Chapter 2

Honestly, Y/N just wanted a peaceful day with Harris. Yes, it was a bit awkward to sit along with him and watch the movies after their kiss but she was new to all of this. She didn't know how to react, what to say or how to even handle herself.

All she knew is that the action made her feel...mushy. Although a very cringy word, it was perfect to describe how she was feeling. Currently, she had her head resting on his chest as he stroked her arm. It was slowly becoming comfortable.

But of course, she didn't have much luck on having a peaceful day with someone she liked. The doorbell rang once.

She looked up frowning at the door. No one was supposed to come at this hour or day. The ringing of the bells started to be hastier, almost like someone was in trouble.

Both of the demigods sighed in unison and looked at each other. Of course.

"I'm getting our stuff," Harris said, "Go and open the door."

Y/N got up heading towards the door, "You'll find my emergency backpack on the right side of the cupboard, and do not-"

"-look at your underwear drawer," Harris chuckled, "I know."

Y/N blushed and muttered, "shut up", as she looked through the peephole. She felt beforehand that something like this was coming. She was getting some dreams, but she ignored all of those as 'nightmares'.

These two individuals were nothing but people who were the cause of her heartache and trust issues at the moment. So ignoring them as 'nightmares' were not exactly unbelievable to her. She was mentally preparing herself to meet with them though.

This would be uncomfortable but she had to do what needed to be done. Opening the door she stared at the two familiar faces. "What now?" she asked, annoyance dripping on her tone.

"We need to leave now," Annabeth informed, "it's an emergency. The half-blood camp is in trouble."

"Okay," she sighed, rolling her eyes, "Let me lock my apartment first."

"Oh yeah," Percy cleared his throat, "Just tell me whatever you need me to grab-"

"Don't worry," a voice came from behind her along with some footsteps, "I got that covered bro."

Oh, their faces.

No doubt about it, Y/N was enjoying the bit of envy that was present in her friends' eyes. But it was not as satisfying when danger was literally lurking over their heads.

Annabeth seemed to recover from the situation real quick. Although her eyes immediately went towards observing Percy who was visibly blank about the whole situation. Y/N frowned watching both of them. Whatever they had going on between themselves should not affect her at all, but it was.

She was really ready to face all of this head-on but seemed like it was a lot harder to control her feelings. Well, fuck the feels. At least she can still control what action she wanted to take.

"Are you all done with your greetings or do you want to have a tea party now?" Y/N asked. Taking her bag from him, she grabbed Harris' arm and walked out of her apartment, locking the door behind her.

"What do you think?" Harris whispered to her ear, sliding an arm over her shoulder as they started walking towards the lift.

"Huh?" Y/N was too angry to process anything about her friends. She was just focused on the task she had at hand.

"I'm talking about their reaction," Harris said, "I don't think they look too thrilled about us."

"Since when do we need validation from others to spend time together?" she asked.

"No..." Harris mumbled looking back at the two people who seemed to be silently following them, "it's just that I thought you'd be okay with them by now."

Y/N was silent. She thought that too.

[ TIME SKIP ]

Nothing caps off the perfect morning like a long taxi ride with two angry girls.

Percy tried to talk to Annabeth, but she was acting like Y/N just punched her grandmother. All he managed to get out of her was that she'd had a monster-infested spring in San Francisco; she'd come back to camp twice since Christmas but wouldn't tell why, and she'd learned nothing about the whereabouts of Nico di Angelo.

"Any word on Luke?" Percy asked.

She shook her head. Everyone knew this was a touchy subject for her. Annabeth had always admired Luke, the former head counselor for Hermes who had betrayed and joined the evil Titan Lord Kronos. She admitted it, so pretty much everyone in the taxi knew she still liked him.

Okay, he was not as curious about Annabeth and Luke. He did not really care what was going on between them. But it was a topic that would pique someone's interest. Someone he has been thinking of talking to but her behavior towards him stops him from doing so.

"Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters," Annabeth said. "I didn't dare go close, but I don't think Luke is up there. I think I would know if he was."

It worked. He saw Y/N was once again staring outside the window but ears open for any new information. "What about Grover?" she asked.

"He's at camp," Annabeth said. "We'll see him today."

"Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?" Percy asked, eyes frequently moving back and forth between Annabeth and Y/N.

Annabeth fingered her bead necklace, the way she does when she's worried.

"You'll see," she said. But she didn't explain.

As they headed through Brooklyn, he used Annabeth's phone to call his mom. They rode in silence after that. The city melted away until they were off the expressway and rolling through the countryside of northern Long Island, past orchards and wineries and fresh produce stands.

Percy stared at the phone number Rachel Elizabeth Dare had scrawled on his hand. He knew it was crazy, but he was tempted to call her. Maybe she could help him understand what theempousa had been talking about—the camp burning, friends imprisoned. And why had Kelli exploded into flames?

Monsters never truly died. Eventually—maybe weeks, months, or years from now—Kelli would re-form out of the primordial nastiness seething in the Underworld. But still, monsters didn't usually let themselves get destroyed so easily. If she really was destroyed.

The silence in the cab made Percy think over some of the other things too.

Firstly, he wasn't expecting a warm welcome. But this was something that absolutely did not cross his mind. This damn dude walking with their stuff with damn dimples on his face.

When Annabeth and Percy contacted Y/N's parents, her mother seemed to absolutely detest Annabeth's voice, which made him take away the phone and beg for her address. Of course, he knew that his actions were not as bad as Annabeth's.

That is, excluding the fact that he kissed her back on the ship.

Speaking of kisses, Percy's eyes went toward Y/N's lips. It was not news to them that she was living away from her parents, alone. But it was a piece of awfully surprising and almost bitter news to know that she was with Harris in her apartment. Her lips looked glossier than usual.

Oh.

Now that he noticed, she was definitely not dressed like she usually does in camp. She was dressed very differently.

She was dressed to look pretty.

He looked away to the front, setting his eyes on the road ahead. The mere thought of it was making him feel all stupid and itchy. A stupid question of why lingered in his mind. But more than that the other question seemed to be more bothersome.

Pretty for who?