Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.

ANNABETH POV

Bathrooms aren't exactly the best place to talk; I know that from experience.

So when Percy dragged me into the men's bathroom, I pulled away from his grasp and stared at him, mouth agape.

"The boys bathroom? What- exactly- are we talking about?" I managed.

He smirked before it fell off his face. "Just trust me on this, Annabeth," he pleaded. He looked at me solemnly before his eyes travelled around the room behind me again.

I stared at Percy before nodding, tracking his gaze to two men standing in the corner of the gym.

He pushed me inside the bathroom and pushed me into a stall. I shifted uncomfortably. "You know, Percy, this would've been fine ten years ago-"

He looked at me, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Um, not that Annabeth. I need to get away from…. Them."

An awkward silence filled the air before I replied, "Who?"

He flinched as the door to the bathroom was flung open. He pulled me on top of the toilet seat to stand and pushed my head down so my head wasn't sticking over the top.

He stood and faced the toilet, pushing a finger to his lips. The men's footsteps echoed in the large bathroom before a low voice called out to Percy.

"Perseus?"

Percy froze and looked back. "I just got in the stall, guys," he said. "I still need to go."

He looked up at me before looking at his pants.

I froze.

Hades no.

I shook my head frantically, but he shrugged helplessly, motioning back to outside the stall.

I turned away, staring at the wall, as he dropped his pants.

Maybe nine, ten years ago, I wouldn't exactly be uncomfortable with this, but this was pushing it. I hadn't seen the man in a long time, and he had just... dropped his pants in a bathroom stall in front of me?

I heard him pull up his pants. He turned me around and had me drop down so I was sitting on the toilet instead of standing.

He opened the stall door and immediately pushed it back to it's closed place, making sure the men couldn't see me in the stall.

I heard water turn on and the men grunted. "You ready, Perseus?"

I heard fading footsteps as the men and Percy must've walked away.

I jumped off the toilet, smoothed down my hair, and ran out the stall and out the bathroom. Luckily, no one spotted the woman sprinting from the men's bathroom.

I still wondered what Percy wanted to say. Something was wrong, as he kept flashing me worried gazes across the room and at Anthony.

After the reunion ended, Percy sprinted across the room. Gwendolyn was nowhere to be found, and he looked at me helplessly. Anthony grumbled and stood by my side. "By the gods, Annabeth, she's Hades without-"

Gwendolyn slashing through the crowd of former Goode High students cut him off. "Percy?" she called in a sickeningly sweet tone, looking for him.

He looked back at me and made an ancient Greek gesture for warding off evil. Gwendolyn immediately slipped on a puddle of spilled punch, and I had to keep myself from laughing.

Percy smiled softly, and then ran across the room to stand near the stage. I snorted, and walked over to Gwendolyn. "Need some help?" I asked, standing over her.

"Not from you," she retorted, standing up slowly. Anthony copied Percy's gesture, and she slipped onto the ground again.

"W-what did he just do?" she asked.

"Who?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Antonio!"

Gods, she could've been a female version of Dionysus with her knowledge of names. "You mean Anthony?"
"Yes!"

"Oh, Anthony's just very… superstitious. Maybe he thought you were forced to fall by an evil spirit." Or your own dirty, ugly…

"Have you seen Percy?" she asked frantically, finally back onto her feet (although I was tempted to push her back down).

I shrugged. "I haven't seen him since…"

Gwendolyn smirked. "Yeah, I feel so sorry for you."

She kept smirking, but Anthony interrupted. "I think he's over by the stage."

"Ah, thank you, Tony!"

"Anthony."

"Whatever."

She walked off in Percy's direction. I turned to Anthony.

"I think Percy's in trouble."