A/N: Okay, here's a short little Percabeth chapter that I wrote during class today. Don't kill me for using direct lines from the book- the italics are completely Riordan's words, as are the characters. And almost everything else. I JUST WROTE THIS CHAPTER, OKAY? Thanks :)

He knew the stakes were high. He knew this day could go horribly wrong. But he also knew Annabeth was on that ship. If things went right, this would be the best day of his life. He threw one arm around Hazel and one arm around Frank. "Come on," he said. "Let me introduce you to my other family."

I steered my friends towards the door, trying to pretend that I wasn't desperate to be outside already, standing, for the first time in eight months, on the same ground that Annabeth was standing on. It was highly difficult, as images of her kept pouring into my head: Annabeth yelling at me, somehow managing to look amazing even with her hair flying everywhere and her eyes giving me the death glare; Annabeth laughing at something stupid I said; Annabeth looking at me like I was the only person in the world that mattered; Annabeth calling me Seaweed Brain, a playful glint in her eye; Annabeth kissing me…

I was so lost in my reverie that I barely heard Frank and Hazel's warning. "WATCH OUT!"

"What?" I muttered dazedly.

BOOM. I walked straight into something hard and solid, and fell ever so gracefully backwards onto my butt. I looked up at the closed door I had just walked into. "Guys," I whined to Frank and Hazel. "Warn a man!"

Hazel looked like she was trying her hardest not to laugh at me as she offered me her hand. "We did, Percy."

I brushed myself off, now a little embarrassed.

Real coordinated, Jackson. Make sure to do that in front of Annabeth, she'll be impressed for sure.

"A little nervous, man?" Frank asked, looking amused. At least someone benefitted from my embarrassment. I rubbed my face, checking for any damage. When I determined that I was not horribly disfigured, I punched Frank lightly in the arm. "Shut it Zhang".

He grinned back at me, reaching for the doorknob.

"Here we go," I muttered, and we stepped out into the forum.

I looked around, my eyes taking a little time to adjust to the blazing sunlight. I glanced to my left, and there it was- the ship that would soon take me to Greece, along with the six other unlucky saps that had gotten roped into this. I tried to imagine what that trip would be like- seven teenaged demigods stuck together in the same place for weeks. I made a silent prayer to the gods that none of us would kill each other before we even started the quest, and then focused on the topic at hand.

I squinted at the ship and could just make out a silhouette of someone walking out of the side entry.

I held my breath, suddenly noticing how very sweaty my palms were. I quickly wiped them on my clothes.

But when I looked back up, it wasn't Annabeth emerging from the ship- it was some blonde boy I had never seen before, who I immediately discovered was Jason when Reyna uncharacteristically jumped up and gave him a hug in front of the entire camp. There were some wolf whistles, but mostly people stayed silent and pretended they saw nothing, which was smart, considering Reyna's bad side was NOT something you wanted to be on.

Ever.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the next person emerging from the door. My heart rate went up to about a million beats per second as I gave the entrance my attention and strained to see who was coming out of it.

Suddenly, I found myself gripped with nerves as a thought hit me- I hadn't seen Annabeth in eight months. How did I know she hadn't changed in that time? As I shook my head, trying to force the thought away, something even worse entered my mind.

"What if she doesn't like you anymore," a tiny voice inside me questioned.

It was childish, I know. We weren't in kindergarten. But now that the possibility was there, it wouldn't go away.

"Man, she totally moved on."

"You've been gone for too long."

"She gave up on you."

I swallowed nervously and willed the thoughts to leave me alone, but they just got louder as the next person emerged from the ship- this time a younger girl, who I assumed must be Piper. Almost directly behind her came a boy with curly hair, crazy eyes, and shirt stained with oil, who, I guessed, could only be Leo.

As Hazel gasped sharply behind me at the sight of Leo, and Piper glared at Jason for reasons I didn't yet understand, I looked down at my own clothing and realized with horror that I was still wearing my toga.

I groaned.

Oh, wonderful. Finally seeing my girlfriend after eight months. Wearing a bed sheet. Of course.

I pulled agitatedly on the toga and nervously patted down my hair- and then I saw her.

Woah.

She looked even better than I remembered, which I honestly did not think was possible. Her blond hair was pulled back in her classic ponytail, and her gray eyes sparkled.

She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, hands down.

And then she saw me. We locked eyes, and I was suddenly struck by how stupid I had been. It didn't matter that it had been eight months. It didn't matter that I was wearing a bed sheet. Because when I looked at her, I realized: I was, without a doubt, in love with Annabeth Chase, and that was all that really mattered.

The forum was full of people talking, laughing, and threatening to kill one another. But I didn't notice. For me, there was only Annabeth.

At almost the same time, we started walking towards each other, and I knew that she, like me, was also drinking in the fact that we were actually here, together, in the same place.

After what seemed like an hour, we finally met in the middle.

"Annabeth-" I started to say, but before I could continue she made a sudden movement.

And then my girlfriend punched me in the face.

"OW!" I yelled, immediately getting defensive. "What was that for?"

"Percy- Jackson- you- IDIOT!" Annabeth screamed, attempting to attack every part of me she could reach between words.

"Woah," I yelled, trying to defend myself, which really wasn't easy, since the only thing deadlier than Annabeth is an angry Annabeth.

And gods, was she angry.

I was at a loss.

"Wait, so I made you mad already?" I asked her, ducking her next punch. "How is that even possible?"

Annabeth ignored me, continuing in her current attempt to break my arm. Then, as suddenly as she had started, she paused.

"Uh…Annabeth-?"

She was looking down at the ground, so I couldn't read her face. I figured I should say something to distract her, just in case she got the urge to try and kill me again.

"So, um, how's—"

But I was cut off by a sudden blow to my stomach. At first, I though she was beating me up again- but then I looked down to find that she was hugging me tightly, her face buried in my toga.

And then, so quietly that for a second I thought I imagined it, she said something. I strained my ears.

"Don't you ever leave me again, Seaweed Brain."

Her voice broke, and I realized with a start that she was crying.

I felt a huge surge of guilt and gripped her tighter. I never wanted her to have to cry again.

"I won't," I whispered, kissing the top of her head and marveling at how easy it was to be with her, even after all this time.

"I promise."