Clover POV

Now, this next part will sound really sad, but that wasn't even half of it. I had Leo leave for this next part because it is really important and he didn't need to know about it. 

I sighed, ready to make the call. The mist, the wet kind, made a rainbow in the sunlight, ready for the Iris Message. I shifted my weight on the deck chair and tossed the coin into the colors. It disappeared and I said,

“Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Rick Riordan at his house.” The rainbow shimmered and I got a perfect view of the writer typing on a computer.

“Rick!” I called. He turned and smiled at me. I smiled back at him, but I had to talk about a tough subject with him.

“Oh dear Clover! How can I help you?” Rick asked. I sighed,

“We need to talk about Leo.” The smiled melted off of his face and he closed the door to the room.

“Alright, I’m listening.” He said. I told him everything. My plan, the pain I was feeling when I was around him, and the future. When I finished, I wiped the tears off my cheeks. The subject was never easy to talk about.

“Oh, I see.” he said, leaning back in his chair.

“Is there anything else I can do?” I asked, my voice cracking. Rick shook his head,

“Sorry my dear. The future needs to keep it’s course, or Leo will make totally different choices that could change the whole plot line. Keep to the books. I am sorry, but that is the only way.” I sobbed. I had found someone had amazing feelings for and I had to give him up. In a way that only Annabeth would understand. Except mine wouldn’t end so happy. I sniffled and said,

“Thank you Rick. This world is amazing.” He smiled and blushed slightly,

“My son helped, but thank you for the comment. Stay alive!” he said and waved his hand through the mist. The connection broke and  I stared at the remains of mist in the air. I looked down at my lap and cried. I cried for a while, I don’t know how long, but I only stopped when a voice asked,

“Are you okay?” I looked behind me and saw Annabeth Chase looking at me in concern. I sniffled,

“Not really. I understand what you are going through.” Annabeth seemed surprised how easily the topic flipped, but she sat down in a chair next to me.

“What do you mean?” she asked. I began to tell her everything, everything I told Rick, except about her future of her finding Percy. I finished by saying,

“and that is what I am going to do.” Annabeth looked shocked, but seemed to understand my reasoning.

“Oh Clover..... I don’t know what to say.” We just sat there, staring out at the sunset on the horizon. I wiped the tears off of my cheeks held my head high.

“Annabeth, you are a great role model.” She scoffed,

“Yeah right. I am a pretty big failure.” I looked at her in disbelief.

“What? You’re not even close to being a failure!” Annabeth smiled, but it looked sad.

“It was my fault Percy disappeared that night. I should have gone with him to his cabin, I should have stayed at the campfire longer with him, I should have done something else....” This time it was her turn to look down at her lap and cry.

“Annabeth, it wasn’t your fault.” I said. Annabeth looked at me, sadness filling her eyes,

“How can you say that? It was!” I shook my head.

“Annabeth, you know it was part of Hera’s plan. You couldn’t have done anything if you were there anyway.” Annabeth sighed.

“You’re right. But I always blame myself.” I nodded,

“I know. Except in my version, it is my fault.” There was an uncomfortable silence after that. Annabeth sighed and stood up.

“Thanks for the talk. I.... really needed it.” I nodded,

“You’re welcome, and thank you too. I needed it as well.” Annabeth smiled and nodded. She walked down the porch, wiping tears from her face, and headed off toward the lava wall. I looked out over camp. This place was amazing. It held so many dreams and so many people. I sighed and stood up as well. I walked around the porch to find Leo talking with Travis and Connor Stoll. I took a seat next to him and Leo’s face lit up. He faced the Hermes kids once more and said,

“Yeah, if you guys did that, it will stop a lot of harm and problems.” The two Stolls nodded and stood.

“Catch you guys later!” said Travis, looking back at us and winking. I looked at Leo, as if he knew what that meant, but he looked right back at me with the same expression. I rolled my eyes and grabbed Leo’s hand. He looked down at our hands then at me.

“You want to, uh, go get some lunch?” I nodded,

“Sure. I want to show you somewhere.” Leo’s face changed to confusion.

“Where?” he asked. I laughed and stood up, still holding his hand,

“You’ll have to see.” Leo got a mischievous look in his eyes, one I had learned to cherish. I helped him stand up and we walked down the front porch steps, heading toward the dining pavillion.

* * *

After Leo and I had got our lunch, I lead him through the forest. I pushed bushes, branches and leaves aside as we trudged on. I had the path memorized, but the way looked different in the middle of the day.

“Where are we going?” Leo asked, pushing a branch aside. I smiled back at him,

“Somewhere you have never been.” That peaked his interest. We walked on until we stopped in front of a rock. I tossed my food up there, since it was in a brown lunch bag and I heard it land safely on top. I started to climb the rock and Leo stared at me as if I had fallen from outer space.

“You want me to climb up the rock?” he asked, preparing to throw his lunch to the top. I nodded,

“Yep, problem with that?” Leo shook his head and tossed his bag. It landed right above me and I pulled myself over onto grass.

“Nope, I just find it odd.” I smiled,

“Not as odd as a bunker inside a cliff.” Leo nodded, having to agree. He started to climb up the rock and I held out my hand when he neared the top. Leo grasped it and I hauled him up. I picked up his lunch and handed it to  him. He grabbed gratefully and I picked up my lunch. I pushed some branches aside and got a beautiful view of the east. You couldn’t see any buildings, just trees, a lake, the beautiful sky and the sea in the distance. I sat down on the grass and motioned for Leo to sit next to me. He sat down, but all he could say was,

“Wow.... this is.... an amazing view!” I smiled.

“I come here when I am down, but I thought that you should see this place.” Leo smirked at me,

“Are you down now?” I shook my head.

“It is also my calm down place. I come here and look out at the beautiful world and think of home. The country of Utah. My grandma lived by a pond. I would love to go down there and sit in the trees and watch the ducks glide through the water. This view reminds me of that.” Leo pulled out a grilled cheese sandwich and took a bite.

“I could sit here for a while, just staring out at the view.” I nodded.

“I love it here.” I reached into my bag and pulled out an apple. I fingered it then took a bite. “I wanted to bring you here because you make me happy too.” Leo smirked and took another bite of his sandwich.

“Thanks. I see what you did.” I was confused,

“What did I do?” Leo took a breath,

“You brought me to your happy spot. I brought you to my happy spot, Bunker 9, and you returned the favor with this.” he gestured around at the view. “It is amazing.” I smiled to myself. He was sort of on the right track. I brought him here because he wouldn’t remember anyway, but still. It made me happy. I took another bite of my apple and thought about what we should do afterwards.

“When we are done, you want to head to the bunker?” Leo shrugged.

“I don’t know. We could.” I had a feeling he wanted to be somewhere else.

“Alright, where do you want to be instead?” Leo smiled. He set down his grilled cheese and faced me,

“La-la land.” I had a feeling about where that was. I set down my apple on my bag and faced him. He smiled and I smiled back. We leaned in and our lips connected. My feelings leaped. Giddiness, excitement, sadness, anxiety, and a jumble of others. We pulled out of it and I looked down. I took a deep breath and Leo turned onto his back, looking at me upside down.

“You will always be my girl Clover.” he said. I smiled, but on the inside I wanted to break down and cry. We finished our lunch and I leaned on Leo’s shoulder.

“I love you Leo, remember that.” Leo tensed, as if it surprised him, but then he let it pass.

“Don’t worry. I will never forget that.”