Chapter 4

Well, crap.

Percy groaned - his face contorted in pain as he sat up. I quickly let go of his wrist, letting my hand fall to my side. "Geez Annabeth, cut a guy some slack," Beckendorf called from the doorway of Chiron's office. I turned and glared at him, before turning my attention back to Percy.

"Sorry Seaweed Brain," I said apologetically, offering my hand to him. "I'm still in fighting mode." He shook his head, standing up on his own and mock – glared at me, his eyes alight with mischievousness.

"I can't believe you just did that," he said, a small frown flitting across his handsome features. His lips twitched, and I could tell that he was hiding a smile.

I poked him in the stomach, a blush settling over my cheeks as I felt the hard stomach muscles beneath his t – shirt. "Believe it," I said, ignoring the laughter coming from somewhere to my right. Travis.

Percy shot him a glare. "Shut up Travis!" he called, which just made Travis laugh harder, tears streaming down his face.

I turned to Travis, my back temporarily to Percy. "Travis, if you don't stop laughing I swear I'll punch you in the arm again," I teased, and Travis immediately covered his mouth, attempting to control himself. It was my turn to laugh.

Percy placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him, and I caught my breath as I saw how close we were standing. I gazed up into those sea green eyes of his, and for a moment I thought I could stay in the one spot and just look into Percy's eyes and never grow tired of looking at them. Finding my voice, I cleared my throat. "Um.. what are you doing?"

A look of confusion swept across his face as he stepped away from me, until only his fingertips barely brushed the tops of my shoulder s. He let his arms fall to his side. "Uh, nothing," he muttered, while Travis snickered behind us. I turned to him and raised an eyebrow, but he just rolled his eyes and moved to join Beckendorf in Chiron's office.

I turned back to Percy, who was blushing slightly, not meeting my gaze. I frowned slightly. What was up with him? Pushing away my misgivings, I shook my head slightly. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Percy smiled, his eyes meeting mine again. "I'm here to pick up my little brother," he said casually.

I frowned. There hadn't been anyone with the last name 'Jackson' on the attendance list. Before I could open my mouth to ask who exactly his brother was, Tyson, with his shoes now on his feet and his blue eyes sparkling, ran over to Percy. He all but crashed into him, and Percy rocked back, steadying himself while he hugged the little boy back.

"Percy!" Tyson cried, a wide grin spreading over his little face. Looking back and forth between the two, I finally figured out why Tyson had looked so familiar. What I couldn't figure out why they had different last names.

Percy caught my questioning glance. "Tyson's my half-brother," he explained. "My mom remarried when I was 7, and then a year later this big guy here was born."

Tyson smiled and nodded slightly, as if he had heard the story before. "Percy's the best," he said, his eyes adoring as Percy picked him up, the muscles in his arms clearly defined as he hung Tyson upside down, grasping his ankles, as Tyson laughed and laughed. "Put me down!" He finally cried, but Percy shook his head and continued to hang him upside down, a playful smile playing across his face. Tyson struggled, laughing slightly before Percy finally acquiesced and set him gently on the mat. Tyson scrambled to his feet after fixing the now untied shoelaces, grabbing the hand Percy now held out to him. I was admittedly a bit jealous, my brothers — er, stepbrothers were nowhere near as affectionate or cute as Tyson was. They were more prone to trouble, just like Travis and Connor. However, they were my little pipsqueaks, and when they weren't dying my shampoo green or filling my toothpaste with cream cheese (both ideas from the Stoll brothers), they were the semblance of loving younger brothers.

I smiled at down at Tyson, asking: "I'll see you next week, right?"

He nodded, smiling shyly back, before tugging on Percy's sleeve. Percy bent down and Tyson whispered something in his ear. Percy glanced at me, his beautiful eyes catching mine, before nodding at whatever his brother said and smiling. "Agreed," he said, straightening.

I frowned slightly. "What did he say?"

Percy blushed, his smile sheepish. "Well, um – nothing," he said quickly, but Tyson interrupted him. "I said that you're pretty," he said, that shy smile adorning his face.

I raised an eyebrow at Percy, while my heart sped up and my insides all but melted from the warmth spreading throughout my body. Percy held my gaze, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "You are," he said lightly, as though it were no big deal – like he said it all the time, which he probably did, to Calypso.

Even though it was, to me. And to him - though I wasn't to know that yet.

Another week and I was back at the library shelving books – although this time, I was met with a pleasant surprise.

"Fancy seeing you here," a familiar voice spoke from behind me, and I turned to see my best friend Thalia, her electric blue eyes sparkling with humor. "Hey Thals!" I said, hugging her briefly. "How was Greece?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Greece was nice, but it was unspeakably annoying with my dad. Every woman within 10 feet of him was ogling and batting her eyes at him. I thought Hera was going to blow a gasket."

Hera was Thalia's new stepmother. Thalia's real mother had died in a drunk driving accident that she had caused a year before. Zeus was heartbroken for a day or two before coming home and announcing that he had a new girlfriend, Hera. While Thalia hadn't been a fan of her own mother, she was even less a fan of Hera, who was strict and domineering, and refused to acknowledge any opinion that wasn't in accordance with her own.

Thalia's eyes grew stormy, the blue crackling with an angry energy that was fearsome when observed and frightening when directed at its target. "They got into a fight or two before Zeus was able to calm things down," she said with a small smirk. "Oh, and Jason probably met the love of his life."

As if on cue, Thalia's younger brother poked his head out from behind one of the bookshelves a couple feet away, two books held in his hand. "Shut up Thalia," he said, the blue of his own eyes slightly deeper than his sister's, and his blonde hair short and neat in contrast to Thalia's spiked black hair. Thalia winked at him. "What was her name? Piper? Certainly very pretty," she teased, while Jason's cheeks flushed pink. I laughed at their banter, shelving the last two books before turning fully to face them. "Piper, huh? Too bad she lives in Greece," I said with a teasing smile.

"Actually, that's the best part!" Thalia exclaimed. "She lives here – just moved from Los Angeles. She'll be attending Goode High this upcoming year."

I raised my eyebrows at Jason. "Oh, really?" I teased, and Jason rolled his eyes. "Girls," he muttered, retreating back behind the bookshelf, presumably to look for some more books, though I suspected he just wanted to avoid the teasing. Thalia looked back at me, her lips twitching, before we both just gave up and burst into laughter. Thalia wiped her eyes and smiled at me. "So, how's your summer been so far?"

"Well, it's way too hot for July, that's for sure – but it's been… interesting."

Thalia appraised me, her eyes scanning my face. Slowly she broke into a grin. "Do I even need to guess?"

I shook my head, a blush coloring my cheeks. Thalia rolled her eyes, exclaiming that it was "about time her cousin finally noticed me". Percy and Thalia were cousins – their fathers were brothers, and they had been close as children. As they got older, however, Thalia started wearing more black and picked up the electric guitar, while Percy literally dove into Varsity Swimming. Thalia had been branded as a rebel and an outcast while Percy slowly climbed the social ladder. Nowadays, although unintentionally, they spent little time together, only seeing each other at family gatherings like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Their interactions at such events were friendly enough until Calypso came into the picture. Thalia didn't really like Calypso, or at least, didn't show any friendly affection towards her. When I asked her about it, she just shook her head. "Our personalities just don't match well," she said carefully. "She's really quiet and demure – I'm the exact opposite. We can't find anything in common."

Thalia interrogated me about everything that had happened in the month and a half that she had been gone, and I started the story at the my almost death before finishing with the encounter at the karate dojo barely a week before. Thalia winked at me, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Sounds like you've really got him hooked," she commented. I frowned. "You must be joking – Percy and I are friends, barely even good friends."

Thalia just shook her head. "I know my cousin, Annie. He's falling for you."

"Don't call me Annie – and no, he isn't. He has Calypso."

Thalia just raised an eyebrow. "Trust me. It's only a matter of time."