The Rise of Gaea

Annabeth 6

     Annabeth watched in amusement as a nervous Jason slowly turned around to face Piper.

     "Sees the Athena Parthenos." Jason said in a very small voice. Piper looked calm, but Annabeth was very good at reading people, and under the layer of calm was a layer of seething fury. Under that layer was hurt and betrayal, and under that layer was insecurity. Annabeth decided to take matters into her own hands.

     "Piper! It's so great you're here! Leo wanted to show you the updates on Festus!" She pushed Leo towards Piper.

     Leo looked confused. "I never said-"

   "Yeah, and you were going to show me too!" Nico chimed, catching on and shooting Annabeth an 'I've got your back' look. He steered Leo and Piper off to the front.

     Annabeth glared at Jason. "Do you love Piper?" She asked.

     Jason looked offended. "Of course I do! Why-"

     "Do you love Reyna?" Annabeth interrupted.

     "No! Hades, no. She's like a sister to me." Jason stared after Piper. "Ooooh. I get what you're saying. Wow, I'm stupid."

     Annabeth nudged him. "Nah, just a normal boy."

     Jason grinned. "I guess so. I'm going to go make things right with Pipes."

     "You do that." Annabeth gazed out at the sea.

     The dolphins wove in and out of iridescent waves, weaving a sparkling tapestry to rival even Arachne's best work. Someone walked over and joined her, she turned to see Nico. They stood in silence for a while, admiring the waves.

     "He's still alive, you know." Nico said finally.

     Annabeth whipped around. "How can you tell??" She asked, hoping her desperation wouldn't show.

     Nico shrugged. "It's a Hades thing." He looked her straight in the eye. "I'll give you updates every day, I promise."

     Annabeth didn't even think before she launched herself into his arms. "Nico, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me." She released him, and couldn't help but notice the slight blush on his cheeks.

     The whole ship thudded as Coach Hedge came barreling up the stairs. "Valdez!" He roared. "I need the key to Levesque's room!"

     Leo pointed to Annabeth. "Annabeth has it. I just have the keys to mine, Frank's, Jason's and Percy's..."

     There was a long pause.

     "Why do you need the keys, Coach?" Annabeth asked, a little too brightly.

     The coach shifted uneasily. "Zhang isn't in his room, and Levesque's room is locked."

     Annabeth didn't need to be the daughter of the goddess of wisdom to know what that meant. "I'll get the keys." She sighed.

     "Hey, Pipes, can I borrow your hairdryer?"

     Everyone turned. Hazel was standing on the steps with dripping wet hair.

     "Hazel!" Nico spluttered. "What were you and Frank doing?"

     Hazel frowned. "I was taking a shower."

     Nico choked.

     "I think Frank is still asleep."

     Nico heaved a sigh of relief.

     "He's not asleep." Coach Hedge supplied helpfully. "I checked. He isn't in his room, or anywhere below deck."

     Jason looked around. "Well, he isn't up here."

     Hazel looked worried. "Where else could he be?"

     Annabeth could tell the younger girl was about to panic, so she stepped in. "Why don't we check his room again, just in case." She said calmly.

     Hazel nodded.

     "Okay, but I'm coming too." Grunted Coach Hedge. "Can't trust you cupcakes to do it yourselves."

     Annabeth, Hazel, Piper, Jason, Leo, Nico and Coach Hedge all filed down the stairs and into Frank's room. It was empty.

     "I don't get it! Where could he be?" Downhearted, Hazel sat down on Frank's bed. There was a muffled squeak, and then Hazel was sitting on Frank. Mortified, she leapt up, beet red and fanning her face. "Frank! I... you didn't... I thought..."

    Frank looked confused as to why everyone was in his room staring at him.

     Leo broke the silence. "Dude, do you always sleep as a chameleon?"

     Frank shrugged. "It depends. Sometimes I shift in my sleep."

     Jason stifled a laugh.

     "Oookay." Nico edged towards the door. "As long as my sister's still a virgin, I guess we're cool, Zhang."

     "NICO!!" Hazel was fanning her face so hard, Annabeth wondered if she'd even still need to borrow Piper's hairdryer.

     "Well, as long as everything is okay here, I'm going to go." She slipped out the door after Nico, and into her room. How would she remain strong all day? She could barely survive an hour! 

     Annabeth sighed, and flopped onto her bed. She was about to go on Daedalus's laptop and try to find out more about Tartarus, especially the time difference between Tartarus and the mortal, when suddenly the door slammed shut.

     A deadly serious voice said, "We need to talk, Chase."