Malingering

Annabeth

"Do you really think it'll work?" I asked, running all of the possibilities through my mind. Sure, there was a chance Percy would react how I wanted to, but the chances of that happening really seemed slim to none. So I voiced my thoughts aloud. "Wouldn't it just be safer to tell Percy how I feel?"

Silena gave me a look that made me feel like an idiot. I couldn't really be angry at her, though; it was impressive for somebody to make me feel like an idiot with a single look. And I'll admit it: I'm not so smart when it comes to these kind of things.

"Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth," she said sadly, shaking her head. "You may have matured and are ready for this type of thing, but let's be honest. How do you think Percy would react to being confessed to?"

I grimaced. So maybe it wasn't the best idea. Nevertheless, I hopefully said, "He'll seriously consider my proposal and respond to me when he's come to a decision?"

Silena sighed. "You are a very, very logical person, Annabeth," she said. "I have no doubt in my mind that that's how you'd react. But Percy is more likely to say the first idiotic thing that pops into his mind."

Now it was my turn to sigh as I struggled with the decision I was faced with. I really had a bad idea about what the outcome would be, put the potential reward was worth it, really. Plus, I didn't even have an inkling of a better plan.

Not that I'd ever admit that aloud.

"Fine," I said quietly. "Shall we do it now, then? I haven't seen him all day."

Silena's face split into a huge grin. Oh, she was already having way too much fun with this. Before I could object, though, she had already began pushing me toward my cabin while talking a mile a minute about how to pull this off.

This was a really bad idea, but I just couldn't find it in me to object.

Percy

I squirted water from the bottle I was holding onto the top of my head, sighing in tranquility as it cooled me off, running down my face and neck. There was just something so refreshing about running in the morning,

I grinned and stretched as I headed back to my cabin to shower and get ready for a day of general camp activities.

I really loved this camp.

Just as I was about to enter my cabin, Silena came up to me, panting heavily. "Percy! Percy!" she cried even though she was right next to me, her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Maybe she was in some need of running in the morning. "Annabeth..." she panted, swallowing hard.

My heart began pounding harder and faster than it had at any point during my run, my adrenaline kicking into overdrive. There had to be something wrong if Silena was so frantic to get to me.

"What is it?" I asked, grabbing her shoulders. "What's wrong, Silena?" I half-yelled/half-shouted, becoming impatient. If something was wrong, I needed to get to Annabeth as soon as possible.

Silena met my eyes seriously, then said. "Annabeth...well...she's sick."

Annabeth

I tried my best to give a weak cough, hoping it was convincing enough to fool Percy. I honestly couldn't really tell what a good cough sounded like, having not been sick in the past couple years, thus not having a memory to reference.

I sighed and pulled my covers up higher, doubts still worming their way into my head as I waited for Percy to show up. I didn't know why Silena thought something extravagant as this was necessary to get me together with Percy, but she was a child of Aphrodite, so I had to put a little a faith in her.

She definitely knew more about this kind of stuff than I did.

I was kind of glad it was coming down to this, to be honest. Though I would never say it aloud, I was afraid to tell Percy straight out that liked him. That was probably the reason I was going along with this plan - it was designed to get Percy to confess to me, or, in a scenario that isn't perfect, at least make it plain to see how he feels about me.

The door creaked open slowly and I closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep. Silena had instructed me to pay attention to how he acted around me, and pay attention to any hints that revealed if he liked me.

Psh, like that was going to happen.

Nevertheless, I did my best to keep my breathing even as I heard Percy's footsteps approach my bed. He sat down on the side of it and sat there for a moment, looking at me in what was undoubtedly concern.

I felt his hand rest on my forehead to check my temperature, and did my best to fight off the blush rising to my cheeks at the tenderness he was displaying. Maybe it was better that I did blush a little, though, because after removing his hand from my hand, he muttered, "A little hot."

I heard him get up and make his way toward the bathroom, and I barely opened an eye in time to see him coming back to me, a wet washcloth in hand.

"Ah, you're awake," Percy said with a smile on his face as he sat on the side of my bed again. The cold washcloth felt good as he laid it on my forehead, and not because it was cool. It felt good because I felt Percy's care for me as he did it.

But how was it possible to differentiate between friendly care and loving care? Was he doing this because he loved me? Or was he doing this because I was his friend, and he cared for me as one friend cared for another?

Why did Silena have to make this so complicated?

"Your cheeks are flushed," Percy murmured, gently stroking one of them with the back of his hand, making me flush even more. "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

This was the other problem with this plan. I hated making Percy worry, and he was undoubtedly incredibly worried right now. I gave him a weak smile anyway and said, "I probably look worse than I feel."

Percy looked at me skeptically and said, "Is there anything I can get for you? Anything you need?"

I smiled sweetly at him. It had taken me a minute to realize this, but regardless of whether he wa caring for me as a friend or because of love, he was being incredibly sweet and attentive. "Just your company," I said. "I'd hate to be in here all alone."

Percy laughed. "Of course, Wise Girl," he said. "Just don't get me sick."

I sighed in content. This was really relaxing.

After a brief period of silence, I said, "I wish we could spend more time like this."

Percy chuckled. "You mean me waiting on you while you lay sick in a bed?" he asked teasingly.

I scowled. "No, Seaweed Brain, I mean us hanging out and not fighting monsters, or training to fight monsters, or recovering from fighting monsters. I feel like we hardly ever get to just hang out and relax," I admitted quietly.

Percy smiled back at me. "You know, I think you're right. We should make more time to relax, especially now that the prophecy is out of the way."

And I smiled again, my heart pounding in my ribcage. That smile of his just drove me crazy and reminded me all over again of why I was doing this. By the end of this little project, I had to be sure that Percy liked me so I could tell him I liked him with confidence.

Remembering what Silena told me, I said, "Thanks for taking care of me, Seaweed Brain." Okay, so maybe she had told me to call him Percy, but calling him that after thanking him was just a little too embarrassing.

Sometimes my pride could be a bit annoying.

Percy replied by saying, "Of course, Wise Girl. Now you owe me one."

I scoffed. "Somebody's selfless," I said sarcastically.

Percy grinned at me. "I merely mean that you'll have to take care of me when I next get sick."

According to what Silena had told me, it was impossible to tell what his feelings were for me with a neutral response like that. Her instructions had become less specific as she explained them, and I was already growing confused as to what I was supposed to be doing next.

I knew this wasn't going to go well, and I was getting a little frustrated.

As I sat thinking this, Percy, who I saw was looking down at his hands, asked me, "Hey Annabeth?"

"Yeah?" I asked, surprised by the seriousness in his tone.

He cleared his throat. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

I blinked, the question taking me surprise. "I...I don't know," I said. "I haven't really thought about it. I've mostly just been thinking about how I was going to get through the war with the titans."

Percy looked at me seriously and said, "Think about it for a minute. The war's over and we have our whole lives ahead of us. I'm just a little interested in where you see yourself."

I frowned as I realized that Percy must have already thought of this, which led me to believe that he had actually thought of something before I had. Nevertheless, I thought aloud, saying, "Hmmm...let's see...well, I want to be an architect," I said, and Percy nodded. "Married. A couple kids. And hopefully a monster-free life. Something simple. I don't really want much other than my life to calm down a little."

Percy laughed. "And you think children is the way to do that?" he asked with humor.

"Good point," I said. Then I asked, "And you?"

He shrugged even though I knew he had to have already thought about this to come to the point that he'd ask me. He then said, "Don't know what I want to do career-wise, but...married, with kids, no monsters, and a cat."

I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up. "A cat?" I asked. "I had you pegged as more of a dog person."

Percy gave me a mock-glare. "Cats are more low-key, y'know? Less work."

"Ah," I said, laughing again. "You want a cat because you're lazy."

Percy didn't laugh, but smiled at me softly. I couldn't help but flush again at the intensity of that look. "Maybe," he admitted. He raised his hand to my forehead again, his eyebrows knitted in worry. "Are you sure you're okay?"

My heart leapt to my throat. That's right; I was supposed to be sick. I had completely forgotten! I hesitated in answering as a sick feeling began churning in my stomach. I couldn't do this anymore. Percy was Percy. I loved him, and right now that was all that mattered. I could confess to him when I was ready.

And I was ready.

I sighed, sat up, and took the washcloth off of my head. "I'm fine, Percy," I said, and he looked at me in confusion. "I'm not even sick."

"What was the point in pretending to be?" he asked, thoroughly confused. Then his confusion turned to anger. "What was the point in lying to me? You had me worried sick!"

There was the sucker punch. The hurt in his voice made me want to find Silena and inflict physical harm to her. Except this was also my fault. I went along with the stupid plan and lied to Percy, just as he said.

I met his eyes and sincerely said, "I'm sorry, Percy. I was being an idiot." Now more than ever he needed the truth. I owed him that. So I sucked up my courage and said, "I did this to see if you liked me or not."

Percy's anger immediately evaporated. "What?" he sputtered, blushing.

I smiled at him. "I like you, Percy, as more than friends," I said, my heart thumping in my ribcage. "I did this to see if I could find out if you felt the same. I was being stupid."

Percy laughed nervously. "I don't know what to say, Annabeth."

My heart plummeted and my throat went dry. I didn't know what I was expecting going into it, and it wasn't until right now that a part of me was expecting him to immediately confess his undying love for me.

I really was an idiot.

I laid a hand on his placatingly, trying to salvage what was left of this situation. "It's okay, Percy," I said. "You don't have to like me back. I just wanted you to know how I felt about you."

Despite what I was saying, tears began to collect in my eyes. This could very well be the end of my friendship with Percy. I knew how these things went.

Percy looked up at me with twinkling eyes, and I felt my hopes rise just a little. "I meant I didn't know what to say about you thinking you had to pretend to be sick to try to figure out if I liked you. All you had to do was ask."

Stupid Silena.

I swallowed hard. "Well then, Percy, can I ask how you feel about me then?" Gods, that was an awkward way to phrase it.

Just as I was beating myself up over the wording, I jumped when I noticed how close Percy's face was to mine. Before I could recover, his lips were on mine, making my heart melt. His lips were so soft, and full, and tender, and...and...well, they were amazing.

Far too soon, Percy pulled back with a blush and a smile on his face. "How could I not like you back, Wise Girl?" he said, clearly embarrassed.

I smiled and jumped forward to hug him, my heart back where it belonged. That was, of course, in Percy's care.

And there was nobody who could take it from him. And I knew right then that there was nobody who could take Percy's from me.

A/N: I know this story isn't my best, but I'm going to post it anyway so I can look back on it and see how to improve.

Thanks for reading and feel free to drop a review!