It was a free moment to myself that I grabbed. I needed it, with all the running around lately. I had decided to stay at Camp until further notice. By now, it had become evident that the war was here and we needed every able-bodied person. I settled onto a sand dune, sheltered from the sight of anyone not walking the beach, to watch the sunset. My mind wandered lazily, not bothering with any concept of relative importance; it was the most peace I had experienced in a while. I did not hear Percy so when he ungracefully plopped down next to me I started. "You busy?" I shook my head. A few minutes of gazing at the ocean and he spoke, "A penny for your thoughts?"

I shrugged, "nothing important. I was comparing an ocean sunset and a mountain sunset."

"Which one wins?"

"Hard to say. But the prettiest one I think I've ever seen was in the desert." He crossed his arms behind his head and laid down while I sat with arms loosely wrapped around one knee pulled to my chest, other leg stretched outward.

"I wish I could stand there," I heard myself murmur and pointed to the line where the sky and ocean connected.

"Maybe one day we'll do it." It was a ridiculous notion but Percy said it like a promise. He sighed when I pointed out that the world is round. "You're like Annabeth: always analyzing everything. One day we will stand at the end of the world." The affirmativeness in his voice sealed the promise. But unlike the last oath I made, I ardently believed in this, which was ironic, considering how impossible it seemed. Instead of reverting his eyes to the horizon, his green gaze studied me. Not in a piercing or calculating manner, but simply observing. Stretching my arms back leisurely my fingers brushed his. Taking up his hand, I held it above my head and examined it, now lying on my back beside Percy. My hair was going to be full of sand. I measured our hands against the other, finding his to be larger. But mine sported more scars. It was warm and soft with flat, short nails. After a spell he asked, "Can I tell you something?" I nodded. Percy started to speak several times, then closed his mouth. Whatever he had bottled inside was either very painful or he did not know how to say it.

I tried to help him along, taking guesses at what he wanted to say. When I threw out a crush, he blushed wildly. My stomach churned and I focused on not displaying any emotions. I dropped his hand, which he used to push himself onto his elbow. "Who is it?" The words were tinged sour in my mouth. He made a face when I guessed, "Is it Clarisse? Selena?" I went through the girls at camp with negatives on all. With care I said the last two names. "Annabeth? Rachel Dare?" He shook his head, smirk growing. My insides unraveled from the ball they were in. He doesn't have a crush on Rachel! "Who is it?"

The answer he gave me was not nearly what I would have expected.

Percy leaned down and kissed me. When he pulled away his cheeky grin was from ear-to-ear. My face burned. I a mixture of flattered and stunned. Biting my lower lip shyly, I asked, "Why?"

He smiled crookedly. "Why not you? You are amazing."

"I am, aren't I?" I leaned in and kissed Percy Jackson.


I poked my head in the Athena Cabin. Annabeth glanced up, noted the grin on my face, and tilted her head. "What is it?" I grabbed her arm and drug her outside, to the back of the cabin where I was fairly confident I could fangirl in private. She peppered me with questions the entire way. My face was definitely going to split apart. But when I tried to tell her, my voice came out high and shaking from excitement. "Percy kissed me." Her expression was blank with surprise, but only for a moment. Then she smiled nearly as wide as me.

"Seriously? Oh my gosh, it's about time!" Together, we squealed and jumped, giggling and hugging each other. If anyone saw us, they would think we were crazy. "Tell me everything," she demanded. I did, and she squealed again. Annabeth's reactions were better than if I had told an Aphrodite girl. "I am so happy!" She spun in a circle and clapped her hands. "Now what? Do you think he will ask you out? Of course he will," she answered her own question, getting lost in her own world.

The smile faded from my face. We were preparing for a war and I was acting like a schoolgirl. We didn't have time for a relationship. Annabeth caught my change of mood and frowned, figured what was on my mind.

"Hey," she hugged me, "I think it is going to work out. You two are perfect for each other. And if it isn't the right time, it will be later. You are beautiful and courageous and if he decides that isn't what he wants, then screw him." I laughed, feeling better. She was right: the time would present itself.

"What do I do when I see him?" I asked, suddenly nervous. I didn't have much experience with boys.

She pondered this for a minute then shrugged. "Act like everything is normal and see what he does? I don't know." Great, thanks.

I was on my way to Hera's cabin when I saw him again. There were a handful of people at the volleyball courts or walking through the strawberry field; few enough to give us a sense of privacy.

"Hey," he smiled.

"Hi." I brushed a strand of hair back. He watched my movement intensely.

"I didn't mean to make it awkward between us. I'm sorry-"

"I'm not," I interjected. "I'm not sorry." His lips parted in a dorky smile. He shuffled his feet and pressed his hands together like a little boy.

"Can I kiss you again?" I laughed and nodded, lifting my face to meet him. When we pulled apart, his eyes glittered in the dark.

"That didn't count as a goodnight kiss, though," I pointed out. He leaned down again and pecked my lips. I frowned at the quickness.

"I need to keep you coming back for more," he smirked. I gaped indignantly and he laughed. "Goodnight, Caitlin."

It took a long time to fall asleep, the touch of his lips still dancing on my skin. The next morning, I took a few additional minutes to check my appearance in the mirror before stepping outside. When I saw Percy from a distance, butterflies exploded in my abdomen. I looked away quickly before he could see. When I risked a glance, he was looking in my direction and winked. My face burned and I turned away, hiding the grin. Later in the day, when both had a free moment, he approached. I turned my head, receiving a kiss to the cheek instead. "I have to keep you wanting more," I restated his words from last night. "After all, we don't want to start rumors, do we?" I teased.

"Then let's give them something to talk about," he smirked and tried again. This time I let him, but only for a short moment. On we went for a few days: very close friends who occasionally kissed. Until one day, almost a week later, mucking the Pegasus stalls after sparring practice. Percy leaned on his rake while I pushed sweaty strands of hair from my face.

"Can we make it official?" He asked suddenly. I frowned in question. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Oh. Not what I was expecting. But I couldn't fight the grin and nodded, answered affirmatively.

Rumors definitely started flying after that. But people were only going off rumors. Annabeth and Grover knew the details, of course, but were keeping our secret. Stealing secret moments here and there was exciting, and we didn't want people to know yet.

One night at a bonfire, someone stood up, marshmallow in hand, and pointed to Percy and me, sitting with Annabeth, Grover and the Stoll brothers. "Jackson! Is it true?"

He pretended to play dumb. "Is what true?"

"Are you and Caitlin a thing?"
"What makes you say that?" He winked at me incognito.

"Everyone's heard it. So is it true?" Everyone-me included-stared at Percy, waiting for an answer. I wanted to know if he would deny it, say they were crazy. Percy picked up my hand and lanced our fingers together, then placed a kiss on my cheek for show.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Most people had the same opinion as Annabeth: that it was about time. Campers erupted in cheers and hoots.