14

*** In The Lost Hero, Annabeth tells Piper that Olympus has been closed for about a month. This is a one-shot about what might have happened when Percy and Annabeth realized Mt. Olympus was closed. This one-shot takes place between The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero. As always, characters, world, etc. belong to Rick Riordan.***

Percy was in the middle of playing Grand Theft Auto when someone banged on the front door. He looked up, startled. His mom and Paul were out for the evening (and probably wouldn't be knocking on their own door) and Annabeth had told him she'd be on Olympus most of the night, working on finishing up the last few buildings. He groaned inwardly, thinking it was probably Nico, Thalia, or a god, most likely with some insane request. He debated ignoring the door, but the knocking didn't quit. With a sigh, Percy paused the game, stood up from the couch, checked that Riptide was still in his pocket, and went to answer the door.

When he opened the door, Annabeth was standing there, fist still raised to knock. There were snowflakes stuck to her woolly hat and blonde hair and her cheeks were flushed from the cold. Percy's heart did a quick tap-dance, but then he noticed her eyes, which were as storm dark as the snow clouds outside.

"Olympus is closed," she said, lowering her fist.

"Is that supposed to be code for something?" Percy asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "We're not the Secret Service, Seaweed Brain. 'Olympus is closed' means Mt. Olympus is closed."

Percy just looked at her, not sure how to respond. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." He stood back to let her pass, then shut the door as Annabeth set down her backpack and hung up her coat and hat. "So, how did you find out it was closed?"

"Because I tried to get in and the doorman was gone. It was an actual mortal at the front desk. He called security after I told him I needed to get to the six hundredth floor to talk to Zeus about the design of his temple."

Percy bit back a laugh. "Seriously? What did you do?"

"I left. Quickly," Annabeth said. "And it's not funny. If Olympus is closed, something must be really wrong. I tried to contact Chiron, but he wasn't at camp. Neither was Mr. D. I talked to Clarisse, but she didn't know anything." Annabeth dropped onto the couch with a frustrated sigh.

"Wasn't Chiron going to a Party Ponies convention sometime soon?" Percy asked as he sat down beside her. "That's probably where he is. And Mr. D is never around when someone needs him."

"True. But the real problem is why Olympus would even be closed." She glanced at Percy. "You don't think this has anything to do with the new Great Prophecy, do you?"

Percy's mouth felt dry as he recalled the strange lines his friend, Rachel Dare, had spouted immediately after becoming the new oracle, about seven half-bloods answering the call and the world falling to storm or fire. "I hope not. We could try calling Rachel, though, she might know something."

Four months ago, Percy wouldn't have dared to suggest to Annabeth that they call Rachel. However, since August, when Rachel became the oracle and Percy and Annabeth started dating, the two had been getting along great. Which, frankly, created new problems because Percy was pretty sure the two of them swapped embarrassing stories about him behind his back.

Annabeth nodded. "Worth a try." She pulled out her cell phone. "I've got her number here."

"You two been, um, talking much?" Percy asked.

Annabeth looked at him and there was a hint of a smirk on her face. "Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not. Just, you know, wondering," Percy stammered, hoping his face wasn't as red as it felt.

"We don't just talk about you, Seaweed Brain. Get over yourself." Annabeth nudged him with her shoulder as she dialed Rachel's number and held the phone to her ear. After a few moments, she frowned. "Went to voicemail. Hey, Rachel, it's Annabeth. Olympus is closed. Call me back."

"Straight to the point," Percy said as Annabeth set her phone back down.

"It's better than that message you left me before the Battle of Manhattan. 'Hey, Annabeth, so, um, can you get everybody at camp and meet me in New York? Bring armor and, uh, weapons. 'Kay, bye.'"

"You're really terrible at mimicking my voice."

"Oh, shut up."

They were quiet for a few minutes. Percy was tempted to go back to his game, but he didn't think Annabeth would appreciate that, considering the circumstances. Finally, he said, "So, you really think it's closed because of something bad happening? I mean, couldn't it just be 'Closed for cleaning' or something like that?"

"Olympus isn't a public bathroom, Percy. And don't say it's because of Thanksgiving next week, because it doesn't close for mortal holidays, either." She sat up straighter, then asked, "Do you remember Cacus?"

"Fire-breathing giant who stole Hermes's caduceus and interrupted our one-month anniversary date?" Percy said. "Rings a bell. Why?"

"He said he was trying to interrupt the gods' communication system. And when we told Hermes, he said that was ironic considering Zeus was planning something, but he didn't tell us what. Well, what if he meant this, closing Olympus off from the mortal world?" She locked eyes with Percy and he could see that she was actually freaked out by this. A shiver went down his spine.

"But why cut Olympus off?" Percy asked. "What would be the point?"

"I don't know," Annabeth said. Her eyes didn't look as stormy as they had when she'd arrived; now, she looked more scared than angry. "But it can't be good."

"It might not be bad," Percy said. "At least, not world-ending bad. Maybe somebody just lost something. You know, like Aphrodite's hairbrush or Apollo's lyre, and Zeus shut the place down so they could find it. Like when Hades's sword went missing and Persephone shut down the Underworld until Thalia, Nico, and I brought it back."

"Maybe." Annabeth bit her lip, thinking, then her eyes lit up. "Thalia! We could contact Thalia and see if she's heard anything from Artemis."

"Yeah, okay," Percy said, glancing again at the TV where his car was frozen in the act of running someone over.

"If you think Grand Theft Auto is more important than the fate of the world, I can do this without you," Annabeth said coolly.

"Did I say that?" Percy said. He stood up from the couch and held out a hand to help her up. "Come on, my mom has a crystal hanging in her bedroom window that makes great rainbows."

Luckily, Thalia wasn't busy when they Iris-messaged her. She and the other Hunters seemed to be relaxing; their silvery tents were set up and several dozen teenage girls were scattered around the campsite reading, playing board games, and eating dinner. If you ignored the white wolves, hunting falcons, and weapons interspersed with the Hunters, it could have been a Girl Scout field trip.

"Hey, lovebirds," Thalia said.

Annabeth made a face. "Would you stop doing that?"

"No. It's too much fun to see your expressions. Especially Percy's, that's a really great shade of red." Thalia winked at him and Percy was tempted to swipe through the Iris-message and make her disappear. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Listen, Thalia, have you heard from Artemis lately? Like, within the last few days?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia frowned. "Why do you ask?"

"Because Olympus is closed. I went to the Empire State Building this afternoon and I couldn't get in."

Thalia looked stunned. "But Olympus is never closed."

"It is now," Percy said.

"I haven't been able to get in touch with Chiron or Mr. D," Annabeth told Thalia, "but I was wondering if you had heard anything from Artemis."

"Yeah, she stopped by camp this morning, actually," Thalia said. "She said she was going to be doing some scouting, so we shouldn't worry if we don't hear from her for a couple weeks."

Annabeth and Percy exchanged a look. Suddenly, video games were the farthest thing from his mind. "She didn't happen to mention what kind of scouting she was doing, did she?" Percy asked.

Thalia shook her head. "She was pretty vague, but that's not unusual." She looked at Percy and Annabeth and, this time, she wasn't smiling. "I'm not ready for more trouble, not after this summer."

"I second that," Percy muttered.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, her cell phone rang in the living room. "That must be Rachel. I'll talk to you later, Thalia."

Percy turned back to the Iris-message as Annabeth took off down the hall.

"Why is the oracle calling?" Thalia asked.

Percy shrugged. "Rachel delivered the new Great Prophecy back in August. Annabeth is hoping she'll have some insight into what's going on."

"Well, let me know if you learn anything interesting," Thalia said. She glanced over her shoulder like someone had called her name. "Looks like I've got to go. Take care, Percy."

"Yeah, you too," Percy said. Thalia raised her hand and the message disconnected.

Percy stood for a moment staring at the place where the Iris-message had been, thinking about Olympus being closed and what it might mean. He didn't like any of the possibilities he was coming up with. Shaking his head, he turned and walked back down the hallway to the living room.

Annabeth was sitting on the couch, her cell phone against her ear. "Okay. Yeah. Well, if you hear anything, let me know. Will do. Talk to you soon, Rachel. Bye."

Percy sat down beside her as she snapped her phone closed. "Rachel know anything?"

Annabeth shook her head. "She said this is the first she's heard that Olympus is closed. And she doesn't think the Great Prophecy is starting yet, but," Annabeth bit her lip, "but she said she's had a bad feeling for about a week or so, she's just not sure what it's about."

"Wonderful," Percy muttered.

"Yeah," Annabeth replied. "Anyway, Rachel said she'd let me know if she hears anything, from Chiron or anyone else. Now, I guess, we just have to wait and see."

"In that case…." Percy's eyes strayed back to the TV screen, where his game was waiting.

"Seriously, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy shrugged. "I'd hate for the world to end before I beat my high score."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous." But she curled up next to him on the couch, so Percy figured he was in the clear.

"Do you want to play?" he asked. "I can get the other controller out."

Annabeth shook her head. "I'm good. Besides, didn't you say something about beating your high score?"

"Yeah," Percy said as he took the game off pause, "yeah, I'm really close to a new one."

"Then I'll try not to distract you," Annabeth said with a smirk.

"Thanks." Percy thought she might have rolled her eyes again, but he was too busy checking his mission on the screen to look over.

"You still going to your dad's for Thanksgiving?" Percy asked as he resumed cruising the streets.

"Mmhm," Annabeth said. She was absent-mindedly tracing her finger along his forearm, which he found pretty distracting. "Though, to be honest, I wish I was staying here."

"Yeah, my mom makes awesome blue mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving," Percy said.

Annabeth laughed. "At least we'll get to spend most of Christmas break at camp. That should be fun."

"Definitely."

They lapsed into silence. The only sound came from the game on the TV, which Percy was having some trouble concentrating on. His focus kept drifting to Annabeth, curled up beside him, and the fact that his parents probably wouldn't be home for at least another hour.

Percy finished the game, short of his high score. He threw a few choice Ancient Greek curses at the television, then set down his controller. "What now?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Want to watch a movie?"

"Sure. Got anything in mind?" Percy turned to the bookshelf that housed his family's DVD collection, which had grown exponentially since Paul had moved in.

"How about The Hangover?"

"But I've already seen that one like ten times," Percy protested.

"Yeah, me too," Annabeth said, raising her eyebrows.

It took Percy a minute to catch her meaning. "Oh. Oh. Yeah, Hangover sounds good."

"Almost four months of dating and you're still clueless." Annabeth shook her head, but she was smiling.

"You knew what you were getting into," Percy said as he put the DVD in. He sat back down on the couch and pressed play on the remote.

"True," Annabeth said as she leaned over. She kissed him and Percy completely forgot about the movie.

Percy's parents got home just as the guys in the movie found Doug. Percy had his feet propped up on the coffee table and his arm around Annabeth, who had fallen asleep against his shoulder about the time the trade-off with Chow went sour.

"Looks like you guys are having a wild Friday night," his mom said as she and Paul walked into the living room.

Paul chuckled as he helped Sally take her coat off. "Don't underestimate the power of a movie you've both already seen, right, Percy?"
"Uh, sure," Percy said. He hoped the room was dark enough that they couldn't see him blushing. He gave Annabeth a small shake. "Hey, my parents are home."

She blinked, then yawned, and sat up. "Oh, hi, Sally. Hi, Paul."

"Hi, sweetheart," Sally said, dropping into an armchair and kicking off her high heels. She glanced at the screen, where the Hangover crew was frantically trying to get back in time for the wedding. "I thought Percy said you had to work on Olympus tonight."

"Couldn't get in," Annabeth said. "Olympus is closed."

Sally looked startled. Paul, who had just come back in from hanging up their coats, said, "How can it close?"

"We don't know," Annabeth admitted. "It's a bit strange."

"Well, I'm sure if something bad had happened, Chiron would have contacted you," Sally said.

"Yeah, probably," Percy said.

Annabeth checked the time on her phone, then cursed in Ancient Greek. "It's almost my curfew, I need to get back to my dorm."

"Percy can drive you back," Paul said, tossing him the keys. "The car should still be warm."

"Thanks, Paul," Percy said. He stretched, then stood up and offered Annabeth a hand.

"Yeah, thanks," she said as she took Percy's hand and got to her feet. "I really appreciate it."

"It'd be a cold ride on the subway tonight," Paul said. "Just try not to let another pegasus land on the car, Percy."

"I'll do my best," Percy said.

Sally stood up and gave them each a quick hug. "Always good to see you, Annabeth. Percy, drive safe, the roads are a little slippery."

"Will do, Mom," he promised. They put their coats on, Annabeth grabbed her backpack, and they headed out the door.

"Your mom's probably right, you know," Annabeth said once they were in the car. Paul had been telling the truth, it was still warm, and Percy cranked up the heater to keep it that way.

"Right about what?" he asked as he backed out of the spot and turned onto the road.

"Chiron would have contacted us if something bad had happened. Probably, like you said, someone lost something or had a fit and locked the place up. Watch out for that lady with the dog." Annabeth pointed as an older woman and her terrier stepped out into the street, completely oblivious to the Prius.

Percy hit the brakes and the back end fishtailed briefly, but he managed to avoid hitting the lady, who looked at him like he was the crazy one who had just walked out into traffic. "New York," he muttered.

"Reminds me of Echidna and her Chihuahua," Annabeth said.

"Yeah, right before they torched the Arch and tried to kill me," Percy said. "Good memories."

"We really didn't know what we were doing on that first quest, did we?" Annabeth said.

"We never know what we're doing," Percy pointed out. He tried to stop at an intersection, but the car kept sliding, so he gave up and hit the gas, grateful that nothing was coming. "It usually works out okay, though."

"Yeah, most of the time," Annabeth said. She looked out the window as Percy slid around the corner and onto the street where her dorm was located.

"Most of the time?" Percy raised his eyebrows as he pulled into a parking spot in front of her dorm and managed to stop before rear-ending the car in front of him.

"Well, there was that time you blew up a volcano and released Typhon."

"Even that worked out in the end," Percy protested, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"You don't have to walk me to my door," Annabeth said. "It's ten feet away."

"My mom said it's good manners to always walk your date to her door," Percy replied. He turned off the car and opened his door. "And you know me, I'm all about good manners."

Annabeth laughed and slid her hand into his when he reached her side of the car.

"Look," Percy said as they walked up the stairs and stopped in front of the door, "even if Olympus closing is because of the new Great Prophecy, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be involved. I mean, I was already the half-blood in the old Great Prophecy. How bad would my luck have to be to end up as one of the seven demigods in this one?"

"Pretty bad," Annabeth admitted. She still looked worried, though, and Percy had to admit he was, too, despite what he had just told her. His luck hadn't ever been great.

"Either way," Percy said, "it doesn't matter this second. Let's just, I don't know, enjoy the moment, or something cheesy like that."

Annabeth laughed again and slid her arms around his neck. "Good plan, Seaweed Brain."

"Thanks," Percy said, then he kissed her.

Snow gently drifted down, dusting the sidewalks and muffling the city noises. Percy could've happily stayed in this moment forever.

A car door slammed down the street and they broke apart.

"Good night, Percy," Annabeth said. She smiled and took out her keycard to get into her dorm.

"Night," Percy said. He put his hands in his pockets and made his way down the steps to the Prius. He unlocked the door but before he got in the car, he looked back at Annabeth. She was just heading inside, but she turned to look at him, and gave a small wave. Percy waved back, then got into the Prius, cranked up the heat, and drove off down the street. He was grinning as he made his way carefully toward his apartment building. Sure, Olympus was closed, the second Great Prophecy might be starting, and, with his terrible luck, he would probably be involved. But, at the moment, looking back on his evening, Percy felt like a pretty lucky guy.