Love on the Lake
A Percabeth Story
The sound of crickets filled the silent night air as two campers in orange shirts made their way down to the canoe lake.
The first camper, Annabeth, asked, "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely positive," the second camper, Percy, replied.
Annabeth rolled her eyes and tried to say something sarcastic, but was cut off by Percy dropping the canoe they were both carrying.
"Get in, wise girl."
"What?"
"Do want to go out on the lake or not? Get in!"
Annabeth slowly took off her shoes and placed them on the dock. Then, she picked up an oar and slid onto a seat in the canoe.
She turned to Percy and said, "Are you coming with me?"
"Of course."
Percy took off his shoes, too, and made his way over to Annabeth.
He slowly pushed the canoe off the sand where it was sitting and into the water. He jumped in it at the last second and sat across from Annabeth.
They just drifted for awhile. The lake was calm, and the night air was still. The smell of strawberries wafted through the sleeping Camp Half Blood, and only the fireflies and the locusts were awake. Percy stared at the water, and then at Annabeth's face, and then at the stars in the sky. The constellation of Zoe Nightshade was up there, still looking relatively new compared the millions of other, more ancient constellations in the sky.
"I can see the stars again," Percy murmured, remembering Zoe's last words.
"What?" Annabeth asked.
"Oh," Percy muttered, embarrassed, "nothing. I was just—looking at the stars."
"Mmm. I'm kinda bored."
Percy blushed. It had been awhile since the two of them had planned a date together, and he didn't want this one to go down as boring. He then had an idea. He was the son of Poseidon. He could turn the calm lake into—
"Woah," Annabeth giggled, "the waves—Percy? Are you doing this?"
Percy only smirked and held out his hand. The water swirled into a spiral underneath the boat, lifting them up, up above the treetops, and soon up above the camp. Annabeth laughed and looked over her shoulder at the dazzling overhead view. Percy didn't want to travel too high in the sky—that was Zeus's territory. But he did go just high enough for Annabeth to shriek a little, then look down again and be stunned by the view.
"Thank you, Seaweed Brain," she said to Percy with a smile, while he blushed and replied,
"Anything for you, Wise Girl,"
Her eyelids were heavy. Percy watched as she yawned, and then laid down on her side. She was blanketed in the warm night air, and as they headed down from the sky and towards the dock, her breathing grew heavier. When they reached the sand, Percy found she was sleeping.
"Alright, Wise Girl. Time to head back to camp."
He picked her up and carried her all the way to Cabin 6. He placed her in her bunk, and was walking toward the door when Annabeth mumbled,
"Percy?"
"Goodnight," he whispered as he walked back to her and placed a small kiss on her cheek.
She smiled and went back to sleep.