Percy's POV

"You know..." She brushed her hair behind her ear, like she does when she's nervous. "This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. About...what's important. About losing people who are important."

I nodded. My brain started seizing on little random details, like the fact that she was still wearing those silver owl earrings from her dad, who was this braniac military history professor in San Francisco.

"Um, yeah," I stammered. "Like...is everything cool with your family?"

Okay, really stupid question, but hey, I was nervous.

Annabeth looked disappointed, but she nodded.

"My dad wanted to take me to Greece this summer," she said wistfully. "I've always wanted to see-"

"The Parthenon," I remembered.

Annabeth's POV

"You know..." I brushed my hair behind my ear, fidgeted with my necklace a little bit. "This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena. It kind of makes you think. About...what's important. About losing people who are important." I stared at him, and we locked eyes. My heart thudded in anticipation.

He nodded. My heart was lifted a few thousand feet.

"Um, yeah," he stammered nervously. "Like…is everything cool with your family?"

Not at all what I was talking about. My heart came crashing back to earth. I tried not to let it show in my face. I nodded quickly.

Percy's POV

She threw down her scroll. "I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy." Her voice was angry and hurt. "All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."

I stared at her, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?"

She got right in my face. "Yes, you. You're a coward, Percy Jackson!"

We were nose to nose. Her eyes were red, and I suddenly realized that when she called me a coward, maybe she wasn't talking about the prophecy.

"If you don't like our chances," she said, "maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel."

"Annabeth-"

"If you don't like our company."

"That's not fair!"

Annabeth's POV

I had it. I threw down the scroll I was clutching, almost ripping in my hand. "I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy. All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."

He stared at me, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?" He looked so clueless I almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

I got right in his face. "Yes, you. You're a coward, Percy Jackson!"

We were nose to nose. Sure, he faced dangerous monsters head on. But he was always skirting around me. Whenever I tried to talk to him, he either didn't understand or tried not to hear. And I was guessing he was trying not to hear, or he was really clueless. My eyes hurt. He just stared back in bewildered surprise, before finally understanding.

"If you don't like our chances, maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel." He obviously wasn't a coward in front of her.

"Annabeth – " he started

"If you don't like our company," I finished.

"That's not fair!

Percy's POV

I kept my eyes on Annabeth.

She nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

Before I could lose my courage, I said, "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

I figured she would punch me. Instead, she drew her knife and stared at the army marching toward us. "Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."

Annabeth's POV

He kept staring at me even though Kronos's army was right across the bridge.

I nodded, getting into the battle mood. "All right. Get moving."

He almost turned toward the opposing army, and then paused a bit. "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?" He looked at me hopefully.

Well, that hit me by surprise. Suddenly he was looking at me like that instead of skipping off with Rachel or Calypso. Perfect timing though. Right before we were about to die. A pulse was throbbing in my ears and I was itching to look at his too-intense eyes, but we had a battle to get back to. "Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."