Third Person POV

*CONTAINS HOUSE OF HADES SPOILERS*

But there was somethin bout the way
The blue lights were shinin
Bringing out the freedom in your eyes
I was too busy watching you
Going wild child
To be worried about going to jail
You were thinking that
Running for it
Would make a good story
I was thinking you were crazy as hell
And you were so
Innocent
But you were stealing my heart
I fell in love in the back of a cop car

Annabeth had become a pacer.

Since getting out of Tartarus and rejoining her crew on the Argo, she never could et a good nights sleep. Demigods didn't usually get good sleep, so it wasn't that unusual; what was unusual was her screams. She had been woken up on more then one occasion, usually during a particularly nasty flashback, and Piper or Hazel would be shaking her. They would say one of two things: "Oh my gods, Annabeth, are you okay? What happened?" Or, the more recent: "Do you want us to pick up some sleeping pills? Because honestly, we all need the sleep."

She seemed to be getting the second one an awful lot lately.

It wasn't like she tried to get nightmares. She didn't understand why nobody... well, understood. She and Percy didn't talk about it much, and despite everyone pressuring them to 'talk because it helps', they had an unspoken understanding that if one didn't want to relive the dark terror that was the pit, the other would keep their mouth shut.

So, while she stared at her cabin ceiling like every other night, an epiphany struck her randomly and suddenly. She would go see the only other person on that godforsaken ship that actually understood, at least a little bit, what she was going through. Besides, a hug would do her some good. Maybe she would even convince him to let her stay the night.

Less than five minutes later, she was knocking on his door.

"Percy? Uh... can I come in please? It's important." She stood there for a moment, waiting for a reply. Nothing. She knew she couldn't knock louder, or she would risk somebody seeing her there at Seaweed Brains door. She couldn't risk that happening again. It had been awkward enough to explain the first time, let alone a second.

"Hey, Percy. Seriously, are you-" She practically screamed as a hand opened the door and dragged her inside.

She closed the door behind her. Percy was already sitting down at his desk again.

"Are you okay?" She knelt down beside him. He certainly didn't seem okay- his hands were balled into fists and Riptide was uncapped on his bedside table. Biggest sign of all: his cabin was clean. Clearly, something was wrong.

"Sure," he laughed bitterly. "Why wouldn't I be? Only been thrown into the darkest place in the universe, dragged back to the surface, and then thrown into the war." He put out a hand, and she took it. He looked at her, and for the first time she could tell that he and Nico were related. He had the same haunted look in his sea green eyes. "Why does it always have to be us, Wise Girl? First the Titan War, now this- don't we deserve a break too? Where's our happy ending? Where's the peace that we deserve? The last great prophecy- mine- took over a lifetime to come true. Now the next one is already coming full circle, less than a year later? I'm sick of this Annabeth. I want it to end."

"Me too, Perce." She leaned up and kissed him sweetly. "But at least we have each other, right? We're all together; all of us seven heroes. We'll be alright Percy. I-"

He cut her off again. "Do not say the word promise to me until this war is over. If it's an oath that leads to one of our deaths, I don't want one to lead to yours." He stood up and pulled her over to his bed, where they leaned against the headboard and talked about pointless things that had nothing to do with their quest.

"I'm afraid to go to sleep," Annabeth admitted. She hated being weak, but that was one of the many things she loved about Percy: no matter how big her weakness was, he made her feel strong and accepted.

"Me too," He admitted. He snuggled his face into her shoulder and hugged her from behind. "Love you Wise Girl. Want some music?"

"Love you too, Seaweed Brain." She smiled as her reached for his iPod, fingers hovering. Waiting for her answer.

Another reason to add to her list.

She nodded, a smile on her face. She nabbed an ear bud and laughed as it ripped the one Percy was holding out of his hand. After getting the buds untangled, he started scrolling.

"What are you in the mood for, my lady?" He bumped his shoulder to hers without looking up.

She bumped him back. "Something country- silly and romantic, maybe. Or just pretty."

"How about a new age classic: Cop Car."

"You read my mind, sir."

The beginning rang out, and Annabeth couldn't help it; she sang along.

"We drove right past, that no trespassing sign. We sat on the tailgate, and watch the planes take off. We thought we had all night, no need to rush and that's when those cops came pulling up." She opened her mouth to sing the next line as she snuck a glance his way, but ended up laughing instead. "What?" She smiled.

Percy reattached his jaw and shook his head, black hair flopping. "You can sing. Unbelievable."

"So can you."

"Nope," Percy smirked. "I just play guitar. I don't sing around people."

"The sing with me," Annabeth sighed. It was nearing the second verse. She started singing.

"Man they weren't playing," Percy shook his head. She sang the next line more forcefully. "They sure threw those cuffs on quick."

Percy sighed as he gave in. "You tried to sweet talk 'em. They didn't fall for it, but I did."

She took both his hands and looked straight into his eyes, and he burst out laughing as she sang sweetly. "You were on the left, I was on the right.
I knew you didn't smoke, when you asked him for a light-"

Percy cut her off. "And I laughed. He got mad and slammed the door."

And then their voices rang out together. "Your daddy's gonna kill me, but if I survive tonight, I wouldn't change one thing. Baby, yeah I know it sounds crazy. But there was something bout the way the blue lights were shining, bringing out the freedom in your eyes. I was too busy watching you, going wild child to be, worried about going to jail. You were thinking that running for it, would make a good story. I was thinking you were crazy as hell. And you were so, innocent. But you were stealing my heart. I fell in love in the back of a cop car."

Annabeth leaned over and kissed him. Percy broke it off, laughing.

"What?" She said, laughing too.

"Told you I couldn't sing."

"Liar."

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and they fell asleep after a few hours, no nightmares in their futures.

Jason came looking the next morning and found them together, Cop Car still on replay on the iPod dangling off the bed.