Percy walked slowly up the hill back to his lonely cabin. Sweat beaded his face after a hard sparring lesson. Due to the large number of new demigods that were arriving at the camp now, he was assigned to be a mentor to a group of 6 demigods and teach them things such as swordplay, agility, and basic fighting maneuvers. Almost every other experienced camper also had a group of their own to mentor. In Percy's group was Desiree (a daughter of Ares), Susie (a daughter of Apollo), Joseph (a son of Athena), Lucas (a son of Hecate), Mike (a son of Dionysus), and Annie (a daughter of Zeus). Since Percy was the only person in his cabin, he got a group of kids from many cabins that couldn't be placed in their own cabin groups.
When Percy got in to his familiar cabin, he threw Riptide on his bed and lay down. Just when he was about to fall asleep, there was a quiet knock on the front door of his cabin. Annoyed, he went to check who would be knocking at a time like this, usually all of the other campers were still out training. But when he opened the door, he wasn't annoyed in the least by whom he saw. It was Annebeth Chase, the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen, (of course he had not told her or any else that yet) standing at his front door.
She smiled at him, "Hey Seaweed Brain, you look exhausted, is something wrong?"
He smiled back at her, "No everything is fine, just a hard training session, those kids can really wear me out. Would you like to come in and sit down?" Annebeth nodded and followed Percy through the hallway to a small kitchen. It wasn't really a kitchen, just a few appliances that his mom and his stepdad had sent him to make his cabin feel more like home, a small refrigerator, a microwave, a stove, and a table. Percy offered Annebeth a chair and she sat down at the table. "Do you want a soda or something to drink Wise Girl?"
Annebeth smiled, she liked when he called her Wise Girl, "I'll have a Diet Pepsi if you have any." Percy went and took two Diet Pepsis and sent the on the table.
"So, is there a certain reason you came over here?" Percy snapped open his Diet Pepsi and began to drink.
Annebeth smiled again, "Actually yes there is, lately I was thinking back on the day that you defeated Kronos on your sixteenth birthday when something popped into my mind." Percy put his soda down and looked at her, "I never get you a birthday present Seaweed Brain."
A big smile appeared on Percy's face, "Oh, that's ok; you never had to get me anything, besides, I was a little too shaken up to be blowing out candles and singing."
Annebeth laughed, "Well that's true, but I didn't get you anything big," She pulled a book out of her laptop case and slid it across the table towards Percy. It was made of brown leather, and on the front cover, a trident and an owl were etched into the leather, the symbols of Poseidon and Athena. Percy opened the book to the first page, on the first page; Annebeth had written the great prophecy and a dedication page that read To Percy, my best friend... Percy almost teared up after reading this part put he held it in a flipped to the next page. The book was filled with pictures of him and Annebeth starting from the first day they met to when they on the island of the Cyclopes, all the way up to just yesterday. Percy looked up at Annebeth and smiled. Annebeth flashed a gentle smile back at him. "Well Percy, what do you think?"
Percy continued to look through the book "Annebeth…I...I love it. Thank you so much."
Annebeth gave huge smile and almost jumped out of her chair, "I knew you would I just knew it!" Annebeth ran over to Percy and gave him a big hug, it kind of caught Percy by surprise. He reached his arms around Annebeth and gently rubbed her back. "Happy Birthday Seaweed Brain." Percy smiled and looked into Annebeth's stormy gray eyes. He could have stayed there forever and gotten lost in those eyes. Then he decided to do something that he had imagined doing for a long time now. He slowly moved his face towards hers for a kiss, but before he could make the connection, Annebeth's cell phone rang. Annebeth turned away from Percy and answered her cell phone. "Hello?" Her dad was talking to her about something. "Ok dad, I understand, I'll be on the next plane out." Annebeth hung up the phone and picked up her laptop case. "Percy, I have to go, my dad wants to talk to me in person about something. I'll Iris-Message you later."
Percy looked disappointed, "Wait Annebeth I…" But it was too late, Annebeth had already left. Percy sat down on his bed and hit his head against his pillow. He was frustrated, after all of this time, he had finally worked up the courage to try and kiss her, and she had to leave. What was he thinking anyway, she only liked him as a friend. He guessed that's the way it would have to stay….
Annebeth ran from the Poseidon cabin with tears streaming down her face. She was confused. She loved Percy but she knew that it was impossible for him to ever love her back. She thought back to what had happened in the kitchen. That hug sent her heart fluttering, but at the end of the hug, had Percy tried to kiss her? Who was she kidding? She was just trying to convince herself that there was a chance. She wiped away her tears and kept walking to the Big House to tell them of her leaving to San Francisco. Chiron let her burrow a Pegasus to get to the airport. After that, she got on a plane to San Francisco. On the entire plane ride she thought about Percy and all of the things that they had been through over the years. Then she fell asleep, thinking about the guy that she thought could never love her back.
Back at Camp Half-Blood, Percy lay on his bed looking up at the ceiling, throwing Riptide back and fourth in his hands. He heard a knock at his door, but he didn't feel like getting up to answer it. He threw Riptide against the wall and laid his head on the pillows. Then he fell asleep, thinking about the girl that he thought could never love him back.
Author's Note: Aww, how depressing, they love each other but they don't think the other will return the favor. Well the next chapter should be posted soon.
Next Chapter: Will one of them reveal their true feelings towards the other? Or will they keep it inside? Also, a new great prophecy is read by the oracle (Rachael) that could change Percy and Annebeth's lives forever. Also, the first action of the story.
