Nervous. Percy stumbled down the stairs clumsily and brushed a few fingers trough his hair. Should he have used gel? Does his hair look like crap right now? Ok, there was just enough time to go upstairs and fix it, and…and…wait, why was he so worried about his hair? He had never worried about his hair! This was so dumb! Yet, there is a minute to just go upstairs and fix it, technically, it couldn't hurt, right?
Just as he had turned on his heel to run upstairs, Annabeth's door opened behind him, causing him to jump.
"Percy?" She asked, sticking her head out the door. "Is that you? I heard someone come downstairs."
"Uh, yeah, sorry." He said, awkwardly. "Um, these are for…you." He blinked, thrusting a bouquet of flowers at her. Lame. So stupid!
"Thanks." She said, a pleasant smile settling on her face as she pushed to door all the way open to take the flowers. Percy's jaw dropped. Annabeth wore a light blue sundress that flowed to her knees. Over it, she had placed a gray silk vest. Her blond curls fell around her face, and, when she pushed them back, they cascaded down her back. She was beautiful. "What? Do I have something on my face? You're staring at me." She playfully chided, grinning.
"You…you're just…you look amazing!" He stammered, blushing.
"Why thank you!" She grinned back, twirling so the skirt of her dress flew up a bit. "I haven't had a night out in years."
She ushered him in to wait while she finished getting ready, and he took a seat on the couch. As she disappeared into the bathroom, Casper exited his room, stopping in his tracks and staring at Percy. His cheeks flushed, and he was clearly embarrassed to see Percy after having cried on his shoulder. He turned around, intent on hiding out in his room.
"Wait." Percy called. Stopping him dead in his tracks. "You can stay out here, I'll turn on some cartoons, or something."
Grumbling and avoiding eye contact, Casper slunk out of the doorway, apprehensively pacing over to a chair and plopping down in it. He was determined to try to make this work.
Casper silently lifted the remote, flipping the TV on. The channel was a classic movies channel, and, currently, an old Three Stooges short was playing. They settled in, watching in silence.
The silence was broken with their mutual laughter as they watched the show, giggling when Moe threw punches, or when Curly said something funny. Slowly, the ice had begun to melt. Not entirely, because winning a child's love is perhaps the hardest thing to do, but, maybe a drip here and there, a slow, steady process.
At that moment, the doorknob turned, allowing Thalia to slip into the room. She smiled as she dropped her bag by the door, brushing her windblown hair back from her face and greeting Casper with the usual "Hey bozo" and a hug.
"Oh, I love this one!" She exclaimed as she settled into the couch beside Percy.
Soon, Annabeth emerged from the bathroom, shoes on, bag in hand. She had to have had makeup on, from being in there for a moderate amount of time, but, in all truth, Percy couldn't tell the difference from before.
"Ready to go?" She asked, smiling.
"Yup." He replied, leaping from the couch, and taking her by the arm.
"Just have her home by curfew, young man." Thalia mocked, never taking her eyes off the TV. "No, really, have a good time, guys!" She said, grinning.
And so Percy ushered Annabeth out of the apartment, stepping from the stoop out and onto the sidewalk, where he lead her to a car parked directly in front of the building. Opening the door for her, he smiled, holding his had out like a chauffer.
"You have a car?" She asked, her brows knitting.
"Actually, and don't call me lame because of this, but I borrowed it from my mom." He replied, grinning.
Annabeth nodded, watching the buildings pass as the drove through the streets. When they started passing open fields and residential areas, and had been driving for almost an hour, she finally asked the question that had been on her mind since they had gotten in the car.
"Where are we going?" She asked with forced casualty.
"Oh, you'll find out." He teased, turning to her.
"Percy, come on! Tell me!"
"No! I don't want to ruin the surprise! You'll find out, we're almost there!"
"Ugh, I hate surprises!"
Percy mimed the actions for zipping his lips, and they continued the drive in silence. Finally, the car came to a stop, on a vacant street surrounded by fields.
"Why did you—" Annabeth began, confused. Then, she looked to her left, noticing a large, green hill with a lone pine tree resting on top. "Is that…" She began to ask, before Percy silenced her with the unbuckling of his seatbelt.
"Race ya!" He challenged, bolting from the car and sprinting to the hill.
"No fair!" Annabeth cried, racing to undo her own. "I'm wearing high heels!" She exclaimed, removing the shoes and chucking them aside as she ran.
Through sheer determination, she caught up to Percy, but was not able to pass him, and the two ended up at the top of the hill at the same time, out of breath.
Once they had caught their breath, Percy stood up, reaching for Annabeth's arm. As he lead her down the hill and into the valley, she turned to him, amusement in her eyes.
"You brought me back to camp." She stated, fondness settling over her.
"I did indeed." He replied. "Most of the campers are away at school, so we've all but got the place to ourselves, save Chiron and the satyrs."
She grinned as they walked through the camp, which was pleasant and beautiful at sunset, a warm breeze coming in off of the lake. Percy led her to the beach, where he had a picnic blanket set out with some goblets and a basket of food.
"Gods, you're so corny!" She giggled, settling in on the blanket.
"Me?" He asked, in false alarm. "Of course I am!" He teased.
Percy brought out different foods, more than half of them blue. They laughed as they talked and fed each other, lying back on the sand and swapping jokes.
Suddenly, Annabeth leapt up, pulling her dress over her head.
"Uh, Annabeth?" Percy asked, taken aback. "What are you doing?"
"Going for a swim!" She replied, standing before him in a lacy blue bra and panties set. It was hard not to notice, but the image was shattered as she took off, sprinting across the sand and down the dock, executing a perfect dive off the end.
Her head resurfaced moments, later, her blond hair smoothed back and plastered against her neck and back.
"What's the matter, Jackson, afraid of a little water?" She teased, waving to him. He gave a sarcastic laugh, leaping up and removing his own shirt and pants, leaving him in his boxers. He sprinted of the end of the dock as well, disappearing into the water and sneaking up behind Annabeth, grabbing her by the waist.
She splashed at him, beginning a full-on water fight, which he won by sending a five-foot wave at her, launching her high in the air. He caught her in his arms, laughing as she smacked him on the chest before joining the laughter.
As the sun waned, they floated on their backs, swapping stories, laughing more than not, and, for lack of better terms, falling in love all over again.
Eventually, as the water grew colder with night, they swam for the beach, emerging from the water with wet underwear and the biggest of grins. Percy and Annabeth dressed, not caring whether or not their wet underwear would seep through, or if their clothes were sandy. None of it mattered at all.
Percy gathered up the picnic basket and blanket, taking them in one arm, while the other wrapped protectively around Annabeth. They snuck silently through the camp, careful not to wake any campers or harpies, and trekked to the top of the main hill.
At the top, Percy placed the basket gently at their feet, taking Annabeth in his arms.
"I love you, Annabeth." He whispered gently, leaning in so that their foreheads touched.
"I love you too." She replied, grinning from ear to ear. They met in a kiss, lasting several minutes, before breaking away and walking down the hill, holding hands tightly.
Percy once again helped her into the car, and got in himself, starting the engine and driving down the road. Their drive continued on as they passed homes, farms, and, later on, buildings and businesses. As they reached the outskirts of the city, Annabeth rested her head on the door, yawning. Percy turned to her, smiling, and rubbed her shoulder. This moment was bliss.
In a flash, white, hot, searing light enveloped them, digging into their skin and blinding them. Noise overwhelmed them, eventually drowning itself out in the blast. Smoke crept up into their noses, mingling with the smell of blood, metallic and warm. The noise, the senses grew and grew, until, as soon as it had come; there was nothing. Not a sound, other than the steady rising of steam.
Percy's eyes opened first, fluttering and wincing at the pain. He knew that his arm was broken, and, from the blood oozing down his face, that his forehead was badly cut.
"Annabeth." He murmured, turning as best he could to her. The passenger side of the car had been crumpled like tinfoil. "Annabeth." He exclaimed, urgently.
His eyes met hers, green against gray, and she smiled lightly, as if it were all a dream. Then, at once, her eyes flickered, and her head leaned back against the seat as she sighed deeply. Her eyes had closed.
"Oh, gods, no, Annabeth, no!" Percy screamed, frantically attempting to get to her, to help her, anything! He reached his arm, his good one, as best he could, his fingers trembling.
Lying there, next to him, was her arm, limp, pale. He grabbed for her wrist, pressing his fingers against her veins. That was when he saw the enormity of it all. The car caved inward, the crumpled metal covered with blood. Her blood. Worst of all, that blue sundress, the one that made her look so beautiful. It was tainted with crimson. Marred by the deep scarlet gushing from her midsection.
"Gods Annabeth, come one! Please! You can't! You can't!" He begged, his voice cracking.
Then, slowly, her vein pulsed against his fingers. Weak, but there.
Ka-thunk…..ka-thunk….ka-thunk
"Annabeth, stay with me. Stay. With. Me." He pleaded, his voice growing weaker. He slipped his hand down her wrist, grasping her hand tightly. He could hear the lightest of rasps coming from her throat; she was still breathing.
"Stay. Don't. Go." He choked out in a whisper as he felt his consciousness slipping. In the distance, he could hear the roars of sirens, as they approached, and all the noises surrounded him as his eyes closed.
A/N: I feel really bad for doing this to you guys…again….It's all gonna work out, I promise! Oh, heads up, Percy didn't die, he just lost consciousness. I don't plan on any character deaths. Review so that I'll know people are actually reading, and to complain about the cliff hanger. Yeah, I've got what's coming to me! Thanks for reading, check back in soon for the next chapter!