"Again? Jeez Perce, how many times does the girl tell you no?" Alex said more in surprise than a real dig at him possibly still trying to keep Rachel and Annabeth in his life in a way neither girl might approve when Magnus read the new chapter title.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as the skin prickled with agitation. His first instinct was that Alex was wrong, that he and Rachel were just friends and this had to do with Annabeth...but then what context was he missing that she was sitting here comfortably holding his hand?!

Nobody steals my pegasus.

"Annabeth stoll Blackjack too?" Nico smirked.

"None of you idiots are funny," Percy rolled his eyes.

"You're right," Will said with a significant smirk. "We're hilarious."

Will was lucky Percy didn't have the book or he'd have smacked it over his head, even getting his lazy butt up to do it.

Not even Rachel. I wasn't sure if I was angry, amazed, or worried.

"You really do just go through the emotional ringer with that girl," Annabeth sounded gentle. Trying her hardest not to be overtly rude to Percy about this past relationship anyways.

"Seems to be a thing with all girls I meet somehow," Percy said with a frown. Why was his mom the only exception to that like everything else about her?

"What was she thinking?" Annabeth said ...an idea, that filled me with dread.

She'd seemed happy, confident, perfectly normal while she'd been in here for a brief time, Percy tried to assure himself as he kept taking deep breaths. Surely if she'd gone through with this, she'd have been a babbling mess about...whatever haunted her future? What would she even have recurring visions about? Her dad's death? Whatever the next prophecy would be? Percy's boring average future?

Okay, he was off track now on crazy ideas, but his panic at least was staying at bay.

...Everybody was on the streets gawking at the war zone damage.

"Yeah, why is that again?" Will groaned. "The amount of people I forced myself to walk past who obviously should not be walking around with those cuts and messed up limbs just gawking at the sewage backup speckled with monster trophies and cotton candy vendors stuck in icicles should not be normalized!"

"One of the most basic human activities we all participate in though," Annabeth brightly reminded. "We all like to sit around and gawk at things."

Will still looked mildly huffy, but they were pretty sure it was because he hadn't gotten to stop and help all those people to the proper building they needed to be in.

... no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away.

"And that stopped you from whistling them back, because?" Jason frowned.

"They were exhausted man, they'd done enough in the battle. I cut them some slack and went for another ride," Percy shrugged.

... Party Ponies had disappeared along with all the root beer in Midtown.

"Also I'm just imagining the headache of getting them to agree to take you anywhere while hopped up on that," Thalia agreed.

... Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her."

"You said that with a little bit to much more hope than I think you meant to," Nico offered, pinching his fingers together as close as he could without connecting them.

Annabeth shrugged, Percy sighed, and Magnus was once again left in that weird void wondering if his cousin was a psychopath or that dragon eating people was just an average day occurrence.

...It hadn't occurred to me that Peleus might attack.

"You have a dragon living at your camp and him eating everyone isn't the first thing you think of?" Magnus asked with a twinge of hope to his voice like his cousin being a psychopath was the good option.

"It was now," was Percy's only response to that as he scowled at her too.

... "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses."

"Or, shadow travel you there?" Jason looked at him strangely for still focusing on a ride instead of a trip.

"I didn't know if he could do it with other people and this didn't feel like the time to stop and ask to compare notes!" Percy was getting snappy now. He wanted to find out if Rachel was okay, not have seven people in the back of his head asking questions!

He wheezed as he ran. "So tired, couldn't summon a dog bone."

"Honestly, the fact that any of you are doing more than shuffling along that sidewalk without your knees and back popping in protest says something," Will agreed. He wasn't really anxious since he knew it turned out fine, but all three of them had to be at their maximum of tapped out adrenaline dumps and were running on preserves, fumes, and whatever dregs of godly power were left in their system.

...embankment to shore, and I let out a loud whistle. I hated doing it.

Percy smiled at the way they all lit up with suppressed excitement though. He might have to gather everyone on the roof and see if he could get some hippocampi down here, just for a visit...and if one just so happened to bring Tyson all the better... now the only real problem was if that would draw to much attention? He should probably run it by Annabeth, but man was it tempting to just run with it...

..."Rainbow! How's it going, buddy?" He neighed a complaint.

"Love it when you don't even need a translator to be involved," Annabeth chuckled.

..."Sorry, Tyson isn't here. He's a big general now in the Cyclops army."

"Does that make Rainbow a noble steed?" Alex grinned at the idea of such splendor.

"I think all hippocampus are noble steeds," Magnus readily agreed.

...We sped off heading for Long Island Sound.

"The secret to beating traffic nobody ever told me," Jason chuckled, though he felt like he didn't have much experience with the idea anyways, the strange idea lingered in the back of his mind of someone complaining about this.

"Yeah, real national treasure of a lifehack," Percy grinned.

...found Argus waiting for us, his hundred eyes glaring.

"Someone's in trouble," Thalia said in a way to cheerful singsong voice.

Percy sighed and didn't respond, which prompted Magnus to quickly keep reading, even though Percy was starting to relax a bit. The general feeling in the room was just anxious, not misery like what had accompanied Luke's final breath. He knew Thalia and Rachel had gotten along fine, there was no way those in the know would be so chill about this if something really bad had happened to her. He just wanted to know what the final results were already.

"Is she here?" I asked. He nodded grimly.

"Is everything okay?" Annabeth said. Argus shook his head.

Will couldn't help a soft giggle how well that summed up Percy's experience with Rachel though. Oh yeah, she'd always been around, but rarely when everything was okay. Nico gave him a fond smile, feeling instantly in on the joke even without it having to be explained.

Everything was pristine, the fields glittered with dew. The place was empty.

Annabeth had felt a hollow ache in her that had made her want to instantly put her hand in Percy's. Every shadow had haunted her for years of envisioning Luke back in those fields, smiling just to see her again. Now that had all been gone, and she hadn't even the time to really process his loss before she'd been jumping right into Percy's next problem.

The following weeks had helped, as she'd laid in his arms with guilt for his comfort, but the exhaustion in her soul had only made her hold him tighter as he returned the embrace without question.

... Mist—the magical kind—swirled around the yard.

"Nobody thought the weird weather of this place was finally making an appearance Percy, calm your brain down," Thalia sighed.

"I will when you do," Percy snorted.

...Blackjack cantered nervously in the grass.

"Awww, he has nothing to fear, Percy would never make Pegasus soup out of him," Alex promised.

"I might withhold donuts from him though if he ever pulls a stunt like this again," Percy grumbled.

Don't blame me, boss! he pleaded. The weird girl made me do it!

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh the hardest, trying to promise herself she'd explain the context of that to Rachel if it ever slipped out.

... Her arms raised like waiting for someone inside to throw her a ball.

"That's, exactly what's going on," Will chuckled in surprise. It never failed to amuse him that as often as Percy called himself an idiot in social situations, he seemed to pick right up on them anyways.

Alex appraised him for a moment in agreement, even if she wasn't yet sold on how much of a good thing that was. Would Sally have been able to take up this mantle if given the chance? Just because Rachel could see through the Mist didn't mean she should jump straight to this.

..."How did she get past the barriers?"

"Flew, right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."

"Thank the gods nobody seemed to mention to Kronos this very obvious weakness," Jason huffed.

"Can you imagine how that would work in the big picture though?" Nico shook his head. "He'd have to fly his army in on blimps to get close, and they would have shot them out of the sky."

Jason agreed it sounded silly out loud, but he still wouldn't have put it past Kronos to try if he hadn't set his sights on Olympus instead of continuing to try his assault against Camp.

"Rachel!" I called, but the satyrs stopped me when I tried to go any closer.

"We might have been hyping Grover up to much guys," Nico spluttered on a laugh. "I certainly wouldn't have tried to step between Percy right then."

"I think the satyrs are just braver than they give themselves credit for in general," Percy huffed, twitching around in his seat like he still wanted to throw something off his shoulders.

..."I did. I invited her here."

"Never, ever asking Chiron to explain anything again!" Percy tried to say without gritting his teeth. Annabeth just gave him a sad smile of understanding. She'd gone to his side, tried to fuss over his bandages. She'd watched Percy stare at him like the lake should be boiling and throwing out seamonsters any second before he'd turned back towards Rachel. He'd understood in the end.

..."I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong.

Percy's anger had melted away at Chiron, but that had only left more room for concern. Everybody was being way to confident about the fickle gods who needed to be Pinky Promised by a river not to forget about their kids existing!

...I ran, ignoring the satyrs, got ten feet and hit an invisible beach ball.

'Second time he's mentioned that specifically,' Jason couldn't help but notice with a sad smile. Percy was back at Camp after the worst, most hectic days of his life. All he'd wanted to come home to was fun and relaxing on the beach. Instead he got this shit show of yet another friend nearly dying, one who had somehow been out of the worst of the mayhem before. Guy could not catch a break.

...I had to stop her, but I couldn't even get to my feet.

Annabeth slipped her hand into his like she hadn't been brave enough to do before. Silently promising, conveying in just that touch that everything was going to be okay. She understood Percy's desire to stop this from happening, but she'd had to admit to herself a long time ago that she couldn't fix everything. Percy might not need the reminder as much as her, but moments like this, as he squeezed back and released a ragged breath, she knew he understood he had to let his friend go and do what was best for her.

... I recognized the warm musty smell of snakes.

Will was waving his hand under his nose at just the thought. He'd never realized he'd been lucky to have missed yet another fantastic moment of history right on their own Big House porch while they'd been trying to figure out how to load everyone back into the vans and pretending they'd make it out of gridlock traffic before summer break was over.

...Rachel held out her arms. She didn't look scared.

"You never do either," Annabeth grinned, and that felt nice for Percy to see. It was a good feeling for a moment to believe that instead of ruining Rachel's life by this being his fault, his influence to lead her down to this crazy messed up world of his, instead he'd at least been beside her showing her how to handle being dragged down it.

..."Apollo?" I saw. He winked at me but held up his finger to his lips.

Percy gave a fuzzy glare to the book at being shushed. It usually just made him want to snap at someone more. He supposed, this time though, he really was just as much a bystander to this as everyone else in this room usually was to his life.

...the words flowed out of her as the Mist thickened.

"The same place you pulled words out of the clouds when addressing Zeus I assume," Magnus shrugged. He'd never considered himself a particularly articulate person and couldn't imagine just spewing whatever came to mind would ever be a help. Usually when it happened, they just laughed at him.

A green column of smoke, ... curling affectionately around Rachel's feet.

Alex sighed, knowing nobody had gotten this girl a pet python nor would at least one cabin appreciate the gesture if she did, but she enjoyed the idea all the same.

... Apollo counted them on his fingers. "That would be real bad."

"Poetry slam dunk," Magnus said with a blank face.

"Yeah, he's not getting praise from me outta that," Will sighed.

...Nico said, "your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying."

"What color are they?"Alex asked casually.

"Um, different for everyone," Nico said cautiously.

Alex's interest grew by the word though as she narrowed her eyes with interest on him, opening her mouth.

Nico smiled, having anticipated that, and mouthed later as a promise. Because he also already knew that Alex would hyper focus on this until she'd gotten every detail she could out of him. And that was so cool to look forward to.

...Apollo drifted down from the porch. "Ladies and gentlemen,

Alex may have been derailed from the cool conversation about death aura's, but that wasn't going to stop her from jumping tracks to something just as entertaining to rant about. "That is such a tired and old saying, coming from a god! He could use so many better options! Beloved friends and tolerated acquaintances, FBI's most and least wanted, Friends, family, and freeloaders!"

"All's yawls, can't offend anyone that way," Will happily offered.

"You can with that accent," Percy snorted.

"Did you just, make those up on the spot?" Thalia looked at her with interest.

"Of course not," she scoffed, "I keep a running list. The lot of you are currently sitting at, scalliwags and roustabouts, or allies, enemies, and those I'm still deciding about. Still go back and forth between them."

"Ladies, gentlemen, and interesting miscellanea," Annabeth offered.

"Yes!" Alex cackled.

And they all laughed too, because it was just fun. Maybe, for just these last few pages, it would stay that way.

may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi." "You're kidding," Annabeth said.

"Apollo does strike me as the jester of the gods, I don't blame you," Thalia nodded.

Will sighed and didn't even look offended, so now Thalia was probably going to be tied up by Jason and demanded to know the rest of the politics up on Olympus the second they all had their backs turned.

...I was meant to become the Oracle."

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the Oracle of Delphi. Man I hope she gets someone with a really cool voice to introduce her into every room," Magnus chuckled.

"I don't think Camp has the budget for that, but I'll bring it up with Chiron," Will grinned.

...she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green.

"That was terrifying," Percy decided to inform anyone who thought otherwise.

"Gods, she's not going to spew out all the prophecies everyone was denied in the past from that mummy being stuffed in the attic is she?" Jason asked in concern.

"Worse," Annabeth sighed. These lines had haunted her nightmares already no matter how hard she tried to shove them aside as she awoke. She'd swear sometimes she got the feeling it was her own mother drawing this memory to the forefront.

..."Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.

Magnus stuttered to a quiet awe, as did everyone else in the room when Jason began chanting with a faraway look in his eyes.

...And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"How, did you know that..." Nico asked with a deep, concerned frown. He already knew the answer to his own question. He seemed the only one with a clue about Jason's life, that strange other camp, far more than Jason.

Jason shook himself, swallowing hard. The way his gaze was locked on the spine of Percy's book was just the same as it had been when Percy had made his wish. His answer was too. Just like always.

Annabeth had that look in her eyes too, the kind that meant she had a battle strategy ready and raring to go. But that was ridiculous. There were eight of them in here... surely she was just trying to be ever prepared, right?

...Rachel collapsed. "I'm all right," she said, her voice returning to normal.

"She got that from you," Percy accused his girlfriend.

"Hmm, I can live with that," she grinned.

..."I believe," Apollo said, "that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."

"And we're already starting with a total of one broken oath in the passage!" Thalia threw her hands up, but that wasn't fake anger in her tone, in the lines of her face. "Man, those idiots are off to a great start!"

Annabeth placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her sister relaxed, just a tad, but there was a pit in Jason's stomach as he watched the interaction now. Thalia had ten times the reason Percy did to resent that broken oath that resulted in them being separated for Hera's wrath, but he felt the quiet distaste in Nico when it was mentioned for what it had cost him in his mother. This felt deeper with Thalia. There were so many broken promises in her life, it seemed the only one who had never let her down was Artemis, and from the way she pulled her jacket tight around her, he got the sense there was something about that attire too on her mind.

...Rachel frowned. "I don't even remember what I said."

"That's so rude," Will sniffed as if he were going to personally take that up with his dad. "She gets swamped by a vision she can't even remember a word of! Can you imagine being possessed by a spirit borrowing your body and then being haunted with the idea that you have no idea what you did?"

"No, but I have a feeling there's about to be a textbook on coping mechanisms about it," Nico grinned at him.

Will didn't even bother to blush. He'd already been trying to talk to Rachel about it, how she coped with the strange feeling. His rough draft was bare bones, but even that bit of good might do something more for the next oracle than this poor girl got, or any before.

... There's no point in grilling her ...for the future of the world."

"So torture is out, what was the next idea?" Alex asked clinically.

"Bribery," Magnus offered. "I like to think that one's easier to start with anyways. Just throw a dino- shaped nugget at Apollo and he'll spill something I'm sure."

"Please do not throw chicken at my dad," Will frowned.

"Yeah guys, throw it in the fire as an offering like the rest of us bribe the gods every night just to listen," Percy grinned.

...This one may not even happen in your lifetime."

"We can only hope," Percy said without a trace of hope. "Guys, I need all the help I can get for that to be true. No throwing food at Apollo."

"Awww," Magnus and Alex groaned, but they all knew, they'd acquit. Just for Percy.

... "Maybe," I said, "but it didn't sound so good."

"Neither did yours, and like, a large majority of people lived through it, including the planet," Thalia offered. A restlessness to her voice, but trying for a joke for him all the same.

"Yeah, don't think the next batch would get so lucky. Poor guys, and gals, and miscellaneous pals," Percy sighed, but it at least got them all to laugh lightly again.

... "It certainly didn't. She's going to make a wonderful Oracle!"

"Not a, threshold I'd have expected," Jason said with a look of pain.

"No tryouts for other Oracle's in my lifetime please," Percy reminded swiftly. He didn't even want to consider what all that might entail for Rachel. It seemed like a life-long commitment.

Jason nodded in agreement, but this still felt very naggy and uncomfortable as it lingered heavy in his mind. The other Oracle had as well, it wasn't even Rachel specifically. Just something of this whole situation.

...I only hope my family-" She didn't finish her thought.

No. Rachel's family would not understand. Rachel had no more delusions about that than any of them. She'd accepted her role, and would grow comfortable in the pattern of being the Oracle the same way she did being the daughter of her father. Not happy with it. Just learning to accept it for what it was as a part of her life.

... "I don't think the attic is the proper place for our new Oracle, do you?"

"Psssht, best room in that place and they try to take it away from her?" Alex demanded.

"Because sleeping with cursed objects is a great way to live," Magnus sighed.

"Keeps every morning you wake up a new joy," Alex grinned.

.... Chiron looked better now that Apollo had worked some magic on him.

"Did he just sprinkle magic dust on him when you weren't looking?" Jason asked in mild concern.

"Basically," Percy shrugged. He assumed that's why half the kids who came back to camp could actually make it up the hill anyways.

...inside, a decked-out pad with a game room and home theater systems."

"Apollo is my spirit god," Alex grinned.

"So, you're saying we can throw food at you when we want to bribe you?" Percy grinned.

"Gods, yes please!" She cackled.

Chiron cleared his throat loudly. "What?" Apollo demanded.

"The fact that Chiron just casually cut him off though," Annabeth giggled. "First time I've seen it and I just know this has happened in the past before."

"Oh yeah, I imagine anyone who meets this nut finds a polite way to do that five seconds after meeting him," Thalia assured.

Rachel kissed me on the cheek. "Good-bye, Percy," she whispered.

"I cannot believe she dared do that in front of you- no, wait. It's in her name. I'd believe she'd dare to do anything," Magnus grinned at his cousin.

"You know what, Percy was right. You're all a bunch of idiots who are not funny," Annabeth rolled her eyes affectionately.

"And Will was right too. We are hilarious," Alex sniffed.

...The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire.

Well that was one quick way to wipe the smiles off of all present faces. They really never could seem to just get an, okay, everything fine now, all clear signal.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, embroidered with an electric spear.

"She would've loved it," Annabeth said with a knowing smile, still tinged with sadness. It was hard to let go of her memory when she swore she kept seeing Silena out of the corner of her eye in all the girls' faces. Clarisse had never been the same after that day either. Quieter. She cherished Chris, and it had softened her immensely.

They were all glad for it, just not what had led to this new head of Ares cabin.

...That secret burned to ashes as the perfume smoke drifted into the sky.

Will understood why of course, and Clarisse might have gone on a murder spree if that hadn't been, but well, he wished Chiron had made some sort of informal announcement too. Everybody knew, but nobody talked about it. Which was the major problem at camp at all times. Maybe if their leader had ever put that awful rumor to rest along with her memory, the whispers and fears of who else could have been the traitor would have faded too.

Ethan Nakamura...—black silk with swords crossed under a set of scales.

Jason cleared his throat gently, understanding if someone wanted to ignore him right now, but he got undivided attention as he asked, "don't the cabins make the shrouds? Who," he left the awkward question hanging, a part of himself hoping nobody would answer and just move on.

"The Hermes kids offered," Percy said with a knowing, sad smile. "They did for all the unclaimed kids, but I asked Chiron to help me with this one."

Jason nodded his thanks past the lump in his throat. He'd disliked the idea of these cabins sorted by gods from the beginning, but he felt a kinship to the idea now. Understanding at least in some small way the unity it gave them all, but also feeling like a piece of trash for highlighting how it would always make kids like Ethan stand out and even their ghosts left to feel unwelcome if someone like Percy hadn't stepped up.

...the minor gods would finally get the respect they deserved.

Nico had never tried to find his ghost to ask, to check if he was resting in peace. He'd gone from spending a few weeks at camp trying to enjoy himself while avoiding the funerals and all who went with them and then ditching the place when he couldn't stomach seeing Percy holding Annabeth's hand at all hours anymore to his travels again to give much after-thought to the Campers of the Underworld specifically.

He felt a cold sense gripping him though, like Ethan was smirking just behind him if he turned around fast enough. Percy had gotten him a cabin, recognition for his father, and yet if he'd died that cabin probably would have remained forever empty and haunted. He'd have died for a very large gravestone. It felt reckless all of a sudden how he'd been just sustaining himself instead of actually trying to live until he had to die.

... Juniper screamed, "Grover!" and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug,

Alex chuckled lightly as she imagined a bush flying through the air and changing at the last second. Grover would have been happy either way.

... went down to the beach for a moonlit walk, and I was happy for them, though reminded of Silena and Beckendorf, which made me sad.

Sometimes Percy hated that he always wore the same camp-shirt so much. It made memories blur together. He was worried the next time he sat at that table and remembered Silena and Beckendorf and Grover and Juniper they'd keep blurring together and he'd forget how to separate the happiness and sadness of it all.

...show up with an army of undead warriors, and you're everybody's best friend.

Nico resisted the urge to look at Will's smugness rolling off of him and he swallowed a scoff. Yeah, that had lasted until the weekend, at best. He couldn't shake the idea after the funerals that people couldn't meet his eyes, that other kids still whispered as he walked away, that nobody came to visit his cabin because they were already sure it was haunted. They'd smile and wave at him in arts and crafts but never invite him to their table.

He still thought Will was an idiot for thinking he'd ever be fully accepted there, but he could also admit to himself he hadn't the guts to try either. He'd never asked, and those campers hadn't either. It was just a lot of silence. He'd felt isolated, and then everyone had acted like it was his idea.

The nagging feeling wouldn't leave though. Even Percy had admitted he was just too different! What if he went back and they were only faking being his friend because everyone liked his friends? He didn't want to go back, somewhere he'd never been wanted, just because he liked spending time with Will... but he'd try. He took a deep breath and really committed to the idea he'd at least try, for his own sake.

..."Hey." Annabeth slid next to me on the bench. "Happy birthday."

"Speaking of peaceful," Percy chuckled as he squeezed her hand.

"I am clearly not doing my job right then," she grinned as she squeezed back.

She was holding a huge misshapen cupcake with blue icing.

"I didn't know you could bake?" Thalia yelped.

"Tyson helped," she agreed with a weak smile.

"That, did not make that better," Magnus frowned in vague concern if that curse of Percy's prevented poisoning.

"That's what happened to the kitchen!" Will at least busted out laughing. "I was so confused, I thought the harpies had a field day while we were gone, or someone snuck in and only managed to destroy just that one room before they were caught! Katie was so livid and still complains she can't get all the batter out of the stove!"

"It wasn't that bad!" Annabeth tried to insist, but her voice was already giving in to a lost fight, so they all knew it really had been.

"It's the thought that counts," Percy cheerfully cut in anyways. He should know. He'd exploded his fair share of mixers as his mom smiled and helped him clean up.

... "What?" "It's August 18th," she said. "Your birthday, right?"

"I don't blame you for having to confirm," Alex said, "I got the impression he doesn't advertise the date much."

"I had to ask his mom, he said he forgot!" Annabeth agreed in exasperation.

"I panicked," Percy sighed, "I couldn't figure out why you wanted to know."

... I hadn't even thought about the fact that it was my birthday.

"Thank gods," Jason snorted. "Didn't need anything else in your head at that time to distract you."

"ADHD Jace," Percy reminded pointedly. "I always have multiple things bouncing around in my brain."

"Why would you even bother to lie about that?" Jason scoffed. "I've been listening to your head for days! Annabeth, how to kill enemy, random inappropriate thought that should have got you vaporized, repeat."

Percy struggled for a moment to think of something to snap back before just muttering, "dammit," and turning away.

..."looks like a chocolate brick," I said. "With extra blue cement."

"Helps it stick to your lips better," Alex muttered under her breath.

Magnus tried not to groan and laugh at the same time and the sound was more painful than anything.

...I thought for a second, then blew out the candle.

"Don't anybody bother to ask what I wished for!" Percy smirked, arms crossed, completely confident he wouldn't give himself away.

"Annabeth," they all said at once like he was dense.

He deflated and couldn't even look that embarrassed.

"Dude, you just had an unlimited wish earlier that day! I don't think a birthday candle wish is going to hold that much sway with the universe," Alex just had to put a hole in his sails too.

"Yeah, well, um, dumped can, could also mean," Percy stammered himself into silence and looked at Annabeth.

She just gave him a wink and waved her cousin on. They were so close to being done, no way was she going to spoil this now!

..."And Rachel is the Oracle, which means she won't be dating anybody."

"Is that really the most important thing that happened that day?" Thalia asked mildly.

"I'm sure for Rachel it was," Annaebth managed some kind of fake innocence.

..."You'd probably kick my butt." "You know I'd kick your butt."

"The words true love are somehow anagramed in there, I just know it," Will chuckled.

"It's not like any of us can spell to prove you otherwise," Nico agreed mildly.

...I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

"You're the worst," Percy gave her the poutiest look. "Did you have to make this as difficult on me as humanly possible!"

"Well, yes," she smirked. "After all the grief I went through, it only seemed fair-" she couldn't pretend anymore as she really burst out laughing. "Okay, I'm sorry! I was trying so hard to let you talk and be serious, but honestly seaweed brain, I just wanted to kiss you and shut you up already but you looked like you really needed to get that off your chest!"

"Haha, so glad you enjoyed," he grinned.

"Oh I did, every moment," she smiled as she brushed at his lips with the tips of her fingers as if blue frosting still lingered.

...When she kissed me, I felt my brain melting right through my body.

"I think he got used to it guys," Thalia said cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all so shocked, it's not like he's repeatedly been shown to be very adaptive," Magnus rolled his eyes as he loudly read on.

Percy didn't care, as he basked in the moment and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. He didn't care if someone dumped monster dust on him or if every Aphrodite girl popped up to tell him he was somehow dumping someone he'd never met or what happened next. This moment was perfect, and nothing could ruin it.

I could've stayed that way forever,

"Because a volcano probably wasn't set to explode this time, or a bridge?" Magnus asked mock innocently.

"Well it's certainly a positive," Annabeth agreed.

except a voice behind us growled, "Well, it's about time!"

Percy squealed like a guinea pig who had been grabbed to tight and jumped in his seat as he looked at the book, then Will in betrayal.

"Believe it or not, the entirety of camp does have better things to do than follow you two around," Will sniffed in a haughty voice.

"That being said, yes, I'm positive Clarisse was planning this the moment she got back to Camp," Annabeth chuckled, "and no, I didn't say anything to her."

Percy sighed and let it go. He was used to moments ruining his life, it just made him enjoy the seconds all the more.

...Clarisse led the way as they charged and hoisted us onto their shoulders.

"Well that's better than my previous assumption they were all just sitting there with confetti at the ready," Thalia grinned.

"Yeah, waiting to ambush us and toss us around is so much better," Percy frowned at anyone interrupting this like it was a good thing...but then, he couldn't imagine what could cause this memory to be bad either.

"Oh, come on!" I complained. "Is there no privacy?"

"No." Thalia gave him a sad smile. "Though I find it very strange you asking for that on your last book that's nearly done."

"Yeah, yeah," Percy agreed with the kind of shrug that meant he was used to it, but it was still irksome. Gods, he couldn't wait for this to be Jason's problem as much as him!

...they carried us down the hill, but they kept us close enough to hold hands.

Percy's smile already said plain that he'd already gotten over the intrusion. His friends had needed this moment to laugh and be at peace as much as he had after all they'd done to save his home.

... dumped us in the lake. Afterward, I had the last laugh.

Alex's boisterous laugh was in full agreement, she'd figured out where this was headed the moment 'cool off' was said.

... it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.

Percy was grinning like a fiend, like he'd just been handed the winning ticket at life. Finally, finally, everything had come full circle, made absolute sense. The smile she gave him now was the exact one she had then as she leaned close and gave him just a gentle brush of her lips as if she too couldn't wait to relive the moment forever.