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Chapter 2

When I next awoke, sunlight blinded me. When had the sun gotten so bright? I couldn't recall. I tried to take a breath, to figure out what had happened -

And then the coughing started.

I coughed and gagged, water coming out of my mouth, as I instinctively curled into a ball, sucking as much air as I could into my lungs. I could vaguely hear people shouting, along with the sounds of splashing water – but it seemed like it came from miles away. Gradually, the sounds seemed to come closer, until I was finally fully conscious.

After the coughing subsided, I sat up, and instantly a warm hand caught hold of my shoulder and pushed me back down onto the cold wet concrete beneath me. A shock seemed to travel through me at the touch and I shivered, in part from the breeze, which had seemed so warm earlier but was now almost chilly, and in part from the warmth now coursing through my shoulder, where that mysterious hand was still pressed.

And suddenly, a startling pair of beautiful pair of sea green eyes met mine from above me. With them, the flawless, handsome face of Percy Jackson came into focus.

I gasped, almost sitting up again, but Percy's strong hand kept me firmly on the ground. His face was a mask of worry. "Are you alright?" He asked, his voice low and anxious.

I stuttered slightly. "What – what happened?"

Percy smiled slightly. "Your friend? Rachel? She pushed you into a lane line. You hit your head pretty hard and you blacked out – almost drowned."

I raised an eyebrow at him, trying to seem cool and collected while still shaking from the water and from his proximity to me. It was hard not to feel shivery – he was holding me down on the ground, leaning over me, with his face mere inches from my own.

"And I suppose you were the one who saved me," I said, more a statement rather than a question.

He nodded slightly, holding up the resuscitation mask still clutched in his other hand, the one not still on my shoulder. "What, no 'thank you'?" he teased, a smirk playing across his handsome features.

I laughed, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering. "Thank you," I murmured, trying not to stare directly into his eyes. It was impossible; with the way he was leaning over me, I couldn't help myself. A well of emerald green stared back at me, and I swallowed, trying to calm my heart, which had picked up its pounding. Percy, unaware of my internal fluttering, nodded gravely, the warmth disappearing from my shoulder as he stood, offering his hand to me. "You're going to need to get up slowly; you'll probably be a little bit dizzy from inhaling all that water."

I ignored his hand. "I can stand by myself, thanks," I huffed. My amazement at being rescued by my longtime secret love was diminishing as humiliation took its place. I couldn't believe I had actually blacked out from hitting a stupid, plastic water barrier. Attempting to martial my dignity, I stood. The world suddenly tilted and I stumbled, arms flailing to try and gain some balance. Percy had handed the mask to one of his coworkers as both of his hands came to my shoulders, steadying me. I froze, feeling the warmth from his hands spread over my shoulders. He bent slightly, his warm breath hitting my ear. I shivered again.

"Clearly, you need some help standing," he mocked, not unkindly. I rolled my eyes, unable to contain a smile. He stood beside me then, his arm around my shoulders to steady me. "You hit your head pretty hard," he said firmly. "We need to get you to the office."

The pool office was small, with windows looking out at the patrons and the pool deck. Rachel came in briefly, apologizing profusely until I waved her away and told her to go relax. The other lifeguards looked at me curiously as Percy observed me, or rather, my head. He probed the back of it with his fingers, stopping as I let out a hiss of pain.

"You should be alright. Head injuries are weird, and you have to be careful, but I don't think you hit your head hard enough to be concussed." I could feel his fingers in my hair, absentmindedly running his hands along my curls. I suppressed a shudder as he murmured something I couldn't quite hear.

"What?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself.

He glanced at me with those eyes of his. "Oh, nothing," he said, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. He dropped his hands, and I instinctively longed for them to return to my hair. "Let me get you some ice."

He returned a moment later, handing the large bag to me. I nodded my thanks, wincing a bit as I touched the ice to the bump. "So, do I need to fill out some form saying that you treated me and I don't hold you liable for anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nah. I didn't technically give you medical advice, and I don't need your help filing the incident report, so you're free to go. Just be careful for the next couple of days."

I nodded again, disappointed that I would be leaving his company so soon. "The report?"

"Every incident has to be filed with the pool – in this case, your name, time of incident, and what happened," he explained.

I frowned slightly. "My name?"

"Yes," he said, slightly confused. "You know my name?" I was confounded.

Percy looked at me, a puzzled look on his face. "Yes – we've been in the same homeroom since freshman year… Annabeth."

I blushed slightly. "Sorry – we're not exactly friends, and some of the people in our homeroom definitely don't know my name."

Percy laughed. "I doubt anyone doesn't know your name, Annabeth. You're one of the smartest – no, the smartest – person in our grade."

"Thanks," I said plainly. It wasn't something I hadn't heard before – though this was the first time I'd heard something of the sort from Percy.

He shrugged. "It's the truth," he said bluntly, meeting my eyes. My breath hitched in my throat – god, he had beautiful eyes – but at that moment, Calypso walked in.

"Hey," she said simply, kissing Percy on the cheek. A pang of jealousy erupted in my stomach, disrupting the butterflies that had been fluttering there. Instantly I felt guilty. Who was I to be jealous?

Percy smiled at her. "Hey," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her. I stood abruptly, anxious to be away from the display of affection. I lowered my eyes and pressed the ice more firmly to my head. I harbored no ill will towards either of them, but it's never easy to watch the person you've had a crush on for years kiss someone that isn't you. I tried sidestepping the couple, but unfortunately they were right in front of the door. Finally, I cleared my throat. They pulled apart, Calypso with a blush on her face, and Percy with a somewhat sheepish smile.

"'Scuse me," I mumbled, briskly walking to the door, eyes on my feet.

"Annabeth?"

I turned halfway, so that Percy couldn't see my face. I wasn't crushed, or heartbroken, but sad. Seeing their relationship up close made it clear to me that I wasn't even in the same league that Calypso was. And they were clearly very much in love. I wasn't going to begrudge them that. I was going to go on to university and fulfill my dreams by this time next year, and I was going to leave my crush on Percy behind. He had Calypso, I had my friends, my passions, and that's just the way it was going to be.

Little did I know how wrong I was about that.

"Yes?"

He paused. "I'll see you around?" It was more of a question than a farewell.

I did my best to put on a smile. "Sure." And with that, I walked out into the blinding sunlight, leaving the only boy I had ever really fallen for behind.