PJO/HOO One Shots

Riptide (pt. 2)

Recap:
My name is Annabeth Chase; I'm a journalist for the Half-Blood Times, and I'm well known around the world for my groundbreaking (others call them controversial) pieces. I was planning my next piece already.

An interview with Riptide.

His eyes flashed— I could've sworn they turned gold. After the food arrived and we began to eat, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong and I had only scratched the surface of it.

"I'm Percy, but I'm sure you already know that now. I'm the new head photographer here. I'll be following you around on your articles and taking any photos you might need."

Percy? That couldn't be right. The realization dawned on me. Percy, the new photographer, was Riptide.
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"How did you find me? Are you working with Kronos?" Percy stepped closer to me, a menacing look in his eyes. The sword remained inches away from skewering me.

Quickly, I scrambled to my feet. "Okay first off, you shouldn't scare people like that. Second off, you're not that hard to track. I thought your base would be cooler, but I guess to each their own. And third, who the hell is Kronos?"

Percy's eyes swirled like a raging sea as he tried to keep intimidating me, but he soon dropped his gaze.

"I shouldn't scare people? Let me remind you that you are the one sneaking into my apartment at," Percy swiveled to check his microwave clock, "11:45 at night!" He smirked to himself. "If you wanted to jump me you should've done it while your shirt was off earlier."

My cheeks flushed red as I recalled this morning's incident. "Let me be clear Percy, I came for Riptide, not you," I snapped, pressing venom into my voice. "And I'm here because this is apparently the only way to get an audience with you."

A hint of hurt crept into Percy's eyes. "Well, Miss Chase, what could you possibly want at this ungodly hour?" His tone was biting with sarcasm.

Taken aback by the bitterness in Percy's voice, I recovered enough to reply smoothly, "I want an interview." I mulled over what I said, then added, "I want an interview, and I'll keep your secret identity a secret in exchange."

Percy looked furious, and I wondered if I made the right choice in practically blackmailing him to forward my career. Saying it in my head made me sound like a terrible person. It's for the greater good, I reassured myself.

"You do realize I could kill you right?" Percy arched a dark brow.

Silently, I pondered that, before settling on replying, "Security cameras will trace this alleyway as my last known location. You'd be discovered at some point. Not only that, but you'd also never do it. You don't have it in you."

Percy's voice was harsh when he spat out, "What kind of interview?"

I bit back a smile as I could tell he was seriously considering it now. "Nothing big. I just want to let people see the real you. I want to let people know even superheroes are human."

"You have to promise you won't tell anyone." Percy's voice was weary, as though he had aged a million years.

I nodded all too quickly, pulling out a pen and notepad.

"What do you want to know?"
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The next morning, Percy sat in my plush office chair, awaiting further questions. There were bags under his eyes, presumably because I'd kept him up late last night asking questions.

Clicking "record" on my voice memos, I started.

"So, Percy," I ventured, clearing my throat, "you told me about Riptide yesterday. But I want you to tell me about yourself. Interests, hobbies?"