Proving her Wrong

Just a warning Annabeth and Percy are out of character. I don't own any of the Percy Jackson characters.

"He is so hot!" I heard one of the girls squeal. "Girls, girls, shhh." Ione shushed the girls and all their giggles. They looked like they were having some sort of traditional 'girl talk' circle. I didn't really care for their girl chats, but my half sister was giggling happily listening to Ione's love life. Her love life I really didn't care about, but my little half sister, Lindsey who was only six, turned around when I walk by and called me over, "Annabeth, come!" I decided it was best to go because there was no way I was going to let Ione and her crew turn my sister into one of them.

"No, no you can't!" whispered Ione.

"Why not?" Lindsey asked. She didn't understand at all.

"Because," Ione began once I got close enough to hear. She looked directly at me when she answered Lindsey's question. "This is a 'ladies only' circle."

"But Annabeth is a girl." Lindsey's innocent voice said.

"Oh, please. She doesn't count. She couldn't behave like a girl even if she was dressed in stiletto heels and a red dress and came to our meetings." Ione said in her best 'Queen Bee' voice.

"Like I would even go to your stupid meetings." I said back to her.

"You wouldn't be able to come because at our meetings we talk about guys. You wouldn't understand."

"Guess what Ion? Make me care." I said. Okay, come backs aren't my thing exactly.

"I bet you couldn't get a guy to like you even if you paid him a million drachmas. And it's I-o-nie." Ione corrected me slowly and loudly pretending that I was stupid.

"Oh, I know," I said with attitude, "But I think 'Ion' fits you better. In case you didn't know, an ion is an atom that has lost or gained an electron. In your case, you're missing a few brain cells." I watched as Ione's expression grew madder and madder. Satisfied, I turned around and walked away while all of the other girls tried to compliment Ione telling her 'you're way more beautiful that her' and 'she's just jealous'. I could feel Ione's contact lens purple eyes staring at my back as I walked away which gave me great joy.

Although I walked away quite happy, I must say, there was no way I was going to let her be right. I was going to prove her wrong. Incorrect. Mistaken. I'm going to get the next guy that walks by. I told myself.

Then next guy that walked past me was tall, dark, handsome, and way too old for me. Okay, maybe not that guy, but the next guy that's my age. This kept going on for the next hour before I finally I told myself I could do it. I began to doubt myself thinking that maybe she had a point, but I just pictured What's-Her-Name laughing and being right. Then I made myself swear on the River Styx that I would talk to the next guy that was my age.

Percy and Grover walked by me and I froze. My heart started racing and my stomach started blending like a Magic Bullet. I thought about asking out Grover instead because technically they walked past me at the same time. But then I remembered I promised it would then next one who's my age. Grover's like, what, twenty something?

Percy and I have been on so many quests together. We were like best friends and I think we were close to being more than friends for a while but then he left Camp for the year while I was stayed at Camp and we sort of grew apart. When he camp back to Camp this summer he was a little different. Good different. He was more confident, and quite popular. We haven't talked much since he got here. He didn't even say anything when he just walked by.

I snapped myself out of my shock and fear. I was determined to do this. Percy may be all popular and cool now but somewhere inside of him was my best friend. I just needed to find that.

"Hey Percy, what's up?"

"Oh, hi Annabeth. Nothing much. You?" Percy replied. Styx. This was going to be harder that I thought. He was acting all polite like we are only acquaintances. He didn't joke around with me like he used to. No more Wise Girl.

"Oh nothing much. Camp's been pretty boring this year. What've you been up to this year?" I asked him.

"Just school. You know, that boring place." He joked. That was a good sign.

"Yo Percy!" called a deep voice from fifty meters away.

"Oh, I've got to go." Percy said. "It was nice talking to you again."

"Yeah, see you around." I quietly said as he left though he didn't hear me. I took a deep breath and sighed.

Give up? Never.

I've just got to get into the crowd he's in. The Popular crowd. Not easy, I can tell you. I decided to start with my look. Lose the 'kid at camp' look. I told myself when I stared into my full length mirror mounted on my wall. I pulled my hair out of the relaxed ponytail I always have it in and bent over letting my hair dangle. I shook my head to get the messy wind swept look. Unfortunately that didn't work out too well. My hair got tangled and bird nest looking. I took a brush and brushed for ten minutes. Finally I had my smooth, shiny, blond curls back. I wasn't used to seeing it hang down, but I could live with it. I unclipped my bangs and let them fall over my eyes. I let them grow out for the past few months so they were too long. I brushed them to either side of my face a bit for side swept bangs.

Clothes. I looked in my dresser drawer and dumper out everything I had. I wasn't about to go super girly, so I kept things casual, yet pretty, but also still able to kick monster butt. For example, try killing a monster in an evening gown that goes all the way to the bottom of your feet with a train that flows two meters would not be ideal for fighting vicious monsters. I don't think the dress would allow for any movement of the body at all.

I took a pair of old jean shorts and put them on. They had natural rips and fading but let's pretend I bought them like that. I rolled them up and inch, then I rolled them up again, and again until they reached the tips of the thumbs. At school the dress code started that shorts must reach the tips of your middle fingers. Luckily I'm not a school.

I kept on my Camp Half-Blood T-shirt because that was mandatory, but I twirled the bottom right side of my shirt around my finger and used a hair tie to tie my shirt tighter. Then I slipped on my red High Tops and put a coat of strawberry lip gloss on. It tastes pretty good too. Anyway, after that I took one more look on my mirror. I didn't see Annabeth anymore. I saw the blond version of Silena Beauregard, which was good.

I took off my shoes and held them in my left hand as I walked along the beach until I found a pile of clothes lying at the edge of the water. I looked out into the water and right on cue Percy came up. When they saw me, he came out of the water. I was smiling then, but soon my heart started racing when I realized what I had just done. He was coming out to talk to me thinking I wanted to tell them something. My brain kicked into panic mode. Then I saw Percy was wearing swimming trunks and no shirt even though he could go in the water and not get wet. Weird.

"Hey, Percy," I said.

"Hi Annabeth." He replied. Styx. I had to come up with something to say soon or else he would think I'm a weirdo and leave.

"So um, want to hang out tonight?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe after dinner walk along the beach, just catch up?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." I didn't like the hesitation before he said 'yeah' but it was a start.

All throughout dinner I was thinking about how shocked and stupid Ione would look if she found out that and Percy and I were going out. Maybe if the walk goes well he'll ask me out and then I can rub in her raccoon-eyed-face! I thought to myself. I smiled all the way through dinner while my siblings gave me weird looks and Ione gave me nasty glares.

"Annabeth are you…okay…?" My younger sister Penelope asked.

"Yeah, of course." I said like nothing changed. They all notice the drastic clothes change, and the plastered smile. Everyone at my table stared at me and when I looked up at them they quickly looked away as if they shouldn't be staring. Okay, I was just having fun with them. And let me tell you it was pretty funny.

After dinner I met Percy at the beach. We took our shoes and socks off and began walking down the beach. The sun was setting casting a shadow in front of us. The water was washing up tickling my toes.

We walked along the beach and things were going pretty well. We talked about funny moments and memories from our quests together and I think he was starting to be the same guy I met when I was twelve. I haven't seen this side of him in a while. Hades, I haven't seen any side of him in a while. Before we got to the three quarter mark of the beach Percy had asked me out. Yessss! I thought. This was double good because I get to say 'In your face!' to the princess and I get to go out with Percy. I think I'm starting to fall for him again.

We almost reached the end of the beach when we saw a figure twenty-five meters away. As we approached the figure, it turned out to be the one and only Ione.

"Annabeth." She coldly said.

"Ione." I said.

"Percy," She flashed him a sweet smile, but under that sweet smile was an evil witch. "So what's going on here?" Ione questioned.

"We're just going for a walk." Percy casually said.

This was my chance to shove it in her face. "Yeah, Percy just asked me out. So there! Ha! And you said no guy would go out with me. I do believe you are wrong! I told you so!" I said in a very un-Annabeth like manor. They were both stunned looking.

Ione was at a loss for words which pleased me, but Percy had something to say. "So this whole hang out was just a bet of some sort? So you used me and pretended to like me so I'd ask you out and you could win your stupid bet and be right because you can't stand to be wrong. I understand, I've got it all figured out, no need to explain Annabeth." Percy sounded to hurt and mean at the same time. I wanted to explain but I couldn't make words come out .He turned around and walked the other way along with Ione. As they left, Ione's arm linked with Percy's, she turned around and gave me a triumphant look.

The sun was almost down and it was getting chilly.

This just can't get any worse. I pretty much proved Ione right and I lost Percy...to Ione. At first I was just using him to prove my point but somewhere along the beach I started to fall for him.

The next morning I put on my regular Camp clothes. I tied my hair back into my normal ponytail and put on my shorts that weren't three sizes too short. I walked over to Percy's cabin and stood outside for ten minutes trying to prepare myself. I put my knuckles up to the door ready to knock, but I couldn't. Not yet. I ran lines through my head again, practicing what I would say. After the fifth time rehearsing I figured I should knock now. I was about to knock when Percy cam from behind me. I didn't think he would be up this early.

"Hey." He said acknowledging me. I could still hear the anger in his voice. I wasn't sure if he was over it or still angry. I mean, he didn't storm into his cabin and slam the door in my face, so that a good thing, right?

"Hi." I slowly said. "Listen, Percy, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday." He was silent. "I know it was wrong but somewhere it wasn't all a lie. You were right, I did use you but along the way I fell for you again. I can't get those green eyes out of my head or your shaggy black hair or your sweet smile." None of this stuff was in my script, and at the moment I couldn't even remember what I was supposed to say but this just felt right. "Being with you again yesterday made me feel happy and like nothing else mattered. And when you asked me out, the feeling was better than designing the coolest building ever, not because I proved a point, but because I love being with my best friend. I didn't pretend to like you. It would be hard to pretend that I didn't like you."

Percy was still silent. Then he spoke. "You said 'again', as in you fell for me before?" Percy said starting to smile.

I thought about denying it and everything, but I didn't. "Yeah. Yeah I did." I nodded and I could tell that was my best friend was back.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed reading. Don't forget to leave a comment.