And They Were Roommates!

by kksunflowerbaby

Summary:

Annabeth and Percy don’t really get along. In fact, they don't get along at all. With their strong personalities (and their parents), they tend to argue. A lot. Chiron is tired of them blowing up at each other for every training session so he forces them to share a cabin until they get along. Grover and company find it hilarious. Chapters will bounce between Annabeth and Percy POVs to get a good grasp of how they feel.

Chapter 1: How on Earth could this possibly go wrong?

Chiron is looking out over the strawberry fields, watching the campers and satyrs work together in harmony. With deft fingers, they pick the ripe berries from their stem and place them gently in small wicker baskets. One of the satyrs makes a joke, which makes three of the campers surrounding them laugh.

The small moments shared between campers helps make everything worth it to Chiron. He had seen a lot in his life, but the moments of joy birthed at Camp Half Blood make the dark times seem a bit more light.

A ruckus over by the fire pits ruses Chiron from his thoughts as he glances towards the disturbance. Two of his favorite pupils, the son of the Sea God and the daughter of Wisdom, were arguing again. But an argument between the two best fighters within the camp weren’t just words, they were a battle of wit and skill. Both were knowledgeable with multiple weapons, but the most dangerous one was their passion.

Percy is gesturing his arms wildly, occasionally dragging a hand through his inky hair. Annabeth has her hands on her hips, her chin jutted out in defiance. Chiron doesn’t miss how Annabeth’s right hand is creeping to the knife located at her hip. Their fights have ended in them pointing weapons at each other, but Chiron knows neither of them would hurt the other too seriously. Even if they hated each other, they respected the other as demigods enough to know they were important to the camp.

A laugh from behind him makes Chiron look over his shoulder to see Grover walk past the porch of the Big House with Juniper. Grover is talking animatedly, using his hands as he talks. Juniper is listening, her cheeks tinged the tiniest bit green.

“Grover!” Chiron booms, interrupting their conversation. Grover looks up dutifully, and sees Chiron waiting for him. With a quick goodbye, the satyr approaches the centaur. “Percy and Annabeth are fighting again.”

Grover follows the centaur’s line of sight and sighs quietly. “It appears so.”

The satyr is friends with both of the demigods, closer to Percy but still a good friend of Annabeth. He knew how they hated each other. The record for them being in the same room without fighting is lower than anyone thought possible.

“They disturb the camp almost every day,” Chiron mutters. He strokes his beard, thinking silently. A moment passes with the two standing together on the front porch before he speaks again. “I have an idea.”

“On how to keep them from fighting?” Grover asks, watching as Annabeth yells something in retort to Percy while pulling her knife from her hip. She points it at the son of the Sea God and Grover frowns. “It better be a good idea.”

“They can’t go more than five minutes without fighting.” It isn’t a question. Chiron smiles slowly as he continues speaking. “What if they never spent more than five minutes apart?”

Grover furrows his brow in confusion and shock and whirls to the centaur. “They would destroy the camp in seconds.”

“But what if they didn’t?” Chiron’s tone is thoughtful and sounds like it’s miles away.

“It would be nothing short of a miracle,” Grover replies, frowning deeper as Percy pulls out Riptide and shouts something to Annabeth. They hadn’t gotten into a physical fight in a while but if they were angry enough…

“There’s an empty cabin in the woods,” Chiron says. “Smaller than the normal cabins, but there would be more than enough space for them to have their own space.”

“I don’t think that would be the best idea,” Grover says warily. Percy like living alone most of the time, and Annabeth loves her siblings. Taking them away from what made them happy would potentially cause them to fight more, especially if they blamed the other. But the constant exposure would mean that they would have to learn how to get along.

But then again, they are both the most stubborn people Grover knows.

“There is a small chance it will work,” he admits uncertainly. “It’s a small chance, and they’ll probably fight a hell of a lot more before it gets better, but I can somewhat see your logic.”

Chiron looks down to the satyr beside him and smiles. “Shall we go tell them?”

“I think it would be better coming from you?” It sounds like a question because Grover knows the worst time to talk to either demigod was when they were in the middle of a fight. Especially with the other.

“Or we could wait until tomorrow,” Chiron says. The sound of blades hitting each other rings out across the camp. Annabeth and Percy were now exchanging blows, never letting the other get the upper hand. “They might kill each other tonight if they slept in the same room.”

“You’re right about that one,” Grover agrees, watching his best friends duel.

This would be either the best thing that would happen to Camp Half-Blood or the worst.

Chapter 2: Les I'm Miserable

Summary:

Percy and Annabeth work well together. They can fight side by side and know each other's style well. Off the battlefield, not so much. Chiron tells them his idea and they don't take it well. Percy POV.

“What are you going to do, drool on me?” Annabeth taunts as she whirls her blade away from Riptide.

I pinch my lips together in an attempt to keep from yelling obscenities at the blonde. She makes my blood boil like no other and I have to fight the urge to slash at her. Fighting in front of the fire pit is a usual occurrence for us.

“Why don’t you get some original material, Wise Girl? That was from four years ago!” I shout, parrying her attack with her knife. The blade was a lot shorter than Riptide, but she knew how to handle it. “Or are you not smart enough?”

“Was that an attempt at a taunt, Seaweed Brain!?” Annabeth’s voice is shrill, sounding like nails dragging down a chalkboard. She knows how it annoys me and makes sure to make her voice like that whenever we’re fighting.

Which is always.

I thrust Riptide towards her and she jumps back nimbly. I keep moving forward and she moves backward. An idea springs into my mind and I calculate how long it would take to maneuver Annabeth towards the lake. I would definitely win if we made it within a couple yards of the water.

Annabeth apparently has the ability to read minds because she’s suddenly coming at me, making me the one who is moving backwards. I can tell by the quirk of her eyebrow and her smug smirk that she did indeed figure out my half-baked plan. Her knife whistles towards me and I have to work harder to avoid her faster attacks.

“Hey, both of you, knock it off!” Will Solace’s powerful voice booms through the camp, making Annabeth and I pause. He’s running from the infirmary, reaching our side quickly. “There’s a drakon loose in the woods, it injured Clarisse. I need you guys to stop it before it hurts anyone else!”

I look to Annabeth, who is slowly losing her anger towards me and focusing on the problem at hand. “What part of the woods? How close to camp? Is there anyone else out there?”

“Not that we know of, and Clarisse said she was alone,” Will answers. “North of the creek is where we last saw it.”

“Percy, we need to cut it off before it gets to the end of the woods,” Annabeth says, turning to me. “Follow me, I know where to go.”

As much as I despise her, Annabeth is the smartest demigod in camp. I can see her mind working away, coming up with plans and correcting them as we run north. I follow her, catching small mutterings here and there.

When we reach the creek, Annabeth holds up her hand. I stop and look around, scanning for danger. I pull out Riptide, tightening and un-tightening my grip as Annabeth thinks.

“We’re running out of time,” I murmur, frowning deeper as Annabeth continues to think. “I thought you’re supposed to be able to come up with a plan in seconds, Wise Girl.”

“Duck!” Annabeth’s voice rings out, surprising me but my body obeys her command.

I hit the deck and Annabeth throws her knife where I had been standing. A roar erupts behind us and the drakon writhes in pain. I stand, ignoring my anger for now, and decapitate the drakon with one swing of Riptide. A smell of sulfur and dust surround us as I turn to the blonde. She grabs a scale, the trophy left behind after our kill. She also takes her dagger from the ground and puts it back on her hip.

“Are you kidding!? I was the bait?!” I shout, all of my rage surging back into my body.

“It was a part of the plan and the plan worked perfectly,” Annabeth retorts, having the nerve to flip her hair behind her shoulder. “I told you to duck, didn’t I?”

“I would have been okay if you had told me the plan!” I sheath Riptide and put it away in my pocket. I roll my eyes and begin the hike back to camp.

“If I had told you the plan, you wouldn’t have been making so much noise to attract the drakon!” Annabeth says, keeping pace with me without any trouble. “Everything went according to plan! The drakon is dead, no one else got injured, and, most importantly, I was right.”

“You should try being humble sometime.” I want to throw something at her. She would probably find some way to catch it and throw it back at me with double the force.

We reach the edge of the tree line and we’re still yelling at each other. I see Will on the porch of the infirmary and head for him. I can see his frown from where I am. Perhaps he had thought that me and Annabeth working together would stop our fight for a moment. It never does.

Annabeth holds up the scale with her hand and Will nods. He turns on his heel and returns back to the infirmary. Annabeth kicks at the dirt absent-mindedly before looking to me. I meet her gaze and we stare at each other for a moment. There isn’t any heat in her gaze, she just seems to be calculating something.

“The reason I didn’t tell you the entire plan—”

“You didn’t tell me any of the plan,” I cut her off. She glares at me until I wave for her to continue.

“I didn’t tell you because you’re faster when you’re full of adrenaline. If you didn’t expect the drakon, you’d kill it faster. It was the most logical option,” she explains. “Sorry I didn’t tell you, but it might not have worked if I had.”

I study the blonde after she apologizes. Her chin is up again, waiting for me to reply. She’s ready for another argument. I won’t give her the satisfaction.

“Thank you for telling me,” I tell her, giving her a half-smile. She smiles tightly and nods before turning and heading towards her cabin. I watch her go, frowning for a moment.

That was the first time she has apologized to me in years. And I knew she meant it. But she should mean it, her plan could have gotten me killed! What if she had mistimed it? She’s lucky I have reflexes. I shake my head and banish the thought of her. I go to my cabin and try to take a nap before dinner.

Time passes slowly until I close my eyes. Before I know it, I have to go to dinner. My stomach growls and I am glad I woke up in time. I walk to the pavilion and find Grover along the way.

“Hey, man,” he greets me. “Heard you took on that drakon.”

“Yeah, Annabeth almost got me killed,” I grumble. I’m not over it yet. “She’s lucky I can think on my feet.”

Grover takes a deep breath. I know he hates that Annabeth and I fight all of the time but I can’t help it that she’s the most frustrating person I’ve ever known. She makes Gabe look like an angel sometimes. I don’t understand how my best friend could get along with her.

With a small laugh, I realize Annabeth must think the same thing of me and Grover.

“What’s so funny?” Grover asks.

“Nothing,” I say, ceasing my chuckle. “Let’s get some food, I’m starved.”

Grover joins me at the Poseidon table, for which I am grateful. Occasionally some people will join me and make the table less lonely. Grover is the most consistent to do so. We eat in silence, both lost in our own thoughts.

By the time we’ve finished, most of the campers have made their way over to the campfire. Grover and I begin the trek only to be interrupted by Chiron.

“Percy, may I speak to you for a moment?”

I wave to Grover and he catches up to Juniper, who’s talking to a few nymphs in front of us. I watch him go, feeling jealous for a moment. And then I realize Chiron might have something important to tell me. Something about a quest.

I see Chiron scanning the crowd, looking for someone. His eyes squint slightly as he focuses.

“Who are we waiting for?” I ask, not being patient enough to wait.

“Annabeth,” he says after a moment. I can tell he had been debating on whether or not to tell me.

I can’t fight the surprised expression as it crosses my face. “Why, sir?”

“I think I’ve come up with a way to keep you from arguing every second,” he replies, still searching for the blonde.

I scoff, before putting a hand over my mouth.

“Don’t worry, Percy, Grover had the same reaction when I told him,” the centaur says. “But he does agree with me that this idea might work.”

I choose to remain silent as we wait for Annabeth to show up. I see her blonde hair eventually, ducked in conversation with one of her siblings. She’s smiling broadly, all of her teeth showing. Her hands are moving quickly, shaping some contraption before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Annabeth!” Chiron calls, bringing her attention to us. She says something to her sibling and approaches us.

“I wanted to congratulate you both on working together to slay the drakon this morning,” Chiron says. “I understand that you kept a lot of campers from being injured.”

Annabeth and I don’t say anything in response to his praise. I glance at her and she flicks her eyes over to me. We don’t smile, but we hold eye contact. It’s the same stare as this morning where there was no heat, just seeing each other.

“I have a proposition for the two of you,” he continues. “The two of you fight quite tempestuously. It seems like one of your fights would blow the camp to smithereens.”

Both of us have the sense to frown and try to look guilty. I don’t know about Annabeth, but I don’t regret exchanging blows with her this morning. She had it coming, especially after the drooling comment.

“For the sake of the camp, you need to learn how to get along,” Chiron says.

“We can share our schedules and make it so we rarely run into each other,” Annabeth says, already thinking of a plan.

“But you work together as a team fluidly when you’re not fighting,” he counters. “It would be detrimental for our two best fighters to not work well together just so that they get along. You proved that with the drakon today.”

Annabeth frowns. She’s probably more upset her plan wasn’t the solution more than anything else.

“You can’t go five minutes without fighting,” the centaur says. “So you won’t spend more than five minutes apart until you get along.”

I’m sure my jaw hits the floor. I don’t care about being disrespectful now, I’m almost laughing in the centaur’s face. “You’re kidding, right?”

“You can’t possibly be serious,” Annabeth mutters. She looks more angry than usual.

Chiron smiles tightly and folds his arms against his chest. “There is a cabin in the woods that is uninhabited. I have arranged for you to share the cabin until you get along.”

“Out of all the possible solutions, that’s what you came up with!?” Annabeth is frowning even deeper than I am.

“Yeah, honestly, I like her idea better!” I retort.

“Wow, how did it taste admitting I was right?” Annabeth spits in my direction.

“Any idea in the world is better than living together, don’t try to feel special!” I hiss.

Chiron is watching our exchange closely. “Right, well. You have until the end of Campfire to move your things into the cabin. Have a great night.”

As he walks away, Grover approaches Chiron. “How did it go?”

“This might sound controversial, but I think that went well,” Chiron replies.

Notes:

I wrote this a lot faster than I thought I would. It's almost 2,000 words! I'm going to make every chapter long and full of detail to give this story the love it deserves. I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter should be up within the next week.

Chapter 3: The Pegasi Can Fuck Right Off

Summary:

Percy comes up with an idea to help them not live together anymore. Annabeth agrees to do it, but how will it turn out? Percy and Annabeth spend the first night in the cabin and have a lot to get used to. Annabeth POV.

“We are not sharing a cabin together!” I hiss, looking at Percy. Chiron disappears from view and I turn on the son of the Sea God. “Did you have something to do with this!?”

Percy scoffs and raises a brow. “Do I look like I want to live with you? Why would I even suggest that?”

I open my mouth to say something in retort but he cuts me off.

“Maybe if we work together, we can get out of it,” he says quickly, his voice losing all of the anger. “We do work together well when we have to.”

“Usually because it’s life and death!” I roll my eyes. But Seaweed Brain might have a point. If we pretended to get along, everyone would think Chiron’s idea worked and we could go back to living in our respective cabins. This nightmare would be over sooner.

Percy sees me thinking it through and mulling it over. He gives me a moment, and I realize for this plan to work we would have to go over a few details. “How long would we have to live together before it’s plausible that we get along? How would we show that we don’t hate each other?”

“You’re right—”

“Wow, twice in one day? How does it feel?” I can’t help myself. I pinch my lips together and smile regretfully. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.”

“We have to work together on this,” Percy reminds me, giving me an annoyed look. “Give it a week of not fighting in public and we should be able to get over it. Even you should be able to do it.”

A frown flits across my face before I can stop it. I don’t want to live with Seaweed Brain for a week! Literally just seeing him at the dining hall and around the camp is hard enough. But I know we can’t argue with Chiron. He didn’t put up with bullshit. We would have to lie through our teeth to one of people I look up to the most. Another frown appears at that thought.

“Chiron is the one who put us in this situation,” Percy says, almost gently. It’s as if he could read my mind. Then his voice hardens, as if he realized how he was speaking. “I know you don’t like lying to him, but this is the only solution at the moment. I know you’d rather lie to Chiron than live with me. You know I’d rather fight a drakon with both hands tied behind my back than live with you, so this is our best bet.”

I fight the urge to pull my dagger on him. How is he supposedly the most talented demigod in the camp? He’s arrogant, rude, and annoying!

I huff and turn on my heel. I begin walking back to my cabin so I can pack my belongings. Before I leave Percy in the darkness, I look over my shoulder. “It better be a big cabin. I’d hate to see your face all the time.”

His smirk was more infuriating than any other response he could have given.

The Athena cabin is barren due to my siblings singing at the campfire. I feel a twinge of jealously. If Percy and I didn’t fight every second of every day, I would be singing about Hercules and his trials with my favorite people in the camp. Instead, I am folding my clothes and putting them in one of my duffel bags. I grab a framed photo of my dad and I, my mother’s baseball hat, and the small stack of books from my nightstand. If I keep my nose in a book, perhaps Percy and I won’t have to talk.

With that cheerful idea, I zip up the bag and hoist it over my shoulder. I shut the cabin door behind me and look over towards the Poseidon cabin. The lights are out, so I’m assume Percy has already packed his things and made his way to our new cabin. I roll my eyes and trek towards the wood. I knew where the cabin is because when I first got to the camp, I was impressed by the architecture and learned all that I could.

I hear the soft voices of my fellow campers drifting from the campfire and frown. This is all Percy’s fault. If he wasn’t the most irritating person in the entire camp—no, state and maybe the country—this wouldn’t be happening. I enter the tree line and let the moonlight illuminate my way. The path is almost familiar to me and the cabin soon comes into view.

The soft sound of crackling fire reaches my ears. Percy must have lit the torches above the door. I take in the size of the cabin. It’s smaller than the Athena cabin, almost half the size. As long as I can sleep on the opposite side of the room as Percy, I’ll be somewhat content with the situation.

I enter the cabin and take in the room. Chiron has already planned the layout for our arrival. There are two double beds, each on opposite walls with accompanying nightstands. In between the two, there is a table and a couch against the wall. Every wall has a big window, which probably gives the cabin the best natural lighting during the day. The bathroom is on the left side and the door is closed.

Percy’s bag is on the bed on the left side. He’s nowhere to be seen, so I don’t feel bad about taking a step closer to snoop. His bag is closed, but he has a backpack on the side of it that’s fully open. I see a bag of gummy candy, all of which blue. There are some clothes, wrinkled and hard to see what they are. Why do I care?

I cross the cabin to the right side and lay my duffel bag down. I take the framed photo of my dad and I and place it on the center of the nightstand. I allow myself a moment to think of him. I miss him terribly.

After putting away my clothes in the drawers of the nightstand, I dress quickly for bed. I’m not sure when Percy will be back, but that would be an inopportune moment if any. I choose my favorite cotton sleep shorts with crescent moons and owls with a white tank top. Making my way to the bathroom, I bring my bag of toiletries with me.

“Annabeth?”

I stick my head out of the bathroom at the sound of Percy’s voice. “What?”

Percy is standing in the doorway, mouth agape. I repeat my question again, with a more condescending tone. “What?”

His eyes rake over my body, and I self-consciously realize what I’m wearing. I shy more into the bathroom, hiding from his view.

“Don’t tell me you’re a bathroom hog,” Percy says after a moment. He sneers slightly and continues. “Or we won’t even be able to pretend to get along.”

“Huh, I thought you would just bathe in the lake,” I mutter, rolling my eyes for the umpteenth time today. “Or least, that’s what you smell like you do.”

Percy’s glare is only adding fire to the flame. I smile sweetly at him and close the door, cutting him from view. Solely to annoy him, I take as long as I can brushing my teeth, flossing, and braiding my hair. I even take a minute to hum a popular song while just staring at a freckle on my arm.

“Annabeth! For the love of God, I just want to shower and go to bed!” Percy’s muffled voice sounds tired, and a small part of me feels pity. But it serves him right, acting the way he did when he came back.

With a final look in the mirror, I gather my toiletries into my bag and leave the small room. I open the door and almost immediately run into a wall. But walls don’t grab back—I ran into Percy. I didn’t realize how close he had been standing. His warm hands are dwarfing my shoulders, steadying me from my almost-fall. My plastic bag is in between us, separating my tank top from his muscled chest. Since when did he take off his shirt?

I blink in surprise and make my way up to his eyes. The last time I was this close to him, I was trying to cut him with my dagger. How on Earth are his eyes so green? And how did I not notice it before?

Wait, what am I thinking? I shove my hands out, effectively using my bag as a shield and push the son of the Sea God away. I must have surprised him, because he moves farther back than I can push him. “Jeez, walk much?”

“Like you can talk! You’re the one who ran into me!” Percy’s attitude is back, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “We’re going to have to share this cabin, you do realize that, right?”

“You wouldn’t know the definition of sharing if a dictionary hit you in the face!” I don’t even want to deal with this. I push back him and cross the cabin quickly. Putting my bag under my bed, I crawl under the covers and face the wall.

A moment later, the door to the bathroom shuts and I hear him turn on the shower. The sound of water is slightly more relaxing than I expected. I toss and turn for a minute, trying to get comfortable. The worst part about sleeping in a new bed is having to figure out where the best place is. I miss my old bunk.

I still can’t believe this is the best idea Chiron could come up with. Even he even got Grover to agree with him! What kind of sorcery was that?

While pondering how to convince the centaur to change his mind, sleep takes over me. I welcome it, tired from all of the day’s events. I don’t know how much time passes before my eyes open again. When they do, I know something’s wrong. It’s still dark outside, and the cabin is without light as well.

My entire body tenses, trying to find the threat that woke me up. Another noise passes through the cabin and all of the nerves let go. It’s Percy. He’s asleep and snoring like a freight train. He snores again, and I groan. How can I possibly get a full night of rest for the entire time we live together?

I reach under my head and grab the spare pillow. With all of my strength, I launch it across the room and hit my target.

“What the fu—” Even on the cusp of consciousness, Percy is rude. “Annabeth?”

“Stop snoring!” I tell him. I can see his incredulous expression in the dark. “I need sleep, too!”

“Oh, yeah, let me stop doing something I’ve been doing for years just for you! Anything for little miss Annabeth!” His tone is still laced with sleep but the sass is more than present. “How the hell are we going to pretend to get along if we can’t even get along in our sleep!?”

“If you stop snoring, that won’t be a problem,” I mumble and turn on my side. With my back to him, I don’t see the pillow before it hits me in the back of the head. “Hey!”

“You did it first!”

“Still!”

Morning doesn’t come soon enough.

I wake up earlier than Percy, who has thankfully ceased his snoring for the moment. Stretching for a moment, I mentally plan my day. Breakfast, then training on the rock wall, working with the pegasi, then lunch, then free time until dinner. I don’t know Percy’s schedule, but I pray that it’s different from mine.

I slip out of bed, wincing when it creaks. My old bed never made noises like that. Percy doesn’t stir and I continue my way to the bathroom. I bring my change of clothes and a towel with me.

The shower starts slower than I thought possible. It took almost three minutes for the water to even be warm enough to stand under. After washing my hair and body, I exit the shower and change for my day. Dark jeans and a white henley. I braid my hair in two blonde ropes and brush my teeth.

When I exit the bathroom, I do so slowly. I don’t want to risk the chance of literally running into Percy again. But he’s still in bed, and I have no obstacles as I go back to my side of the room. I pull on my sneakers and pack my backpack. Looking over my shoulder, I see Percy turning on his side.

He’s facing me and his hair is messier than I’ve ever seen it. His mouth opens slightly and I see a bit of the drool that I made fun of when we were twelve. Some things never change. I chuckle softly to myself and exit the small cabin.

I don’t see Percy again until I’m brushing one of the pegasi. Blackjack is a few stalls over, so I’m not surprised when he comes in a little bit after I do. When Percy sees me, his mouth twitches and he gives a stiff nod. We’re supposed to be getting along, I remember.

Subtly, I maneuver my pegasus closer to Blackjack. She whinnies lowly and I stop.

“She doesn’t like it when you pull her like that,” Percy says obviously. “Be more gentle.”

I mimic him but do as he says. When we’re standing closer, I lean towards him. He raises an eyebrow in question but I roll my eyes. “No one will believe we’re getting along after one day. We still need to fight where people can see us.”

“Wow, and I thought you were known for good ideas,” Percy scoffs.

“You’re so hard to work with!” My temper gets the best of me before I can stop it. “Okay, just like three fights today? And then we’ll slowly stop fighting and then we won’t have to live together anymore.”

“That’s exactly what I said yesterday,” Percy growls. Blackjack nickers something and Percy turns to him and mutters, “Shut up!”

“What did he say?” My curiosity gets the best of me.

“Nothing,” Percy obviously lies.

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes again. “We’ll fight at lunch, okay?”

“We always do!” Percy shouts after me as I put my pegasus back in her stall.

I don’t grace his words with an answer. After a long morning, I’m excited to get some food. Percy will probably be another ten minutes, so I have time for a sandwich. I find that I am unusually wrong as I take the first bite of my sandwich and see Percy come into the dining area.

Great.

I don’t know what he will want to fight about. Our fights aren’t planned, just a pure reaction for us being in the same vicinity for too long. If four minutes and thirty seven seconds could be described as “too long.”

“Annabeth!” Percy shouts. I try not to roll my eyes, his voice sounds off compared to usual. He’s a fighter, not an actor. “What the hell!?”

My reaction is somewhat genuine. My mouth pops open in surprise, having no idea what he was talking about. He storms closer, and I see there is mud on the bottom half of his pants. No, that’s not mud. It’s pegasus poo. I pinch my lips together in an attempt not to laugh at the son of the Sea God. What the hell is he thinking?

“What do you want?” Annoyance bleeds into my voice, easy as taking a breath. He stops at the edge of the Athena table. My closest sibling to him leans closer to me, trying to escape the stench.

“I want you to explain why I’m covered in pegasus shit!”

“You’re the one who talks to horses!” At his accusation, I stand from the table and face him full-on. I put my hands on my hips and lean towards him, but not so close that the smell will affect me. “Why don’t you get them to explain it?”

“Percy, Annabeth!”

Both of us turn to face Chiron who appears to our right. He is in centaur form, as usual, and towers over us. Percy and I drop our aggressive positions and look to Chiron, wondering what he wants.

“Would either of you care to explain why you’re faking an argument?”

I don’t know whose eyes are wider, mine or Percy’s. How did he know? All of my siblings cover their mouthes, trying to stifle their giggling. Traitors.

“And don’t try to lie, I know your plan. Discussing it out in the open in front of potential witnesses is not the smartest idea,” he says, having the audacity to smirk.

I duck my head in shame. I was so desperate to get away from Percy that I went along with a dumb plan that would have serious repercussions if we failed. And since we did, I now have to face them.

“Since both of you worked together on this, both of you will be punished,” Chiron continues. “The original arrangement was for you to share that cabin until you get along. Now, it’s for the entirety of the summer. If you get along or not, I do not care.”

With that, Chiron turns and clip-clops out of the pavilion. I fight a groan while Percy straight-up smacks his forehead with his hand. I hope it hurts. Thanks to his stupid idea, we can’t escape each other anymore. It’s hopeless.

“You’re an idiot,” I hiss to him.

“You went along with it, what does that make you?” He taunts, making a face.

I return with a rude gesture that hopefully gets my message across. He mimics me. I turn on my heel and leave the dining area, wanting to get some much-needed space from the annoying demigod. It looks like I won’t be able to get much time to myself after Chiron’s decision.

I only hope I can survive the rest of summer.

Notes:

Here is the third chapter and it's a good one! I wanted to establish a base on how they work together and what their living dynamic will be like. Let me know how you liked it! Thank you for reading :)

Chapter 4: It Looks Like You Sword of Have a Problem with Me

Summary:

Capture the flag, seeing each other's underwear, and stabbing. Just your normal day at Camp Half-Blood!

Notes:

Wow, getting the next chapter up on my birthday?? We love a productive girl haha! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next one should be up soon.

I need to yell at Blackjack. He snitched on me to Chiron and now I have to live with Annabeth for the rest of the summer. It wasn’t the most thought-out plan, I’ll admit that, but the punishment seems a bit extreme. Chiron is usually lenient when it comes to things like this. But when it comes to me and Annabeth, I guess he doesn’t have much room to be lenient.

After Annabeth storms from the dining pavilion, I sit at the Poseidon table. As always, I’m by myself. The blue soda in my cup isn’t enough to cheer me up like it usually does. I finish my turkey sub quickly, not wanting to dwell.

I don’t have anything planned until dinner, so I decide to take a quick nap. My feet begin to take me towards the Poseidon cabin, but I remember quickly where my new bed is. It’s a long walk to the woods, not one I’m looking forward to making. But it’s the best way to kill a couple of hours.

After almost fifteen minutes of walking, I find myself in front of the small cabin. I push the door open, anxious to change my clothes. As soon as I’m inside, I wish I hadn’t come in.

Annabeth is here, and in the middle of changing. When she heard the door open, she had half-turned. Her white shirt is on her bed and a short-sleeved shirt is in her hands. Her black bra stands out against her smooth skin and I have to peel my eyes away. It doesn’t matter who it is, I never like making people uncomfortable.

“Get out!” Her screech is a higher pitch than I’ve ever heard from her. Her cheeks flood with color and I quickly backtrack until I’m outside and my back is to the cabin.

I barely have time to process what I just saw before Annabeth calls my name. I enter again, but much slower and keeping my eyes trained on the floor.

“I’m dressed, Percy,” Annabeth audibly rolls her eyes. I look and see she’s right. Her arms are crossed over her chest, showing her discomfort. Her cheeks are also still filled with color. “I don’t want that to ever happen again.”

I nod along with her words. It was an accident, but it still made her upset. Even though I can’t stand her, I know it shouldn’t have happened. The image of her body flashes through my mind and I quickly stamp it out. I didn’t want to see that. I don’t want to think about it. Why did I?

“Maybe we’ll have a schedule or something to make sure we don’t see each other, or—”

“No way, I am not making a schedule of when I’m going to change my clothes!” I cut her off. “Just change in the bathroom?”

Annabeth frowns and her hands return to her hips. Her shoulders are pulled back and she juts her hip to the side. She’s not embarrassed anymore, she’s aggressive. “Shouldn’t I be able to determine the solution since it just happened to me?”

I’m not going to let her win this one. Without thinking it completely through, I pull my shorts down, exposing my black boxers. Annabeth’s reaction has several small reactions to it. Her first expression is confusion, followed by shock. Despite how quick it is, I don’t miss the flick of her eyes and she looks me up and down.

“Percy, what the fuck?”

It’s not the first time I’ve heard her curse. She curses at me quite often, but her tone is different. It’s subdued to her usual outbursts. I don’t let myself wonder about why it could be. It doesn’t matter what she thinks of me. I repeat that to myself until I believe it.

I tug my shorts back up and raise my eyebrows at her in challenge. “Now it’s happened to me too. Do I get a say in how we deal with it?”

Annabeth’s cheeks darken again, but this time in anger. “Gods, you’re so infuriating!”

“I could say the same to you!”

With a sudden burst of speed, Annabeth turns and yanks the sheets off her bed. With deft fingers, she picks through one of her bags until she produces a small box. Quicker than I thought possible, she assembles all of the blankets together until they’re all connected.

“What are you doing?” My question falls on deaf ears as she continues her work.

Before I can turn around and collapse on my bed, she is finished and holds it up for me to see. She had sewn her three sheets together until it made a curtain. Annabeth clambers on her nightstand to reach one of the wooden beams resting above our heads. She drapes the curtain and it easily covers her side of the cabin. Jumping down from her perch, she crosses her arms at me. “Problem solved.”

I roll my eyes and this time, I do go to my bed. I lay down, making sure to face the wall. Even though there’s now a screen in between us, I don’t want to be tempted to look at her side. As I lay there, I think of the past couple minutes.

Annabeth has a great body, there’s no doubt about that. Her curves are prominent and she’s fitter than most in the camp. I feel bad about walking in on her changing, but I don’t regret it. I think of last night, when I first saw her in her sleep shorts and thin tank top.

I shouldn’t think of it. She’s nothing more than an annoyance in the way of me enjoying my summer. She’s annoying, arrogant, and fights with me too much to be able to see her as attractive. She would try to knock my lights out if she knew.

Annabeth’s footsteps are louder than usual as she makes her way out of the cabin. She doesn’t announce her departure or tell me where she’s going. I don’t expect her to do so. It’s not my business. I tell myself I don’t care where she’s going.

With the cabin to myself, it’s easier to let my thoughts drift around without interruptions until sleep overcomes me. I had had a tough morning of training with the swordsmen and let the exhaustion claim me. I dream of nothing, which is a welcome change from my usual nightmares.

A knock on the door rouses me from sleep. I immediately know it isn’t Annabeth because she wouldn’t knock. She would barge in, expecting anyone in the room to defer to her. Thankfully, when I open the door, Grover is there to greet me.

“You’re going to be late for dinner,” he chastises me. “You’re lucky I was taking a walk with Juniper and realized you would probably be out for the count.”

“Thanks, man,” I pull on my shoes and follow the satyr towards the heart of camp. “I didn’t realize how long I was out.”

“You’ve had a hard day,” he chuckles, alluding to Chiron’s punishment. “I didn’t realize that that would be the big idea you and Annabeth try to pull.”

“I didn’t realize I would have to spend the rest of the summer with her,” I mutter, regretting my decision again. I got covered in pegasi shit and yelled at by Chiron in front of a good portion of the camp. Not my best day.

“It could be worse,” Grover answers. “I don’t know how, but it could probably be worse somehow.”

I give a small laugh, agreeing with my best friend. Maybe he was right. If we avoided each other enough, me and Wise Girl might be able to coexist. When we reach the dining pavilion, Grover joins me at my table. I’m grateful for it and he knows.

After dinner, we have our usual capture the flag game. Chiron divides us into teams, and I’m not surprised that Annabeth and I are on the same team. Another tactic to make us try to get along that won’t work. For the past year and a half, we’ve always been on the same team but always argue in one way or another.

As usual, Annabeth takes over the blue team and begins strategizing how we can capture the flag of the red team. With the Stoll brothers working alongside Clarisse, I know we’re in for a tough game. I half-listen as she delivers rolls and duties to everyone on our team. When she says my name, I snap to attention.

“Percy, you’re in charge of guarding the river,” she says, all business. There is no room for anything else in her mind. “If someone tries to cross, take them out.”

I nod. This is my usual duty. She trusts me to hold one of the lines closest to the middle which is an important job. She likes to have an offensive defense. It’s probably one of the reasons that the blue team has won for the past several weeks.

When the conch horn blows, everyone scrambles to their position. I jog easily to the river and crouch on a boulder overlooking the body of water. It’s my usual perch and I lean comfortably on my heels. A flash of color appearing to my right surprises me, especially so early in the game.

It’s only Annabeth, shimmering into existence with a blue baseball cap in her hand. I’m familiar with her mother’s gift, but it never ceases to unnerve me when I don’t expect it. I raise my chin to her, a quiet recognition. She nods back, and disappears from sight. A small splash tells me she’s running to the red team’s side.

Time passes, and no one attempts to cross the river. They know better. Three weeks ago, I had taken Clarisse out of the running when she stumbled into the water. She had ended up almost fifteen feet back from the river. Everyone on the red team knows what happens when people try to cross.

A muffled shout comes from the other side, and I try to focus in on where it’s coming from. I hear Connor Stoll shout something, and he comes into view from the tree line. He’s fighting something, but there’s nothing in front of him.

Annabeth.

Connor shoves, hard, and Annabeth flickers into view. Her hat hits the dirt just before she does. I see her roll away from Connor, but he’s right behind her. She looks up, risking a glance my way. I understand her message, and throw out my hand.

The water responds immediately, surrounding the blonde and whisking her away from Connor. She lands deftly on our side of the river, and I jump down from the boulder. I leap over the river and charge Connor. He responds with a parry from his sword and my battle with him begins.

Connor is skilled with his sword, and all of my focus is on him. I don’t see Annabeth crossing the river back to the side of the red team. I don’t see Travis Stoll sneaking out of the trees, creeping up behind her. And I certainly don’t see Connor’s swing, which knocks me backwards.

I hit the dirt, almost exactly where Annabeth had landed. Behind me, I hear her shout of surprise and Travis maneuvers her down to the ground next to me. Before I know it, my hands are tied behind my back and Annabeth is against my back, cursing at the Stoll brothers.

“This is your fault,” Annabeth mutters.

“How on Earth is this my fault?!” I try to look over my shoulder towards the daughter of Athena but I can’t see her completely. Just her messy blonde hair and a sliver of her profile. “You’re the one who got snuck up on!”

“I was trying to help you!”

“Wow, you guys really can’t be near each other at all, can you?” Connor chuckles, interrupting us. Annabeth and I glare at him at the same time, making him frown. “Living together must be great.”

Annabeth mutters under her breath. Judging by how venomous her voice sounds, I’m glad I don’t hear her words. I know what it’s like to be on her bad side. She’s relentless.

I open my mouth to make a smart comment, but I’m cut off in surprise when I feel hands that are not my own picking at my bound wrists. Annabeth stops moving as soon as I stiffen, making it impossible for the Stoll brothers to see what she’s doing. I need to make a distraction so she can untie me.

“Living together is great, actually,” I say conversationally, trying to give Annabeth time. “We have a divider up so that we don’t see each other unless we really have to.”

Travis and Connor exchange a look, not believing my words. Hell, if I didn’t live through it, I wouldn’t believe myself either. With the brothers looking away from us, Annabeth goes back to work on untying my hands. The weaving ability of her mother is overpowering in this moment, and my hands are free.

I try to return the favor and untie her, mostly because two against two is easier than me trying to take the brothers on alone. But her hands push against mine, making her message clear. I can do it myself.

The brothers are still distracted, and I leap up, taking them by surprise. I disarm Travis before he can react, leaving Connor. Riptide appears in my hand after I pull it from my pocket and we exchange blows. Annabeth frees herself and jumps to my side, locating her dagger.

When Travis clambers to his feet, he and Annabeth fight by my side. Annabeth can handle her own, but when her dagger is ripped from her grasp, I move without thinking. I place my body in between her and Travis while keeping any eye on Connor. My instincts take over.

A quick glance over my shoulder and I see Annabeth isn’t there anymore. For a brief second, I feel a surge of anger. She leaves me to fend for myself against two guys after saving her? I can’t believe it.

When Connor is pushed away from me by nothing, a small trickle of relief runs through me as I realize she’s invisibly helping. When I only have to focus on Travis, it’s a lot easier.

A hard blow from Travis knocks Riptide from my hand and I grunt with the effort. I jump back as Travis’s blade whistles through the air. Any moment now, Riptide will return to my pocket as it always does. But for right now, I need to keep evading Travis’s advances.

Travis is smart and using it to his advantage. He keeps moving me backwards, away from the river. Without Riptide, that would be my last card to play. Any time I try to move around him, Travis blocks me from doing so. I have no clue where Annabeth is. Connor is out of my sight, so she must be taking care of him.

I put a hand to my pocket and find Riptide has returned to me. With my weapon back in hand, I can push him backwards and closer to my advantage.

A roar erupts behind me and Connor comes into view. I’m back to fighting them at the same time, and exhaustion pulls at me. Adrenaline is cursing through me but it’s not enough.

Connor swings his blade and it comes dangerously close to my abdomen. Travis takes advantage of this and comes up on my other side. A hard push from nowhere moves me out of the way of his attack, but I hiss in pain as Connor’s blade nicks my back.

Annabeth’s push had saved me from the worst of it, but I hit the dirt and don’t get up. The conch horn sounds, signaling the end of the game. I don’t know who won. I don’t care. All I can think about is my back and how it’s on fire.

“Medic!” Annabeth’s voice is shrill, but not to annoy me. She sounds genuinely worried, something that I haven’t heard from her in a while. “Quick!”

I let the world fade to black, letting go of the pain. My last thought is how Annabeth saved me.

Chapter 5: Maybe We Can Nope Out of This Situation

Summary:

Annabeth feels guilt for Percy's injury. Nico makes some valid points. Percy and Annabeth get snarky towards one another (again). Annabeth POV.

Notes:

Thank you everyone for the views and kudos! I appreciate all of you. Next chapter will be up soon!

When Connor’s blade had nicked Percy, I thought my blood had frozen. He had come to my aid, pushing me away from a very dangerous blow. All of our differences aside, he’s still a part of the blue team and I’m the reason he got hurt. Will runs from the tree line, rushing to Percy’s side. I know the wound isn’t fatal, but I can’t stop the worry.

“Connor, you know the rules about maiming,” Chiron reprimands, coming from the same direction as Will. The medic and the centaur always stand side by side until the game is over or someone needs something. “We’ll discuss this later.”

The son of Hermes nods solemnly, looking pale. He’s friends with Percy, and didn’t mean to hurt him. I know how it feels to be caught up in the moment, especially during a sword fight. The punishment won’t be too severe, but it’ll definitely be the last time Connor would ever let it happen. Chiron’s rulings tend to have lasting effects even after the punishment is completed.

Perhaps that’s why he lengthened the amount of time that Percy and I have to share the cabin. My memory flashes back to when he walked in on me. I know Percy had done it on accident, but I didn’t miss how his eyes had raked over my body. I was embarrassed. I don’t show too much skin out of preference, and that moment has only solidified my want to keep myself covered.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs nectar, ambrosia, and rest,” Will declares, making room for his siblings to come in with a stretcher. Percy would stay in the infirmary until Will releases him.

A small part of me wants to be happy that I’ll have the cabin to myself, but I don’t allow that thought for more than a second. I’m the reason that I’ll be alone tonight.

The Hermes kids lift the stretcher with Percy on his stomach. His shirt had been cut away for them to inspect the mark, and I’m surprised by how deep it is. No wonder Percy isn’t moving, the pain must have been too much for him. The camp is very lucky to have amazing healers, but even they won’t be able to heal that wound immediately.

Numbly, I trail after the Hermes cabin. I keep my eyes focused on Percy. Like in his sleep, he’s drooling. I can’t find it in me to be able to smile, though. I don’t know how long it takes for us to reach the infirmary. When we’re inside, Will gets me a chair. Robotically, I sit a few feet back from Percy’s bed.

The healers move quickly, applying balms and bandages to his back. Will feeds him nectar and ambrosia. It helps immensely; even I can see the color returning to Percy’s cheeks. He’s going to be okay. For the first time in a long time, I can take a deep breath. I didn’t indirectly kill the son of the Sea God. Good.

Will pulls a chair up next to me some time later. I turn to face him.

“He’s going to be okay,” he says, repeating what I’ve been telling myself since it happened. “He’s lucky, the sword only hit some muscle.”

“That’s good,” I manage.

“One of my brothers told me what happened, I don’t think it’s your fault,” he says gently.

I turn even more, fully facing Will. “I was the idiot who got him into that situation. How could it not be my fault?”

“Didn’t you push him out of Travis’s range?” Will asks, making me stop talking and think for a second.

“Yeah, but—”

“Travis is stronger than Connor,” he mutters. “You saved him from something worse, that’s for sure.”

He stands, and reaches into his pocket. “Give him a quarter of a square of ambrosia every hour until he wakes up. It could be one hour, it could be four. Will you stay until he wakes up?”

I nod. “Yes, I will.”

Will leaves me alone with Percy. He tends to others laying in the infirmary, treating their different wounds. I stay still, watching my…roommate. The word feels weird to think. Percy is a lot of things, but I can’t believe he’s my roommate. I don’t want to see him as anything other than the most annoying demigod in the camp. He can’t be anything else. It would be hard to change that image.

To pass the time, I carefully cut the ambrosia into fours. After that not-at-all-time-consuming process, I place them back into the bag and set it down on the table next to Percy’s bed. Looking at his still form, my mind flashes back to the memory of him pushing me out of harm’s way. It was just his battle training. When someone on your side needs help, you help them regardless of who they are.

But why does that thought hurt a little bit?

I don’t want to focus on it. Another twenty minutes crawls by and I wonder why I volunteered to do this. I’m sure if our roles were reversed that Percy would be long gone, probably sleeping or hanging out with Grover rather than sitting in the infirmary, counting down the minutes until feeding me ambrosia.

The guilt from him saving me pushes me to stay by his bed. When an hour has gone by, I remove a square of ambrosia and think about how to give it to him. I don’t want to shove it into his mouth, but what other option is there? Grabbing the knife again, I divide the quarter square into smaller pieces to gently put in Percy’s mouth.

If he chokes on it, it’s his own fault. I’m going out of my way to make things easier for him, after all.

He doesn’t stir for the entire time that it takes to get the ambrosia in him. I grimace while doing it, trying to ignore Will’s not-so-quiet sniggers behind me. When I’m done, I turn and glare at the healer. “Are you laughing at me doing your job?”

“Annabeth, you offered,” he retorts, giving an easy smile. He’s so laidback, it’s hard to see him as the hardcore fighter he is on the battlefield. Most of the time, his temperate moods keep the patients calm. He uses it to his advantage.

I make a face at him, not meaning it at all. He senses this and makes a face right back. The infirmary door opens, forcing him to look behind him. I don’t need to see his face to know he’s smiling.

Nico, his boyfriend, enters the room. I’m not as close with the son of Hades as Will is, obviously, but I do care about him. Even though he’s younger than I am, I know how hard his life has been. It’s been a toll on him, but Will’s disposition seems to help in every way. Six months ago, when they started dating, it was a bit surprising.

Yet, opposites as they are, they thrive together. The thought of opposites attract drags my gaze to Percy, who is still drooling. A small smile plays on my face before I turn it into a frown.

The law of opposites attract doesn’t work for everyone. Besides, the reason Percy and I fight all of the time is because we’re so similar. That’s what Chiron and everyone else says, anyways.

“Hello, Annabeth,” Nico greets. He offers a small smile and I return it in full. He’s definitely been smiling more since Will. He looks behind me to see the son of the Sea God passed out. “I see I missed the usual capture the flag.”

“Shit happens,” I murmur. It feels almost wrong to make a joke at Percy’s expense.

“Will says he’s going to be okay though, right?”

I nod to Nico. “Whenever he wakes up, which could be anytime now.”

“That’s good,” he replies. “But let’s be honest, Percy’s too stubborn to stay down for long.”

As if hearing the conversation, a mumbled groan erupts behind me. I whirl away from Nico and Will to see Percy scrunching his nose and opening his eyes slowly. Will moves to my side and grabs the ambrosia from the table.

“I just gave him some,” I protest, reaching for the bag.

Will grabs the smallest crumb from the bottom of the bag and gives it to Percy. “It helps them wake up faster and feel less pain immediately.”

Percy takes the crumb and finishes it, and it actually seems to help him. Color returns to his cheeks and his eyes clear. He moves slowly, trying to turn from his front, but still winces when his back moves with him.

“Damn it,” he mutters quietly.

“Do you need more ambrosia? Nectar?” Ever the healer, Will is ready to help Percy in any way possible.

“Nah, I can’t have anymore,” Percy answers. “I just had a really good pun and I didn’t have a chance to say it.”

“You had a pun about being stabbed?” Nico deadpans from over my shoulder. I try not to jump too noticeably, but I hadn’t heard Nico sneak up behind me. He’s easily the quietest person I know when he wants to be.

“Yeah, it was something along the lines of ‘Hey, do you want this back or can I keep it?’”

Will chuckles into his hand and Nico’s mouth opens either in shock or disbelief. I can’t control my reaction even if I tried.

“It was a glancing blow, not an entry stab wound,” I counter. “It would make more sense if he had stabbed you through the middle.”

“Oh, here, stab me again so I can make the proper pun,” Percy spits. “What are you doing here, anyways? Are you here to apologize?”

Will, sensing that an argument is brewing, tries to intervene. “She actually saved you from a different wound, and gave you ambrosia while you were out—”

“Oh, is that why I’m feeling feverish?” Percy cuts him off. “Wise Girl, learn your serving sizes.”

I think my left eye twitches in annoyance. “Learn how to fight with a sword!”

“Well, if you hadn’t pushed me—”

“I was trying to help you!”

“And it got me stabbed!”

“Would you rather get stabbed than impaled?”

“Those are the same thing—”

“Shut it!” Will’s voice overpowers both of ours. The usually moderate healer is now frowning. Nico, having moved by his side, puts his hand on his arm. “Percy, stop yelling. You’re going to regret it later. Annabeth, stabbing and impaling are sort of the same thing.”

My mouth drops open while Percy crows. “Ha! Told you!”

I sneer at the son of the Sea God. “You’re an ass.”

“Well—”

“Annabeth, let’s go for a walk,” Nico says suddenly, trying to stop us from fighting again. I almost don’t want him to so I can get the last word in.

Percy has the audacity to smile smugly and my hands ball into fists at my side. “Fine,” I manage to grit out. “Let’s go.”

I turn my back on Percy without hurling another insult at him. I’m proud of my restraint. Nico isn’t.

“You two still can’t get along, can you?” Nico inquires after we leave the infirmary. The sky is dark, the sun had completely set while I was tending to Percy.

“We tried to pretend to get along but the pegasi snitched to Chiron,” I mumble.

“It’s so bad that horses are bothered by your fighting? Now that’s something I never thought would happen,” Nico says. “Will told me you’re living together in the cabin in the woods?”

“Until the end of summer,” I try to keep from groaning and fail. “And it’s only made things worse.”

“Well, of course it has,” Nico scoffs, as if it’s obvious. “No one gets along when they’re with the other person constantly. Like Chiron making you stay with Percy after he got stabbed. That's just asking for a fight.”

“He didn’t make me stay,” I correct him.

“Then why were you there?” His question isn’t accusatory, mainly curious. “You can’t stand each other but you were nursing him back to health.”

“I felt bad; he literally got stabbed for helping me,” I explain, crossing my arms over my chest. I blame the cool night air for my defensive posturing.

“But you two were just arguing about that, and you didn’t seem to feel bad about it then.” Nico raises a brow. “Will was right, you guys just don’t make sense.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s just that you fight all the time, right? But you’re the best partners for taking down a drakon. He risks himself to save you from Connor or Travis or whoever, and you stick with him until he wakes up. Despite all the fighting, you guys kind of get along,” Nico frowns thoughtfully. “It makes no sense.”

“Neither does what you said,” I retort, brushing off his words. “I felt bad, that’s all. If he’s going to be an ass about it, I won’t stick around every time he gets hurt anymore.”

“Fair enough,” the son of Hades shrugs, his pale skin almost luminous in the moonlight. “I was just thinking out loud.”

“Hm,” is all I say in response.

“But hey, what do I know?” Nico smiles as he turns on his heel, returning to his boyfriend. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Nico,” I reply, raising a hand. I watch the dark-haired boy jog back the way we had come from. Since he doesn’t spend all of his time at the camp, he spends as much time with Will as he can while he’s here.

It’s well past my bedtime. I trudge back to my new room, planning on taking a hot shower before collapsing into bed. I’ve earned a good night’s sleep after the eventful day. As long as I don’t dream, I’ll be a happy camper.

Chapter 6: Important Patient Update: He Isn't Happy and is Picking Fights with Others

Summary:

Percy has to learn to be nice to Annabeth when she's the hand that feeds him. Nico and Will make their input to him, and he doesn't exactly like it. Nico is sassy and Percy sees Annabeth in a different light. Percy POV.

Notes:

This is definitely more of development chapter with Percy processing some feelings. I wanted Nico and Will to put some thoughts in his head that didn't occur to him before. Thank you so much for being patient! It's finals week right now so I wanted to post this before succumbing to my finals. Enjoy!

As Annabeth and Nico disappear from view and the infirmary, I frown deeper. I swear to the gods, if Annabeth had given me the wrong dosage of ambrosia on purpose! She would be hearing about it for a long time to come. Will seems to sense my train of thought and smirks slightly.

“She was careful about how much she gave you,”he says. “I watched her cut up the doses myself. If anything, the small bit I gave you to ease your waking up is what’s making you feverish.”

“I still think she has something to do with it,”I mutter, trying to shift my weight. Lying on my stomach is uncomfortable, but I know I won’t be able to move to my back for a couple more hours at least.

Nico returns to the infirmary, looking amused. Before I can ask him why he’s smirking, he moves to Will’s side. He leans his head against the blond’s shoulder. Will easily moves his arm to encompass the shorter one’s shoulders. The simple display of affection makes me frown.

I’m not lonely or anything, but I am a bit jealous of how happy they seem. Any time one of them walks into a room, the other one beams so brightly I have to look away. I’m happy for them, really, but the smallest bit envious. Anyone would be.

“I really can’t believe Chiron is making you room with your sworn enemy,” Nico says after a moment. His tone is thoughtful but measured.

“Yeah, it sucks,” I reply, laying my head back down on the pillow. My neck is aching from trying to hold it up for so long. “I can’t believe I have another month and a half to get through.”

“It could be worse, though, right?” Nico prompts. “There are worse people to live with.”

“Yeah, like Medusa,” I scoff. “It’s practically the same thing, I can barely look at Annabeth without us fighting. We even have a sheet tying off our halves of the cabin!”

“Wait, what?” Will’s curious tone alerts me to having said too much. I can’t back out now, or they’ll never let it go.

I frown and explain. “I walked in on her changing and she immediately freaked out, understandably, but then wanted to make a schedule. A schedule! For when we change clothes! So I said no, but she was like, ‘I was the one who was walked in on, I get to make the decision on what happens’ and so I pulled my pants down so we would be even. After that, she put up the sheet as a divider.”

Nico and Will, despite being polar opposites, bear the exact same expression of disbelief.

“Did…did that really happen?” Will fights a smile. “Your best logic was to pants yourself so she wouldn’t win an argument?”

I guess I didn’t have to explain exactly why the sheet was put up. A simple glaze over the incident probably would have sufficed. I shrug, giving in to his amusement. Nico full-on grins at my admittance.

“How’s your back feeling?” Will says before Nico has the chance to open his mouth and say something. Judging by his side eye at his boyfriend, Will had done it on purpose.

“Sore? I don’t know, but it’s definitely not comfortable,” I answer honestly. It isn’t my first wound that has landed me in the infirmary, but it’s for sure the most inconvenient. The idea of having to lay on my stomach for much longer makes me frown. For as long as I can remember, I have slept on my back.

Will twists his mouth to the side as he thinks. “You’ll need plenty of rest, of course, and access to nectar and ambrosia to make sure it heals quickly. Most likely, you’ll have to stay here for a couple of days.”

My initial reaction is anger, towards Annabeth and Connor for landing me here, but it passes quickly. I’m in some of the best hands in the entire camp, probably of all demigods in the world. Will knows what he’s doing and I don’t doubt that he’ll do the best he can.

But I’m stuck in the infirmary for a long time. My anger towards Annabeth returns.

After a couple more minutes of catching up, Nico and Will excuse themselves. It’s been a while since Nico has come to the camp, so I know they missed each other. With strict instructions to holler for someone if my back bothers me through the night, I am left alone to sleep.

I’m the only camper in the infirmary tonight. I’m glad for the quiet, so I can be alone with my thoughts. After having a small sip of ambrosia, the pain in my back reduces to a small ache. The quiet seems to get louder, and I find myself missing the sounds of having a roommate.

It’s not that I miss Annabeth. I know I don’t. But sometimes, when I woke up from a bad dream and couldn’t sleep for a while, it would be comforting to hear her breathing in the background. She tended to toss and turn in her sleep, causing her blankets to create a calming rustling sound.

Now, I am surrounded by empty beds. Even after living in my own cabin alone most of the time, I have become accustomed to sharing my cabin. I take a deep breath and try to focus on something else.

It doesn’t work. My thoughts drift to Annabeth, and wonder how she’s feeling. Our spat earlier indicated that she didn’t feel too bad, but Will had assured me that she had stuck by my side until I woke up. Would I have done the same for her if our roles were reversed?

Probably. If she had jumped into a fight to save me and gotten hurt in the process, I would feel bad if I didn’t try to help. It doesn’t matter that we don’t—and probably won’t ever—get along. During a battle, we always have each other’s backs. Ever since the beginning of knowing each other, our behavior during a battle has been the same.

We know how the other works. I know most of her moves and know when to expect them. When she thrusts with her dagger, I usually cover her from behind. When I take on two assailants, she will use her invisibility hat to her advantage. In fact, that was basically our plan of attack during capture the flag. Until I got hurt.

As my thoughts revolve around Annabeth, sleep overtakes me and my eyelids close. After the long day, exhaustion drags me under. Mercifully, I do not dream.

The next thing I know, it’s morning and someone is standing over me. I blink, willing my vision to focus on the form above me. Sunlight is filtering from behind them, darkening their silhouette.

“Good morning, Sleeping Ugly!” Annabeth’s voice is sarcastic. Her tentative tone from yesterday is nowhere to be found. “How are you feeling?”

“I think I would be feeling better if you weren’t here,” I answer as her face finally comes into view. She looks more tired than usual. Dark circles are under her eyes, showing me how little she must have slept last night.

“I had the best rest ever last night because you weren’t snoring up a storm,” she retorts immediately.

I know she’s lying.

I don’t answer her, but just study her. Her hair is pulled back, away from her face in a hurry. She must have been frustrated about something to not carefully brush her hair in the morning like she usually does.

She squirms under my stare. She reaches into her backpack and pulls out a paper bag. The instant that she does, I smell the sweet aroma of warm food. I can’t help but salivate.

“I brought you some breakfast,” she murmurs as she passes it to me. I awkwardly take it from her, not quite used to maneuvering around while lying on my stomach.

I’m surprised by her kindness. How did she know to grab bacon, one of my favorite foods ever? I can’t remember the last time we had breakfast together, if ever. We still sit at our parent’s godly tables. She must have noticed what I like to eat? Or perhaps she just guessed. She probably used some logical deduction to end up with the food she put in the paper bag.

All of that aside, I’m happy that she did this for me. “Thank you, Annabeth.”

For the first time in a while, there is no hostility in my voice as I address her. She’s surprised by it as well, and takes a small step back from my bed. She’s almost as uncomfortable as I am in this new territory.

“I’ll be back with lunch after twelve,” she says quickly, turning on her heel and disappearing from view.

She’s gone before I can say anything else. Will comes by, changing my bandages and seeing how I’m feeling. We talk for a bit, mostly about the camp, before he has to check on other patients. The day passes slowly, and I drift in and out of consciousness.

The sound of a plate being set down on the table next to my bed rouses me some time later. The smell of chicken and rice overcome me and I lift my head to see the rest of the plate.

“Lunch, as promised,” Annabeth says without any pageantry. She still looks tired. I’m sure her busy schedule is wearing on her with her lack of sleep.

“B- for presentation,” I mumble, reaching for the plate. I can’t quite get to it, given my position, and Annabeth moves it closer to me so I can get to it. “Thanks.”

For a moment, Annabeth stands there. She’s seems hesitant, as if she doesn’t know what to do with herself. She makes up her mind about something and sit downs at the chair Will had occupied hours earlier.

“How are you feeling?” Annabeth asks, and then winces right after. It’s an obvious question.

“As well as I can be after being stabbed,” I say nonchalantly. I didn’t mean for there to be heat behind my words, but it bleeds through anyways.

Her mouth puckers in response. “What do you like to eat for dinner?”

Her question catches me off guard. “Uh, I like chicken? I’m not a big fan of beef, so I guess any other kind of meat would be nice. Thanks.”

Her smile is soft, with a gentle curve of her lips. With the sunlight coming in behind her and her blonde hair illuminated by it, she truly does look beautiful. I’m sure I have a slightly dazed look on my face.

She leaves as quickly as she had come. I eat my lunch, enjoying the chicken immensely. Will comes by once again, and I have a small serving of nectar. He changes my bandages again. As I had in the morning, I drift in and out of sleep as time goes on. When it's time for dinner, a loud noise wakes me up.

Annabeth is standing over me with her hands on her hips. Her expression is smug. She looks towards the table next to me and I follow her gaze. There’s a plate with my dinner on it. There is nothing but beef on my plate.

“Enjoy your dinner,” she says with a big smile. “And think twice before being rude to the person who gets your meals.”

She’s gone, and I frown. That’s why she had asked what I wanted for dinner. As soon as I had made a snide comment about being stabbed, she had planned her revenge. Rude.

“She has a point, you know,”Nico says as he approaches my bed. He takes a seat in the chair next to me. “She’s doing a lot for you; you could be a little nicer.”

“I didn’t mean to imply she was the reason I got stabbed.”

Nico’s look is full of disbelief. “That seemed to be what you were saying just last night. Did I mishear you?”

I look down. “No.”

“Then you see my point,” he continues. “She’s bringing you food—and she doesn’t have to do that, just so you know—and you do something like that? I’ll be surprised if she does bring you food tomorrow.”

Knowing how stubborn Annabeth is—especially when it comes to dealing with me—I don’t doubt it. I stare at the plate of beef and frown. I regret being rude earlier. Annabeth has never put up with bullshit before, why would she now even when I’m injured?

Nico sees my thoughts written all over my face and excuses himself. He mumbles something about catching up on sleep.

Will stops by next, changing my bandages one last time and giving me ambrosia. He looks at untouched plate next to me and pinches his lips. I’m sure he already knows exactly what happened.

“I’ll bring an extra breakfast tomorrow, just in case,” he says before leaving me for the night. I can’t express how much I appreciate his kindness and his healing. I should be out of the infirmary within two days, which makes me happy.

With thoughts of going back to my schedule of fighting, climbing the rock wall, and taking care of Blackjack, I fall asleep with a smile on my face. Just like last night, I don’t dream. It’s peaceful.

In the morning, I wake up to sunlight coming in through one of the windows. It’s quiet and early. Will isn’t here yet, and the infirmary is empty except for me. Why did I wake up so early?

I look to my side table, thirsty, and am surprised to see a plate of breakfast next to me. The eggs are over-easy, just like I like them, surrounded by bacon. Warm sausage cocoons the breakfast muffin and my stomach growls. I know it wasn’t Will who brought this. He usually eats granola in the morning, which is what I expected to eat today. No, I know who brought this. Her note lying next to the plate confirms my suspicions.

I hope you learned your lesson last night. Don’t be an asshole or I won’t bring you food again. Don’t be an idiot, Seaweed Brain.

Chapter 7: Seas the Day

Summary:

Percy and Annabeth getting along??? Never. But they're not so different as they think. Annabeth POV.

I don’t feel bad about giving him food that he doesn’t like last night. Why should I? He was rude, so I made him realize that I wouldn’t put up with his shit just because he’s hurt. And I had seen Nico’s smile after I had done it. At least he agreed with me. Nico’s words from the other night still bother me.

He’s right, though. Even though we don’t get along, Percy and I work together in every way. When I had to get him breakfast, I remember from our first quest that he likes bacon more than anything. Grover had given him shit about it, which made it easy to remember. When he had thanked me for getting him food, Percy had been sincere.

That had really thrown me for a loop. I can’t remember the last time either one of us addressed the other without some sort of sarcasm or rudeness. But when he had looked at me with those eyes, obviously thankful for me bringing him food, I had felt different.

No one has ever looked at me like that. Like I was the sun. Like I was the one thing that mattered.

I never thought Percy would be the one to look at me like that.

If I’m being honest with myself, that’s the reason that I brought him breakfast this morning. Last night, I slept better than the night before. But I don’t like how Percy was in my dreams both nights. The first night, when I couldn’t sleep a wink, he had been reaching out to me before falling off a cliff and disappearing from view. I had woken up in a cold sweat. It had felt so real.

Last night, I had seen his expression from the day before. His eyes were fully open, taking me in. I hadn’t felt like when he had walked in on me. That had felt like just a thing that happened that he saw. I still don’t like to think about it. But yesterday, wow. He had just looked at me with such a raw expression. He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t seen me before. It’s not like we don't see each other every day!

It’s frustrating. Because of the way he had looked at me, I can’t stop thinking about it. And him. Oh, gods, what if he had been staring at the food like that? I wouldn’t put it past him. That boy will do almost anything when it comes to food. Except beef. I will never regret that.

I don’t want to think about Percy anymore. He’s spent enough time in my thoughts today. I focus on what I have to do today. I had woken up early to get him breakfast so that it wouldn’t interfere with the rest of the things I have on my list. And to ease my guilt. As stubborn as he is, he probably didn’t finish his meal. It’s bad enough he’s laying in the infirmary, he shouldn’t starve on top of that!

I need to stop thinking about Percy. I have training with my siblings to look forward to, I shouldn’t be focusing on something I can’t control. I jog to the arena to meet up with everyone and begin our session. Minutes later, I’m sweating heavily and the son of the Sea God is far from my mind. In fact, I don’t think about him until lunch.

Because I see him sitting at the Poseidon table, laughing with Grover. He’s talking animatedly, gesturing with his hands. However, he’s not moving as fast as he usually would. As a child of Athena, I pride myself on noticing most things that happen around me. When he’s excited, Percy moves his hands a lot. My theory is that it has something to do with his excess energy.

But now, I can tell he’s trying to heal. He’s smiling, yes, but he’s not moving as quickly as he did before capture the flag. A twinge of guilt travels through me, as usual. But the grin on his face and how he’s eating so much is a good sign. Grover is doing his part of cheering him up as well. As if he can feel my gaze, he moves his head to look at me.

He twitches one side of his mouth, curling into a lopsided smile. It’s not a full grin—which I don’t expect—but it’s something. There are no hard feelings between us about the past couple of days. But I know we aren’t friends because of this. I would be dumb to think that these past few days would dissolve the past couple years of fighting. Nevertheless, I smile back at him and nod my head.

Maybe we won’t argue as frequently.

Man, am I naive.

After lunch, I return to my cabin to shower and change before an Ancient Greek lesson with the Apollo and Athena cabins. Training from the morning had tired me out more than I expected and I want to recuperate with a nice, warm shower. As soon as I get to the cabin, I hurry to the bathroom and start the shower. Since it takes a while for the water to reach my preferred temperature, I go back to my bed and lay out my clothes for the rest of the day.

Just as I’m turning on my heel so return to the bathroom, the front door opens. Percy comes in. He’s wearing a different shirt, probably one of Will’s. He looks more tired than he did at lunch when he was grinning with Grover. He’s had a long couple of days, though.

“Hey,” he says as he moves to his side of the room. The sheet is still hanging in between our sides of the room, so I can’t see him once he’s more than five feet inside the cabin.

“Hey,” I reply, turning back to my clothes. Once my shirt is folded the way that I like it, I start back to the bathroom.

“Oh, you started the shower for me? How kind,” Percy says, moving to the bathroom first. His bed is closer, so he has the advantage.

All sympathy I thought I had for him dissipates. “There is no way in Hades you’re getting in that shower.”

“Annabeth, I was just stabbed!” He plants the back of his hand on his forehead dramatically. “I need a shower to relax.”

“I need a shower so I can get to my lesson on time,” I retort. “I’m the one who worked out this morning.”

Percy scrunches his nose. “I can tell.”

Gods, I want to hit him.

“I’m the one who hasn’t showered in days because I’ve been in the infirmary!”

“Okay, but you can’t wait ten minutes so I can shower first?” Maybe logic will make its way through his thick skull.

“Nope, I deserve to shower first.”’

“Oh, gods, don’t tell me you’re going to milk this stabbing thing.” I roll my eyes. “Go back to Will, he’ll give a shit about this.”

“You’re heartless!” Percy gasps sarcastically.

“Better than being brainless!” Using his argument as a distraction, I duck past him and into the bathroom. I lock the door before he can try to open the door. If he had made it before I turned the latch, he would have overpowered me for sure. But I’m faster than him, and I’m safely within reach of the shower.

I wasn’t kidding about having to rush for my lesson. The water is warm enough now, and I go under the water as soon as I’m undressed. Just after rinsing the shampoo out of my hair and lathering conditioner into it, the water becomes cold as ice. I gasp and move out of the reach of the shower nozzle. Fiddling with the knobs, I try to turn the heat up as much as I can. It’s to no avail and the water only gets colder.

Then I realize why it’s happening.

“Percy! I’m going to kill you!”

After a very, very cold shower, I dry off and pull the towel closer around myself. Why didn’t I bring my clothes into the bathroom? Ugh. As soon as Percy came in, I should have taken them with me. The last thing I want is to be running around in a towel.

As learned by habit, I open the bathroom door slowly. Percy is nowhere to be seen. He’s probably lying on his bed, plotting ways to get back at me for any number of things. I pad out of the bathroom quietly and cross to my side of the room.

“Hope there’s hot water left for me!” Just as I thought, Percy is on his bed with a smug grin.

I had been wearing my shoes when I had run into the bathroom and they’re in my arms along with my clothes. I take my left shoe and hurl it at his head. He ducks easily without hurting his back and stands. He’s shirtless, probably getting ready for his shower after mine. I ignore his toned chest and tanned skin.

“You’re terrible,” I mutter.

“As you keep telling me!” He has the hugest grin on his face.

“What are you smiling about?” My hairs stand on end as a nervous feeling overtakes me. There’s something I don’t know.

His eyes focus above me and I look up with him. A bubble of water is levitating above my head. It’s about the size of a softball, but it’s still a substantial amount of water. I barely have time to close my eyes before Percy releases whatever power he had over the liquid and it splashes all over me. Whatever water I had dried off before seems redundant now.

“Percy!!” I screech as loud as I can, knowing how it annoys him. Judging by his expression, he knows exactly what I’m doing.

‘That’s what you get, Wise Girl!” He taunts as he moves towards the bathroom. The water will be nice and warm for him, no doubt. I want to punch him again.

He disappears from view as he slips in the bathroom. I hear the shower start and curse him mentally. And then, it hits me. I have the perfect plan to get back at him. Once I dry off. Again.

Minutes later, the trap is set and I am dry and fully clothed. Percy might take a long shower, but I don’t mind missing the first part of my Ancient Greek lesson. I know almost everything they’re teaching today anyways. Getting Percy back will be much better. I nonchalantly place myself at the couch near the front door with a thick book and wait for my plan to work.

Ten minutes later, my patience pays off. Percy emerges with an avalanche of steam following him. You’d think the son of the Sea God would be drier, but noooo, he has to be dramatic. How surprising. But my plan works perfectly. The handle of the bathroom door is connected to a piece of yarn, which connects over one of the beams of the cabin. Attached to that string is a pail filled with flour.

His surprised expression is more than enough reward for skipping part of my lesson. I can’t control my grin and laugh in his face.

His once ink-black hair is mixed with streaks of gray from the flour and his chest doesn’t seem so tan anymore. Percy’s sea-green eyes, usually filled with light, have a murderous glint in them. I anticipated this. I jump up from the couch and into a defensive stance.

“You’re going to regret that,” he grits out.

“Oh, I highly doubt that,” I retort, grinning wider. “You should have seen your face!”

“I’m going to get you back.” Percy looks dead serious, which is a feat I did not think the demigod would pull off while dripping wet and covered in flour. It’s more impressive than ever. “Don’t doubt that.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I declare, rising my chin in defiance. His eyes squint in anger and I know I got to him. My smile gets bigger.

“You’re annoying,” he mutters, turning to go back into the bathroom. He needs another shower, badly.

“As you keep telling me!”

Even Percy laughs at that one. “Nice.”

For a moment, we’re just two people laughing in different rooms. I forget that we don’t get along and we have to share this cabin as a punishment. Then I remember and my smile fades. I’m running late. Grabbing everything I need, I close the door quietly behind me and start on the long walk to the Ancient Greek lesson. I don’t think about Percy or his muscles. Or at least try.

Notes:

This was one of the most fun chapters to write so far. It had a really fun vibe and I was smiling while writing it. I wanted to capture both Annabeth's and Percy's fun side a bit, especially after the stabbing in the last chapters. All about balance, right? Lol. If you have any fun ideas for this, leave a comment down below! I always love hearing from you guys. Next chapter will be up soon!

Chapter 8: Hush Little Baby, Don't You Cry

Summary:

Percy is going to get back at Annabeth for her prank. However, it doesn't end the way he thinks he does. Percy POV.

When I had come out of the bathroom and seen Annabeth on the couch, I had almost stopped. Her long legs were folded under her, her nose stuck deep in a book. When she had looked up, her grey eyes were jaw-droppingly-gorgeous. They were crinkling as she grinned, especially when the flour had hit me. Her laugh was loud yet delicate, which drew from how tough she was.

I’ve always respected her for her bravery and grit, that’s for sure. But her laugh was so girly and attractive that it distracted from the fact that we aren’t supposed to be getting along. I was annoyed with the flour, yes, but deep down, I appreciated the prank. I was going to get her back for it, I wasn’t lying.

It was uncool of her. But I probably would have done the same thing. Especially after the water thing. The cold water had been pretty mean, but I might have overdone it with the huge ball of water splashing all over Annabeth. When she pranked me back, I knew we were okay. But I don’t know what okay means. We aren’t fighting, but we aren’t friends. Acquaintances doesn’t sound right, either. Only Annabeth would use a word like that.

She’s gone when I come out of the bathroom for the second time. She had mentioned something about a lesson, and she hates being late. Almost as much as she hates me.

No, I don’t think she hates me. At least, I hope she doesn’t. That thought seems so much more terrible to me than it used to. When did I start caring about what Annabeth thought of me? It doesn’t matter. I have to focus on getting back at her for the flour. I have an idea before I make it to my bed.

I need Grover’s help.

Ten minutes later, I’m dressed and on my way to find my best friend. He doesn’t really support anything against Annabeth but I’m sure he’ll help with this one. He has to, after the flour incident. I find him walking towards the strawberry fields.

“Grover, man, I need your help.”

He turns to me quickly, concern in his eyes. “Are you okay? Your back? Do you need me to call Will?”

“No, I’m fine,” I tell him. I should have realized his first reaction would have been worrying about my back. In fact, I hadn’t thought about it in a while. Annabeth had distracted me. “It’s about Annabeth.”

“Gods, are you still fighting? You would think that the last couple of days would stop that for a minute, at least!” Grover rolls his eyes.

He does have a point. And for a moment, the fighting did stop. But I have to get her back for what she did.

“She pulled a prank on me!” I figure that if I tell him she did it first, he would be more likely to help me. If he knew it was me getting back at her for getting back at me, there would be no chance. “I have an idea.”

My strategic decision pays off as my best friend says, “What do you have in mind?”

Less than an hour later, everything is set up and ready to go. I have no idea where Annabeth is. I’m sure her lesson has ended by now, but she could be anywhere within the camp. She likes keeping a strict schedule, but her whereabouts tend to fluctuate throughout the days. I haven’t had to keep track of where she is before and now I realize how tedious it is.

I’m walking with Grover to the strawberry fields, where I had first found him, when Will approaches me. His blond hair is shining in the sun and I look away before Apollo finds a way to blind me through his kid’s hair.

“Hey, how’s your back doing?” His medic tone is all business.

I shouldn’t expect anything else. I answer him honestly, and answer all of his questions. Yes, I’ve been resting. No, I haven’t participated in any activities that require a lot of movement. Yes, I took a shower and (tried) to reapply my bandages.

Short of lifting my shirt and looking at my back himself, Will finally seems satisfied. He nods to himself, probably mentally answering some question he had and turning on his heel. Over his shoulder, he calls, “Let me know if any of that changes!”

Just as Will disappears from earshot, Grover turns to me. “How is your back feeling, really?”

“I meant every word,” I reply. “It doesn’t hurt as much as it did.”

“That’s great,” Grover says, smiling. “Now, when is Annabeth going to be in the cabin?”

I frown. “I’m not sure. We don’t exactly share our schedules with each other. I’m assuming I’ll see her at dinner and then I beat her back to the cabin somehow?”

“What if she goes to the cabin first?” Grover has a point.

“Shit, you’re right,” I groan, running a hand through my hair. “If she does that, it’s ruined. We need to find out where she is.”

Grover and I walk to the Big House. Since it was the last place she said she was going, there was a small chance she would still be there. Of course, she isn’t, but we can ask Chiron to see if he knows what she’s up to.

When Chiron sees us approaching, he smiles. “Ah, Percy, Grover! How are you doing? Getting along with your roommate, I hope?”

“Hi, Chiron, sir,” Grover chirps. Judging by Chiron’s expression, he’s amused slightly by the “sir.”

“Good, Chiron,” I say. “I’m actually here to ask where Annabeth is! I wanted to talk to her about something.”

“Oh? Talk? Not fight or scream at each other?” Chiron’s eyes are dancing with laughter and I know he’s enjoying this.

Out of the corner of my eye, Grover winces. But I don’t want to rise to the bait.

“Yeah, just talk,” I tell him. “It’s about our cleaning schedule for the cabin.”

The lie comes easier than I expected. Chiron’s expression doesn’t change, which could mean something or could mean nothing. Annabeth would probably be better at this. I wish she were here to help—no, that wouldn’t work. Then she would know what we’re up to.

“She left her lesson about half an hour ago,” Chiron answers. “She should be at the rock wall now with her siblings.”

“Thank you, sir,” I say, smiling at Chiron. He smiles softly, reacting to my joke. “I’ll see you later.”

Grover and I leave the Big House behind us and head to the center of camp. Passing the volleyball courts, Grover brings up another good point. “What are we going to do when we see her? Tell her not to go back to the cabin? That’s a red flag.”

“Would she believe the cleaning harpies?” I say the first idea to pop into my mind.

“They come at the end of summer,” Grover says. “That’s another month.”

“Ugh, you’re right.” I frown again. “Maybe we just make sure she doesn’t go back to the cabin? Like watch her from a distance?”

“I don’t want to stalk her, dude,” he retorts. I give him an exasperated look and he chuckles. “I know what you mean, though. That might have to be what we do.”

I didn’t realize how good Annabeth is at the rock wall. Sitting by the volleyball courts, Grover and I can see the Athena cabin take it on. Annabeth went last, with the rock wall on the highest level of difficulty. I watch her scale it easily, dodging the falling rocks and evading the lava. Within thirty seconds, she sits triumphantly at the top, waving down to her cheering siblings.

In the setting sunlight, her hair is bright gold. It’s pulled up in a ponytail today, framing her face with the shorter curls. In her camp t-shirt and jean shorts, she’s never been so pretty to me. Annabeth’s smile is wide and proud, gleaming with joy. Even from here, I can tell she’s proud of herself.

“Dude,” Grover jostles me, breaking my focus. “Are you zoning out?”

I shake my head, trying to get Annabeth’s smile out of my head. “Yeah, just tired.”

Fuck, I think. I need to stay focused on the prank, not her.

This might be harder than I originally thought. Thank the gods I have Grover with me to help. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him. Without his reed pipe, we never would have been able to get the spider to go into the cabin.

When it’s time for dinner, it’s a short walk for Grover and I. It was a bit difficult to not seem conspicuous while making sure Annabeth didn’t go back to our place but we managed. From the volleyball courts to the pavilion, it’s less than three minutes.
As usual, we sit at the Poseidon table. I’m thankful for Grover all of the time, but this is one of the times that I’m the most grateful. He sits with me to make sure I’m not alone. I’m pretty sure everyone knows how to I hate to eat alone. After getting our food and making our sacrifices, we dig in.

The majority of the meal is silent. Grover’s starving and eating so fast he can’t talk—let alone breathe—through his food. Me, not so much. I’m not particularly hungry, but I pick at pieces of my food all the same. Across the pavilion, Annabeth is eating with her siblings. Despite the din of the other campers, I hear her laugh when her brother says something.

What is she laughing about?

Why do I care?

Dinner ends. We don’t have a campfire tonight, so I immediately start the walk back to the cabin. I know I’m ahead of Annabeth, because she had stayed with one of her siblings for a few minutes after dinner. I had thought about waiting for her, but there’s no way she wouldn’t be suspicious about that after the shower thing.

As I reach the cabin, I look around. Annabeth could be quiet when she wanted to, and I don’t want to give her the chance to prank me again.

But I was wrong. I’m alone in front of the cabin. I enter and look at my roommate’s bed. It looks like normal, but I know what’s really in there. I look away and pick my nightclothes out of my nightstand. Heading to the bathroom, I slip off my shoes. I change quickly and brush my teeth. Just as I put my toothbrush down, I hear the front door open.

I stick my head out of the bathroom and see Annabeth. She’s frowning.

“What’s wrong?” The question slips out of my mouth before I can stop it.

Annabeth looks up from her shoes and I see her frown more clearly. Her blonde hair is framing her face, hanging in loose curls. She had taken her ponytail out during dinner. Her lips are pursed, like her thinking face. They’re moving now. I blink twice, trying to focus on what she’s saying.

“—and he didn’t tell me that she wanted to break up with him until after I tried to help him!” She throws her hands up in exasperation. “He just have just asked the Aphrodite cabin, they could have saved the relationship.”

“Huh,” is all I can manage. I don’t know what she’s prattling on about and if I ask any questions about it she’ll know I wasn’t listening and will call me on my shit. She’s done it enough times for me to know not to test her.

“And he kept complaining about how she treated him, but I knew they weren’t good for each other, but it’s not like I can just come out and say it, you know?” Annabeth shakes her head and moves to sit on her bed. I’m distracted by her legs and forget what I did.

“It’s not like I can do anyt—AHHHHH!”

Her shriek reminds me immediately. Grover and I had coaxed a spider into her bed. She’s terrified of spiders and I still chose to go through with the prank. I’m an ass.

“Annabeth!” I rush to her, noticing how she wasn’t moving except to continue screaming.

Her eyes are wide, full of fear. I’ve seen Annabeth scared only a handful of times, but this is the most scared I’ve ever seen her. As I pull her away from the bed, I notice how she’s shaking. Her entire body is trembling and her skin is clammy. I feel so guilty that I can barely describe it. I just hold her to my chest, trying to calm her down.

It’s useless. Annabeth is still screaming, staring at the bed. I forcibly turn her in my arms, breaking her eye contact from the bed. I can’t even see the spider from here, but I’m sure that doesn’t matter to her. Jus the sheer knowledge that a spider is within the cabin is scary enough for her. She’s crying now, I can feel the water seeping into the front of my shirt.

“Annabeth, it’s okay,” I whisper into her hair, cradling her. Oh, my gods, I feel like the biggest jerk in the entire world. Including Hades. Including every jerk I’ve ever dealt with. Hell, Nancy Bobofit is an angel right now compared to me.

She sobs again, her entire body shaking. I move her—which is a nice way of saying I just lift her off the ground and carry her to my bed—away from her bed. I sit her down, lifting her face to meet my eyes.

“Hey, I’m going to get rid of it,” I tell her, making sure that she sees that I’m trying to help her. “It’s going to be gone.”

She nods slowly, tears still tracking down her face. Her tanned skin is pale, made white by her terror. I walk backwards, keeping my eyes on her. My back hits the sheet dividing our rooms and I rip it down so I don’t have to look away from Annabeth. She flinches as the stitches she had made rip, but right now I’m focused on making sure the spider will be taken care of.

Her eyes are wider, if that’s even possible. Her bed is right behind me, and I have to look away from her so I can face her fear.

“Percy, be careful!” Her voice is strong and full of fear. And not for herself, she’s safe on the other side of the room. She’s afraid for me.

“It’s okay,” I say, in the most soothing tone I can manage. I have to stay calm for her sake. Focusing on her bed, I see the spider. It was a harmless, brown little thing. I reach over to Annabeth’s nightstand and grab a piece of paper. I fold it carefully, keeping an eye on the spider. It doesn’t move. I slip the paper under it and scoop it off her bed.

I move quickly and speed-walk to the front door of the cabin and release the spider outside. Once the little guy is off the paper, I put it down on the porch and go back inside. Annabeth is sitting on my bed, crying silently.

Crossing the room, I join her on the bed and put an arm around her. Under normal circumstances, I would never do this, but I know she needs it. She needs comfort. Annabeth is slightly shaking, but not nearly as bad as before. I’m still worried about her. Noticing how late it is, I frown.

“Annabeth, do you want to sleep in my bed? I’ll sleep in yours if you want,” I offer, looking down at my shoulder where she’s leaning her head. She shakes her head slightly. “Do you want to sleep in your bed?”

Confusion bleeds into my voice and she shakes her head harder. “What do you want?”

“Just stay here,” she mumbles quietly. “I…I don’t want to be alone.”

“Okay, whatever you want,” I tell her. “I’m going to shut the lights off, okay?”

She sniffles and nods, shifting her weight so I’m free to move to the front of the cabin. I turn the lights off quickly and turn back to her. Annabeth has already moved to the side of my bed with the wall, and I slide in next to her. The bed is smaller with two people in it and our elbows touch. She makes another sad noise and I face her.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her.

In the dim light, I can barely see her expression but I know she’s frowning. “No, I’m sorry,” she says. “I…I never react well with spiders.”

Moving her weight, she inches closer to me. I don’t move a muscle, because if I do one wrong thing I know she will hand me my ass. Tentatively, slowly, she places her head on my chest. She’s warm and I can feel my heart beating as she comes closer. I know she can hear it, too. I’m just praying she doesn’t know why it’s beating so hard.

“Goodnight, Percy,” she says quietly. Despite her fear, I hear exhaustion in her voice. “Let’s…not bring this up again, okay?”

“Okay,” I say, because I don’t have a choice. I doubt her reaction would be positive if I said something like, ‘How about we do this every night? I love this.’ “Goodnight, Annabeth.”

It takes me a long time to fall asleep. She passes out almost immediately, but I can’t stop thinking about her laying on my chest. I genuinely enjoy this, and it’s not just because it’s a girl lying on me. It’s because it’s Annabeth, the girl who calls me on my shit without hesitation and stands up to me and refuses to be taken for granted. She’s a badass and would squash me like a bug if I tried anything.

Oh, gods, I like her. I like Annabeth. I stare at the ceiling in silent horror as I realize I’m doomed. When I finally do fall asleep, I dream of her. Wistfully, I hope I never wake up and could enjoy it a little longer.

Notes:

I'm trying to make every chapter longer and longer! I loved writing this and things are finally speeding up for Percy and Annabeth, I'm so excited to continue writing this, the next chapter should be up soon! Thank you so much for reading :) And Merry Christmas!!

Chapter 9: Who Gave You The Right To Make Me Feel Things

Summary:

Annabeth wakes up and realizes something she didn't expect. A new character comes in. Annabeth makes a big decision at one in the morning. Annabeth POV.

When I wake up, it’s warm. I know it’s the middle of summer and heat is to be expected, but it’s warmer than usual. I shift my weight, trying to find a cooler piece of blanket to cover my body. As I do so, my back hits something warm.

My eyes immediately shoot open, all chances of sleep disappearing. I’m looking at the wall of my cabin. My gaze focuses in a small knot of wood protruding from the wall. How have I never noticed that before? Every night, I face the wall as I try to sleep so I don’t have to look at Percy.

Percy!

All of the memories from last night flood in, from the spider finding its way into my bed and Percy calming me down, to me falling asleep with the son of the Sea God. Looking over my shoulder, I see his sleeping form.

Oh, gods.

What the hell am I going to do now?

I run through my options quickly. I could find a way to wriggle out of bed without waking him and never speak of this incident again, or I could face it and deal with what happens next. Despite my past heroic acts, my bravery is failing me now. How could this be my reaction? It’s Percy of all people! Why would he make me nervous?

I’ll blame the spider. Otherwise, I never would have spent the night in his bed. He was just a barrier between me and any other possible arachnids crossing paths with me. That’s it. Right.

I don’t know how I’ll face him after this! Being so vulnerable was never a part of the plan. But honestly, nothing that has happened has been a part of the plan. Except perhaps all of the fighting. That might be the one constant that hasn’t changed. But we aren’t really righting anymore, are we? We’ve pranked each other in the past twenty-four hours, but that’s it. He had calmed me down perfectly last night, holding me until I could breathe again.

Is it possible that Percy and I are closer to being…friends?

No, I don’t think that’s possible.

Especially when Percy starts moving and my first reaction is to vault over his body and escape his warm and comfortable bed. There was no way I was going to be in the same bed with him when we’re both conscious and I’m not scared out of my mind. No way.

My extreme parkour seems to have woken him up faster than usual. Bleary eyed, he lifts his head from his pillow and mumbles, “Annabeth?”

By the time he can turn his head fully to see me, I’m on my side of the room and pulling clothes out of my duffel bag. Sleeping in my clothes from the day before? Also not a part of the plan.

“What’s up?” I ask as casually as I can. My voice tremors slightly, but I don’t think he’ll notice it. At least, I pray he doesn’t. He’s more perceptive than anyone gives him credit for.

He doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Surprised by his silence, I look over my shoulder at the son of the Sea God. He’s frowning, his brow furrowing. He’s troubled. I am, too. Spending the night in his bed—not what I thought would happen. But it did. We need to move past this or it will be torture to live together for the rest of summer.

“Listen,” I begin, making the executive decision for the both of us. “Last night; it didn’t happen. Okay?”

Did his frown get deeper, or did I just imagine it? But it doesn’t matter. I can’t entertain the thought of anything with Percy, even though I want to. It would complicate things and would interfere with my studies and everything else I have to worry about.

Besides, last night didn’t mean anything. As long as I keep telling myself that, it’ll be the truth. Eventually.

I take my clothes from the bed and move to the bathroom, avoiding looking at Percy. If his expression had changed, I would have doubted my decision. And I can’t doubt anything.

Changing quickly, I brush my teeth and pull my hair back into a ponytail. I look into the mirror, and am surprised to see a lack of dark circles under my eyes. I haven’t been sleeping well the past couple of nights, but the past twelve hours seems to have erased that. Maybe Percy has a better mattress than mine.

Once again, I don’t look at Percy as I cross the cabin. With the sheet down from the rafters, there’s not as much privacy as usual. I grab my knapsack and water bottle and leave the cabin without another word.

I don’t know what I could have said, anyways.

And I didn’t trust myself to not save something that I couldn’t take back.

Like how I had enjoyed sharing a bed with him.

In my haste to leave the cabin, I had forgotten to grab my schedule. It’s a Tuesday, so I should be training with my cabin. I head to the arena, trying to put a certain guy out of my head.

An hour or so later, it seems to be working. Sparring with my siblings really does take my mind off everything except what’s directly in front of me. When I’m done sparring, I immediately think of Percy and how he got stabbed for me. Damn it!

I’m so annoyed that I have to fight this so hard.

And then it hits me. Why fight it? What’s one good reason for not fighting it?

Immediately, my self-doubt creeps in. What if I was wrong and I’ve misread everything? Percy probably didn’t want me spending the night in his bed. He had felt bad for me because of the spider, and let me stay with him? He had agreed readily when I said we shouldn’t mention last night.

That focuses my thoughts quickly. No wonder he was frowning this morning. He wasn’t sure how to tell me.

I feel like such an idiot. Gods!

When I have to spar again,I go into it with full gusto. My partner has to be quicker than I am, which is hard for him. The Athena cabin is working with the Apollo cabin again, and I think the name of the guy I’m sparring is Colin. I channel my emotions into my fighting and within seconds, Colin is on the floor, holding his hands in defeat. My chest is heaving with exertion.

“Hey, I give up!” He laughs, an easy smile on his face. He fits in with his cabin well.

“Sorry,” I say, realizing I had won. It was over. I hold out a hand to help him up.

Colin takes my hand and I help hoist him to his feet. “You’re better than I am, that’s for sure.”

I’m taken aback by his admission. Usually, the guys in camp, especially the new ones, refuse to admit they got beat by a girl. That’s just how it was and I was used to it. This is a pleasant surprise.

I smile in response. After such an easy admission, anything other than humbleness would come across as rude. Analyzing it, I realize that’s a great tactic to handle me. Or anyone from the Athena cabin.

“But honestly, why are our cabins not using bows?” Colin laughs, tilting his head to the side.

I chuckle with him, not wanting to leave him hanging. The joke was terrible.

The next pair start sparring, and Colin and I move out of their way so that they have the whole arena. I sit on the bench built into the arena, watching my sibling take on another camper from the Apollo cabin. Colin sits next to me.

“I came in at the beginning of summer,” Colin offers, trying to continue the conversation I had no interest in from the start. “I’m older than I should have been, but hey, better to come late rather than never, huh?”

I smile and nod. It is weird that he’s seventeen, the same age as I am, and just came to camp. Bizarre. In fact, Colin kind of gives me a weird vibe in general. But maybe I’m just in a bad mood from my realization from this morning.

Again, a wash of regret falls over me. How could I have been so stupid?

Before I know it, I have another round of sparring. I have a different partner than Colin, which I’m okay with, and move from the bench. As I do so, Colin smiles fully and wishes me luck. I thank him and focus on the person in front of me.

After training, I want to shower. The summer heat definitely has done its job and I am drenched with sweat. But I love training, so I don’t mind. I walk to my cabin, praying to every god I know that Percy wouldn’t be there. Despite living together, I don’t know his schedule and don’t know where he is except when I see him in the cabin or at dinner.

The gods are feeling forgiving today, because the son of the Sea God is nowhere to be seen as I enter my cabin. I grab a change of clothes and shower quickly, relishing the refreshing water as it pours over me. I wash my hair and body as fast as I can, not forgetting what happened the last time. I don’t want a repeat of that.

The rest of the day passes somewhat slowly, as my cabin move from one activity to another. I don’t get Percy out of my head for more than thirty minutes at a time, which is torture. I’m not looking forward to having to see him at dinner and be reminded of last night.

Hours later, at dinner, I sit on a side of the Athena table that has the Poseidon table behind me. Out of sight, out of mind. At least, that’s what I’m hoping for. My siblings unknowingly distract me from him with their conversations. My brother is still talking about his now ex-girlfriend and how he misses her, but someone from the Aphrodite cabin told him it was for the best. I nod along, listening raptly so to not think of anything else.

We have the campfire after dinner, and stick with my siblings. I join my cabin in the stands, sitting in the middle of the pack so I’ll have someone on each side. This tactic proves to work perfectly and I don’t think of Seaweed Brain until after the campfire. I want to go back to the cabin late, so that he’ll be asleep and I can slip in undisturbed.

I accompany my siblings back to my old cabin and hang with them for a while, enjoying their company. Over the past weeks, I’ve missed them. I had taken them for granted when I was around them all the time and now I miss them dearly. I’m grateful to spend a good portion of the night with them.

When it’s much later, I want to go to my cabin and go to bed. It’s past one in the morning, and I need my rest. I reach the cabin and tiptoe in. Just as I thought, Percy is sleeping in his bed. I get ready for bed and brush my teeth quickly. Right as I’m about to slip into bed, I hear Percy mumble something.

Worried that I’ve been caught, I look over my shoulder. Percy is sleeping still, but is tossing and turning. I look closer, and see he’s frowning. He jerks his head a bit, as if he’s shaking his head ‘no’. What is he dreaming about?

“No,” he mumbles, barely audible from across the cabin.

Now I’m worried. He must be having a nightmare. As a demigod, I know how terrible they are. But for Percy, they must be worse. No matter what, I don’t want him to suffer through his nightmare.

I creep across the cabin. I reach for his shoulder, intending to shake it in order to wake him up, but settle against it. That’s not the best way to wake up from a bad dream. Leaning forward, I place half of my weight on the bed next to him. I’m looking down on him now.

“Percy,” I murmur, brushing a hand against his forehead. I want him to wake up gently. I move some of his dark hair out of his face so I can see it better. “Percy, wake up.”

It doesn’t work.

He whispers something, but I can’t catch it. I lean closer, trying to understand what he’s saying.

“Not her!” His voice is urgent, but still quiet compared to its usual tone. I’m surprised by his outburst, and slip slightly. I catch myself on the other side of Percy’s torso, making me lean over him even more.

Percy stops moving. I hold my breath, figuring that he’ll wake up any moment and he’ll find me over him and he’ll yell at me. Silently, I remain still until Percy moves again. He’s breathing softly, still asleep. I send a quick prayer to the gods, thanking them.

Slowly, I shift my weight away from him and move to stand so I can go to my own bed. Immediately, Percy tosses in his bed again. Looking over my shoulder, he’s frowning again and murmuring incoherently.

“Not Annabeth!”

When I hear that, my heart breaks for him. I don’t care that he doesn’t like me or the fact I spent last night in his bed. I turn on my heel and go back to his side, and return to the same position of having one arm on either side of him. Just as last time, he stills and breathes evenly. I can’t let him go through the night like this. But I can’t sleep like this.

I maneuver so that my left arm is draped across his chest. He’s warm, and the coldness I had felt on my walk back from the Athena cabin is banished. Leaning my head on the crook of his shoulder, I let my eyes close.

I’m doing this for him because he helped me when I was scared. His nightmare was obviously scaring him, and for some reason, I was in it. And by the way he had cried out, ‘Not Annabeth!’, my heart had fluttered. I’m repaying the favor, that’s all.

I don’t want to admit how much I like how my body fits against him. I fall asleep quickly, and the last thought on my mind is how safe I feel.

Notes:

Happy New Year! Another chapter! I'm having such fun writing this. Thank you for reading and the next chapter will be up soon.

Chapter 10: What Did I Say About the Water Puns?

Summary:

Percy talks to Grover about his feelings. Annabeth surprises everyone. Percy POV.

The smell of lavender is what I wake up to. I’m familiar with the smell, it’s Annabeth’s shampoo. Her clothes smell like it, too. I don’t know how, but I always associate lavender with Annabeth being nearby. Sharing a cabin with means I’m used to this smell. However, this morning, it’s different. It’s stronger. The only other time it’s been this strong is when she was frightened by the spider and sought refuge in my bed.

I open my eyes and look down at my chest.

Annabeth!

She’s curled against me, just like she had two nights ago. Her head is tucked down, so I can’t see her face, but her breathing is slow and even. She’s still sleeping. I stay still, wanting her to stay in this position for as long as possible. Just as I had when she had spent the night before, I slept well last night. I feel rested. And I didn’t dream. I wasn’t plagued by nightmares. At least, that I can remember.

Annabeth moves slightly, probably reacting to a dream or something. She’s tossed and turned in her sleep before, so I know it’s normal. However, the shifting of her weight puts pressure on my stomach. Gods, I have to pee. I frown. Of course this would happen! I wake up in my personal paradise—why is she lying on me, anyways?—and I have to leave it before she wakes up.

Who’s the god of bladders? I just want to talk.

But the fact that she’s sleeping on top of me is the bigger issue at the moment. I distinctly remember falling asleep alone in the cabin. I had been worried why she wasn’t back yet, but knew she could take care of herself. I went to bed around midnight, resigning myself to seeing her in the morning. Well, I definitely found her in the morning.

Annabeth had been so adamant about never speaking of that night again, mentioning it more than once to get her point across. And she discredits her own statement by climbing into my bed again. I now know that I will never understand Annabeth Chase. That part is very clear. Crystal, even.

Another movement by the blonde makes my mind up for me. I involuntarily jerk underneath her, startling her and myself. Her breathing picks up. She’s awake.

“Annabeth?” I ask softly, double checking to make sure I’m right. If she’s still sleeping, I could endure a few more moments of this splendid torture.

“Hm,” she murmurs. She’s barely conscious.

“Annabeth, sweet—”

Where the fuck did that come from? Why did I almost call her ‘sweetheart’!? Oh, gods, this is how I die. Annabeth killing me out of anger.

“Shh,” comes her reply.

Okay, now I’m more confused than I’ve ever been in recent memory. Arch nemesis sleeping on my chest. After telling me to never speak of it happening just a little bit ago. Me trying to wake her—and she’s fighting it! What the hell is going on?

If this is a prank from Hera or someone else, I swear…

“Annabeth, wake up.” I’ve made my decision. She had said it shouldn’t be mentioned again, which I associate with it never happening again. If this is somehow against her will, I’m not going to go along with it. I’m not that kind of guy. It’s never okay to be that guy.

No response. I lift my left shoulder off of the bed, jostling her head which is nestled in the crook. That does the trick and she begins to move. I wriggle away from her, using her momentum as a tool. Seconds later, we’re no longer touching and my back is against the cool wall of the cabin.

“Annabeth?” How is she not fully awake yet? Jeez.

“Huh?” Annabeth blinks and lifts her head. It’s almost comical how much her eyes widen when she sees me and puts two and two together. “Oh, gods, um, you were having a nightmare, and, um, I was trying to wake you, right, and…”

She trails off, seemingly lost for words to fill her explanation. I mean, I was fine with her solution, but I wasn’t about to let her know that.

“You stopped moving and talking in your sleep when I slipped and was next to you, so I stayed until you calmed down, and then…I must have fallen asleep while doing that…”

She’s still going. But wait, what did she just say? Since when do I talk in my sleep.

I ponder it for a moment, wondering why I never knew before now, and realized I haven’t really had a consistent roommate until now. Of course I wouldn’t have been able to know if I talk in my sleep or not unless someone told me. Duh.

“What was I saying?” I ask, genuinely curious.

Annabeth’s cheeks turn pink. She looks away from me, down at the blanket, and realizes she’s still in bed. With me. As if shocked, she jumps from the bed and takes a few steps away. I’m left alone with raised eyebrows.

“Nothing, really.”

She’s the smartest demigod—no, person—I’ve ever met and I can tell when she’s lying. I have to fight to keep the smirk off my face. Whatever I had said, it must have been enough for her to forgo her previous declaration of not spending another night with me. Thank you, dream gods! Or is it nightmare gods? I’m not sure.

“I just felt bad that you were having such a bad nightmare and couldn’t wake up?” I have never seen Annabeth as unsure as she looks now.

Despite the questioning tone of her statement, it still stings. She spent the night with me out of pity? My happiness leeches away at her admittance. This isn’t turning out to be a great morning after all. I frown.

Annabeth absentmindedly scratches her shoulder. She still won’t meet my eyes. Whatever. I don’t want her to feel bad for helping me. But she’s making me feel bad about her decision, which makes it confusing.

“Fine,” I mutter, getting out of bed myself. I grab my pants from the floor and pull them on. “Don’t do it again, then.”

Annabeth frowns and I have to fight to keep a neutral expression on my face. If she didn’t want to be near me, then why did she do it? Ugh, now I’m frustrated by all the confusion.

“Fine,” she spits, turning on her heel and storming towards her bed. She grabs some clothes from her duffel bag and disappears in the bathroom. Her muffled voice barely comes through the wall. “Don’t be in here when I get out!”

“You can’t tell me what to do!” I shout back. I run a hand through my hair, wanting to take back my words. This isn’t what I want. I want Annabeth, not fighting with her.

But it doesn’t matter what I want if it’s not what she wants. I sigh and grab a shirt. I leave the cabin, intending to walk to the dining hall and enjoy some breakfast. But my stomach, for the first time ever, doesn’t want anything. I want to clear my head. And as it has been for the past couple years, I know just what will do the trick.

The lake is full of nymphs, as always, but after I ask them as nicely as I can, they leave me alone. The water is refreshing. Sound is different underwater, which makes it easier to ignore my thoughts. I just want to focus on what’s in the water with me. The rocking sensation of being submerged grounds me. Already, I feel more relaxed.

I need to stop thinking about Wise Girl. She acts like she doesn’t want me anywhere near her. It’s not healthy. Maybe it was better when we were just enemies. Arguing was annoying, but it was way better than this feeling. It’s like I don’t know where I stand. Annabeth is smart, she should make up her mind already! Ugh.

I don’t know how much later it is when I surface. Could have been hours, could have been moments. The sunlight is brighter than it had been underwater, so my eyes take a moment to adjust. I look around. I’m near the dock extending over the lake.

I propel myself forward lazily, manipulating the water to push me. I barely have to kick my feet. When I reach the dock, I see someone’s waiting for me.

“Hey,” Grover says, tilting his head. “Thought I’d find you here. You missed your wall climbing session.”

“Shit, what time is it?” I had left the cabin around eight; it couldn’t be that late, could it?

“Almost noon,” the satyr answers, smiling ruefully. “You almost missed lunch, and we can’t have that, can we?”

I grin back at him and take his offered hand to help pull me out of the lake. “No, we can’t.”

Walking back to the pavilion, we take our time. It’s only a moment or so before Grover asks the question I can tell he’s dying to ask. “Why were you under for so long? You must have been upset about something.”

I only hesitate for a small bit. Grover’s my best friend, I know I can talk to him about anything. If anything, he’ll help me figure this whole situation out. “It’s Annabeth.”

“I should have guessed,” he replies, rolling his eyes teasingly.

“It’s…not what you think,” I say, running a hand through my damp hair. “Ugh, I don’t know how to say this.”

“Just say it, dude,” Grover says. “If I need to, I’ll ask what you mean.”

And I do. I spill how over the past week or so, I’ve seen Annabeth in a different light. I see how smart, brave, and beautiful she is. She’s strong as hell. She cares about her siblings and her friends. She has a sense of humor and hums in the morning when she’s picking out clothes. We’ve spent the past two nights together in my bed. Once because of my spider prank, which yes, I still feel terrible about, and when she said I was having a nightmare. And then, this morning, she acted like she did it out of pity. Not out of wanting to help me because she cared about me.

Grover whistles. “Yeah, that’s a lot to think about.”

“Tell me about it! And now I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe…maybe she’s kind of in the same boat as you—” Grover says hesitantly.

“What have I said about the water puns?” I cut him off. I grimace and hold up my hands. “Sorry.”

“Look, how did you feel about her a couple of weeks ago?” he asks.

I think about it. “I thought I hated her guts.”

“Right. How long did it take for you to realize how you felt?” He raises an eyebrow.

“A couple of days ago, I really had to think about it,” I answer honestly. “It…felt weird to think about her like that at first. I had known her for so long as one thing, that when it changed…I really had to look at her to see her.”

Grover nods, a big grin on his face.

“What?”

“I guarantee that if she does have feelings for you she’ll have to go through the same process of realizing how she really feels. I don’t know for sure if she likes you, but honestly, you two are kind of perfect together.”

“Then why did we hate each other for so long?” I ask, raising a brow. “If we were so perfect, then it wouldn’t have been like that.”

“Maybe you guys just needed time to be right for each other,” Grover shrugs. “And you guys won’t have to worry about passion. Your arguments nearly blew apart the camp a couple of times.”

I look down. He’s right about that. I can think of a few times that Annabeth and I endangered the survival of the camp and its campers.

“So, you think she does care about me? Then why would she push me away?” I just want answers.

“But she’s the one who went in your bed last night! Even if it was out of pity, there’s still a small part of her that cares about you! She’s probably fighting every single thought she’s ever had about you. I don’t know why she’s doing it, exactly, but I don’t think she’s pushing you away because that’s what she truly wants.”

We’re at the edge of the pavilion. Without even hesitating, we make for the Poseidon table after grabbing our food and sacrificing to the gods. I didn’t plan it, but I end up facing the Athena table. I can see Annabeth from where I’m sitting. She doesn’t see me because she’s laughing at something one of her siblings said. Gods, her face when she’s laughing is amazing.

“Bro, you have it bad,” Grover chuckles, seeing where I’m staring.

Frowning, I don’t correct him. He’s right.

I look down at my food and take a sip of my blue coke. I’m screwed.

“What do you think of the new kid?” Grover’s question makes me look up. He’s looking over my shoulder, towards the Apollo cabin. I think his name is Colton or Colin or something like that.

“I don’t know, I haven’t really talked to him,” I answer honestly. I’ve been a preoccupied this summer.

As we watch him, he stands. I look away, not wanting to be caught staring, but Grover keeps his gaze steady. I take another sip of my coke and watch Grover watch him. Grover’s head turns as the new guy moves, and he comes into my vision again. It looks like…no.

He’s walking over to the Athena cabin. Annabeth is sitting on the edge, so there’s open bench next to her. With no trouble at all, Colton/Colin slides in next to her and starts talking to her. I think I can feel my blood boiling. I look on as he laughs at something and she smiles tightly.

I know that expression. She’s uncomfortable. I want to go over there and save her, but I stay still. It’s not my place, and she still might not like me. I would hate to make things worse than they already are by confirming my worst fear. Sighing heavily, I resign myself to eating my food quietly.

I’m just taking a bite of my sandwich when someone sits down next to me. I turn to them, my mouth full of sandwich. When I see who it is, I almost spit it out.

Annabeth raises her brows at me as if she isn’t impressed. I don’t blame her. I have an entire mouth full of turkey sandwich. I chew and swallow as fast as I can without choking. I know that wouldn’t help my case at all.

When I’m done, I look at the blonde out of the corner of my eye. She has her plate and glass with her, and is taking a sip of her water. She’s made herself comfortable at the Poseidon table.

She sees me staring and turns to me. “Stop looking at me like that. We’re roommates, after all. We might as well eat at the same table.”

I don’t hide my smile when I hear her words. After a second, she smiles back.

Notes:

Oh, my gosh, things are heating up. The next chapter will be up soon because I can't wait to write it. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 11: How to Keep Wanting Without Ever Getting

Summary:

Annabeth has to deal with her decision and receives advice from two important people. Annabeth POV.

I’m not sure who was more surprised when I sat down at the Poseidon table, me or Percy. Colin had been annoying me more than anything else. He had been flirting with me, trying pick-up lines that should belong in a book titled ‘You Won’t Believe These Guys Thought This Would Work!’

When I knew my only escape was to leave the table completely, I had had a decision to make. I could join Percy and Grover at the Poseidon table, but after this morning, with Percy telling me to leave him alone, I wasn’t sure. I would be overstepping, which is something I hate to do. But I didn’t want to deal with Colin, who apparently thought I had interest in him. I don’t want to be rude, but I do want to get away from him.

I take a deep breath. Percy being slightly angry at me seems way better than Colin shooting his shot with me right now. I grab my plate and cup and mutter something about moving to my cabin’s table.

“But you’re sitting at it,” Colin says, trying to stop me.

“I live with Percy,” I say, a bit harsher than I intend to. But Colin gets the point and nods. He moves out of my way and I walk to the Poseidon table.

And now I’m sitting next to the son of the Sea God, who’s furiously chewing his sandwich. He side eyes me, obviously curious as to why I’m sitting with him.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I tell him, raising a brow. “We’re roommates, after all. We might as well eat together.”

At my words, Percy grins. His eyes crinkle, showing how much he means it. I smile back at him, glad that he’s happy I’m there. I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t want me there. It’s frustrating, not knowing where I stand. Whenever I make one decision, he reacts in a way I don’t expect and then I do something and the cycle repeats.

I just want everything to be clear. I want to be able to understand every situation. But I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’ll never understand guys, especially Percy. No matter how hard I study him, his decisions will always remain elusive to me.

“What was on your schedule this morning, Annabeth?” Grover asks. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

I smile and take a sip of water before answering. “I had another ancient history lesson in the Big House. It was about Archimedes, so it was fascinating.”

Grover nods, but I can tell he isn’t exactly sure who I’m talking about. That’s fine, I usually go on about ancient people who are amazing but people don’t know.

“What was that Colton guy talking to you about?” Percy’s question catches me off guard.

“His name is Colin,” I say, unsure of where this is going.

“Okay, what was Colin going on about?” Percy persists. “You didn’t look too happy.”

“He was being annoying,” I tell him honestly, rolling my eyes a bit. It’s strange to roll my eyes around Percy and not have him be the cause of the action. “He kept trying these lame one-liners that were ridiculous.”

“Like what?” Grover asks, taking a bite of his veggie sandwich. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh, no, it was,” I laugh, taking another bite of my food. I start to list them off, gesturing with my hands and mimicking his voice with my own. “The worst one was the parking ticket! Oh, my gods, guys, it was terrible.”

“Was it the ‘Are you a parking ticket? Because you have fine written all over you’?” Percy asks, incredulous. He had acted out the pick-up line as well, complete with funny face expressions and a weird voice. I laugh with him.

“Yes!” I throw my hands up in the air. “Who says that to someone in a serious tone? Like, what!?”

We all laugh together. I take a moment and appreciate it. It’s a family moment, where we’re just three friends who’ve been through a lot together, laughing about something stupid. It’s a trivial thing, a fleeting moment, but I enjoy it just the same. As a demigod, you have to enjoy the little things.

And gods, do I enjoy seeing Percy grin like the way he is right now. He smiles a lot, sure, but when he full-blown grins? It’s a miracle I can keep a train of thought. I look away before I forget what we’re talking about.

Right, Colin. But Percy was asking about him…and had noticed I looked uncomfortable…could he have been jealous? Why else would he have been looking over at the Athena table? For me?

Ugh! This self-doubt is getting annoying. Once again, I find myself wishing that everything could be spelled out in front of me so I can make a decision.

And there’s one other thing. When Percy had acted out the one-liner, it hadn’t been annoying. In an odd way, it was attractive to me. His smile definitely helped that fact. Oh, gods. I know what this means at least. And I know right away that I’m screwed.

If I like the son of the Sea God, I’m doomed.

And I like him. I like him a lot.

I look across the table and see Grover looking at me intently. He tilts his head to the side and smiles a bit, as if he can read my mind. But hey, he has the empathy link with Percy! Nevertheless, he smiles at me softly, and mouths, ‘Meet me after lunch.’

I nod, and finish eating my food. For the rest of lunch, it’s easy conversation about what’s been happening around the camp. I feel self-conscious, as if I haven’t spent the last couple of years around Percy. I’m hyperaware of everything I’m saying and doing. It feels weird and unnatural and I don’t like it one bit. I’m looking forward to talking with Grover. Maybe he can help me.

Lunch ends when Percy mumbles some excuse about having to go back to the cabin. I watch him go, curious as to why he suddenly disappeared. Grover doesn’t seem to mind his absence. In fact, he almost revels in it. “So, you like Percy?”

Thank the gods I didn’t have any water in my mouth, I probably would have spat it on him. Instead, I blink twice and nod dumbly, realizing I had no other choice than to agree. Grover nods with me.

“Right, okay,” he says. He takes a moment, thinking over his words.

His hesitation has my nerves spinning. Does this mean…does Percy like me back? Gods, I sound like such a melodramatic teenager, not a battle-aged warrior. Jeez.

“How long did it take to realize that?”

I frown at his question. How on Earth did he know? It took me until about half an hour ago to realize something that I’ve been feeling for weeks. Grover is way more perceptive than I thought. I like it, but not through the situation I’m in right now.

“Well,” Grover hits the table lightly with the palm of his hand. He stands and looks around the emptying pavilion. “I have to talk to Juniper about something, but I think you should talk to Percy.”

I know he’s right, but I don’t want to do it. What is it about the son of the Sea God that’s making me nervous all of a sudden? I’ve literally threatened this guy during a game of capture the flag. And now feelings have to get in the way. Ugh.

Grover leaves me alone with my thoughts. I stare down at my plate and swirl a piece of chicken around the plate absentmindedly. I need to woman up and just deal with the situation. This feeling of limbo isn’t the best. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

“Hey!” I look up quickly when I hear his voice.

Colin sits down across from me and leans forward. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation earlier!”

“Um, that wasn’t really a conversation,” I say, unsure of how to proceed. “You were just saying jokes to me.”

“Well, then make it a conversation and laugh at one of them,” Colin answers, grinning jovially. He has charm, sure, but he’s not the guy I want talking to me right now. “Come on, you know one of those jokes was really funny.”

No, the only time I had considered laughing at that joke was when Percy had said it. But how do I tell Colin nicely?

“Please leave me alone, Colin,” I tell him, looking at him to make sure he hears what I’m saying. “Please.”

“I thought you were into this,” he says, sounding genuinely confused. He stands from the table and towers over me. “And everyone knows you like someone at the camp!”

“You’re not the only guy at the camp,” I mutter without thinking. I look up at him and frown. “Sorry, that was rude. I just mean that you’re not that guy.”

Colin frowns deeper, and I sigh. This is never any fun. Over the years, I’ve had two or three guys like me and I had to let them down gently. I was never interested in anyone at camp—or so I thought. Percy is changing everything.

“Whatever, Annabeth,” Colin says, sounding dejected. I want to comfort him, just because I am so uncomfortable, but I don’t want to lead him on. It’s not a fair situation to either of us. He turns on his heel and walks away. Over his shoulder, he says, “Whatever you want.”

I rest my forehead on my hands and stare down at the table. That’s not how I expected the end of lunch to go. This whole day hasn’t been what I expected. Getting yelled at by Percy, flirted with by Colin (and then turning him down), joining Percy for lunch and having him smile at me in a way that makes my heart melt, and so on.

It’s hard because, thanks to Grover, I know exactly what I want. I just don’t know how to get it. Or if I want to risk losing what I have trying to get it. Ugh, I liked it better when the only thing I had to worry about with Percy was what we were going to argue about that day.

But that’s a lie. I really liked sharing a bed with him.

I blow out a deep breath and look up from my plate. I know what I have to do. I’m just hoping that I’ll get some good advice from her. She should know just what I need to get what I want.

An hour and a half later, Silena has given me enough advice to last a lifetime. I had to tell her everything I’ve ever thought about Percy for the past couple of years. After every story I told, she would explain how that reflects my true thoughts of him. It was a very interesting process. It was unlike like anything I’ve ever done, but worked so well I couldn’t believe it. I owe Silena a lot.

Apparently, I’ve been secretly impressed by Percy Jackson, son of the Sea God ever since I met him. I mean, who wouldn’t? A twelve year old kid killed the minotaur on the hill before Camp Half Blood. Silena helped reveal how I’ve felt for ages, but have been hiding it through the aggression directed through our arguments over the years. She also pointed out the passion we’ll have when we’re not fighting, which made me blush. That wasn’t the first thing I was thinking about, but I would be lying if I said it hadn’t crossed my mind.

And now, I’m sitting outside our cabin, waiting for him to come back so I can talk to him about it. Silena had offered to come with me, but I had assured her I needed to do this alone. And I do.

More time passes, and Percy is nowhere to be seen. I think of my schedule for the day. The Athena cabin is supposed to be riding canoes soon. As much as I want to talk to the son of the Sea God, I want to stick to my cabin. And who knows, maybe I’ll run into him at the lake.

I stand up from the patio of the cabin and start walking to the lake. A few minutes later, I’m with my siblings and we’re beginning our canoeing for the afternoon. I have fun with them for the duration of the activity, of course, but it’s hard because half of my mind is thinking about Percy. I wish I had already talked to him so I could focus on the task at hand. Towards the end of our training, it’s easier to focus on what I’m doing. It’s a relief more than anything.

After canoeing, we end up working with the bows and arrows. A lot of us are smart enough to figure it out, but I’m distracted again and not hitting as many targets as I usually do. I know my siblings are noticing how I’m off, but they aren’t saying anything. I respect that. After talking with Silena for so long, I don’t think I would want to talk about it anymore with anyone other than Percy.

It’s time for dinner a while later. My siblings ask for me to join them, and I oblige. Grover would probably be with Percy at the Poseidon table, and I don’t want to talk to Percy with Grover in attendance. I also have lost my nerve since this afternoon. It’s easier for me to join the Athena cabin.

I don’t want to keep looking at the Poseidon table every couple of minutes, but I do. Percy isn’t there. The table is empty. This bothers me because I’m not sure where he is. I scan the entire dining pavilion, searching for his dark hair, but I can’t see him. I see Colin and we make brief eye contact. I smile tightly and look away first, not wanting him to think I was searching for him.

Percy is definitely one hundred percent not in attendance of dinner. Neither is Grover. There’s nothing I can do about it, so I dig into my dinner and enjoy spending time with my siblings. I really do miss spending time with them since we aren’t living together anymore. However, I’m also somewhat grateful for my current living arrangements.

After dinner, we have the campfire as always. Singing about old heroes isn’t as much fun when I’m busy thinking of someone else. It’s hard, but I try my best to enjoy where I am at the moment. I’m looking forward to going back to my cabin though, so I could finally talk to Percy. But I’m a bit worried about what I’m going to say. He might react negatively.

The campfire ends early. I say goodbye to my siblings and start the walk to the middle of the woods where my cabin resides. I rub my shoulders for warmth, lamenting about my jacket I had left in my cabin earlier. The summer nights are getting colder and colder as time passes.

When I reach the cabin, it’s empty. A small part of me is happy, because then I can take a few more minutes to prepare mentally for what I want to say. I want to take a shower, so I grab all the things I need and lock the bathroom door behind me. While the water heats up, I brush my hair out while looking at my reflection. My skin is tanner in the summer, thanks to our outdoor training and wall climbing. My hair is blonder as well, thanks to the almost constant sunshine. Steam pours over the shower curtain, alerting me to the temperature of the water.

I undress quickly and hop in. It soothes my muscles and I can feel myself relaxing already. Stress melts off me, disappearing down the drain along with my shampoo and water. I don’t know how much time passes before I turn off the water and towel myself dry. I put my wet hair up in a towel and put on my tank top and sleep shorts. I lotion my legs to give them some moisture.

Leaving the bathroom, I put my dirty clothes in the bottom of my duffel bag to do laundry later. I towel dry my hair and finger comb my way through the knots. My eyelids are heavy. Sleepiness has washed over me since the shower. I wanted to talk to Percy, but I’m tired and he isn’t here yet. I’ll probably wake up when he comes back.

For a moment, I look from my bed to his bed. I’ve spent the past two nights in his bed. And I slept well. But I don’t want to overstep, so I slide under the covers of my bed. I wince slightly, thinking of the spider that had been there just forty-eight hours before, but it’s long gone now. Thanks to Percy. I can’t stop thinking about him!

I toss and turn until sleep finally overtakes me. I don’t dream coherently. There’s only grey and black swirls. A loud noise in my dream makes me jump, and I wake up and blink as I try to understand what’s going on. It’s dark and there’s no lights on in the cabin. I stay still, waiting for another noise.

A muffled, “Shit,” makes me realize I’m not alone. I jump out of bed and switch on the lamp on my nightstand. With the cabin illuminated, it’s easy to see who’s here with me. It’s Percy, who has a guilty expression upon his face.

“Sorry, Annabeth, I was trying to be quiet,” he says, holding up his hands. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

My heart rate slows and I nod. “No, it’s fine. I’d rather it be you than an intruder.”

Percy quirks his mouth and gives a small chuckle. “Thanks, I guess.”

“No, I didn’t mean…” I trail off, drowning in awkwardness.

Percy laughs again and waves his hand. “No, I know what you meant. I’m just giving you a hard time.”

I smile, trying to think of a way to recover from my terrible reaction. “What brings you back so late?”

Great, I sound like a jealous girlfriend. When I’m not even close to his girlfriend. That’s freaking perfect.

“Oh, I was just, uh, talking to Grover about something,” he says, smiling gently. He moves toward his bed and takes off his jacket. “It took a lot longer than I thought it would.”

“Yeah, I noticed you missed dinner,” I say without thinking. Sounding like a stalker now! Ugh.

“I hope you didn’t sit at the table alone,” Percy says, looking towards me with concern.

My heart melts a little bit. He was concerned for me. And he had thought I would sit at the Poseidon table again, which means that he wants me to sit there again. That’s a good sign! And he was talking to Grover, which I also did today. He talked to one of the only people that knows how I feel about him. And if he knows how I feel, and he isn’t treating me any differently than earlier today, then it’s a good thing.

It’s times like this that I’m grateful for my brain. “No, actually, I sat with my siblings because they asked me to.”

“Oh, right, one of your brothers is going through that breakup, right?”

And he listens? Be still, my heart.

“Yeah, but that wasn’t the main topic of conversation, thankfully,” I say. He talks about it enough, and I just want to help him move on from the situation. “It was mostly about the canoeing training we had today.”

“How did that go?” Percy asks, obviously more interested now that water is involved.

“It went well, we were working on turning while focusing on other things, like hitting targets on the water,” I tell him, thinking of the drills we had worked on. “It was hard, but fun.”

I yawn after my sentence, covering my hand with my mouth.

“Oh, shit, yeah, it’s late,” Percy says, looking to the clock. “Again, sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

I smile and shake my head. “No, don’t worry about it.”

I slide back into my bed, pulling the warm covers over my body. As I lower my head to the pillow, Percy starts to change into what he sleeps in. I can’t help but watch his back muscles move as he changes shirts. It’s a view that I’m okay with. Leaning over, I switch off the lamp and plunge the cabin into darkness.

Percy hisses silently and his bed creaks.

“You okay?” I ask, looking to his side of the room. I couldn’t see what he was doing.

“Yeah, the blanket is just really cold.”

Oh, right. I’ve been in my bed for an hour or so, so it’s nice and toasty. His bed is probably cold as ice in comparison. I feel bad for him. It’s gotten so much colder during the summer nights. I think over the options and know exactly what I want to do. After the surprise of him barging into the cabin, I had forgotten to say what I wanted to him.

This could be my chance.

“Your bed must be like ice, huh?” I ask into the night, staring at the ceiling. I don’t have the courage to look over at his side of the room even though I can’t see him.

After a moment, he answers. “Yeah, positively Arctic.”

I take a minute to gather my courage. I have to say something, even if it’s just for myself. “If you want, you can sleep in my bed tonight. It’s warm.”

The silence that follows my offer is the longest silence I have ever suffered through. I hold my breath, waiting for his answer. He didn’t fall asleep already, did he?

“Yeah, I will,” Percy says finally. I hear him leaving the bed and moving towards my side of the room. “Thank you, Annabeth.”

I shift over to the wall side of my bed, making room for the son of the Sea God. Percy tentatively lifts the corner of my blanket and slides in next to me. The bed is big enough for us not to touch. Despite the past two nights, this feels different. We’re both conscious and in our right minds. There’s no spiders to scare one of us into the other’s bed. We’re doing this on both of our own accords. He could have said no if he didn’t want to spend the night in my bed. But he said yes.

“Goodnight, Percy,” I say, turning on my side. I see his profile better now. He’s on his back, facing the ceiling. I close my eyes, with Percy being the last thing I see.

“Goodnight, Annabeth,” is the last thing I hear before drifting off to sleep.

Notes:

Woah, this chapter is almost four thousand words. This is by far the longest chapter, but I wanted to get a lot covered in this chapter. Thank you so much for reading! You guys are the best. :)

Chapter 12: I Wish That Cat Would Have Stayed in the Bag

Summary:

Percy wakes up to a great morning, but has to face the consequences eventually. Percy POV

I stare at the ceiling. It’s morning and the cabin is full of natural light, sunlight filling the windows. Waking up with Annabeth’s head resting on my shoulder was nothing short of perfection. Just like the past two mornings, there is nothing better. I don’t have to use the restroom immediately, thank the gods, so I can remain still and enjoy the moment.

Annabeth’s skin is softer than I expected. After years of training at Camp Half Blood, I would expect her skin to be calloused. While she’s lean and has muscle, it’s not like she’s purely muscle. She’s soft, as well. It’s a pleasant surprise. Her head is resting on my left shoulder, so my left arm is encircling her torso. Her skin is warmer than I expected, as well.

I think back to last night. My bed had been freezing, I wasn’t lying about that. But I was hoping she would say what she did. She had offered to share the bed with me. But, for the first time, it was an unanimous decision between the both of us. And it was better than the last two nights combined. Annabeth had started off the night sleeping on her side, not touching me, but by the time I had fallen asleep, she was lying on top of me.

I wasn’t complaining.

And neither one of us shifted during the night. That’s probably what surprises me the most. From living with her for the past couple weeks, I know that Annabeth tosses and turns in her sleep, just like I do. And I haven’t had any bad dreams for the past three nights. The nights I spent with Annabeth.

I never would have guessed that my enemy would be the solution to my nightmares. Or my…happiness? I’ve been nothing but happy when Annabeth is involved. When she joined our lunch table to get away from that Colin guy…my heart had done a little stutter thing.

After all of these years of not getting along…the taste of what we could be together is more than tempting.

But I want to make sure that’s what she wants. Because if it’s not, I’m going to be crushed. I want to know. Now.

Slowly, I turn to face Annabeth. She’s still sleeping and she looks as peaceful and calm as I’ve ever seen her. Using my right hand, I brush some hair out of her face and stroke the side. “Annabeth, wake up.”

She stirs and mumbles something incoherent. I gently shake her shoulder and she blinks slowly, coming to. “Huh?”

“Good morning,” I say.

She smiles lazily and closes her eyes again. She shifts, stretching, and then opens her eyes again. “Good morning.”

As she looks up with me with her grey eyes and messy blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, I lose my train of thought. “You’re beautiful.”

Her eyes widen and so do mine as well. Holy shit, I did not intend to say that out loud. A dusting of pink crosses her cheeks and I wouldn’t be surprised if I was blushing as well. I feel so vulnerable. Annabeth is beautiful, but she’s also a badass who would kick me out of her bed without hesitation if she wanted to.

Instead of launching me, she simply smiles and wow I’m pretty sure my mouth jut opens while I take her in.

“What are you staring at?” She asks, her tone soft. It’s not angry, or accusatory, it’s just soft. Like as if she’s new to this as well. Guessing by her tone, she’s not against this.

“You,” I answer honestly, because how else could I answer that? “Getting to know you these past two weeks…I feel like I see you in a whole new light.”

She blushes harder, but I keep going.

“I’ve always known you’re smart, but I really got to see how truly brilliant you are,” I tell her. “You’re passionate, brave, and refuse to let anyone give you shit.”

She chuckles at that. “Especially you, Seaweed Brain.”

“You have never let me get away with anything, and I have never been grateful for that until right now,” I laugh with her. “I’m so happy that we spent all of those years fighting because if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“No, we probably wouldn’t,” she agrees, smiling. I have to stay focused on my train of thought, dazzled by her grin.

“And I just want to say how much—”

I’m cut off as someone knocks on the door for a second and then opens the door. I have no idea who it is, and apparently neither does Annabeth, given how she whispers, “Oh, shit!” and pushes me out of bed. Thanks to Chiron’s training, I am fast enough to roll when I hit the floor and manage to land on my feet, a couple of feet away from Annabeth’s bed.

“Hey, guys—” Grover stops talking when he takes in the scene in front of him.

Annabeth, blushing like crazy and holding her sheets up to her chin. Me, in only a shirt and sleep pants, standing a few feet away and crossing my arms, trying to act natural but failing miserably. Grover squints and looks between the two of us. “Okay. Well, I was wondering if you guys wanted to get breakfast, but I can come back later…”

“Breakfast is fine,” Annabeth says quickly. I nod along, agreeing with her sentiment.

Grover seems to be struggling not to laugh. “Okay, I’ll see you guys there. Take your time.”

The last thing we see of Grover is him wiggling his eyebrows and strutting out of the cabin. As soon as the door closes behind him, I turn to Annabeth.

“Do you think—”

“Yes, Percy, I think he put two and two together,” Annabeth deadpans, rolling her eyes.

“Hey!”

“I can like you and still point out how you’re wrong,” she replies, smiling coyly.

I open my mouth to retort something and then realize something. “You said you like me!”

“You’ve liked me for weeks,” she says, having the audacity to tilt her head to the side. “I’m the one who said it first.”

“I like you more!”

“Prove it!”

And that’s how I ended up kissing Annabeth for the first time. Her lips are soft and I waste no time wrapping my arms around her. I feel her arms around my neck and gods, this is better than anything I’ve ever experienced. I want to keep kissing her forever and ever, but my stomach grumbles. Annabeth and I separate, giggling.

I can’t believe how happy I am. And judging by Annabeth’s wide grin and crinkled eyes, she’s happy about this, too.

“Let’s get some breakfast, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth says, chuckling at my stomach.

“Yeah, okay,” I agree, smiling down at her.

“I’m going to get dressed first,” Annabeth answers, stepping back to her bed and grabbing some clothes from next to it. As she disappears into the bathroom, I hear her voice call, “And you should, too!”

Ten minutes later, we’re walking to breakfast. I want to hold her hand, but I’m unsure. I mean, I just kissed the most amazing girl in camp. And she kissed me back! What if she didn’t want to hold hands? What if she didn’t want people to know?

This is a bit worse than not knowing if she likes me or not. I’m glad that she likes me, and I’m even happier than I kissed her, but this is getting out of hand. Oh, nice, holding hands pun! Those are rare.

“Sit at the Poseidon table with me?” I ask her as we get near the pavilion. She simply looks up at me and smiles, nodding her head. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

Grover is already sitting there, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. As soon as we sit down, joining him, he smirks and says, “It’s about time.”

Annabeth blushes and I frown at him. “Hey!”

“I’m pretty sure this is what Chiron wanted all along,” he says. “Besides for the two of you to stop fighting.”

“That part definitely worked,” Annabeth nods, glancing sideways towards me. I smile back at her.

“Yeah, it really did,” Grover says. “I’m surprised you got past the pranks.”

“Oh, they weren’t that bad,” Annabeth says. “It stopped after the flour incident, so I guess I had the last laugh.”

Oh, no.

My heart stops.

“Wait, what about the spider?” Grover asks, taking a bite of his sandwich. When he sees my reaction, he pales quickly.

“Spider?” Annabeth says it slowly, like she’s thinking it over. She’s going to put it together immediately. As soon as I think that, she turns to me. “The spider that was in my bed?”

I don’t want to be in this situation, but I also don’t want to lie to her. She’ll know, anyways. “Yeah, that was—”

Annabeth stands, moving so quickly that I can’t try to catch her hand before she’s out of reach. Her expression is so hurt and raw that my heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine how she must feel right now. That decision to put the spider in her bed was before…before everything. Before I told her how I feel. Before we kissed.

“Annabeth—”

“Don’t you dare talk to me,” she snaps, her tan face blushing with anger. “You don’t have the right.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, trying to stand to join her but my leg hits the table before I can move.

“I fucking trusted you!”

In all of my years at Camp Half Blood, I have never seen her so angry. She turns on her heel and leaves the pavilion. I have royally fucked up. A part of me wants to be mad at Grover for telling her, but he didn’t know. I was the one who used her worst fear against her. To my eventual benefit! She must think I’m the lowest of the low.

“I’m going after her,” I tell Grover, standing from the table and running to where she had disappeared from view. “I can’t lose her.”

Notes:

Thanks so much for reading! I have a lot planned for this work and I'm so excited to write it!

Chapter 13: Feelings Are A Bitch

Summary:

Annabeth has to process all of her feelings with the help of Nico. Annabeth POV.

The tears come before I can stop them. Hot, angry, fat drops stream down my face. I hastily wipe at my face, brushing them away. I can’t believe Percy. He used my worst fear against me and I ended up sleeping in his bed. This morning, I had been so happy. Now, I can see what he was doing. He simply used me.

I have half a mind to turn around and get him stabbed again.

But I keep storming deeper into the woods. I pass our cabin and I can’t stop the sad sigh from escaping my lips as I watch it go by. I don’t want to think about the nights I shared with him. I don’t want to think about the kiss we had this morning. I don’t want to think about how he makes me feel.

He betrayed me.

I have no idea how long it is before I stop walking. I’m definitely in the middle of the woods, that’s for sure. I have my dagger with me, thankfully, so I can take on anything that tries to attack me. With the anger I have coursing through me, I know I’ll win. In fact, I feel bad for anything that tries to take me on right now.

Luckily for them, nothing happens. I sit down on a stump and stare at the trees in front of me. I want to punch Percy, yell at Grover, and just not feel like this. I regret opening up to stupid Seaweed Brain. I’m still stumped by the fact that he used a spider against me. He drove me right into his arms! I should have seen that coming.

“What did he do?”

The voice from behind me surprises me. I jump to my feet, grabbing my dagger from my side and pointing it at my attacker. When I see who it is, I drop the knife to my side. “What do you want, Nico?”

“I don’t want anything,” he says, holding up his hands. “I was just shadow-traveling through the woods and saw you staring into space and muttering. Do you want to talk about it?”

I shake my head. I don’t want to talk about it because saying it out loud would make it more real. I’m aware of how backwards that logic is, but that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to think about what he did. I already had to go through it once, I don’t want to do that again.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Nico says almost conversationally, joining me on the tree stump. “I know how it feels to not want to share something.”

I shoot him a sideways look. He’s pulling that card, right now? His sly smirk tells me that he knows just what he’s doing. And it’s working.

“Stop it,” I mutter, looking away from him.

He shrugs. “I’m just saying, after I opened up about it, I felt better.”

“Nico,” I say halfheartedly. He gives me a look and I cave. “Fine, he betrayed me in the worst way possible.”

“He cheated on you?” Nico’s expression is so incredulous that in any other situation, I would have tried to take a picture of it because it’s so rare. “Percy did that?”

“Oh, gods, no,” I say, rushing to correct my wording. “I see how you could have interpreted that but no, he used my worst fear against me only to end up in his bed.”

“Woah, did you guys…” Nico’s expression got worse.

“No!” I clench my hands in frustration. “Sorry, I’m using all of the wrong words! We slept in the same bed and then we did again the next night and then…we admitted our feelings to each other just this morning and we kissed but then Grover told me about how Percy had put the spider in my bed—”

Nico furrows his brows. He takes a long moment, seeming to absorb everything I’ve told him. It was a bit rushed, I’ll admit, but that’s what happened. He takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Wow.”

I nod, agreeing with his sentiment. “And I can only blame myself for being stupid enough for fall for it!”

“It’s not your fault,” he says, reaching out to put his hand over mine. “And Percy does some dumb things, but I’ve seen the way he looks at you. He’s not lying about having feelings for you.”

I want to squash the tiny feeling of hope springing up in my chest. I want to stamp it out.

“And you have feelings for him, too, right?” Nico asks.

After a long moment, I answer. “Yeah.”

“And you don’t want to lose him, right?”

“Shut up, Nico, I see your point,” I mutter, moving his hand off of mine. I feel slightly better than I did fifteen minutes ago. But still. “He still did that to me. He put a spider in my bed! He knows what spiders do to me.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t the smartest move on his part, but he’s kind of a dummy sometimes, isn’t he?”

I don’t even hesitate before nodding.

“Look, Percy really cares about you. He truly does. Even if he put the spider in your bed, it wasn’t to trick you or anything. You had pranked him that day, right? He probably thought that was a good idea to get you back,” Nico says matter-of-factly.

I want to smack the smug look right off his face. But I refrain because he’s absolutely correct.

“I should talk to him,” I admit.

Nico nods and adds, “I was just about to suggest that.”

I stand up from the stump and wipe at my tears with the back of my hand. I need to find Percy and talk to him. I want to hear his side of the story. If it’s different than what I need to hear, he knows just how hard my right hook is. Nico stands with him and holds out his hand.

“I know it’s not your favorite method of travel but it beats walking all the way back to camp,” he says, offering his shadow travel.

I accept his hand and I’m surrounded by dark and screaming. Even though it’s seconds later, it feels like an eternity. I stumble when Nico releases my hand. We’re at the edge of camp. I can smell the strawberry fields, see the Big House, and hear the campers yelling from the volleyball courts.

“Nico! What have I told you about shadow traveling! Go eat something, right now!” Will’s voice rings out from the infirmary and I see him storming towards us. When he reaches us, he puts his hands on Nico’s thin shoulders. “Babe, I told you, you have to be careful! I need you here with me.”

My heart melts a bit as Nico blushes lightly and nods. “You know I would never leave you.”

I can sense this is their moment and they need some space, so I take a step back and move to head back to my cabin. There’s a chance Percy will be there and I need to talk to him. I’m barely past the Big House before I see him. He’s jogging towards me.

“Annabeth,” he says as soon as he’s within hearing distance. “I need to talk to you.”

I set my jaw and fold my arms, waiting to hear what he has to say.

Notes:

A bit of a shorter chapter this time but I have a great idea for the next one! Thank you so much for reading and drop some love in the comments!

Chapter 14: I Have Never Been So Glad To Be Wrong

Summary:

Percy tells Annabeth everything. And I mean, everything. Percy POV.

When I see Annabeth standing with Nico in the middle of camp, I immediately start jogging towards her. I had been searching all over for her. I had checked our cabin, the Athena cabin, checked with Grover, then the lava wall, and was just about to check the lake when I had caught sight of her. When I’m within earshot, I call to her.

“Annabeth, I need to talk to you.”

I watch as she frowns and crosses her arms against her chest. She nods slightly, signaling for me to continue. I take a deep breath and start.

“Annabeth, I am so sorry,” I tell her, meaning every word. “I really fucked up, and—”

“Yeah, you did,” she says flatly, and I pinch my lips together. She sees that I’m trying and closes her mouth. She’s still frowning and has her arms folded. Not a good sign.

“Yeah, I did,” I admit after a moment. “I never should have put that spider in your bed. That’s not cool at all. I thought it was a good prank but I was so wrong. I can’t apologize enough. I’m sorry that I put you through that.”

Annabeth’s expression doesn’t change except for her eyes. They soften. Her arms loosen and fall towards her waist.

“But I don’t regret anything that followed the spider. I probably never would have had the guts to admit how I felt if you didn’t make moves of your own. I will never regret kissing you. You are one of the best things in my life. You challenge me. You call me on my shit. It’s like you like calling me on it.”

With that, she gives a small smile. Nothing like her full grin, which is probably a good thing. When she grins like that, I usually lose my train of thought. It’s a good sign that she’s smiling though.

“Listen, you are important to me. I was a complete fucking idiot when I thought it was a good idea to put that spider in your bed. I don’t even know why I thought it was a good idea. You know how dumb I can be,” I say.

She chuckles softly and I know I’m forgiven. Annabeth has the best self control of anyone I’ve ever met and she only laughed because she wanted to. I keep going. If I want to keep her next to me, I have to keep going.

“I think we’ve been fighting for all these years because we’re basically the same person. We care so much and fight for what we love. I’ve been fighting you because I’ve always cared about you. And it took me too fucking long to realize that.”

Annabeth’s entire face changes. Her mouth parts slowly, I’m guessing from shock, and she raises her eyebrows.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that I love you, Wise Girl.”

And with that truth bomb, Annabeth has tears well up in her eyes. Her eyebrows furrow, pulling together in the middle of her forehead. She opens her mouth again and closes it, then repeats the action, processing what I said. When she speaks, there is no heat in her voice. “I’m going to kill you, Seaweed Brain.”

I smile at her. “I know. I’m looking forward to it.”

She grins now, with all of her teeth showing and her eyes crinkling. A small tear traces its way down her face but I know it’s a tear of happiness. In this moment, Annabeth is the most beautiful she has ever been to me. And that’s saying a lot, because she’s the most attractive girl I’ve ever seen, including all of the goddesses I’ve met.

I step forward and bring her into my arms. She responds immediately, wrapping her arms around my chest. I rest my cheek on the top of her head and just enjoy having her close to me again. I make a promise to myself that I’ll do everything in my power to keep her next to me always. Forever.

The time that we had been apart was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. And I’ve been to the Underworld.

She lifts her head and looks up to me. I stare into her grey eyes. “I love you, too, Seaweed Brain.”

I grin so hard I think my cheeks will split in two. I lean down and our lips meet. Our second kiss is so much better than the first. And the third is, too. I could kiss her for the rest of the day but I hear loud whooping behind me. Annabeth and I look to our left where the noise is coming from.

Grover, Will, and Nico are standing off to the side from us, near the volleyball courts. Will is grinning, Nico is smirking, and Grover is whistling. Behind them, Clarisse is shouting something probably offensive, but I can’t hear her and I don’t care.

Best of all, Chiron is on the porch of the Big House, watching us. His smile is gentle and wise. His eyes are doing the crinkly thing that they did when I was in his class and I got an answer right when he called on me. It’s proud but knowing, like he expected it all along. Honestly, that was probably his intention. Chiron knew how we felt about each other before we did.

Honestly, everyone knew before we did.

But what matters now is that Annabeth and I have our arms around each other. It’s the best feeling ever. I look down at her again and smile.

“What?” She questions, squinting her eyes.

“Just admiring how beautiful you are,” I tell her honestly. It feels so good to be able to say that out loud.

How wrong I was. Her beaming grin in response to what I said is so much better than just having our arms around each other.

“I love you.”

“And I love you, Percy.”

The fourth kiss is the best one by far.

Notes:

Almost done with this series! I'm excited to write the last chapter, which is a bit of an epilogue/ending of the summer. I've loved writing this. I feel like I got to write both characters in such different lights that it helped me grow as a writer! And thank you to everyone who kudos'd this and commented :') it really makes my day when people comment! Thank you so much for all of the love and if you have any ideas/requests for the final chapter or more ideas for this series, leave a comment down below! :)

Chapter 15: The Last Day of Summer

Summary:

The final chapter. Third person POV. Chiron reveals his intentions.

The official last day of Camp Half Blood is the third of August. Chiron watches over the strawberry fields, now without campers, who are busy in their cabins packing their belongings. Their sweet smell still permeates the air and he smiles softly. The past three weeks have been peaceful at camp. And he knows why.

Annabeth and Percy have been dating for that time and they no longer fight every day about who gets to use which weapon or who gets to climb the rock wall first.

Camp Half Blood will never be the same.

July 20th

The day after they confess their love for each other, Annabeth and Percy take the day for themselves. Chiron grants them this, simply because he’s so happy they won’t tear the camp apart with their fights anymore. Percy takes Annabeth on a hike, to the middle of the woods where he finds a small natural spring.

“I had no idea this was here,” Annabeth says as soon as she sees where he’s brought her. In true Annabeth fashion, she had learned the entire layout of the camp and the surrounding area out of curiousness.

Percy grins at her. “I, uh, had some help.”

She tilts her head to the side, thinking. A moment later, she realizes what he meant by that. “You…you prayed for this?”

He nods, blushing slightly. “I had a lot of help, but I would do it all again for you.”

“Percy, I don’t know what to say…”

“What if you say yes to being my girlfriend?”

She nods her head as fast as she can and launches herself into his arms, laughing and shouting “Yes!”

July 27th

It’s late at night in their cabin. They had come back from the campfire and climbed into their joint bed (which means Annabeth had the genius idea of combining their beds so they had more room and got Percy to push them together).

Annabeth is resting her head on Percy’s shoulder while reading a book. He’s stroking her head, lulling himself almost into sleep with the consistency of his movements. She turns the page and the sound of rustling paper disturbs the otherwise complete silence of the cabin.

“Annabeth?” Percy whispers, his eyes already closed.

“Hm?” Her eyes don’t lift from the page, but just continue to digest the words. When she pours herself into a book, it takes a lot to get her out of it. Percy knows this, and tries harder.

“Sweetheart,” he breathes, stopping the movements of his hands.

Annabeth, who had been genuinely enjoying her boyfriend running his fingers through her hair, finally looks up from her novel. “What?”

“When are you going to be done reading?” Percy wants to sleep, and the light on the nightstand is making it hard for him to slip under. “You can read in the morning and I promise I’ll keep touching your hair.”

“A few more pages,” she murmurs, turning the page again. “What about when I finish this chapter?”

“Annabeth,” Percy whines, stretching out her name.

“Shh,” she replies, still not straying from her spot in the book.

“That’s it,” he murmurs, shifting his body so Annabeth isn’t leaning on him anymore. He reaches over, snatches the book out of her hands, and puts it on the nightstand. While his hand is there, he turns off the light. He lays back down, pulling Annabeth close to him.

“I was reading that, you know,” Annabeth says, her voice without heat.

“I know,” Percy replies, leaning in to kiss her.

August 3rd

The official last day of summer. Percy did not expect the summer to go the way that it did but wow, was he okay with it. He’s dating the most beautiful and smart girl in camp—hell, probably in the state—and he’s still happily in shock about it. It is bittersweet that this is the last day that he’ll get to spend with her for a while.

Annabeth was also surprised about the result of her time at Camp Half Blood. Percy has been the best boyfriend in every single way possible and she’s almost mad at herself for not acting on her feelings sooner. All of those wasted years spent bickering and arguing instead of kissing and telling each other how much they love each other. But, in a way, it’s good that it took so long. They have a lot to laugh about.

Currently, their favorite memory to laugh about is when Percy had yelled at Annabeth for the pegasus dung. Annabeth had never been so surprised and whenever they need a laugh or feel like making the other smile, they quote Percy’s argument.

Now, they’re sitting on the porch of their shared cabin. They had packed their bags the night before, per Annabeth’s request, and Annabeth is resting her head on Percy’s shoulder. They’ve been quiet for a long time now, probably close to an hour.

“What time is your mom going to be here?” Annabeth asks, breaking the silence.

“After one,” he replies, excited to see his mom but dreading leaving Annabeth.

It’s already twelve.

“And what time do you think your dad will show up?”

“He said it would be later afternoon. His job won’t let him off until two.”

Percy sighs. “Are you excited to live with your dad again?”

Annabeth thinks for a moment. “Yes and no. It’s going to be weird at first, but I think it’s going to be good that everyone is trying again.”

Percy smiles. “And how far are you away from my mom’s apartment?”

“Oh, I wanted to tell you,” Annabeth says, straightening to face him completely. “My dad moved.”

“Oh, where?” Percy immediately prays that it’s not even further away that the original home was.

“It’s in a different school district, so I’ll actually be at the same high school that Paul works at.”

Percy’s eyes widen and his mouth opens in disbelief. “So…we’re going to be going to the same school?”

“Yes, Seaweed Brain, that’s what I’m saying!”

Percy grabs her face with both hands and kisses her. “That is literally the best thing ever.”

Annabeth grins, her cheeks almost splitting in two. She had been a bit worried to see how he would take the news, but his response only made her heart swell.

“I love you,” Annabeth tells him, meaning it with every cell of her body.

“And I love you,” he replies, kissing her again.

When it’s time for them to say goodbye, it’s only for a week. School would be starting the following Tuesday and they couldn’t wait to see each other again. Sally is excited for Percy to have such an amazing girlfriend as Annabeth, who could also tutor him as needed. She loves Annabeth already.

They kiss each other goodbye, promising to call when they got home safe. With one last wave, Percy leaves Camp Half Blood. Annabeth waits until she can’t see Sally’s car before returning to the center of camp. When she spots Chiron on the porch of the Big House, she walks up to him.

“Have a good summer?” He asks as soon as she’s within earshot.

“Yes,” she answers, smiling. “Thanks for pointing out some stuff in the beginning of summer.”

“It was integral to the survival of the camp,” he admits.

Annabeth simply laughs.

“I wish you two all of the happiness this world can give you,” Chiron says, meaning it.

“Thank you, Chiron,” she answers. “For everything.”

He nods and smiles. “Anything for my two favorite campers.”

Annabeth grins and leaves, grabbing her bags so that she could meet her dad and move in at her new home. She gets to see Percy soon and she had the best summer ever. With one last look over her shoulder, she goes to her dad’s car.

Chiron watches her go. Grover comes up next to him and joins him on the porch. “So, how do you think the summer went?”

“The camp didn’t get torn apart, so I’m pretty happy,” Chiron answers.

“You knew what you were doing, didn’t you?” Grover asks.

Chiron laughs, watching Annabeth’s car disappear over the ridge. “My boy, I don’t have the slightest idea of what you’re referring to.”

Grover looks up to the centaur, not believing him. He doesn’t miss his wink.

THE END

Notes:

Wow, the final chapter. Fifteen chapters, over 30,000 words. Thank you all for reading this and leaving such kind comments. I've loved writing this series and had so much fun. Leave a comment of your favorite part of the series! Thank you for all of the love :)

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading! I'm going to be taking my time with this one and making every chapter detailed and well-written. Thank you in advance for your patience! Stay tuned. :)

Side note: for my personal entertainment, I will be naming all chapter titles with super satirical and/or funny titles. I hope you enjoy.