Encounters

AN: Hello my loves! This update took me longer than I'd like, but still I'm proud that I didn't go completely off the map. I hope you'll like it. Next chapter's gonna have so much percabeth you won't even be able to handle it though, just wait, I have it all mapped out. Alright, well, hope you like it!

"Florida?" Annabeth's eyes lit up and suddenly she sat up. I frowned quietly as my arm was shoved off of her shoulders. I hated to admit it, but I didn't really have a problem with holding her close and never letting go, in fact, I really kind of wanted it to continue if possible.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be so awesome! You could come with me down to Florida, we could have a great time! I mean, someone needs to fill up Malcolm's spot, don't they?" She brushed her hair out of her face all excited like and for a brief second, she reminded me of a little kid with candy.

"Okay, hold on, what are you talking about?" I asked sleepily, leaning against the headboard of my bed, trying to keep my eyes open for more than two seconds so I could listen to her.

"Okay so remember that I told you that the cheerleading team is having this competition in Florida? Well Malcolm can't come because that's the day of the gender reveal, so now there's an open seat and if no one fills it we'll lose money which Helen will go ballistic about and-"

"Wait what do you mean by "an open seat"? An open seat where?" At these words her face fell slightly and her eyes dropped down and avoided mine.

"An open seat on the plane I'm going on." She replied quietly, and that was what made my eyes go wide and my mouth pop open slightly.

"A plane? You want me to go on a plane with you?"

"You already knew that I was going on this plane, I told you about it, remember? Helen won't let me drive down, she's forcing me to go in the plane." I shook my head and raised my hands up to my face.

"Annabeth… A plane? Look, if it was anything else I'd totally go with you but you know I can't deal with planes. I barely managed to fly over here when I moved." I gave her the most sympathetic and sincere look I could muster as I tentatively grabbed her hand in what I hoped was a comforting manner. Her eyes snapped up to meet mine and for less than a second we locked eyes, her face showing some expression that I couldn't understand.

"I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She said after some time, and she settled back down, resting her head on my chest with a defeated look. And I felt horrible. I felt like I just crushed any hope she had left. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling. Her brother and best friend had just confessed to seeing each other behind her back, she was going to be an aunt, she was due to go on a plane in a couple weeks by herself, and now I totally turned her down on going to Florida with her.

"Why did you even want me to go with you, Blondie?" I asked, and I suddenly felt her grow stiff next to me.

"Because you understand my fear of planes. I thought maybe if you were there, it'd be easier to cope with the fact that I was flying since you know firsthand what it's like. You're the only other person I know that would understand. And even though you're not my brother… You're still someone that could help me cope, maybe even better than Malcolm could." She said the last part rushed, like she was afraid that if she slowed down she'd say something else. Meanwhile, I was still trying to let her words sink in. I could tell she was scared at the prospect of flying alone, and it was blatantly obvious to me that she was having trouble admitting a weakness to me. I wanted to smash myself against a brick wall, I felt so bad about just leaving her like this, letting her go through this herself. I opened my mouth to say something, but the pressure of her lips on my cheek made me halt, and anything that was currently happening in my body stopped in its tracks and died.

"It's okay. Don't feel bad about it. I can fly by myself. I understand why you're saying no, and I'd never try to force you into that position. I'm sorry I even asked." She whispered raggedly by my ear, and I tried and failed to control myself but I honestly had no fucking clue as to what was currently happening. The alarm that rang in my body every time an occurrence of the mysterious problem came up was going off like there was no tomorrow, and I still didn't know what it was, or how to stop the fact that my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, or that I wanted to wrap my hands in the adorable human being's curls, or that I wanted to feel the softness of her sun kissed skin, or any of it. It didn't stop any of it.

It didn't stop the fact that for the insert number here time, the fucks I gave that she was my best friend's sister were nonexistent, or that all I wanted was to shut her up in a way that would most certainly get me in trouble if Malcolm or my mom were to see me. It didn't help the situation at all that she was looking up at me with those eyes of her that could be so scrutinizing but so full of everything at the same time, or that she was making me feel a way that I wasn't sure I should be feeling, or that really, at the moment, I was feeling reckless, and I really didn't care about consequences, or about sleep, or school, or football, or planes. I. Didn't. Care.

I didn't care. I didn't care. I didn't care. I didn't care. I was so done, her gesture had pushed me over the limit, and I didn't know what to do about it. None of this stopped the fact that I wanted to kiss her so hard it burned my soul. None of this stopped the fact that I wanted to hold her close and fall asleep again just like that one night, or that I wanted to hear her small little breaths again, until I fell asleep to it because it was now on the top list of beautiful and perfect sounds.

I couldn't focus. Not even when I asked her why she had done what she did, biting down on my lip so hard it hurt and staring straight at the ceiling to prevent myself from doing something I'd regret, and she responded with saying that she was just comforting a friend, although the way she said it made it sound like she didn't even believe herself. Not even when she fell back asleep on my chest and her breaths started again. Not even when an hour had passed, and I definitely should've been asleep, but instead I was looking down at her beautiful and perfectly imperfect face, with her sporadic freckles framing her cheeks, and her lips curving in just the right way, and the small cut on her right eyebrow, and the way her eyelashes looked like they were kissing her face. Not even when I noticed that her shirt had ridden up and I saw the thin outline of the scars that Helen had cut out on Annabeth's stomach. Not even through any of that.

The only instance when I did manage to focus, was hours later, when I finally figured out what my problem was, and in a way, figuring out was even worse than not knowing. I was right. Sometimes being oblivious is complete bliss. When you're oblivious you can lie to yourself, and try to deter whatever's coming, and you don't have to face whatever it is that's troubling you. But now I couldn't. I couldn't run away. And that meant I couldn't run away from the unavoidable problem that I was completely and utterly attracted to Annabeth Chase on every level that you could possibly imagine, whether it was emotional or physical.

The realization of what the problem really was made the next day complete hell. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know what to think, and I didn't even know what to say. As soon as we got up for school that morning, I couldn't even look at her. If I looked at her, those feelings would rise, and I didn't want it. I didn't want to feel what I felt. I didn't want this goddamned problem.

Liking Annabeth wasn't convenient for me in the slightest. She was my best friend's sister, and as much as I didn't want to care about that small little fact, I had to because he was my best friend. Maybe in the heat of the moment I hadn't cared, but now that my head wasn't completely crowded with thoughts about her, I couldn't just give zero fucks about Malcolm. Malcolm wasn't even the only problem. There was still the feud. I didn't give one fuck about that, but apparently Annabeth did, a lot, so that assured that nothing could ever happen between us anyway. And there's the small detail that she didn't feel the same way towards me.

I mean come on. Come on. I spilled coffee on her and acted like a complete dick about it, and even though we'd made peace with each other since then, there was still a barrier between us because she was a strict follower of the rules that outlined the feud, and the first impression she had of me was that of a complete asshole.

Even if there was a chance Annabeth returned my feelings, what the hell were we supposed to do about it? Date? There was no smooth road to go through this, this was just one big horrible mess that I had let myself get trapped in because I'd gotten too close to someone that I shouldn't have gotten close to. I didn't even know how it had happened. I didn't know if it was the countless hours I spent getting my ass beat at video games, or the countless hours I spent working on the English project at her house, or the countless hours I spent just thinking about her, but it didn't matter now. I felt like everything I knew was caving in. School was overwhelming, football was overwhelming, and everything was just too much. As if everything wasn't hard enough, now I had to spend my time and energy getting over my best friend's sister, and by the looks of it, it wouldn't be easy because I'd fallen harder than I'd ever fallen before.

I had to let her drive us down to the school- with a quick stop at her house- because I was too out of it to be able to get behind the wheel. I still felt like one of the worst people walking the streets right now considering the fact that she was still going to Florida by herself. But then, without thinking, I stopped Annabeth at the next stop sign and I made her pull the car over. She looked up at me with this look on her face like I was insane, and I just wanted to rip myself out of this situation because I honestly couldn't handle it.

"What is it?" She asked after I hadn't said anything for a full five minutes and the air was becoming thick with silence and confusion. And maybe I was stupid. But yeah. I was really stupid, and my actions would prove so. So I leaned back in my seat, and shut my eyes excruciatingly tight because I wanted to shut everything out and not say what I was about to say. Of course, I was going to say what I was about to say not only because I'm an idiot, but also because I cared way too much about her.

"Let's skip school today." And she gave me this look like I was crazy, and really, I was also wondering that because I was pretty sure I was, but it was too late to stop what I was trying to propose.

"Percy, why would I skip-"

"Because I need a day off. I need a day that isn't completely full of complications. I need a day where I don't feel like I'm drowning in stress, and I'm not being told what position I need to be in for football, and I'm completely in control of myself and my decisions, and I'm okay. I need to be able to just breathe and not care about anything, for twenty four hours. And I want you to come with me." I finished quickly, not looking at her, but instead staring straight at the road ahead.

"But-"

"And before you say no," I said, cutting her off again, and I had to restrain myself from gawking at how adorable she looked when she was mad because I could tell she was upset that I'd interrupted her again by the way her cheeks flushed and one eyebrow was raised, "If you skip with me today, I'll come to Florida with you." And that's the part that finally grabbed her attention. She met my eyes and in them I could see all the desperation and renewed hope in them, all the longing she had to not go on the plane by herself, and I instantly felt so bad for forcing her into this position. The truth was, I'd made up my mind maybe ten minutes into the car ride. I was definitely going to Florida with her, even if she said no to skipping with me. I had to, there's no way I could just let her face all this herself. If I didn't come along I'd be being selfish and stupid because sure, I was scared of planes, but so was she, and I had to think about her as well as myself. Even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself and being independent, at the moment, she needed support, and not many people were able to give it to her.

"I can't do that to you, I feel stupid for even asking, really it's okay, you don't have to do this." She responded in a determined fashion, like she'd already made up her mind.

"You're right, I don't have to do anything. I want to do this, though. That's the difference."

"Percy-"

"You said it yourself, you need someone to go with anyway." She stayed quiet for some time, inwardly cursing herself for even asking me in the first place.

"I can find someone else to go with, someone who's not afraid of flying, it's okay."

"But you asked me. You obviously wanted me there, you wanted me to come otherwise you wouldn't have asked me."

"But that was before." She responded quickly.

"It's been one night, and who else are you gonna go with? Someone from your math class?"

"I could find anyone if I really wanted to." She bit back, and I knew that if she was persistent enough she would.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be as fun with a random person, than it would be with me, right?" She paused and looked at me, crossing her arms over her chest, and I just knew we were about to try and stand each other up.

"You're a football player."

"So was Malcolm."

"But he's my brother."

"But I'm well trusted."

"Your mom would never let you."

"My mom's more lax than you think."

"We'd have to share a hotel room."

"We slept in the same bed last night."

"Do you really wanna go waste a weekend watching cheerleaders?" I raised an eyebrow at her and her face fell like she realized what she'd just said was the stupidest comeback she could possibly muster. I held back my laughter and gave her a look.

"Look, I just don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. I know flying is something you're not fond of, and I'd rather not have to put you through that. Plus, really what are the chances of your mom saying yes to you going with me?" I shook my head at her and leaned back in the seat once more.

"I want to go with you. I know I said I didn't, but I can't just leave you alone like this, and you're right, I would be understanding of your situation since I know what it feels like. It's okay. And I can talk to my mom about it and explain the situation, I'll talk to Malcolm too, it'll be okay, we're gonna figure this out." She let out a breath and ran her hands through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"You're such an ass sometimes. I've never skipped school before, what would we even do? What about final exams? If we're absent we can't get exempt from them. And what about school work? What are we supposed to say?" I laughed at her panicking, and apparently that was the wrong thing to do because she visibly became more frustrated with me and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You lie. You turn in a sick note the next day, and you move on with your life, that's what you do. If it's an excused absence then it's okay, and you can make up work. Come on, Blondie, why don't you loosen up for once in your life?" She pursed her lips and looked at me considering her choices, and then quietly, as if she'd made a decision, she turned the car around and drove until she stopped in front of my house. She looked at me, giving me a look like she was just waiting for me to hop out of the car.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go grab your stuff, we're going to NYC." I looked up at her instantly, my eyes widening and my mouth opening slightly.

What?" She looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, tapping her index finger on the wheel.

"Did I stutter? Go grab your stuff, it's not a short ride." And then she ushered me out of the car to go grab my stuff. I bit back a lunatic smile as I sucked in a cold breath and power walked up the driveway. I made to go inside, but as I approached the door, I realized there was a letter lying on the welcome mat. The writing on the front of the envelope was a deep shade of blue, and the name on the front read Peter Cremmings. I quickly picked it up, deciding to read it as I grabbed my things from inside, and pushing the door open quickly. As I grabbed my cellphone charger and a bag of hot Cheetos- which I knew she'd end up wanting eventually- I tore open the letter and tried to do a quick skim, but froze as I actually looked at what was written on the paper.

I'm okay. It all ends soon. Keep watch of Annabeth. She's the one who's most in danger. I love you.

If Annabeth's name hadn't been in the letter, maybe I would've over looked it as a mistake, or just spam mail, but this couldn't be a coincidence. I didn't know what it meant or what to make of it, but something about reading those words chilled me to the bone, and made me feel like something was out of place. The writing was familiar, but I couldn't place whose it was.

After staring at the words on the paper for five minutes straight, I hastily stuffed it in my bag and walked out, locking the door behind me and trying to be okay. It was going to be fine. I was taking a day off, going to NYC, and avoiding stress. I should've been okay. Yet I couldn't shake the words on the paper, and somehow, that letter left me feeling more confused and distracted than I'd ever felt before.

AN: Bet you weren't expecting something else to be added to the plot after that nice inward confession from Percy now where you? And the plot gets better! I'm so excited! Also, do you get the title of the chapter? I know this chapter wasn't that long, and I'm sorry, but next chapter will be really good, and I'll work really hard on it. As for now, drop me a review! Till next time- ShyGal