Title: Into the Attic
Set: Between The Sea of Monsters and The Titan's Curse
Summery: The scarf—that was all it was. Really, what had she been thinking, to keep it? As soon as she got rid of it, things would be okay.

A/N: Sorry about not updating for a few days! School started for me again today, so I'm afraid the updates will be coming farther apart from now on. I go to an online school, so you'd think I'd have more free time, but I really don't. It seems like every time I turn around, I'm being assigned a paper! Fun-writing, unfortunately, has to take a back seat. But anyway. I'm sure you don't care about that. Thank you for all your sweet reviews! Hopefully this oneshot will not disappoint.

Disclaimer: I don't own Annabeth, Percy, or any other characters. Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs solely to Rick Riordan. Quotes are from The Titan's Curse.

I stared at the scarf. I'd totally forgotten about it….

I'd just assumed she'd thrown it away. And yet here it was. She'd kept it all this time? And why had she stashed it in the attic?

I could not be crushing on Percy Jackson. It was impossible! But the stupid subject kept coming up.

It started with Thalia, almost as soon as we got her into the Big House. I guess she was trying to get her mind off what Grover and Chiron had just somewhat confusingly explained to her: she'd been fatally wounded fighting the hellhounds ("Well, duh. I'm able to tell when I've been ripped to shreds."), Zeus had turned her into a tree ("A tree. The best he could come up with was a tree. Geez, I feel loved."), and she'd been one for almost seven years. That was the part she'd had a little trouble with. I guess she thought Percy was the safest topic. At least she hadn't asked about Luke.

"So. Percy," she said, blinking.

"Yup," I said, deciding to give in. "Percy Jackson." I was still so rattled I could hardly think, but this seemed a safe enough topic. Unless she asked about the prophecy. Crap.

Thalia considered this, raking a hand through her short black hair. I'd forgotten how pretty she was, in that weird punk-ish, goth-ish way. "He's cute," she said.

At that point, my mouth might have actually fallen open. Whether it did or not, I couldn't come up with anything to say. Of all the comments to come out with, he's cute? What the Hades?

"Oh, sorry," Thalia said, traces of humor coming into her electric blue eyes. "Do you have dibs?"

At that point, I smacked her with a pillow, informed her that Percy and I were just friends, and told her she'd better watch it, or she might find herself a tree again. She laughed, told me she didn't think I had the guts, and we left the strange topic of Percy's cuteness behind us.

It was almost like the old days.

But then I had to tell her about Luke, and all lighthearted conversation stopped for the next few days. She was in the infirmary, although she didn't seem to be seriously injured. I hung out with her almost all the time. We didn't talk much. I could tell she was processing and working through everything, and I didn't want to make it worse. And anyway, I had a lot to think about, too.

Looking back, I couldn't exactly remember if Thalia and Luke had been… a thing. I knew they'd been best friends, attached at the hip and practically able to read each others' minds. But I was so young at the time, I wasn't sure if there had been something more going on.

I sure as Hades wasn't going to ask Thalia.

I also didn't want to share the seed of an idea that had been growing in my mind. Luke had said Thalia would be on his side. That wasn't true, of course, but maybe… Maybe he would listen to her. Maybe she could change his mind and bring him back.

Thalia moved into the Zeus cabin just before the school year started. After a lot of begging, we got Chiron to enroll her in the school I was attending.

Normally, leaving Camp for another round of educational torture was low on the list of things I liked. But if Thalia was coming… It wouldn't be so bad. My world was opening up again. Just like with Percy, Thalia's friendship made me feel like I mattered. In the last way I ever would have expected, I'd gotten some of the old days back.

My heart seemed to be celebrating, too. Although it couldn't quite figure out that Percy had nothing to do with Thalia coming to school with me. The little relay races and flips when he was around were getting more frequent. That was another reason I was glad to leave.

Around Halloween, we went back to Camp Half-Blood for a little training and downtime. Percy didn't come, and I couldn't decide if I was happy about that or not.

At least my heart's stupid acrobatics had stopped.

The first day we were there, I was digging through my trunk when my knuckles hit a soft lump in the bottom corner. I pulled it out, and an old hoodie spilled open in my grasp, revealing a coil of pink material.

"The scarf!" I gasped aloud. Thankfully, no one else was in the cabin.

I stood up, mind reeling. The scarf—that was all this strangeness had been! I didn't like-like Percy. Aphrodite's magic was tricking me! Keeping the scarf in my trunk had let the magic seep into my other clothes.

I shook the hoodie out, keeping the scarf in my hand. I had to get rid of it. Once I did, things would go back to normal.

Still, the idea of destroying it made me a little sad. Don't be ridiculous, I scolded myself. Why would you want the thing?

Then it occurred to me: the attic. That's where I could stash the scarf.

I stuffed it into my jeans pocket. The scent had completely faded after almost two years of sitting at the bottom of the trunk, but it didn't make me any less nervous. The magic obviously hadn't worn off. What if someone asked me what was in my pocket? The scarf made a pretty obvious lump.

I hesitated, then grabbed my Yankees cap and slid it on. Better safe then sorry.

I jogged across camp, only slowing to climb the Big House porch steps. Chiron and Mr. D always stopped their outdoor games of pinochle around the middle of October, so the porch was empty. I removed my hat and stuck my head in the backdoor.

"Hello?" I muttered, desperately hoping no one would answer me. All was quiet. I replaced the hat and tiptoed across the living room. By the time I got to the trap door leading to the attic, I was breathing normally again.

I pulled down the ladder and scurried up it. The attic looked basically the same as the last time I'd seen it, when I was ten years old.

A half-blood of the eldest gods
Shall reach sixteen against all odds
And—

I yelped and looked toward the Oracle. She was sitting on her stool as always, still and silent. I swallowed hard. The Great Prophecy. I hadn't thought about it in a while.

Thalia's face appeared in my mind, followed by Percy's. We hadn't exactly worked out Thalia's age, but it looked like she would be sixteen first. She was going to die again. I blinked hard. But then, to my utter horror, I felt a tiny trickle of relief. Percy would live.

I slammed my fist down on the nearest table, jittering everything on it. "Stupid!" I hissed. "Stupid, stupid scarf."

I threw the thing down, but it didn't fall very satisfyingly. It sort of just floated down to the wooden table top, taking its sweet old time.

Stupid scarf.

I wiped my suddenly sweaty hands on my jeans and poked around for the note cards I knew were up here… Ah-ha! I pulled one out of the small box, along with a safety pin and a stubby pencil. Leaning over to prop the card on the table, I took a moment to steady my hands. I needed to write this well.

Holding my breath, I formed the letters slowly and carefully.

SCARF OF THE GODDESS APHRODITE

RECOVERED AT WATERLAND, DENVER, CO.,

BY ANNABETH CHASE AND PERCY JACKSON

I studied our names there, side by side. Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson…

"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I flung the pencil back into its holder and ran for the ladder, scrambling back down into the hall below.

Panting, I let the rope slide through my fingers until the trapdoor was closed again. "There," I said. "It's gone now."

Only when I was halfway back to my cabin did I realize I probably should have put Grover's name on the card, too.

Oh well. No way was I going back up there.

Heroes stored all kinds of stuff in the attic: quest trophies they no longer wanted to keep in their cabins, or stuff that held painful memories.

A/N: Silly Annabeth. But, anyway. There we are. The scarf is in the attic. ;) I'm sorry if you wanted more about Thalia. I fought with that beginning for a while, and I'm still not 100% happy with it. But since I won't be able to post more tomorrow, and I haven't updated since last year... ;) I decided to just go ahead. The next oneshot is called "Immortal", and should hopefully be up by Friday or Saturday. Please review!