Hey to anyone who reads this, this is my first fanficton. So sorry if it isn't the best. I'm still learning, so I appreciate the feedback, even the constructive criticism.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I just interpreted one of the best book series' of all time.
I can't believe this. I just can't believe I'm this lucky. Those were the only thoughts in my head as I watched him watching the sea. He was sitting alone at the Poseidon table, just staring at the sunset. I could tell he had a lot on his mind, Athena knows I did, but I just couldn't help but stare. That jet black hair, and those honest sea green eyes made every girl at camp want him. They didn't know the guy behind those eyes though. Only a few people were allowed to know the mysterious Percy Jackson.
I thought about when I first met him. He didn't even know who he was, what he could do. He was just another twelve year old kid who might have cried at night because of his newfound heritage. Percy was just another drooling kid who stumbled over his own feet. I laughed when I thought of that. There was no way that could be the same guy that destroyed Kronos and saved billions of people.
Thinking back, I remembered our first quest. Me, Grover, and Percy were lost, hungry, and had no money. When we were close to breaking, Percy took charge and became a young hero. He thought of the people that were going to be harmed, not himself. He fled the chimera with a heavy heart, doubting that he could ever fight again. He sacrificed his safety to save me and Grover when the Furies attacked, and attacked Ares to achieve his quest. He may have claimed he only went on that quest to save his mom, but he certainly didn't finish with the same intentions.
Then the next summer, our trip to the Sea of Monsters. Percy had certainly grown, but he was far from ready to face what he was destined to see. Seeing Luke after his betrayal, and dealing with a secret half-brother. Still, Percy fought. He fought to save Grover, and eventually Clarisse. He saved me from the Sirens, and saved me from the Cyclops that took Grover. All that time, he never once put himself first in a fight. He saved many lives, and started to win my heart. We both didn't know it, but it was definitely happening.
That winter was one of the worst of both our lives. I smoothed the grey hairs on my forehead as I thought about it. I don't know what it must have been like for him, but I can imagine. I can't even think about what would have happened had our places been switched. The feeling that he might be dead, that I made some promises I couldn't keep. To myself and others. That's where we're different. I probably would have believed he was dead. I wouldn't have gone after him, a fact I hate to admit.
Then seeing him fight on Mt. Tam. It was like, I'd never watched him fight before. In truth, I hadn't. I'd never seen him fight like that. He dodged, ducked, and rolled. He fought better than Hercules. Though, Hercules fought to save his own skin. Percy was too, but he was actually fighting for others too. He wasn't thinking of what would happen to him, he was thinking of those he'd let down. Like me, he thought he'd let me down. Then, when he took the sky, I wanted to scream at him, he was so damn dense. His risky move paid off though, and Thalia overtook Luke, pushing him over the cliff.
I wanted to think like Percy did, that Luke was dead, but I knew better. I don't know how I knew, but I did. Then, at the meeting on Olympus, Percy started acting weird when Artemis started talking about her new Lieutenant. He got sweaty, and tried to tell me something. He looked sick. Looking back on it now, I think I know what he was thinking. He was thinking I'd leave him, for the life of an immortal Hunter. He thought I was going to become a Hunter of Artemis. I saw the look of relief on his face when Thalia was asked. Relief and confusion, a funny and all too familiar expression on Percy Jackson.
When he asked me to dance with him later that night, I could tell something else was on his mind. However, I also knew it was a bad idea to ask him about it. He would just say he was fine and smile. If it was important, he would eventually tell me, or if he resolved it in his head. Instead of asking him, I looked into his eyes, a few inches shorter than mine, and touched the grey in his hair. It was a reminder that we weren't invincible, that we couldn't hold the burden of Atlas. When we danced, Percy looked sad, the hero he wasn't finally catching up to him. He couldn't save everyone, and he hated that.
Looking back on it, I wished I would've done a hundred different things. We weren't ready for the things I thought of though. He was still a joking thirteen year old, a little more mature than when he first came to camp. The next summer though, we both changed. One thing Percy didn't talk about much was Rachel, my red headed nightmare. She hardly even knew him, and she was already trying to steal him from me. It hurt, especially when he didn't see what was happening. If they hadn't been so close, maybe we would have been friends sooner. When we discovered the Labyrinth entrance, I was scared. Only a little, but scared enough I held Percy's hand. My Seaweed Brain was there, he wasn't going to get lost in an endless maze.
Gods know that he'd been through a couple already. He never admitted his defeat, just kept trudging on. He was as tall as me then, and was starting to look like a man. Ugh, I'm never going to admit that out loud. He was well muscled, not like a football player, but like a guy who knew how to fight. I guess years of monster fighting did that to you. He was actually less awkward, more sure of himself. That was a small difference, but I definitely noticed. When he came to get me in my cabin before the quest, I was a mess. I was scared out of my mind, afraid of what would happen if I failed. Grover, Tyson, and most of all Percy would…. Be gone. He walked in and Malcolm left. We were alone, in a cabin.
He became my rock. He stood there and talked to me, assuring me. He told me everything would be okay. For once in my life, I needed contact. I needed to hold somebody, to have somebody hold me. Percy would just have to do. I stepped forward and hugged him. He hugged me back gingerly, as if I would pull away if he got too close. Eventually, he got braver and held me tighter as I sobbed into his shirt. Malcolm came back, interrupting us. He told me I had to go to archery, though he looked a little guilty when he said it. Percy pulled back and looked at the floor, I grabbed my bow and left.
During our quest, I saw a side of Percy that I'd either ignored or never noticed. He fought with renewed bravery and determination, as if he knew his fate and accepted it. And, I believed it. He wasn't fighting to figure anything out anymore, he was fighting to win what he knew was an impossible cause. That didn't stop him, and I fought because of him. I stayed with the gods because of him, because he seemed to know that they were right.
When he vanished after the best kiss of my life on Mt St Helens, I thought I wouldn't be able to make it. First Grover and Tyson, and then Percy, I thought the Fates were playing some cruel card, one that no one was supposed to survive. Then he showed up at his own funeral, with no real explanation as to where he was, I almost wished he was gone. Now, I know where he went, and I can't believe he came back. Calypso always seemed to get her way, and Percy overcame her and the love that supposedly lived between them.
When that mortal joined my quest, I was more angry than I thought was possible. I was losing my best friend to some mortal who knew who we really were. Because of Rachel, I almost lost the one I held closest. When we were on the quest, Percy yet again surprised me. In more ways than one. On one hand, I couldn't believe he had been so thick headed not to realize that Rachel was virtually making goo-goo eyes at him. On the other, I couldn't believe he had been so thick headed that he trusted Ethan not to betray him. Percy didn't see the bad in Ethan; he only saw the potential for good.
When we took down Daedalus' workshop, Nico scared us all. The way he banished Minos, it made me more than a little weirded out. We escaped, and Rachel got us a limo to drive us to an entrance to the maze. The way she seemed a little too at ease because of it made me uneasy. I didn't like her, she was just too weird for me. She drove a wedge between me and Percy, a wedge I had tried so hard to avoid. Somehow, we lifted the wedge, but it took time.
Then, on Mt Tam, everything changed. For me at least, not so much for everyone else. Luke was gone, gone. His soul was gone, stolen by the evil Titan Lord that wanted us all dead. For everyone else, it was like a piece of the puzzle fell into place. I sat there and cried, my head between my knees. Because of Percy and Luke, my life would never ever be the same again. Because of those gods, my life would never be the same. I would never have Luke back, and Percy would die.
The others didn't listen when I told them that Luke wasn't gone. He was still alive, and they thought I was just desperate to have my old flame back. For once, I doubted Percy's determination and love for the innocent. I couldn't believe I had thought that, Luke was anything but innocent, but I was upset of the fact that Luke was gone. I couldn't help but hate myself for the way that Percy and Rachel looked at me after I yelled at them. When I cried, Percy kept his distance, as if he was afraid of what his stupidity and blinding loyalty would cause him again.
Nico got us to keep moving, and Percy knelt beside me, forgiving me for my blow up and telling me to move. Suddenly, Percy stopped in his tracks, staring at something on the floor. A Rasta cap that looked familiar, like the one Grover used to wear. Percy picked up the cap, and stated simply that we had to follow them. We ran, even though we were bone tired. We found Tyson cradling Grover, who was passed out in the Cyclops arms.
Grover lead us to his ultimate goal, the Lord of the Wild himself, Pan. Grover had dreamed about finding him since he was little, and he finally found him. The God of the Wild parted with us, his last words were blessings, letting us know we would be okay, that we would succeed. We watched as he died, and stumbled numbly out of the catacombs. Percy summoned Blackjack and his friends, giving us a ride back to camp. As Percy talked to his Pegasus, I watched Rachel. She was staring at the exchange with wide eyes, making her look almost funny.
I'd had a while to get used to Percy's unusual antics and his way of messing things up just by walking in the room. I can imagine what Rachel was going through. It was the same for me, getting used to living the way I do. Regular mortals don't have the ability to get what it's like, the monsters and danger lurking right under their very noses. So far, that's one thing I noticed about Rachel that I liked, she seemed to be trying.
When we got to camp, the battle of the Labyrinth was a blur. One minute I was defending my cabins war tent, the next I was helping Percy defeat Kampe. I honestly don't remember much of it, except for the hundred-handed-one, and our victory. And the deaths, the deaths of those who were close to me, close to all of us. I was glad Percy survived, but I lost another that day, one I would not soon be able to forget.
The next summer was one I could never in a million years forget. (AN: Sorry it's such a long story, I got carried away.) The fighting, the losses, the pain, the power, the love. I took a knife for Percy, when he was invincible. I saved his life, and he saved mine. That summer, Percy was no longer that scared little kid that came to Camp Half-Blood alone, the kid who was so naïve to believe everything everyone told him. He was strong, and different. When he walked through camp, all the girls stopped and stared at him. Percy Jackson had become a fighter, a savior, and one of the greatest and most charming heroes ever known.
He never saw the girls staring at him, he never saw what everyone else saw. Percy only saw a guy who had to do what he had to do when he looked in the mirror. Everyone else saw a role model, a man to look up to. He fought Titans and won, he was everyone's friend, and he was the perfect guy. To most who admired him though, he was still a mystery. He wasn't the guy who gave the knife to Luke, the guy who betrayed them. To everyone, he killed Kronos himself. No one ever bothered to get to know him, they figured they knew everything about him.
I'm one of the few who knew the truth. The pain, the loss, the loyalty and the years of struggle to become what he was today. That's why I considered myself lucky. I know the truth behind the unknown mask. I finally made up my mind. August 18th would be the day that I told him just how lucky i was to know him.
Tyson and I finished icing the cake, both of us looking at it with satisfaction. I looked back at the Poseidon table, and seeing Percy still sitting there staring out over the ocean, I knew it was time.
"Thanks for your help Tyson, I'll tell Percy you said happy birthday." I smiled at Tyson, hoping he would let me go.
"Welcome Annabeth." He smiled a huge grin and left the kitchen. I took a deep breath and walked to the pavilion.
"Hey." I slid in next to him, ignoring my pounding heart. "Happy birthday." I held out the weird blue cupcake.
"What?" Percy looked a little startled. I honestly couldn't blame him. It had been a long day. I almost forgot myself.
"It's August 18th, your birthday right?" I almost laughed at his face. First confusion, then realization, horror, then befuddlement, and finally his face relaxed. He knew what had happened, and accepted it.
"Make a wish." I said, holding out the cupcake.
"Did you bake this yourself?" He asked.
"Tyson helped."
"That explains why it looks like a chocolate brick, with extra blue cement." He said, making me laugh.
Percy considered, then blew out the lone candle. We cut it in half and ate it with our fingers. We just sat there and watched the ocean, Percy's father's domain. The ocean had changed our lives so much. It saved our lives so many times, and failed us so much. The thing is, if it weren't for the ocean, we wouldn't have won.
"You saved the world." I said, breaking the comfortable silence.
"We saved the world." He responded, drawing the attention away from himself.
"And Rachel is the new Oracle, so she won't be dating anybody." I said, feeling relieved beyond belief.
"You don't sound disappointed." He pointed out.
I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. "Oh I don't care."
"Uh-huh." He raised his eyebrows.
I raised mine in return. "You got something to say to me Seaweed Brain?"
"You'd probably kick my butt."
"You know I'd kick your butt."
He brushed the cake off his fingers, looking nervous. "When I was at the River Styx turning invulnerable… Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the mortal world, that made me want to stay mortal."
I looked straight at the horizon. "Yeah?"
"Then up on Olympus, when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking-""Oh you so wanted to."
"Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought-I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking…" He stopped.
"Anyone in particular?" I asked my voice soft, trying to hide my smile. He looked at me and groaned.
"You're laughing at me." He complained.
"I am not!" I defended myself.
"You're so not making this easy." He complained again.
I laughed, and put my hands around his neck. This was my chance, and I fully intended to take it.
"I'm never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it." I smiled, and before I knew what I was doing, I kissed him. It was the best kiss of all time. Percy put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. I wound my fingers in his hair and pulled him closer. We could've stayed like that all night, but a voice growled behind us.
"Well it's about time!" Clarisse led a bunch of campers in the dining pavilion and hoisted us up on their shoulders, proclaiming we needed to cool off. We held hands on their shoulders and laughed the whole way, though we were both as red as tomatoes.
When they dumped us in the lake, Percy swam us to the bottom and formed an air bubble so I could breathe. We started kissing, stopping only to breathe. Thinking about him, and how I felt about him made me think of what had just happened. Luke, overcoming Kronos, and Percy surviving. Luke died, and Percy survived. Without warning, a stray tear fell down my cheek.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Percy wiped the tear away, looking concerned. That little crease between his eyebrows that I loved so much appearing again. I smiled beneath the tears, amazed that he could make me feel like such a….girl.
"I was just thinking about what just happened today." I said.
"What about today?" He replied, completely oblivious.
"Just… Luke. You, everyone almost dying, I guess it all just caught up to me." Another tear slid down my cheek, but Percy caught it again.
"Hey, what's done is done. Luke did what he had to do, and he's a hero now. The world may not see that, but we do, and that's all that matters. He may not be here to celebrate, but in a way he still is." That was the deepest thing I'd ever heard Percy say. I smiled even wider. He smiled back and pulled me into a hug.
I sobbed into his shirt, not caring about the campers at the top of the lake, probably just realizing their mistake in throwing the son of Poseidon into a lake. I didn't care that our parents were probably furious, realizing there was nothing they could do to stop Aphrodite at work. Hey, it was a day for realizations. It was also the worst/best day of my life.
Fin.