Percy
Reyna didn't look too happy. She looked around like she'd been sentenced to a play party with toddlers. I prayed she wouldn't judo flip any mortals that looked at her wrong on sight. Oh wait- judo flipping people on sight. That's Annabeth's thing.
As if on cue, Annabeth came downstairs, hugged Thalia, said hello to Reyna, and nodded to Nico, who looked very uncomfortable. He practically radiated "don't touch me." They had a pleasant reunion. Thalia wore her normal punk clothes, with her bow and quiver thrown over her shoulder. Reyna stood in a purple Camp Jupiter shirt and jeans, with a stone hard look on her face. Nico wore a tight black shirt and black skinny jeans, with a skull ring on his finger, and his black Stygian iron sword hanging by his side. His hair was choppy and uneven.
"Where's Will?" I asked.
Nico blushed, but rolled his eyes. "Oh, I talked to Chiron. He's supposed to be coming soon. Gotta transfer from his old school."
I'd always liked Will. He was a good friend. "Nice. I was just wondering since... I'm not really your type."
Thalia stifled a laugh.
"Yeah. You're too water logged." Nico said as he rolled his eyes, and huffed off. He pushed past me and went up the stairs.
"Well... you guys can go look around. Thalia, there's a super cool archery range outside. You should check it out. Bedrooms are upstairs," Annabeth said, and came back to my side. "Percy and I were just about to go out to eat."
"We were?" I asked.
She elbowed me in the gut. "Yes. We were."
I coughed. "I love my gentle, affectionate girlfriend."
She patted my arm. "Sorry seaweed brain."
Reyna raised an eyebrow. "He doesn't have a pond to protect him."
"Hey!" I protested.
Thalia snickered. "What do you mean? He's Supreme Lord of the bathroom."
"Ah, one of my proudest titles." I agreed.
"Seaweed brain, kelp head, Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," Annabeth said. "All noble titles, right next to Hero and Savior of Olympus, Son of Poseidon."
"So," Reyna said changing the subject. "I hear Goode is nice."
She wasn't much for small talk. I could tell she wasn't completely sold on the 'being away from Rome surrounded by Greek demigods in the mortal world' thing. This was partially a peace offering from Camp Jupiter, for attempting to blow up our camp a few months ago.
I wandered how long it had been since Reyna was in public school. Yikes. "It's nice," I agreed. "Hey, they have a karate team."
Reyna looked around with renewed interest. "Great," she said, suddenly optimistic. She trekked up the stairs.
"So about that dinner," I turned to Annabeth.
"Already on it, seaweed brain," she said. "There's a little diner downtown. It has burgers and shakes."
"I'm down," I smiled, interlacing my hand in hers. "The dream team."
We headed to the garage and jumped in my car.
***
The diner was nice. It had a homelike feel, like walking into a small town in the middle of a big city.
"I heard the shakes were great," Annabeth said. "They have blueberry ones."
I perked up at that. "It'll never beat blue chocolate chip, but that works."
We sat down in a booth and ordered. It was just Annabeth and I. It almost felt normal.
"This feels like Virginia," Annabeth said looking around. The floor was checkered. There wasn't a big crowd. "The small town vibe."
I nodded.
"Percy!" A voice yelled.
Annabeth sighed. "I almost thought we could be alone on a peaceful date."
Leo scampered into the diner. His clothes were smoking, and peppered with holes. "There's trouble! Uh, Jason is being carried to Camp Half-Blood unconscious. Argus is on his way."
"Is he stable?" Annabeth asked, glaring at him.
Leo frowned. "I mean, yeah. Hydra in Central Park."
"And the situation is under control?" Annabeth asked.
"I think Reyna is putting out the fires," Leo said thoughtfully. "We wanted Percy to help douse the place."
"But nobody is currently in mortal danger and the help is not necessarily needed?" Annabeth continued with the questions, now looking down at her drink.
"I don't think," Leo admitted. I shot a paper football at him, annoyed.
"I think you guys can handle it." Annabeth decided. "Now, back to what I was saying-"
"This place reminds you of Virginia?" Leo cut in. Then his eyes widened. "Oh my gods, Annabeth. You're from Virginia, where they date their cousins." Oh my gods, don't say it. "And you're dating Percy, who is technically-"
"Get out, Leo!" Annabeth yelled, giving him a murderous look.
Leo yelped and quickly ran out of the diner, dashing down the street.
She looked at me, and I suddenly found the napkins very interesting. Very white. Very macho. Better not to mention that Annabeth and I were technically related. That could become an uncomfortable subject.
Thanks for ruining my date, Leo, I thought. Now it's just awkward.
The god side DID NOT MATTER as long as you weren't cabin mates for Zeus sake.
"Sooo," Annabeth said, breaking the silence. "Anyyyywayssss..."
"Hey, look at that aquarium." I pointed to the corner of the restaurant.
She rolled her eyes. "Seaweed brain."
"The fish are cute," I shrugged. "So's the girl I'm with."
Annabeth shook her head. "Your head is full of kelp."
Leo suddenly ran past the diner window screaming, flailing his hands. Not too far behind him, a drakon ran past following him, right on his heels. The drakon spat acid, taking out a section of a building. He slammed on breaks and skidded around a corner and took down a streetlight. Mortals ran away, cars crashed into each other, and police sirens blared.
"Well..." I said. "So, the weather is nice today."
