Just Something

Perseus Jackson was insufferable. Those narrowed grey eyes had followed Annabeth ever since Grover had brought him to camp, and at first it had made her uneasy. She and he weren't supposed to have anything to do with each other; kids of Poseidon and Athena never mix well. And surely he knew it; that head framed by those ridiculous blonde curls held a brain the size of Mount Everest, like all of Athena's children. Surely he knew about the old rivalry.

She started to avoid him, but he seemed to be everywhere. Their rosters were complete opposites, as Annabeth had requested, but it didn't make a difference. There he was, shooting a bow and arrow with about as much skill as a two-year-old. There he was, hissing "yield, Clarisse, yield" as he pressed the daughter of Ares into the dirt, bronze sword at her throat, teeth gleaming. And there he was, sitting with his legs drawn up to his chest on the beach when he should be over at the dining pavilion, sharing a meal with his family. But instead he was by the sea. Annabeth's sea.

She marched over to him. He glanced up and Annabeth swore she saw him wink.

"Chase," he said softly, his voice honeyed by long years of use.

"What are you doing here?"

Percy just smiled. "I didn't realise you owned this beach."

"I don't," Annabeth responded hotly. The waves began to grow bigger as her anger increased. "But you don't either."

"So?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why does it matter, then?"

She struggled to find an answer to that. "It just - it just does," she finished lamely, then sighed.

Percy patted the sand next to him and, against her better judgement, Annabeth sat. The wind whipped at her plait, and dark strands of loose hair wafted into her line of sight. She tucked them back behind her ear.

"I've always loved the ocean," Percy said, eyes on the horizon. They were the same colour as the storm clouds gathering overhead.

"Why?"

"Something about it, I guess." Percy looked at her. "The same something about you."

Annabeth's heart buzzed like a bee's wings. What? She repeated the question out loud and made Percy smile.

"Just something, Chase," he said quietly. "And it annoys the hell out of me, because I've always been able to figure stuff like this out - until now."

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Maybe not for a daughter of Poseidon," Percy laughed. "But being Athena's kid? I'm just, I dunno, expected to know everything about everything. And I don't."

Annabeth tilted her head to one side and looked at him. The setting sun lit up his blonde hair like a candle. "I'm sure you know a lot more than I do."

"I wouldn't count on it."

"I would," she whispered, the words slipping from her lips without her consent. Her breath fluttered in her chest as Percy gave her a measuring glance.

"You're a strange one, Annabeth Chase," he said finally, and she realised with a start that it was the first time he'd spoken her first name out loud.

"I'll take that as a compliment." The waves were calm now, and lapping at their toes. The water soothed her. "You're a little more than strange yourself."

"Then we match." Percy allowed the words to sink in. "This really is strange. A daughter of Poseidon -"

"And a son of Athena," Annabeth finished. "There's a first time for everything, Percy."

"I know," he said, then leaned in and kissed her.

Annabeth had never been kissed before.

They broke apart and Percy smiled. "I've wanted to do that since my first day here, you know." He wound his hand through her hair. The plait had come undone and a black waterfall cascaded through his fingers. "You taste like the sea, Annabeth."

Her head spun. Old rivalries be damned. "Is that a bad thing?"

Percy's hand fell back to his lap. They were nose to nose. "No. It's impossibly, incredibly good."

They didn't do much talking after that.

Author's Note: I'm really undecided about this, but then I was just like, what the hell, I'll post it. So what do you think? I've toyed with this idea for a while, and I originally had another hundred or so words in this, about the Great Prophecy and the war, et cetera, but I decided it's just better standing alone. And I also aged them up a little to, say, fifteen? Thoughts? Oh, and by the way, I'll be pretty inactive this next week. Several exams and so on, so I'll see you when I see you! Please review. xx