Chapter 24: Sleep Over II

Annabeth

"Here, catch!"

A random square block was flying towards me before I could even step out of my closet. Of course, being the clumsy klutz I was, I stumbled on my feet to try and catch whatever it was. It bounced off my right hand and I tried to recover with my left, which resulted in me juggling the square block for a bit before it finally settled between my fold arms.

I sighed.

"Could you please not throw any of my stuff?" I asked nicely.

It turned out to be a barely solved Rubik's cube, the source of all the clanking noise I heard when I was still in the bathroom. I sighed, holding the cube in my right hand, and looked toward the bed where my best friend was rummaging through a pile of my favorite books. There was a big bag of chips opened where crumbs most certainly got all over the sheets. The worst part about all this: she couldn't keep any books in front of her face for more than five seconds before falling asleep.

"Really, Thals? You know I hate cleaning up after you." I crossed my arms, "You don't even like reading, so why?"

Lying prone, her body was held up with her elbows. She reached out and grab a huge chip from the bag, crunched on it between her lips, and waved her legs forward and backward in excitement. It was the first time I had seen her carry on in such a carefree attitude, and given that she seemed to enjoy herself so much, I decided to ignore the mess she most certainly made in my room.

Thalia stuck her tongue out, "Because I am bored… duh."

Then she gestured at the books and I noticed they weren't the usual novels I kept on the shelves. It was a bunch of my comic and manga that I kept hidden in a secret compartment behind the wall closest to my bed! Wait? What?! How did she-

Able to fill more than a few shelves with them, they were more than a few years' worths of my private collection that I still tremendously enjoyed even now, and given how I stored them, they were basically the equivalent to porn stash for boys.

"Plus, these are not your typical books, so I am not going to fall asleep." Thalia grinned.

I sighed in absolute defeat.

Somehow, she managed to find that weak spot in the wall which was supposed to be hidden and no one else knew about, cracked it open with whatever wits she could muster, broke through the number lock I've created, and eventually found the jackpot that I didn't want anyone to know.

Either Thalia was secretly a genius and wanted to hide it from me, or she was bored enough that the unlikely chance of her finding the hidden compartment grew as she spent more time stuck inside my room, or in other words: babysitting me on my mom's order.

"You've actually got a great collection, princess. I didn't know you like this type of stuff."

Upon a closer look, I realized she's got a lot of Japanese manga-related books on the bed than comics. As expected, the ones she picked up on were more focused on romance, the type of manga where the cover art and story were focused on a boy and a girl… how they would fall in love with each other…

I knew right then that it was her way of teasing me about the relationship I have with Percy.

I sighed, "How in the world did you even get past my passcode?"

I didn't want to react angrily. There was no point nor any stopping my best friend now, and if I did, she could easily find another way to embarrass me. At the very least, Thalia was someone I trust so she wouldn't outright tell anyone about my secret hobby. It would be totally different if it was another person though.

"It's a secret." She winked.

Her hand flipped through another page as she took another crunch of the same chip, "You know, I could see why you liked these so much. I don't really get it myself, but even I could tell it's so romantic and lovey-dovey. It fits your style."

I felt my cheeks heat up, yet I didn't try to take my stash away from Thalia and lock them behind the wall again. Instead, I leaned back on my make-up cabinet and slumped forward.

"You really suck sometimes, Thals." I decided to put all my focus on the Rubik's cube instead.

Clack… Clack Clack… Clack…

Memories of what happened in the living room continued in my head.

-An Hour Ago-

It was a showdown- or rather, a staredown, between my exasperated glare and her witty wry smile, and truth be told, I was exhausted of this little game between us.

"Please… I don't have the energy for this."

"Oh? Cause it sounds to me like you just want to avoid talking about it altogether."

A sigh left me, "Okay. Fine… I admit, but it's the same thing."

She left me with a humorous look.

It's been five minutes since Percy left to call his mom for permission to stay with us, but it might as well be five hundred years when my mom kept her knowing smile at me.

Then finally…

"Well, my mom said it's okay, but-" Percy revealed as he came back to the living room after a long phone call, "And she wanted to talk with you, if that's okay, Mrs. Chas- I mean, Athena?"

Grateful for Percy to abruptly end this very one-sided talk with my mom, she smiled back at him right away, then reached out to pat the seat next to me where he could sit down. Percy awkwardly made his way over, but I scooched off the side automatically.

Hopefully, it wouldn't give both of them the wrong idea. After all, I wasn't too against sitting next to him anymore, but rather, I didn't want to let my mom see me sit next to him without moving away.

Percy seemed to understand, so I was relieved.

"Of course." My mom beamed, "Can I have her phone number?"

Percy tried to look around, "Yeah, you have something to write in?"

She laughed, "It's okay, Percy. I think I can remember a ten-digit number."

Giving Percy a fluster look, he showed my mom the number on his phone before she smiled, "Okay. I'll give her a call later."

"Thank you," Percy said awkwardly and sank back into the cream-color couch.

"Mm-hmm… I should be the one thanking you for explaining everything to me." She said, "You couldn't imagine how worry I was when I couldn't contact my daughter. It's a relief to hear that you took care of Annabeth so much, even with your mom having an accident today. So really, don't hesitate if you ever need anything. I own you at least that much."

Percy made an awkward-sounding voice and an even more awkward smile.

"Aside from that, you are a very nice and well-mannered young man, Percy. It's no wonder why Annabeth likes you so much."

My heart jumped.

I lurched and screamed, "Mom!"

Expecting an apology, I shouldn't have been surprised when all that did was made her chuckle as she covered her mouth with her fingers, "Oops… Sorry, it just slipped out…"

Exhausted… Exasperated… Her accidental slip-up only exacerbated the already tense atmosphere around me and Percy. As if we weren't already awkward enough with our secret feelings.

"Yeah… It just slipped out…" I rolled my eyes.

I promptly plopped back down on the sofa and crossed my arms. Now the boy I've secretly developed a crush on knew I liked him, it's only natural that velvet hot blushes crept up both cheeks and in essence was boiling me alive.

Following that revelation, Percy had no reaction whatever even being beside me, but I knew it was just a pretense for the sake of keeping his composure. Like me, he was trying to hide the massive internal monologue happening in his head right now.

"Ahem…" Percy cleared the air, "Um… well, maybe it's time for me to-"

This time, my heart froze.

Without thinking, I reached out and put my right hand atop of his. He jerked a bit, then tensed as he glanced very carefully at my mom, barely holding his gaze my way at the same time. Taken back by the unexpectedness, my little gesture didn't faze Percy, it actually obliterated his sentence.

"…." He paused, "Umm… So, what now?"

Stay here with us… with me…

It's been a little over half an hour since I sat down on the sofa and took all that time to explain to my mom what had happened today. Lucky for me, it's a relief to see that she took our explanation very well. Just like my interaction with Sally, it seemed my mom was also very receptive towards Percy.

I could still see the smiles on her face whenever Percy spoke up. Compared to the only other boy who got to meet my mom, it was like night and day. Their exchange was full of humor and joy that it's a complete contrast to the frowns she gave me when it came to my ex-boyfriend.

Given what I know now, I couldn't blame her…

During that time, Percy would occasionally bring up something I've unintentionally ignored; for better or worse, they were embarrassing things that I wasn't sure if my mom needed to know. Luckily, he didn't reveal anything too far from my comfort zone. For example, he didn't tell her how my phone broke in the first place, nor the many sweet and memorable moments I've shared with him since we met up in the latter part of today…

Like his caring nature when he lay a warm blanket on top of me to cover up my soaking wet body… The quiet and peaceful hug I shared with him underneath the pouring rain… That one conversation I had with him… All the way up until we arrived at the front of our garage. Every precious and heartwarming second I shared with him today, I didn't want to let anyone else know about them.

Besides, I probably wouldn't be able to handle the pressure in my chest if my mom knew all about those moments where Percy made me feel like a blushing red tomato, and I guess it's a relief that I didn't have to find out.

Until now…

As soon as I had that reaction, those grey eyes narrowed with a bit of surprised joy behind them. Doing the unthinkable, I held Percy's hand on my own accord, even if it was underneath my subconscious.

He was still pretty tense, especially when I didn't let him go despite- everything.

Finally, my mom responded, "Well, like I've said before, Percy. You are more than welcome to stay here with us tonight. We have a bunch of guest rooms, after all."

Again, his green eyes peered toward me, "Um…"

I looked sideways in his direction timidly.

With a bit of awkwardness, he finally decided to ask me while making me flustered up once more, "Um… Are you okay with that, Annabeth?"

I blinked away the sudden confusion surrounding my heart.

"Yeah." I bit my lip softly, "I am fine with that."

Am I really fine with that? I asked myself. But it was only after I made my decision did I wanted to make sure he was fine with staying here too. I didn't want him to feel regret for whatever reasons, whether it was because he wanted to get back home to stay with his mom in the hospital, or because he felt awkward staying at the mansion where I lived when our relationship wasn't even close enough for a sleepover, or because of anything else that I might have overlooked.

Yet, I couldn't bring myself to ask since Percy would certainly take my question out of context, which would lead him to doubt if he should really be staying here for the night. I didn't want that either.

"Good. Then it's decided." My mom clapped her hands together happily, "I'll have someone bring you to your room, Percy. Don't worry, it's not going to be far from Annabeth's, so if you need something, you could always ask her, okay?"

I was in complete disbelief. Both slacked jawed and speechless with what I heard her say. Surely, we weren't sharing a room, but did it have to be a room close enough to mine? What if… and what if—

"Also, it might be unnecessary, but I will send someone to watch over you two until dinner is ready. It is something for me, so I won't take no for an answer, okay?"

"Huh?" I didn't really understand.

It was then I noticed something strange in her demeanor after that request, almost like a realization of something and she looked startled by it. Percy seemed to pick up on it too, but he didn't say anything so I wasn't sure. Either way, I couldn't figure out what's making her so ambivalent because trying to read her thoughts was like having a staredown with a sphinx. You couldn't win whatsoever.

"Just stay in your rooms until I call you, okay? Please, Annabeth?" She addressed me specifically.

Weird out by how cryptic she was being, I mumbled slowly, "Uh… sure?"

My mom got up then, "Good. I am gonna go ahead and call your mom now, Percy."

She slipped away from the couch and walked toward the stairs leading to the master bedroom. She turned back at us just before the climb to the first floor.

"Hope you like salmon ravioli, Percy."

Just like that, his eyes gleamed like sparkling gold and nothing else mattered.

-Line Break-

Clack!

As expected, it took me less than a minute to solve the Rubik's cube that was tossed at me. No doubt Thalia got bored of the thing when she couldn't solve it herself. To be honest, I wasn't even that into it; given the never-ending questions about Percy, it was impressive that I got the same colors on all six sides. If anything deserved praises, this would be one of them.

"So?" Thalia asked without losing focus on the manage panels, "What's really going on with you and Percy? Don't tell me you guys are already-"

I had to cut her off before she could finish that sentence.

"We are not! Gosh, you are relentless tonight." I grumbled and set the cube on the cabinet.

Thalia snickered and flipped through another page.

"Anyways, I don't remember giving you permission to read any of my stuff." I began to make my way toward Thalia. Her right hand reached into the bag again. This time, she chomped down on three huge chips at the same time. I sighed in despair as seaweed-favored crumbs went all over my blanket.

As expected, she shrugged off my annoyance like it's no big deal, "Come on, princess. What else am I going to do in your room? I can't tease you forever. Besides…"

Then Thalia turned the bag opening over at me and smiled, "Well? You know I am not going to finish this all by myself. Want some?"

I shook my head and went toward my bed, snatching the bag away from her before she had a chance to snatch it back or complain.

"You could at least be careful about eating on my bed, Thals."

I would actually be surprised if it wasn't a real mess, and this no doubt would cause another one of our maids more headaches tonight.

"Hey!" Thalia sat up and tried to get her snacks back, "Give it back!"

I ignored her and went to my round coffee table surrounded by a sectional couch, then I set the bag down there and gesture my best friend from the bed, "Come on… I don't want you to get more crumbs on my bed, and besides, didn't you say you want to watch that superhero movie with me?"

Instead of following me for that bag of chips and the prospect of a chill and dumb superhero movie, I saw a mean pout on her face, then she turned away with a huff and started reading again. It didn't take much to see that she was annoyed, but when I saw her swinging her legs in the air, it almost seemed like she's gotten over it already. I was certain when I heard her hummed a little melody to herself while flipping through another page.

"You are really impossible, Thals…"

Her stubborn attitude made me sigh heavily, and I figured we weren't going to watch any sort of movie tonight. My shoulders slumped in disappointment as I slipped my hand in the bag to grab a chip for myself. It tasted delicious for some reason, and I was never a big fan of them.

"Pbbbet…" She stuck her tongue out and made a face in response.

Sometimes, I had to wonder who the more mature one was in this relationship. Thalia, a sophomore attending a university? Or Annabeth, a junior in a prestigious high school? Nine out of ten, almost everyone would agree that it's the latter of the two, or at the very least, that's the feeling I've got when we were together on the weekends.

And I wasn't the only one…

But in all honesty, it's hard to argue with me when the supposedly twenty-something years old college student, one who was wearing a pair of long sweatpants and a crop top, lying prone on her elbows with both hands cupping her cheeks, humming a little song to herself as she skimmed over each page of my romance-centric manga, while totally ignoring me.

"Are you going to come and get your chips back?" I grew annoyed too.

A little surprised, I wasn't expecting her to stay there given that I've snatched her bag of chips away without giving it back, but that's exactly why I was surprised. "Nope." She answered simply.

"Huh?" My mouth opened automatically, "You don't want it back?"

She didn't answer after that which got me all anxious for some reason. It was very brief, but I saw a slight gleaming reflection of her electric blue eyes which were laser focus on the manga below her. I grew concerned as well until all of a sudden, chuckles and giggles were leaving her.

Huh? Is there something funny? Why does she look so happy? It couldn't be the manga she's reading, right? She doesn't even understand any Japanese… So why?

I knew something was wrong then. After all, there was no way Thalia could resist her snacks once she started eating them. I called on her again, but like before, my best friend ignored me.

"Mmm… this is so good, very good indeed…" I barely saw the grins on her expression where her eye lit up to matched the eagerness on her face. It's almost like the manga had somehow enchanted all of her attention and she wanted to keep finding out what happened next.

But that couldn't be because it's unlikely as hell, so what the heck?

I was too mentally tried to get up and drag her over to the coffee table. As intrigued as I was, there was also a part of me that felt apprehensive about finding out what's gotten her so happy. I knew now it wasn't the manga or the comics that she blatantly rummaged through, and just like that, a dangerous thought passed through my head. I gulped nervously.

"Wait… you didn't—"

Scanning my room, it was then I realized that something must be missing from somewhere else. Perhaps it was something that I've never shown anyone, something that was even more private than my secret stash of manga and shouldn't have ever seen the light of day.

Noo… Oh my Goodness, she didn't—

From where I was sitting on the grey couch, my gaze moved behind me hesitantly.

Having such a huge room all for myself, it only came as natural that I have developed an unhealthy habit of keeping things organized. Otherwise, nothing could ever be found. As such, I could easily tell when something was placed in the wrong area or missing entirely.

Which was why…

On the far side of the north wall- the same wall that's shared with the hallway outside, sat a coat rack right next to the door to my room, a huge cabinet seventy feet wide with different size cubbies spread till the end. It was the place where I've organized everything accordingly: a section for works from school, another for books that I've grown to love, favorite novels being held together by fancy bookend, memorable memories kept in picture frames, and throughout random places where a few decorative items were on display; lava lamps, abstract sculptures, and so forth…

There was one thing that I felt the proudest though. A personally carved figure of a miniature size owl using a wooden block. It took nights and days, and because I put so much effort into making it, it's always front and center beside my neon color-changing lamp.

Though I didn't find anything wrong after a thorough glance at this area…

Separated in the middle of my room, there was a good ten feet between the cubbies cabinet and the sectional couch I was on. The round coffee table and the couch sat in the middle of a soft rectangular carpet underneath it.

As you expected, it faced the eastern wall where a flat-screen TV hung above an electric fireplace. Two tall shelves built into the wall held all stuff I've got plug into the TV, mainly my video game console and a few other components. Organized neatly in their own individual cupboard, that side of the wall ended with my walk-in closet and the huge marble tiled bathroom nearest to the open terrace.

And just like before, I couldn't find anything wrong after a thorough check of that area…

The south side of my room was uncluttered, but instead of a wall, there was one huge sliding door panel that could fold and retract at any time. A line of silk white curtains hung above the huge window, which directly led to the terrace where I could overlook the back of our mansion.

Right at the end was my regular study desk facing the scenic view, a place where I mainly used to do my homework- if it wasn't already done before, and most of the time I just used it for leisure stuff. I've occasionally used it to do some creative writing. It was basically my relaxation spot so to speak.

Finally, the west wall was lined with my queen size bed placed slightly closer to the terrace outside, then another work desk filled the space behind my couch. It was a place where I do some real work with a three monitor plus a drawing tablet computer set-up. As the only daughter of a very successful architectural designing company, it's no surprise I took up a bit of my mom's work as a hobby. Of course, I wasn't nearly as good, but after many years practicing my skills, even I was proud of a few designs over the years.

In any case, none of that was really the point right now. What matters more was the fact that I just gave my whole room a 180 inspection scan, and with it, I was certain I found the culprit behind Thalia's snickering laughs.

It couldn't be… Could it?

I cautiously looked behind me at my work desk where I was the most suspicious. In other words, I was worried that Thalia found my tucked away sketchbook, a terribly horrific place where I kept all my hidden doddles. They were all dreadful drawings despite my best attempt to learn, which was why…

As I narrowed my eyes at a vertical stack of books and papers besides the sideways turned monitor, I made a headcount of each, and with a bit of squinting, I realized I was dead wrong about my assumption. There wasn't anything missing in between them.

If Thalia doesn't have my sketchbook, then why?

"Did you take something else from my room?" I asked my best friend straight up.

Thalia just snickered back.

More than a little uneasy now, I didn't want to play this guessing game any longer. If it was something really embarrassing, I need to hurry up and find out what it was, so I could take it back and lock it away before Thalia had more chance to pry into whatever it might be.

More giggles escaped my best friend…

"Alright! That's it, I'm gonna…" I hurriedly climb away from the couch and beeline for my bed.

Even though thinking was one of my many strong suits, I didn't have time to figure it out. It was all or nothing at this point, which was why I launched myself forward and try to tackle my best friend.

Instead…

"Ooomph!" I smacked face-first into a pillow.

Her lightning anticipation was right on the dot as always. Rolling out of my tackle effortlessly, there was one book held open by her right hand. I automatically snuffled after hitting my nose, trying my best to hold back a sneeze. Yet I didn't even have a chance to recover before she cleared her throat in an attempt to speak.

"Ahem…"

I looked at her smirking face and suddenly grew limp all over.

That's… that's my—

It was a small notepad that I kept in the first drawer of my study desk. Decorated with pink and white polka dots, shock ran through me as I couldn't believe my supposedly best friend would do something so terrible, so unspeakable, and so morally wrong that she was willing to go that far just to evoke a blushing reaction from me about Percy.

"Ahem…" Thalia coughed again as if rehearsing for a big speech. Her body now sat up, throwing her left hand out dramatically as if she was in a stage play, "Saturday, 28. I met someone very irritating yesterday. His name is Percy, and gosh, so much had happened between us that I don't even think I could write them all down."

I was fuming in anger yet so horrified by the words coming out of her lips that I stayed frozen.

"I guess if there is one thing I need to say about him: He's more than a little annoying. I don't know how, but he keeps getting on my nerves."

"Well, maybe it's the things that kept happening with us that got on my nerves. Seriously, how did we managed to crash into each other twice? Then I became his unofficial tutor… And not to mention him being grade levels behind on his classes… But,"

"I can't end this entry with something so negative, so if there is one thing nice I can say about him, then… he's not like the other boys in school, and he might be the first boy in school to could make me... Ahhh I can't believe he made me blush when we were at the coffee place… Why? How can he-"

"Anyway…"

"He is definitely an idiot, but…"

"I feel like I could be friends with him, and maybe… I like him just a little bit… Oh my gosh, I really hoped that's just my concussion talking. Please let it be my concussion talking…"

The small book clasped shut at the end. There was a smug lip-twirling smirk on my best friend as she continued, "And? Drumroll please…"

I was only one tipping point from losing it. Chewing down on my bottom lip, I could barely hold myself in place. Then she said it—

"Guess what, princess? You like him."

And that was it.

I launched like a cannonball at my best friend, "Give it back!"

Laughing like a maniac as she pushed herself back to narrowly escape my grasp, I wasn't going to let her win, to let her hold my diary any longer. "Come and get it back then, that is even if you can…"

All that did was give my determination a greater drive. I dove headfirst off the bed and rushed around my room, playing chase with a person who was way more athletic and nimble than I was.

We scrambled over the bed more than once, going around in circles between things, plus her wildly unfair ability to fake me out by the terrace, inside my closet, and even being trap in my bathroom. It's almost like she's got some inhuman skills, able to jump and leap on things that shouldn't be possible.

"Haha! Can't catch me… can't catch me…" She just had to rub it in my face.

I couldn't care less about her stupid taunt because all I wanted was my damned diary in her hand, and I could feel myself growing more irritated at each failed attempt to capture my best friend.

"Thalia! I swear to God…. Give my diary back right now!"

She left me with a smile and even more laughs, "Nope. You're gonna have to fight me for it."

"Ugh! Come back here!" I screamed just as my body almost crashed into the back of the couch while she gracefully leaped over it.

Damn her and her stupid athleticism! Knowing how to swordfight, able to run a mile in the heat, what else could she not do? Ugh, I am so jealous and I wish I could be like her…

We were both standing on the opposite side now. It was a total deadlock situation, one that made sure I won't be able to catch up to her. Surely, Thalia must have realized that I was at a huge disadvantage because of my lacking physical capabilities, but there was still an ace up my sleeves that she didn't know about. I was smarter than her.

With a bit of calculation, I was able to tell that the distance between us was shorter on the right side of the couch. The empty space was much wider as well, which offered me some reassurance that I wouldn't stub my toe or crash into anything and injure myself.

However, I knew she would be expecting it given that she knew me too well. So with a bit of reverse psychology, I should take the path to my left which was much narrower, offering more chances for me to slip up and make an accident for myself. I didn't want that either. Besides, it would take significantly longer with this route, which would likely end up with the same result, just us on the opposite side.

That left only one last choice… I'd have to punch straight through.

"Mmm… you better hurry quick, or else I am going to indulge myself with a bit more embarrassing stuff you wrote about Percy." Thalia laughed and tilted her hips in a girly way. Waving my diary before me to taunt again, she showed no sign of giving up or any worry that I would win this battle.

It was just as I wanted.

Letting my right foot slid backward, I lower my stance so that my left foot was in front, my body leaned forward slightly until I was in a pose that felt comfortable to me, then I laser-focus my eyes on my target: the girl with short black hair and those playful blue eyes. The aim would have to be precise, otherwise, the whole plan would fall apart.

"One last chance." I said coldly, "Give it back, or else…"

"Mmm…" She gleamed, "I don't think so, princess…"

Overconfident and oblivious in her own little victory bubble, she slowly lifted my diary to her smiling face, her fingers just about to flip to another page— I waited for a nanosecond more before…

This is it! Three, two, one… Go!

I rushed forward and leaped. The momentum when I pushed off my right foot helped propel me high in the air, more than enough to get over the couch and coffee table easily. My body launched forward in slow motion. Both hands held out before me, I was flying through the air with a high tackle that surely, Thalia won't be able to get out of.

I was right.

Her blue eye glinted in shock at my flying figure, just barely catching my determined grey ones. There was a sudden startled look on her face, and it's clear she hadn't anticipated this move, "W-Wut?"

I grinned victoriously just as I crashed into her chest face first. My launch force was enough to break her balance which made us both fall backward on our butts. She landed with a hard thump, while I landed on her body which helped cushion my fall.

"Ha! I caught you!" I said through a pretty thick hazy in my head after my insane- or rather, it was nearing the degree of me comically committing suicide- maneuver.

We tumbled back not that far from the small horizontal stand below my TV. If either one of us struck out necks on that, I knew I would be in big trouble, again. But luckily, we didn't, and that's all that matters.

"You are fucking crazy, Annabeth!" Thalia shouted only to burst into a laughing fit, small joyous tears streaming out of eyes, "You scare the living shit out of me!"

I was just as stunned as her after cushioning myself with her body which hit the polished hardwood floor pretty rough, but I could always apologize later; that's if she even deserved one after what she did… Still, I wasn't one without manners, so I'll do it later… much, much later…

I pushed myself back up and straddle my best friend, "I've got you now. Give my diary back!"

Despite her utter defeat, there was still a bit of defiance in those blue eyes as she stared back at me and shook her head, "You didn't win yet, princess."

There was no way she could win, especially not now.

"Fine. I'll just take it back myself." I reached forward and just as I was about to snatch it away, Thalia did the impossible.

"Ah-ahhh… W-Wut?" I found myself restricted after reaching halfway toward my diary.

I looked down, and for whatever reason, she's somehow got the upper hand, literally. Locking my right wrist in her right hand, I stumbled forward at the loss of balance and collapse on her body. Before I even knew what's going on, she held me down so I couldn't move further than an inch. Then as far as she could, she held her left hand all the way above her head and held my diary there.

"H-How…?"

I tried to reach out with my left hand instead, but my diary was still out of reach by at least five inches. I stretched and stretched, hoping to close the gap.

"Hehehe… You seriously think I'm gonna let you win this easily?"

I kept my eyes on my diary and groaned, "This- is so… unfair."

It took a while, but I finally noticed her right leg was restricting my movements, tilting my whole body's balance toward her right side somehow which explained why I couldn't get my diary back, no matter how close it seemed or how hard I try to stretch my arms out.

"Aww… it's so cute to see you are trying so hard." She teased me, "Give up?"

I wasn't going to give up. That's just not in my nature, but after a few more tries, even someone as stubborn as me began to recognize the chances was slim to none. Wrestling on the floor with my best friend yet still no closer to getting my diary back, I resorted to a method I hated the most.

I begged.

"Please! Just give it back!" It was my genuine plead for mercy, and I shivered at how I was forced to say those words out loud, "Just give my diary back!"

This was so not like me. I was pretty much ready to roll over and cry because Thalia was honestly just a huge jerk right now. Now I wouldn't mind some light teasing once in a while, but after everything she's done since I came home, it's was a miracle I wasn't curled up in a ball right now, shutting out everyone and tuning out everything around me.

Soon as the realization hit me: that I was never going to get my diary back from Thalia this way, I gave up and pout, "Fine! Fine…! You win. Now, are you going to keep it forever?"

"Awww…" Thalia relaxed too after I admit defeat and stopped struggling, "You know I'd never do that to my best friend, no matter how much I wanted to." She grinned at that last part, "I'll give it back, on one condition."

I knew what she wanted.

"I want to hear you say it, at least once." That devious giggle made my skin crawl. It was an ultimatum I was expecting, yet it still made me froze on the spot.

"I- I…" She was waiting for me to say it completely. Of course, I would grow red all over, until finally, the words managed to flow freely in one breathless breath, "I like him, okay? I like him a lot! I like him so much that I wanted him to stay here! Now give it back!"

I went for my diary again, and this time she didn't flinch away. She handed it to me with the brightest and widest grin possible.

"Mmm…" That hum was full of her typical smugness.

All smiles now, there was nothing in between or underneath those piercing blue eyes. Her cuteness right now could freeze any demons from hell if she just stared hard enough. I felt shivered from my forearms all the way up to my shoulders.

Then her snarky personality returned all at once, "Okay. Here, stop that sour pout face already."

I hate her so much. Every ounce of frustration I felt remained, and I wasn't ready to let her off that easily. Keeping that face, I snatched my diary back. Once I made sure it was safe and tucked away in the waist pant behind my back, I turned to my best friend.

"So, you mind getting off me now?"

I smirked evilly at the girl on the bottom, "Nope."

"Why?" It was then she started to figure out what's wrong with this current picture, what I was about to do to her, "Ohh… No! Don't you dare! I-"

It was too late. I grinned, "Payback time!"

I reached out with all ten fingers and went straight toward the small spot between her navel and abdomen. It was the only weak spot I knew my best friend has.

"A-Annabeth, wait... I didn't mean to- Ha! Haha- hehehe…. No! Stop it! Don't- hehehe… ahh! Stop it, please! Ha-ha-Hehee… Ahh!"

Thalia flailed around in agony as I tickled the living soul out of her.

In some sadistic way, I couldn't help but enjoy watching my best friend wriggling about in anguish and I didn't stop my torture, not until…

"Umm…" His voice reached both of us at the same time, "I am sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Stunned, I turned my head at the door and saw who was standing there. My whole face just dropped off the face of the planet. I stopped tickling my best friend immediately, and of course, she used that opportunity to promptly slip from underneath me. Quickly dusting herself off, she purposefully gave me a sly knowing smile, yet when she stood up to face Percy, that same slyness in her expression was nowhere to be seen.

"No. You are not interrupting, Percy. In fact, I say you saved me from being attack by the tickle monster behind me." Thalia smirked at the boy with messy seaweed-like hair. Did he just take a shower? Is that why it looked even messier? My sudden ruminating thoughts ran wild, and I almost didn't register what Thalia called me, "So, what's up? Do you need something?"

I saw those green eyes stared playfully at me, and a wry smile hung over his soft lips, "I- uh… well, Jason is missing and I think he ditches me."

AN: I've been watching way too much anime recently so I apologize for a lot of the anime tropes I put into this story. I think I've developed an unhealthy addiction, so pls sent help?! lol... Speaking of which, what might be you guys' favorite anime? Mine at the moment is The Quintessential Quintuplets. It's kind of wholesome and very funny. Plus, the ost is surprisingly amazing. I listen to it almost every day.