Newbie
By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx
AN: Hello, again, people of Earth. I've had this story saved in my archives for a while now—since the release of the deleted chapter from TLT. If you want to read it, here's the link: http: /www. mortalnet. com/ forum/viewtopic. php?t=552 (Take out the spaces.) I strongly suggest reading Rick's original chapter first, then read my story.
So, if the characters are OOC, I apologize because it's difficult for me to write pre-friendship Percabeth and pre-betrayal Luke. Yeah... Not very comfortable with that era.
Okay, I'm done rambling. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.
Sitting underneath Hermes's flag was pretty cramped. At this moment, I really wished that my dad would claim me—you know, so I could actually know who he was and all. It still hurt to think about my mom being gone, and my dad not being able to help her, but I tried not to let that dampen my mood.
We did all the things that usually happened at a typical campfire. We roasted s'mores, sang some silly camp songs, told some scary stories, and things that I'd already expected we'd do.
What I didn't expect was for Annabeth to come up and talk to me.
I still considered her intimidating, especially after the whole 'You drool when you sleep,' incident. There was something about her that made me feel… uncomfortable—maybe it was her unnerving gray eyes, or how intelligent she was, or the fact that she was at least three inches taller than me. Still, everything about Annabeth was pretty… but in a daunting kind of way.
A half-smile quirked Annabeth's mouth. "Well, Percy, guess you're a part of our camp now," she said as she approached me.
It might've been the fire, but I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. "Thanks," I mumbled, feeling like a tongue-tied idiot. "I really like it here."
Annabeth smiled again, her arms crossed. "It's a really nice place," she said with a wistful sigh. "And, it's always fun to see a newbie have to go through the initiation… I just thank Athena that I've been here long enough that it didn't even exist when I showed up."
I looked at her curiously. She must've been my age—twelve, thirteen, maybe—and someone had mentioned that I was of the typical age to come to camp. But, the way Annabeth talked, it made it seem like she'd been here longer than anyone close to her age… maybe as long as Luke had.
"How long have you been here?" I blurted out, before I could stop myself.
Her hand automatically reached to her necklace—the one with the clay beads and the ring—and she shrugged. "Three years. Going on four."
Putting two and two together, I figured that the bead represented the years that someone had been attending camp. I partially wondered when I would get my first bead.
Before I could reply to that, Annabeth said, "Well, Percy, I better get over to my siblings before one of them has a coronary or something. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, newbie." With that, she smiled that small smile of hers, turned, and walked away.
I stared after her, still a bit surprised that she had talked to me—being how Annabeth was. Looking back on it, I wanted to tell her that I technically wasn't a newbie, because of the initiation, but by the time I had gained my senses, she was already sitting down.
I probably would've sat like that for the rest of the night, had Luke not nudged my shoulder. I swallowed sheepishly and mumbled, "Sorry. Zoned out," noticing his cheeky grin.
"Does someone have a crush on the Athena counselor?" He grinned teasingly, and the blood rushed to my face.
"Be quiet," I muttered, embarrassed, and Luke just laughed.
The conch horn blew, and we all trudged back to our cabins with full stomachs and happy attitudes. The entire way back, we were out of order, so it gave Luke the perfect chance to joke around with me more about liking Annabeth.
It wasn't until my head hit my sleeping bag that I realized just how tired I was. As I lay, facing the ceiling, I thought about my mom and all the things she would use to tell me—Greek bedtime stories, not to let the bedbugs bite, and things like that. And, for a moment, I thought about Annabeth. I wondered if what Luke said was true—if maybe, I did like her a little bit. I was never good around girls; they never really liked me, and I did my best to stay away from a lot of them. And Annabeth… well, most of the time, she looked as if she knew a thousand ways to kill me, and was debating on which one she should use.
Despite my mind being jumbled, I fell asleep the second my eyes closed, thinking of Annabeth.
That was my first day of camp, and the first day I really met Annabeth.
Little did I know, the next time I would be dumped into the lake, I wouldn't be alone.