexpected. He hugged her, not like tense and stiff, but actually hugged her. Percy watched them, his hand still on Nico's shoulder. Annabeth closed her eyes, exhaling deeply.
Nico pulled away, not looking the slightest bit uncomfortable. He turned to Percy. His eyes were dried now, returning to normal. Percy locked gazes with him. The thereof them shared a knowing look, all of their expressions were masked. Nico smiled.
"Talk to them," he stated, before adding "They forgave you guys, remember that". He then shadow traveled away, not bothering to say goodbye. I raised my brow. Hazel looked shocked, confused, and hurt.
Percy hugged Annabeth, holding her tightly. I gestured for everyone else to go get some food. We all left them alone, burning with questions.
We were eating, joking around and then, Percy and Annabeth entered the room. They held hands, their expressions sad.
"Hey, you two" Hazel greeted, giving them a small smile. I stared at Annabeth. She smiled back, but it was forced. She looked around, locking eyes with me. I gestured for her to sit. She nodded, taking the seat next to me. Percy was uncharacteristically quiet. It surprised everyone when he sat down next to Annabeth. Normally, the two of them sat in front of each other, joking around and laughing.
"Are you alright?" I whispered to Annabeth, handing her a blueberry muffin. She hesitated.
"I'm fine" she responding, not sounding very convincing. Percy stared at her while everyone continued eating. Everyone probably had the same question, but no one dared to ask.
Annabeth nibbled at her muffin, eating barely any of it before setting it down. Percy had a cookie and he just stared at it.
"Are you guys okay?" Jason asked, breaking the silence. Annabeth shot him a look, filled with something I couldn't place. Percy squeezed her hand and she visibly calmed down.
"Yeah, sorry about this morning" Annabeth answered, choosing her words carefully. Percy continued to stare at his cookie.
"Can we ask why you guys were crying? And what's up with Nico?" I asked, hoping to get an answer. Annabeth fingered her necklace, touching a coral pendant.
"Today's a hard day, for Percy, Nico, Me, and the rest of camp half-blood, well the older campers anyway" she stated. "Nico was here because we wanted to check up on each other, we have to watch each other's backs today" she replied, her answer was vague.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Frank asked. Annabeth looked down, her eyes squeezing shut. She shuddered.
"No," Percy stated, his voice was cold and steely. We turned to him, surprised. It wasn't like Percy to be so direct and angry. Annabeth sighed, touching the small of Percy's back gently. Percy calmed down, gripping her hand tightly.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, clearly mad at something.
"It's okay Percy, we all have secrets" Leo replied, giving him a smile. Percy made no comment to that.
"What's today's date cupcakes?" Coach Hedge asked, appearing in the doorway, clearly just woken up. It was silent for a second.
"June 17" Annabeth stated, her voice was angry and bitter. Percy clenched his jaw. Coach paled.
"Oh, today's the day" Coach muttered, plopping himself onto a chair. He nibbled on a fork. I knew something was wrong, he only chewed silverware when he was extremely emotional.
Annabeth, as if she was reading my mind said something.
"Today affects everyone, including coach" she stated. Percy stood, startling everyone. Annabeth stood up immediately, staring at him. Percy muttered to himself as he walked to the railing, Annabeth following.
Annabeth broke into a sob, hugging Percy tightly. Percy whispered to her, shaking his head. I turned to Jason.
"Are they okay?" I asked, feeling worried.
"A year ago today, it was the battle of Manhattan," a voice said. I jumped, realizing it was Nico. He appeared behind Coach, patting his shoulder. "We lost a lot of people".
"The battle of Manhattan, you mean the one where Selena betrayed camp?" I asked. Nico glared at me. I flinched.
"She was a hero" he stated, daring anyone to say otherwise.
"There were many deaths, Percy and Annabeth feel responsible for each of them, especially Luke's" he mumbled, scowling.
"I never personally met him but he sacrificed himself with Annabeth's dagger" he added.
"Today and tomorrow are a day of grief, for most of the campers and others" he explained. I nodded.
"So, we give them space?" Leo asked, fiddling with a paperclip. Nico nodded.
"Lost's of it," he stated. He wordlessly left to Percy and Annabeth.
"Right, so we give them lots of space today and tomorrow" I repeated. Everyone nodded.
"I hope they're okay" Hazel muttered. Coach patted her shoulder.
"They are the strongest demigods, they'll be okay" he promised.
