Disclaimer: See top of Chapter 1.
A/N Wow! I am amazed at all the reviews I've gotten so far! I can't believe you like it! :D Anyway... Here's the next chapter. (I'm doing this while pretending to work on a persuasive paper for English, so don't get mad if I don't get it up right away. :Þ)A/N
-Annabeth POV-
I cut off the water, ending the IM with my mom. I still wasn't sure about the safety, or sanity, for that matter, of my plan, but I had to know Percy's true feelings about me. I sat on my bed and waited till nightfall.
* * *
I put down Daedalus's laptop, put on my Yankees cap, and climbed off my bed. I could only hope that my mom would deliver with the hologram. She claims to be so good at them, but I'm still not sure.
I snuck down to Percy's cabin and looked through the window. A/N Do the cabins at camp have windows? Please don't get mad if they don't. In my version they do.A/N I had to wait about fifteen minutes, but he finally drifted off to sleep. I silently opened the door, praying to my mom (and Janus) that it wouldn't creak. It didn't. I lay down on the bed and waited.
After about half an hour of watching Percy sleep, I tossed the orange-and-yellow-painted rock I had in my pocket out the window. My mom must have gotten the signal, because a minute later, a perfect replica of the Minotaur appeared in all its glory. I nearly gasped, it was so real, but that would have woken Percy up, and I couldn't risk that. Not until the start of the plan itself, that is.
Next, I tossed the purple-pink rock out of the window, and my mom apparently got that signal too, because the Minotaur stumbled over. It hunched over me, appearing to the unobservant eye to be attacking me, and I knew that Percy's eye wasn't observant. Period. Steeling myself, I opened my mouth, and—barely whimpered. Percy didn't even stir. I should have known I would have gotten too nervous to execute at first. I took a few deep breaths, opened my mouth, and screamed with all my might.
Next came the most dangerous part of the plan. I tried to act unconscious/dead. Is there a difference between acting unconscious and acting dead? I don't know, I thought, immediately followed by Man, Annabeth, you've gotta keep control of your head. You know you think random thoughts when you're nervous, you should be prepared! I knew I was right. I looked up, just in time to see Percy's sword slashing right above my head and through the hologram, which turned to dust. Wow, I thought. Mom really is good at this.
The entire plan hung in the balance here. I needed him to find me, but he couldn't know that I was here until he did find me. I moved over as close to him as possible, and waited. Finally, thank Athena, his hand fell on my leg. He kept it there for a second, then felt his way up my body. I did notice him pause a bit when he reached my breasts. Was that a good sign or a bad sign? Finally, he reached my head and whipped my Yanks cap off. I remembered just in time to close my eyes. I knew I was now visible.
"Annabeth? Are you all right?" came Percy's beautiful voice. It became clear that he must have assumed that I was not all right, because after a few minutes of motionlessness, I heard him say my name over and over. "Annabeth?" he said. "Annabeth. ANNABETH!" After that I heard him actually start to cry. I nearly leapt up, told him what I had done, and begged forgiveness, but I managed to hold onto myself. Barely. He was ranting now, moaning "Annabeth, don't die, OK? There's so much I still haven't told you. You can't die, Annabeth." Then came the bombshell.
"I still haven't gotten up the nerve to tell you how much I love you."
Well, mission accomplished, I guess. He really does love me. So why didn't I feel like jumping up and rejoicing?
I guess it was because of how I'd gotten the information. I suddenly wished I had never had this brilliant idea. I wished I'd let him tell me himself, of his own accord. I wished I hadn't had to trick it out of him, and cause him more pain than he'd ever experienced in the process.
I wished I wasn't so smart.
But, as long as I had done it, I felt I might as well go through with it.
Suddenly, startling (and happifying*) me out of my sadness, I felt a touch on my lips. I immediately realized that Percy was kissing me. What I'd dreamed about almost every night for the past six years. Suddenly, I did feel like jumping up and rejoicing. But I had to go through with the plan. The stupid plan! I slowly opened my eyes. He pulled away in a hurry. "No. Don't go" was what I wanted to say to him. I wanted to tell him, "I was enjoying that." But I couldn't. That would break the charade.
So instead, I had to feign incoherence. "Percy?" I said blurrily (or so I hoped). "Is that you?"
*Yes, happifying is a word. I found it in the Oxford English Dictionary. Cool, huh?
A/NHope you liked this chapter as much as you liked the first one! Can't wait for more reviews! I'll update it after five more. If I know what I'm going to write yet.A/N