A/N: Hey so I this story is the product of a particularly boring English lesson and my procrastination of World Geography homework… read review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, but anytime Rick Riordan wants to give it to me I would gladly accept it;)
"Would you just tell me where we're going?"
"No, Annabeth!"
"Not even a hint?"
"Not even a hint."
"Humph." Stupid Percy. With his stupid knowledge of EXACTLY how my brain worked. And how he always knew exactly how to hook my stupid curiosity. He had called me up today, on my birthday, and asked if I wanted to go out tonight. Stupid Percy. Of course I wanted to go out! I had started wondering if he had forgotten what day it was. And now we were taking a cab through New York, just like any other day, except this time I had NO FREAKING IDEA WHERE WE WERE GOING!
"Just a teeny hint? Like what part of New York it's in? Is it even in New York? Is it Olympus? Central Park? Oh my gods weren't not going to New Jersey are we? "
He laughed at that, but just shook his head, his thick black hair getting pushed farther out of place. Hmph. I had to know where we were going. I couldn't deal with not knowing.
I scooted closer to him, placing one hand on the side of his warm, soft cheek, the other on the small of his back at the place that tied him to the mortal world.
"Please? Just a little, itty bitty hint?" I almost purred. I saw momentary confliction in his eyes, and smiled to myself victoriously. His hesitation disappeared, shocking me.
"Nope, not even a little, itty bitty hint." He said back seductively, joking.
Dang. That always worked. He must be serious about whole secret location stuff. I sat back in the seat, letting go of him and staring steadily at the seat in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy smirk. Stupid Percy. He goes down to his pocket where he holds Riptide. And something else too. He pulled out a blindfold and grabbed my head.
"Percy what are you doing!" I screamed, making the driver look back at us, startled.
"What do you think I'm doing, Wise Girl? I'm putting a blindfold on you so you can't see where I'm taking you."
"But that's cheating."
"No, that's making this interesting," He teased.
I felt the cab pull to a stop and quickly go through the last buildings I saw before I was blinded by my boyfriend. McDonalds, a Wendy's, a park, and a slew of private businesses, could be anywhere. Percy took my hand and let me into a building. I felt cold air envelope me, but there was something else…. something…. familiar. Sea salt.
"Percy, are you taking me boating?"
"Huh? Oh the smell! Sorry I dragged Nico to the beach today, guess I didn't do a good enough job making sure my clothes didn't get the smell."
Lie. The smell was too powerful for it to be off of Percy's shirt. Besides, I didn't smell this in the cab. But I decided to play dumb and act like I was totally fooled. I began to imagine our romantic boat ride. Water side dinner with baked fish and veggies, soft music and the moon lighting up each other's faces, I was just starting to like the sound of this when our boat stopped. Huh, odd. I would think we'd want to be a little farther away from civilization before we sat and ate. Maybe he sensed some rougher waves out farther.
"Come on, Annabeth." Percy helped me down some steps onto concrete, confusing me deeply. We walked a bit, Percy holding my hand and got onto an elevator. An elevator? That didn't fit, unless we just looped around the island because traffic was bad. But then why didn't Percy let me see?
The elevator dinged and I stepped out, and Percy uncovered my eyes. Around me blossomed one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. A thin gray mist covered the ocean. Across it, the buildings stood tall and visible; with a mesmerizing glow surrounding them. My city twinkled like stars from the lights that danced within it. The real stars above us were visible for once, and I could clearly make out some of favorite constellations. From this view, it was clear where we were even if I'd never been there before. The Statue of Liberty. I glance over to see Percy's reaction and see his steady gaze fixed on me.
We didn't say a word. I went straight into his arms and he held me for a long while. I could feel his muscle and the strength in his back, and his hands brushed softly up and down my back, sending shivers down my spine.
"Why isn't anyone else here?" Percy looked taken aback, like he was expecting me to say something else. Yeah, well…
"Um it's usually closed tonight but I made a few calls, paid a few bucks, and here we are." He said this with a huge grin spread proudly across his face.
"Hmmm…" I murmured, not knowing what to say. This was so unlike Percy, the picturesque spot, the playful yet romantic mystery leading up to our date, and what do you know? He's pulling out a picnic basket. Totally not the stupid Percy I'm used to.
"You hungry, Wise Girl? I've got some pizza, some chips…." Now that was the Percy I was used to.
He spread out a blanket, an old red and white checkered one like they have in the movies, and we sat cross legged and across from each other. Reaching inside the picnic basket, he pulled out the promised pizza and chips, but also the ever romantic Oreo's. He scooted over to me so that I was sitting in between his legs and I leaned into his chest as we ate. We didn't speak, but silence with Percy isn't awkward, it's pure. As I pulled apart a cookie, I wondered why I've never been here before. I mean, the Statue of Liberty was built in the honor of my own mother after all. The architecture was brilliant, especially for the time period it was built in, and there was obviously an incredible view. I'd always meant to come here, I'd just never actually done it.
"How'd you know?" I asked, looking up at him from under his chin.
"Hmmmm?" he responded as if I'd pulled him out of a deep thought.
"How'd you know that I've never been here-"
"But you've always wanted to come? Annabeth, my brain may be made of seaweed, but I'm not blind. And I guess I've known you long enough that I can read your face a little bit at times."
I gave him a blank look. He'd lost me; not the easiest thing to do.
"When you told me the story about why this place was built it was kinda obvious you'd never been here before, you were all lit up 'cause you were talking about architecture but underneath you had this look of like, longing almost."
I raised my eyebrow, letting him know that I wasn't buying a word he was saying.
"I'm serious Annabeth!" His voice was both joking and soft, "C'mon, you'd never met your mom before so it made sense that you'd want to get closer to her, is it that hard to believe that I put two and two together?"
Surprisingly, the Kelp Head was beginning to make sense. Maybe he did know things about me that I'd never told anyone. I'd better play it safe though,
"Only because I've never seen you count that high," I joked. His face dropped. Crap, I guess that means safety time's over.
"But ya know Percy," I said casually, looking into his sea green eyes. "Judging by how good you did tonight, I guess people can always learn. Percy leaned in, and I decided that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't so stupid after all.
So what did you guys think? Please let me know I love getting reviews, they make my life so much better! I know that sounds cheesy but there you go. So please, please review!