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IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE!!!! My dear little cherubs, this is a story I am writing as an extention of one of my oneshots - so if it seems familiar to you, just keep reading; i promise it will change!!!! Honest!!!
thanks and enjoy...
“Getting tired, Seaweed Brain?” Annabeth teased, the determination in her face suddenly mixed with a very un-Athena-like playfulness as they continued to circle, unconsciously mirroring each other’s footwork exactly.
“In your dreams, Wise Girl” Percy shot back, a grin forming unbidden on his face.
Suddenly Annabeth was leaping forward, launching a furious offensive and forcing Percy to backpedal frantically to avoid losing a limb. Slowly but surely she pushed him back, her eyes gleaming in anticipation of her triumph. Without looking Percy knew the edge of the ring was barely a metre from his back heel.
As Annabeth drew her arm back for her conquering strike Percy’s half-blood instincts took over and quick as a snake he stepped inside her guard, his hand closing vice-like around her wrist to prevent the blow before it had fully begun. His fingers found a nerve ending at the base of her thumb and she unwillingly released her grip on her sword, letting it clatter to the ground. In one swift motion he swept her legs out from underneath her, his free arm supporting her torso before she hit the ground and his sword hand changing grips so he could hold his blade against her exposed neck like a dagger. The whole combination had taken no more than 4 seconds and Percy’s eyes had never left hers.
“Dead,” Percy grinned, his chest heaving as his body endeavoured to supply his fatigued muscles with oxygen. Annabeth’s face, no more than five inches from his own, clouded with disappointment, but her gleaming eyes betrayed her exhilaration.
“I almost had you there,” she insisted, panting. Percy’s smile widened in response; he removed his sword from her carotid artery, stood up and offered her his hand, which she accepted.
As the battle haze cleared from his mind he became aware of cheering and clapping. As Annabeth bent to retrieve her sword Percy grinned around at the campers who surrounded the ring, the majority of whom were showing their appreciation of the bout by whooping and applauding. Spectators from Ares cabin either sat sulking in jealousy or boasting loudly that they were much better fighters. Aphrodite’s children lounged gracefully looking exquisitely bored.
Percy bowed extravagantly to his audience and Annabeth punched him in the arm. “Show off,” she accused in mock disgust, but she too couldn’t help but smile at her fellow campers.
Percy knew what she was thinking; it was good to see the kids in such high spirits, especially in times like these, when being a half-blood was more dangerous than ever. When they were never truly safe, not even within Camp Half-Bloods borders. These grim thoughts doused his cheerfulness and he hated them for it. The grin slid from his face and he sighed.
“Well done, both of you,” Chiron congratulated them as he clopped towards them. “That was a close one. You almost had him there,” he added to Annabeth, causing her to smirk at Percy.
“Next time,” she promised.
The campers began to drift away from the arena and Chiron watched them leave as he said “You two should go cool down before dinner, then I’d like you to meet me in the Big House; we need to have a talk.” His serious eyes returned to Percy’s as he said the last, causing the familiar feeling of dread to bubble up in his stomach. Chiron held his gaze for a moment, offered him a brief reassuring smile and then turned and trotted after the campers. Percy watched him leave with blank eyes, his mind suddenly a million miles away.
It had been twenty months since their clash with Atlas and the minions of Kronos, twenty months since Zoe had died and Thalia had taken her place as Artemis’ lieutenant, twenty months since Nico (who Percy now knew was the son of Hades) had run away, twenty months since Luke had fallen off the cliff, only to survive and begin to regroup his forces. These had been the hardest twenty months of Percy’s life.
So much had happened in this time, so many battles fought and just barely survived, so many half-bloods lost. Monsters had attacked with greater frequency and it was no longer safe for Percy to attend school; they had tried, but after the third time Percy destroyed a school building and had subsequently been expelled, his mother decided the danger was too great. Percy had felt horrible for putting his mother through those times.
One good thing had come of it, though. Annabeth’s father, fearing for her safety, had asked whether she could live with the Jackson’s during the school year, since living in San Francisco was out of the question. Percy’s Mum had agreed enthusiastically, and had even winked at him knowingly, which he had found really embarrassing. Though Annabeth had hated it, she had agreed to leave school and since then they had been home tutored by Mrs. Jackson and Mr Blofis – or Paul, as he insisted they call him – or rather Annabeth had helped them tutor Percy because she already knew everything. It was during this time that Percy finally admitted to himself what Aphrodite had been trying to tell him; he had feelings for Annabeth other than the platonic. It had been killing him ever since.
Percy knew that Annabeth still had feelings for Luke – she refused to give up on him. Percy could feel the pain of this rip at his gut whenever he thought about it. But being Annabeth’s friend was exponentially better than not being with her at all, so that’s what he had done – been her friend.
Except his birthday was only a few weeks away – his sixteenth birthday, the birthday of the prophesy. Percy couldn’t bear the thought that something would happen to either Annabeth or him, without her knowing how he truly felt.
Feeling a soft touch on his arm, Percy returned from his reverie to find Annabeth resting her hand on his arm, her expression concerned. They looked at each other for a few moments, and Percy took the opportunity to study her closely.
Her intelligent grey eyes sparkled with hidden emotion as she gazed up at him – he had grown and filled out this year, and now stood half a foot higher than her, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes. Her blond hair, which she had grown long, was pulled up into a messy ponytail, though some wisps had escaped to frame her tanned face. She wore her camp necklace, as always, and small wooden earring’s adorned her ears. No fancy jewellery, no makeup, just Annabeth, exactly as Percy liked her.
“Let’s go to the lake,” she suggested, putting her sword on a seat (Percy recapped Riptide and placed it in his pocket) and snaking her arm around his waist. Percy’s stomach did a back flip, even though he should have been used to things like this by now. Since Thalia had joined the hunt and Grover had been occupied with his searches for both Pan and new Half-Bloods, Percy and Annabeth had begun turning to each other for support and comfort; it was strange but for Percy Annabeth was both the most and the least comfortable person to be around. Open displays of affection like this were now as common sights as fights, and though they had at first attracted some teasing from other half-bloods and glares from certain immortal parents, everyone seemed to have accepted it. Percy both loved and hated her closeness. He draped his arm around her shoulders and let his fingers brush on her bare arm as they walked; her skin was warm and soft. He was well aware that they looked for all the world like a couple, the irony of which twisted the knife in his heart.
They walked in silence the whole way to the lake, with Percy simply enjoying Annabeth’s presence. It was a beautiful day, as it always was at Camp Half-Blood, the afternoon sun warming but not too bright. The perfect day for a swim. When they reached the wharf they sat down and dangled their feet in the fresh cool water, watching for the mythical creatures that inhabited the lakes murky depths.
The silence between them wasn’t heavy, but there was obviously a question hanging in the air, waiting to be asked and answered.
Annabeth sighed deeply, drawing Percy’s attention to her face. Without speaking she stood up, pulled her hair tie out and arched a graceful dive into the lake, sending ripples radiating out from where her body broke the smooth surface. Percy waited and watched until her head broke the surface again about ten metres from the shore. He didn’t follow her in (he wouldn’t get wet anyway, and he didn’t really feel like swimming at the moment), instead watching as Annabeth slowly swam back towards the wharf and pulled herself out, raking her wet hair out of her face. She shivered as the air hit her skin, smiled and held her hand out to Percy.
“Would you mind?” Percy smiled back and took her hand, willing her to be dry. The water jumped away from her skin in droplets and showered the worn wood beneath her feet, leaving Annabeth dry as a bone.
Annabeth held onto his hand, lightly tracing the lines that crisscrossed his palm. Her eyes were serious when she met his gaze once more.
“Luke will come after you.” Percy winced inwardly; he hated talking about Luke with Annabeth, it always made them both mad. He gently pulled his hand away from her.
“I’ll do what I have to,” he replied.
Annabeth’s mask broke and her face became stricken as she pleaded, “Why can’t you give him a chance? He’s not evil-”
“Yes he is, Annabeth! If you would put aside your obvious feelings for him for just a second then you would realise that!” Percy had his hands curled into fists, his body shaking as the feelings he had kept inside for so long boiled over and out. Annabeth hardened under his anger, just like she always did.
“I know Luke, Percy! I know him! This is not him! And my feelings for Luke are none of your business!!”
At these words Percy let out a bark of bitter laughter as some detached part of his mind found the black humour in his situation. “None of my business,” he repeated back at Annabeth’s defiant face, his tone sardonic even as his heart was breaking inside his chest. “I almost forgot.” His emotions suddenly deflated, leaving him feeling bone tired and empty. He couldn’t look at Annabeth anymore, couldn’t hold her eyes; instead he cast around for an excuse to leave. “It’s getting dark; we should go back.” Without waiting for a response he turned on his heel and strode away in the direction of the Big House, the hard strength in his retreating frame masking the weakness he felt inside.
She focused on the sting in her hand and felt her anger begin to slip away; in its stead pooled the familiar feeling of aching loneliness. For most of her young life she had experienced this feeling where her family was concerned – her father, with his new wife and step-children, and her mother, the immortal Goddess of Wisdom. With their acceptance of her, Luke and Thalia had managed to dull the sting of loneliness; they had become her family. But now Thalia had joined the Hunt, becoming an immortal who lived to roam the land and serve her Goddess. And Luke… Annabeth remembered a time when she had had a girlish crush on him, with his outdoorsy good looks and cool manner. But those feeling were gone. Luke had become a brother to her, the person she could always rely on. She refused to reconcile his recent actions with the person she knew he was inside; she would save him and bring him home.
As dusk began to fall on the Camp Annabeth began the trek towards her dinner and her thoughts, as they inevitably did lately, turned to Percy.
Annabeth had trouble defining their relationship; in the space of five minutes they could be fiercely angry at each other and best friends. Sometimes he seemed to understand her more than she understood herself, while at others he was more distant to her than Athena. But when she did dare to truly plumb the depths of her feelings for Percy, her findings terrified her. Surely she was too young for emotions of this complexity?
Would she admit this to him? Could she bring herself to drop the thick armour that had protected her through all these years and place herself, utterly vulnerable, in Percy’s hands? Not until she knew what he felt for her, and she wasn’t about to ask.
Annabeth sighed bitterly to herself. Things would be so much easier if he wasn’t such a Seaweed Brain. He just had to add to her inner turmoil with his bipolar actions, his green-eyed affection one day and cold shoulder the next. And he couldn’t seem to understand her need to save Luke, no matter how many times she tried to explain it to him. He was too stubborn to listen properly.
As Annabeth climbed the steps to the stone dining pavilion she promised herself that she would tell him how she felt, before it was too late. She had to do it before his birthday.
If you liked it then please review and tell me so, if you didn’t then please review and tell me why; we all need constructive criticism.
If this story feels familiar to you then it’s probably because you’ve already read part of it – I ripped the beginning off my other oneshot percabeth fic and modified it coz I didn’t want to have to write a whole new story. The end result will probably be the same but this one will be longer and full of adventure, yay!
Anywho, I’ll update asap and get this show on the road.
p.s I know there was a lot of ‘I feel…’ and ‘pine-pine-pine’ in this chap, but that’s just to set the scene. Most other chapter will be more toned down… I think… cya!
StBu