So yeah it's been around two months... I'm expecting hate, but this will be a double chapter posting because #1 I can and #2 I have two chapters ready :) So enjoy!
Annabeth POV:
I was laying in bed with the girls when I woke up. It wasn't unusual to all share a bed, especially when we were on the plane with only two rooms. Even then I didn't really understand how we actually had two rooms. Weird. Realizing there was no chance of me falling back asleep anytime soon, I carefully shimmied down the edge of the bed and stood up. Careful not to wake them up, I slowly moved clothes and other items out of my path to the door. I had to straighten my tank top and shorts before I went into the kitchen and got some ice cream. Yesterday was pretty hectic, especially when we realized our feelings for the guys were popping back up. We knew that we couldn't associate ourselves with them, no matter how hard we were still crushing on them. Piper nearly freaked out in the mall, all of us blaming it on ourselves for being so stupid and blind. It must of looked like we were truly mad at each other, but in all reality, we were mad at ourselves for not expecting this. When the guys brought it back up on the plane, we were all too frustrated to work it out. But after going to bed and talking about it, we were fine and hugging, saying sorry for the things we said. I sat down in a recliner by the window, lifting it's shade, watching the cities float by as we soared to New York. It amazed me how an object as big as a jet or an airplane could stay so high in the air for so long. Shoving another bite of ice cream into my mouth, I returned to looking at the peaceful lights below. You could see the moving brightness of the streets and cars, people going about their lives in the middle of the night. Of course I could not see details, but the tiny flickers here and there got me wondering. The clock read 2:07 a.m. I sighed and went back to my food before someone sat across from me. Looking up I noticed it was Percy and I gave him a smile.
"Can't sleep?" he asked.
"No," I breathed out. "I woke up and wasn't falling back asleep anytime soon so I came out here. What about you?" I asked curiously. Percy was the type of guy to sleep through an earthquake and not even move a muscle. Trust me, there was one time at a sleepover where Jason knocked all of the plates off of the counter during the night, and Percy didn't even move. We were all dumbfounded, being the other five of us.
"I never fell asleep." He confessed. "And then I heard someone out here and when I saw it was you, I decided to come and hang out." He looked at me shrugging.
"Why didn't you fall asleep?" I asked looking at the stars. He sighed heavily and leaned forward in his chair. His elbows now rested on his knees.
"It's about what Hazel said." He started. My heart skipped a beat. He couldn't possibly have the right idea, right? "I was thinking about it and-"
"That's dangerous," I giggled, desperately trying to distract him.
"Ha-ha very funny," he said sarcastically. "But, seriously." Shit. "She said it's the reason why you left. At first I didn't get it, but then my mind flashed back to the video of the Populars and you guys. Drew confronted you about.." he looked away, a blush creeping up his neck. Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
"About what?" I whispered so he almost didn't hear me. I really didn't want him to say it.
"About you guys liking us." He whispered back. "About 'chasing the popular boys.'" I cleared my throat and looked back out the window, heat rising in my cheeks.
"A-And why w-would you t-think that?" I challenged, stuttering the whole way. He looked at me sincerely, his eyes a little watery and filled with emotion.
"Annabeth," he tried to get my attention. "Annabeth," He said again. The tears were welling in my eyes, my body seizing in fear of where this conversation was going. "Would you please look at me?" he whispered. I turned my head slightly so I could see his eyes through my hair, but not too much so he could see mine.
"What?" I choked out. "What you're thinking is wrong. I don't even-"
"Annabeth I like you too." He cut me off. My head snapped in his direction, disbelieving what he just said. "I like you. A lot. And I have for a really long time now and I could never tell you because I didn't want to ruin our friendship," he whispered. "But now it's all different and I don't know what to feel anymore. I've hidden my feelings for almost six years now." He looked at me again. Six years ago would've been sixth grade. The same time I fell in love with him. I covered my mouth with my hands and curled into the chair. He moved next to me, grabbing my hand away from its spot on my face and into his, demanding my attention. "Say something," he sounded slightly on the verge of breaking.
"Me too," I whispered. I let out a sigh of relief. "I think I fell in love with you when I spent the night at your house in sixth grade," I sobbed. "I kept quiet and I thought that I would tell you, but then in high school you guys went up the scale and we went down. Drew and her clique made it clear to stay away from you in that aspect of a relationship." I cried. "And that day in the cafeteria made it even worse. I couldn't handle it. We all had decided to open up with how we felt, but then we left. And we felt that it'd be better to let you guys live your life instead of staying in contact and-" His lips suddenly crashed with mine. He cupped my face and then pulled away a second later, looking at me like a deer in headlights.
"I'm sorry," he immediately said. "I'm sorry, so, so, sorry. I didn't know what I was doing, I-" he defended himself.
"Shut up," I laughed and pulled him back in. His lips worked with mine as his hands found my waist. I leaned towards him more, wrapping my arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss and I sighed in contentment, enjoying the one thing I've been wishing for since I was twelve. It was magical almost, having his hands on me and mine on him. I felt his heart and soul through every second of the kiss, pouring my love for him into it as well. It was everything I had imagined and more. He pulled away for a breath, staring at me with wonder and a thousand other emotions in his eyes. He smirked and my heart did the same jump it did every time. We were still only an inch apart and I could see every speck of green and blue mixing in his perfect eyes. We stayed like that for a while. My arms around his neck and his grasping my waist, tracing light circles on my back. I buried my head into his neck and took a deep breath, relishing in the the smell of the ocean. I could feel my eyes starting to droop in sleepiness, while his breaths became smoother and quieter. He shifted so we were side by side on the couch next to my chair and pressed together, not that I minded it. I felt his hand brush my hair out of my face, and I let out a yawn.
"Do you want to sleep now?" He whispered into my hair and I nodded. "Night Wise Girl."
"Goodnight Seaweed Brain," I kissed him lightly on the lips before succumbing to darkness.
The next morning I woke up on the couch, alone and confused. Not that it was really the next morning, it was only a couple of hours later. I sat up groggily, scanning my surroundings for the green-eyed boy. There was a blanket and a pillow with me that wasn't there before, but no Percy. Getting up, I walked to the bathroom. I brushed the mess of my hair and scrubbed my teeth, stripping to get into the small shower. The hot water felt nice on my sore muscles, an obvious result to sleeping on the couch, even if it was pretty comfortable. I quickly tiptoed my way to the girl's room to change, seeing them all sprawled out and still asleep. I found a golden off the shoulder shirt and a black skater skirt. I stayed barefoot, seeing no point in wearing shoes on the plane. I should tell James to stop for the day so he can rest. I made a mental note and looked at my phone. 7:23 a.m. Huh. Feels a lot later than that. The smoothie machine was calling my name, so I went and made myself a banana, kiwi, and strawberry protein shake. Turning on the news and setting my feet on the coffee table, the introduction caught my attention.
"Hello, and welcome back to Hephaestus T.V., the news section. Yesterday a source caught teen popstar Annabeth Chase at the Mall of America with a secret boyfriend. More details when we come back." Hephaestus said.
"That's bullshit!" I screamed, obviously loud enough to wake up the whole crew. They all came rushing out to see what the problem was. "Some stupid paparazzi photographer took pictures of me and Percy at the mall." I huffed. "And now I have a 'secret boyfriend'" I said quoting the news reporter.
"Teen popstar Annabeth Chase of 'The Sirens' was photographed with a secret boyfriend at the Mall of America yesterday afternoon. Sources say they were first seen together at the Food Court and quickly moved to different stores in the mall." Some girl came on the screen, being interviewed. "I saw them go into the store behind me and Annabeth was trying on a bunch of clothes. She modeled them for her boyfriend before checking out and disappearing somewhere else. I lost them a few minutes later," The source said. My anger was quickly directed at Percy, who I warned that day I couldn't be seen with him.
"This is bad." I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Piper, Artemis is going to be calling soon so-" Just then the jet phone rang. I winced before picking it up. "Hello Artemis," I tried to sound oblivious.
"Annabeth. What in the Gods' names were you doing at the mall with a boy." She asked.
"It was just Percy, and I can tell you that nothing is going on." I assured her.
"Percy? As in Percy Jackson of 'The Olympians?'" She questioned angrily.
"Yeah?" I asked unsure. "Apollo sent them on the jet with us to New York," I said confused.
"HE DID WHAT?!" She screeched as I pulled the phone away from my ear. The girls looked at me worriedly. "I am so going to kill him. I will call you back. No more publicity with Jackson or the rest of them, got it? We don't need this kind of press. Goodbye." And she hung up. I looked at the rest of the group with a fake smile across my lips.
"Well?" Thalia asked cautiously.
"Two things. One, she wants us to have no public contact with 'them' as she put it, and especially no contact with me and Jackson because it's bad press," I said stressing the boys all together and Percy's new nickname from Artemis. "And two, your Apollo is going to get an earful. Apparently Artemis didn't know about you guys being on our jet." I said to the boys.
