Run...
That's the only word she heard. She whipped around quickly, dagger in her hand. The situation seemed hopeless. Annabeth was cornered, surrounded by monsters. She had to get home. She had to make it back to Camp.
She ripped her blade through the monster in front of her, daring the others to challenge her. Each of them stepped forward, challenging her. Annabeth followed a continuous pattern: duck, dive, stab, advance. These monsters were no challenge to her. After all, she had survived Tartarus.
Finally, the monsters were gone. She had scratches and bruises covering her. Her orange camp half-blood t-shirt was torn in several places. She sighed and trudged up the hill, to the camp borders.
When she crossed the boundary line, a huge relief washed over her. It had been so long since she had been here. She had spent almost the entire year at her dad's. Percy visited her occasionally, but her dad and her family had to leave their home since her father had a business trip. Annabeth took a plane to New York, but was immediately tracked down by monsters.
Piper yelled at her from the bottom of the hill,"Hi Annabeth!"
Annabeth waved at her and descended down the hill to meet her friend. She gave her a hug and smiled wearily.
"Let's go get you cleaned up," Piper said cheerfully.
Annabeth nodded and followed her obediently.
...
After getting cleaned up, the dinner bell rang and Annabeth joined her cabin-mates at the dinner table. She looked around casually, trying to find Percy through the rush of people coming in. She found his table and it was completely empty. Her eyebrows furrowed, where in heck could he be? One of her brothers nudged her and she erased the puzzled look from her face, smiling and joining conversation. Every once in a while, she glanced at his table.
When dinner was over, Annabeth started to feel sick. Where was he? Did something happen? No, nothing could have happened. If something did happen, Chiron would have told her. She got up and walked with her siblings to the bonfire. She sat in front, where she usually did. An empty spot was next to her, where Percy should have been.
...
Percy had spent the past hour fighting monsters on his way back to camp. He wondered why his scent had to be so strong. It was becoming irritating, having to fight off monsters as soon as a foot was out of camp boundaries. He cursed himself for not taking Grover's offer to go with him. On the other hand, that would have made Annabeth extremely suspicious, so he was glad to be by himself.
It was getting dark quickly, and he was close to camp. He prayed to the gods that he hadn't missed the bonfire, otherwise his plan would be a total fluke. HE knew Annabeth was coming home today and he couldn't miss her before she went to bed. Even though they were 20, they still didn't have Chiron's permission to stay out later. The guy could be a nuisance!
He crossed the border and sprinted to his cabin to take a quick shower. Percy then raced to the bonfire and tapped Chiron, letting him know he was present. He spotted Annabeth in their usual spot, looking upset. He hoped that was only because he wasn't there.
The singing stopped and Chiron stomped his foot on the ground to get everyone's attention.
"We a... ah... a little show for us tonight," he said simply, a dark gleam lingered in his eyes. To Percy, it looked like he was happy, but he wasn't sure. When he approached the guy about it earlier, he didn't look to happy about it, but he obliged anyways.
The campers applauded and Percy took a step into the campfire light.
...
Annabeth wasn't enjoying her time at the campfire. It made her mad that Chiron wasn't telling her anything. He wouldn't tell her where Percy was. Neither was Grover, no matter how much Annabeth pleaded. The stubborn satyr seemed uncomfortable, so she finally left him alone.
Suddenly, she heard Chiron talking, but she completely tuned him out, staring into the campfire. After several minutes, she looked up, meeting someone's sea green eyes. She looked at him in shock, realizing it was Percy. "BY THE GODS PERCY!" she growled and smacked him across the face. Her heart was racing. "Why can't you tell me anything?! Like where you are going?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Percy gave her a knowing smirk and his eyes glittered with that sea green color she loved so much. "Hello to you to," he said calmly.
Her heart beat calmed down instantly and she wiped her face, just now realizing tears were streaming down her face.
"I was only gone for about two hours," he said calmly. "I'm not going to leave you. In fact..." he paused and knelt on the ground, taking her hands in his. Her cheeks warmed and she looked at him questioningly. "I'd like to be by your side forever."
As Annabeth finally realized what he was doing, she started bawling. He pulled out a box with a ring inside. It had a beautiful pearl in the middle, surrounded by diamonds. It was set in what looked like celestial bronze. "Will you marry me?" he asked her.
She collapsed in his arms, sobbing. "Well duh, Seaweed brain..." She felt his strong arms wrap around her after slipping the ring on her finger.
The camp burst into applause and chanting and Annabeth smiled.
It was great to be home.