Zero to Hero (Percy Jackson Fanfic)

Chapter Seventeen-Swimming Rainbows

Eventually she gave up, but I knew she would get me back eventually. 

"Fine," Thalia said, splashing at me, "I'm in the water now, is that what you wanted?"

I grinned. "What's the point of hanging out at the lake if you're just going to sit on the shore?"

Jason paddled over to us, looking at Thalia like she was a ticking time-bomb. "Nico, get your butt in here. If I'm swimming, so are you!" Thalia shouted at the dock. 

Nico looked like he'd rather take a bath in the Styx, but he kicked off his shoes and waded moodily into the water. He didn't go deeper than his knees, but Thalia seemed satisfied. 

"It's nice to have things back to normal," I said, shaking the water out of my hair with my hands, "I missed hanging out with you guys."

"It wasn't really that long, you know," Jason replied coyly, "Not more than a month."

"It felt like forever."

"Speaking of our being reunited and everything," Thalia interjected briskly, "I thought I should let you guys know that Luke and Annabeth and I plan to go to town for ice cream tomorrow."

Jason and I stared at her--

Okay, pause. I might come across as a huge jerk, but imagine how I was feeling: you just got back together with your best friends in the whole world, and you're looking forward to spending the summer together. And then, your friend says something like that, and it leaves you questioning your entire friendship. You don't even know them! I guess I'm not as cool as your new friends. I have a great idea: why don't we all go get ice cream so I can keep a close eye on you!

I admit, a little overdramatic, but hey, I'm not exactly an optimist. 

Plus, I was still a teensy bit mad at Luke for laughing at me when I forgot my homework. 

No judging!

--for a second. Finally, Jason smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"Annabeth's cool," I said, struggling to make my voice sound supportive. I also kind of wanted to hang out with Annabeth myself, which was weird, since a few weeks ago, I thought she hated me.

Thalia squinted one eye like she does when things get awkward. After a few moments of us wondering how to move along the conversation, a voice said, "Bring me some ice cream."

All three of us jumped. Standing behind Thalia with a rare smile on his face was Nico. 

That lightened the mood. Thalia splashed Nico in irritation, and then I splashed Thalia just because. Thalia called on her brother for backup and Jason gave it to her, of course. Soon we were having quite the water battle. Nico and I against the Grace siblings, who sometimes turned on each other. Well, Thalia tended to splash Jason whenever he made a stupid maneuver. I'm not really sure how you can do that in a water fight, but apparently Jason did it a lot. 

It was amid this furious war that I started to feel a little weird. My skin felt tingly in a way that made me feel like I was experiencing déjà vu. There was a tugging sensation in my gut that reminded me of the Capture-the-Flag incident. I stopped splashing, trying to figure out what was happening. The water around me seemed agitated. More than just from my friends' splashing. 

The others seemed to notice that something was off, for they ceased their combat. 

"What's up, Perce?"

I frowned out at the water, not sure what exactly was up. I was about to say I'd imagined the whole thing when I saw something. It was a burst of sparkly multichromatic wonder. It surfaced from the water for a split second, like a dolphin, then disappeared. 

I gasped in surprise, watching for it to surface again. 

"Percy, what's going on?"

"Shh. I saw something."

"Something big?" Jason asked curiously. 

"Shh." 

However, the creature, whatever it was, didn't come back. After a minute or two of watching, I started to get the feeling that my friends were exchanging looks with each other. I decided to stop acting like I was going insane and start kicking their butts in Marco Polo. 

Hours later, we dredged ashore, soaked to the bone and freezing as as the sun went down. It was almost dinner time, but as we packed up our picnic and dried off to head back, my mind was elsewhere. 

First there had been the water that won me the flag yesterday, now this rainbow creature. What was going on? I knew I wasn't crazy because everyone else had seen the water move like that too. But they hadn't felt it. The way it felt alive, friendly, and dangerous. The way it pulled on my innards like a magnet. The way it reminded me of my father.