𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 (Annabeth X Malereader)

[13] I take a dive into the Mississippi

"I'm not crazy! These boys jumped out of the hole and the monster disappeared." She insisted. Then she saw us. "There they are! Those boys!" We turned quickly, disappearing into the crowd.

"What's going on?" Annabeth demanded. "Was she talking about the Chihuahua on the elevator?" I told them the whole story of the Chimera, Echidna, my fire chariot moment. Percy chimed in after me, talking about an underwater lady's message.

"Whoa," said Grover. "We've got to get you to Santa Monica! You can't ignore a summons from your dad." Before Annabeth could respond, we passed another reporter doing a news break.

"Percy Jackson. That's right, Dan. Channel Twelve has learned that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by authorities for a serious New Jersey bus accident three days ago. And the boy is believed to be traveling west. For our viewers at home, here is a photo of Percy Jackson."

We ducked around the news van and slipped into an alley. "First things first," Annabeth stated. "We've got to get out of town!" Somehow, we made it back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. We got on board the train just before it pulled out for Denver. The train trundled west as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline behind us.

...

The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, our train rolled into Denver. We hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. We hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and I was sure that was obvious.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said, turning to Percy. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones, right?" Percy questioned.

"I'm not talking about phones." She replied. We wandered through downtown for about half an hour, though I wasn't sure what Annabeth was looking for. The air was dry and hot, which felt weird, but I was lucky the heat didn't affect me as much as the others. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains seemed to be staring at me, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.

Finally, we found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping our eyes open for patrol cars.

"What exactly are we doing?" I asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out." Grover sighed, turning to me.

"My money is at the bottom of a river." I groaned. Percy fished out a bit of change and passed Grover a quarter.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?" I said, confused. He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST.

"I-M'ing."

"Instant messaging?" Percy questioned.

"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" Percy joked. Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist.

"Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow." Grover raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colours. Annabeth pulled out a drachma, holding it above her head.

"O goddess, accept our offering." She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer. "Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested. For a moment, nothing happened. Then I was looking through the mist at strawberry fields, and the Long Island Sound in the distance. We seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to us at the railing was a sandy haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.

"Luke!" Percy called. He turned, eyes wide. I could swear he was standing three feet in front of me through a screen of mist, except I could only see the part of him that appeared in the rainbow. "Percy!" His scarred face broke into a grin. "Is that Y/N? And Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"We're . . . uh . . . fine," Annabeth stammered. She was madly straightening her dirty T-shirt, trying to comb the loose hair out of her face. "We thought—Chiron—I mean—"

"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"

"I'm right here," Grover called. He held the nozzle out to one side and stepped into Luke's line of vision. "What kind of issues?" Just then a big Lincoln Continental pulled into the car wash with its stereo turned to maximum hip hop. As the car slid into the next stall, the bass from the subwoofers vibrated so much, it shook the pavement.

"Chiron had to—what's that noise?" Luke yelled.

"I'll take care of it!" Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to have an excuse to get out of sight. "Grover, come on! You too Y/N!"

"What?" Grover said. "But—"

"Give Percy the nozzle and come on!" she ordered. Grover muttered something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle at Delphi, then he handed Percy the spray gun and followed Annabeth. I jogged over to them, walking over to the source of the noise.

"Do you mind?" Annabeth spat, putting her hands on her hips. The fat driver scowled at her, pushing his pit vipers up on his head.

"Fuck off girly," the greaseball growled. Annabeth almost pulled out her bronze knife, before Grover and I stopped her. I turned to the driver, attempting my best puppy dog eyes.

"Please, sir," I pleaded. "If you could just turn down that wonderful music you're listening too, that would be most helpful." I spoke with a soft voice, trying to pour meaning into my voice. A warm rush washed over us, and the driver had a dazed look on his face.

"Y-yeah . . . sure . . ." The driver murmured, twisting the knob on his music down. I grinned, before grabbing Grover and Annabeth's hands and pulling them back to Percy.

"I still think your charm speaking." Annabeth huffed. I smiled innocently. As we walked around the corner, we saw Percy standing there, holding the spray nozzle with a grim look on his face.

Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, Percy? What did Luke say?"

"Not much," Percy mumbled. "Come on, let's find some dinner."

A few minutes later, we were sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around us, families were eating burgers and drinking malts and sodas. Finally, the waitress came over. She raised her eyebrows sceptically. "Well?"

"We, um, want to order dinner." Percy stated. The waitress smirked.

"You kids have money to pay for it?" Grover's lower lip quivered. I was afraid he would start bleating, or worse, start eating the linoleum. Percy seemed to be on his last legs. Annabeth looked ready to pass out from hunger. I was about to guilt the waitress into paying for us when a rumble shook the whole building. A loud roar of a motorcycle vibrated down the street, and a massive motorbike the size of a small car pulled into the car park. 

(A/N: Sorry for lack of chapters. Been busy with school and other books.)