A Gossip

On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.

As Annabeth and Percy were spreading a picnic blanket and Y/N was working on spreading picnic blankets with Ruby and fighting on which colour looked better, Grover showed up to tell them good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost like college kid. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human.

"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know."

Percy tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. He'd only known Grover a year, yet he was his oldest friend.

Annabeth gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on. Y/N and Grover both pulled each other's cheeks. She said, "Thank you Grover." He nodded his head, as he knew what she was talking about. "And take care of yourself or else I don't know about Pan but you surely will find me coming to hit you." Grover laughed and nodded his head.

Percy asked him where he was going to search first.

"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan ..."

"We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"

"Yeah."

"And you remembered your reed pipes?"

"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."

But he didn't really sound annoyed.

He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway-nothing like the little runty boy Percy used to defend from bullies at Yancy Academy.

"Well," he said, "wish me luck."

He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped Percy on the shoulder, and finally gave a hug to Y/N, then headed back through the dunes.

Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware.

"Hey, Grover," Percy called.

He turned at the edge of the woods.

"Wherever you're going- I hope they make good enchiladas."

Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.

"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.

"Heck yeah we will," Y/N said, smiling. Almost like she wasn't just trying to console others, but was also trying to believe it herself.

Percy tried to believe it. The fact that no searcher had ever come back in two thousand years ... well, he decided not to think about that. Grover would be the first. He had to be.

July passed.

Percy spent his days devising new strategies for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands. He got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava.

From time to time, he'd walk past the Big House, glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle. He tried to convince himself that its prophecy had come to completion.

Other times, he would come up with ways to ask out Annabeth, but whenever she appeared it felt like this expectation was wrong. Grover did tell him about her feelings but...it wasn't enough. How was he going to ask her out? When the Apollo kids sang in amphitheatre? During capture-the-flag? Does he need to do all the mushy flowers and chocolate thing too? It was confusing but he wanted it to be something that wouldn't embarrass him in the future.

Y/N soon got determined as Apollo's daughter with his symbol, when a golden sun with 21 rays made of arrows appeared over her head. She moved from her cabin, something Ruby looked happy about. I mean, don't get it wrong- she adored Y/N but both realized having a spacious room is much better than having a congested one, and fighting with each other half of the time. Other than her, Harris was the only person who genuinely looked bummed out. Y/N just laughed and said, "Hey, we can meet whenever you want you know?! I mean, if we don't have work to finish." She did hear a couple of kids tease him about it, but she was kind of used to it by now.

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.

The campers had one last meal together. They burned part of their dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.

Percy and Y/N got their own leather necklace, and saw the bead for their first summer. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center for Percy. While Y/N's was pitch black, with a golden sun shining in the center.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"

The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.

Y/N didn't get cheers but she was glad about it. She didn't like the overwhelming attention. Besides it wasn't her quest to begin with.

Percy was not sure he'd ever felt as happy or sad as he did at that moment. He'd finally found a family, people who cared about him and thought he'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year.

Harris joined her again in the amphitheatre. He wanted to talk before he left.

"Sorry, I guess there wasn't much cheer for you," he said, "almost none."

"Trust me, it's better this way. Imagine announcing 'Y/N! Congratulations on solving your daddy issues!'. It would be very embarrassing."

"Well if you put it like that," Harris asked chuckling, "Hey I uh- I don't know if you've heard about this but don't listen to-"

"-the gossip about us? About me jumping onto you immediately after Percy and Annabeth started a thing going on?" Y/N laughed, "It's so weird that these are the same kids who care about me."

"They'll back-bitch you but won't back-stab you for sure," Harris laughed.

"Where do you live?"

"New York City, where else?"

"Good! Me too! Can I visit you?"

"Are you sure? Monsters might smell us."

"I'm sure we can take them down together."

"Really?" Y/N said, "You would be the first guy visiting my home. Sorry if my dad kind of comes off as rude."

"I can make him like me."

"Oh~ What are you planning?"

"I'm planning to watch you sing in a stadium in one of the school fests you have."

"You're really fixated on hearing me sing, aren't you?"

"Yep, I deserve it."

"You do," Y/N laughed, "Well, meet me back in new york and I'll think about the solo performance."

"Really?" Harris asked.

They talked for a long time after that. Ruby joined them too. It was the last night they were going to talk before they went away in their own homes, so Y/N wanted to treasure the time.