Disclaimer :
Rick Riordan owns them. That's it.
~&~ Stole My Heart ~&~
| PJO | Percabeth |
| Annabeth Chase | Percy Jackson |
^Annabeth^
We were about a block away from the place of meeting. Liam parted with us here, saying that Arachne will call any minute. I had a suspicion that he was a double crosser but pushed that away because he seemed sincere. But, children of Arachne's have a lot of tricks up his sleeves. For the time being, I should trust him and also keep my eye on him in case he does something suspicious. I can't say the same for Nico, however. He seems like the mysterious guy. Even an old lady on the sidewalk would think that he's a spy. Plus, he seems to know a lot. So, Nico and I continued our journey and when we were about to walk in, Nico grabbed me by the arm. I was alarmed but he whispered in my ear.
"Whatever I do, just go along with it," I nodded and we walked in, Nico holding the door for me.
Since it was morning, the place was quite empty. A waitress was brewing some coffee and making pancakes. Speaking of which, I'm hungry. I didn't eat anything before we came here. The problem is, I am on a mission here. I look around and spotted the detective crew. They had some cups of coffee on the table and I counted about 5, meaning that they bought two for us. At least I have my caffeine to keep me going. I could feel Percy's eyes on me. Not just him, everyone's eyes at the table were on me and Nico. Then again, they probably know Nico, since they work together. So, their eyes were on me. We arrived at their table.
"Sup?" Wow, casual Nico. I never thought of that side on him. His features turned less tense and he had a playful aura. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Nico," He said back. The redhead, Rachel, gave a small hey and Jason gave a little nod. He probably feels bad after getting tricked by Sneaky Owl. What a bummer. Nico was just glancing around and I nudged his foot with mine. Did he just forget me ?
"Hey guys. Um, meet Annabeth," Really ? Just Annabeth ? That's the smoothest you could do, huh ? After greeting them back, I saw a flicker of recognition in Percy's eyes and for a second, I feared that he matched me with Sneaky Owl. He opened his mouth to say something but Nico beat him to it.
"Annabeth is my girlfriend."
I tried not to let a surprised squeak out of me. I had no idea he was going that deep. Remembering Nico's words, I played along. But seriously, can't he have introduced me as someone else ? I maintained my composure and smiled at Nico. My eyes were saying, 'You are so explaining this to me later' but my smile said, 'Yes, dear'. Nico sent me a look that said, 'More convincing please' and I took his hand and intertwined our fingers. Percy immediately closed his mouth and cleared his throat. He ran a hand through his hair and took a sip of his coffee.
"I'm gonna buy some food," Nico said suddenly. He got out of my grip. I yanked his hand in mine again and looked into his black orbs.
"And I'm coming with you," I stated, my eyes fierce. Nico forced a smile and nodded. I looked back to the group. Jason was playing Tetris on his phone and Rachel was probably texting someone. Percy, however, was staring out of the window. With one last glance, I followed Nico to the counter and stood by him. The waiter took our order and went to make them. I turned to Nico.
"Why didn't you warn me about this ?" I asked, in hushed whispers. Nico tugged at his collar nervously.
"I did. I told you to play along with whatever I do," He responded. I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"This wasn't the type of thing I expected when you told me that," I said, my hands gesturing frantically. Nico scratched the back of his neck. I added, " Why didn't you introduce me as your sister or your cousin or even, your friend ?"
Nico groaned. " Percy is my cousin. He remembers all of his cousins and knows all of my sisters. If I told him you were a friend, he'll think that I wanted to meet him here to hook him up with some other dumb blonde," he explained. I tilted my head at the word 'dumb'. Frowning, I stepped on his foot before turning around and walking back to our booth. Once I was there, I had no other choice than to sit next to Percy. He seemed quite startled when I sat next to him and then he just continued to stare at the window.
"Oh man, my make up's ruined !" Rachel exclaimed, looking at her phone's screen. I analyzed her face and found that there was nothing wrong with her. She got up to go to the bathroom. Jason got up too.
"I'm going to go buy a newspaper at the local groceries store," He slid out of the booth and walked away. I found nothing interesting so I gazed out of the window, like Percy did. I saw two little kids, hiding behind a bench. One boy and one girl. The boy said something to the girl and she nodded. They walked over to a nice lady selling some hotdogs. The lady had set out some already prepared ones on the top of her table. The girl walked up to the lady while the boy hid behind some bushes. The girl made small talk with the lady while the boy sneakily took two wrapped hotdogs and ran for it. The girl finished her conversation and made a run for it, leaving the lady very confused.
"Oh my God !" I exclaimed, finding the situation very funny. Percy looked at me, in confusion. I elaborated, " A little boy and a little girl just stole from that hotdog vendor. Not just that, they used the distract and take tactic. It's like the simplest stealing tactic in all of history. Either they added a few modifications or that hotdog lady is dumb."
Percy raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. " You know about stealing tactics ?"
I nodded. "I know every single one." I realized what I just said and quickly added, "Got a lot from Nico."
"Oh," He said. "What else did Nico tell you ?" I grinned. Payback time.
"Well, he told me a lot. He even said that I could be a spy if I wanted to," I said, smugly. Not entirely true but who cares ? Percy frowned.
" A lot ? Wow, you two are... intimate," He said that word as if it was poison.
"I guess..." I said, slowly as Jason came back with a newspaper in hand and I wondered whether or not Rachel had drowned in the toilet seat. Nico came back with our food and he sat down next to me. I had to scoot over closer to Percy just to make room for him. Percy didn't look uncomfortable at all. I ate the food that Nico bought me and we sat there in silence. My gaze wondered to the front page of the newspaper. It had my cover name on it. My cover same was crossed over and the word 'Death Ninja' was scrawled above it. I read it briefly.
A new competition ?
Even in the thievery world there is competition. Apparently, Sneaky Owl has a newbie as one. She appeared last night to steal one of the gems from the exhibition. Detective Rachel assumed that the newbie had appeared soon after, interfering with the world's top thief's plans. "We doubt they were partners, considering the way they quarreled," Rachel said, when asked about this. For more new, turn to page 2.
I frowned. This is getting out of hand. Everyone knows of this now. If Arachne did know, I'll be screwed. What about Luke ? What would he think ? He'll probably doubt that I let some newbie try to conquer this. All I have to do is find out what Nico is planning and make some of my plans on the way. That would be hard considering I have Percy on my back and he is really thorough. I might slip up. Well, I haven't exactly for now but who knows when I might. Then, there's the Nico problem.
Oh my God.
Do I have to kiss him ?
*Updated 21/9/2012
A/N :
So, any thoughts ?
To all Directioners, One Direction's Live While We're Young is already on Youtube. It's a great song !
xoxoxo Amy's Mischievous Owl
