That night, he lie asleep while it poured cats and dogs outside. Percy's mind was at ease and dreams were pleasant.
He was sitting on the beach, the sun gleaming off of his thick black hair. Little kids were cheering in the distance. They were Grover's kids, Dean and Alex.
Grover was throwing them in the ocean and Percy was using his water powers to catch them and carefully bring them back. It was like a boomerang effect.
"Again! Again!" Alex cheered.
Finn was there too, only he was happy and not being Finn. He was listening to his ipod while sun bathing. Percy could hear "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock coming from Finn's ear buds.
Annabeth was there. She was reading something that he couldn't make out the words. She looked great with her blonde princess curls pulled back into a ponytail. She sat next to him and was humming along to "All Summer Long". Apparently she heard Finn's ipod too. Piper and Jason were having a catch with the beach ball and Jason kept tripping and missing. Piper's laughter could be heard clearly.
"Catch it you dummy!" she teased as Jason laughed in spite of himself.
"I'll catch it when you learn to throw it!" he teased back and she rolled her eyes but chuckled.
Annabeth looked over at Percy.
"Can you put lotion on my shoulders for me?"
Percy's heart was racing. "Uh sure!"
He tried to look cool as he stood up and grabbed the bottle, but ended up tripping and grabbing a water bottle instead. Now Annabeth's laughter and a clear "Oh Seaweed Brain." Was heard.
He finally got a hold of the bottle of lotion and squirted it on his hands. He silently prayed to Athena that he would say something wise or smart as he did this.
He placed his hands on his warm shoulders.
"Your shoulders are warm." He said observantly.
"Thank you." She took it as a compliment. "I enjoy being warm blooded."
He laughed nervously as he rubbed it in small circles. "Me too."
I guess Athena ignored his prayer. "You know, the sun's rays are most dangerous from 2-4." He blurted out.
Maybe she didn't ignore him.
Annabeth nodded. "Put more on then. I can't get fried."
"You tan though."
"Tanning is overrated." She muttered as he rubbed more on.
"Does get lotion rubbed on your body feel like a massage?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not really. It kind of just feels like cream that smells like weird bananas."
"I agree with the bananas thing since this is banana boat." He point out sarcastically and she laughed.
"Good point."
He was loving how this was going.
"So remember when we went out?" she blurted out. She remembered?
His heart was thudding in his chest. He was afraid she could hear it. "Yyy-eah."
"Well I found an old t-shirt of yours in my dresser of my cabin at camp."
"How do you know it's mine?"
"It's a Yankees shirt from the world series. I know you loved the yanks and that you bought that at the series."
"You keep it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, something to remember me by."
"I don't think I could forget you." She said softly as she faced him.
Percy sat up in his bed breathing heavily. It wasn't like it was a nightmare, it was just unexpected for him to dream of her like that. And the worst part was, he actually kind of sorta wanted it to happen. Well… he wanted something to happen that way.
Everyone had to be right though. He was over thinking being with someone. If he did like her, he didn't want to be with her because he just wanted to be with someone. He would have to completely blow the thought of marriage and future out of his head like she seemed to. She seemed completely satisfied with her life even though she wasn't the most successful.
He'd try to not think of things as what they weren't but for what they were. He would try to list the good parts of his day instead of the bad. He will be the best person he could be to feel good about something. If his future consisted of Annabeth… well then so be it.
It wasn't that easy though. Those were thoughts and ideas, but he couldn't stop wanting to plan his future. He felt safer that way. The point was, he really couldn't be with her until he could find himself. Maybe he needed her to find himself.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a knocking came at his door. He glanced out the window at the pouring rain.
"Who would walk in this weather?" then he looked at his clock.
"And 3 in the morning at that."
He slipped a shirt and shorts on and walked over to the door. He opened the door to see a soaking wet Annabeth.
"Annabeth?" he asked. He glanced out passed her to be able to see nothing but blinding rain and the moonlights that illuminated the raindrops.
She wore shorts and a camp Half-blood t-shirt. Her hair was tied back and she looked more like she did when she was younger. She was wetter though.
"Hey." She said simply.
He looked at her in disbelief. "What are you doing?"
"I'm free. Now how about that canoe ride?"
"It's raining."
"So?" she asked.
"It's 4 am."
"So? You're up."
"Well now I am." He grumbled.
"Hey, you were the one who was so adamant about this canoe ride. I told you I'd stop by your cabin when I'm free."
"And you're just getting free now?" he said amazed.
"Yeah, I had some last minute touch ups to do at Olympus."
"I thought you were…"
"You need to stop thinking for a minute, Percy. You need to take a chance."
"What's happened to Annabeth?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're so not you anymore."
"Yes I am. You just haven't seen me in like forever."
"You used to be so cautious and thought things through."
"I still do… I just don't over-think the already thought like I did when I was a teenager. I'm not a teenager anymore, Percy. I hope you realize I've grown up…"
"I know, I know! And to be honest, I like it. It takes some getting used to because it isn't what I'm used to but I do. I like this part of you."
She smiled and nodded. "Good. Now are you coming or aren't you? I am prepared to go alone."
He paused for a moment then smiled. "Let's go."
