Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and its characters, it belongs to its rightful owner(s).
Enjoy.
Annabeth and I were taking a walk in Central Park. It was late but we scheduled a night together anyway, she insisted. Along with us, the park was packed with people walking their dogs, kids running across the fields and other couples, like us, holding hands and having a good time.
Annabeth and I were in silence. It was awkward. Most of the time, Annabeth would talk about her architectural work up on Olympus and I would listen. If it wasn't my girlfriend talking, I would've been bored to tears. But now she wasn't boasting about her designs, she was just silent. My ADHD couldn't take any more of this wordless conversation. For second I thought she was upset, but knowing her, she would have said something by now. She wouldn't remain quiet unless she wanted me to create a conversation, I realized finally.
I cleared my throat, "So how the weather?"
Annabeth sighed, "I live in the same city as you do, Percy, you tell about the weather."
"Um, okay," I struggled to think of something interesting to say. "Do you have any plans for the summer?"
Now she looked at me like I was out my mind. I mentally cursed myself. Of course she had plans. She is going to Camp Half-Blood like she does every year.
"Do you have any pets?" I tried another.
"I have one fish named Bubbles," and that's all she said. She didn't ramble or anything.
"Do you play any instruments?"
Annabeth palmed her face as she tried not to laugh at my horrible topic starters.
"You forgot didn't you?" she asked.
"Forgot what?" I said. The last time she said those words was when I failed to remember our one month anniversary, but I was luckily saved by Hermes. I doubt he or any god or goddess was going to rescue me this time.
"Today," she said hopefully.
I acted calm but inside I panicked. I quickly glanced at my watch/shield. It wasn't an eighteenth of anything today, so that meant it wasn't an anniversary. I don't think there was a holiday in November besides Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
"Yes," I agreed, "today is a very special day."
"So you did remember?" Annabeth asked, her voice sounded abnormally girly, which made me even more nervous.
"Of course!" I didn't remember. She probably knew and decided to go along with it, but then again I recently learned how to fool her. Yes, I've also got a few tricks up my sleeve. She was probably going to figure this out in a few days, or even hours though.
She beamed, "Are we going to do anything?"
I took on the classic stalling trick, "It's a surprise."
We walked out of the park and we headed towards a convenience store.
"Why are we here?" Annabeth asked, curious, a little sparkle of light in her eyes flashed excitement.
"I need to go to the bathroom," I replied as we entered. The light in her eyes vanished. "Check to see if you want anything."
She went to the small section selling newspaper and bestselling books.
I headed down the hall towards the bathroom. Instead of going through the men's room, I barged into the Employees Only room. A single person sat in a chair. He was reading a book with his feet up on a desk and piles of extra inventory lay behind him in boxes.
"Luigi, I need your help!" I pleaded.
"This is my precious break time, what do you want?" Luigi asked. He was a small man, bald and with a tiny moustache. He used to work with my mother at the candy shop before he opened this store. He was a nice man when it counted, rude and got annoyed very easily. If you asked him for favours, he needed something in return, in the amount he thought was fair.
"Do you have anything I can play music with, preferably not a cell phone?" I said. Luigi didn't know I was a demigod. I would get easily tracked and killed by monsters when using wireless signals on devices.
"I have an iPod Shuffle with a bunch of classical music on it," he said. "It is mine but I never use it. You have to pay for it if you want it. Let's say fifty."
"I'm broke Luigi, can't I just borrow it for the night?" I flipped my jean pockets inside-out. I actually had a wallet with about twenty dollars in my jacket. It was not enough and I still needed a little money for a cab home.
"I'll work at the cash register for a week and the iPod is just for tonight," I insisted.
"Fine then, on weekends, you're here at seven until eight in the evening. Weekdays, you come immediately after school and leave when the store closes." Luigi smiled as if he got the ultimate deal. "And for only a week."
He tossed me the iPod and I clipped on the inside of my jacket. I walked out of the room and closed the door to see Annabeth tapping her foot, waiting impatiently by the desk.
"What took you so long?" she asked.
"Oh it's nothing," I smirked as I kissed her cheek.
I bought two cans of coke and two pre-made sandwiches, costing me a good quarter of my money.
I walked Annabeth along the edge of Central Park until we reached the luxurious Plaza Hotel. Then I took her inside the park to Gapstow Bridge. Thankfully nobody was there. The bridge arched over a small pond surrounded by trees, a perfect and romantic place for a last minute dates.
"Wow," Annabeth said, agape. "It's beautiful."
We sat on our jackets on top of the bridge, eating the sandwiches. Just as we finished, it started to rain.
"Oh no," she cried, putting on her jacket.
"No stay. I don't want a little rain to ruin this… special occasion," I said, remembering why I did all of this in the first place. I brushed the rest of the crumbs away as I got up. I pressed the play button on the iPod in my jacket while I put it on. The sound of a soft a harp echoed in our ears through the light drizzle.
"Care to dance?" I asked.
Annabeth laughed and wrapped her arms around my neck. We slowly dance to the rhythm of the music. Eventually the rain started pouring and the harp stopped.
Annabeth kissed me, "Thank you for the night, Percy. This is the best fake birthday ever."
So that's what it was? I am such a terrible person. I didn't even remember my own girlfriend's birthday. Wait…
"Excuse me?" I asked as I pulled away.
Annabeth doubled over and cracked up. I felt so used and embarrassed. But seeing her overjoyed while ridiculing me made me happy too.
"Just keep dancing, Percy," she said after she recovered.
And that's what I did for the rest of the night.