riley doesn't have anything else to give steve

after a little while, we found ourselves in a trailer park at the edge of a lake. 

the trailers were all horse trailers, tricked out with televisions and mini-refrigerators and mosquito netting. we were in a centaur camp.

"dude!" said centaur america as he unloaded his gear. "did you see that bear guy? he was all like: 'whoa, i have an arrow in my mouth!'"

the centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughed. "that was awesome! head slam!"

the two centaurs charged at each other full-force and knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with crazy grins on their faces.

chiron sighed. he set annabeth, grover, and i down on a picnic blanket next to percy. "i really wish my cousins wouldn't slam their heads together. they don't have the brain cells to spare."

i giggled at his joke.

chiron looked at me shocked, "my gods, when was the last time you drank coffee?"

"before the birmingham blew up," i told him.

"hmm." 

"chiron," percy said, almost in awe. "you saved us."

he gave us a dry smile. "well now, i couldn't very well let you die, especially since you've cleared my name."

"but how did you know where we were?" percy asked.

"advanced planning, my dear. i figured you would wash up near miami if you made it out of the sea of monsters alive. almost everything strange washes up near miami."

"gee, thanks," grover mumbled.

"no, no," chiron said. "i didn't mean... oh, never mind. i am glad to see you, my young satyr. the point is, i was able to eavesdrop on percy's iris-message and trace the signal. iris and i have been friends for centuries. i asked her to alert me to any important communications in this area. it then took no effort to convince my cousins to ride to your aid. as you see, centaurs can travel quite fast when we wish to. distance for us is not the same as distance for humans."

"so what now?" percy asked chiron. "we just let luke sail away? he's got kronos aboard that ship. or parts of him, anyway."

chiron knelt, carefully folding his front legs underneath him. he opened the medicine pouch on his belt and started to treat percy's wounds. "i'm afraid, percy, that today has been something of a draw. we didn't have the strength of numbers to take that ship. luke was not organized enough to pursue us. nobody won."

i giggled again. "nobody got the fleece. nobody also won!"

grover sent me a worried glance.

"but we got the fleece!" annabeth said. "clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now."

chiron nodded, though he still looked uneasy. "you are all true heroes. and as soon as we get percy fixed up, you must return to half-blood hill. the centaurs shall carry you."

"you're coming, too?" percy asked.

"oh yes, percy. i'll be relieved to get home. my brethren here simply do not appreciate dean martin's music."

"neither do stymphalian birds," i muttered. 

"besides, i must have some words with mr. d. there's the rest of the summer to plan. so much training to do. and i want to see... i'm curious about the fleece."

over by the campfire, tyson let loose with his paintball gun. a blue projectile splattered against one of the centaurs, hurling him backward into the lake. the centaur came up grinning, covered in swamp muck and blue paint, and gave tyson two thumbs up.

"riley, annabeth," chiron said, "perhaps you two and grover would go supervise tyson and my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits?"

i met his eyes. i thought about what i told percy about the prophecy. annabeth seemed to understand something too.

"sure, chiron," annabeth said. 

"come on, goat boy." i called to grover.

"but i don't like paintball."

"you do now." i hoisted grover to his hooves and led him off toward the campfire.

we went towards the campsite, where one of the centaurs was hoarding red bull energy drinks. he held one out to me, and i took it gratefully. i needed caffeine in my system. i must've finished the can pretty quick, because all the centaurs looked at me astonished, before bursting out in cheers.

after some snacks, i went over to centaur america.

"so, what made you choose a patriotic theme...?" i trailed off not knowing his name.

"dude! have you seen captain america's shows. they're so cool!! they're all 'carry the flag shore to shore for america? nananana.. the star-spangled man with a plan!" he sung using animated hand-gestures. "name's steve, by the way." he said, very excited.

i started laughing. "named after captain america?" i asked between laughs.

"yup! he's the coolest!!"

long story short, i made a new horse friend.

all good things come to an end.

after i finished another red bull can, chiron announced we would be going back. steve threw me on his back, and we headed off for long island.

we arrived in long island just after clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. percy was on chiron's back. kevin (the googly-eyed one) was carrying grover, and bill (the green one) was carrying annabeth.

when we got to camp, the centaurs were anxious to meet dionysus. they'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. the wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of half-blood hill.

the camp had been through a hard two weeks. the arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a draco aionius (which was latin for a kind of lizard that breathes fire, and blows stuff up). 

the big house's rooms were overflowing with wounded. the kids in the apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid. everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around thalia's tree.

the moment clarisse draped the golden fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. a cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. 

everything came into sharper focus-the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

everybody cheered. it was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt — the fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the fleece. he said he'd place an ad in olympus weekly right away.

in the meantime, clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

nobody gave annabeth, percy, tyson, or i a second look. it was as if we'd never left. in a way, i guess that was the best thank-you anyone could give us, because if they admitted we'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd have to expel us. 

the stolls dragged me away as soon as i came back to camp. they sat me down and we began to think of a scary story to say at the campfire. they made me write it down, because i was one of the best at reading and writing.

later at the campfire we began telling a ghost story about an evil king who was being eaten by demonic breakfast pastries. (connor's idea). 

i went to the cabin and, once again, was bombarded by my siblings.

"soo... how'd it go?" silena asked me.

i gave them the short version of what happened. i wasn't ready to go through everything all over again.

"did you see luke?" cayden asked.

"mhmm." i nodded. "twice."

"what'd he say?" aurora asked me.

"well, for one thing, and you guys have to swear the styx you won't mention a word about this to anyone." i threatned.

silena, cayden, and aurora, who were the only ones still awake, took turns swearing on the styx.

"so, luke knew the co-ordinates that percy was told. and he said there's a spy-" i was cut off.

"a spy?" silena squeaked.

"who would do such a thing?" cayden muttered, disgusted.

"i don't know. but there's this gold coffin, and they're basically calling kronos back piece by piece." 

"bleh. that's disgusting." aurora said.

"agreed." 

the next morning, after the party ponies headed back to florida, chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. 

we'd all figured they were history now that tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that chiron was back and the camp was safe.

steve dropped by before he left, and handed me his american flag as a keep sake. i handed him a large stark industries logo sweatshirt. it was the only thing in his size. he threw it on, and whooped.

tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting back in a chariot after his first experience, but he was happy to let percy team up with annabeth and i. percy would drive, i would defend, and tyson and annabeth would act as our pit crew. 

i told annabeth she should do it, expecially because i didn't mind sitting out but 'she insisted' that i do the race. 

when i asked her what her plan was, she shrugged as if to say 'who, me' and walked away. but i wasn't an idiot. i knew she had a plan. what is was though, i have no idea.

while percy worked with the horses, tyson fixed up athena's chariot and added a lot of of special modifications. i worked with him, and added a whole bunch of secret weapons.

we spent the next two days training like crazy. annabeth, percy and i agreed that if we won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between our three cabins. 

since aphrodite had the most campers (about 16-17) we'd get the most time off. athena had a dozen or so campers, so they would be second, and poseidon cabin only had two campers.

as percy and i drove onto the track, i couldn't help admiring the work tyson and i had put in on the athena chariot. 

we fixed the carriage and it gleamed with bronze reinforcements. tyson fixed the wheels and they were realigned with magical suspension so we glided along with hardly a bump. the rigging for the horses was so perfectly balanced that the team turned at the slightest tug of the reins.

tyson had also made us two javelins (he made them, i upgraded them with explosives), each with three buttons on the shaft. the first button primed the javelin to explode on impact, releasing razor wire that would tangle and shred an opponent's wheels. the second button produced a blunt (but still very painful) bronze spearhead designed to knock a driver out of his carriage. the third button brought up a grappling hook that could be used to lock onto an enemy's chariot or push it away.

"you guys did this all by yourself?" percy asked astonished.

"hey, my dad's a mechanic. he builds stuff. i know how to build stuff too. it's not that hard." i told him, repositioning the extra javelin.

"um... about circe's island..." percy began and i froze.

"hmm.." i hummed and he continued.

"you really want to be a mechanic?" he asked.

i looked up, and at him. "mechanical engineer — and don't laugh — i mean, not because my dad's one. just because i want to be one. i like building things. i just want to help people. if it saves someone it helps me feel like i have worth... i guess that's my saviors complex. it's something i've been doing for a long time, and something i enjoy doing. if i can help the world while i'm at it, well that's a bonus." 

percy left to go talk to tyson.

i heard my name being yelled and i turned to see aurora yelling obnoxiously.

i convinced her to come to the race (well, i told her of she didn't come and we won she'd be stuck doing the chores).

"what?!" i yelled back.

she pointed to her left. luckily the campers were used to her crazy behavior, and weren't paying attention to her. 

i followed her gaze to where cayden and annabeth were sitting. annabeth was blushing furiously, and cayden was smiling, looking down. my eyes widened.

oh. my. gods!

this would be perfect. cayden wasn't a playboy. if he likes annabeth, then he likes annabeth. and annabeth seemed happy around him too. 

i looked back to aurora wide-eyed, and open-mouthed. she smirked and nodded.

"we need to make this happen! think of a ship name!!" i yelled to her.

"it's what i do best!" she yelled with two thumbs up.

i looked back to where annabeth and cayden were sitting. i swear they'd moved closer. 

i almost squealed. this, had to happen.

"percy! come on!" i yelled to him, as the charioteers were getting ready.

percy climbed on board the chariot and got into position just as chiron blew the starting signal.

the horses knew what to do. we shot down the track so fast I would've fallen out if i wasn't holding on so tightly to the rail. the wheels glided beautifully. 

we took the first turn a full chariot-length ahead of clarisse, who was busy trying to fight off a javelin attack from the stoll brothers in the hermes chariot.

"we've got 'em!" percy yelled, but he spoke too soon.

"incoming!" i yelled. i threw the first javelin in grappling hook mode, knocking away a lead-weighted net that would have entangled us both. apollo's chariot had come up on our flank. 

before i could rearm myself, the apollo warrior threw a javelin into our right wheel. the javelin shattered, but not before snapping some of our spokes. our chariot lurched and wobbled. 

"for fuck's sake," i cursed. somehow, we kept going.

we were now neck and neck with apollo. hephaestus was coming up close behind. ares and hermes were falling behind, riding side by side as clarisse went sword-on-javelin with connor stoll.

connor was going to get his ass beat.

"you're mine!" the driver from apollo yelled. he was a first-year camper, and i'm pretty sure his name was jameson.

"yeah, right!" i yelled back.

i picked up my second javelin — it was a real risk considering we still had one full lap to go — and threw it at the apollo driver.

thankfully, my aim was perfect. the javelin grew a heavy spear point just as it caught the driver in the chest, knocking him against his teammate and sending them both toppling out of their chariot in a backward somersault. 

the horses felt the reins go slack and went crazy, riding straight for the crowd. campers scrambled for cover as the horses leaped the corner of the bleachers and the golden chariot flipped over. 

somewhere in the background i heard aurora yelling, "not again!!"

we passed the starting line and thundered into our final lap. the axle creaked and moaned. the wobbling wheel was making us lose speed. but thankfully percy was controlling the horses.

the hephaestus team was still gaining.

beckendorf grinned as he pressed a button on his command console. steel cables shot out of the front of his mechanical horses, wrapping around our back rail. our chariot shuddered as beckendorf's winch system started working — pulling us backward while beckendorf pulled himself forward.

"asshole!" i yelled at beckendorf, and drew my dagger. beckendorf just laughed. i hacked at the cables but they were too thick.

"can't cut them.'" i yelled to percy.

the hephaestus chariot was now dangerously close, their horses about to trample us underfoot.

"switch with me!" percy told me. "take the reins!"

"but—"

"trust me!"

now, i trusted percy. but sometimes, his plans were stupid. 

deciding to go with my gut, i made my way to the front and grabbed the reins. percy turned, and uncapped riptide. i heard a sound and assumed percy cut the cables.

we lurched forward, but beckendorf's driver, jake mason, just swung his chariot to our left and pulled up next to us. beckendorf drew his sword. he slashed at me, and percy parried the blade away.

we were coming up on the last turn. 

we were neck and neck now, clarisse coming up from behind, making up for lost time.

"see ya, percy!" beckendorf yelled. "here's a little parting gift!"

he threw a leather pouch into our chariot. it stuck to the floor immediately and began billowing green smoke.

"greek fire!" i yelled recognizing it. "son of a — you're a little prick, y'know that charlie!" i yelled to the left.

no one called him anything other than beckendorf, but sometimes the aphrodite cabin got away with calling people nicknames.

he flipped me off.

"get rid of it!" i shouted.

a second or two passed and i heard a clang, and the sound of something shattering. i risked a look, and noticed percy wearing a shield (where did he get that? when did he get that?) and beckendorf didn't have his sword anymore.

i looked away to the greek fire, and noticed it was smoking. i couldn't do anything because i was stuck driving.

"percy!" i yelled.

percy reacted quick, and shoved the tip of his sword under the leather pouch and flipped it up like a spatula. the firebomb dislodged and flew into the hephaestus chariot at the driver's feet. jake yelped.

in a split second he made the right choice: he dove out of the chariot, which careened away and exploded in green flames. the metal horses seemed to short-circuit. they turned and dragged the burning wreckage back toward clarisse and the stoll brothers, who had to swerve to avoid it.

i pulled the reins for the last turn. i was pretty sure we would capsize, but somehow i managed to pull us through and spurred the horses across the finish line. the crowd roared.

i closed my eyes, and laughed a little. this was crazy. the adrenaline from this race was so much better than the adrenaline from skateboarding.

once the chariot stopped, our friends mobbed us. they started chanting our names, but i yelled over the noise: "hold up! listen! it wasn't just us!"

the crowd didn't want to be quiet, but i needed to make myself heard. i turned to aurora and nodded. she seemed to understand.

she turned and yelled at the top of her lungs "if y'all don't shut the fuck up right now and listen to what riley has to say, i will kick each and every one of your asses so hard your vertebrae will pop out of your mouths one by one like a bloody pez dispenser!"

the entire crowd became silent.

i looked at her with wide-eyes. that was a little overkill.

"well, talk," she said motioning.

i came out of my shock quicker than the others, "umm, yeah, ok. we couldn't have done it without somebody else! we couldn't have won this race or gotten the fleece or saved grover or anything! we owe our lives to tyson, percy's—"

"brother!" percy said, loud enough for everybody to hear. "tyson, my baby brother."

tyson blushed. 

"you guys can cheer now," aurora rolled her eyes.

the crowd cheered. i looked over at percy. i was proud of him. he'd come a long way. accepting tyson as his brother in front of the whole camp was a big deal for him. 

in another impulsive moment (i can't help it, it's what us starks are known for) i leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. the roaring got a lot louder after that. (although i'm pretty sure it was mostly aurora and silena) 

the athena cabin, and aphrodite lifted annabeth, tyson, percy, and i onto their shoulders and carried us toward the winner's platform, where chiron was waiting to bestow the laurel wreaths.

REY WRITES !

aww, their first (cheek) kiss !

thanks for reading !

questions?

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