Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Rick owns all.

Percy didn't usually have much time to think about his love life. In fact he didn't think he had much of a love life at all.

But there were odd moments when he would have a little bit of time and just be able to think about where his love life was headed. So one night, 1 week after being in the Labyrinth, Percy was laying in bed, arms crossed on his pillow and hands behind his head, and he thought.

First there was Annabeth. Percy didn't know when he first starting feeling all jittery whenever she was near. Or when he started noticing tiny things like how that one strand of hair would always fall out of her ponytail and curve around the front of her face. Or whenever he did something stupid (which wasn't that unusual) she would just laugh at him and her eyes would sparkle.

No Percy didn't know when he started thinking so much, or noticing those things; but he did. And whenever he did he would immediately knock the thoughts away and try to ignore them, because really what was there to think about? There was Percy and then there was Annabeth. There was no way that there would ever be a Percy AND Annabeth.

But there was some times, when Percy would try to analyze her behavior To see if there was some sign, any sign at all, that she thought of him as more then a friend, and lately he just wasn't sure.

Because see since Rachel and the Labyrinth, Calypso and the news about Annabeth losing a loved one to a fate worse then death things had been tense, awkward and just unpleasant between them. And Percy had found himself spending less time with Annabeth and more time with Rachel.

Second was Rachel. Rachel was so easy to talk to. She understood what it felt like to be ignored- heck her own parents ignored her sometimes- and it seemed like she was an expert on awkward. So Percy had been calling Rachel more and more, and trying to forget the Great Prophecy and Annabeth and all of his friends fighting and preparing and just trying to have a good time.

Annabeth had been distancing herself from Percy lately anyways, and she was always on guard and would get frustrated with him so easily. Ever since the incident at Goode, what with blowing up the school and what not, and finally meeting Rachel she was grumpy. Percy wasn't sure what her problem with Rachel was exactly. Annabeth and her would always get into little fights and glare at each other, so after the Labyrinth Percy found himself having to choose who he spent time with and when and making sure to avoid seeing the other one when either of them were out with him.

It was hard. And Percy just wanted it to stop.

A couple of times the thought that Annabeth was jealous had crossed Percy's mind, and it fit the girls' behaviour perfectly, but whenever he would try to ask her about it she would deny it and laugh and say it was stupid. Why would she be jealous of a mortal?

Percy quickly learned to drop the subject.

And whenever Percy was with Rachel, when he mentioned Annabeth she would quickly become short with him, and answer with one word.

He had no idea what was going on. He didn't know what the problem between them was, and as far as he knew Annabeth had only met Rachel on that day at Goode, so he didn't think there was any bad history between them.

He just didn't know.

So Percy found himself making more and more trips to go and see Rachel to cool off, and blow some steam, and forget about the looming war that was coming up. He found himself ignoring one or two of Annabeth's calls, not wanting to have a fight - again- about stupid pointless stuff, and besides what would they talk about? Percy would have to quickly make something up about what he had been doing lately because mentioning Rachel would ensue a yelling match and both of them feeling worse then before.

The thing that Percy hated the most however wasn't the fact that the girls hated each other, or that he didn't know what he felt whenever they broached the subject of hanging out more. No what he hated the most was that Annabeth and Rachel absolutely refused to talk about what was going on. With anyone. They wouldn't talk to Percy, they wouldn't talk to their other friends about it, and they sure as heck weren't dialing the phone and calling up each other. And if Annabeth had told Thalia what was going on, she sure wasn't rushing to try to help Percy either.

And if they wouldn't let Percy know what the problem was, how could he even try to get them to make peace and become friends?

He couldn't and that's what sucked the most.

Because Percy didn't want to choose. And that's what he felt like would have to happen soon if something wasn't done about the girl's.

He sighed in frustration. Why were girls so complicated? Why couldn't they just tell you what they were thinking and tell you when you did something they didn't like instead of just going and acting like nothing was wrong, but then acting mad over the smallest things?

Percy wished his life was simple.

What he honestly thought was that the girls were being kinda stupid. They would probably be great friends if they just tried to get along, but no. They had to go and hate each other, and get all mad when you even mentioned their names.

Percy closed his eyes in frustration and rubbed his temples. He was getting a headache from just thinking about this, so he decided to sleep on it. He was going to Camp tomorrow and maybe he could ask one of his friends like Beckendorf to help.

Because really Percy just had no idea what was going on with those 2, and he doubted Beckendorf would be able to help but hey it was worth a try right?

With that thought Percy turned over and went to sleep.

oooOOOooo

Percy's Pov

I was having a bad day.

Annabeth had barely said anything to me since I'd arrived here, claiming that there was so much to do she didn't have time to relax... unlike some people.

The last part had hurt Percy but he had tried not to show it. Now he felt guilty because he had left all of his friends here to prepare for the war and where was he? Out with friends trying to forget all about it.

But I was here now, and that was all I could do.

First I put all of my things in my bunk, and looked over my things to see if someone- mainly the Stolls because they were the only one's crazy enough to try- had taken any of my things. My Minotaur was still there, the sea ponies on the roof. Everything looked the same. When I was satisfied I went out to try to find Chiron to tell him I was there and when that was done I went to look for Beckendorf.

Eventually I found him in the forges. When I stepped in I was overwhelmed with heat and the smell of melting metal and sweat. I heard metal on metal, people were shaping and making new weapons. Beckendorf was right in the middle, placing a piece of metal into the roasting fire. He was wearing an apron (which looked funny on such a tall muscly guy), gloves and a smoldering helmet so you couldn't see his face, but it was obviously Beckendorf. No one else in Camp was as tall or had the hulking body that he did.

Finally he saw me and motioned for me to wait. I quickly took a step back when he pulled out a glowing blade of celestial bronze and placed it in a round barrel of water. It steamed so much that for a couple of seconds I lost sight of him and when the steam finally cleared I saw him standing over the barrel and inspecting. Apparently satisfied he waved down a passing sibling of his and handed the tongs he was holding the blade with to her. He whispered a few words to her and she nodded before scurrying away, tongs still in her hands.

He turned back to me and took of the mask he was wearing. His face was dirty, and looked a little weary but he was smiling brightly.

"Hey Perce! Good to see you around here again." He said, voice deep.

"Hi Beckendorf. It's good to be back." I said to him, and even I could hear the flash of dryness in my voice. Beckendorf noticed it too and glanced at me, but decided
to say nothing. Smart of him.

He walked over to me, apron and gloves off, and clapped me on the back. "Come on, let's get out of here." he said.

Without another word we walked out, talking about small things like what we had been up to, weather and things like that. When we finally reached the edge of the forest though he turned to me and his expression turned questioning.

"OK Percy, so far I've heard about your mother getting new dishes but not the real reason you came to talk to me. So spill, and don't think about leaving anything out." Beckendorf's eyes were piercing and I knew that he would know the moment I told a lie.

So I sighed, and sat down leaning against a tree. "You better sit down," I said. "This will take a while."

So once he was comfortably sitting cross-legged on the ground I started talking. And I didn't stop.

I told him everything, how I didn't know what was going on between Annabeth and me, telling him all about Rachel and Annabeth, how I had been spending more and more time with Rachel. I even told him about how I was scared to tell Annabethn anything because what if she still had feelings for Luke? I asked him what to do, and how to solve the mess I was in. And he answered me.

"Well I don't know why you would come to me for advice, I have no idea how to act around girls. I mean I've been planning to ask Silena to go to the fireworks with me but I still haven't done it. I'm not exactly a ladies man, what with my dad and all but here's what I can tell you. Annabeth and Rachel. I don't know how you can solve what's going on between them; maybe just let them work it out for themselves. Or maybe they're waiting for you to make a decision." he said.

I frowned, already I was confused. "Make a decision about what?"

Beckendorf held up his hands in a a gesture of surrender. "I can't say for sure exactly but their fighting over something. And that something includes you man."

I shook my head. "But none of them will tell me what's wrong. Believe me when I say I've tried asking them, they just don't answer."

Beckendorf thought about this. "Well I think you should go ask Annabeth, right now."

I sighed. I had been thinking that too, but I wasn't sure I was up for it, if it turned into a screaming match. I sighed and stood up. "Alright. And Beckendorf?"

He looked up at me, shielding his eyes from the sun. "Ya?"

"Thanks, I appreciate the advice."

He smiled at me. "Anytime Perce, anytime."

So I turned and ran,n back into Camp, looking for the one person who had been causing me so much worry in the first place.

oooOOOooo

I found her eventually. In the Athena cabin, alone. She was drawing who knows what on a blueprint, and her laptop that Daedalus had given her was open beside her. It showed a diagram of something that I couldn't even make sense of, all I saw was a cirlcle. It looked kind of like a shield. (points for anyone who can guess what it is. Hint they used it in the Titan War)

I walked up to her, making sure to be quiet so that I wouldn't freak her out and tapped her on the shoulder.

Immediately she tensed and next thing I knew I was laying on a bunk with Annabeth's knife at my throat and her glaring down at me. When she realized who it was her face softened, but only a touch.

"Percy? What are you doing here. I'm trying to work." she took her knife away and sheathed it and her hand dropped from across my torso to her side. She stepped back with a dissaproving look on her face. "Besides, campers aren't supposed to be alone in a cabin."

I sat up and rubbed my throat, man she really knew how to use that knife. I ignored her questions and looked up at her. Her hair was in a ponytail like usual, she was wearing her Camp tank top and shorts. She looked the same as usual, except for the outlines of bags under her eyes. And the guarded way she looked at him. That was new.

"I hope you only did that because I surprised you, and otherwise you would've given me a hug." I said jokingly.

She met my eyes and I saw a spark of humor in them. The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile. "Nope. I had that all planned out for you."

I laughed. "Well thanks for your consideration."

She smiled at me for a moment, and for one second I could see the walls around her come down. But them her eyes got stormy again and her shoulders tensed. She turned back to the table she had been at and her voice was muffled when she asked "How's Rachel?"

I sighed. Great, in the first 5 minutes things were already going wrong. "Fine I guess." I hesitated before saying, "But I didn't come here to talk about Rachel."

Her shoulders tensed. "Oh? What did you come to talk about?" her voice was carefully controlled but I heard something, almost like a warning in her tone.

"Look, Annabeth... about the prohpecy, and the line about a loved one falling to a fate worse then death-" I started but she cut me off.

Annabeth turned around, her hair flying and her eyes were fierce and angry. "I don't want to talk about that, Percy. Why do you do this every time we talk now? We can't get through a whole conversation without you mentioning Luke or Rachel, or someone else? Why can't we just talk about us for a change? Is that so hard?" She demanded of me, and her hand slowly crept towards her knife.

I started to get angry. I wasn't the one acting all stubborn. I wasn't the one who started yelling every time. "It was you who brought up Rachel, Annabeth. Not me."

She shook her head. "You just don't get it do you? Gods, how can you be so dense?"

I felt a flash of hurt at her words, and it must have shown on my face because Annabeth immediately had a look of regret on her face.

"Well if I don't get it, explain it to me? I don't even know what's going on! And it doesn't help that every time someone even mentions Luke you get all hurt and angry. You can't stand anyone saying one bad thing about him! Well news flash Annabeth, he's not the great guy you think he is. He's hosting the soul of the Titan Lord in his own body for gods' sakes! How can you defend that guy? How can you love him?" I was yelling at her by the end and we were both breathing heavily.

Annabeth's eyes had become as cold as ice. "You don't know anything about Luke! Or how I feel about him! And what about Rachel huh?" she almost hissed the words at me.

"What about Rachel?" I asked her, my voice just as cold as hers had been.

"Oh come on Percy, don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. It's obvious that she likes you, and you're just to oblivious to see it! Why can't you just open your eyes!" By the last word she had tears in her eyes, and her hands were shaking. I had a flash of surprise, maybe we weren't talking about Rachel anymore.

"Look Annabeth," I started and was happy when my voice was a lot gentler then it had been a second ago. "Rachel is just a friend. Besides I came here to talk to you about something-"

But she cut me off. "Look, maybe you should get out. Coming here was a bad idea." She was trying to wipe her eyes subtly, but I still saw. "You're right OK? Luke is evil."

"Annabeth, that's not what I-"

"I know what you meant Percy. You made yourself perfectly clear. Now if you'll excuse me I have things to do. Plans to draw out, and weapons to design for the war. So I'm sorry if I can't give you the attention you're looking for." She turned back to her laptop and blueprint, which was a pretty obvious way of saying 'get the heck out buddy.'

"Fine then." I said my voice hard. "I guess I'll go find someone else who can- and I quote- 'give me the attention I'm looking for. Thanks for being such a great friend."

With that I got up and turned away from her. I strode towards the door and opened it. I ignored the crowd of campers who were all looking at me with surprise and a little bit of fear, and slammed the door behind me. I brushed past everyone, ignoring their attempts at conversation and knocking away all of the hands that were extended to me. I could hear Travis and Connor calling my name, Clarisse demanding me to stop, and Beckendorf jogging over to ask how it went.

I just walked to my cabin, slammed the door and collapsed on my bunk feeling like everything around me was falling into chaos.

oooOOOooo

I skipped dinner that night, and so, I heard, did Annabeth. Word of our arguement had spread around the camp like wildfire and I had already had Grover come knocking at my cabin door, then Beckendorf, then a lot of my other friends but I just ignored them.

I didn't feel like talking and besides what was there to talk about? Annabeth and I had a fight so what? We fought all the time, but even I could realize this one was different. It wasn't just about me being stupid, or Annabeth needing to take a day off anymore. This fight had been more personal. And frankly, I didn't know how to handle personal.

So what did I do? I stayed in my cabin and sulked. But when it was time for campfire I got up, went to the bathroom and straightened out my crumpled clothes and once again tried to get my hair to stay down. It didn't.

Eventually I couldn't delay it any longer, I turned and walked out of my cabin making my way over to where I heard singing, laughter and voices talking. Great, so I was late. That meant my entrance would be that much more noticed.

When I got there I just and went to sit on a log farthest to the back and stared at the ground. I ignored all of the looks and whispers and just sat there. The only time I looked up was when I felt someone sit next to me.

"Hey Seaweed Brain."

"Wisegirl."

We sat there for a couple of seconds, staring into the flames before she said something.

"I'm sorry."

I glanced up at her and felt guilty when I saw her eyes were red. She was staring into the fire though, waiting for my answer.

"Me too."

And that was that, we never mentioned it again. It was always there though, and every conversation we had until the end of the War would be tainted with it. Later that night we ended up having a marshmallow fight, stuffing them into each others mouth's and laughing our heads off.

We both saw the relieved looks people sent towards us but we ignored them. Eventually all of the campers ended up taking part in our little war, and being sent to the showers by Chiron and then to their bed.

When I fell asleep that night, I didn't feel any better about the Annabeth/Rachel situation, but for some reason I had a feeling everything would work itself out.

oooOOOooo

End.

This takes place about a week before the Percy Jackson and the Bronze Dragon story in the Demigod Files, and it's just something that I can see happening between the characters during that summer. Sorry if I got anything wrong and I hoped you liked it! Reviews are appreciated.

Love you all!
Percyjacksonfan3