Well the last chapter was especially fun to write! Sorry about that last cliffhanger, but don't you just love suspense? Thanks for all the lovely reviews and please keep them coming! Now for what you have all been waiting for….. Chapter 9!

*Percy PoV*

"Sorry Percy. But I can't let you do that."

We stood there froze for a few seconds, me with my arm outstretched and her with a dagger to my throat. You know, the normal girlfriend, boyfriend embrace.

"Come on Annabeth. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I'm already this close," I try to reason with her, but in the back of my mind I know she won't relent.

"I'll do it the easy way. And by easy way, I mean beating your butt in a sword fight." I slowly turn around pushing her dagger away from my neck. I meet her stormy grey eyes and as I look at her, I see her hand start to tremble.

"Please Wise Girl, I will always be the better sword fighter and you know it." Strange enough, instead of smiling like she usually does when I call her by her nickname, her eyes become steely and hard.

"Raise your sword Perseus," she shifts her feet into a fighting stance.

"Perseus? Annabeth, what's going on?" I uncap riptide still wondering what is with the attitude. There is no way she knows. Right? Instead of answering she lunges at me with ferocity like she actually wanted to dagger me.

"Holy Hades Annabeth! Chill!" I parry and start to move my feet around to block her strokes. I swing my sword, hitting her side with the blunt end of my sword. I didn't want to hurt her after all… She swore and grasped her side and I immediately felt bad. She swings her dagger again trying to catch me off guard, but my ADHD was kicking in. After a few more minutes of thrusting, parrying, and slashing, our weapons locked. She was two inches from my face, both of us breathing heavily. Her eyes were stormy, like they were about to unleash their anger. Her mouth was set in a tight line.

"I understand the whole 'we are in battle, I have to be tough' idea but jeez girl!" I stare down at her, and I see her composure start to crumble. Her eyes start to fill up with water, which surprised me since Annabeth never cried in battle. Not even when she saw her friends get killed in front of her.

"Annabeth what's wrong?! I didn't hurt you did I!" I start to lower my sword, afraid that I hurt her. She doesn't lower her dagger though. Instead she points it straight at me.

"I saw you Percy. I saw you."

*Annabeth's PoV*

"I can't let you do that Percy," I held my dagger to his throat. His fingers were two inches away from my flag and there was no way this little backstabbing boy was getting my flag. He stood up slowly, but didn't turn around. So many emotions were whirling around inside of me, but I couldn't let my emotions get the best of me. I am in battle, I can't break down now.

"Come on Annabeth. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I'm already this close," Does he know me at all? Does he really think that is going to work? His brain is really full of kelp.

"I'll do it the easy way. And by easy way, I mean beating your butt in a sword fight." He turns around then, his gorgeous green eyes falling on mine. His hands fall to his side, but my dagger stays in place. Looking at him though, pull of confidence like he has done nothing wrong made me tremble in anger. Who does this guy think he is?

"Please Wise Girl, I will always be the better sword fighter and you know it." He throws me that smile that always makes me melt on the inside, and I hated him for it. I guess he expected me to smile or laugh or something and when I didn't his face fell.

"Raise your sword Perseus," I say, making my voice as hard as possible. I never call him Perseus, and it felt weird saying his real name. But right now, Percy just felt to intimate.

"Perseus? Annabeth, what's going on?" I didn't answer, I just raised my dagger and he uncapped Riptide. We both got into our fighting stance, and waited for the other to make a first move. When he didn't, I abandoned my usual "let the other make the first move" and lunged at him. I could tell he totally didn't expect it, but his reflexes are the best I have ever seen. He parry's and dodges everything I throw at him.

"Holy Hades Annabeth! Chill!" That just made me madder. I attempted to lunge, thrust, and any other moves I could try, but nothing was getting through his defense. He even landed a hit to my side, which stung like crazy. We fought for a few more minutes, both of us locked in a deadly dance.

"I understand the whole 'we are in battle, I have to be tough' idea but jeez girl!" This actually made me excited when I realized I was giving him a hard time. Our weapons locked then, making us much closer than I wanted. Actually, I wish he were closer. Then the image of him kissing Lacey flashed through my mind and suddenly I wish my dagger were closer to him. His green eyes burned into mine, and I felt all of my emotions rise to the surface reaching my eyes. I mentally cursed myself for showing weakness in front of him.

"Annabeth what's wrong?! I didn't hurt you did I!" He backs up a few steps and lowers his sword then a look of worry settled on his face. I keep my dagger level though, not lowing it a bit. Yes Percy. You did hurt me. More than you will ever know.

The words were out before I could stop them, "I saw you Percy. I saw you." Once I said those words, Percy turned whiter than the ghost in the underworld. I heard him catch his breath, and Riptide clattered to the ground. At that point, the tears started flowing down my face.

"Annabeth…." He started, but I pressed my dagger closer to him. I wouldn't actually hurt him, I don't know if I could if I tried.

"Don't! Don't you dare try to apologize. Don't you dare try to make it ok because it's not. You were my everything Percy. I trusted you with more than my life, I trusted you with my heart," Tears were streaming down my face and I hated myself for not having more self-control. The last thing I wanted was to show weakness. He took a step forward, pressing his chest into my dagger. His eyes never left mine though.

"Annabeth—" He started again, but I wasn't finished.

"You know, before you there was one other guy I truly trusted before you. Who I would have died for. His name was Luke Castellan. He also broke my heart. But I didn't show it. I got over it because I found you. You with that stupid smile you give that makes my heart melt and that stupid way you make fun of me, but instead of making me mad it just makes me love you more." I realized what I was saying half a second to late. My hand started to tremble more after that. It trembled to the point where I could barely keep my hand level. Percy slowly raised his hand at that point and put it on my dagger slowly pushing it down. His eyes never left mine though. He took a step forward, closing the distance between us.

"Annabeth, I swear it wasn't like that—" He was so close now I could feel heat radiation off his body.

"You kissed her! You kissed that shallow, stupid little girl! She just had to bat her pretty little eyes and you fell like all the other guys in this camp. I thought you were different Percy! And after everything we've been through! I just thought you were different." He was so close now; I could see the beads of sweat rolling off of him. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't break my eyes away from his deep green ones.

"Annabeth! I swear to you it wasn't like that! I swear she means absolutely nothing to me! She kissed me. I don't like her even as a friend. I had no idea whatsoever that she planned on kissing me! If I had I would have never gone with her. You are the only girl that has ever meant anything to me. You alone are the only girl that I want to be with. I love you Annabeth. And only you," He took one of his hands and grabbed mine. Everything in me was saying pull away don't believe him. But one little part of me was saying kiss him. I didn't want to give in that easily though. He had hurt me more than I could ever say. I tried to pull away, but his hand gripped mine tighter. His other hand gripped my arm.

"Let me go Percy," I said through my teeth. I hated being restrained.

"Not until you listen to me," Percy said gripping harder he pulling me farther into the woods so nobody would stumble across our little conversation. I saw anguish in his eyes as they switched back and forward to mine.

"I said let me go," I pulled back harder and found myself backing into a tree. Nowhere to go. I was between a tree and Percy and neither was planning on moving anytime soon. I got a good look at the gorgeousness in front of me then. He was standing awkwardly, his hand running through his hair like he always did when he was nervous.

"I am not ever going to let you go Annabeth. Ever. You are my girl. The only girl I have ever wanted. I knew I had some kind of feelings for you the moment we got on that animal transportation van when we were 12 and I knew I loved you when you walked into Olympus after defeating Kronos. Kissing Lacey was the biggest mistake of my life. I don't know what I was thinking but I swear to you it will never ever happen again. I just want you Wise Girl. Just you," He looked at me with a desire so strong I didn't know what to do.

"I don't know what to believe anymore Percy," I said quietly, head facing down. I looked to the ground, not wanting to be hypnotized by those sea green eyes.

"Then believe me Annabeth. Believe in me. Believe in everything we have been through. Believe that we can get through anything and I will always be by your side. I love you Annabeth. Only you," He put his finger under my chin and slowly pushed it up so I met his eyes once again. He took one hand and cupped my cheek, wiping away my tears with his thumb sending sparks through me. His face was so close to mine, his head bent down to mine. He was searching my face for anything that could possibly give him hope.

"I want to believe you. I want to believe you so badly you have no idea," my voice barely above a whisper. Before I knew it his lips were on mine with a passion like never before. We moved together like how we always had. He pushed me father back so my back pressed into the tree scraping my shoulder against the rough bark. I didn't care one bit though. His hands were everywhere, in my hair, up and down my arms, around my waist. I gasped when he put pressure on the spot where he hit me with his sword, and he pulled away slightly, his face full of concern. I wasn't ready to stop though. Not when Percy kissed me like this. Instead of letting him back up, I pulled him in closer. He wrapped his arm around my waist making me bend into him.

Not to be outdone, I let my hands wander. I entwined his hair into my fingers, playing with the softness at the base of his neck. The muscles caged under his shirt as I let my hands wander over his back and down his arms. He started to kiss me even harder then, bighting my lower lip in the process. I resisted at first, but he pressed my body to his and there is nothing more that I wanted but him. I opened my mouth letting him in. We both fought for dominance but in the end I let him win, knowing he liked to be in control. A moan escaped from deep in his throat and I let out a little chuckle. We broke apart gasping for air, and his lips kissed a trail of fire down my chin and to my neck where he started sucking the soft skin. I let out a gasp but not to be outdone I slipped my hands under his shirt feeling the hard muscles move underneath. This seemed to drive him crazy. I moved my hands to his stomach, up his chest, and around his shoulders pulling him closer. I won't deny it. I loved him more than I could say. More than I should.

Of course, just at that moment, the conch horn blew signaling the end of the game and a cheer rose up from the blue team. Percy broke apart, his breaths coming out in ragged gasps. Both of us were breathing hard, like we had just run a marathon. A lopsided gin appeared on his face, his green eyes bright under a mop of black hair.

"So… was that… your plan. Distract… the enemy… so you guys could win?" He managed to say in between breaths.

"Did it work?" I said casually, unable to hide my smile.

"Totally," He went back to kissing me, gentler this time. His fingers traced lines up and down my back and shoulders giving me goose bumps. I broke apart, realizing we should probably go join the other campers before they noticed us missing.

"Darn, just when things were getting fun," He took my hand and laced his fingers into mine. "Wait." I stopped wondering what he was doing as he adjusted my hair around my neck.

"I would hate for them to wonder how you got a bruise on your neck. What would people say?" I stared at him in horror as I realized what he was talking about.

"Percy! You have got to be joking! Everyone will make fun of me! I will never live this down!" I started to rearrange my hair and armor in a fashion that I hoped would cover up the hicky forming on my neck, but Percy just grabbed my hands.

"Calm down wise girl. You can't see it. You'll be fine. You should need to go join that victors crowd."

"Nothing new to see. I'm used to it," I smiled up at him with just the right amount of cockiness. He smiled back, but then it fell.

"So Annabeth. Are we ok?" He asked nervously. His eyes shifted to the ground and his shoulders became slumped.

"Yeah. I think we will be ok," I squeezed his hand in reassurance. I felt his lips come down on top of my head.

"I love you Wise Girl," He murmured into my hair that was undoubtedly messed up big time.

"I love you too Seaweed brain," I leaned into him and he wrapped an arm around my waist pulling me in closer. We broke out of the woods to soon and headed up to the crowed pavilion. A Hephaestus kid was holding up the red teams flag as it changed from a bloody red to a fiery orange with a black hammer in the center. Most of Percy's team was sulking in the corner, nursing their injuries. I heard a high pitch laughter come from that corner which surprised me since they had just lost. When I saw who it was, my blood began to boil. She still looked perfect even after three hours of fighting in the woods. Then I remembered she probably didn't even fight. Just sat on some rock waiting for the game to be over. Why would Lacey bother to fight? She might break a nail or ruin her hair. Me on the other hand probably looked like a hot mess. Or just a mess. I felt Percy squeeze my hand and from the look on his face, he saw who I was staring at.

"Don't. She's isn't worth it." He leaned down to kiss my head. Maybe she wasn't worth it, but Percy definitely was. Lacey almost took my Seaweed brain away from me and she was not going to get away with it. I started to pull my hand away from Percy, but he just held on tighter. Knowing he was way stronger than me, I switched tactics. Instead of pulling away I kissed him as hard as I could and he relaxed his arms around me making it easy to pull away. Before he could stop me I was already marching over to Lacey, and when she caught my eye a look of fear crossed her face. It was quickly masked over with a look of calm composure.

"Well hello Annabeth, good game. Oh dear, but I couldn't help notice you were missing for most of it. I hope you didn't trip over a stump and knock yourself out," She plastered a smile on her face which was so obviously fake. The other girls didn't seem to notice though; they just thought she was so caring, worrying about me like that. I had dealt with girls like her though in the different prep academies I had attended over the years. They thought they were perfect, had everything handed to them, and got whatever they wanted. But this time was different. This time Lacey wasn't getting what she wanted. Before she had time to register what was happening, I pulled my arm back and punched her as hard as I possibly could right in the face. A look of shock and pain crossed her face as blood started streaming down her chin. The pavilion had gone suddenly quiet and I felt everyone's eyes on me. Lacey had a look of murderous rage, which made me even angrier. Before I could act apon it however, I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me.

"Come on Annabeth, you need to cool off," Percy whispered in my ear, but I wasn't finished. I knew I wasn't going to be able to hit her again with Percy restraining me like this so I improvised.

"Don't you ever touch my boyfriend again you little slut or so help me even your mother won't be able to make you pretty again," With that Percy managed to drag me off away from the pavilion, and Lacey's friends pulled her towards the infirmary. They were all fussing over her clothes saying things like "oh honey your shirt! How will we ever get the blood out of it!" Good. I hope it never came out. Then she will always have something to remember this night.

"You know you didn't have to do that. I was going to stay away from her for good," Percy led me down to the beach.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure she knew to stay away from you,"

"Well I doubt she will forget now," We both sat down on the beach just listening to the waves crash on the shore. Percy pulled me into his lap and just held his arms around me. I leaned into his chest and breathed in the smell of mint and sea on him. Or was that just the ocean? I don't know they both smelled the same, which was just fine to me. I was suddenly more tired than what I had realized. Hearing the melodious crashing of the waves and the soft beat of Percy's heartbeat was making me slowly doze off. I barely hear Percy's words when he spoke.

"I love you Wise Girl," and with that, sleep took over me like a crashing wave.

*Lacey's PoV*

Who did that little smart alek think she was! The freaking queen herself?! I almost lost it when she punched me, but I knew I had to keep my cool. Most people here didn't realize that I could fight when I wanted to. You should see me when there is only one more Prada bag for sale. Things get intense. She was going to regret this night more than she would ever know.

So Lacey finally got what she deserved, Percy and Annabeth are back together, and the world is finally back how it should be! Don't worry though I am nowhere close to being finished! I have a lot more ideas for this story so stay tuned! Please review! I am a new writer (this being my first fan fiction) so I could use a lot of feedback. Love you guys and stay tuned for the next chapter!