Annabeth Chase and the Battle of the Labyrinth

Chapter 47 - I insult a god

I didn't know what to do with the rest of my summer. It wasn't just that the camp felt like it was haunted by the ghosts of all those who'd died at the battle, but also because it quickly became normal. I'd spent three chaotic weeks running for my life in the Labyrinth. It wasn't easy to settle back into camp life, especially with the memories crowding in my head. 

We had a few more farewells after the battle as well. Briares left to find Poseidon's forges as he wanted to do something. His imprisonment by Kampe had left him feeling restless and he needed something to distract him. Tyson gave him directions to find his father's home so Briares could be with the rest of the Cyclops. I could only hope that he found the home he craved. 

Nico also disappeared not long after. The last I saw of him was when he was trying to hide in the shadows of the pavilion. There was no table dedicated to Hades, and even though he'd been welcomed to the Hermes, Poseidon and Big Table, he avoided all three. When I realised he'd disappeared from the shadows and gotten up to find where he'd gone, Percy was returning from the woods where he'd farewelled Nico. He told me that the son of Hades didn't feel at home at camp, not with his heritage. There were also questions he needed answered, like why he was released from the Lotus casino and why he was still alive, having not been struck down by Zeus yet. Percy's eyes reflected the concern that I felt for the young demigod, but we both knew that it was pointless to try find him. If Nico didn't want to be found, then he wouldn't be. I just had to pray to whatever god would listen that he would stay safe. 

On better news, Dionysus healed Chris Rodriguez's madness, returning him to normalcy. He spent most of his time with Clarisse, sitting beside her at camp sing-a-longs by the fire and sparring with her. She smiled a lot more when he was beside her, not that she would ever admit it. We might have had our differences, but I was glad to see her happy. After everything she had been through, she deserved it. 

But watching her and Chris hold hands when they thought no one else was watching also made my own heart ache. Just the way he could make her smile, how she calmed his anxiety when memories of the Labyrinth came back to him. I wanted that, but I didn't know how to get it. 

Percy and I didn't hang out as much as we used to. After what had happened in the Labyrinth, it was hard to look at him without those memories surfacing. Luke and what he had become seemed to sit in between us like an unbreachable wall. Percy occasionally did try to climb over it, but I shut him down every time. My feelings were too confusing to think about both of them. I just needed time to process it all.

What didn't change though was our teamwork. We were always on the same team for capture the flag and often worked together for the chariot races. The awkwardness I felt around him in regular conversation seemed to dissipate as soon as we were in combat. We were a good team, that was one fact that no one could deny. I only wished that the ease and comfort that I felt with him by my side in a fight would extend to regular life, but every time I looked at him, I was reminded of another pair of green eyes framed by red hair and the way she looked at him. 

It hurt to be with him as much as it hurt to be away from him, so I threw myself into other work, usually Daedalus's laptop. 

It was an absolute gold mine of information, holding more projects than I could ever think of. Many were incomplete, so I spent hours poring over them, planning how I would finish them and what would be required to build them. Some I showed to Beckendorf and he shared my interest and passion, even beginning to work on some a bit, just to see if they were possible. 

I could start on a project in the morning and not realise that I'd spent a whole day working on it until the bell rang for dinner. Something about the laptop as well made it easy to read, even for my dyslexic brain. I could happily spent my whole life going over what was in that laptop, if I didn't have to train as well. And work out how best to avoid awkward moments with Percy.