Annabeth fiddled with the beads on her necklace while she stared at the blue of the sky, the wind roaring in her ears. The blue seemed to swirl around her, reminding her of him. Everything reminded her of Percy. Her necklace, the sky , cupcakes, blue soda, Grover, the lake, the smell of ocean and pine, her hands, Camp Half Blood, everything. She sat down on a barrel and put her head in her hands, willing the tears to go away. She was so close, and yet so afraid. Months of searching had prevented her from thinking about what could happen next. She had spent all her time dreaming and searching and now she had finally found him. But for some reason she felt an undeniable sense of dread. The same questions were echoing in her mind over and over again. What if he doesn't remember me? What if all they had gone through together, the quests and kisses, battles, secrets and stories had all been erased from his mind? What if she was some stranger to him while he still meant the world to her?
Footsteps made her thoughts halt. She looked up to see Piper walk over, her fraying braids rustling in the wind. Piper's changing eyes found Annabeths as she sat down in front of her.
"I can't- Piper, I'm so scared." Annabeth whispered.
Piper sighing grabbed Annabeths hands and held them tightly.
"Hera and all the Gods in Olympus couldn't keep you two apart. Just remember that." Piper brushed Annabeths cheek and smiled.
"Hey guys? We're here." Jason appeared from the lower deck. He cleared his throat and blushed realizing that he had interrupted something.
Annabeth let out a shaky breath and stood up, her knees almost betraying her. Piper squeezed her shoulder and then walked with Jason to the masthead of the ship leaving Annabeth alone with her doubts.
She could hear Leo shouting out commands but felt frozen. She watched as the ship slowly floated down until it came to a thundering halt. She found herself running onto the lower deck where she saw a sea of people shouting and cheering in front of the ship. Her eyes scanned the crowd of purple shirts, but she didn't see Percy. She slowly walked over to Piper, Leo and Jason. The walkway from the ship lowered to the grass with a small thud. Jason took the first step, his eyes brimming with tears as the crowd engulfed him with hugs and shouts of joy. Piper laughing grabbed Leo's hand and shoved him off the plank into the mass of campers. Annabeth stood back, her eyes still scanning the crowd. Her eyes froze as she saw him. Percy was there wearing robes and smiling. Her heart seemed to leap into her throat. She could hear echoes of people cheering, her breath was roaring like waves in her ears. She forced herself to walk slowly, one foot in front of the other. She kept her eyes on his face the entire time. He had not seen her yet, his attention on Jason who was now crowd surfing with Piper and Leo. She could feel her hands trembling at her sides, the crowd bumping past her as the chaos near Jason grew. Then Percy turned, his eyes meeting her face. Her heart and feet stopped. She scanned his face for a glimmer of recognition. He slowly made his way to her, brushing the campers aside. He reached her still expressionless, his face was as placid as their lake. His eyes studied her face as her world came crashing down. He would have said something by now, she thought. She felt the hot tears spilling over her face. Percy slowly raised a hand to her cheeks and brushed the tears that were now falling quickly. He smiled at her and slowly said.
"What, no Seaweed brain jokes? "
Her breath halted and she stared up at him. He grinned and pulling on her ponytail, he leaned in and kissed her. Relief and joy came crashing down in waves as Annabeth sobbed even harder. She kissed him back, the taste of salt on his lips. She stopped and took in the look of him. It was like nothing had changed.
" I love you so much Annabeth."
"I love you more Seaweed brain."