Annabeth's POV
This time I didn't fall asleep because Percy was driving pretty fast. I think he was trying to be early there so that we won't be late to wedding. At first I was worried we'll eventually crash into another car but it turns out that Percy's a really good driver.
The mall was great,although there were many people. Probably 'cause it's a Saturday and a holiday. So the mall was flooded by,you name it-teenagers,couples,and families.
I asked him if we could go eat. I was pretty hungry since we left early and weren't able to eat breakfast. He agreed and brought me to a fancy restaurant. I think he knew I was gonna ask because we already had a reservation.
We had some pancakes and waffles which were pretty delicious,but not as good as the ones Sally makes. I took a good look at Percy. He's still cute and handsome as ever except his face is also filled with worry and distress. His green eyes are now a little reddish because of crying or not being able to sleep. I noticed that he's now in a trance. I decided not to disturb him. He might get irritated.
His phone broke the silence. His ringtone is pretty funny, it's a laughing baby. The laugh was so loud and funny. Some of the peope eating even snickered when they heard it.
"Hey",Percy said to the person on the other line. After a few seconds of listening to the other person on the line he spoke up.
"Alright we're coming,I promise we won't be late.",he continued then he looked at me.
"Come on Annabeth,Mom said that we should be ready to go to the wedding.",he told me.
"Okay",I replied. I'm getting closer to the end of this vacation. And I'm just beginning to like it here. Maybe because Percy and I are back to normal terms.
We had to go to two shops first. The first is an electronics store and the second is that of jewelry.
Percy dragged me to the electronics store first then told me to wait outside it.
He came back after five minutes carrying a package.
"For whom is that",I asked,curious of what's inside.
"For someone very important to me",he replied,smiling at me.
I think we were lucky that the jewelry store is just outside the parking area so we'll just go outside the store and the car will be so near us.
I first thought that he's gonna make me wait outside again but I was wrong. He actually esccorted me inside. He said something to the salesman on the front desk, the salesman smiled at me,handed Percy a small box and pointed us to the direction of a mirror.
"Come on Annabeth there's a mirror over there.",he told me.
"Okay I'm coming",I replied. And right now,I have to admit that I'm a little excited.
I stood in front of the mirror and Percy stood behind me. He held out the box for me to see and I looked at it from the mirror. He took the object out and I gasped. It was beautiful.
He stood closer to me and he put it on my neck himself. I didn't mind him doing that because I actually liked it. I touched the object. He must have spent a lot of money on this thing.
It's a necklace with a silver chain as a strap.
But what caught my attention was the pendant. It's design was customized. It was an owl and a trident stuck together. It was colored silver with a little shade of green.
I smiled,I guess it symbolized us. Always sticking up for each other,always being there for each other-and of course the owl symbolizes me. Since I can be so smart sometimes. The trident symbolizes Percy,him being a son of Poseidon and all.
"Thank you so much Percy",I said. It really is beautiful. Especially if you hold it close to the light. By doing that it's like the pendant is glowing.
With those words,I turned around and hugged him tightly.
"You're welcome,Annabeth",he replied,returning the hug.
"Come on let's go to the car,Mom's gonna be mad if we're late.",he said while holding my hand and accomanying me to it. From a distance,people coul infer that we're a couple.
This time,we got stuck in traffic. While on the road,Percy asked me seven times if I think we're gonna be late. By judging the flow of the cars,I told him that we won't. It took us roughly thirty minutes before we got back to Percy's apartment.
When we arrived at the house there was a note on the dining room table. I picked it up and read it.
Percy,
By the time you read this you should be changing into your tux and getting ready to go to my wedding.
Please don't be late.
This day is very important to me
Love,
Mom
I handed the letter to Percy and after reading it he went upstairs to his room. I guess he went there to change. I realized I should be getting ready too.
So I went to my bag and got out my yellow silk dress.
I still wore my necklace though. I felt like I didn't want to part from it until I die.
When Percy came down and saw me,his mouth sort of opened and I blushed,I did look pretty good today.
I looked at him he was looking good too.
He wore a black tux and a green tie.
"Annabeth you look...",he said,lost for words.
"Yes",I replied,anxious of what he's gonna say.
"...Beautiful",he finished.
This time,when we got back to the road,Percy immediately told me to fasten my seatbelt and to hold on tight to something. I knew why. The momet the car moved,we swerved past traffic,occasionally receiving a curse from a random driver. "Percy can be a really moronic driver if he wants to",I thought.
We finally got to the wedding place,there weren't so much people.
I understood,Sally once told me tht she didn't like crowds very much. So I guess she only picked the people whom she really wanted to be there.
We approached Nico,Grover,and Thalia sitting together around a circular table. The moment they saw us their eyes widened and they called our names.
"Where have you guys been",questioned Grover.
"We were worried sick",said Thalia,a bit of anger and relief in her eyes.
"Your mom even thought you were attacked by a monster",Nico said.
"We're okay guys,promise",Percy replied.
"What were you guys doing during the morning",Nico asked.
"Well...We had lunch together at the mall.",Percy said sheepishly.
"Anything interesting happen",Grover asked,trying to hold back his smile.
"No!",Percy and I said at the same time. "Why does everyone want us to be together",I thought.
The wedding finally started after ten long minutes of being questioned.
I almost fell asleep. But when the I do's came in I got awake. For two reasons. One,the wedding's almost done. Two,if Sally saw me she won't be happy about it.
"You may now kiss the bride",the priest concluded.
Paul pulled Sally into a short sweet kiss and the audience cheered.
Sally went up front to toss the bouqet but out of nowhere Thalia pushed me from behind and into the crowd. I couldn't get out so I just went with it. I figured that the chances of me getting the flowers would be very small. But I didn't know how wrong I was until Sally threw the bouqet and it landed straight into my arms.
I went back and saw Nico,Grover,Thalia,and Percy standing together in one place. They were all cracking up. Ughh why does this always happen to me. Even Percy was laughing but he stopped when Nico,Grover,and Thalia dragged him to the center where Paul was gonna throw the garter.
I didn't really see who got the garter when Paul threw it until the other guys scattered and I saw Percy in the middle,dumbstruck and embarassed.
He was the one who got the garter! "Oh no! Does this mean he has to-".
"Well,you know what to do Percy,what are you waiting for",Grover said through the mike. I took a glance at Thalia and Nico and I saw them rolling on the groung with laughter. They're like three year olds.
Percy glared at Grover before walking towards me.
I gulped,this is gonna be bad. Best friends aren't supposed to do stuff like this.
"Well this is now or never",I thought.
So I held out my left leg to Percy and he knelt and slowly put the garter up to my legs.
He got up while flushing a deep shade of red. Then everyone exploded ito cheers especially our friends,Sally,and Paul. There was one last event before going home.
There was one last event before going home.
The dance.
Of course Paul and Sally went first. Slowly couples were coming to the dance floor. Percy looked at me then spoke up breaking the awkward silence between us.
"Annabeth",he said
"Yes"
"Would you like to dance",he said confidently.
Then he stepped in front of me and held out his hands.
"Yes,I'd really like that",I replied,taking them.
We went to join the others who were also dancing. We even passed by Thalia and Nico. The band onstage was playing a slow but beautiful song.
And once again,it fit the moment. It's "You and Me"by Lifehouse. (Please don't ask why I chose this song,It's just that I really love it. Peace!)
What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive.
I can't keep up.
And I can't back down I've been losing so much time.
Cause it's you and me
And all of the people with nothing to do.
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
One of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here
Cause it's you and me
And all other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why,I can't keep my eyes off of you.
There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everythign she does is right
Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose.
And it's you and me and all other people
And i don't know why,I can't keep my eyes off of you
And me and all other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why,I can't keep my eyes off of you
What day is it?
And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive.
The song was beautiful,I have to admit.
But instead of walking out of the dance floor like the other dancing couples,Percy hugged me so tightly as if he was gonna die or leave the face of the earth.
But we broke up when an Iris Message appeared in front of us.
It was Chiron.
"Children you need to come to camp immediately.",he said. There was clearly something wrong. You can tell just ny looking at his face.
Without saying anymore,he disrupted the connection.
We were going to Camp Half-Blood with the help of Blackjack,Porkpie,and Guido.
It took all of them cause there were five of us.
While we were in the sky I remembered I have to inform my Dad about the change of plans.
So I decided that I'll IM him when I get to camp.
When we got to camp,Percy went down from Blackjack then whispered something to his ear.
Blackjack nodded as if to say "Yes".
Thalia,Nico and Grover went straight to the direction of the Big House. Percy leaned closer to me and whispered, "Lets go to the beach for a while." I shot him a quizzical look. "Please,it's important. And I'd be able to build up more confidence if we were there.". I nodded and agreed.
I looked around the camp. Everyone seemed so nervous. Probably because Kronos is very near to attacking,and we're the first target before he attacks Olympus. The camp is so ready and prepared. There are scouts in the woods,all armed. There are archers in the trees. And everyone is carrying a sword or shield or a knife or a bow with a quiver full of arrows. There were some Aphrodite campers who saw me and Percy walking together and they whispered to each other's ears. Most of them even giggled at us. Ughh,stupid daughters of Aphrodite.
Percy and I got to the beach. We went to the shore and stopped there. Percy looked at the horizon then at me then back at it. His green eyes are a little watery now.
"I have to tell you something important Annabeth 'cause this is as far as I can go",he said,looking at me. He's at the verge of tears. He clutched Riptide before continuing.
"What do you mean this is as far as you can go"
"I'm leaving and I'm gonna ask you a favor"
"How can you be leaving,we just got here",I said,my voice starting to get louder. Out of worry.
"Please just listen to me",he pleaded.
"Okay,start explaining then",I said,not understanding
"What do I need to explain"
"Explain to me why you're leaving"
Silence.
"Does this concern you're plan to defeat Kronos,if it is please tell me'
More silence.
"You know you can trust me right Percy"
"I know,I just don't want you to get hurt"
"Please just listen to me",he continued.
I didn't say anything but nodded for him to continue.
"I need you to never forget or give up on me,I want you to remember me as I once was,cheerful,carefree,and happy."
"Percy...",I said
"I promise you that everything I'm about to do will hurt everyone I love including you,and I also promise that Nico will explain everything to you guys as soon as our plan is in motion"
He was close to tears now.
I was speechless.
I didn't know what he meant.
"Please forgive me",now his face is streaked with tears. The he hugged me tight. I returned the hug,not wanting to let him go.
But without warning,he pulled away and whistled loudly. Blackjack then came landing near us. He strode towards Blackjack. I followed him.
"Percy,let me come with you.",I said.
"No Annabeth. This is something you can't be a part of. I have to do this alone",he replied. His voice was firm. And I knew better than to ask again. He might get irritated if I asked to come again.
He mounted Blackjack before saying,
"Goodbye Annabeth. Know that wherever I am,I'll always be thinking about you. And I'm sorry. I hope you can find it in you heart to forgive me."
Then they flew off into the darkness.
I just stood there in shock,not knowing what will happen next.
To those who favorited me or my story: If you liked the story,that you favorited it or alerted it,then please review.
I need to know what you think.
Peace!
I'm out
-E.B.
