history of man // percy jackson & the olympians

14 | my name is percy jackson and i cannot tell a lie

ANDIE AWOKE IN THE GRASS, THALIA'S TREE IN THE DISTANCE TO THE LEFT OF HER, AND PERCY TO THE RIGHT. she was grateful that both of their parents had a pearl for them, since they separated before leaving.

she rubbed her eyes, and turned towards the younger boy next to her, who did the same. "you're kinda crazy." percy told her. "did you know that?"

as if she was awaking with a bad case of hangxiety, andie covered her face with her hands. "i can't believe i said that." she said with a chuckle.

percy laughed along with her, finding the humor in what had happened that day. "we pissed him off so bad."

andie hit him with the back of her hand. "don't laugh." she said, though she was the one who started it. "his daughter's right there."

percy raised his eyebrows at her. "she's a tree." he reminded her. "she doesn't have ears."

"a magic tree." andie corrected him. "who knows what she can do?"

percy grinned at andie's concern. "magic tree or not, i think thalia's seen and heard worse on this hill."

andie rolled her eyes, sitting up as she took in their surroundings. the familiar camp felt oddly comforting after the divine spectacle on olympus. "we should probably head back to the cabins before annabeth and grover send out a search party for us."

percy nodded in agreement, and they rose to their feet. the journey back towards camp was filled with a mix of exhaustion and relief. as they approached camp, percy spoke up, breaking the quietude. "you know, you were pretty amazing back there. standing up to zeus like that."

andie looked at him, a mix of gratitude and sleep deprivation in her eyes. "yeah, well, someone had to say it."

percy smiled, appreciating andie's strength. he thought back to the beginning of the quest, when he was certain she'd be the one to betray him. it was unbelievable to him how much she'd begun to mean to him in such a short time. "i guess we make a good team, huh?"

andie smirked. "i hope so." she said with a sigh. "we just made, like, a lot of enemies."

they reached the cabins, and as their fellow campers began to notice they were back, percy added, "well, at least we'll go down together." he said, sticking his fist out to her.

andie looked down at his outstretched fist, and couldn't help but crack a smile as she remembered their first battle together in the gateway arch. "yeah, together." she answered, fist bumping him.

it was nice for a moment to be kids, to forget their problems and joke about a magic tree, but the campers had begun to crowd around them — and it was back to reality.

everyone was applauding, but andie couldn't help but feel unnerved, like something weren't right. her mother's words echoed in her mind.

'the storm isn't over yet'

what could she have meant by that? they stopped the war, returned the helm and the bolt, and were awaiting their parents' return.

what more was there to do?

her worries melted away as she spotted luke from a distance. without thinking, she sprinted towards him as fast as her legs could take her.