Annabeth POV
I sleep soundly and dreamlessly, not to mention throughout the whole night and into the next day. The curtains are closed over the one window in the bedroom, which is why the sun didn't wake me up.
I stretch my legs out and sit up, my hair flying in front of my face. I blow it out of the way and attempt to tame it with my fingers as best I can.
Percy isn't in bed, and his side is cold; he woke up and left a while ago. I sigh and pull myself out from under the covers. Cool air brushes my stomach, the same way his fingers did last night. I wrap my arms around myself and smirk on my way to the bathroom.
I fix my hair, wash my face, and change clothes; Percy left me a clean pair, this time a purple tank top and another pair of shorts.
In our kitchen, I find the refrigerator stuffed full of breakfast foods, even though it's probably about eleven. I pick out a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage and pop it in the microwave for a minute. Then, I quickly scarf down the contents of the plate and decide to go look for my Seaweed Brain.
It's warm outside on deck, and a few demigods float in the pool. I wave to them, but he isn't there with them.
After I search back inside, ask a few people if they've seen him, and have them tell me no, I begin to get worried. I find myself back outside, leaning on the railing, looking out over the ocean. It sparkles blue-green, nearly the same color as Percy's eyes. There's no sign of land in any direction.
For a second, I think I hear someone call my name, but it sounds distant, far away. I turn back towards the deck, but no one's looking my way.
Something hits my head lightly from behind, and I spin around to look back at the ocean, where the projectile came from. I have to stagger backwards to avoid getting hit in the face by a stream of water. I duck out of its way and peer back over the side cautiously.
He's down in the ocean, bouncing in the waves beside the boat, grinning up at me.
I cross my arms and half-smile, watching as he shoots himself through a water cannon and back onto the deck beside me. He lands on his feet, but then slips on the water and hits the ground with a thud.
"Smooth," I smile, offering him my hand.
"That could've been so cool," he sighs, pulling himself up and running his fingers through his hair. He's totally dry, not to mention shirtless.
"I thought you got kidnapped this time," I say, punching his arm. He lunges at me and, despite my protesting, pulls me into a giant hug that lifts me off the ground.
"Sorry," he says, putting me down but not letting go of my waist, "I didn't want to wake you up."
"How early did you get up?" I ask, reaching up and wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Like, six." He mutters, leaning in and kissing me.
I pull away with wide eyes, "Why did you get up so early?"
"Bad dream," He leans in to kiss me again, but I dodge his mouth.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I look him in the eye, but he's staring at my lips.
"You needed sleep. Would you just let me kiss you?" he pouts. I roll my eyes, but the edges of my mouth turn upward.
"Yo Percy!" someone calls just as Percy's lips are about to touch mine. He groans and pulls away from me ruefully.
"What?" He yells back, "Can't you see we're having a moment?"
"You two live in a 'moment'," Grover's face shimmers to my right, where his IM has apparently come through.
"G-man!" Percy goes in for a fist bump, but his hand passes through Grover's head. "Well, crap."
"Grover! What's up?" I push Percy to the side.
"Chiron wanted me to check up on you two. Last he heard, you were kidnapped," he points at me, "And you were going crazy," his finger trails to Percy.
"We totally forgot to message Camp," I look at Percy, stunned.
"Awesome," he groans sarcastically, "Okay, Grover, let Chiron know that we'll be arriving with a butt-load of demigods in about four days. They need a place to stay until they can contact their parent… some might stay permanently, I don't know."
Grover's looking at us like we're crazy, "Where the Hades did you find so many kids?"
I raise my hand, "They were captured with me."
"By who?" he lifts a soup can to his mouth and begins nibbling on it.
"Whom." I correct, "And Bia."
"Oooh," Grover chuckles, "That's why Mr. D disappeared. The gods are having a council meeting over what to do with Bia."
"I doubt any of them are happy with her. She had a child of each of gods, both major and minor there." I point out.
"Yeah, but not all godly parents care about their mortal kids," Percy shrugs, "I mean, I hope she gets put in Tartarus or something, but there isn't an abundance of compassion for us in Olympus."
I nod, "Keep us in the loop, Grover."
"Will do. You two doing alright?" he scratches his head, narrowly avoiding his horns. They're fairly large now, although not very lethal looking.
"We're great," Percy smiles, glancing at me, "Tell Chiron we're doing good."
Grover nods, and his image vanishes.
"Can we kiss now?" Percy pouts down at me.
I push him away playfully and begin walking in the opposite direction, "We have things to do, Seaweed Brain."
"Like what?" he laughs, catching up to me, "We're on a cruise in the middle of the ocean. There's nothing to do, Annabeth! For once, you're allowed to relax!"
I spin on my heel to face him and laugh, "Relax? Percy, if you haven't noticed, this is kind of one of the most stressful situations we could ever be in. We're practically trapped on this boat if any monsters invade, all of these kids are untrained and unarmed, and they're all under our supervision. We're responsible for ninety-one lives here!"
He snorts, "You counted? Can you just…" he takes a deep breath and sighs, "Okay, look. We're on a boat. I know that. I can take out anything on a boat. This is where I'm strongest, and if each and every kid on this ship is my responsibility, then that's fine! I'll take care of it. I just want you to enjoy yourself."
I make a face and turn around, the beginnings of a headache creeping into my skull. "We should've asked Chiron for back up."
"So he would've sent more campers for us to watch over? Nothing's gone wrong yet, Annabeth."
"Yet…" I bite my lip, "Don't say yet."
"I'm sorry." He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I turn to face him. His eyebrows are pulled together.
"I'll try." I tell him.
"Try what?" He asks, twirling a piece of my hair between his fingers.
"To relax. You're right. I'm freaking out over nothing."
He smiles, "You're always freaking out over nothing."
"Sorry," it's my turn to apologize. I take his hand and intertwine our fingers. Then I begin walking.
"Where are we going?" he asks, following my lead.
"I'm going to relax. You're going to help." I lead him to the elevator. Once the doors shut, I kiss him hard on the mouth. He's surprised at first, but he soon melts into it, and his hands find my body.
When the elevator opens on our floor, we don't notice at first. Then a young boy waiting to get on the elevator clears his throat, and we pull apart. But only slightly.
We practically stumble to our room, not wanting to break apart, and once the door is closed behind us, I lift my shirt over my head and lean back into our kiss. Percy's fingers dig into my ribs as he grabs me and presses me against the wall, pinning me against his bare chest. I scratch at his back, pulling him impossibly closer as his lips move from my mouth to my neck, just below my ear.
"Relaxed yet?" he barely whispers, his breath tickling my ear.
"Quite the opposite," I breathe, pulling his face back to mine.
I wrap my leg around his waist, and he grabs my thigh, his other hand tangled in my hair.
I'm almost to where I'm forgetting about what could go wrong, when something does.
The boat shudders, and the floor bounces unexpectedly. I tumble away from Percy, onto the ground, and he staggers backwards into the kitchen countertop. His eyes meet mine, and he sighs. "Yet." He says.
((A/N I was in an extremely Percabeth-y mood :) Sorry about another cliffhanger, but they're my favorites. R&R hehe :D))