Chapter 4:

I Saw You

PREVIOUSLY...

"What's wrong?" I asked. Was he going to tell me a secret? What was going on?

He let go of my hand. "Annabeth, I... I have to tell you something."

Now...

Annabeth's POV

"Tell me something? Tell me what?" I asked.

"Well, um... you know how Nico was saying that I had to imagine something or someone that I cared about the most? That would keep me tied to the mortal world?" he began, looking nervous.

"Yeah...?" I didn't know where he was going with this. Why would he want to talk to me privately about what Nico had said?

"Well... I saw... a girl. A girl that was with me at camp. I'd fallen out of my canoe, and I was in the canoe lake," he explained slowly. "She held out her hand to help me out, and I took it. But even after I was out of the lake, she still held onto my hand. And then... well, she leaned in as if she were about to kiss me," he blushed. "But... a second before, y'know, our lips met," he blushed even darker, "She just... disappeared," he concluded. "And, that girl... well, I care about that girl more than anything," Now his face was red in the extreme. I wasn't really sure what to think. Why did he want to tell me this so badly? And who was this girl? She couldn't have been a person he'd never met before, because how could he care about a stranger more than anything? But... wouldn't he have mentioned a name if he were talking about somebody he knew? Unless... he didn't want me to know the name? My temper flared. There's only one girl on this planet who Percy knows I don't want to hear about, and that girl is...

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare?" I demanded, struggling to keep my voice down. "Percy, why the Hades would I want to know about your little romantic vision about Rachel?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Annabeth, why would my vision be about her?"

"Don't act like it wasn't her you saw!" Now I was really mad. Percy Jackson was mine! Whoa, where'd that come from? He wasn't mine! But he sure as Hades wasn't Rachel's!

"Annabeth, it wasn't her!" he looked desperate, as if he were trying to get me to realize something.

"Then who was it?" I was so angry that my eyes were tearing up. But why was I so mad? I already knew that Percy liked Rachel more than me. I was just wasting my energy on unnecessary anger right now. But dang it, did that kiss on Mount St. Helens mean nothing to him? Because... it sure meant a lot to me. I'd kissed him for more than good luck. I kissed him to get my point across that I loved him, just in case he died. And now he was having visions about Rachel? Was I nothing in his life? No more than a mere friend? I had totally put my feelings on the line with that move. I had been completely vulnerable to him. He has the power to break my heart. Stupid, I thought, Why would you kiss him when you knew he didn't like you?

He sighed. "Wise Girl, listen to me," he said, looking a little calmer. The only reason I was listening was because I liked when he called me 'Wise Girl'. I punched other people when they called me that. "What did you hear just before I exploded out of the river?"

"Uh, I heard 'Annabeth, where'd you go'." I said in a duh voice, still hurt.

"Exactly. And what was the last thing that happened in my vision?" he pressed. He sounded nervous, like whatever he was trying to tell me he really didn't want to say out loud.

"Um... the girl disappeared?" In my mind, I replaced the words the girl with Rachel.

He smiled hopefully. "Yes. Now, tell me... how do those two facts connect?"

They don't connect! Was what I felt like saying. I was a child of the Goddess of Wisdom, and even I couldn't figure out what he was trying to point out. My mind was clouded with indecision.

"I don't know! You're making no sense!" I exclaimed.

The hopefulness vanished from his face. "Annabeth... please, don't make me say it." he said. "You're a child of the Goddess of Wisdom! You should be able to figure out what I'm trying to say."

"Are you insulting my intelligence?" I asked, though I wasn't offended. I was just playing with him.

He smiled. "Seriously, Wise Girl. What I'm trying to say is so obvious!"

"Apparently, it isn't."

He blushed slightly, taking a step toward me. "Do you reallywant to know who I saw in my vision?"

"Well, yeah! That's the only reason I'm still standing here!" I urged, getting angry.

He blushed even darker, looking at the ground. Couldn't we get through a simple conversation without him blushing all over the place?

"Annabeth..." he began, his gaze still on the floor. "I... I saw-"

"What the Hades is taking so long?" Thalia yelled, running over. Gods dang it! He was just about to tell me!

Thalia stopped when she noticed how close together Percy and I were standing. "Um... I'm gonna go..." then she turned around and ran back where she'd come from.

"Okay..." I said.

Percy looked annoyed. "Annabeth. I did not see Rachel in my vision. I saw somebody I've known since I was 12. Somebody who said I drool in my sleep. Somebody that calls me Seaweed Brain. Somebody who kissed me on the cheek for the first time after we won the chariot race together. Somebody who survived having the weight of the sky on her shoulders. Somebody who kissed me again on Mount St. Helens, who I have loved ever since." Okay, now my heart was really racing. "Annabeth," he said, "I saw you." I was seriously breath less. I was still holding my breath when he slowly leaned forward, cupped my face in his smooth hands and traced his thumbs over my cheeks. Then he kissed me. I'd never been happier.