YO. This will probably be the last fic I post in a long time. (SHAME, RIGHT? : ) I only have one more day 'til school starts again, and I don't think I can squeeze any more stories out of my braincells. Besides, the schoolwork I put off is coming back to haunt me. Crap.

To my friends Klyc and Brit, I'm sorry for not doing the fics you requested. The inspiration for this one was so strong, it would've slapped me across the face had it been more palpable. O_O;;

Disclaimer: The epicly awesome RR owns Percy Jackson. I'm not him.

Burying the Hatchet

Sally and Paul's wedding happened two weeks before Percy's sixteenth birthday. Needless to say, the demigod was a bundle of nerves, even more so than usual. Well, in his defense, he was only two weeks away from deciding the fate of mankind. That would be enough to drive anyone to anxiety, but that wasn't what got him so nervous.

Today, for the first time in over a year, he was going to see Annabeth.

Don't get him wrong; he liked Annabeth (more than friends should, honestly), but ever since that last day of summer after the Labyrinth quest, things just weren't the same. Usually, after camp was over for the summer, they'd IM each other and talk to each other as much as they could, sometimes even pulling all-nighters. This year, though, nothing. Nada. Not even a short 'hello' or 'hope you haven't been killed yet, Seaweed Brain/Wise Girl'.

Percy admitted that it was partly his fault. After all, he didn't make an effort to contact her, either. He always had an excuse handy: she was probably busy (though that never stopped them before) or she might be spending time with her dad (when in reality, she's holed up in her room, making plans and avoiding her step-mother). It was just one excuse after another. Though, if he were to be completely honest with himself, the son of Poseidon was just running away, because there was one thought that kept popping into his head and scaring the living daylights out of him.

She doesn't want to talk to me.

And she probably didn't. Not after he forced the last line of the prophecy out of her like that, not after he painfully reminded her of Luke's betrayal, and most certainly not after their goodbye – if you could even call it that – last summer. (She didn't even look back.)

Add 'I-think-I'm-losing-my-best-girl-friend' to his ever-growing list of problems, and poof! You get the messed-up life of one Percy Jackson.

Seriously, he didn't need this drama right now.

Of course, it didn't exactly help that his mom invited Annabeth to the wedding.

Percy reached up to tug on his dark blue tie, before his mother swatted his hand away. Sally looked at him pointedly.

"Percy, honey, I know you're ADHD and all, but can you please not mess with your clothes?"

"Sorry, mom." He muttered, putting down his hand and drumming his fingers on his pants. Sally rolled her eyes, but chose to say nothing and left. Percy, on the other hand, was trying to psych himself up.

Come on, Jackson. You can do this.

For a minute there, it sounded like he was the one getting married.

The son of the Sea God thought he could handle seeing her again. I mean, this was Annabeth they were talking about. This was the same girl he's known since he was twelve. He's had near-death experiences with her too many times to count. He held up the sky for her, and he argued with her just for the heck of it. They were best friends, for gods' sakes! A fight was not going to get between them... right?

Right. Percy assured himself.

By the time he walked down the aisle as one of the groomsmen, he was feeling much better. The fact that he still hasn't seen Annabeth both helped and frazzled his nerves, but he was trying not to think about it... Oh, nevermind. As if that'll happen.

Where was she, anyway?

He knew Annabeth would come. He remembered her calling his mom to tell her that she would. (He also remembered feeling jealous. How come she talked to his mom but not him?) So why wasn't she here yet? He doubted it was a monster. (Ever since last year, monster attacks dropped to almost zero. Percy could only guess it was because the monsters were rallying and planning a big attack.) That left the option that she was running late.

But when Sally began walking down the aisle as the wedding march played and there was still no sign of Annabeth, a small part of Percy – coward that he was – felt relieved. Maybe he wouldn't have to do this confrontation yet after all-

The church doors opened, and off to the side, he heard Nico mutter: "Isn't it a bit too early for objections?"

If Percy had been thinking straight, he would've whacked him on the head.

Annabeth, who had been the one to open the double doors, blushed as she felt everyone's eyes on her. "Sorry!" She then sat down at the back of the bride's side, ducking her head in embarrassment. Eventually, the ceremony continued and everyone's gaze returned to the bride and groom. All except for one.

From the moment the daughter of Athena entered the church, Percy couldn't take his eyes off of her. She'd worn a formal dress the same shade as her eyes. Her princess curls were down for once and hung past her shoulders. He had always thought she was cute, but now, she was starting to be seriously beautiful.

He didn't know how long he stared at her. He just knew that if his heart didn't stop doing relay races, he was going to have a seizure. Before he knew it, though, the wedding had passed and was about to finish. Percy had already sat through the wedding rehearsal many times before, so he felt slightly less guilty about not tuning in.

He heard cheering around him. The ceremony was over, and Sally and Paul were kissing. Percy clapped his hands and cheered as well, happy for his mom and his new step-dad. A few minutes later, they were already at the reception, with the newlyweds dancing, shoving cake into each other's faces, and overall having a great time.

And since Sally's father had already passed away, the father-daughter dance was modified a bit. You could say it was reversed; instead of Sally's father dancing with her, it was her son. They had begun a little while ago, with Percy nearly tripping on thin air. Upon that little mishap, Sally had shook her head, muttering: "It's a wonder how you're so good at fighting, but can't dance to save your life." Her son just smiled sheepishly and took her hands.

"I'm so happy for you, mom." He said as they sort of danced. His mom had stood by him the whole time. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her. Even if it had to be during this whole 'Kronos-is-trying-to-take-over-the-world' fiasco and the Western Civilization could very well end in two weeks.

Sally pulled him close into a hug. "Thank you, Percy. And don't worry, baby. You'll get to experience this someday, too."

If I live that long, Percy thought dryly.

"May I cut in, Mrs. Blofis?" A voice behind him asked once the song was over. Pulling away, Percy turned around and sucked in a breath.

She was even more beautiful up close. Maybe it was because he'd never seen her like this before, or maybe it was because he hadn't seen her in a long time. Either way, the son of Poseidon didn't really care. He could see the faint traces of makeup on her lips and cheeks, and her dress fit her perfectly. She didn't wear heels, thank the gods. At least that made them the same height. All in all, she looked like a million drachmas.

Sally smiled. "Of course, Annabeth." The newlywed then left to go look for her husband, leaving the two teens alone.

Annabeth smiled slightly. "Hey, you."

"Uh, hey." Percy replied, shifting uncomfortably. They were silent for a while, until she pointedly raised an eyebrow and held out her arms.

"Well? Are we just going to stand here or are we gonna dance?"

"R-Right!" She rolled her eyes at him, but remained silent. He placed his hands on her waist, while she placed hers on his shoulders. The son of Poseidon didn't trust his two left feet – the last thing he needed to do was step all over her toes, after all – so they just swayed from side to side.

It wasn't long before the small talk came. She spoke up first.

"Sorry I haven't been in touch. I've been busy with some... stuff, so I couldn't find the time to IM you." He wasn't sure if that lie was for his sake or hers. They used to make time for each other, dammit. "How have you been?"

He shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I've been spending some time with Rachel." When he mentioned the other girl's name, Annabeth immediately stiffened like a board.

"Oh. That's... nice." She replied tersely. Percy mentally cursed. Why the Hades did he mention Rachel at a time like this?

The air around them was awkward, even more so than during their first dance at Westover Hall. Finally, when Percy couldn't handle it, he blurted out: "Annabeth, I'm sor-"

"Percy, don't." She said, cutting him off. "There's nothing to be sorry for." Her tone was sad, wistful, but most of all, tired, like she'd been trying to deal with the same problem for a really long time. In that instant, he knew the conversation had shifted to something bigger than Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

The time for small talk is over, Jackson. You better do something.

Percy chose his words slowly. This was his chance to fix whatever happened between them last summer.

"Still..." Here goes nothing.'"I shouldn't have put you on the spotlight like I did. It wasn't fair of me to do that."

"It's fine."

"And I didn't think the last line went like that," He was rambling now, words spilling out of his mouth like crazy "Because if I knew it had been about Luke I would've-"

"Percy, I already told you I don't know who the last line was talking about! It could've been you for all I-"

They stopped swaying, eyes wide and faces slightly red as the gravity of her words hit them. Percy would bet a million drachmas that she was cursing in her head right now if he wasn't disoriented himself.

What...? Did I just hear that correctly?

Before he could ask, Annabeth sighed.

"Look. Can we just... forget what happened? All of it?"

He wanted to tell her no. Because forgetting about a problem didn't necessarily mean fixing it. And Percy wanted to fix things. He wanted to fix them and this haphazard thing they called their relationship. He wanted to know where they stood; were they still best friends or had he royally screwed that up last summer or-

"Please, Percy?"

Then he realized it didn't matter. Because it was obvious they just both wanted things to go back to normal, that they just wanted to be the Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl they were before all this drama. She was obviously trying to bury the hatchet, and who was he to go against that? Besides, even though he didn't know what kind of relationship they had anymore, they still had something there. So, instead of going with his earlier plan, he just nodded.

Annabeth smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you." She whispered, resting her cheek on his shoulder. He heard her let out a small, content sigh. "You know, this feels sort of nice. You better not ruin this moment, Seaweed Brain."

Percy couldn't help but laugh, pulling her deeper into his embrace. "Wouldn't dream of it, Wise Girl."

"I missed you, you know."

"I bet you did." He said cheekily. Though, he probably wouldn't have done that had he remembered how hard she could kick. It would've saved his shin a ton of pain.

"Ow!"

"That's what you get for being a smartass." He heard her mutter.

Across the dance floor, Sally Blofis smiled – partly amused, but wholly happy – as her son and his friend swayed slowly from side to side, blissfully unaware of the many eyes staring at them. Tonight, there was another couple who had devoted themselves body and soul to each other. It might not have been official, and they might not just know it yet, either, but Sally was sure those two had just built something permanent. Call it a mother's intuition.

And what do you know? She was right.

(Oh, these times are hard; they're making us crazy.
But with a little bit of love, it'll be alright.)

Okay, does anyone notice how I NEVER seem to run out of fluff? GAH.

Like I said, this might be the last fic I post in a really long while. You can kill me now. But leave a review before you do ;D