Annabeth's POV

"What're you gussying yourself up for, sis?" teased one of my younger brothers as I sat on the armrest of a plush chair in the boys' room of the Athena cabin, trying desperately to fold my hair into a nice braid behind my neck. "Is there a Camp Half-Blood prom I don't know about?"

"Oh, shut up, Randy."

"Oh… I know what it is! You're going to see Percy, aren't you?" he asked mockingly, propping his head up on his fists.

"So what if I am?" I asked, my voice full of a sort of snobbish contempt. I stood up from my desk, having finally successfully braided my suddenly unruly hair. As soon as I'd taken a few steps, I heard a snap! and saw a small, broken pink band laying on the floor next to my foot. "Oh, Zeus…" I swore under my breath. "Not again…"

"Hey, Annabeth, what time is it?" asked Randy.

I glanced at my watch. "Five minutes to nine."

He groaned. "I was supposed to meet Cleo at the stables at eight thirty… Do you know if she's up yet?"

"How would I know?"

"I don't know! Could you check?"

I sighed and glanced out the window towards the Demeter cabin. Just as I looked out, the door closed behind Cleo Dunham, tugging on a jacket and running out the door, looking at her watch.

"She's running late, too; she just left. You might be able to beat her there if you hurry."

Randy jumped out of bed, tugged on some jeans at the end of his bed and slipped on some torn-up Vans.

"Thanks, Annabeth!" he kissed my cheek on the way out the door.

"No problem," I said as I found another hair band to try another braid.

The rest of the boys in this room were still sound-asleep, save for Peter, an eighteen-year-old who was out doing rounds with some of the other older campers. I only sat in here because this room had the quiet I wanted. With Kara talking in her sleep in the other room and me being unable to shut her up, no matter how much duct tape I used, I decided I'd be better off here, unnoticed.

I was, indeed, getting ready to meet Percy. It was a week after the Battle of Olympus, most of us still recovering from bigger injuries, like me. We agreed we'd meet at nine-thirty by the lake, and he'd lead me to our picnic spot. I was bringing the food, which I'd prepared last night, and he was bringing the blanket and other things he said were essential to a picnic. I'd gotten up at five-thirty this morning just to make sure that I'd have everything ready. I didn't mean the food – I meant my appearance. In the last week, it had been suddenly extremely important to me that I looked as appealing as I could manage, down to the last free-flying hair. Every blemish mattered to me for some reason. I'd even – gasp – put on makeup for the first time, listening taking Amber (from the Aphrodite cabin)'s advice very seriously. But my stupid hair was going to make me late!

I almost yelled in frustration when the hair tie I had put in my hair snapped into a straight line on the floor. That was the eleventh one! I didn't have that much hair! I looked around to find another tie – I'd brought a whole box – but when I looked into the little plastic box, there was only a barrette in it. That had been my last hair tie… Gah! I wanted to yell again.

I went to go look in a mirror in the girls' bathroom. I spread my hair out over my shoulders. I had been braiding and un-braiding and fiddling with my hair so long that it looked intentionally crimped, and, after fussing with it a bit more, it looked…nice. I put the barrette in it to the side to give it a little something extra and decided that would suffice. I glanced at my watch again. It read nine-thirteen.

I went to my bed quietly and gathered up my things – picnic basket, sketchbook and pencils, etcetera – and placed them in a neat pile on the end of the bed. I looked down at my purple and green casual sundress, wondering if it was really too fancy, and suddenly questioning my brown sandals, too. I looked through my small wardrobe. I dug through the clothes, desperately wishing I had anything else. I found a nice, knee-length denim skirt and a casual-enough white blouse and decided to keep the sandals.

My watch now read nine twenty-four. The window above my head faced the general direction of the Poseidon cabin. There seemed to be no activity inside of the cabin, but I had faith in Percy. He'd remember. I quietly crept to the door of the cabin and opened it. I quickly closed the door behind me and jumped down the stairs, eager to get to the river. It was only about a five-minute walk and I got there in time for my watch to tell me it was nine twenty-nine. I sat down by the riverbank on a big stone, my skirt settling nicely around my legs. I took out my sketchbook and started drawing a family of ducks I spotted on the river. In a few moments' time, I heard running footsteps, and I turned around, putting my sketchbook back inside the picnic basket.

Percy was running towards me, looking anxious. He came closer and settled into a walk, catching his breath. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" he apologized. "I'm so sorry I'm late!" I checked my watch: nine thirty-one.

"By a minute…" I muttered, trying to sound irritated. I turned my back to him, pretending to be upset.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me down so I was laying on my back, looking right into his eyes, then he released my waist and took my hands in his. "Please forgive me?" he asked sweetly, with a face that looked even sweeter and even a little worried, as if I'd never get over it.

"Hmm," I hmm-ed, thinking about it. He looked even more anxious.

"Please, please, please, please, please…?" he chanted, kissing every part of my face.

I laughed and took his face in my hands, kissing him right on the lips and silencing him. "It was just a minute, Seaweed Brain!" I laughed. He grinned goofily, some of his messy hair hanging in his face. Gods, he was gorgeous….

"So did you bring the blanket?" I asked, sitting back up as Percy came around to sit beside me on my rock.

He looked startled, and he froze. "Blanket…right…" I laughed at his guilty face.

"It's all right…" I said, glancing around. "We can use this rock! It's very nice." Percy laughed.

"Okay. Sorry…again…"

"Oh, stop apologizing," I laughed. I took out the contents of the picnic basket, laying them all out in front of us like a buffet. I handed him a plate and we ate a nice late breakfast/early lunch until more campers started to wake up.

When the swim team started showing up for morning practice at eleven o'clock, we left, leaving the picnic basket under a tree by the rock and walking just with each other, hand in hand. We followed the river into a very beautiful part of edge of the forest, where the sunlight shone down through the bright green of the trees and the grass was soft, with white and yellow flowers encircling most of the trees. We had talked all the way here, but I stopped, silent when we reached a very large tree, which had a vast canopy of verdant branches with pink flowers hanging down.

"It's so beautiful… Is this what you wanted to show me?" I asked Percy, gesturing to the grandiose tree.

"You like it? It just seemed like a place I could see you sitting and thinking, or drawing. It's very relaxing."

"Oh, I love it here!" I exclaimed happily. I laid down on the grass so that my feet were barely hanging off into the river, my sandals cast aside somewhere next to me. I patted the grass beside me. "Come on!" I beckoned Percy to the ground. He kicked off his shoes next to him as I'd done and let his feet hang into the water as well. Then he took back my hand and turned towards me. I turned towards him as well, and we just stared at each other for quite some time until something in my mind clicked.

He was funny, and smart, and extremely handsome, and brave, loyal, determined, sweet, caring, and an overall beautiful person. He'd never leave me, he'd never do anything to intentionally hurt me…and I could never do anything to hurt him. I could honestly see a future for us. I pictured a house by a lake, with cherry trees all around it, and Percy and me lying by said lake, much like we were doing now. The scene was beautiful, and just as I'd thought it to myself, I said it out loud, unthinkingly: "I love you."

Percy blinked, and raised his eyebrows. I blushed profusely, sure that about seventy percent of my blood had just rushed into my face. He seemed to process my words for an agonizing moment. Then, "I love you, too."

I grinned widely at him, and he grinned back. I closed the distance between his body and mine and I kissed him, now knowing what people meant when they said they felt sparks fly.

We spent the rest of the afternoon like that, curled up on the edge of the water, talking and laughing and simply enjoying each other's company.

Ah, bliss. Ah…love.

A/N: Hmm… This WAS going to be a one-shot, but I find that I rather like this… Whilst I have other obligations to Harry Potter fan fiction as well as things like school and such nonsense, I'll try to actually work on this. Oh, such fun!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or any of its wonderful-ness.