40: Fear
The sound of running water could be heard from inside the hall.
Behind the shower curtain, Annabeth slowly ran her fingers through her hair, untangling the blond locks. The warm water slid down her back, relaxing her tight muscles; it had been a long journey, but Sally had kindly welcomed her in with open arms.
Humming quietly, she opened her eyes and reached for the bar of lemon soap, only to stop dead in her tracks.
The monstrous creature seemed double in size, its shadow moving as it slowly extended a long, furry leg from its claimed corner of the bath tub. Taking small and shallow breaths, Annabeth reached for where she knew the towel rack to be, grabbed a towel, and managed to just wrap it around herself before she flung open the door.
"P-p-p-p-PERCY!" she screamed, running out of the bathroom.
Footsteps pounded down the hall from Sally's kitchen and, at the sight of Riptide glinting in the sunlight, Annabeth tightened the towel around herself. Rounding the corner, Percy stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Annabeth's distressed expression, tears running freely down her cheeks. Her hair was plastered to her face and the knuckles of the hand securely holding the towel around her were turning white. Dark patches began forming in the carpet as drops of water fell freely from her quivering form.
Percy was going to kill that goddamn spider.
Sighing, he straightened his pose from his battle stance and slowly ran a hand through his hair, cheeks turning red as he looked down and stared intently at an interesting patch on the floor; it wasn't every day his girlfriend stood in front of him, covered with only a towel.
Lifting his head and making sure to respectfully keep his eyes on her face, Percy walked towards Annabeth and gently rested his forehead on hers, wiping away the tears with the pads of his thumbs.
"Where is it?"
She glared at him and shakily lifted a hand to point towards the bathroom, muttering a short "Don't be such a Seaweed Brain."
"Well Seaweed Brain is now going to go and get rid of the spider for you." Capping Riptide and putting it into his back pocket, Percy walked into the bathroom, grabbed a sheet of toilet roll and disposed of the minuscule spider by throwing it out of the window.
He turned at the sound of Annbeth's voice, her head peeking around the door. "Is it gone now?"
"Yup." Percy spread his arms out, "Do I get a 'thank you' kiss?"
Annabeth walked in and pushed him towards the open door with her free hand. "Absolutely not, now get out."
As Percy turned in the doorway, she pecked him quickly on the lips and shut the door in his face.
Annabeth can lead an army to save humanity but can't get rid of a spider. Each to their own, I suppose.
She's still a BAMF either way.