Spies and Demigods

2. An Interrupted Interrogation

Percy and Annabeth didn't stop running until their shirts were stained with their sweat, the fabric clinging to their form. Glistening with perspiration, their chests heaved rhythmically as they finally steadied to a slow jog nearly half a mile away. Panting at the edge of the sidewalk, Annabeth asked, "Is it weird how that wasn't the weirdest encounter we've had this week?"

"No, not at all. I definitely think Clarisse riding on the back of that Echidna, screaming bloody murder! while holding a spiked club was weirder."

"I agree," she nodded, standing straight and dusting off her shirt. "However, those people were definitely off, though. I noticed they were looking at us back at the diner, but when they started following us, I had hoped that it was simply a coincidence."

"Definitely not a coincidence," Percy said, chuckling. "At first I thought they were monsters, but changed my mind once I realized they weren't attacking us on sight."

"Yup," Annabeth sighs. Her head looks at their surroundings before glancing down at the watch on her left wrist. Her eyes immediately widened, "Oh, Schizst! I completely forgot I was meeting my dad at four. Our flight's going to leave soon."

At that, Percy frowns at the sight of his harried-looking girlfriend running her fingers through her hair. "Still can't believe those people ruined our last date of the summer," Percy said, inching towards Annabeth before wrapping his arms around her torso and resting his head in her shoulder. "Do you really have to go?"

With her head in Percy's chest, she managed to say, "Honestly, I feel like this is the opportunity for me and my dad to reconnect after all those years, you know?" She lifted her head to look at Percy in the eye. "Besides, my dad has a friend in San Francisco who's looking for interns to help out at his architect firm."

The couple rocked back and forth in their hug, neither of them wanting to break off first. Although it was early June, Annabeth was planned to be in San Francisco with her father all summer, meaning her and Percy couldn't hang out until school starts. She had offered to buy a plane ticket for Percy, but he respectfully declined, not wanting to be shot down by lightning by an angry uncle.

So, they walked hand-in-hand towards a bigger street that roared with noise. The couple flagged a taxi down, and before Annabeth could slide into the backseat, Percy leaned in and kissed her. It lasted for a few long seconds, and it would've lasted even longer, however, the taxi driver's loud complaints of being too slow broke them apart.

"Iris message me, okay?" Annabeth said while going into the taxi. "Every day."

"I will," Percy promised to her. Her head leaned out the window as the taxi slowly pulled out from the curb and into the street. She mouthed 'I love you' to him and Percy couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. He watched her go until the taxi blended into the sea of cars, making it unrecognizable.

As soon as he lost sight of her, Percy slouched, already forgetting that just moments ago, he was attacked by random tourists who believed him dangerous. Alas, Percy had nothing to do. With his parents gone for a month someplace in Hawaii, "a second honeymoon" they had called it, Percy had nothing to do. Chiron had mentioned to Percy that Camp Half-Blood could use all the help they could get with all the new campers coming in. So he decided that he could stay at Camp for a few weeks. He hadn't stayed there overnight in a long while, and he missed the games of capture the flag and the warm comfort of his cabin.

Percy walked home, planning on packing his backpack with a few weeks worth of clothes before heading over to Camp tonight. His apartment was just a few city blocks away, nothing worth calling Blackjack over.

Skipping two steps at a time to reach his apartment unit, he unlocked the door and walked in. Humming to himself, Percy walked over to his bedroom, dumped the contents of his backpack onto the floor where it fell in a jumbled mess. I'll clean that up later, Percy thought to himself, shrugging, but deep down he knew he wouldn't get to it until September. He stuffed wired headphones in his ears and started blasting his favorite AC/DC album that was probably considered too loud. As he mouthed the words to the song, bobbing his head up and down, he stuffed shirts and shorts into his bag, barely stopping to check whether his clothes needed washing.