HEY GUYS! SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO POST, BUT HERE IS SOME MORE OF THE STORY XD
After breakfast, Silena, Grover, Percy and I just hung out around the camp. There wasn't really anything to do. It was just one of those days. Percy and I were about to go to the training arena just to let out some excess energy when Chiron came trotting up to us.
"Ah, Annabeth and Percy." Chiron said.
"Hey Chiron." We both said.
"I was just thinking of an idea and wanted to run it by some of the campers. I saw you two first, so here I am." Chiron said, smiling.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Since this is the last day the Olympians will be here, I was thinking about having a sort-of good-bye party-dance." Chiron said. "What do you two think?"
"Sounds cool." Percy said, smiling at me.
I smiled back at him and intertwined our hands. "It does. I'm sure Aphrodite would be thrilled to have a dance."
"That is true." Chiron said. "I could even see if the muses could come down to play for it."
"Sounds like you don't need to ask anymore campers to see if it's a good idea." Percy said laughing.
"I agree with Percy there, Chiron." I said. "It would give the campers a little time to relax."
"Okay then." Chiron said, clapping his hands together. "I'll go inform the Gods."
Chiron waved goodbye before trotting off to go see the Gods. Percy sighed and tugged on our joined hands, pulling me into a hug. I laid my head on his chest and he placed his on my head, kissing my hair. I wonder if Percy could dance? Or if he even wanted to go.
"Hey Percy?" I asked him, my head still on his chest.
"Yeah?" he said, stroking my hair.
"Do you really want to go to this dance?" I asked him.
"I'm not all into the dance things." He said. "You know those dances they would hold at school?" I nodded. "Never went to any."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Never had a reason to." He just said, placing another kiss onto my head.
I thought that over, wondering why nobody would have asked him. I mean were the girls who attended school with him blind or something? I was kind of happy though. I mean, what if before Percy came into camp, he had a girlfriend? I don't know how I would deal with that, having my heart being held by someone whose heart I didn't hold. I wasn't even sure how I got his. I'm nothing special.
"Annabeth?" Percy asked, knocking me out of my internal battle.
"Yes Percy?" I said.
"Were you thinking again?" he asked, pulling back to look at me.
"How'd you know?" I asked.
"When you're thinking, you get real quiet and sometimes your face just goes blank." Percy said, tracing my face with his finger.
"You're way to observant, Percy Jackson." I said, patting his chest.
"Only when it concerns you." He said.
I blushed.
"So, you wanna sword fight?" Percy asked.
"When did I ever not say I wanted to?" I asked.
He laughed as we both ran to the arena.
After a few hours of battling Percy, we were a bit tired. We headed back to the cabin area and before I left to go to my cabin, Percy pulled me into a kiss. It was a short, chaste kiss that left me a bit breathless. I smiled as he pulled me into a hug, both of us breathing a bit heavy.
"I need to go and talk with my dad." He said. "See you at the dance?"
"Of course!" I said, kissing his cheek before walking to my cabin, where my mother was waiting for me.
"Annabeth." She said. "We need to talk."
Two hours later, my mother left me alone. The good-bye dance was just a few hours away and I was freaking out. Naturally, I was going with Percy, but that wasn't really what I was freaking out about. I had absolutely nothing to wear. I was pacing around my cabin when I was knocked out of my head by a voice.
"What now, Annabeth?" Silena asked, placing a hand on her hip.
"Silena!" I yelled, smiling.
"Yes?" she asked, laughing.
"I need an outfit." I said.
Silena's whole face lit up like I gave her the perfect present. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the cabin and towards hers. When I entered the cabin, it looked like a salon took over. There was hair stations set up, dresses hung everywhere and make-up thrown about. I looked at Silena with a questioning look, but she just laughed.
"Mom!" Silena yelled.
Just then Aphrodite flitted out from behind a rack of dresses and over to us. She looked at me like she already knew why I was here. On second thought, she probably did.
"Ah, Annabeth. I knew I'd be seeing you here." Aphrodite said, winking at me. "I doubted my dear sister would have any outfits suitable for this kind of event."
"Yeah." I said, smiling.
"Well, we have only three hours until this shindig starts. Let's get started, shall we?" Aphrodite said, pushing me towards the inner part of the cabin.
TWO AND A HALF HOURS LATER...
"And," Aphrodite said, spraying me with a sweet smelling perfume, "done!"
"Finally." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh Annabeth!" Silena squealed. "You look gorgeous!"
"Really?" I asked, smoothing my hands over the material on my body.
"Beautiful." Aphrodite said, grabbing my hands. "Go and look." She pushed me towards one of the mirrors.
I stopped in front of one and gasped. I was...I was beautiful. My hair had been cleaned and styled into romantic waves; my body has been cleaned as well and my legs and eyebrows waxed. Aphrodite put me in a strapless, teal bandeau dress that reached knee-length with a soft bow at the top and put my feet in, reluctantly, teal suede, high-heeled sandals with a criss-cross detail and ankle strap; in my ears are blue seashell studs, around my wrist is an azul shell bracelet, around my neck is a tahitian-pearl pendant with a diamond and on my right ring finger is a white shell ring. I have on turquoise eyeshadow, black mascara and creamy brown eyeliner; on my lips is clear lipgloss. My fingernails have been painted with a French manicure and my toes are painted a Glacier Bay blue.
I turned towards Aphrodite and Silena, tears in my eyes. "Thank you."
"Oh, don't tear up honey. You'll smear your mascara." Aphrodite scolded.
"No problem Annabeth! You know that!" Silena said, hugging me.
"I know. You look beautiful as well, Silena." I said, looking her over.
Silena's brunette hair was pulled up into a braided updo and she has on a strapless pink, dipped-neckline dress that stopped mid-calf with lace overlay, and gold high-heeled sandals; around her neck is a silver-and-diamond necklace with a pink heart toggle clasp, in her ears are pink diamond drop earrings, around her wrist is a princess-cut diamond-and-sterling silver tennis bracelet, and on her right ring finger is an amethyst moon ring. She has on light pink eyeshadow, brownish-black mascara and around her eyes is silver eyeliner; on her lips is light pink lipstick. She looked phenomenal.
"Thanks Annabeth." Silena said.
"You do as well, Aphrodite." I said. "Well, you always do, but-"
"I know what you mean, Annabeth." Aphrodite said, laughing.
The Goddess traded her usual attire for a strapless rose-colored, empire-waist chiffon gown that reached the floor with a pleated bustier top, bead-pearl-and-sequin embellishments and a gold band around the empire waist, and nude leather stilettos; in her ears are diamond studs, around her neck is a diamond-embellished dove pendent necklace, on her right pointer finger is an opal square ring and on her head is a diamond confetti tiara. Her beautiful brunette hair was pulled into semi-collected waves and on her eyelids is pink eyeshadow, on her eyelashes is black mascara and around her eyes is brown eyeliner; on her perfect lips is hot pink lipstick.
"If I may ask, Aphrodite, why are you wearing a tiara?" I asked.
"Oh, all the Goddesses are. It helps distinguish us from some of the campers." Aphrodite said.
Just then one of my half-sisters ran into the cabin. "Annabeth!"
I stepped forward. "Yeah?"
"Whoa." She said. "You look incredible, Annabeth."
I blushed. "Thanks."
"Anyways, mom wants to see you." She said, grabbing my hand.
I turned and waved to the Aphrodite cabin and followed my half-sister to our cabin. I stumbled a bit, stupid heels, but made it to the cabin. I walked in and spotted my mom talking to my other siblings. When Percy went to talk to his dad, my mom and I had sort-of made up. Well, she doesn't hate me anymore, although she claimed she didn't hate me in the first place. She said she was just upset and said some things she, and this pained her to say, regretted and was sorry. I accepted it and apologized for disrespecting her. The one thing that hadn't changed was Athena's view on mine and Percy's relationship: she still hated the idea but she couldn't do anything about it. She had been overruled in the meeting.
Just like Aphrodite, Athena traded her usual outfit for something more appropriate. She's in a sleeveless gray jersey dress that reached the floor with a V-neck and an artful twist detail at the bodice, and gold braided slingback sandals; in her ears are rhinestone-embellished owl studs, around her neck is a pearl necklace, and on her head is a Shrangri-la rhinestone-embellished tiara. Her hair is pulled back into a braided bun and on her eyes is silver eyeshadow, black mascara and blue eyeliner; on her lips is peach lipgloss.
"You look beautiful Annabeth, dear." Athena said, smiling.
"So do you, mother." I said, smiling.
"Well, shall we go?" Athena said, grabbing my hand.
We all nodded and headed to the training area where the dance was being held.
Mostly everybody was here and talking or dancing. The arena was beautiful. The moon was out and full, torches set up all around and even the 9 Muses were down here to provide music. I looked around, taking it all in.
I spotted Lady Artemis first, standing next to Lord Apollo, discussing something. Artemis is in a sleeveless, deep silver silk maxi dress that reached the floor with spaghetti straps that criss-cross in the back, blue and silver embroidery around the top and diamond-pearl-and-sequin embellishment, and creme macrame flats; around her neck is a silver bow-and-arrow pendent, diamond studs are in her ears and on her head is a Chasing Fireflies silver tiara. Her carmel-colored hair is in a French-braid down her back and on her eyes is golden-brown eyeshadow, black mascara, and black eyeliner; on her lips is clear lip gloss. Her brother is in a silver button-up under a black pin-dot jacket, black flat-front evening-wear suit trousers and black lace-up leather shoes.
Standing a few feet away, next to Lord Zeus, was Lady Hera. She's in a sleeveless white wrap dress that reached floor-length with a V-neck and back, decorative gold sequins at the straps and around the waist, and a gold belt tied around her waist, and gold gladiator-styled sandals adorned with floral detail; in her ears are peacock feather drop earrings, around her neck is a pear-shaped diamond necklace and on her head is a French Roseberry tiara. Her brunette hair is in a ponytail braid and on her eyes is bronze eyeshadow, black mascara and black eyeliner; on her lips is light peach lipstick. Her husband is wearing a white-collared shirt with a black Armani sports coat, stone wash jeans and saddle shoes.
Lady Demeter was talking with Lord Dionysus near the food table. The Goddess is in a dark brown one-shoulder maxi dress that reached floor-length with a ruched strip of black lace around her waist carefully underlayed with golden organza and covered in fine black mesh, and brown crocheted flats; in her ears are gold leaf earrings, around her wrist is a gold cuff, around her neck is an emerald pendant necklace and on her head is a royal crystal and emerald tiara. Her blonde hair is twisted into a lateral bun with a flower stuck into the side and her eyes had on light brown eyeshadow, black mascara, and kohl eyeliner; on her lips is glitter lipgloss. Dionysus is wearing a light brown cashmere sweater, dark denim jeans with a brown leather belt and brown shoes.
I walked around, earning compliments from everyone, but couldn't find Percy. I saw Hephaestus (wearing a dark gray-stripe short-sleeve button-up, denim jeans, and black leather shoes), Ares (wearing a red-striped button-up with a leather jacket, denim jeans, and black tors), and Hermes (wearing a black-striped button-up, dark-wash jeans and black loafers); I looked around a little more and ran into Grover.
"Looking good Grover!" I said, giving him a hug.
Grover is in a light brown button-up with a black skinny tie and a black Billabong fedora; no pants, of course. He did look good.
"Have you seen Percy?" I asked, nervously twisting a strand of hair around my finger.
"No," Grover said. "But I just arrived so I haven't really looked around that much." Grover concluded upon seeing my sad face.
"If you run into him, tell him I'm looking for him." I said and Grover nodded. I patted him on the arm and turned to wander back into the crowd.
Without Percy, I wasn't in any mood to dance. Nobody asked me, anyways. They're probably worried that Percy would drown them if they attempted. It's great having a powerful boyfriend. I ended up at the snack table, munching on some chips. I looked over the dancefloor and spotted Silena dancing with another demigod. When I caught his face, I cocked my head in confusion. I know Silena wasn't as snobby and uptight as her other siblings, but I would of never expected her to dance with a son of Hephaestus. Not that there is anything wrong with them, it's just that I didn't peg Silena for the type. Silena excused herself from her dance partner and made her way to the food table, towards me.
"No sign of Romeo yet?" Silena asked, grabbing a cup of water.
I sighed. "Not yet." I looked back up at her and smiled. "But you seem to be having a grand time."
Silena ducked her head and smiled. "I actually am."
"Who is your dance partner? I recognize him from the Hephaestus cabin, but I can't recall his name for some reason." I asked, scratching my head.
"His name is Charles Beckendorf, but he wants me to call him Charlie." Silena said. "He's really sweet, Annabeth. I know it was just a few dances, but-"
"I can see it in your eyes, Silena." I said, patting her cheek. "You're starting to like him."
"Is that insane, Annabeth? I know my mother is the Goddess of Love and all that and therefore love comes easy to me but after a few dances?" Silena said, wringing her hands nervously.
I've never seen Silena so bashful. It was actually kinda sweet to know I wasn't the only one nervous when it came to liking guys. "Silena, listen to me." Silena looked up at me and I took her hands. "I know who my mother is and that love advice coming from me is kinda weird but take it from the girl who fell in love from one glance."
"One glance?" Silena asked, looking less nervous and more intrigued. "Please, do tell."
"Maybe not love but definitely a very strong emotion at the time." I said, correcting myself. "Anyways, it was when he first came to camp and Grover was showing him around. I glanced up and saw him staring at me and it was like time stopped." I really had never told this to anyone else, but somehow I know I could trust Silena. "Something clicked inside me. But at the time, I didn't really understand what it was. Remember, this was before I dove into the realms of love, as you put it. First thing that hit me was, well, who was he? But one look at his eyes, that color, told me he was Percy Jackson, Poseidon's son. I knew I shouldn't be feeling like that toward him, because of who my mom was, but I was anyways. That night after capture the flag, I told him I had strong feelings for him, but I wasn't sure if they were positive or negative. But somewhere deep in my heart, I already knew they were positive."
"Oh Annabeth!" She squealed. "You are just so lucky to find the one you love."
"Just don't tell that to him yet." I said. "He might like me enough, but love might scare him off."
"Your secret is safe with me." She said, smiling. "You should know that by now."
"Okay, off of me." I said. "Back to you. Do you like Charlie?"
Silena thought about it for a moment before answering me. "I think I do, Annabeth."
"Good!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands.
"What's so good?" I heard a familiar voice say behind me.
I turned around to find Percy standing with his hands behind his back. And wow did he look good. He was wearing a long lake blue-striped button-up, top few buttons undone and rolled up to his elbows, light wash jeans and black Adidas. I saw him eyeing my outfit with a sparkle in his eye.
"What's behind your back?" I asked, trying to see around him.
"Ah ah ah my dear." He said. "You first. What's so good?"
I looked over my shoulder at Silena and she nodded. "Silena likes someone."
Percy cocked his head to the side in a way I found so cute. "Anyone I know?"
"Well, he's a son of Hephaestus and a little taller and bulkier than you. He has dark skin, dark eyes and dark hair." Silena said, coming to stand by me.
"That sounds like most of the Hephaestus kids I know." Percy said with a rueful smile. "No offense Silena, but they kinda look the same to me: tall and muscular."
Silena laughed. "None taken, Percy. His name is Charles Beckendorf, but everyone calls him Charlie."
Percy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, I've seen him around. Nice fellow, from what I've heard. I would wish you luck, but your mom's the love goddess, so I don't think you need it."
Silena laughed and pecked Percy on the cheek. "You're sweet, Percy. Thanks." Silena looked back at the dancefloor and spotted Charlie and waved. "If you two will excuse me..."
"By all means, Silena." I said. "Go and have fun."
Silena hugged me and walked back out to the dancefloor to Charlie. I saw her give him a hug and they continued to dance. I turned back to Percy and smiled my sweetest smile.
"So," I said. "Can I know what's behind you back now?"
"Say the magic word." Percy said, smiling like a child.
I didn't say anything and leaned up and kissed him gently on his lips, winding my arms up and around his neck. Percy, however, didn't keep it gentle for long. I soon felt his tongue trace my bottom lip and at the same time I felt something being placed on my head, but I paid little attention to that at the moment. Percy then wound his hands around my hips and pulled me closer. I opened my mouth for him and the battle for dominance commenced. When breathing became necessary, we pulled back and I rested my forehead on his. He smiled as we both got our breathing back under control. Then I remembered something being placed on my head and Percy's empty hands now wound around my hips. I pulled away from him and brought my hands to my head, feeling something on it. I pulled it off and looked at it; it was a tiara, like the ones the Goddesses are wearing tonight. It was a delicate sterling silver lace tier tiara with large pearls decorating it.
"What's this?" I said, still marveling at it.
"Well, obviously, it's a tiara." He said. "A tiara fit for my warrior princess."
"Corny." I said with a smirk. "But sweet. Where did you get it from?"
"My dad, actually." He said and I looked up at him, surprised.
I glanced around and spotted Lord Poseidon talking with Lord Zeus. Poseidon was wearing a light blue textured-stripe button-up with denim jeans and black leather shoes. He spotted me staring and gave me a smile. I blushed and offered a small smile before looking back at Percy.
"Why?" I asked, still flushed.
"He said it was a peace offering and an apology." Percy said, taking it from my hands and placing it back on my head.
"What does he have to apologize for?" I asked.
"The way he acted." He said. "I talked with him for awhile, asking why he changed his mind."
"Why did he?" I asked, honestly curious myself.
"Well, in short, he saw us that one night we slept on the shore and finally realized something his anger prevented him from seeing: that I truly cared about you and was utterly happy. He said the way I was with you reminded him of the way he felt about my mom." Percy explained, stroking my cheek.
"I just wish my mom would see that." I said, leaning into his touch.
"Maybe she will." Percy said with a small smile. "Eventually."
"I like your positive attitude, Percy." I said, stealing a kiss.
I slow song came on and Percy offered me his hand. "Would you like to dance, my princess?"
I smirked at him. "Yeah, on one condition." He nodded for me to continue. I leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Don't ever call me princess again." I pulled back and smiled.
"Do you prefer 'your majesty' or 'm'lady?'" he asked, clearly enjoying this. I, on the other hand, was not.
I punched him in the shoulder, hard, and smiled when he yelped in surprise.
"Annabeth!" he exclaimed, clutching his shoulder.
I batted my eyelashes and gave him an innocent look. "What?"
"Oh, you are so going to get it!" He said and I just smiled at him before starting to run away from him.