I know it's been a super long time, and I'm really sorry for not updating. To tell the truth, I started this story years ago, and over time as I grew up, the genre and style I wanted to write changed, and I slowly stopped getting motivation to write this story.

But I will stick to what I said- I will complete this story. I'm actually going to start doing that now, if you read to the end of the chapter. I'll try not to make it too rushed, and try to end it off satisfyingly. No promises on how often I can update but I recently ORD(left my compulsory army stuff) and have a little more time now so I'll try to update a lot faster.

I don't know how many people still read this or is hoping to see this till the end, but for those who still are interested in this, thank you for staying with this story all this time and I apologise for making you wait so long. There's really not much excuse I have except for the lack of motivation to write, but I'll push through with this story as this was my very first story and I'll see it through.

With that, enjoy this chapter! I'm not very well versed in fighting, so just try to accept my bullshit with a pinch of salt, please? HAHA

~Kuntakintae

Annabeth's POV

Beads of sweat trickled down from my forehead- all the way down to the tip of my chin and then continued its way down to the ground.

Wide-eyed, arms trembling and legs feeling like cotton candy, I forcefully held my knife in a defensive position in front of my body, trying my hardest to stay focused and thinking through the utter exhaustion and hopelessness that was attacking my mind and body.

There were few people that I needed to take seriously after picking up the skill of handling a knife- and even fewer who could threaten me to my last legs. The person I was facing, however, was one of those few people.

Honestly, he was probably the strongest out of all of them as well.

"Tired already, wise girl?" An insufferably cocky and prideful voice attacked my ears, and despite my exhaustion, I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Shut up," I replied curtly, with as short an answer that I could possibly give. Partly because I was irritated beyond words- and also because talking would take up whatever pitiful strands of energy I had left in me.

Twirling his beloved riptide around, he took a few casual steps forward until he was just outside striking distance before stopping.

No matter how much I despised his guts at that very moment, I couldn't force down the admiration that blossomed at his accuracy and judgement. Not one step too close, nor too far. He was at the perfect distance to react if any sudden action took place.

Gritting my teeth, I dredged up the last vestiges of my whittling energy and sprinted towards him, hoping to at least land a touch on his damn clothes before being beaten down.

Of course, it didn't happen the way I hoped. Without any strength left to properly control my movements, it was a simple task for him to sidestep and touch me lightly at the back of my neck with the pommel of riptide.

Alarms blared in my head as I kept falling forward- my numb legs giving way underneath me. I grimaced and closed my eyes, preparing for the inevitable, ridiculously embarrassing fall I was about to receive.

The pain never came, and my face didn't shamefully plant itself flat on the ground as I expected. Instead, I felt a strong arm wrap around my shoulders from behind and pulling me backwards.

"Whoa there," Percy's voice was laced with surprise and a hint of concern. "You feeling alright?"

Taking in a few deep breaths, I steadied my breathing as much as I could. "Thanks," I replied after a few seconds.

It was then I realised that his arm was still wrapped around me, and I was leaning against his chest.

I thanked the gods that my face was already flushed and my breathing erratic. It helped to cover up the immense shyness and embarrassment I was feeling at that very moment.

"C'mon," He said and completely without any forewarning whatsoever, picked me up. Before I knew it, I was being carried bridal style.

"Percy!" I winced on the inside when I heard how squeaky my own voice sounded like in my ears. Percy's amused chuckle didn't really help to ease the tension I was feeling at that very moment.

I punched his shoulder with as much strength as I could muster. Oh he totally knew I would indefinitely be embarrassed by this.

After settling me down onto one of the benches in his training hall, he told me to wait for a bit before leaving the room, allowing me to calm my pounding heart and steady my heavy breathing. He then came back with two mugs of ice cold water in his hands.

"You did well today," He told me as he passed me a mug and sat himself down beside me. I snorted immediately.

"Please don't try to soothe my injured ego. I couldn't even lay a single touch on your body."

A short pause took place as Percy took a long sip from his mug. "Really though," He replied after gulping all of it down. "You're one of the best I've sparred against so far."

"You're not even sweating."

"I'm thirsty. Do you know how rare it is for me to be thirsty after a fight?"

I couldn't help but groan in annoyance and exasperation while Percy laughed cheerfully.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, you did good today. You know that you can't use me as a gauge for how well you fought."

The most irritating part about the entire situation was that he wasn't simply stroking his own ego. His words were actual facts.

"It means I'm still far, far away from achieving the level I need," I replied, and Percy's smile seemed to deflate into nothingness.

"It's still too early to think about that." Percy's voice sounded nothing like it was merely a few seconds ago- dead seriousness and worry replacing the amusement and cheerfulness. I immediately regretted bringing the topic up. It was a sensitive topic, after all.

A heavy silence descended. I bit my lip and silently berated myself for spoiling the mood with my brainless chatter.

Two months had passed by since the incident, and it had become an unspoken agreement amongst the entire school population that it is a taboo to even mention that incident. No one really wanted to remember the scene anyway.

As my mind tried to work out how to rectify the mistake I had so stupidly committed, I felt something land on top of my head.

"Don't worry about it for now," Percy said while patting my head comfortingly. "Let's take it one step at a time."

A warmth melted the coldness I was feeling within, but I didn't let that show on my face, instead opting to scowl and knock away his hand. He simply laughed, and I averted my eyes from him.

It had also been two months since we entered our relationship, and it has gone so smoothly that I almost thought I dreamt the last two months up.

It still took a little getting used to though. While Percy had always done these kind of actions in the past, it was – to me at that time- completely platonic. Now, the same actions mean entirely different things.

Not that I was complaining.

With a sigh, Percy stood up. "You go and take a shower first while I go and prepare lunch." He then scrutinised me carefully, squinting his eyes in the process.

"You're able to get up now, right?"

"Go and cook, Seaweed Brain." I huffed in mock annoyance, to which he let out an amused snort, shooting me a last grin before leaving the training hall.

By the time I showered, I could smell the aroma of pepper and beef saturating the air of the house. It smelled good, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought of lunch.

Percy always made good food. He could be mistaken as a house-husband-of-sorts if ever people only saw him cook and not when he fought.

When I reached the kitchen, he had just finished setting up the table. I almost couldn't resist the temptation to gulp when my eyes landed on the fat, juicy looking slab of beef placed meticulously in the middle of a circle of lettuce. Nevertheless, my entire mouth was already salivating.

"I'll be back in a second. Make yourself at home," Percy said and walked out of the kitchen- most likely to shower himself.

He didn't even break a sweat though, so I assumed he wouldn't take too long. True to my thoughts, he appeared five minutes later dressed in a simple black singlet and shorts.

"Let's start," he sang out in a cheery tone, picking up his fork and knife while eyeing his slab of steak with wolf eyes. Normally, I would scoff at his behaviour, but I think I understood him a little right there and then due to the training before. I was famished.

For a few minutes, no words were exchanged. We simply enjoyed the food and each other's presence, enjoyed the peace and quiet and privacy. It was something I was always thankful for- the fact that we could somehow share a silence that felt so peaceful and homely, without the slightest hint of awkwardness.

It meant we were just fine being with each other, and that we didn't need the other to do anything to make ourselves satisfied or happy. There were no expectations except to simply enjoy the time spent together.

For me, who had always been chasing for approval and repeatedly rejected, it was something I deeply appreciated and treasured.

Though, obviously, the silence wouldn't last the entire meal.

"Seems like the consistent sparring is helping you quite a bit. You really did improve today- not even kidding," Percy raised both his hands in surrender as I shot him a glare.

"You weren't even trying," I crossed my arms and shot daggers at him.

"I really was!"

"What was that last move, hm?"

"To be fair, you really were exhausted so I could take it easy, and it was just a little fun."

"Your definition of 'fun' isn't very encouraging."

"Alright alright," Percy gave in with a sigh. "Promise I won't do it again, Wise girl."

I gave a deadpan face in reply, to which he sighed and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Really, wise girl?" He continued and studied my face for a while more before heaving an even deeper sigh. He seemed conflicted for a moment, and then his shoulders drooped as he made his decision.

"I'm sorry," He apologized awkwardly. The deadpan look on my face melted away into a teasing grin, and it changed into a small laugh when the look of betrayal surfaced on his face when he realised I was just making fun of him.

"Serves you right for being cocky, Seaweed Brain. Take this as a payback for just now."

Percy's mouth hung open as he tried to think up of a response, and then it closed when he failed.

"I think I should spend lesser time with you. You're beginning to know how to exploit my weaknesses a little too well," He muttered a complaint. I shrugged and shot him an innocent smile. He snorted in response.

"Okay, but back to today's training. Before you got utterly exhausted and died a tragic de-" He paused and cleared his throat when I shot another glare at him. "-and stopped fighting, you were doing pretty well."

"Reflexes were on point, but your footwork needs more stability. You can see attacks coming, and most of the time, you can weave yourself out of harm's way. However, you after you dodge, you are unable to reposition yourself well enough to immediately counter-attack…"

It always astounded me how much insight Percy had in the knowledge of fighting- even though I knew the reason why he did. Nevertheless, it did not change the fact that Percy's skill and strategy was light years away compared to any of the others in school.

I didn't know how powerful and smart the people on the world stage were, but I definitely knew that Percy deserved to be up there amongst the best fighters.

"So, did you catch all of it?" Percy finished, his tone dead serious and business-like. It always ended up like this whenever we started talking about our sparring sessions. Sometimes, it irked me, but I knew that Percy took fighting very seriously- heck, it was once his profession- and so I accepted it.

"Yea, memorised everything word for word. Will analyse them thoroughly later on," I nodded. It was then that Percy, like the past few times, sigh in relief and let a smile surface on his previously solemn face.

By that time, we had already completely consumed our food. Like a routine, Percy got up and cleared the dishes while I went to take a cloth to wipe down the table and clean the area around the kitchen. While Percy was great at cooking, he wasn't the cleanest at it.

"Dessert?" Percy suggested when we finished our respective tasks. Again, as per routine.

"Where to today?"

"How about… yoghurt?"

"Sure. Let me go back home first to put down my stuff and get changed," I replied as I grabbed my bag with all my belongings.

"Alright, see you in a few minutes," Percy walked towards me and did something that was completely out of routine.

Bending down, he stared at my questioning gaze for a moment before quickly leaning in and giving me a surprise peck on the cheek. It caught me completely off guard, and I remained standing there, completely still and shocked. It was only when his amused chuckle floated through the air that I snapped out of my phase and rushed out of the house, red-faced and embarrassed, my thoughts completely awry and messed up.

I didn't know that that was the last I would see of him for- what it eventually felt to me- a long, long time.

I didn't notice the van that was speeding from a distance. I didn't notice that it stopped right behind me once I reached the front of my house door. I didn't hear the sound of the door opening and the sound of rushing footsteps.

And then I felt a sharp pain at my neck. The next moment, everything went dark.