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When I woke up on the couch, I thought there was still thunder booming outside.
Then I realized that it was just Percy snoring on the floor.
Which each breath he took in and breathed out, it sounded like a tidal wave. When he snorted in his sleep, tossing and turning, that was the sound I had mistaken for thunder. I tried to go back to sleep, unaware of the time but wanting to close my heavy eyelids for just a little longer, but I couldn't. Not with Percy's racket.
Exhaling sharply, I reached my hand down, groping for something to throw at him. My hand closed around a narrow, hard object. I picked it up and chucked it at Percy's head.
For the part in a movie once, I had to learn how to throw darts perfectly and with strength. Therefore, the shoe I had grabbed struck Percy's head with enough force to make it jerk to the side.
He was still for a moment, then he muttered into his pillow, "Ow."
"You're snoring. Did you know you snored?"
"No, I wasn't aware. I was never able to catch myself snoring."
I rolled my eyes as Percy flipped over, his sea-green eyes meeting mine up on the couch. His hair was even messier than normal, if that was even possible. I wanted to run my fingers through it, but I restrained myself as he yawned and stretched like a cat.
"What time is it?" he asked, cracking his neck.
I shrugged, burying myself farther into the pillows. "I don't know."
But it seems we didn't need to find out, for we heard a voice call down from the top of the stairs. "Percy? Annabeth? Come up, I have blue pancakes for breakfast. There's one left, so the first one up gets it, but I have another batch coming."
Percy and I froze, glancing at each other. Then, quicker than a blink of an eye, we shot out of our beds, bolting towards the stairs and pushing each other behind in our race to get the pancake. I tripped Percy, and he went down, but his hand shot out and grabbed my ankle, making me grab onto the stair railing to hold myself up.
We were both a mess of giggles and bed-heads when we reached the kitchen, still shoving each other like five-year-olds as we made our way to the coveted pancake. Poseidon had been drinking coffee, but his hand paused halfway to his mouth as he stared at his son and I raging across the kitchen like twin tornadoes.
"There's more coming," he stated. "No need to kill each other."
Percy, unfortunately, reached the single pancake first, and he held it up like it was diamond. "Yes!" he exclaimed, turning to look at me with a triumphant smile. I was holding my sides, laughing hard.
"I beat you," he teased.
"Don't count on it happening again," I countered. He laughed, dumping a gallon of syrup onto his pancake while Poseidon watched, shaking his head.
As I walked over to find a mug and pour myself a cup of coffee, Percy said, "When did you get back?"
His mouth was full of food, and I sent him a reprimanding glance as he sprayed crumbs. He smiled sheepishly as Poseidon glanced at the clock, seeing it read eight o'clock.
"I got here about seven," the older man replied, taking a sip of his beverage. "The pups are healthy, six of them. And the mother is doing well, too." Percy nodded his happiness, grinning to show syrupy teeth. I grimaced, and Percy gushed his food out of the cracks of his teeth, just to spite me. I glared at him.
"How was your guys' sleep?" Poseidon asked.
I took a seat beside Percy at the bar counter, spinning from side to side in my swivel chair. "It was fine, except for Percy's snoring."
Poseidon chuckled, then said mischievously, "You two slept on different couches, I hope?"
I choked on the gulp of coffee I had just taken, and Percy looked up, eyes wide and alarmed. We both spoke at the same time in rushed, stammered words.
"Dad! I—I have a girlfriend! We didn't—we were—"
"No, no, no! No, I was on the couch—by myself. No."
Percy and I both stopped talking, blushes heating our cheeks.
Poseidon watched us with amused eyes. "Well, I was obviously joking, but you two seemed to take it seriously, so . . ." He trailed off, his smirk filling his face.
I got redder, and I wouldn't meet Percy's eyes.
Though I thought how nice it would've been to just fall asleep with Percy. Not doing anything—just falling asleep wrapped in his big and warm embrace.
Stop, stop, stop!
Thankfully, we were saved by dear Sally. I made a mental reminder to tell her she was absolutely amazing.
"Mom!" Percy said in an enthusiastic voice. Apparently he was grateful for the available subject change as well. "I didn't know you were here! Annabeth, did you know she was here?"
I shook my head quickly. "Nope."
Sally, in dirty gardening gloves and equally dirty clothes with her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, stared at us weirdly. I didn't blame her. We were totally making the atmosphere awkward.
"I came with your father," she said slowly.
Percy nodded, "Oh, yeah. Right. Why'd you come? Don't you have the puppies to take care of?"
She shook her head. "Paul's going to watch them. I came here to help clean up, because if you haven't noticed, the storm yesterday didn't exactly leave the ranch untouched."
"It didn't leave Percy untouched, either," I said, pointing to his arm. He glared at me for bringing it up, but I just smiled sweetly at him. Payback for taking the pancake.
"What?" Sally asked worriedly. "What happened?" She rushed over to Percy, pulling his sleeve up and looking at the bandage before he could protest.
With a swift grip, she tore off the bandage, leaving Percy hissing in pain at the tape taking off hairs on his arm as well.
"Ouch, mom!" he said. "Seriously. First Annabeth hits me with a shoe and now you're making my arm bald." He rubbed his shoulder protectively, but Sally just yanked his hand away to study his wound.
"Oh, Percy," she clucked disapprovingly. "What did you do to yourself?"
"It was Blackjack, in my defense," he mumbled.
I joined in. "Percy insisted on going to check on Blackjack, even though I tried to stop him. Sorry, Mrs. B—sorry, Sally," I told her, quickly fixing my last words to what she preferred.
"Oh, it's not your fault, Annabeth," she said, grabbing a towel and wetting it slightly to clean off the dregs of blood that had come during the night. "I can never keep this boy under control, I wouldn't expect you to."
She smiled at me, and I returned the gesture. The pancake cooker dinged, and Poseidon set his mug down to go take out the pancakes. He plopped a steaming oval one onto a plate and handed it to me. I grinned, thanking him and listening to Sally and Percy.
"It's not too bad, thankfully," she said, applying a new bandage onto his arm.
"I don't even feel it anymore," Percy said, moving his arm around. When he winced slightly, Sally chuckled, sending her eyes to the heavens.
"Don't feel it, huh?" she asked doubtfully.
"Well, he better not, because we have a lot to clean outside," Poseidon said. "When you two are done with your breakfasts, why don't you go get changed and then we'll start cleaning."
Percy and I both nodded, our mouths full. I finished my one pancake in the time Percy inhaled five, and I shook my head at him, muttering, "Boys."
After we had cleaned off our plates and helped Poseidon put some of the ingredients away, Percy dashed upstairs, me right behind him. I went into my room, heading for the closet. I picked out some old jeans and a Hollywood t-shirt before hastily slinging my hair up into a messy ponytail similar to Sally's. When I went out of the room and back downstairs, Percy was already pulling on his shoes.
"Slowpoke," he teased as he saw me coming down the stairs. I scowled at him, sticking out my tongue. Percy replied in the same manner, throwing a pair of gloves at me.
Sally was watching us, and her head went from side to side, a small smile on her face as she listened to our pointless bickering.
"You two," she said simply. "You're going to drive Poseidon crazy."
Percy scoffed. "I did that ten years ago, mama." He walked over to her, kissing her cheek as she chuckled, pushing him away.
"Go help your father," she told him. "He needs help repairing the gate on the paddock." He nodded, sending me a grin before disappearing out the door.
"What am I gonna work on?" I asked Sally.
She smiled. "You and I are redoing the gardens. They definitely did not like last night's wind and flooding rainwater." She beckoned to me, and I followed her out the door, taking in the yard.
There were broken branches strewn across the grass, along with a few flowers. The trees in the woods hung limply, like they always did after thunderstorms. I could smell the recent rain, the musty and fresh scent. It was completely still outside—still and humid, and I could tell today would be full of sweat.
Sally was right, the gardens were a wreck. Plants were torn from their roots, puddles drowned the colorful petals, and dirt and stray tree branches laid among the flowers like trash in a city alley.
For the next hour or so, Sally and I cleaned the gardens. I took care of the things that didn't belong, bringing the branches over to a big brush pile along the trees. When I asked Sally, she said that they use that for firewood whenever they wanted a bonfire. But mostly they stock up for the Fourth of July, where every year, Poseidon and Percy hold a huge party and the whole town comes. It's a tradition, and Percy loved it, she told me. There were fireworks, food, games, and a fierce bonfire late into the night.
When I was finished with my job, I helped Sally replant some flowers. She had some new ones in the gardening shed just for storms like this, so there would always be flowers to plant.
A certain plant caught my eye, though. It was the only plant that didn't have a flower. "What's that one?" I asked her.
She followed my finger. "Oh, that's a moon lace. They only bloom at night, but they're beautiful. You should come out and see them sometime when the moon's out." That got me curious, and I told myself to remember to do as she said.
"So," Sally started, kneeling in the dirt with a small spade to dig a hole for a marigold, "how're you settling in?"
"Great," I said honestly. "I love it here, especially the horses."
She laughed slightly. "Well, I'll be sure to tell Poseidon and Percy that you like the horses better than them." I rolled my eyes, grinning.
Sally continued. "It must be kind of hard, coming here. I mean, you're used to movies and red carpets and lots of people and buildings. Here, you've got a tiny town and nature."
"Yeah, it is different," I admitted. "But so many times I've caught myself marveling at everything. I like the nature—I always have. I do miss the city, but it's nice here."
"That's good," she said. "Are any of your friends going to come visit?"
"I hope. Piper—she's my clothes and make up artist—said she'd try to visit."
Sally nodded. "How're you and Percy getting along?" She studied my reaction, watching me intently, so I schooled my features and answered nonchalantly.
"Fine, he's nice," I told her, focusing on my plants. I had thought I hadn't let anything through my casual words, but Sally smiled a little knowingly.
"Hm, I'm sure," she said, a hint of something in her voice. I frowned at her. I was a worldwide actress, and I couldn't even lie to her about some silly feelings? Once again, that showed me that mothers really did seem to know everything.
I took a deep breath. "I was actually being serious, Sally," I told her, not meeting her eyes. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking—if that makes sense—there's nothing and will be nothing between Percy and I. Besides, he has Rachel, and he's happy with her."
Sally didn't answer just buried the roots of the marigold quietly.
I frowned slightly. "They are happy, right?"
Sally exhaled, then looked at me. "Whatever happens is obviously supposed to happen. We'll just have to wait it out and see, okay, dear?"
My eyebrows drew together slowly, trying to break down what she meant and figure out what she was implying. But before I could answer, she started talking again.
"Annabeth, could you do me a favor and go into the shed and find my clippers for me?"
Still confused, I nodded slightly, standing up and wiping the excess dirt off my knees, watching it fall to the ground like the raindrops that were just here. However, as I started walking, Sally pursed her lips.
"On second thought," she mused, "they are kind of hard to find."
"I can get them," Percy said behind us. He had come up while we were talking. As I watched, he reached up a hand to get the hair out of his face, then he realized they had gloves on them, and the gloves were dirty. He slid off his gloves, sticking them in his back pocket before pushing the hair away from his eyes.
Well, I could've done that for him.
"Oh, thank you, Percy," Sally said, smiling warmly at her son. "But why don't you take Annabeth with you so she can see where everything is for the future."
He nodded, motioning for me to follow him. I waved to Sally before trailing Percy towards the gardening shed.
I hadn't really seen the shed before, it was kind of out of the way behind the stables. Even though I thought of gardening sheds as small, this one was the opposite. It looked like a barn, with plenty of windows stationed along the sides.
"Woah, that's big," I said.
Percy chuckled. "Yeah, I know. My dad made it for my mom as a deal. She got a huge gardening shed but she helped us take care of our gardens. I think he went a little overboard, though."
He walked up to the only door that I could see to enter, putting his hand on it and shoving it open. A bit of dust shook loose as we entered, coughing a little from it. Once we were in, Percy walked over to the far wall where some spades dangled from hooks. He started searching for the clippers while I studied our surroundings.
The sunlight streamed through the windows set there, lighting up the dust particles in the air hazily and making the old and messy place appear like something out of a dream. There were shovels, wheelbarrows, hoes, gloves, pots, bags of planting soil, a wall of packets of labeled seeds—it was a gardener's dream.
"This is awesome." My voice echoed faintly in the room, returning to my ears like a lost wanderer.
"Mom loves it," Percy said. "I can't find the clippers she wants. We probably put them in the attic for the winter. Come on."
He walked a few steps, heading over to a ladder that was nailed into the wall, the ceiling above it cut open to reveal darkness. Then he paused, turning back to me.
"Wait," he stopped me. "You might not want to go up there."
I raised an eyebrow. "What? Is that where you keep the dead bodies of people that annoyed you?" I asked jokingly.
Percy shook his head. "Of course not, those are in my closet."
Rolling my eyes, I said seriously, "Why should I not go up there?"
He sighed. "Well, it's really dirty and old and we don't clean anything up there really, it's basically storage."
"And . . .?"
"Really, Wise Girl," he said exasperatedly. "I thought you were the smart one here. It's old and full of dusty boxes. What likes to stay in places like that."
A cold hand touched my heart. "Spiders," I whispered. Percy confirmed my fear, nodding slightly.
"I mean, you can stay here while I go. If you're scared." The last part was added with a hint of a challenge.
What did I tell you before about my pride? Yeah. So I took the little challenge to heart.
"I'll be fine," I stated firmly.
His dark eyebrow rose on his forehead, almost disappearing under his black, shiny locks. "Are you sure? Last time you had an encounter with a spider you didn't seem too 'fine.'"
"Well, I just wast expecting that, so it was really bad."
He shrugged. "I didn't think it was too bad. Actually, I rather enjoyed it."
His tone implied something else, and his cheeky grin proved it. I reddened slightly at the memory, glowering at him as his amused expression grew.
"You're disgusting," I said. "And I'm going."
Lifting a shoulder, he replied, "Suit yourself. But don't blame me when you get scared."
"I'll be fine," I repeated with determination. Percy looked at me for a second, then sighed in defeat, turning to put his hands on the ladder, pulling himself onto the rungs. I shook out my shoulders, willing myself to relax before climbing up the ladder behind him.
He reached the top, then stooped to lend me a hand. After helping me up, he reached behind me to flick a switch, and suddenly light entered. It was provided by an old lightbulb casting yellow light onto the junk pile in the attic.
Yes, it was mostly junk. But, hey, when people say "storage," they really mean junk that they don't use, right?
Boxes, opened and closed, were strewn unceremoniously around on the floor. Dust covered everything, and some sheets were thrown over more precious things, but they were covered in a layer of it, too. With the absence of windows, the room appeared even more dirtier than it seemed, which was saying a lot. It was the exact opposite of the shed below us.
As if he read my mind, Percy said, "This is my dad's spot, that's why it's so messy. Mom has the first floor, dad got up here."
He started across the room, stepping daintily between crates and random things on the ground.
Percy had been right. Spiders liked it up here, apparent from the hundreds of strands of webs going from beam to beam, corner to corner. They were everywhere, that nasty stuff, and even as I took one step forward, I felt a sticky strand hit my face. I shuddered, fighting the urge to take off and go back downstairs. Instead, I quickened my pace, walking right behind Percy so he took all the spiderwebs for me.
"Ah, there they are," he said, going forward to grab the lost clippers. When he took them off the wall, something fell onto my shoulder. I thought it was a clump of dirt, until the eight legs moved.
"Oh gods, oh gods," I said, barely able to calm myself so I didn't scream and panic. "Get it off, get it off, Percy! Get it off!"
All those words came out of my mouth so fast. Despite my trying to calm myself, it just didn't work. I was soon jumping around like a chimpanzee after five espressos, shaking the cursed spider off my shoulder.
I almost tripped, and my hand reached out for something to grab hold of. In doing so, my fingers went through a thick wall of webs, the strings falling onto my skin and making me shriek even more.
"Annabeth!" I heard Percy shout my name. "Annabeth, calm down! It's gone!"
I still didn't stop, and kept on freaking out until Percy grabbed my shoulders and pushed me towards the ladder after picking up the clippers again.
"Ew, ew, ew!" I screamed. "Why did I come up here? I hate spiders!"
I was surprised I didn't just freeze up like I normally did, but Percy probably helped by ushering me towards the exit. He tossed the clippers down the opening, then turned, shimmying down the ladder.
"Come on, Annabeth," he called up to me. I was still panicking, my breathing coming in ragged breaths. I made a vow to never come up here again. Stupid clippers.
I flipped myself around, my feet shakily finding the rungs. But in my rush to get down, my foot slipped and I went tumbling down. Thankfully Percy was at the bottom waiting with outstretched arms, probably knowing I was going to trip myself. I fell right into his hands.
"Woah, calm down, Wise Girl," he said soothingly. One hand clutching my waist and the other pushing hair out of my face. We were pretty close, and I every time I gasped for breath, our stomachs hit.
Then the shed door slammed open.
Two figures appeared.
"Hey, Perce, you're—" the voice cut off as they saw us.
I took Percy and I in. We were in a compromising position, standing so close together. It didn't help that I was flushed, gasping for air from the attic.
With quick movement, I shoved Percy away from me, turning to look at the two newcomers with heated cheeks. As the door behind them swung shut, their silhouetted figures became clear. Jason and Leo. They were both staring wide-eyed at us.
"Hey," Percy said quickly, scratching the back of his neck. "What're you guys doing here?"
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Um, we came to help clean up the ranch. But if you and Annabeth are busy, we can come back later." He wiggled his eyebrows, grinning maniacally.
Jason rolled his eyes, smacking his friend's shoulder. "Shut up, Leo. He's got a girlfriend."
"Yeah, that wasn't anything," Percy stated. "I was just helping her down."
"Ah," Leo said, smirking. "Right."
Percy glowered at him.
"Well, Sally just sent us in here to check on you guys. She said you were taking a long time," Jason told us, looking at me and Percy. His blue shirt brought out his eyes as they found mine. He nodded a quick greeting, always so formal. I wondered if he had a girlfriend—and if not, maybe if he got one he'd loosen up a little.
"However," Leo said suggestively, just not letting it drop. "We now know why."
I rolled my eyes. "Leo, Percy was telling the truth."
"Whatever. Though I'm sure Rachel won't appreciate it."
Percy's eyes grew wide. "I was telling the truth!" he said somewhat aggressively.
Leo held up a hand. "Okay, okay. I was joking. Someone's PMSing."
"Leo, that only works for girls," I told him. "Now stop spreading any rumors that didn't happen, or I'll make you regret it."
Leo smirked. "Perhaps I was talking about you. PMSing, lately?"
I scowled at him as he laughed, bolting out the door before I could get to him and punch him.
Jason sent his eyes to the heavens. "Just ignore him. He's always like that. By the way, Poseidon needs your help, Percy."
With one final wave, he disappeared out the door, letting it fall shut and leaving Percy and me.
"Well," I said, exhaling harshly. "That was embarrassing."
"What?" Percy asked, grinning. "The fact that you totally flipped from seeing one spider on your shoulder, or that they obviously thought we were making out?"
I cast my eyes skyward. "Both, Seaweed Brain. Though I don't know how they could've thought the second one."
"I know. I mean, have they just forgotten about Rachel?"
No, but I wish I could.
Sighing, I said, "Let's go finish cleaning."
Percy nodded in agreement, picking up the clippers once again, his tanned arms rippling with muscles as he reached out. When he stood back up, he grinned at. The butterflies in my stomach went crazy and the supportive tendons in my knees disappeared.
Go ahead, just take a guess at which three words, all the same, went through my head.
I was hopeless.
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