'We'll figure this out'
Percy Jackson fanfiction- DISCLAMER! MUST READ! All characters belong to Rick Roiaden the most brilliant author ever! Forgive any thing I may have missed when going through spelling and stuff. I don't have word at my moms and I've gone over the story Hundreds of times. I am an awful speller. This is my first fan fiction. I know that many people wonder what happened during the time Percy was taken by Hera...this is what I thought Girlfriend- song belongs to Aviral lavene Love story- Taylor swift Like it love it- Tim mageraw This is NOT a song fic, but the characters have fun with a little sing contest :)
I ran through the tangled mass of roots and vines. My lungs were heavy and my breath came out labored. If you asked me how long I've been running I honestly could not tell you, the time seems to blur. The forest shadows were looming over trying to drag me in the endless abyss of darkness. Hushed voices whispered to me. One in particular sent a chill down my spine.
"So good to see you, little hero, you have always been a part of our plans from your very first breath." It cooed. I know your thinking my first thought should be 'Oh styx Kronos is back!' but the voice felt more ancient than Kronos, I didn't know how, it just did. I felt adrenaline run deep through my veins giving me one final burst of speed, enough to break through the ink like darkness that surrounded me.
"Wake up seaweed brain." I heard a voice urge.
I opened my eyes slightly then quickly shut them. The light was blinding compared to the darkness I had just come from. I made another attempt to open my eyes and saw a girl with golden blond hair up in a messy pony tail, she's beautiful like a stereotypical California girl. Annabeth. If you're wondering if she has a boyfriend, that's me. She and I have been dating for a while now and we can't leave each others side for more than a minute, every second without her stretches on for eternity.
"Morning wise girl." I murmur before I yawn and stretch out on my bed. She gave me a tense smile the one she gives when she's trying to look happy when something is clearly bothering her. "What's wrong?"
She looked at me critically with her stormy grey eyes. "Were you having another nightmare? Was it about Kronos, because I thought they'd be over as soon as that stupid prophecy played out..."
She clearly had been watching me sleep longer than she first let on, but she must have opted to let me sleep in considering that the curse of Achilles not only gave me super strength and made me have iron skin, it also gave me the urge to take extreme power naps especially after a big battle. I sat up and motioned for her to take a seat next to me on the bed. Annabeth sat down slouching, she almost never slouches, unless something was bothering her. Instinctively, I put my hand on her back and began rubbing circles on it in hopes of comforting her. I could almost see the reaction of the Aphrodite girls if they saw us together like this, we probably wouldn't be able to hear for a week because they'd scream their heads off.
"How long were you watching me?" I asked. It wasn't really a weird question, she, my best friend Grover, and others have all seen me sleep and I have a tendency to talk which is like a curse sometimes. I must have said something that worried her.
"A while, you were telling someone not to call you 'little hero' like you said Kronos did each time he entered your dreams and you are asking them 'what plans' you sounded pretty freaked.." She told me before she began leaning her head on my chest. "Percy I have been worried for you ever since you came to camp and we found out you could be the child of the prophecy, I guess I've been worried for you for so long that it doesn't feel like it's really over, to me at least."
Gently, I kissed the top of her head and held her hand. "Wise girl, if I can survive multiple monster attacks, facing many gods or immortals in battle, survive being blown up twice, hold up the sky, bathe in the river styx without burning alive, AND fight titans I can tell you that I'm not going to leave you no matter what. IF something does happen to me you know I will always be in your heart and you will always be in mine."
Okay, that might have been the cheesiest thing I have ever told her, but I meant every word I said. It must have helped because she turned and kissed me on the lips. She giggled at me "If you were any cheesier you'd be cheddar."
I laughed with her, it felt good to laugh, but I knew something was still bothering her because she frowned and furrowed her eyebrows.
"What is it?" I asked her. She quickly straightened up and acted like nothing was bothering her.
"Nothing." she insisted as she waved her hand dismissively before she stood.
"See you at breakfast." She promised before rushing out of my cabin without another word. Sighing I leaned back on my pillow, I may have gotten better at reading people, but my execution of dragging the truth out of them still needed a bit of tweaking. Maybe I could ask Chiron, or Grover, or maybe even ask Rachel about it she and Annabeth have become friends ever since Annabeth and I started dating. I got up to get dressed and once I was ready I grabbed Riptide in its pen form before heading out. The air was chilled it was getting closer and closer to fall, in the distance I could see the remains of camp. The Hephaestus cabin had pretty much rebuilt the whole camp fairly quickly with additions to both the old cabins and the new cabins of the minor gods as well. The camp had suffered a heavy loss of campers in the last month, but if we keep going at the rate we are with no more unclaimed children or minor gods left out we hopefully wouldn't have to face another war like that ever again.
I was lost in thought until I bumped into someone. That person, of course, fell over and I remained upright, unscaved what so ever.
"Sorry..." I muttered as I helped the person to their feet. I noticed who it was it was, my cousin, Nico de Angelo "Nico, how are things, you know in the Underworld?"
He smiled one of the first true smiles I've seen on his face since before he found out his sister died on a quest. "I'm great, beyond great things are better thanks to you."
I smiled back at him there was his true age actually showing it's self on rare occasions like this one. He looked behind me and smiled a bit more and I knew something was going to happen. Before I could react a hand gripped my upper arm and a jolt of electricity raced through me I yelped and clenched my teeth.
"Thalia," I turned and sure enough there was my black haired, blue eyed cousin still looking like a fifteen year old as she always would because she was a hunter of Atriums, so long as she stayed away from men, but family seemed to be an exception.
"How long is Atriums giving you off?" I asked.
She mocked a pout, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking her lower lip out as she asked me "What? you don't like having me around?"
"Come on Thals you know what I mean." I said rolling my eyes. The two of them laughed at me and I soon joined in.
"Atriums is lending some of her hunters to help finish rebuilding the camp because of the lack of monster activity in the last couple of days." Thalia told us as she adjusted the tiara on her head.
"Yeah, I wonder who's fault that was?" Nico smiled as he let his eyes wonder to me. I dramatically placed my hand over my chest and gasped.
"And you're blaming me?" I teased, but really we all knew that I was the ring leader in the reduction of the monster population.
Although it was temporary, the effect of not having any battles was hitting some of us in different ways. Some campers would train after putting in their working hours and others (cough Travis and Connor cough) would use their free time to pull pranks or goof off. Nico and Thalia had a silent conversation pass between them and then they turned back to me.
"Whatever you say little cuz." They both teased in unison. I crossed my arms over my chest feeling indignant I was older than them.
"Who are you calling 'little' cuz?" I asked "I'm older than you." Thalia shook her head and laughed.
"Technically, I am like five or six years older than you and Nico's over seventy." She pointed out.
I struggled to find the words to say and felt my face heat up with embarrassment. It was true if we went by technical terms from the days we were born then I was considered the baby and Nico was the oldest of all of us. Thalia walked over to me and slung her arm over my shoulder.
"Don't worry you are more like my little brother than a cousin." She smiled weakly when she finished and evaluated my face for a moment, but before I could ask she looked away. Something was bothering her from her past and I knew it wasn't Luke because I could tell if he hadn't joined Kronos she wouldn't have joined Atriums and they'd have what me and Annabeth have now. Whatever was bothering her now predated her meeting Luke and then some of it may have come while she, Luke, and Annabeth were on the run. I would have asked her, but I knew that if I did she'd probably shut me out for the rest of the day, so I generally avoided the subject. We heard the conch boom through the camp and we knew that breakfast was starting.
"We better go and eat something, it's not good if Percy doesn't eat right especially after getting the curse of Achilles." Nico told us. Thalia looked at him with one eyebrow arched.
"You mean if he doesn't eat like a starved homeless person he will get sick?" she asked. Nico shrugged and nodded as he motioned us towards the pavilion. As soon as we walked towards the tables the whole place went quiet everyone was staring in our direction. The big three children were all together.
"Ah, so nice of you to join us Peter Johnson, Tassy Gray, and Nickey Anthony." Mr. D waved dismissively before returning to his daily Olympus news. The three of us rolled our eyes because Mr. D chose to get our names wrong on purpose, again. It was a sure sign that things were getting back to normal here at camp half-blood. Thalia, Nico, and I headed to our respective tables, but as I set down to eat, after sending a portion to my Dad, Annabeth came walking up to my table and sat next to me.
"You know Wise girl, if Mr. D actually cared, you'd have kitchen duty everyday." I teased taking a large bite out of a slice of toast. She smiled sweetly at me and rolled her eyes.
"Then I'd say kitchen duty would be worth it, besides Seaweed brain I need to tell you to meet me at the beach around five tonight, okay?" she whispered quietly enough so that the Aphrodite girls wouldn't hear and spy on us.
Out of the corner of my eye I could already see them leaning in closer in hopes of catching a glimpse of our conversation. Before Annabeth left she kissed me on the cheek and headed back to the Athena table, with a chorus of 'Awww..' following behind her. She muttered 'shut up' in ancient Greek before she sat down. Even from my distance I could see her face strawberry red and her siblings were teasing her about our romance. They all accepted me even before their Mother, especially her older brother Malcom, he would always leave us alone before we got together with some suggestive comment.
"Campers listen up, the repairs are almost done to the camp and we still need to clean out the water and the forest so we are diverting some of the efforts up. The Ares, Hephaestus, Apollo, and Hermes cabins are going to finish building and fixing the other cabins while Percy will lead the efforts to clean up the ocean with the Aphrodite cabin and the rest will work in the forest." Chiron announced.
The Aphrodite girls giggled and screamed with delight when they heard they would be working with me. They probably were wanting to hear more about my relationship with Annabeth and how long I have thought of her more than a friend, I can honestly say I think there was always something there but it took our first kiss at Mt. Helen, and me choosing between her and Calypso to start to realize there was something between the two of us that had gone unnoticed by me. Rachel came and I was sure Annabeth wasn't over Luke because she and I would get into fights over if he was good or not-of course she was right in the end, he was a good guy who made a bad choice because of a grudge against his father- so I started hanging out with Rachel until me and Annabeth FINALLY got together. I finished breakfast and headed towards the beach.
As much as I tried not to think about her my thoughts went back to my Mom, she and I agreed that I would stay and help at Camp until the second semester started and then I would be putting myself through my Soft more year at Goode High school , the first school I have managed NOT to get kicked out of, but this would be the first time I didn't start the school year right away with my Mom sending me off. Maybe I could IM her when we finished cleaning the beach and ocean for the day I could contact her, I just prayed to the gods that I didn't accidently barge in on one of her and Paul's alone time. Paul is my new step-father and now I know what your thinking 'Wasn't Gabe bad enough, what's with this new step-father' well I can tell you Paul's ten... no a million times better than Gabe and he actually seems to like me more than just tolerate me like Gabe did. Last time I had IM'ed her while they were on a date. I was basically hoping I wouldn't interrupt them when I called. When I reached the beach I saw that the Aphrodite cabin had already beaten me there, they probably passed me while I was zoning out.
Their cabin leader, Drew, was the first to spot me she waved at me with a flirty smile on her face. Ever since I saved the world she has been really nice to me, but Thalia had warned me not to listen to anything Drew said. I chose to believe her, but knew that if Drew did try anything with me she would be going directly against her Mother's wishes for me and Annabeth to be together which I was thankful for. Most of the other Aphrodite campers were wearing floral patterned overalls and orange V-neck camp T-shirts, as for Drew, she was wearing her ,yes, yellow polka-dot bikini and was completely underdressed for a job like this.
"Heyyyyy, Percyyy." She drew out the end of each word. Most of the girls rolled their eyes and some even looked jealous.
"You know we are going to be hauling things from the ocean and you're completely under dressed." Who'd wear something like that when picking up garbage? She stuck out her bottom lip and seemed to be evaluating her 'outfit' for the first time.
"I guess I am, but it's such a long walk from here to the cabin, sooo could I borrow your shirt?" she asked. I felt my face flush and prayed the sun at my back would hide it, but then remembered that they were children of the goddess of love and could read emotions. "What? Are you embarrassed?"
"Hey, Drew you need some work cloths?" We all turned to see Thalia come walking up with an old T-shirt and jeans in her hands, I was never more thankful to see her in my life. She stopped at my side and gave me a wink as if to say 'I knew you'd get yourself into some mess'. I wasn't embarrassed about how I looked, but that Drew was being so open about trying to see me shirtless. Drew glared at the cloths in Thalia's hand as if she were mentally trying to vaporize them to dust. When she was done glaring she took the cloths from Thalia and put them on over her bathing suit.
"Thanks." I whispered so only my cousin could hear. She smiled at me before joining the rest of the hunters in repairing the forest.
I made sure that everyone had a supply of garbage bags and that the wheel barrels were up and ready to be moved around. The boys would be focusing on putting all the big stuff like broken boards or wood in the barrels and the girls would be picking up garbage along the beach while I dived through the ocean with the naiads helping with any problems at the bottom. My first mission was to move some large wooden pillars from the bottom of the ocean to the beach, after that I spent a good hour and a half picking up any garbage at the bottom or anywhere else in the water, and when the surface became dark I decided to call it a day. When I surfaced surprisingly all of the Aphrodite campers were still working although some were complaining about the hours they'd have to spend washing the sweat from their skin and clothes. I'm guessing after Silena had shown them that they could do more than just look good and break hearts they were making an effort to be more productive. I felt my throat catch at the thought of Silena and Beckendorf they both died during the war as heroes, without their sacrifice we would never have won. The Aphrodite campers saw me and gave me weary half hearted smiles.
As soon as I stepped out of the surf I felt weak too, I smiled softly and said, "I believe we can officially call it a day and it seems about dinner time, what time is it exactly?"
Drew was the first to speak up "About, four thirty, why?"
I shrugged pretending I didn't have any reason in particular, really I knew it was almost time for me to meet Annabeth so I told them to go ahead and get cleaned up for dinner and that I'd be there later. The campers cheered and thanked me for letting them go a half-hour early for some immeadiate self pampering. I studied our work for our first day on this project, they didn't do half bad on their part. The garbage bags swelled with wrappers and old fountain cups and the wheel barrels had wood that would survive the campfires for months. The campers even put bottles in some pink flower covered recycling bins for us to return to the store for money. I laughed slightly and flopped onto the warm sand feeling my muscles relax as if I were still in the water (you know the feeling if you have ever gone swimming). I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew someone was gently poking me in the ribcage with the toe of their shoe. I opened my eyes to see Annabeth standing over me with a half smile warming her face.
"You still drool when you sleep." She told me. Taking the back of my hand I tried to wipe off my face but I didn't feel anything wet on the my wrist by the time I realized what she was doing Annabeth was already in the middle of a giggle fit.
"Ha, ha, very funny Wise girl." I said sarcastically. Her smile broaden,
"I know I am."
We sat staining into each other's eyes for a moment until I remembered she made me come here so she could talk to me about something. "What did you want to talk with me about?"
She paused and looked into my eyes again, I could almost see the war going on inside her head she seemed too conflicted to tell me what was on her mind. Prayed that she wasn't breaking up with me. She shook her head,
"I need a little bit more time to figure it out first, let me just say that I have been having some weird dreams, but I think I need to get more facts before I ask you about them 'k." she kissed me on the lips and hugged me. She seemed to want to hold me really close, which I didn't mind at all, but it was almost as if she thought I was going to disappear. I kind of felt like a teddy bear comforting a frightened girl.
We sat on the beach like that until the conch called out again and we headed to dinner. I ate fairly well and was full when I finished my fifth plate. After a few hours of relaxation the whole camp, including the huntresses, headed to the campfire. I immediately sat next to Annabeth, Grover(who ,I guess, had shown up sometime during dinner or something), Jumpier, Thalia, and my other friends. We joked about how the day went today and how we were 'ready' for anything else someone would throw at us. I saw a mischievous look in Thalia's eyes and I knew she was going to start something. If there's one thing she hates more than people messing with me it's people who try to hurt Annabeth and Drew was number one on her list at the moment.
"Don't Thals, it's not worth it." I told her. Thalia looked at me skeptically and Annabeth looked between us as if to ask 'what?'
"Something with Drew earlier..." Thalia grumbled. My Wise girl's face became bright red in the firelight.
"What did she try..." Annabeth growled. I tried to cut in but Thalia continued to talk. My cousin became mellow dramatic and leaned on me as she clutched the sleeve of my shirt.
"'Heyyy, Percyyyy I forgot some decent work cloths, sooooo... can I borrow your shirt...'" Thalia said mimicking Drew's voice and tugging at the bottom hem of my shirt. I didn't even get a chance to say something before Annabeth tried to get up and go after Drew.
"Woe, Woe, Woe, Wise girl, nothing happened so don't worry." I told her as I pulled her down into my lap.
She grumbled as she reluctantly reclined further into my chest. I heard my cousin say something about me not being any fun so I stuck my tong out at her. Before she could say anything one of the Apollo campers blew on a beluga horn.
"Listen up everyone, in honor of our victory against the Titan army, we would like to have a Singing competition. We have a few people who have to sing tonight which includes the one, the only, demigod son of Poseidon, PERCY JACKSON." I felt my face blanch I'm not sure that would be a good idea to have me sing. The whole camp cheered for me, but I felt mortified. "It is a three way competition we will have every night and before Percy is ANNABETH CHASE and before Annabeth will be DREW."
Drew smiled and looked at me sweetly and then wickedly at Annabeth before she took her place on stage.
"This is going to a VERY special guy here at camp maybe he can make the RIGHT choice about who he LOVES." Drew said while looking at me in the eyes. She was trying to use her charm speak, but nothing happened, thank you Aphrodite. Annabeth growled but I gave her a soft peck on the cheek which seemed to calm her down.
"I will be singing Girlfriend by Averal Lavien..."(AN/ All three songs are NOT mine and belong to respective owners)
'Hey hey, you you, I dont like your girlfriend No way, no way, I think you need a new one Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me No way, no way, you know it's not a secret Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
You're so fine, I want you mine, your so delicious I think about you all the time, you're so addictive Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright?
Don't pretend, I think you know I'm damn precious And hell yeah I'm the mother fucking princess I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right
She's like so whatever You can do so much better I think we should get together now And that's what everyone's talking about
Hey hey, you you, I don't like your girlfriend No way, no way, I think you need a new one Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey hey, you you, I know that you like me No way, no way, you know it's not a secret Hey hey, you you, I want to be your girlfriend
She's like so whatever You can do so much better I think we should get together now And that's...'
Everyone at camp was speechless, Drew's song had been stopped early. If looks could kill that Apollo camper would be dead.
"Okay," he said "Because you value your life I cut you off there, Annabeth would be halfway up stage if Percy wasn't holding onto her."
Drew looked livid as she marched off stage and once she was clear I released my girlfriend so she could take her turn on stage. Annabeth's face was red, I wasn't sure if it was because she was outraged at Drew's choice of song or if she was embarrassed about going on stage.
"Okay everyone I will be singing...um..." Thalia went up to the stage and whispered something to Annabeth. "I will be singing Love story by Taylor Swift, and you ALL know who this goes out to..."
Annabeth took the microphone after taking in a deep breath she sang...
'We were both young when I first saw you,
I close my eyes And the flashback starts I'm standing there On a balcony in summer air
See the lights, See the party, the ball gowns I see you make your way through the crowd And say 'hello', little did I know,
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,
And my Daddy said stay away from Juliet and I was crying on the staircase Begging you please don't go and I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story baby just say yes
So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my Daddy said stay away from Juliet But you were everything to me I was begging you please don't go and I said
Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone I'll be waiting all there's left to do is run You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess It's a love story baby just say yes
Romeo save me, they try to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but it's real Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess It's a love story baby just say yes Oh oh
I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said
Romeo save me I've been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you but you never come Is this in my head? I don't know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring
And said, marry me Juliet You'll never have to be alone I love you and that's all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress It's a love story baby just say yes
Oh, oh, oh, oh 'Cause we were both young when I first saw you...'
When she finished she flashed me a bright smile before walking off the stage. The crowd was roaring, I saw the Aphrodite girls all tearing up as they congratulated Annabeth on her beautiful singing. I had to admit she was a really good singer.
"Wow-E, that's going to be hard to keep up with, next is PERCY JACKSON, come on up here and don't run away." The Apollo host called. All of the kids behind me began to push me forward. I ran through all of the songs I could think of and remembered a song that Paul had cranked up on our way to school, it wasn't a typical song people my age listened to, but it made me think of my Wise girl and I. As I took center-stage I grabbed the mic,
"Well, I don't know how good I am, but this song makes me think of me and Annabeth. Its called Like it Love it by Tim Magraw here goes nothing..." my cheeks flushed, this was so messed up. ME singing.
'Spent forty-eight dollars last night at the county fair,
I throwed out my shoulder,
But I won her that teddy bear She's got me saying Sugar Pie, Honey, Darling, and Dear, I ain't seen the braves play a game all year I'm going to get fired If I don't get some sleep My long loss buddys say I'm getting in to deep But I like it I love it I want some more of it I try so hard I can't rise above it Don't know what it is about that little gal's loving but I like it I love it I want some more of it...'
There was a music intermission, or whatever you call it. Good thing my ADHD kicked in and I began to move around stage at one point I did a back flip and some other dance moves that I didn't know I could do before I began singing again.
'My Momma and Daddy tried to teach me curticy but It never sank in until that girl got a hold of me Now I'm holding up umbrella's And opening up doors I'm taking out the trash And I'm sweeping my floors I'm crossing my fingers And counting every kiss Praying that it keeps going on like this 'Cause I like it I love it I want some more of it I try so hard I can't rise above it Don't know what it is about that little gal's loveing but I like it I love it I want some more of it
Gotta wash my truck Get dressed up And pick her up to watch T.V As we sit down on the sofa She move a little closer She cant get enough of me And I like it I love it I want some more of it I try so hard I can't rise above it Don't know what it is about that little gal's loving but I like it I love it I want some more of it'
When I finished the crowd was silent, I was pretty sure that I melted out their eardrums. Suddenly everyone sprang into applause, the Hermes and Apollo cabins rushed the stage and held me in the air. Someone yelled encore and the rest joined in. I was shell-shocked that everyone thought I was that good. Although ,I really wasn't sure that I wanted to preform an encore, but luckily for me Chiron decided to dismiss us to our cabins and for the first time that night I realized how tired I was. The Apollo and Hermes campers reluctantly put me down and grumbled as they headed to their cabins. I searched for Annabeth, but had no luck finding her. Maybe she was being pushed to her cabin by her siblings. When a hand slipped into mine I turned and I saw nothing, but I knew who it was.
"Hey wise girl." I greeted as she took off her Yankees hat. "You did great."
She smiled at me and her cheeks lit up with a blush as she hugged me. "You weren't too bad yourself, Romeo."
I walked her to her cabin hand and hand. I noticed that some of the Aphrodite kids had stopped to watch us as we walked past and almost all of them crooned 'aww' except for Drew who made a gaging motion with her finger. I was glad Annabeth didn't see that because Drew would be dead and there would be nothing I could do to stop Annabeth, but hey that's just my Wise girl. Quickly, I lifted Annabeth over my shoulder she gasped in surprise before she started laughing.
"Percy, I have my own two feet you know." she said as she tapped her fist on my back. "I can walk on my own."
"I know, but you're cute when your annoyed." I told her.
She huffed and crossed her arms but I knew she was smirking. After we were about ten feet from the Athena cabin I put her down. She looked at me with her 'You're-lucky-your-cute' scowl before she grabbed my hand.
"Percy, before I go in, I was wondering if you've been feeling anything about the new great prophecy?" She asked. I looked at her and her expression turned pain filled. "What are you feeling about it?"
"Honestly, Annabeth, even though Apollo and Chiron said I may not even be a part of it I can't help but feel that I am. I just don't know how, maybe I might guide the seven like Chiron did with us, when I get older or something." I told her, even though I didn't think I would be a mentor, I just said that so Annabeth wouldn't freak. The vibes I've been getting are telling me I will have a REALLY big part in it. She seemed to be studying my face as if trying to see any sign that I was lying, but then decided to go with what I said, reluctantly.
"Maybe." She whispered. We were both standing outside at the steps of the Athena cabin half of her face was lit up from the glow being admitted from the opened door. I could knew her siblings were watching us, but ignore them. Annabeth was looking at the ground as if it were a map that would give her all the answers she would ever need. I gently grabbed her chin and made her look up at me.
"Annabeth, we'll figure it out, we always do." I assured her before I captured her lips in mine. She seemed unsure what to do at first for a moment before she leaned into the kiss. Her arms wrapped around my neck and my arms around her hips as we willed ourselves to be closer to each other. I lifted her off her feet, her hands moved from the back of my neck to my cheeks as she pulled her lips away from mine. Her face became clear in my vision and I could see the tears forming in her stormy grey eyes. She seemed to be looking at me as if it were the last time. I set her down. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know Percy, I just have this really bad feeling that coupled with these dreams I've been having...I might be making a big deal over nothing." She told me. "I just don't want to lose you too."
I pulled her in for a hug, I knew she has lost a lot in her life the feeling of being loved by her father, Thalia, her freedom to see the world, and most recently Luke. Even though I didn't like to think about how much Luke seemed to have gotten to her, I respect what he did in the end. But after most of her time being at camp the only things that kept her from being emotionless were Luke, Chiron, Grover and her mothers love and the gift she had gotten when she was twelve they got her through each day before she met me. She once told me, when we first started going out, that I had become her rock, the one thing she knew would remain the same in her life.
"Annabeth, how about after a good nights rest you and I go to the beach or even under water and talk this out. Together we're unstoppable." I told her. She nodded into my chest before looking into my eyes. Even with her face a bit red from crying she was still the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen. I wanted to say 'I love you' but the words got caught in my throat, what if she wasn't ready for those three words. 'MAN UP' a voice in my head told me and it sounded suspiciously like Grover, but it gave me the courage. I quickly kissed her on her lips, rested my forehead on hers, and whispered, "I love you Wise girl."
Her eyes met mine and for the first time I could almost see her inner Aphrodite girl showing through (Don't tell her that I said that because, well, she'd beat me up). "I love you too, Seaweed brain."
Our lips crashed together once more before we said goodnight and I reluctantly headed towards my lonely cabin. I was very happy conceding that Annabeth didn't freak out when I told her that I loved her and she said she loved me back. My smile wouldn't fade even as I changed into my pajama pants and an old t-shirt before hopping into bed.
"Goodnight Wise girl." I whispered before turning out the lights. Unfortunately my joy was interrupted by yet another nightmare.
I was in a dark room, torches lit it dimly. I sat up trying to get a better view of the room. The walls, floor and ceiling were completely made of mud. A chill came through and for the first time I realized that I was shirtless. Why? I don't know, but a laugh echoed through the whole cavern. The dirt wall directly in front of me peeled back to reveal bars and behind those bars were my friends, family and most importantly Annabeth. She was looking at me desperately as she and the others tried to shake the strong bars away. I was wondering why they were all in a cage, but realized that their distressed looks weren't because they were locked up, I was the one who was in prison.
"Guys?" I managed to say not even attempting to cover the confusion and fear in my voice. Annabeth stopped tugging at the bars and looked at me completely out of her mind in worry. It was as if she were silently pleading for me not to disappear like most things in her life. I wanted to assure her that I'd never leave her alone, but before I could her eyes grew larger with fear and she shouted,
"Percy, look out!"
It was too late. Chains shot out of no where clutched onto my wrist and chest as they dragged me onto a cold medal table. I struggled, but to no avail the chains tightened and cut off my breath. More chains came and wrapped themselves tightly around my ankles. The chains holding my wrist raised my arms above my head. They became unbearably tight and I could feel blood trickling down my arm from my wrist. Wait, blood? I'm suppose to be invincible. I continued to fight, desperately trying to pull myself from the table.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" I shouted in anger and frustration as I let my body fall back down. This was a dream, maybe I could wake myself up. I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them again, but still found myself in the creepy room. Why can't I wake up? I wondered. The laugh returned making everyone fall silent. I could barely make out my friends behind the bars looking around for the owner. On the ground to my left a pile of dirt began to build up and grew larger until it became the form of a beautiful woman with her eyes closed. She looked or should I say turned in my friends direction and I could see a profile side to a wicked smile that said 'I'm-going-to-win' and then she turned to me. Her smile seemed to grow even more wicked and almost longing, truth be told, it unnerved me."
"Hello, son of Poseidon, so long I have waited for you," she said as she placed her hand on my cheek. I tried to look away, but considering I could only turn my head away it was pretty ineffective. "Stubborn are you? Well that will make my mission even more fun."
She continued looking at me, her smile completely unchanged. I refused to look at her and tried to keep my eyes at the wall to my right. She laughed with amusement as she grabbed my chin and forced me to face her.
"Such beautiful green eyes, just like your fathers." She told me. I glared. "Awww, how cute, you think that your victory against my son has made you a big hero, just wait until I use you to bring the gods to their knees."
"Leave him alone!" Annabeth shouted. My captor seemed to ignore her as if I were more intriguing, which I was happy about, that meant that she wouldn't hurt Annabeth. Again, I tried to tug away from the chains, but they were holding me firmly in place. The woman chuckled at my attempt and leaned in uncomfortably closer.
"So, my valuable little pawn, are you ready to be taken?" she asked me as she, almost lovingly, moved a dark lock from my face. A realization dawned on me, this dream, me not being able to wake up was so I would be easier to capture. Annabeth understood this as well.
"No, no, no, he's not yours, you can't have him!" She screeched and tugged at the bars. The look in her eyes reminded me of that scared seven-year-old in the vision Hestia had given me during the war so I could understand Annabeth's faith in Luke. The mud woman only laugh at her as she snapped her fingers and a medal collar appeared in her hand, It had Greek writing seared into it and I knew it said 'bind'. The woman stepped forward to put the collar around my neck. I tried to pull myself free, I fought, I shouted, I cursed, but I was stuck in place. I was completely helpless against this woman.
"Enough." A familiar voice snapped and a golden light enveloped me. I opened my eyes and no longer found myself in the mud cavern, but in the familiar setting of my cabin. I was on my back, breathing heavily from the horror I had just felt. My hair clung to my face from my sweat and tears streamed down from the corner of my eyes, I felt pathetic.
"Suhhh, it's okay young hero." The same voice from my dream crooned. A soft hand wiped the tears from my eyes. I almost said 'mom', but when my vision cleared I sat up and saw the queen of the gods staring at me with more concern than I thought she would have for any hero.
"Lady Hera." I greeted. Even if she doesn't like Annabeth and me, I still felt grateful she had saved me from that nightmare. Suddenly, I began wondering why she cared so much for my well being.
"Listen Nephew, I know that you haven't become really fond of me, but you have made the gods create a better family, an action in which I appreciate most of all even if it means they are unfaithful to their spouses." She told me. Does she consider me a nephew?
"Thank you for, you know." I said as I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. She smiled at me kindly, but then she seemed to be remembering something. "What is it?"
She sighed, "I'm afraid that I am going to have to do something you will not like." I raised an eyebrow she held up a hand to make me refrain from speaking before she continued. "Percy, as you could tell from that dream something is rising and it's coming for YOU first. I have a plan that will make the Greek and Roman demigods as well as the gods work together to defeat this threat, in the only way it can be defeated, as a family. You all showed you have tremendous strength during the last battle, but this is going to be one enemy you can't fight alone."
"Hera, how do you plan on combining the Greeks and the Romans?" I frowned. I always figured that if there were Greek demigods there would be Roman demigods as well.
"You." She stated simply. 'Uh, come again?' I thought. "I am going to take you and put you in the Roman camp and take the Roman leader and send him here. The thing is Mr. Jackson, you have something special about you that naturally draws people to you. Who better to bring enemies together against a bigger threat than a man who is loyal, honest, and above all brave."
"Just like that?" I asked, but I knew that nothing was ever that simple.
"Not exactly. In order for you to be completely open to their culture you need to have a blank slate." She told me. I'm not as stupid as people thought I was. Hera wanted to erase my memories! Not goanna happen lady.
"So if I say 'yes' I am going to have to give up my memories." I said. I wanted to say 'no', but the look on her face told me that I didn't have a choice. "It's not a choice, is it."
"No child, what I am going to do will happen regardless if I have your permission or not." she admitted. "But, your memories won't be lost forever. Once you are accepted as leader at the Roman camp and your friends find you I will start completely restoring your memories."
Before I could protest her hand touched my forehead and I instantly felt sleepy. 'No, I can't!' I tried to fight her trance. Why didn't I move when I had the chance? Slowly, I reclined onto my bed looking up at the goddess of family. She was honestly very pretty and could be a good Mother if she just got past her pride (and apologized to Annabeth). Maybe I won't be gone for that long, heck this might be over with in a few weeks, that's what I tried to get myself to think. I didn't know how wrong I was going to be. 'Percy, you're my rock.' Annabeth's voice rang in my mind and a pain shot through my heart, maybe I could ask Hera to let me say goodbye before she kidnapped me. I didn't want to even think of the pain Annabeth would be in if I didn't assure her that we could find each other and that I would be alright.
"Can't I say something to Annabeth." I murmured sleepily. She was going to erase my memories, she owed me at least that. The goddess frowned and shook her head.
"She needs to have the courage and strength to look for you." Was the last thing Hera said before I closed my eyes and drifted off to the longest sleep of my life. I could feel my whole body suspended into an endless blackness. My life played in reverse in my head and my last thought was a single name.
Annabeth.
Extra chapter-Nico's Pov.
Have you ever met someone you looked up to, then hated, and then began to think of them a role model? Well that's what my cousin Percy Jackson is to me. Even when I blamed him for the death of my sister he never judged me, he never got mad at me (EXCEPT for the times that I do something stupid), and he even protected me when I refused help. After he saved me last year in the Labyrinth I vowed to make it up to him and help him, but I haven't been doing a very good job at that. First; I offer to do him a favor and then try to get something out of it for myself which almost made us lose the war, and now I was going to have to betray his trust, again.
It started when I was wandering around the camp like I do when it's night because I love the shadows and can feel power coming to me from them. I suddenly heard shouting coming from Percy's cabin and in a flash I ran for it praying that he was alright. When I reached the door I tried to open it, but stopped when I heard Percy speak
"It's not a choice, is it." he said. What was going on in there? I tried to pry the door open, but it wouldn't budge.
"No child, what I am going to do will happen regardless if I have your permission or not," When I heard the voice it felt like I was hearing my mom talk, and don't tell anyone this or I will find you and take your soul, but I almost broke down then and there. "But your memories won't be lost forever. Once you are accepted as leader at the Roman camp and your friends find you I will start completely restoring your memories."
I made it to the window and saw a woman place her hand on Percy's sweaty forehead. His face was pale and his eyes haunted, a sure sign that the most lively demigod I have ever met had a horrible nightmare. It is a rumor around camp that Percy's dreams are the worst that anyone has ever had. A gold light made it's way through his body starting from his forehead to his feet and he slowly began lying back down onto his bed. His green eyes no longer looked as empty, but they looked even more exhausted. Just as his eyes were about to close he spoke.
"Let me say something to Annabeth?" He half murmured half slurred. The woman shook her head as she shifted his head into a better position onto the pillow as if she were hopeing to make him as comfortable as possible.
"She needs to have the courage and strength to look for you." The woman told him as his eyes closed for the final time. 'Oh gods, he's dead' I thought then slapped myself in the head 'you would know you idoit!' I scolded myself. I continued to watch as the woman moved hair from his face and kiss his forehead as she murmured a Greek blessing then she stood up strait. "Come in Nico."
I was so shocked that I fell back. She had known that I had been their the whole time. The door to the cabin swung open noiselessly like they do in creepy horror films. I wanted to yell for Annabeth or anyone to come and help because I was witnessing a kidnapping, but my instincts told me that everything that was happening now needed to happen. When I entered the room the door closed behind me and I realized that the woman was the goddess Hera. I gave her a glare which didn't seem to do anything except annoy her, but I continued to glare before I decided to speak my mind.
"Please tell me there is a good reason you are taking Percy other than to mess with Annabeth." I stated all formality aside. She studied me for a moment. I must have been very unimpressive. She didn't even seem a little uncomfortable. I wonder how she'd feel under Percy's death glare?
"A war is coming, I know you can feel it and Percy will help to bring the two camps together. So either you can stay and help Annabeth through this and give her hope, but not tell her where he is, or you will be put to sleep until these matters are solved. Your choice." She said.
"Let me guess you are going to make me swear not to tell anyone aren't you." I growled. She smiled at me and nodded. As much as I hated to roll over and play the 'Good dog' Annabeth may have a hard time seeing past Percy's disappearance. Percy would want me to help her. "Fine, I swear on a river Styx that I won't tell anyone where you are taking Percy,"
"Or tell Percy who he is if you see him before it is time for him to remember." She added. My fist clenched as I rested my eyes on my sleeping cousin. I could see his chest rise and fall. When he slept he seemed to be a lot younger then he was, almost younger than I am physically. His hair looked like someone spent hours soothing it with their fingers to make him look nice, his skin no longer looked sweaty, and his face was content. Hera had also taken the liberty to flash a camp T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans on him. I guessed that she also packed riptide with him. 'Sorry Perce' I silently prayed that he'd forgive me.
"And I swear not to tell him who he is if I run into him before it's time for him to remember." Thunder rolled across the sky as I finished.
"Good." Hera stated as she dissapeared in a flash of golden light taking the hero of Olympus with her. I knew there were only mere hours until the news got out. I sulked away feeling like a trator.