I wasn't nervous. I was just going to see Annabeth, as so many times before. The only difference was that we would be alone. In the middle of the forest, for a picnic. She had said she had something important to tell me, that couldn't wait. Okay, so maybe I was a little bit nervous, I mean, it is Annabeth we are talking about - the hottest girl on camp. With a last look in the mirror I slandered out of my cabin, running into Annabeth who was walking up the stairs. We both fell backwards, rumbling down the two cement-steps of the stair, ending up in a pile in front of my cabin. Not the best move if you want to impress a girl – but hey – at least I got close to her.
"Percy?" she breathed. She was lucky it wasn't Tyson coming out of that door! If it was, she would be Annabeth-mush right now.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, confused, as I stood up, rubbing my throbbing knee.
"Chiron has called for a meeting in the house", she said breathlessly. We both looked up at the big yellow house visible on the top of the hill.
"Does that mean…?" I asked, but paused mid-sentence as I moved my view away from the house over to Annabeth. I couldn't stop myself from foolishly letting out a "Wow". She was wearing a green summer dress that curved around her body, her hair was curled and loose and she actually wore make-up. I could see her blush under the already red cheeks and she shifted, uncomfortable, under my staring gaze.
"You really look beautiful!" I gasped, still with my eyes fixed on her.
"He said it was urgent", she said, reminding me of the meeting.
"Oh right, Chiron."
"C'mon seaweed brain! Let's go". Annabeth started to walk down the path away from the cabin, leaving me behind. I quickly catched up, rushing up beside her. I bravely took her hand in mine and looked down at her face. A smile was spreading wide across her face.
"Look at you! You look all in love", I teased her.
"Then you should see your face" she teased back and I realized that I also wore a wide, foolish smile on my lips.
"Hey, lovebirds! You comin' sometime or what?" Thalia's voice echoed from the big house, and I could see Chiron standing behind her on the porch. Annabeth reflexively pulled back her hand, leaving an empty space between us.
"We can't keep it a secret forever."
"But Chiron? He is like my dad!"
"You have to introduce me to your family sometime, you know", my comment made Annabeth giggle and she looked a little bit less uneasy. But she still looked uncertain so I took her hand again and squeezed it.
"He probably already knows."
Annabeth let out a small sigh, then she turned to me, gave me a quick kiss on my cheek.
"I love you seaweed brain". Her comment startled me – it was the first time she had ever said that to me and I felt my heart bolting, wanting to escape from my chest.
"I love you too", I said happily, squeezing her hand again. Without saying anything more, we started to walk towards the big house together, hand in hand.