Sunset
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It was just a normal day at Camp Half-Blood. No unnecessary monsters or Luke things. Just the usual Dionysus barking offenses at our backs and the Hermes guys stealing the Ares kid's stuff. In my standards, a perfect day at camp.

After practicing out at the sword arena and showering, I climbed the branches of Thalia's tree and sat down on a sturdy one. I was just gazing out at camp until I heard a girl's voice call out, "Mind if I join you, Seaweed Brain?"

I shook my head, and Annabeth soon appeared and plopped down on my branch.

"So, what are you doing up here?" she asked, pulling pine needles out of her golden locks.

I shrugged. "Looking at camp. It feels nice to have a normal day at camp, you know?"

"Yeah," Annabeth said, and her stormy eyes scanned the scene before us. "It's so… Peaceful, for once." We just sat there, looking out at the camp grounds, until Annabeth said suddenly, "It's so cool having Thalia back. I mean, she's been gone for so many years, and- And then she just appears again." I nodded.

I looked around until I spied a tall girl with spiky black hair and black clothes yelling and shaking her fist at a boy with a mop of brown hair. Thalia and Travis Stoll.

Annabeth grinned. "He must have stolen her eyeliner again." We both laughed. I started to pick at some pinecones around us when Annabeth tugged on my arm and pointed right in front of us.

Heeyyy, boss, what's up? You have anything for ole' Blackjack? After all, you saved my sorry horse behind from that crude ship. I mean, talk about creep-ay! A pure black pegasus hovered in the air in front of us. It was that pegasus from The Princess Andromeda.

"Uh, hi… Blackjack…? So you want sugar cubes too, huh?" I said telepathically. Blackjack neighed and nodded, his silky black mane streaming behind him in the wind. I groaned, and took out a few sugar cubes out of my jean's front pockets. I kept them in there for the occasional annoying pegasus asking me for sugar.

I handed them to Blackjack, who said, Hey, thanks Boss! By the way, you have a cute girlfriend over there. I blushed, which caused Annabeth to say, "What'd he say to you?" I shook my head. Before I could tell Blackjack Annabeth wasn't my girlfriend, he was already soaring up into Zeus' territory, snickering and neighing.

"Really, Percy, what did he say to you? And you look like you remember him from somewhere," Annabeth said, brow slightly furrowed.

I brushed it off. "He's that pegasus from Luke's ship. It's nothing. Just some stupid horse talk. Asking for sugar cubes." Not to mention calling my "girlfriend" cute. Annabeth shrugged, and we turned back to watch the sunset. I smiled at Annabeth, and she smiled back.

I know this sounds really corny, but it felt like my heart was on fire. I was just so happy then. One of my best friends hanging out with me, sitting on a high branch with me; breeze ruffling our hair, gazing out at the sunset.

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth suddenly said.

I laughed good-naturedly. "For what?" I asked.

"For… For just being there, being my friend when I needed you to. I mean, if you weren't here, I would be some siren's snack," she said.

"If I didn't even exist, you would've never gotten into that mess in the first place," I said.

She laughed. "Good point. I wouldn't have."

"And you wouldn't have won that chariot race, either, without my logical brain and quick thinking and reflexes," I joked.

"Be serious, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said lightly and smirked. I made a face at her.

BOOM! "-cussing here-!"

We automatically turned our heads toward the commotion. Cabin Five. Clarisse ran out, swearing worse than a sailor, yelling, "You *$%#*!!! Get back here, punk!" Her hair was dyed platinum blonde, and even from the far distance, I could see that she was wearing make-up. Hilarious much?

In front of Clarisse were Gina and Fantasia, two Hermes kids, with Silena watching cautiously from behind the Aphrodite cabin.

Annabeth and I just about cracked up. The Hermes cabin was up to no good again. This time, allied with the one and only, Silena Beauregard, head of the Aphrodite-ettes.

After chatting awhile more, Annabeth and I stared at the dying light of the sky. It was vividly mesmerizing, with last beams of golden light showering over the cabins and the moon's faint glow, starting to show in the horizon.

Thanks, Apollo and Artemis.

I smiled at Annabeth again, and she grinned back, white teeth flashing in the dark. We stayed like that until the sunset was over, her hand on my shoulder, no awkwardness. Just being friends.