XI - Percy

                                    

                                          
Percy had visited Maryland maybe twice before. That coupled with Chiron's very vague directions had created a very frustrating situation. All Chiron had said was that a satyr had last seen the boy around a museum in D.C.  Did he know how many museums there were in DC? It seemed like over a thousand. 
                          
Trying to figure out a GPS was already spreading his patience pretty thin. Plus, he knew Annabeth was hiding something. He wasn't 100% sure what it was but he knew it was something. He had known her for several years now and knew her like the back of his hand. He could tell something was off when they went to bed last night and she appeared distant. 
                          
She had thrown up again in the morning and Percy was worried the food poisoning might be more than that but she kept brushing him off. 
                          
Instead the two of them were now focusing on finding the kid and trying to figure out where were the spots for the homeless street kids. 
                          
"I'm a little hungry. Maybe we should take a break for lunch?" Annabeth suggested, sitting down at a bench and putting her map down. She unbuckled the belt that her dagger and set it next to her, which Percy found a bit odd since she never took it off but when he asked about it, all she said was that it was digging into her stomach. 
                          
Percy sighed, "Are you sure? I feel like we need to keep looking for a little longer."
                          
"Yes, I'm sure," She frowned, "Relax, Percy, we still have time. We'll find him eventually."
                          
"Well, I don't wanna spend any more time here than necessary." He answered, continuing to flip through the guide book. 
                          
"I wouldn't either if I was being so impatient. Just relax honey." She stood, "Now can we please get something to eat?"
                          
Percy frowned at her, "Impatient? Excuse me for wanting to get back as soon as possible."
                          
"There's no harm in wanting to enjoy this trip a little."
                          
"Right. I'm sure that if it was up to you, we'd stay here for weeks." He shut the book, and turned, "Fine, I think we passed a restaurant a block back."
                          
"Whoa, whoa, come back here. What is that supposed to mean?" She crossed her arms. 
                          
"What do you think? You couldn't get out here fast enough," he sighed and tilted his head at her -- his signature, "im willing to argue this out pose"
                          
"To help the kid!" She threw her hands up, "You're being extremely childish Percy, I mean c'mon."
                          
"No, I'm really not. You've been trying to delay everything for weeks now."
                          
"I want everything to be perfect! You're being immature like you always are!"
                          
"You're always an extreme perfectionist and you take things too far Annabeth!"
                          
"That's who I am Percy! I'm sorry for trying to have at least one adult in this relationship."
                          
"Well maybe if I'm so immature then we shouldn't get married!" The minute the words were out of his mouth he regretted them. 
                          
Annabeth's face crumbled and she stared at him in stony silence for a beat, "Fine. Maybe you're right." Before Percy had a chance to say anything, she had pulled the ring off her finger, flung it at him and ran in the opposite direction. 
                          
"Annabeth, wait!" He cried as he dropped to his knees to frantically search for the ring on the ground. By the time he found it she was long gone. "Fuck!" He screamed, running his hands through his hair and pulling on the brown locks, "Fuck!"
                          
He picked up the ring and stood, slumping into the bench where he realized Anna Beth had forgotten her dagger. One stupid, thoughtless comment. Had he just let that ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him?
                          
No. 
                          
Taking a shaky breath, he unclasped the leather cord from around his neck and slipped the ring on it, where it clicked against his camp beads. He was gonna get her back, he always did, he told himself as he secured the necklace back around his neck. 
                          
She was everything. 
                          
--
Percy was pretty bad at directions. However, he had always had Annabeth to lead him in the right direction. 
                          
Now, he was starting to realize why he really needed her so much. After getting up, he had just gone in the direction in which had Annabeth had gone. 
                          
He just wandered around blindly until he realized that she had probably just headed back to the hotel. Yet by then his phone had died, and the area he was in no longer within his paper map. 
                          
He felt awful not only because he was lost, but because Annabeth was out without her dagger. Of course she could defend herself, but what could she do without a weapon?
                          
After nearly an hour of aimless wandering, he sat in a bench heavy with worry and rested his head in his hands. 
                          
He had to think. There was always a way, always. The two of them found their way through anything but they had always been together. He felt as if he was missing a part of himself, a foot, a hand, his head. 
                          
'What would Annabeth do?'
                          
She would asses the situation and work with what was around them. With visions of her in mind, he looked up into a tourist stand. Maps, surely they sold maps. 

Everything would be alright. 
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