I felt like I was in a dream. I was invincible, nothing could stop me. I was in the arms of the person I cared most for. It felt as if I was on cloud nine. The sun was setting on our last day at camp. Percy had his arms around me as we watched the colors of the sky mix. Pink, orange, red, yellow and back again. "I can't believe summer's done." Percy whispered as he nestled his nose in my hair. "I'm going to miss seeing you every day, but we'll see each other when we can. Just remember I'm starting at NYU too. So we'll see each other, just not as much." That didn't seem good enough for me; I wanted to be with him all the time, but I guess I was going to have to take what I could get. I sighed, watching the waves move the sand.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked me. What was I thinking about? I had so many thoughts running through my head at once.
"I honestly don't know," I said looking into his deep green eyes. "I have so many thoughts going through my head." He kissed my cheek as we both watched the sun go down; it was a perfect ending to a perfect night. Percy packed our things as I watched the waves move up and down. It was so peaceful. The waves were gentle as they swayed. Suddenly, Percy's arms wrapped around my waist as he gently kissed my neck making his way up to my lips. "Thank you," I whispered. He hummed in my ear.
"Now you have to be specific, Wise Girl." He softly chuckled, his lips still near my neck. Percy's breath gave me goose bumps. I continued as he slowly kissed my neck.
"Thank you," I turned around looking into his eyes. I touched his cheek. "Thank you for everything. Everything you do, you make me feel beautiful when I don't. You give me goose bumps that no one else can give me. Your eyes," I paused looking deep into them. A smile formed on his face. "And your smile makes me melt. Percy, there's no me without you." I whisper. He touched my forehead with his. "Annabeth. . ." He whispered. "I love you. . . So much." I hadn't expected that, but it felt right.
"I love you." I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into a kiss. He held me tighter, pulled me closer to him. I tangled my hands in his hair. I pulled away. I wanted nothing in this world more than Percy, but I jut couldn't. What if something changed when we did something? What if he looked at me different? He looked at me with love, but he hadn't seen me beneath the clothes. I just wasn't ready for that.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just can't. . . Not never just. . Not now." He pulled me into his embrace. He rubbed my hair as he spoke, "Its fine. It's okay. I'm not going to make you do anything."
"I don't ever feel like I'm good enough for you, like there's always that worry in the back of my mind that you'll reject me if we make love." I started to silently cry, I hated to cry in front of him.
"Hey, hey, hey," He held me tighter and pulled me closer. "You're perfect to me. I don't care if you have any of those things that make girls insecure. What is it called? Flab, strechmarks?" Exactly that. I gently hit him. "I don't care, Annabeth. My love for you is blind. You look past my insecurity's-gods you do-and I look past yours. And you need to get that in your head. I love you for you, not for some stereotypical version of yourself. You." Percy pulled me into his arms again, I felt safe there warm and protected. He picked me up and set me down on his lap, but kept me in his arms. Nothing made me feel safer, nothing made me feel comforted, nothing made me worry anymore-like the upcoming semester and the designs for Olympus-I was content in that one place. That one place in my mind of just Percy and I. We laid back down on the blanket, Percy had forgot to put away. The last thing I knew I was falling asleep to Percys heartbeat and his arms wrapped around me.
Authors Note: I felt like I almost had to write this story because there needs to be more guys out there like Percy. Who will love a girl unconditionally, and be blind when it comes to her flaws. I hope this story spoke to you to say that there are still some guys out there who will be good to us.
xoxo
Hannah