Somewhere Only We Know

After being away from home for so long, what you remember becomes what is really there and what is there becomes a foreign plaint. That was my biggest fear as the Argo landed on the shores of Camp Half Blood.  That what I thought Camp was wouldn't be there any more and that these ideas in my head of what camp was would all be some lie.

The Atlantic breeze felt normal, unlike the Pacific Ocean, which was foreign. The air of camp smelt the same as I had hoped it would: impossibly clean for a place so close to New York.

From the docks of the Argo II was able to see the strawberry fields, the forest, the lake, and the cabins. Camp hadn't changed; it was the place I had hoped it would be.

It really felt like home. For the first time in months of imaging what camp would be like and spending months adjusting to Roman life, I was back where I belonged. Camp Half Blood was simple; there were no temples or forums or shops, just some strawberries and a beach. But even after being in the amazing roman camp, it still didn't feel like it needed any improvements.

This was my home, my nice, and simple home.

Annabeth took my hand and we walked off the ship together. A sea of people, all welcoming me back and asking questions swarmed me. Even Clarisse gave me, what I thought was, an affectionate punch in the arm (is it sill affectionate if it causes bruising?).

When we got out of the crowed Annabeth broke away from me. She told me she would give me time to myself and that she would meet me later. I made my way to my cabin.

It was as if I had never left. Everything was where I had left it, there wasn't even dust on anything. It was as if my cabin froze itself in time and was waiting for me.

I lay down on my bed and breathed in the ocean scent. I laid there for barely a minute before the ADHD kicked in and I forced myself to get up and keep looking around.

I made my way to the forest, where a familiar Dryad was waiting for me. Juniper leaned casually against her tree; she seemed to have matured during the time gone. Or maybe she was just happy to see me. "Welcome back, Hero." She told me.

I didn't have time to respond to Juniper because a familiar voice called my name. "Percy!" I turned to see Grover moving quickly towards me. When he got to me I gave him an hg. Not a half-assed shoulder-bump hug, a true genuine hug.

We stayed and talked for an hour before I promised to talk to him again soon, but told him I had to meet Annabeth.

I knew she would be in her cabin, so naturally that was the first place I checked. She was in there alone, working only by the light of a small desk lamp; the shades had been pulled shut, not letting in any sunlight.

You could tell by her posture and the way she kept tugging on her hair that she was stressed. I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me. You could see it in her eyes; stress and maybe even a little fear.

"Come on," I told her, nodding my head towards the door. She stood up and led the way.

We walked down to the beach, which was still mostly occupied by a war ship. But that didn't matter. I took a step up onto the jetty, which was slick with sea mist. I took Annabeth's hand to help her, making sure she didn't fall.

We walked to the end of the rocks and dangled our feet over the edge. We sat and talked for hours. We talked about the  "gift" from her mother and the giants and the war, our fears, and everything we could think of. We sat there making use of the time we were given.

"This could be the end of everything, Percy." She told me. There wasn't any more stress in her eyes; only fear. When Annabeth looks scared, you know there is something to be scared about.

"Do you have your phone in your pocket?" I asked her.

"No, why did you want to cal…" She didn't get to finish before I pushed her off the rocks. I pulled my shirt off and jumped in after her. She came up out of the water, whipping the wet hair out of her face.

"I'm going to kill you, Percy Jackson," She tried to sound threatening but she was laughing too much.

"You gotta catch me first." I told her swimming away from her. She hurled her self at me and I caught her and kissed her for the millionth time since being reunited with her. Our wet cloths clung to our bodies and the cold water was making her shiver, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Come on." I told her. She knew what we were doing. She took my hand and dove underwater at the same time I did. This was the one place where we were safe, where we couldn't get caught. We didn't come back up until the next morning.