I woke up at four in the morning, not able to sleep. I wish it would rain, that was always the trick to making me fall asleep. My eyelids slowly opened and my room was dark, pitch black was all I could see aside from the window that showed the crescent moon. I reached over and switched on the lamp. The walls of my cabin started glowing silver.
I sighed and looked at my digital clock and it read: 4:07 A.M.
There's only one thing left to do, and that's the only thing left to do. I grabbed my Boys Like Girls hoodie and went out the door. The morning breeze felt good against my skin. Taking walks at night were my thing back when I was "normal."
All the lights were out and there was no noise, which was strange. Usually during the day it's noisy and unbearable. People scream and shout, it's ridiculously annoying.
I walked through the forest, and then somehow ended up at the cliff where you could get a great look at the sea. I went to the edge and sat down, my legs hanging. I gazed out at the sky and started thinking of Percy.
He's been on my mind a lot lately. Pretty much all I could think about, which is honestly not a good sign of anything. I couldn't sleep because of that… that punk. I guess you could say that I was paranoid about the ball and who he was going with.
I decided to take a midnight swim, what's the harm? It was a blur when I took the path down the hill to make it to the bottom of the cliff. The sea was calm, and the water was still very warm from the hot day of yesterday.
I just took off my hoodie and set it on the dry sand. The waves seemed to be very peaceful at this early hour. Slowly, I made my way to the water. Then I jumped in.
"SPLASH!"
It felt good, the feeling of being under water. It waked me up a bit and I held my breath. The water was clear and weren't polluted, unlike the rivers in Rhode Island.
Just when I was about to take my head out of the water, I saw him.
Percy was in the water asleep, his hair away from his face. His eyes closed.
I popped my head out of the water and took in some oxygen, then I dunked back in and swam forward towards Percy. Immediately, he opened his eyes. They were sparkling green.
I stopped in my tracks and looked at him, feeling a quite awkward moment coming along. He touched my arm and I could instantly start breathing again.
"What're you doing out here?" asked Percy, his eyebrows knitted with concern.
"I was just, having a midnight swim. And, what about you?" I answered, feeling ecstatic from his touch.
"I'm Poseidon's son, I think it's quite self-explanatory." His freshness gave me a ping of annoyance, as usual.
I looked down, hoping my cheeks weren't as red as I thought they were. "So, you excited for the ball?"
He didn't reply, it looked as if he was thinking of one to say. It took him a minute to decide. "There's been something on my mind lately, but I didn't know if I should tell you or not."
I looked up at him, startled. Partly because of his piercing, beautiful green eyes and the fact that he wanted to tell me something! "And what's that?"
His cheeks blushed a deep crimson red and then he looked away. Is he trying to ask me to the ball with him? Oh gods, this has to be a dream. It's a dream, this would never happen in a million years! This is too romantic, it's too perfect.
"Well, I'm still trying to decide whether or not…" Percy looked up at me. "whether or not… I should take Annabeth to the ball."
That just backfired and blew up in my face. I could feel the tears start warming up. What the hell? He's honestly got to be shitting me, right? No, please be a dream. Now, I'm begging it for it to be a dream. This is too awkward.
"I didn't know who to talk to about it and you seemed like a great friend," Percy sighed, and then gave me a hopeful grin. "So, what do you think I should do?"
I couldn't make myself move or customize another facial expression. It felt as if I were frozen in time underwater with a boy who I think I am falling for. A boy who has been falling for an Athena child. A boy who is asking me for advice.
"Alexa?" Percy cocked his head to the side.
I blinked and then stared at him. "I think, you should do whatever your heart tells you." My words came out slow, like someone had played me in slow motion on a video tape.
Percy's lips were in a tight line, and then he bit it. "I don't know, what if Annabeth says no?"
"Why would she say no?" my words came out faster than I had intended it to.
"Well, we were dating after our last quest. She broke up with me and, well, I want her back. Plus, our parents hate each other. It's just complicated, you know?" Percy responded automatically, like he's rehearsed this before.
"Oh," I said. "well, maybe she won't say no this time? I don't know why she would dump you, you're…" I couldn't find the words to finish my sentence. I couldn't find the words to finish my sentence, I just couldn't. If I did, I knew I'd have tears coming out of my eyes any second. They were already filling up.
"I'm, what?" Percy asked, his green eyes wide.
"You're Percy Jackson, Poseidon's son. You're like a celebrity." Those were the only things I could think of. It was a pretty good excuse.
He gave me a sour look, as if I offended him in some way. "All anyone thinks of me is Poseidon's son! It's like they know me as that, and for the quests I've done. But that doesn't mean anything. That doesn't mean shit! Before all of this, I was Percy Jackson. Not Percy Jackson, Poseidon's son. I thought we were actually gonna become close friends… but I guess I was wrong. You like me for what people label me as, not for who I really am."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Percy was yelling at me? This has to be a dream. I could feel tears running down my face. I quickly wiped it away and looked away from Percy. His face looked fierce and upset. He let go of my arm and turned his back to me.
I quickly swam up to get some air. My hair was soaked and I felt miserable. I slowly swam back to shore and grabbed my hoodie. I used it as a towel and dried myself off as I started up the pathway back to the cabins. This was not a good start with Percy at all.