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It's peaceful, despite everything. The sun is bright, the water clear. There's a light breeze that teases autumn. It doesn't feel like Annabeth's whole world is falling apart.
"Hey."
She jumps a little, turning. Percy looks awkward, nervous, nothing like the hero who shook an entire mountain just a week ago.
"What are you doing here?"
Annabeth looks between him and the lake. "Just thinking."
Percy shifts in place. "See me off?"
Only now does she notice the duffel bag by his feet. "Yeah, 'course." She stand, very aware of Percy's eyes on her, when she can't even hold his gaze for longer than a second.
They walk up to the top of Half-Blood Hill together, but they're careful not to touch. Annabeth doesn't know if it's conscious or not.
"Your dad picking you up?"
She shakes her head. "Signed up for an extra two weeks to scout around more. Dad agreed, in exchange for giving San Francisco a try." She sighs, still tired from so many funerals. "It'll let me keep an eye on things, at least. Maybe get a sign of..." She bites her tongue.
Percy's face grows dark at the same time.
Luke's name hangs heavy between them.
"What was the last line of the prophecy?"
"Percy-"
He starts reciting the Oracle's words. For as much as she teases him, his memory's sharp, and he ignores her attempts to interrupt. He's desperate to change the topic.
It won't work.
"To die with a hero's final breath; okay, that's Dedaelus. But then what's-"
"And lose a love to worse than death!" Annabeth half-shouted. "Happy?!"
The moment stretches out. Time stands still. Annabeth's finally looking at Percy, and she regrets it, because he looks...
Betrayed.
"Oh." His voice is a croak. "So... Luke..."
"Percy, I don't know!" She says, desperate and defensive. "I didn't know if it was about Luke or... I mean, Luke was... For years, he was the only one who cared about me."
Percy's still staring at her and she had to look away. She's forced to put a name to the tightness of her chest: guilt.
She knew who that line meant. At least, she'd been sure she knew. Because it had to be Percy, didn't it?
Sure, she'd harbored a secret adoration for Luke for years, but these days, she's not sure if it was a crush or something more, a familial affection that came from being in the same foxhole or a different emotion entirely.
But she's sure about Percy and surely that made all the difference?
The possibility of it being about Luke had never even crossed her mind until...
Argus blew the horn impatiently. Percy flinched at thr sound.
"Annabeth- listen, i-"
"I gotta go," she chokes out. "Stay safe, Seaweed Brain, okay?"
She runs back down the Hill. She doesn't look back. She can still feel his eyes on her.