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Chapter Text

Chapter One

Travis and Connor peeked out from behind a bush, observing the infirmary.

“She’s been in there for the whole day already,” Travis commented.

Connor nodded beside him in agreement. He turned to his brother slowly. With a smirk on his face and a glint in his eyes, he uttered the words that every camper feared to hear from a Stoll’s mouth.

“Travis? I have an idea.”

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“Can you get the door, Drew?” Silena asked.

Drew grumbled a bit, but begrudgingly got up, opening the door and stopping the persistent knocking. Did the intruders know nothing about patience? A frown slid on her face the moment she saw the visitors.

“What do you want?” she groaned. “And why do you have leaves in your hair?” The Stoll brothers had malicious grins on their faces, which usually meant they had something up their sleeves. Which wasn’t a good sign.

“Do you know where Annabeth’s been the whole day?” Travis asked, a dangerous smile on his lips. Drew shook her head. She didn’t know where this was going.

“Well, we do, and we’re very, very sure you’ll like our plan,” said Connor. Drew glared at them, trying to figure out what they were up to.

After studying them for a while longer, she gave up. “Come on,” she grumbled. “Let’s go get Silena.”

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“Wait so she’s barely left the infirmary?” Drew asked. “The only other person she’s been so attached to is Luke.”

The whole Aphrodite campers were now sprawled out in the pink, comfy lounge area of the cabin, fully invested in the Stoll’s tale and plan.

“He’s the kid that killed the Minotaur, yes?” asked Silena, a thoughtful look on her face. Travis nodded in confirmation, and Silena gave an ear-piercing squeal.

“Oh my gods! You will never be able to guess what she said when I overheard her conversation with Luke earlier today!” she exclaimed. The others leaned towards her in interest.

“She told Luke that, and I quote, ‘He’s the one. He must be!’” giggled Silena. “They’re going to be so cute together in the future. I can feel it!”

The other Aphrodite campers joined in on the squealing, causing Travis and Connor to cover their ears. They were starting to regret going to the Aphrodite cabin for this, but they were the best choice for their plan. They had a natural instinct for these kinds of things, inherited from their mother. If they say it’s meant to be, then it’s definitely meant to be.

“So what do you say? Wanna earn drachmas and get people to bet on it?” Connor asked, wriggling his eyebrows. Silena cocked her head to the side, contemplating the decision.

“Let’s observe them for a bit longer first,” she decided in a no-nonsense tone, making it clear to the sons of Hermes that they wouldn’t be able to bargain for more. “We need to make sure he isn’t a jerk. All we know right now is that he defeated the Minotaur, nothing else.”

Travis and Connor looked at each other before nodding. They agreed that Silena had a point, and also knew better than to go against her, especially when it came to matters of the heart. That girl could be scary when she wanted to be.

“Well then,” Travis smirked. “Let’s observe.”

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The next day, Travis and Connor were once again back in the Aphrodite cabin.

“I take it you’ve heard about what the new kid did?” Travis asked. Silena nodded with a grin.

“Blew up the bathroom and drenched Clarisse and the other Cabin 5 campers, as well as Annabeth, in toilet water,” she said. “Clarisse was not happy with any of that. She was ranting about it for at least ten minutes, and is now out to get him.”

Connor snickered. “He better be careful then. I’ve spoken to him a few times last night, and he seems like a nice kid,” he commented. “Would be a shame if Clarisse killed him so quickly.”

Silena shrugged, unconcerned. “She’s just joking. Kind of.”

“Anyways, back to more pressing matters. Do you know what he's doing now?”

The brothers’ eyes lit up with glee. Silena was going to like this bit of information a lot. “He mentioned that Annabeth was going to teach him Ancient Greek every morning starting from today,” said Travis.

“So they’ll be spending a lot of time together from now on,” added Connor. Silena clapped her hands together in joy.

“I heard that he’s going to be on her team in Capture the Flag,” she said. “I bet you two five drachmas that something’s going to happen.”

The Stolls looked at each other. It was highly unlikely that something was going to happen between those two when it had only been a few days, but Silena was a daughter of Aphrodite. Sometimes she just knew things. Then again, she might only be bluffing.

Travis narrowed his eyes.

“You’re on.”

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“Come on. Hand them over.”

Travis and Connor huffed in annoyance as they put five golden coins into Silena’s waiting palm.

“Percy revealed to be the son of Posiden was not what we meant when you said ‘something’s going to happen’,” Connor complained fruitlessly. Silena smiled brightly at them, ignoring their glares.

“Guess that teaches you a lesson to not take vague bets,” she giggled, pocketing the coins.

“Do you think him being Poisiden’s son will throw the whole thing off?” Travis asked worriedly.

“I don’t think so,” replied Silena thoughtfully with a shrug. “She’ll probably come around. Eventually.”

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Percy, Annabeth and Grover were now back from their quest. The day after the shroud-burning ceremony was over, Grover found himself being pulled away by Travis and Connor Stoll towards a small clearing in the woods. Silena was there waiting already.

The satyr huffed in anger when the Stolls finally let him go. “What was that for?” he asked. The brothers only smiled and stood next to Silena.

“You were on the quest with Percy and Annabeth most of the time, right?” Silena asked. Grover nodded, still weary of their intentions.

Silena smiled. “Good! Now spill all the tea about those two!” she exclaimed, almost jumping up and down.

Grover let out a relieved sigh. Thank goodness that was all they wanted to know. Honestly, it made sense. Why else would a daughter of Aphrodite want to ask him about the quest, instead of going to Percy or Annabeth. He was also secretly glad to have someone to rant to because spending that much time with those two was almost a nightmare.

“It was amusing yet painful,” he admitted. “They were fighting so much, all the time.”

Silena’s face fell, but a smile appeared on her face once more when Grover continued.

“They went on the Tunnel of love ride together, which was cute. Not so cute when they landed on top of me though. Annabeth also spilt her guts out to Percy when we were on a truck, but then again, I did as well.”

“Anything else?” Silena asked. Grover thought for a moment.

“She gave her necklace to him before he fought Ares,” he added.

“Oh my gods! She won’t even take it off to let me take a closer look at the beads last time I asked!” she said.

“Why do you need the information though?” Grover asked, confused. He still didn’t know the exact goal of Silena, or why Travis and Connor were here as well.

Travis looked delighted that Grover asked. “What do you say on betting when those two get their act together?” he asked with a wide grin that matched his brother’s. “You can change your bet anytime, as long as it is twenty-four hours before the predicted date. Otherwise, you’re out.”

Grover perked up and flashed them a grin of his own. “I bet ten drachmas that it’s going to happen on the Fourth of July four years later.”

Connor nodded, whipping out a notebook from who knows where and writing down his guess. Grover had stopped questioning the Stoll’s habits long ago. It was better for his brain.

“Oh and one more thing,” said Grover, suddenly realizing something. “Percy told me he was going to the Fourth of July fireworks with Annabeth.”

The demigods’ eyes grew large. Everyone knew that asking someone to the fireworks was basically asking them out on a date. Everyone but Percy, it seemed.

Grover was there when Percy attempted to ask Annabeth. She grew red and flustered, but accepted his offer nonetheless, never telling him that it was almost a date. Percy had bugged Grover about the reason behind Annabeth’s reaction, but Grover refused to tell. He would find out eventually. Maybe.

“Travis? Connor?” Silena said, overcoming her shock. The boys snapped to attention and saluted.

“Spread the word. Operation Percabeth is a go.”

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Word spread about the betting pool quickly. Miraculously, neither Percy not Annabeth knew about it. For that, everyone was thankful. They didn’t want to be at the wrong end of Annabeth’s knife. It was a scary place.

Campers started going to Travis, Connor or the Aphrodite cabin for bets, especially after the Fourth of July fireworks. It seemed that no one missed the two sitting on a blanket, gazing at the explosions in the sky that night.

The Stolls kept everyone’s predictions in a notebook. Silena was worried that they would lose it, but the two reassured her several times that they weren’t going to misplace something so important.

The bet was on.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

Since the chariot races have been announced, the whole camp has been talking about it non-stop. Except for a few people, it wasn’t the race itself that interested them, but the teams.

“Silena, I’ve got some new intel,” Drew said. Silena looked up from her vanity, in the middle of painting her nails. She raised an eyebrow, encouraging Drew to continue.

“Just overheard that Percy and Annabeth plan to be on the same team for the race,” said Drew, plopping down daintily on one of the couches. “They’re going to be working on the chariot design together for the next few days. At least, that’s what Annabeth told Malcolm who told Jake who told Katie who told me.”

The Aphrodite campers basically ran the gossip chain in the camp. They knew practically everything about everyone, especially if it concerned matters of the heart. It was all harmless fun, of course. They tried to never spread false rumours.

Silena fanned her hand to dry her nails, digesting the new information. “How many campers have placed bets again?” she asked.

“About a third of the camp, but the numbers are growing rapidly,” answered Drew. She lazily flipped through an old beauty magazine. “Don’t you have to teach Percy flying lessons in a few days?”

“Yeah,” replied Silena with a firm nod of her head. “I’ll see if I can get more info out of his mouth.”

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“So? Any news?” Drew asked the second Silena entered the cabin.

Silena shook her head dejectedly, a frown on her face. She gave a huge sigh, worrying her fellow cabinmates.

“Percy just said that he and Annabeth got into an argument, and now he’s going to be doing the race with the Cyclops,” she explained, sinking down onto a chair.

The Aphrodite cabin collectively groaned. They had been so excited at the prospect of the two working together for the race.

“Maybe they’ll make up soon?” Valentina tentatively suggested. The others only sighed, crossing their fingers and wishing for the best.

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“That was a disaster,” complained Drew, fluffing her hair. After the mess of the chariot race, the Aphrodite campers scrambled to get their hair, makeup and clothes in order, but they still didn’t look too good. It would take a good night’s sleep for them to look their best again.

“Tantalus is a nightmare,” groaned Valentina. The other campers all agreed in unison. Percy, Annabeth and the Cyclops, Tyson did nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be subjected to kitchen duty.

“At least Percy and Annabeth will be spending more time alone together,” Silena suggested. “Maybe they’ll make up?” That was the only good thing that came out of the race. Even Clarisse didn’t seem too happy about her win, and that girl was normally bragging about her victories all the time.

Plus, from her observations, Percy was eager to talk to Annabeth again. During their flying lessons, he was sulky and would often gaze longingly at Annabeth when she walked past the stables. It was quite cute honestly.

“In good news, more campers have placed bets on the two after Tantalus sentenced them to kitchen duty,” reported Drew, looking up from a notebook.

After the Stolls came close to dropping their notebook in the lake a few days ago, the Aphrodite cabin decided to keep a copy of the list of guesses as well as a backup. It was a lot safer.

Now they just had to wait and see if anything came out of the kitchen duty.

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In good news, Percy and Annabeth made up after their punishment and seemed to be friends again.

In bad news, Tantalus sent Clarisse off on a quest to find the Golden Fleece, which Percy protested against. He was nowhere to be seen the next day. Annabeth and Tyson had also miraculously disappeared.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the three had snuck out of camp to find the Fleece themselves. If Silena had to guess, Percy had managed to convince Annabeth and Tyson to join him on his expedition. Tantalus was enraged, but there wasn’t much he could do, since they were already gone.

It didn’t take long for rumors to spread. And with Percy and Annabeth both gone, it meant that the gossip about them could be spread more openly, to the delight of the Aphrodite campers and the Stolls. It made their betting pool much easier to manage.

“Selina! I’ve got a bet from Macy, an Athena camper,” said Travis. “Three years from now, on Annabeth’s birthday.”

Silena nodded and wrote it down in the notebook. “Ooh wait! Athena camper?” she perked up. “Any gossip about Annabeth then?” She was always open to hearing more insider information.

Connor smirked. “She said that Annabeth’s been ranting about Percy to the whole cabin for a while now, ever since they got into the fight,” he said. “Would barely talk about anything else. Poor Malcolm has had his ear chatted off.”

That was excellent news. Looks like they would be getting more bets from the Athena cabin soon if Annabeth kept this act up. She was certain that when Percy and Annabeth came back from their quest, gossip would spread like wildfire.

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“So girlie, heard you’ve been running a betting ring with the Stolls.”

Clarisse didn’t even bother saying hello when she barged into the Aphrodite cabin, opting to go straight to the topic. She had just finished her quest, and Thalia’s tree was cured. Tantalus was gone. Everyone was in a good mood.

Everyone but Clarisse. Sure, she was happy that the camp was saved and she had achieved glory and all that stuff, but if she didn’t find someone to rant to soon, she was going to explode. And she knew the perfect person.

“What is it?” Silena asked, sitting up straight and raising an eyebrow.

“I’m going to make a bet. Two years from now, after one of them gets hurt,” said Clarisse. “You will never believe how much I had to endure on that quest.”

Silena clapped her hands excitedly, never one to turn down hot, fresh gossip. “Pray tell,” she urged, eyes sparkling.

“Annabeth got hurt in the middle of our fight, and Jackson almost jeopardised our safety in his worry,” Clarisse lamented. “They would be sweet if the timing wasn’t so wrong, or if they weren’t so disgusting. And the looks they would give each other. I don’t think Jackson even knows that he looks at Annabeth all the time.”

Silena ignored her obvious dislike for the relationship and giggled. “I’ll mark the bet down,” she promised.

Clarisse grunted in reply. She wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take.

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The chariot race was over. Percy and Annabeth had claimed victory and were currently in the process of basking in the glory of winning.

The crowd went absolutely wild when Annabeth gave Percy a kiss on the cheek. It was only a peck, but it was enough to get the whole camp to go bonkers. Silena grinned and squealed in joy. Finally, there was some physical proof of affection that existed between them. She's been waiting for this moment forever. It was probably going to take a while longer before they officially got together, but for now, the kiss on the cheek would suffice.

She was right. The rumours had only increased tenfold after the two came back from their not-approved quest. The notebooks now contained bets from two-thirds of the camp, and the number had a high chance of rising after that little display Annabeth put on.

And even if some campers hadn’t placed any bets, Silena knew that almost the whole camp was shipping them. Never in her years at camp had she managed to get so many campers to collectively ship two campers. It was a new record. The Stolls and the Aphrodite cabin were going to be rich.

Her mother would be proud.

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Silena was right. Her mother was proud. Very, very, extremely proud, in fact.

On Olympus, the goddess of love and beauty was watching the events with joy and pride. This was one of the best plans her children had come up with in many years. It’s been a long time since she had been so amused when watching a pair of mortals fall in love. In fact… she wondered…

A conniving grin spread on her face. Snapping her fingers, a feathered quill and parchment appeared in Aphrodite’s hands.

She wondered whether or not her fellow gods and goddesses would be interested in making a few bets of their own…

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

Thalia scowled from her spot in the car. The eight-hour ride was torturous. They were headed to a school to find two demigods, which she was sort of excited for. It was going to be her first quest, and she would be lying if she said that she wasn’t at least a little keen on some adventure. She’d been going to a girl’s boarding school with Annabeth for the past few months, but there was only so much she could get up to at a school, even with Annabeth by her side.

Unfortunately, the quest meant that she had to endure eight full hours with both Percy and Annabeth. While she loved every moment with Annabeth, who was practically her little sister, she was only tolerating Percy. It was like he knew which nerves to strike to piss her off. He was insufferable.

To make matters worse, it was hard to miss Percy glancing at Annabeth or vice versa when they thought the other wasn’t looking. She was lucky to be in the front seat of the car. Gods know how much more awkward it would be in the backseat.

The obvious crushes were sickening. Percy was almost all Annabeth talked about during their stay at the boarding school in the last few months. Thalia remembered how Annabeth told her that Grover had gone on a quest with them last year to retrieve her father’s lightning bolt, and how they had joined a daughter of Ares on her quest to find the Golden Fleece. If they were equally as bad on those two quests, Thalia felt sorry for their companions.

She wondered if the other campers had any gossip to share. She was still adjusting to not being a tree during the summer, so she didn’t have the time to snoop around for information on the two’s relationship. Normally, she wouldn’t lower herself to gossiping about love lives, but this concerns Annabeth. It’s only right that she’s this curious and nosy, right?

At least Percy’s mother was amazing. She told her and Annabeth all about Percy’s embarrassing stories, so that was good. She’s never going to let him live them down. She now had lots and lots of blackmail material to use on her cousin.

Thalia rolled her eyes and sighed when she caught sight of Percy sneaking yet another glance at Annabeth.

This was going to be a very long ride.

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As it turns out, the campers did have gossip to share. Lots of gossip. Silena, head counsellor of the Aphrodite cabin, had immediately pulled Thalia away to talk to her privately as soon as she had the chance.

“Annabeth’s gone?” she asked, worried. Thalia grimaced and told her the whole story. When she finished, Silena’s eyes were shining with tears.

“Poor Annabeth,” she murmured. “And poor Percy. He must be beside himself with worry.”

Thalia cocked her head to the side. “What exactly is going on between the two?” she asked.

At that, Silena gave a small smile. “They’ve been acting like that around each other since their first quest. In fact…” she trailed off, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “We have a betting pool going on, about when they’ll get together. The more specific the bet, the more money you win. Care to join?”

Thalia smirked. This seemed like fun. “Two drachmas, next summer,” she said. Silena mirrored her smirk and wrote down her guess.

Neither of them mentioned how Annabeth would need to be alive for the guesses to be right.

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“Stolls? I have a new idea,” said Silena as she approached the brothers. Travis and Connor raised their eyebrows, eager to hear more.

“Who wants to bet that Percy will be sneaking out of camp again, sooner or later, to find Annabeth?” she asked, a new notebook in her hands. The brothers looked at each other and their faces lit up.

“Go spread the word and collect the answers before the game of Capture the Flag,” she instructed. “I have to brief my cabin on what to do. We’re going to pulverise those Hunters.”

She wasn’t too happy with the Hunters’ comments on how love makes a person weak and stuff like that. The Aphrodite cabin might not be the strongest combat-wise, but that did not mean that people could just insult what they stood for. Their mother had used love to start one of the biggest wars in Greek history, for gods’ sake. People don’t just get to discredit that.

Travis and Connor took the notebook from Silena’s hands and immediately took off, presumably to inform others of the new bet. Silena went off in the opposite direction to find her cabin.

They had work to do.

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“Is he gone?” Silena asked her siblings. She had told them to search the camp from top to bottom the morning after Thalia, Grover and the hunters had left the camp. The Stolls had told her that they gave one of the Hunters a little… gift, so she probably wouldn’t be joining the quest, giving Percy more incentive to sneak out.

Her siblings nodded. “Can’t find him anywhere, and Blackjack’s gone from the stables as well,” Valentina confirmed. Silena smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

She flipped open the notebook she had gotten back from the Stolls, her smile growing larger when she double-checked the contents.

“Well then. Time to collect and hand out drachmas,” she said.

Drew already had the bag of drachmas ready. The Aphrodite cabin always had a stash for bets on love like these, but this was the first time the betting pool was this large-scale. Luckily, their mother always sponsored them a bit. She was just as invested in the love lives of demigods as her children.

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The smell of rose petals filled the air of the office. Dionysus sighed when he smelt it.

“Aphrodite, what brings you here,” he grumbled, taking a dip of Diet Coke. Aphrodite giggled lightly.

“Oh nothing to worry about,” she said dismissively. Taking the seat facing Dionysus, she said down daintily, wearing a pleasant smile.

“I think you know why I’m here,” she said. With a snap of her fingers, a tea set appeared on the desk. She slowly poured out some tea and lifted the teacup to her lips, never once spilling a single drop.

“After all, you were one of the first to make a bet,” she said. To prove her point, she summoned the scroll with all the bets of Olympus written down. Dionysus only grunted in acknowledgement. “So?” Aphrodite prompted.

“The boy’s been quite… concerned over Anniebell’s disappearance,” Wine God said reluctantly after a beat of silence. “He was very insistent on participating in the quest, but he’s left without a trace today. I don’t suppose you have anything to do with it?”

Aphrodite laughed again, the tinkling sound music to one’s ears. “Why of course not,” she said with an innocent smile. “Why ever would you think that?”

Dionysus rolled his eyes and said nothing, gulping down another can of Diet Coke. “Just a hunch,” he deadpanned.

Shrugging, Aphrodite rose from her seat, the tea set and scroll disappearing in a shimmer of sparkles. “Regardless, I ought to take my leave now,” she said primly, fluffing her long chiton. “I’ll be paying my children a visit while I’m here. I have some… suggestions for one of their recent hobbies. Goodbye, Dionysus.”

She waved goodbye and vanished from the room, leaving behind a flurry of rose petals. Dionysus sighed again. For the millionth time, he regretted socialising with the wood nymph. At least, perhaps after this incident, he’ll be winning a fair sum of drachmas.

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“Why are we in a junkyard all of a sudden?” Thalia asked, looking around in confusion. One minute she was waiting for Percy to get out of the limo, the next Ares was throwing Percy out of the car and they were in a totally different environment.

“Who was in the car?” Zoe asked. She looked as if she already knew the answer, but was just asking to confirm. When Percy told them it was Aphrodite, Artemis’ lieutenant nodded and frowned.

Percy refused to elaborate on why the goddess wanted to see him, but Thalia had a hunch. Grover was staring at Percy, obviously trying hard not to say anything. He probably knew why Aphrodite spoke to him as well.

Zoe and Bianca were scanning Percy from head to toe, trying to pick him apart to figure out what that conversation was about. Their eyes widened, and Thalia knew the pieces had clicked inside their brain. Aphrodite was the goddess of Love after all. There could only be a few reasons why she came and helped them.

It had something to do with Annabeth.

If someone couldn’t see the tension between the two, then they had to be blind. Actually, screw that. Even they’d have to be completely heartless. Even Zoe and Bianca, who saw Percy and Annabeth together for less than ten minutes, knew there was something going on between them. It was just a matter of who would crack first.

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The son of Barnacle Beard had no sense of self-preservation.

After nearly being disintegrated by the Olympians and threatened by the goddess of Wisdom and Strategy, he still went against one of the most powerful goddesses of all time. It was a miracle he was still alive.

Athena scowled from a distance as she watched Percy Jackson dance with her daughter. They made a good pair, she had to admit. His fatal flaw was loyalty, so there was a low chance that he would betray Annabeth, especially given how… close… they were.

Athena didn’t want to face it, but Percy Jackson might, just might, be trusted. But that didn’t mean she had to like him more.

“What’s got your mood all twisted?” a soothing voice said. Athena’s glare only deepened. She ignored Aphrodite’s presence next to her, her gaze focused on the pair of dancing demigods.

“They look lovely together, don’t you think?” Aphrodite prodded further, undaunted by Athena’s firm frown.

“I suppose,” Athena replied reluctantly, voice devoid of all emotion. She might not like the blossoming relationship, but lying was beneath her, nor was it wise. Aphrodite could easily read emotions.

“Have you heard? I’ve started a betting pool. Would you like to join?”

Aphrodite didn’t need to clarify what the bet was about, nor did she have to provide more information. Gossip about her betting pool had spread throughout Olympus. There were wagers on when Percy and Annabeth would get together. When will they have their first kiss? Where will they confess their love? The list goes on and on.

At this point, it would have been impossible for Athena not to have heard of it. Almost everyone had become invested in the love story between her daughter and Percy. Aphrodite was going to earn a hefty sum of drachmas by the end of this.

Her father could try to hide it, but Athena knew that he had made more than a few bets on the duo. Even Poseiden had joined in. And though it might not be the best decision to join in on these frivolous activities, Athena would be damned before the annoying sea god got a chance to lord the fact that he predicted the anniversary of their children over her head.

“Fine,” she said, practically spitting out the word. It was a reckless move. Gambling was wrong. But her mind was made up. Aphrodite smiled in glee. She was enjoying this far too much for Athena’s tastes.

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“So how much money have we earned so far?” Silena asked. Valentina punched numbers into a calculator while the Stoll brothers counted the drachmas under the watchful eye of Drew.

“About a hundred drachmas from the bets on when Percy and Annabeth will start dating, and a hundred and fifty from whether or not Percy will go after Annabeth,” Valentina answered after doing the math. Silena grinned, pleased. Some of the campers had put quite a large sum of drachmas at stake but ended up losing.

“Eighty per cent of the campers are still in the game for the ‘When will they date’ gamble,” Valentina continued reporting. “And ninety-five per cent are still eligible for the ‘When will they kiss’ gamble.”

Their mother had offered a few pieces of advice after her visit a few days prior, which the Aphrodite cabin had taken to heart. They quickly increased the number of different wagers surrounding Percy and Annabeth’s situation. The campers responded enthusiastically, and they acquired a lot more bets in a short period of time. They had to expand their notebook collection.

“Oh and Thalia informed me that apparently, those two danced together during the start of their quest when they went to that school to find Nico Di Angelo and his sister,” Silena said. “And then they danced again on Olympus after the quest.”

Nodding, Valentina paged through a notebook. “We have a bet for ‘first dance’,” she said.

The Stolls looked at each other, both eager for the chance to collect even more money. Without a word, they dashed out of the cabin, leaving behind amused Aphrodite campers.

So maybe the bets had grown a bit ridiculous. But Percy and Annabeth were the main source of entertainment for the camp, so it only made sense for them to have a little fun with it, right?

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

Silena waved hello to Percy from the pegasus stables with a smile on her face. As soon as he left though, the smile was replaced by a confused frown.

“Ugh. Why is he back so early?” Drew asked with pursed lips in distaste. “I thought he was going to the movies with Annabeth. On that note, where is Annabeth?”

The Aphrodite campers had helped Annabeth prepare for her day out with Percy, giving her tips on hair and makeup. Annabeth had been insistent that they were just going to hang out as friends, but her cheeks would be tinged with a hint of red every time she mentioned the “not-a-date”.

“I think they’re fighting again,” Silena sighed, exasperated. Drew groaned.

“This was supposed to be a huge milestone in their relationship!” she exclaimed. “What do you think happened?”

Silena shrugged. “Look on the bright side. Lots of people bet that they’d start dating today after hearing about their movie plans, so now we get to collect money,” she pointed out. Drew still seethed but calmed down noticeably.

“Why don’t you go do that while I look for Annabeth?” suggested Silena. She had no idea what was going on between Percy and Annabeth, but she intended to find out.

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Annabeth was sulking in her cabin. When Silena went in for cabin inspections, the blonde was reading an architecture book, glaring at the pages angrily.

The Athena cabin was not too messy, but not too tidy either, which was to be expected. The children of Athena weren’t known for their neatness, especially since they sometimes lost themselves in their work and forgot about everything else, including cleaning. Gods know how many times Chiron had to send other campers to fetch the entire cabin just because they all forgot to have a meal. Ever since Percy came to camp though, he’s been the go to person for the job if he was here as he was almost the only camper who avoided facing the wrath of the terrifying head counseler of cabin 6 when one interrupted her train of thought. Silena wondered if that was still going to be the case.

After giving the cabin a 3.5 out of 5, Silena turned her attention to Annabeth. She didn’t even acknowledge the daughter of Aphrodite, too busy having a staring contest with her book. Was she even blinking?

Sighing, Silena walked towards her and tapped her on the shoulder. Annabeth looked up with a start. Raising her book to attack the “intruder” until she recognized her.

“Oh. Hi Silena,” she said, putting down her book.

“What happened?” Silena asked, ignoring Annabeth’s fight or flight response, sitting down next to her. That was not the priority right now.

“Percy happened,” Annabeth answered bitterly, crossing her arms and grumbling. “I go to his new school to meet up with him, and he runs out with a mortal girl, claims that they blew up a room while fighting monsters, then the mortal writes her number down on his hand. Which, by the way, he still hasn’t washed off yet.”

She spat out the word “mortal” like it had personally offended her. Silena patted her arm sympathetically, opening her mouth to tease Annabeth about being jealous but thought better of it. No use angering her even more.

“Well I’m sure Percy didn’t mean any of it,” Silena said. He better not mean any of it, or he risks upsetting the entire camp for costing them drachmas. The whole camp was going to go for his throat, son of Poseiden be damned.

Annabeth sighed and curled up into a ball. “I know,” she said sadly, frustrated. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not mad at him. I don’t even know why I’m so mad.”

Silena resisted the urge to chuckle at her predicament. “Oh I think you know,” she said gently. Annabeth refused to reply, or even look at the older girl.

“I do not,” she stated, her tone indicating that this was the end of the conversation.

Selina decided to let it rest for now, though she was pretty sure Annabeth knew more about her own feelings than she was letting on. She’ll have to face them sooner or later.

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“Drama at table 3,” said Drew. The whole Aphrodite table immediately craned their necks to look.

They had successfully managed to earn a heap of drachmas, and only sixty-five percent of the campers were still in the main Percabeth bet. At the rate the relationship was progressing, Silena wasn’t sure if any of the campers would still be eligible to bet by the time they got together.

The Aphrodite campers weren’t the only people who noticed the commotion. All the other cabins were whispering frantically amongst themselves, glancing towards the demigods that caused all the commotion. This little scene was going to be enough to fuel the camp gossip for weeks.

“I thought we were only supposed to sit with our cabin?” Lacy, one of the newest campers, asked in confusion. She only arrived today, so Silena didn’t blame her for not understanding a thing. In fact, this was the perfect time to tell her about camp’s biggest gossip.

“Normally, yes,” answered Silena with a giggle. “But it’s Percy and Annabeth. So they have exceptions, considering how the whole entire camp is just waiting for them to finally date. Mum let it slip that even Mr D placed a few bets in the Olympus betting ring.”

At least Annabeth had forgiven Percy already, since she was willing to talk to him. That was a good sign. Probably.

“We’re in charge of managing the betting pool in camp, along with the Stolls,” Silena continued. She went on to explain the basics of the bets, and Lacy’s eyes widened with each sentence, a grin morphing on her face. SIt was clear that she was a daughter of Aphrodite.

“What’s mum like?” Lacy asked after hearing about Aphrodite’s interest in Percy and Annabeth. The Aphrodite campers smiled contently.

“She’s great,” Valentina said. “Well, great in god standards. The gods aren’t the… best parents, but mum’s decent. Kind of.”

“You’ll probably see her around soon,” said Drew with a roll of her eyes, but her tone was fond.“She always pops in every once in a while.”

It was true. One of Aphrodite’s favourite things to do was meddle in the love stories of the demigods, which gave her plenty of opportunities to pay visits to camp, and hence see her children. In fact, she wasn’t the only Olympian who bent the rules a little. Spider repellent and books frequently appeared outside the Athena cabin, and Hermes always personally delivers messages and parcels to his kids, especially after Luke joined the other side. Even Apollo was known for appearing in the dreams of Cabin 7.

As… neglectful… as the gods can be, some of them truly cared about their children. Some of them.

Lacy nodded, her eyes lighting up with joy and expression hopeful. She reminded Silena of herself when she was younger. The silver bracelet on her wrist felt heavy, but Silena tried her best to ignore it. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, concentrating on what was happening around her instead.

By now, Annabeth had gone back to her own table. Her cheeks were rosy while her siblings teased her. Silena wondered if any of the other Athena campers had any new information on Annabeth and Percy. They probably did. She’ll ask later.

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“And the winners are Clarisse La Rue and Lee Fletcher!” Quintus announced. The Ares and Apollo cabin cheered.

“Pay up,” said Connor. Travis grumbled and handed him a drachma. He thought for sure Percy and Annabeth were going to win. As a team, they were almost unbeatable. Looking around, he tried to find them, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“Umm guys? Where are Percy and Annabeth?” he shouted, drawing the attention of everyone. Chiron did a quick headcount and frowned.

“Actually, has anyone seen them during the game?” a camper asked. No one answered.

“They’re probably making-out somewhere,” Drew said with a flick of her hair, unconcerned. Laughter rippled across the woods.

“That might be the case,” snickered Connor.

Chiron cleared his throat, but there was a twinkle in his eye. Travis could tell that he was slightly amused by their antics. Briefly, he wondered whether or not the centaur would be interested in joining their bet. “Regardless of their cause of delay, we must find them immediately.”

The campers carried torches and trudged through the woods, growing more and more worried as each second passed and the sky grew darker. It was not safe in the woods at night. Who knows what lurks behind the trees? Ever since Luke had conjured up the hellhound during the infamous game of capture the flag, everyone has been on edge when entering the woods.

After what seemed like forever, they finally ran into Percy and Annabeth. They breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Where have you been?” demanded Clarisse furiously. “We’ve been looking forever!”

Percy claimed that they fell into a hole, but the campers did not look convinced. “More like fell into a hole to kiss,” Travis murmured. Connor chuckled beside him.

The only one who looked like she believed them was Clarisse, for some strange reason. “A hole?” she questioned. Travis couldn’t read the expression on her face. This was getting too creepy for his tastes. Clarisse was not the type to just believe Percy like that, not without concrete evidence. Perhaps they were telling the truth.

“You found it didn’t you?” she gasped, causing Travis to grow even more confused. He wasn’t the only one. Campers around him began to whisper, and Percy looked just as muddled. The only ones who seemed to know what was going on were Annabeth and Chiron.

Chiron ordered everyone back to their cabins, to most of their displeasure.

“I still think they were kissing,” Connor grumbled. Travis agreed. There was no way that they weren’t doing something.

“Did you see how Annabeth fixed Percy’s armour at the beginning of the game?” Silena asked, joining in the conversation, squealing. “That was so cute!”

She kept on chatting about the cute interactions between Percy and Annabeth. The Stolls nodded along. They knew better than to interrupt a daughter of Aphrodite when she’s talking about love. They’ve tried once and it was not pretty.

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“I know Daedalus’s Labyrinth better than anybody.”

“From reading about it.”

“Well, yes.”

“That’s not enough.”

“It has to be!”

“It isn’t!”

“Are you going to help me or not?”

“He is definitely going to help her,” Travis whispered to his brother. Connor nodded in agreement. It wasn’t worth starting a bet. No one in their right mind is going to bet against Percy helping Annabeth. Not after he sneaked onto a quest last year to save her. Some campers made the wrong bet last winter, and they have certainly learned their lesson. Percy might be disagreeing with Annabeth’s choice now, but everyone knew, the second Annabeth asked him to go with her, he would be gone.

Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth were glaring at each other furiously, daring each other to continue, lost in their own little world. It was as if everyone else had ceased to exist. Connor couldn’t tell if Silena’s expression showed fear or giddiness. Probably both.

Finally, Percy snapped out of it, looking around, flustered. Annabeth stared at everything and everyone that wasn’t him.

Chiron granted the quest to Annabeth. Percy looked at her, his unspoken words clear. He was worried for her.

Connor pitied the poor soul who’s going to go on the quest with them. The tension between the two had only increased from when they were twelve. Connor wondered how one was to survive spending a day with the two alone, much less days.

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Malcolm wanted to groan. Of all the things he could have walked into, he just had to have the fortune of seeing his sister hugging Percy Jackson.

His sister. Hugging the son of Poseiden.

He may have been one of the betting pool’s biggest supporters, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to see his sister act like this. He did not want to see this hug turn into something more between Annabeth and the son of their mother’s sworn enemy in their mother’s cabin. Malcolm didn’t feel like getting smited today.

It didn’t help that he bet that they wouldn’t get together until at least two years later. He was not going to lose anytime soon. Plus, Chiron wanted Annabeth for archery, and he didn’t want to be late.

Clearing his throat, Malcolm watched with satisfaction when Percy jumped away from Annabeth, his face flushed red.

“We were just… looking at maps…” he stammered. Malcolm raised an eyebrow. That was a poor excuse, even for him. Not even five seconds ago, he was hugging Annabeth in front of her own brother.

He was about to retort when he caught Annabeth’s glare, and Malcolm wisely elected to not say a word. Facing an angry Annabeth was definitely not worth it.

“Tell Chiron I’ll be right there,” said Annabeth, her tone indicating they were never to speak of this again. Malcolm nodded and hurried away. Silena was going to have a field day when she heard about the latest “Percabeth moment”, as she had enthusiastically dubbed them.

Wait. Silena’s going to to kill him if she found out he barged in. Actually when. Not if. Nothing gets past a daughter of Aphrodite. On the bright side, if he came to her with the information first, he could probably levy a drachma or two off Cabin 10, as a payment for coming forth with good gossip.

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“She’s still hasn’t left the cabin at all, has she?” Silena asked Malcolm worriedly. Malcolm shook his head.

Annabeth had came back to camp a week ago, alone, without Percy or Grover or Tyson. When asked about the quest, she simply burst into tears, ran into her cabin, and buried herself underneath her blankets.

It didn’t take long for them to figure out what happened. The news reported that previously dormant Mt. St. Helens exploded, the reason known to no one. Well, known to no mortal. It was obvious that Percy, the son of the earthshaker, had a hand in the explosion.

It took a few days, but Annabeth was finally able to open up and vaguely tell others what happened during the quest. Very vaguely. All they got out of her was that Grover and Tyson were still in the Labyrinth, and Percy had been inside the volcano when it exploded. She wouldn’t say anything else.

So far, Annabeth hadn’t stepped foot outside her cabin, not even for meals. Her siblings have been bringing food back to her, and Malcolm confirmed that she was eating, albeit very little.

The camp’s spirits were low. Even Clarisse didn’t seem to have the mood to act aggressive towards anyone. She took her energy out by slicing the training dummies, beheading them or chopping off their arms and legs. Luckily, the Hephaestus cabin channelled their grief and anger towards making things, so they were able to replace all the ruined dummies as quickly as Clarisse destroyed them.

Better dummies than real people anyway, otherwise Lee Fletcher would be worked to the bone reattaching campers’ limbs.

The notebooks were gathering dust at the back of Cabin 10. No one had the heart to touch them or even mention the bets. Silena expected her mother to come and pay camp a visit, considering how this concerned her favourite developing relationship greatly, but there was no sign of Aphrodite. It was foolish for her to hope, but maybe, just maybe Silena’s mother knew something the campers and Chiron didn’t?

Silena looked at the Athena cabin and sighed deeply. Her hand started fiddling with her silver charm bracelet. It couldn’t be his doing… could it? He promised he wouldn’t hurt anyone… No… it… it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him. He would not hurt Annabeth, would he?

Despite this, a thought lingered at the back of her mind. This was her fault.

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The whole camp stood silently in the crowd. No one dared to make a sound. It had been two weeks since Annabeth came back, two weeks since Grover, Tyson and Percy didn’t, two weeks since the explosion of Mt. St. Helens.

Chiron had held off the shroud burning ceremony for days, but still, what has to be done must be done. The chances of Percy making it back were slim, and they were going to have to get through this sooner or later.

Annabeth set Percy’s shroud in flames, then turned to face the rest of camp. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her movements were robotic, like she was just going through the motions, not feeling anything.

“He was probably the bravest friend I’ve ever had,” she said, her voice hoarse. At least she was speaking. Malcolm said that she has spoken less than ten words in the past three days. Most of her replies came in grunts and sniffles.

“He…” Annabeth trailed off, suddenly freezing on the spot. Her face went increasingly red, and she scowled. worrying Silena. Was she having a panic attack? Just as she was about to make her way towards her, Annabeth shouted.

“He’s right there!”

With that proclamation, the whole camp turned around, looking in the direction Annabeth was glaring at. There stood Percy Jacksonm, unharmed, a sheepish expression on his face. Campers swarmed around him, excitedly talking over one another. Chiron went forwards, relief evident in his eyes, but he was interrupted when Annabeth finally snapped out of her shock and surged forward.

Silena, like many others, jumped out of the blonde’s way, narrowly avoiding being plummeled by the child of Athena. Everyone fell silent.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” she practically screamed. Before Percy could answer, she launched herself onto him, hugging him so tightly Silena thought he was going to choke. She continued to admonish him, but Chiron cut her off, carrying the two off to the Big House.

“Well. So that’s that,” Drew commented, absentmindly checking her nails. Silena fought the urge to roll her eyes. Her sister could put up an uncaring, bitchy exterior for all she cared, but Silena knew that Drew had been just as worried and upset. She’d been praying to their mother, Poseidon, Athena and Gods know who else for the past two weeks.

Drew cares about Annabeth. A lot. And right now, though she was putting up a front, she was very much relived. Her eyes kept flickering towards the Big House every few seconds.

“Come on,” Silena said, looping her arm around Drew’s. Drew grunted but made no move to untangle her arm. “Let’s go grab those notebooks. We need to clear out the dust.”

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Chiron smiled at the goddess in front of him.

“Lady Aphrodite,” he bowed. “I had a feeling you were going to make an appearance.”

Of course Chiron knew about the bets Aphrodite started on Olympus, and the bets the campers started. What? He may be old, but he still loved a good bit of gossip. Also, he’d be a fool to not notice the Goddess of Love’s visits have been more and more frequent the past year, or that she’s been seen conspiring with Dionysus on multiple occasions before he left. It was not a coincidence Percy and Annabeth had been paired together for more than a few camp activities.

‘Chiron,” Aphrodite greeted. “I supposed you know what I’m here for?”

“That I do,” Chiron replied. “Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss…”

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Connor dropped onto a pink beanbag chair opposite of Silena and Drew. Other Aphrodite campers were milling about, but all of them perked up and dropped whatever they were doing when they noticed the Stoll brother.

“Travis is off trying to get back into Katie’s good graces after he accidentally set off a smoke bomb in the middle of her sunflower field when a prank when awry, so it’s just me,” Connor said, stretching and getting comfortable. Drew shared a knowing glance with Silena. If Cabin 10 weren’t so engrossed in the Percabeth drama, they would have started another one on Travis and Katie. Too bad they had their hands full. At least Travis and Katie were moving along faster than Percy and Annabeth

“Cut the crap Stoll,” she said. “We know about those two. Valentina reported on Tratie’s status ten minutes ago.”

“Fine. Long story short, Percy insisted on bringing a mortal on the quest because they need a clear-sighted mortal. Annabeth was pissed and stormed out of the meeting yesterday. She seemed to know which mortal he was talking about and let me tell you she was not happy at all,” he said with a smirk. “She has not spoken a word to him before they left this morning.”

Drew frowned. This wasn’t looking too good. Silena had a thoughtful look at her face, head cocked to the side. Suddenly, she sprang up.

“I think I know why she’s so mad,” she said, clapping her hands. “Drew, remember when I told you Annabeth came back early from the “not-a-date” because of a mortal? It’s probably the same one. I mean, who else could it be? We know the girl can see through the mist if she fought monsters with Percy.”

Drew nodded her head, agreeing with Silena’s conclusion. Connor grimaced. “I’d hate to be the girl,” he said. “The love triangle isn’t going to be a pretty sight.”

“I think the situation’s a lot more than a love triangle,” Drew snorted. “At least half the camp has a crush on Percy. It’s just that they’re either too scared of Annabeth, or have too much riding on the Percabeth bets to act on it. Almost everyone wants to see them together after all.”

Picking up a pen, she riffled around the cabin for the latest notebook for the bets. “Now, who wants to think of a few new bets?”

From the gleam in Connor and Silena’s eyes, they have a long hour ahead of them.

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“How many campers have bet on them getting together by the end of this quest?” Valentina muttered as she fixed her armour.

“A lot,” answered Drew. She was busy fixing her hair, frowning at her reflection in the lake. A knife was strapped to her thigh, but she prefered not to use it. Instead, a bow was set down beside her. Long distance attacks were so much more her style. She would not have to risk getting herself covered in monster dust, and monsters would have a difficult time pin-pointing her location. Win-win situation, really.

Beside her, Silena was busy fiddling with her silver bracelet, her gaze anxiously flitting from tree to tree. She was muttering something unintelligable and was very nervous for some reason, not that Drew blamed her. This was their first real battle. Drew put a reassuring hand on Silena’s arm, and her sister smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

On the side, Nico Di Angelo was sulking, glancing at Percy and Annabeth every so often. Drew knew that look. After years of being a camper at Cabin 10, she could spot heartbreak a mile away. She was her mother’s daughter after all. If she wasn’t this finely tuned to emotions, she would be disappointed in herself.

Poor boy was having a hard time coming into terms with his feelings, and how they were definitely not recorperated. Percy only had eyes for Annabeth. Even Nico could see it. Little did he know, an Apollo camper was staring at him the same way he was staring at Percy. Drew had to hold back a giggle. She’ll give those two a shove when it was the right time. Not now though.

Looking at Percy and Annabeth again, Drew didn’t miss the way they stole glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking. Drew huffed. If those two didn’t get their act together soon…

Suddenly, the ground started to tremble, interrupting her train of thought.

The battle was starting.

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Camp was noticeably quieter. Connor never noticed how much he had gotten used to Lee Fletcher barking orders in the infirmary until he went to get his broken wrist and twisted ankle treated. Silena was a lot less chirper, the light gone from her eyes. Clarisse had taken to destroying dummies again. Even Drew held back on making scathing remarks.

Percy and Annabeth have kind of stopped fighting, but there was this weird energy between them. Connor would catch Annabeth looking at Percy sometimes when he wasn’t looking and vice versa. He would ask them questions, but Percy wasn’t willing to spill and frankly, Connor wasn’t eager to anger the already bitter Annabeth. At least they were back to being friends.

By the third week of all this, the campers seemed to have cheered up slightly. The campfire songs were louder, and more and more people have started training in the arena again. Clarisses was destroying less dummies.

Speaking of Clarisse, Connor wondered when did her and Chris started having a thing going on. Judging from Silena’s knowing expression every time she saw those two, he guessed she had something to do with it. She and Clarisse had always been close after all.

“Do you think camp is ready to start betting again?” Connor asked Silena, reading through the list of different bets placed by the campers. There was quite a sum of money waiting to be collected and given out.

Silena looked up, blinking a few times. She was slowly regaining her spark, but it would probably be some time before she was back to her happy, cherry self.

“Hmm? Oh. Sure. We all need something to take our minds off…” she trailed off, unwilling to continue. She shook her head a few times before standing up, determination on her face. Connor smiled, glad to see some of the former Silena coming back.

“You know what? Let’s do it. Moping around isn’t going to do anything, and this might be good for camp,” she said, turning to Connor. She reached out to grab the notebook off Connor’s hands, eyes narrowing at the words.

“Come on. We have a bets to oversee.”

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“So, what brings you here, dear husband?” asked Aphrodite. She barely spared Hephastus a glance as she frowned at ehr reflection, snapping her fingers to change her outfit until she was finally satisfied.

“Heard you were making bets about those two demigods,” Hephastus answered gruffly. There was no love lost between him and his so called “wife”.

“Word spreads,” said Aphrodite airily. She turned around to face her husband. “I take it you want to make a few bets?” she asked, eyebrow raised. Hephestus was not one to engage in the affairs of demigods, or Olympus for that matter, preferring to stay in one of his forges and only appearing for important matters.

Though, Aphrodite wasn’t surprised he wanted to join. He was the one who sought Percy Jackson out on Calypso’s island. He was at the very least, interested in that demigod.

It wasn’t hard to see why. Percy Jackson had made an impression on Olympus, not to mention he was assumed to be the prophecy child. Lots of gods were interested in him.

“Well then, make your guess,” she said. Waving her hand, the familiar scroll appeared beside her. “I haven’t got all day.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT STILL ISN’T CONFIRMED?” Silena practically shouted. Her cabin mates winced at the volume, especially Lacy, the bearer of the bad news. She’s been tracking Percy and Annabeth for the past couple of days, but still, there was nothing. No news of their upcoming plans whatsoever.

“There are only a few days left until the fourth of July fireworks, and you mean to tell me neither of them has made a move yet?” continued Silena, pacing back and forth, shaking her head.

“Well, you’re one to talk. You haven’t asked Beckendorf yet either,” Drew pointed out nonchalantly, looking up from the latest issue of Vogue. Silena scowled but said nothing, knowing her sister had a point.

She had been waiting for Charlie to make a move for what? The past year? Maybe even longer. But still, all he does is turn beet red and stammer every time they interact. Seems like she was too subtle before. Perhaps during Capture the Flag later…

That’s an issue for later. Right now, she’s more concerned with the development of Percabeth. Percy has been spending more and more time outside of camp, with the mortal girl, now known as Rachel.

More accurately, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Heiress of the Dare Industries. Teenage rebellious activist. That Rachel. Apparently, Percy’s been going to school with her for the past year, much to Annabeth and the rest of camp’s chagrin. To make matters worse, for the whole month of June, when he wasn’t on quests or making war plans, Percy’s been spending increasingly amounts of time with Rachel. Silena, Drew, and even Clarisse have listened to Annabeth’s rants about “Seaweed Brain and that mortal girl” too many times to count.

Annabeth had taken to throwing knives at targets when Percy was away. An unlucky Michael Yew been there once when Annabeth was practising her aim, and ended up being the victim to one of Annabeth’s tirades on Rachel and how Percy was “avoiding camp”. He’s been avoiding the archery range whenever the daughter of Athena was around ever since.

Rachel being added to the whole “will they, won’t they” drama certainly raised the stakes of the bets. Now, almost the whole camp was in on it. Well, kind of. Less than half the campers were in the running for the “when will they get together” bet, but pretty much everyone has a few drachmas riding on at least one of the Percabeth bets.

Some milestones were reached, including the first successful unofficial date. Percy brought Annabeth to the aquarium during Christmas break. Aphrodite probably blessed them, because, thank gods, there was no monster attack.

And yes. Annabeth was admandment it was not a date, but everyone else knew better. Of course, the whole camp was buzzing with gossip after that not-a-date. The rumour mills churned for days.

Silena didn’t know how Percy and Annabeth still had no idea there was a betting pool about them, but she was determined to keep it that way. At least until they got their act together. Judging from the pace of things, that could take anything from a few hours to a few years. She was desperately hoping it would be the former, but who knows at this point? At least her cabin was earning a lot of drachmas from the bets.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Silena looked at the mirror and adjusted her hair. Capture the Flag was going to start soon, and there was no use getting frustrated over Percy and Annabeth. Not when she has her own relationship problems to work out. She had to bring her A-game if she wanted to actually start dating Charlie soon. Plus, maybe it’ll push Annabeth in the right direction? Just a thought…

Turning to her cabinmates, she clapped her hands a few times to gain everyone’s attention. “Ok, guys. Percabeth isn’t the priority right now,” she said. “Capture the Flag is later, and Annabeth and I have a plan. This time, we’re playing to win. Got it?”

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The plan did not… well… go according to plan. They won but almost died in the process. On the bright side, though, Annabeth asked Percy to go with her to the fireworks. Kind of. More like she told him he was going to the fireworks with her. Silena guessed it was good enough. That boy looked smitten, so mission accomplished.

Unfortunately, when the Fourth of July finally came around, Percy and Annabeth did not get together, much to some of the campers’ displeasure and the Stoll’s glee. Even more campers were out of the bet now, bringing the number of people still eligible for the main Percabeth bet to 27% of the camp. There was now a trunk in the Aphrodite cabin filled to the brim with drachmas. They were going to need a new way to store the money soon, with the rate Percy and Annabeth were going.

At least they were rich, Silena guessed. But right now, she’d much rather Percabeth become official.

“Say, where’s Annabeth?” Silena asked. Drew gave her a dramatic eyeroll.

“Percy’s off with Rachel. Again,” she said. “Where else would she be?” Silena sighed, wincing slightly when she thought of the number of targets they had gone through in the past year. Annabeth’s knife-throwing skills were no joke.

“At least she’s practising her aim?” she said uncertainly with a grimace. Drew just scoffed, shaking her head and turning back to whatever she was doing, clearly signalling that she wasn’t that interested in the conversation.

Silena wondered whether they should wait it out this time or send someone to talk to Annabeth. Drew wasn’t in the mood to talk today, so she couldn’t ask her for advice. Oh well. She’ll just let Annabeth be for now. It was good that she was getting target practice in anyways.

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“Silena, you’ve got to eat something other than bonbons,” Lacy urged. “You haven’t eaten a proper meal in the last 24 hours.”

“Please, Silena. Beckendorf wouldn’t want you to be like this,” Valentina begged.

Silena has yet to leave her bed since the disastrous counsellor meeting. Empty boxes of bonbons were piled beside her, having taken to binge eating them after she tried to offer them to Percy and Annabeth earlier.

Her eyes were lacking their usual shine, and ever so often, she’d fidget with the silver bracelet on her wrist. Drew wondered where she got it. Maybe it was a gift from Beckendorf, but it didn’t seem like his usual craftsmanship style.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t Silena’s style either. The silver totally clashed with the other pink and gold bangles on her sister’s wrist. Drew wasn’t sure why Silena kept it on, but she supposed clashing jewellery probably wasn’t high on Silena’s list of priorities right now.

She wasn’t sure if anything was high on Silena’s list of priorities at the moment.

“That’s it,” Drew said, having had enough of it all. She stalked towards Silena’s bed, crossing her arms and glaring at her.

“Silena, I don’t care if you’re stress eating or whatever, but for the love of gods, stop eating those bonbons. They taste disgusting. If you’re going to binge eat, eat something else.”

She yanked the tasteless bonbons out of Silena’s grasp, shoving the sandwich Lacy was holding into her hands instead.

“We still need to fight against Kronos, and you can’t do that with an empty stomach. So stay in your bed if you want to, wallow if you want to. No one will blame you for that. But you. Have. To. Eat,” Drew declared, not leaving room for argument.

She stared at Silena, impatiently tapping her foot until Silena reluctantly took a bite of the sandwich. Lacy and Valentina sighed in relief.

“Finally,” said Valentina as they retreated to a corner, still keeping an eye on Silena.

“Is she going to be okay?” Lacy asked worriedly.

“Not anytime soon,” Drew frowned. She’d never seen Silena in such a state before. She was slouching, her clothes were wrinkled, and her hair was starting to tangle.

Beckendorf’s death has been hard on everyone, but no one took it as hard as Silena. The two had literally just started dating. Drew could only imagine what she was going through.

“Do you think she can make it to the shroud burning?” Valentina asked.

“She’ll go,” Drew said. “Silena’s strong. She’ll get through this.”

Because if Silena didn’t get through this, then Drew wasn’t sure if the rest of them could.

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“Have any of you seen Percy? No one’s seen him since the ceremony yesterday,” said Malcolm, coming up towards Travis and Connor.

“No,” said Travis, shaking his head. “Annabeth doesn’t know where he is?”

“She’s the first one who noticed him missing,” said Malcolm with a grimace. He paused for a moment, thinking.

“Also, I don’t think they’re in the best place right now. I heard them fighting yesterday. Dunno what they were talking about, but Annabeth called him a coward, and Rachel’s name came up.”

“Her again?” Connor groaned. They’ve never even met this Rachel Elizabeth Dare, but he’s pretty sure half the camp dislikes her.

He felt kinda bad about it. It wasn’t really fair to the girl, considering they don’t know her at all. Hopefully, when they were officially introduced to her, that is, assuming they would be at one point, there wouldn’t be any issues between anyone.

“MALCOLM!” a voice shouted, cutting their conversation short. “MALCOLM!”

Annabeth came running up to them, breathless and waving her phone. “Malcolm! Message from Percy! He told us to meet him at the Empire State Building. We have to leave. Now!”

“Wait, what? Now?” exclaimed Travis, springing up and getting ready for action. Annabeth nodded furiously.

“Gather everyone,” she instructed. “I think we’re about to head to war.”

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“No,” Katie snapped, slapping Travis’ hand when he attempted to steal drachmas from the fountain. “We are not stealing from Olympus.”

Travis grumbled but obliged, muttering about bossy daughters under his breath. When Katie glared at him, he tried to flash her an innocent smile. Drew snorted. Only Katie could ever keep the son of Hermes in line.

“There!” Valentina said, pointing at some tourist binoculars near the railing. Campers scrambled to check them out, Travis and Connor learning the pack. Silena lingered at the back, her movements still unsure. Drew stayed with her, touching her arm in solidarity. Silena gave her a small smile, albeit forced.

The Aphrodite cabin may have been able to convince her to clean up a bit for battle, but they could do nothing about her mental state. Drew never realised how much she would come to miss Silena’s laugh until she hadn't heard it over the past two days.

“Each needs one drachma to be used,” Travis remarked, smirking at Katie. “Now, can I steal those coins?”

Before Katie could reply, Connor held up a full bag of coins, not the least bit of guilt found on his face.

“No need,” he grinned proudly, showing off his stolen goods. “You may not have been able to do the job, dear brother, but I was.”

Katie groaned in defeat, throwing her hands up in the air and muttering something about stupid Stoll brothers.

“Thanks boys,” said Drew, taking a coin and slipping it into the slot. “By the way, do you think–”

She stopped abruptly in the middle of her sentence, mouth hanging open in shock and horror. The other campers rushed forward with trepidation, equal parts scared and eager to know what was going on.

“Oh my gods…” Drew trailed off, stepping off the podium to allow others to have a look while keeping an iron grip on the knife sheathed to her belt. “Someone get Percy and Annabeth. This is bad. Really, really, really bad.”

Katie took a glimpse at the city and gulped, letting out a nervous laugh. The plants near her start to sway despite the lack of wind.

“Bet you one drachma Annabeth ditches her cabin and goes off with Percy.”

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“I'll go with Percy,” Annabeth said, her tone leaving no room for argument. Not that anyone would challenge her decision. “Then we'll join you, or we'll go wherever we're needed.”

The campers, especially the Athena and Aphrodite ones, snickered in amusement, much to the displeasure of Annabeth. Percy just looked confused. The poor boy was so dense that Drew wasn’t sure how he hadn’t sunk beneath the ground yet.

“No detours, you two,” laughed Katie. She elbowed Travis, who reluctantly handed her a drachma. Why he had chosen to bet against Katie, Drew had no idea.

Actually, that wasn’t true. She had more than a small inkling. She wasn’t the daughter of the love goddess for nothing afterall. The way that Travis had a smile reserved just for Katie wasn’t not noticeable. One only has to be slightly more observant to see it.

But whatever. One huge betting pool in the camp is enough. For now, at least. Though she had a feeling that Connor would be more than happy to start a new one, especially if it involved his brother.

Oh well. Betting pools and whatnots can wait. Right now they had a war to win.

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Michael yew let out a sigh of relief when he caught sight of Percy and Annabeth descending from the sky. Gods, was he getting worried. There was no way his whole cabin would have been able to hold off an entire army. An army that included the minatour, no less.

“Glad you could join us,” Michael said, running up to them, panting heavily. “Where are the other reinforcements?”

“For now, we’re it,” Percy answered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, apologetic look in his eyes.

Michael held back a groan. “Then we’re dead,” he said bluntly. Sure, Percy and Annabeth together were a lethal duo, but they were still only two people. And with an army that size approaching them? Their chances of survival might as well be zero.

He let his last sonic arrow fly, grimacing as it hit its mark. That was his last one, and now he was officially out of grade A weapons. Great.

Percy drew his sword, prepared to charge headfirst into the fray. Michael had to hand it to him. He seemed fully prepared to die today. Then again, the prophecy hadn’t really left him with much of a choice, had it?

"Percy," Annabeth begged. "Let me come with you."

Annabeth never begged. It wasn’t in her nature. But now, as the army drew closer and closer, as Percy headed nearer and nearer into certain doom, Michael could see the pain, desperation and helplessness in Annabeth’s eyes.

She loved him. That was definitely not a secret. The entirety of camp and Olympus knew. Well, maybe except Percy and Annabeth themselves. They were seriously a match made in heaven, being two of the most stubborn and stupidly oblivious people he has ever met.

Michael snorted as Annabeth reluctantly agreed to stay behind. Of course, if there was anyone that could get her to do anything, it was Percy freaking Jackson. Who wouldn’t have guessed?

“All right,” Annabeth nodded slowly. “Get moving.”

Percy gave her a small grin. Michael could almost see the gears shifting in his head, and he wondered what the son of Poseidon was debating on. Why was he wasting precious time just standing there?

“Do I get a kiss for good luck?” Percy asked, shocking everyone within hearing range. A chorus of oohs could be heard around them, but Michael doubted that Percy heard them. The boy was staring at Annabeth and Annabeth only, eyes bright, expression hopeful.

The question was the last thing Michael expected to come out of his mouth, and it was clear that Annabeth hadn’t anticipated this either. She blinked in surprise a few times before letting out a tiny smile.

“Come back alive, Seaweed Brain,” she said, pulling out her knife. A blush was forming on her cheeks, and she was determinedly avoiding Percy’s face. “Then we’ll see.”

Michael suppressed an eye roll, trying his best not to ruin the moment. Of course, Percy would be making his move right before a huge battle. Of course. Why had he expected anything less from him? But go big or go home, right?

Silena’s so going to have a ball with this ordeal later. Michael made a mental note to relay everything to her later. It will be the first thing he gets done after this battle, he promised himself. The campers deserve some good news, afterall.

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Silena anxiously used a wet cloth to wipe Annabeth’s forehead. The wound was getting worse, and she wasn’t sure how much longer Annabeth could take without medical attention. But the Apollo campers were still by the bridge, and they didn’t really have anyone else on hand at the moment who was qualified to treat such a deep and infected gash.

To her relief, Percy and Will Solace came bursting through the door to the terrace. Will immediately crouched down next to Annabeth, inspecting her wound with care. Percy hovered nervously next to her, practically bouncing up and down in his worry.

“Annabeth…” he choked, not even able to complete his sentence. Annabeth gave him a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Her hand trembled as she reached up, but still, she managed to grab onto Percy’s hand tightly as Will treated her shoulder.

Will gave the other campers a list of supplies needed, and they cleared out, leaving Silena, Annabeth and Percy on the terrace. Silence enveloped them for a moment, no one knowing what to say.

Silena’s heart broke at the sight of Percy and Annabeth. They were only sixteen, and yet, had been through so much already. This wasn’t supposed to be their life. They were supposed to have the chance to be stupid teenagers doing stupid things.

They were all supposed to be stupid teenagers doing stupid things.

But instead, here they were, some of them mere tiny children, in a war that wasn’t theirs to fight. Gods, Lacy should be braiding the hair of Barbie dolls, Valentina should be fangirling over some TV show, Drew should be gossiping with her school friends in a cafeteria… And Percy and Annabeth…

Percy and Annabeth should be dancing a few more circles around each other, going on dates, and stressing over exams, not battle plans. This was all wrong.

This was all wrong, and it was all Silena’s fault. If she’d never fallen for Luke and his lies, they wouldn’t be here now. Bianca Di Angelo would be here now, and Nica would have his sister by his side. Zoe Nightshade would be here now, beside her sisters in every way but blood.

Charlie… Charlie would be here now. With his siblings, with his friends, with her.

Charlie was dead, and it was all her fault. Everything… everything was on her. By gods, why had Silena been such an idiot in the first place?

They were all supposed to be stupid teenagers doing stupid things.

“This is all my fault,” she muttered, unable to keep the voices inside her much longer.

“No,” Annabeth denied immediately. “Silena, how is it your fault?”

Sweet Annabeth, bless her dear heart. Even in her fragile state, her first instinct was to support Silena. But Annabeth didn’t know about the things Silena did. She didn’t know about the things that kept Silena up at night. She didn’t know about the things Silena told Luke.

If she knew, Annabeth would hate her so, so much.

"I've never been any good at camp," Silena murmured. "Not like you or Percy. If I were a better fighter…”

If she’d been a better fighter, she would have been able to resist Luke’s temptations and charms. She would have been able to stop everything from being the way it is now. The silver bracelet felt like hot iron on her wrist now, reminding her of everything that she’d done, and everything she’d failed to do.

"You're a great camper," Percy comforted, still clutching onto Annabeth’s hand with his life. "You're the best pegasus rider we have. And you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."

Tears welled up in Silena’s eyes as a watery laugh made it out of her throat. Percy and Clarisse never did manage to get along well, but Silena knew that Clarisse would jump at the chance to destroy anyone harming Percy, and vice versa. The relationship between the two is… complicated.

That was it. Clarisse. She was the key to winning. Well, her cabin was. There was no way they could win the war without the Ares cabin. Luke and his army knew that and would no doubt take advantage of the fact. They desperately need the Ares campers back in battle.

Silena didn’t know how she was going to negotiate with Clarisse, but she did know that the other Ares campers were itching for a fight and would take the first chance they could to leap into it. Since when has a child of Ares shied away from war? As long as Clarisse, or maybe a Clarisse look-alike, is leading the charge, they’ll join in the fray.

She’ll have to get back to camp to bring her half-baked plan to fruition. The sooner she succeeds, the sooner they’ll catch the titans by surprise.

“We need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us,” Silena sniffled. There was no time to explain her plan, and even if she did, there was no way Percy was going to let her risk her life like that. She crossed her fingers, hoping Percy would say yes without any questions.

"Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry—" Percy protested, worry evident in his eyes.

"Please," she begged. "I can take a pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp. Let me try."

Making it back to camp was the smallest of all her issues. Pegasus flying was one of the things that just came naturally to her. The issues resided in the parts that came after making it to camp.

Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look, and Annabeth nodded slightly. Percy reluctantly agreed, and Silena threw her arms around Percy in joy. She could finally make herself useful now, and not just sit around and sabotage everything.

She was going to make up for her past misdeeds, once and for all. For Drew, for Percy, for Annabeth… For Charlie.

The silver bracelet never felt heavier than it did now. As she clambered onto a pegasus, Silena made up her mind.

She was going to succeed, or die trying.

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Aphrodite bit back a sigh and studied her nails. She was quite bored. Zeus was doing some long speech, not that anyone expected anything less. He’d always had a flair for the dramatics. The only person who loved attention more was Apollo. Like father, like son, she supposed.

The goddess of love couldn’t help but notice how Silena was missing from the crowd of demigods. Her face remained impassive, but inside, her heart wept for her daughter.

Truthfully, Silena had always been one of her favourites. Yes, she may have made… mistakes, but she embodied so many of Aphrodite’s best characteristics. Her charismatic daughter, loved by all, is gone too soon. Hades had better fast-track the Elysium process for her.

Taking her mind off the sombre matter for a moment, Aphrodite studied Percy and Annabeth instead. They were standing close together, talking in hushed tones, so at least they were working things out. Good. Aphrodite wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep track of the bet between the Gods. The list was getting a tad too long.

On Aphrodite’s right, Athena was scowling at the soon-to-be couple, as if her mere gaze could set Percy on fire. Aphrodite had no doubt she was trying to do just that. A few seats away, Posiden was grinning wildly at Athena. When Athena noticed that, she pinned her glare at him instead. She still wasn’t quite over the fact that she was out of the bet while Posiden was still in it.

Aphrodite tried not to giggle. The feud between those two will never get old, nor will it ever be over.

Though Posiden wouldn’t stay so happy. He’d lost the bet too. Unfortunately for him, their children did not get together in the middle of the battle.

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Rachel drank her Coke happily. Her dad never let her have any back home, claiming that it was “crappy” and “fattening”. God, she doesn’t think that she’ll love a feature in Camp Halfblood as much as the magic goblets.

Looking around the pavilion, Rachel couldn’t help but notice how empty the place was. Not one bit like how Percy described camp. She pursed her lips, thinking of the shroud burning ceremony earlier. That must have been why.

“Hey, question?” Rachel nudged Drew Tanaka, who sat next to her. According to Drew, normally, the campers would be sitting in their respective tables, but no one was caring about that rule today. Plus, no one really knew what to do with Rachel anyway. Apparently, the camp’s never had an actual living, breathing oracle for… a long while.

Rachel hadn’t really had time to process that information before Drew almost forcibly pulled her along to the Aphrodite table. She didn’t know why the girl had seemed to take a liking to her, but she wasn’t complaining. The only other person she knew was Percy, and he was slightly preoccupied, being a hero of Olympus and pining after Annabeth and all.

So now here she was, sitting with other Aphrodite campers, while most of the other campers gawked at her for some insane reason. Yes, Rachel knew that she was new to camp and not exactly a demigod, but surely, this reaction was a little extreme, no? There had to be more to the story.

“Yes?” Drew said, poking at her uneaten salad. The girl made a face at her plate, then huffed and shoved it aside, opting to grab a plate of bonbons instead. Rachel wasn’t sure that counted as an actual meal, but she opted not to say anything. “What is it?”

“Is it just me, or is everyone staring at me?” Rachel asked, stealing a glance at the other tables. The multiple campers who’d been watching her like a hawk immediately snapped their necks away. Rachel frowned.

Drew rolled her eyes. “Ignore them,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “They’re either curious about you being the new oracle, or mad that you affected their ‘Percabeth’ bet.”

“Wait, what?” Rachel exclaimed, highly confused. “Percabeth? As in Percy and Annabeth?”

“Yeah!” Lacy piped up. She’d been quiet during the short time Rachel’s known her, but the mention of this bet or whatever seemed to get her spirits up. “It’s this betting pool our cabin had going along with the Stolls, about when Percy and Annabeth will finally get their act together. Silena…”

The girl trailed off at the mention of the name. From what Rachel’s managed to gather, Silena was a head counsellor who died during the battle, but she knew that Percy was hiding something when he gave her a brief rundown of the day’s events. But whatever. Not her place to pry.

“Silena managed most of the bets,” Drew said. Her eyes went a little misty, but she continued.

“Most of the people here thought Percy and Annabeth were getting close to dating a while ago, but then Percy came back and started talking about you, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, then Annabeth got mad, and everything snowballed. And people lost drachmas. So now they have a vendetta against you because they think you made them lose. It’s no biggie.”

Rachel nearly choked on her food. She had no idea Percy and Annabeth were such a big deal around here. Of course, she knew there was something going on between the two of them, because who wouldn’t after basically third-wheeling throughout the whole of a quest, but seriously? A campwide betting pool?

“I think their reactions are a little extreme,” Drew said, sending a scathing glare at the campers who were still staring. “You obviously didn’t mean to get in the middle of anything, and also, Percy was and is still single, so you had every right to shoot your shot. And most importantly, you’re the oracle now, which means that you can’t date.”

She raised her voice slightly at the end. The people who were still staring looked away, guilty expressions on their faces.

Rachel snorted. She wasn’t even trying to flirt with Percy seriously. She guessed that deep down, she’d always known that she wouldn’t stand a chance against Annabeth, who was all Percy ever talked about when they hung out. It was always Annabeth said this or Annabeth did that for almost as long as she’d known him.

“Honestly, I don’t know why I even tried,” Rachel said, shaking her head slightly. “Percy and Annabeth are so intertwined, I feel like I already know her even though I’ve barely even met her. I don’t think he even realises how much he talks about her.”

“Well, considering how she took a literal knife for him, I think their relationship is basically set in stone,” Drew said, stuffing a bonbon into her mouth. A pretty silver bracelet hung off her wrist, reflecting light from the campfire. It contrasted with the gold jewellery she wore, but mixed metals were in this season, so it could just be a fashion statement.

“Speaking of which…” Drew said, a wicked glint in her eyes. It was the most energetic Drew acted all night. “Do you know anything about their blossoming relationship, Little Miss Oracle?”

With a shrug of her shoulders, Rachel tried not to give anything away to the best of her capabilities. Yes, she had a feeling what was going to happen tonight. Have had a feeling ever since the oracle ceremony transformation thing, actually. But where was the fun in giving it away?

The entire table of Aphrodite campers lit up when they realised Rachel knew more than she was letting on, but Rachel kept her lips shut. No use in spoiling something that was happening in a matter of hours, right?

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Clarisse hid in the bushes with several other campers, observing Percy and Annabeth. She was tired of the will they, won’tthey between these two. Plus, she’d already lost the bet ages ago, so she had nothing to lose now.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare had smiled mysteriously and mentioned something about something “finally happening tonight” after much wheedling from the Aphrodite cabin, and it didn’t take long for Clarisse to spring into action. Honestly, the camp gossip mill was a lifesaver. It took less than fifteen minutes for Clarisse’s order for other campers to evacuate the pavilion to spread. Everyone was either desperate to get Percy and Annabeth to start dating officially, or wanted to get into a little mischief after well… everything.

Now all they had to do was wait.

This entire thing wasn’t even Clarisse’s plan. It had been Silena’s. She’d told Clarisse about it once, long ago. About how if this Percabeth situationship went on any longer, she would throw them into the lake herself.

Gods, Silena… If only Clarisse hadn’t been so hardheaded, Silena wouldn’t have felt the need to rally the Ares campers, to don the armour, to rush into battle…

Clarisse blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the slowly forming tears. No, she will not be grieving over Silena now. Not when she was surrounded by people who would be watching her break down.

Rustling from her left caught her attention, and she thanked the gods for the distraction.

“Quiet,” she whispered harshly at the twitching camper. “They’re gonna hear us if you don’t stop fiddling.”

In front of them, Annabeth put her arms around Percy’s neck, and finally, finally, finally leaned in to kiss Percy on the lips.

That was it. The moment the entire camp had been waiting for.

Percabeth was official.

“Well, it’s about time!” Clarisse growled, springing up from the bushes and approaching the new lovebirds from behind. She cackled when Percy almost jumped out of his skin. Good. She hadn’t lost her touch.

Everyone was laughing as they threw Percy and Annabeth into the canoe lake, and they laughed even harder when the two didn’t come up, even after a few minutes.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out what the son of Poseidon was doing underwater.

“So who won the bet in the end?” Clarisse asked Drew in a loud voice, intending for everyone to hear them. Sure enough, all the campers turned to them excitedly.

Drew smirked. She made a show of clearing her throat and whipping out a notebook, even though Clarisse knew dam well she’d memorised the winner before she came here already.

“The winner of Operation Percabeth is… Drumroll please,” she announced dramatically. Travis and Connor obliged with great willingness, stomping their feet to create the desired effect.

“Will Solace!”

Will Solace turned pink at the sudden attention. “What?” he shrugged when he noticed some people were gaping at him, astonished. “They vent a lot when they come down to the infirmary. I think the pain meds make them more honest.”

Huh. That made sense. Kind of.

“Well, Will, come to my cabin to collect your winnings tomorrow after we figure out how much you win,” said Drew, snapping her notebook shut. “Now let’s scram. I don’t want to just stand here while Percy makes out with Annabeth underwater. And we need to leave before Annabeth finds out what we did.”

That was true. No one wanted to face the wrath of an angry daughter of wisdom.

Clarisse grinned and followed Drew away. She’ll let Percy do whatever he wants for now. He’s earned it. She’ll save that for tomorrow.

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“Aphrodite,” Dionysus greeted, not bothering to look at his guest, too caught up in drinking the last of his Diet Coke. “Here to present me with my winnings?”

“Congratulations,” said Aphrodite, holding up a heavy sack of drachmas. “I don’t know how you did it, but you won.”

Dionysus heaved as he snapped his fingers to get more Diet Coke.

“When you’ve been around these children for as long as I have, you start to pick up on a few things.”

“I suppose,” Aphrodite agreed with a nod. “See you for my next bet.”

Dionysus gave a grunt of acknowledgement and helped himself to more Diet Coke.