Author's notes: Loved the way Rick Riordan presented Rachel and Annabeth as friends in The Lost Hero, so I decided to write fic about it. They're both two of my very favorite characters and I don't actually write them together a lot, so this was fun and something I definitely want to do again.

Warnings: SPOILERS for The Lost Hero and the rest of Heroes of Olympus possibly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.

Alter Ipse Amicus

"Have you seen this boy?"

It takes the Shop-Ez clerk with the black eye far too long to tear his gaze away from Rachel's cleavage to look at the photo she's dangling under his nose, but when his eyes focus and narrow on the subject in the middle of the picture, she knows she won't have to slap him for it. Probably.

"That little shit," the clerk says roughly, jabbing his finger at Percy's face in the photo, "is the reason my face looks like this! He and his stupid girlfriends – "

"Beamed you in the face with a baseball bat?" Rachel suggests, eyeing the impressive bruise on his cheek that's partially shaped like the Louisville Slugger logo. She puts the photo in her pocket before the clerk can grab it away and rip it in two.

"Yes!" he says, his chest puffing up indignantly. "And they stole – "

"About $50 worth of gas and various amenities like Coke and snacks?" she interrupts again. She glances over her shoulder at the boarded up window by the cafe, and points. "Bet they broke that window too, huh?"

The clerk pauses his tirade and boggles at her. "How'd you know that?"

Of course, Rachel doesn't tell him that she's the brand spanking new Oracle of Delphi and knows a lot of things she wishes she didn't, including the fact that he hadn't brushed his teeth in about a month. The power of the Oracle doesn't make her omniscient; it just makes her more aware and allows her to connect the dots in places others wouldn't. But one can't just go around telling random mortals that, otherwise they'll think you're on drugs and won't tell you anything. So she settles for the standard lie she's been practicing all week.

"This isn't the only mini mart on I-240 those hooligans have trashed. I'm with the KFOR news team, and we're investigating these incidents as part of our 'Teens Gone Wild' feature at the end of the month," she replies, the lie flowing smoothly out of her. She pulls a small, official looking notebook out of her coat pocket and flips it open. "I'd really like to get your perspective on what happened ... was it yesterday?"

"Two days ago," he says, eyeing her notebook warily. "Aren't you a little young to be a reporter?"

"I'm an intern. This is my first big story," Rachel says, flashing her best smile and trying to resist the urge to deck him when she notices his gaze go right back to her chest. "Now, can you start from the beginning ... ?"

Ten minutes later, she walks out of the Shop-Ez with seven and a half sheet of notes, the store clerk's cell number, which she immediately balls up and throws away, and a steaming cup of coffee. Most of what he's told her is absolutely useless, thanks to the obscuring power of the Mist, and some of it they already know from the other mortals they've encountered in the search, but at least she's got the most important thing confirmed: Percy is alive and he's headed west.

And that's good news for her companion, who has been in desperate need of hearing anything positive about Percy all week.

It hadn't been Annabeth's idea to stop at this roadside mini-mart on their way to Texas, but Rachel had had a good feeling about it and demigods quickly learned that, dammit, you listened to the Oracle when she had a feeling about something. That didn't mean she had to be happy with the stop, especially not when their last clue had indicated that Percy was headed to Austin, and Annabeth'd opted to sit outside on the curb and let Rachel handle the business in the store.

Which probably was for the best anyway, since mortals apparently respond better to questioning when the cute redhead in school uniform is doing it rather than a disheveled blond wearing battle armor under her winter coat and threatening to cut their tongues out.

"Hey," she says, plopping down on the curb outside next to Annabeth. The cement's cold, but at least it wasn't snowing like it had been in Kansas the day before. She holds out the coffee cup. "I brought something for you."

Annabeth sighs and looks up from the maps she's been studying. Her smile is small and brittle, but she accepts the coffee gratefully.

She looks like she's been put through the ringer – her clothes are rumpled and dirty, hair limp and out of place, and the dark circles under her eyes just keep getting worse with every passing day. Rachel's never seen Annabeth look this bad, not even when they were running around the labyrinth together, and it scares her just a little.

"Anything?" Annabeth asks, pressing down on the center of the coffee cup's lid and then releasing it to make an obnoxious popping noise. Rachel nods and Annabeth's eyes go wide. "What?"

"According to the clerk, Percy showed up here in an old Cadillac with a couple of girls two days ago. They got some gas, but then – and I quote – 'a bigass doberman' chased them into the mini mart where one of the girls hit the clerk in the face and someone broke a window," Rachel said, flipping through her notes. "He stayed conscious enough long enough to hear them mention something about California, and he said they left in the car they came in."

Annabeth listens but doesn't say anything, continuing to rhythmically press and release the center of the lid of her coffee cup until Rachel wants to tear it out of her hands. She hates when Annabeth shuts down because she slips farther into her despair each time and it's always harder for Rachel to bring her back to the task at hand.

Rachel isn't a demigod – she isn't meant to be on quests and hasn't been trained to save anyone, let alone her best friend who's falling apart from loneliness and desperation. She doesn't have the slightest clue what to do besides act like everything is normal and keep her chin held high, and hope that Annabeth will come around on her own time.

"I know it's not a lot, but at least someone has seen him," Rachel continues, going for reassuring. "And we've got his location narrowed down to one state, plus we know he's with a couple of someones who probably don't want to kill him. It's not entirely hopeless, Annabeth."

"Chiron IM'd me while you were in there," she says at last, her voice flat and gaze focused on the cars passing on the interstate. "We're supposed to come back tomorrow for a council."

Rachel straightens up, intrigued. "That means Jason and other two must be back. Did Chiron say – "

"No," Annabeth interrupts, tightening her grip on her cup, until the lid pops off and hot coffee streams over her hand. "No, they didn't find Percy. And no, they have no fucking clue where he is just like we don't and we're not any closer to finding him!"

"But we know he's in – "

"So what, Rachel? By the time we get to California, he'll probably be in Oregon or Nevada or – or Alaska! We're always going to be one step behind! Gods, this has all been so damn useless!"

In a furious burst of motion, Annabeth tosses the cup across the parking lot where it explodes next to the gas pump with a splash. She winces, cradling her coffee-burned right hand to her chest, and then collapses in on herself, frustrated tears pooling in her eyes.

Rachel's too stunned by her outburst to move, but when Annabeth hiccups a sob a moment later, she unfreezes and she slides closer until their shoulders touch. She pulls her silk handkerchief from Clarion out of her pocket and reaches for Annabeth's injured hand, pulling it away from the other girl's body and slowly winding the cloth around the reddened skin.

"Look," Rachel says slowly, "I know you want to get all emo princess on me right now and go crawl into the biggest bed you can find and never come out, but the fact of the matter is you can't. It sucks, but you have to be strong because we're never gonna find him otherwise. We're doing the best we can and you have to be patient."

"You don't understand – "

"No, I don't," Rachel admits. She might have loved Percy at some point in her life, and a part of her probably always will, but her love has nothing on Annabeth's. "I can't even imagine what you're going through right now, but you don't have to bear this burden alone, Annabeth. You do have friends who care about you and want to help. I've been here this entire time, haven't I?"

She ties the handkerchief in a bow and then pulls back. Annabeth's watching her with red-rimmed eyes, and Rachel smiles sadly.

"Besides, you're gonna kill yourself if you keep at it, and then what will we say to Percy when he comes back?" she continues, and the other girl sniffles. "'Sorry, she combusted from too much worry, be a less sucky boyfriend and don't run off next time, okay?'"

Annabeth's mouth twitches and then – then she laughs and it's the best sound Rachel's heard all week.

Maybe they might not find Percy today or tomorrow or even this month, and Chiron's council won't provide any more solutions, but someday, they're going to cross paths with the son of Poseidon and Annabeth's heart will be whole again. Annabeth's going to be okay now, and that's not just Rachel's Oracle senses telling her that.

She starts when Annabeth wraps her arms around her in a hug, because she's still not used to physical affection from the other girl, but Rachel feels all the tension melt out of Annabeth's body once her arms encircle her and she relaxes just a bit. It'll be okay, because even if Annabeth doesn't have Percy, she has Rachel and she's not ready to let go of her friend yet.

"I don't think I've thanked you yet," Annabeth says, resting her head on Rachel's shoulder and taking a deep, even breath. "For being here with me."

"Don't mention it," she replies quietly, reaching for Annabeth's bandaged hand and squeezing it lightly. "That's what friends are for."