Chapter 13

-Percy-

October 31st

He can't believe it.

He had to have been dreaming, although he really hopes it wasn't a dream. He gets out of bed and rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he thinks about everything that happened the night before.

The dance, the battle, the warmth of Annabeth's arms around him after that battle, her hand in his when they walked to her apartment. The kiss they shared in the elevator, especially. His pulse quickens at the thought and he texts Annabeth.

[9:45a] Percy: Hey, stupid question for you...

He waits a couple minutes before Annabeth replies.

[9:47a] Annabeth: What's up?

Percy takes a deep breath and holds it in.

[9:47a] Percy: last night actually happened, right?

[9:47a] Annabeth: It depends. Which part are you talking about?

[9:48a] Percy: Um... our kiss in the elevator?

[9:48a] Annabeth: Yes, Seaweed Brain. That actually happened.

Percy lets out a relieved sigh. He decides he's had enough of texting so he calls her. The phone rings a couple times before she picks up.

"Eager to hear my voice so soon, huh?"

Percy smiles. "Maybe I am."

"So is there a reason you were asking about last night?"

"I couldn't figure out if it was a dream or reality," he admits.

Annabeth's laugh on the other side makes him feel warm. "You're a dummy."

"But am I your dummy?" he blurts out without thinking.

He can almost hear the smile in her voice. "Yes, you're my dummy."

"Listen, um... do you have any plans for today, then?"

"No, not today. You wanting to do something?"

"I was thinking we could go out. You know... on a date?"

"Yeah? Where? What would we do?"

"I... didn't think that far ahead."

"Like I said earlier, you're a dummy."

Percy smiles. "So I'll take that as a yes?"

"What time?"

"Um..." he looks at the time. 9:50 am. "How about I meet you at your apartment and we just do whatever? Like a movie date for the afternoon and then go out for dinner?"

"Hmm, I guess we could do that," she says. "Maybe you can take me shopping today, too?"

"I don't know what places are open on Sundays," he admits.

"We'll see. When are you coming over?"

"I'm just going to take a shower and I'll be on my way," he says.

"Cool. I'll see you later, then."

"See you."

He ends the call and gets ready for his shower.

Once he finishes his shower, he gets dressed in a dark blue long sleeve thermal shirt, jeans, and his black coat. He grabs his phone and keys off his desk and steps out into the living room to see his mom and Paul sitting at the table, eating a late breakfast.

"Mom? Paul?" he asks.

"Oh, good morning Percy," Sally says. "Paul was just telling me about what happened last night at the dance!"

Paul smiles. "That was brilliant swordplay, Percy. I haven't had a chance to tell you last night, but bravo!"

Percy can't help but smile. "Thanks Paul. Anyway, I'll see you later, mom!"

"Where are you going?"

"Annabeth's," he says, his face turning slightly red.

"You're blushing," Sally notices. "Oh, are you going on a date?"

"Bye!" Percy ignores her question and he leaves the apartment. He takes a deep breath, then makes his way to Annabeth's apartment.

As soon as he steps outside, the cold morning air shocks his lungs and bites at his hands and face.

He turns towards Annabeth's apartment and shoves his hands in his pockets to keep them warm. He walks down the street, avoiding running into other people, and eventually reaches Annabeth's apartment. He climbs the stairs and knocks on her door.

When it opens, his breath leaves his body and his heart leaps within his chest. Annabeth obviously had work done on her hair and it looked great to Percy. When she smiles, it's like he's looking at a-

Annabeth snaps her fingers in front of his face, forcing Percy to snap out of his trance. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I told you to come on in, dummy," she says, giggling.

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Right." He enters her apartment and takes his coat off, hanging it on the hooks on her wall.

"So, what do you think?" She asks him, holding out her arms and spinning in a circle.

She's wearing a sand colored sweater and black jeans. Her curled, blonde hair is lying over her right shoulder, stopping just past her collarbone. There's a little bit of makeup on her face - just a bit of lipstick and eyeshadow from what Percy can tell. And though he's no expert on makeup or fashion, he can tell the outfit and the makeup were probably everything but cheap.

"It's like I'm in the presence of a goddess," he sighs.

Annabeth turns a deep shade of red at the compliment. "Percy..." she purrs, flustered. "You're exaggerating."

They stare into each other's eyes for a few moments before Annabeth speaks again.

"Would you like something to drink?" she asks, gesturing to her kitchen.

Percy blinks a couple times and smiles. "Yeah. Umm... What do you have?"

She shrugs. "Water, milk, various sodas, coffee, tea. Take your pick."

"You don't like tea," he says, giving her a questioning look.

"Oh, I don't. Thalia drinks it sometimes, though," Annabeth replies.

Coffee does sound nice though...

"Have you already had your coffee?" He asks her.

"No, why?"

Percy smiles. "Let's go. Coffee's on me this morning."

"Percy, we don't have to go buy some coffee," she says with a soft smile. "And you just got here. Stay for a while."

"But what if I want it to be a part of our date?" He asks. "Plus, you're already dressed like you're gonna go outside."

She rolls her eyes and approaches him, placing her hand on his arm. She looks up at him for a moment, then slips her arms around his neck.

Percy blushes at her closeness and she smirks at him, clearly amused with him.

"Let's just stay here... For now. We can watch our movies now or later." She pulls him closer with each sentence, making Percy blush. Soon she's whispering in his ear. "Your choice, Seaweed Brain."

She pulls away just enough for him to look into her eyes.

"Maybe we could watch something here, first," he says finally.

Annabeth pecks his lips really quick and retreats to the kitchen. "I'm making coffee here then!"

...

Annabeth is leaning into Percy, her arm draped over his stomach, anchoring herself to him while he has an arm wrapped around her shoulders. The end credits of a comedy movie is scrolling across the screen and after almost two hours of laughter, Annabeth suddenly decided she wanted to cuddle close to Percy - not that he's against it.

"I'm still in a movie mood," she says as she snuggles closer to him.

Percy laughs softly. "It's kind of hard to put a new one on if you're lying on me, Beth."

"Not my fault you're so comfortable," she argues, but she reluctantly lets him go so he can pick a new movie.

"So, what movie would you like this time?" he asks.

She bites her lip in thought. "Romance?"

Percy raises an eyebrow. "You don't seem like the type of person to watch romance."

"Usually you'd be right," she says. "I'd rather watch a documentary than romance but maybe we can get some tips out of it?"

Percy snorts. "Trust me, Beth. Romance movies aren't exactly the best resource for dating advice."

"Alright, genius, so what do you propose we do then?"

Percy thinks for a moment, looking around her living room. There's more movies, yeah. Plenty of them. But he wants to be able to do something with her. He glances at the windows and a suggestion comes to mind.

"How about we go to Central Park? Go for a nice walk or something?"

Annabeth raises her eyebrows a bit, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Going for old fashioned, huh?"

"I used to love walking in the park with my mom growing up," Percy says with a fond smile.

Annabeth puts a hand to her heart. "Aww that's so cute."

"Shut up," he says, blushing. "No but really. I always enjoyed those walks."

Annabeth gets up from the couch and takes Percy's hand. "Whatever you want to do sounds good to me."

Percy smiles and squeezes her hand gently. She smiles at him before slipping her hand free from his and walks to the coat rack. She picks her coat off the hook and puts it on, then tosses Percy's coat to him.

...

"It's pretty cold out here today," Annabeth says. Her breath forms a thick cloud as she breathes.

"Yeah," Percy agrees.

They're walking around the lake in Central Park and in spite of the cold October weather, they're enjoying their time together.

Percy occasionally pokes Annabeth's side, making her giggle a bit. He loves it when she laughs. It's a sweet sound that could brighten up anybody's day, no matter how bad things are.

Annabeth steps in front of Percy, forcing him to stop walking. They're alone in their part of the park.

"Is something wrong?" He asks her, but she smiles at him and wraps her arms around him.

"No, everything's great," she replies, gazing into his eyes.

Percy's heartbeat quickens a bit and he wraps his arms around her, resting his hands on her waist.

"This is a nice spot," she says, breaking their eye contact and looking out at the lake.

"I know right?" He agrees, but he doesn't take his eyes off her. He kisses the top of her head and she sinks into him.

"We should do this more when it's warmer out."

Percy nods in agreement.

"So... Remind me, you were from San Francisco?"

"Yeah," she murmurs. "The weather is usually nice year round, but my family... Well... I don't have the best memories there."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Percy asks softly. "I mean, you don't have to right now if you don't want to."

Annabeth smiles. "Thank you, Percy. I'm sorry, but I'd rather not say much about it right now. This is the first time I actually get to make my own choices. Nobody else making them for me. That said, everything from there is still pretty fresh in my mind."

Percy nods. "I understand. But hey, if you ever feel like talking about it, I'm right here for you ."

"And that means a lot to me," she says, smiling up at him. "And if there's something you would want to talk about..."

She doesn't have to finish.

Percy smiles back at her. "You'll be the first person I'll look to."

Annabeth blushes and leans in, simultaneously pulling Percy down towards her for a quick kiss.

He can't help but wonder if maybe they're going too fast, but at the same time it just feels right.

Annabeth breaks the kiss and gazes into Percy's eyes again. A sigh escapes from her after a moment.

"You okay, Beth?" Percy asks, sounding a bit worried.

"I'm perfect," she replies. "It's just I can't get over your eyes."

Percy chuckles. "But what about your eyes? I've never seen eyes that grey before."

Annabeth laughs and smacks his chest. "You're a dummy."

A lopsided grin forms on Percy's face as he replies. "So I've heard."

...

-Annabeth-

November 10th

She really fucking likes him. Every passing day since the night of the dance, the night of their first kiss, they just keep getting closer and closer to each other. Their first date just that next day wasn't the most traditional of dates, but it was still one that she cherishes. Over dinner, they've talked about how fast they want to take things and they've agreed that for both of their own good they should try taking it slow. They can't give up their small kisses - the occasional peck or longer, loving kisses that just make her insides melt. Annabeth is excited over her first real relationship, but Percy is skeptical and that's purely because of his own self doubts. He assured Annabeth that it is nothing to do with her in any way. She knows that he still doubts himself, and she makes an effort to be there for him whenever he feels down.

November 10th, just happens to be one of those down days for him. They've been hanging out in Annabeth's apartment for most of the day, and she's carefully asked him what's been bothering him, but this is something he keeps trying to brush off. He'll just smile and say everything's fine, but she can see in his eyes that he's in pain.

"Percy, I know something's bothering you," she says. "You don't even have to go into detail, I just want to know what's wrong. I want to help you."

"I know, Annabeth," he sighs. "It's just... It's hard for me right now."

She wraps her arms around him and hugs him, resting her head on his shoulder and drawing circles on his back with her fingers. Percy sighs, content and just a little happier.

"November was a bad month for me," he says then. "I... never met my dad and my mom married an asshole when I was a kid."

"Hey," she whispers. "If you're not ready-"

"I'll tell you as much as I can right now," he interrupts. It might've sounded harsh, just interrupting like that, but his tone is soft. Gentle. Fragile, as if it's about to break.

"Okay," Annabeth says. She looks up at his face, searching for his eyes, but he's looking down towards the floor. She continues drawing circles and he continues.

"We didn't realize at first how bad he was. He was kind to us when they were dating, but that all changed after they got married," he says.

He doesn't say anything more for a while so Annabeth decides to ask one simple question. "That was November, right?"

He nods softly. "November 10. That's when things got bad."

Annabeth removes a hand from his back and places it on his jaw, gently lifting his gaze. "Thank you for telling me that much. I don't know what I can say to help you..."

He smiles and takes her hand, squeezing it gently. "You're here with me. Right now that's all I need."

Annabeth smiles. "So... can we do something now? Get your mind of things?"

"Movie sounds good," he says.

Annabeth rolls her eyes playfully. They watch movies a lot. "What did you usually do to get your mind of these things?"

"Practiced my swordplay or swim," he replies.

"Well, I don't think you need to do any more with your swords so how about we go for a swim?" she suggests.

"Do you know any places around here that has an indoor pool?" he asks her, a smile tugging at his lips.

"No, but I'm sure Mr. New York City here does," she pokes his chest as she says that.

He laughs, the sound cutting away any hint of sadness in his voice.

"Lucky for you, I do know of a place," he says.

"Then let's go," she says. She goes to her room and packs a bag with a towel and a swim suit.

"We'll have to go to my apartment so I can grab my things, too!" Percy calls from her living room.

"I know. We'll take my car?"

"We'll walk to my apartment, then use my car," Percy says.

"Does it matter?" she asks him, walking out of her room with the bag.

Percy shrugs. "No. But I do enjoy walking with you."

Annabeth rolls her eyes and smiles. "I know you do but it's cold outside."

"I could keep you warm," he says with a grin. "You know - I could hold you close to me, wrap my arms around you..."

Heat creeps up Annabeth's neck and she smacks his chest. "Okay, I get it."

Percy laughs. "So-"

"Tempting offer but I'll stick with the car."

"Whatever you say," Percy says with his goofy, lopsided grin.

...

Now that she thinks about it, she's never actually seen Percy swim. Jason and Grover have always pressured Percy into joining the swim team and now she can see firsthand why they say that. Annabeth has always been a strong swimmer, but Percy is on a completely different level than her. Before she could get halfway across the pool, he was already on the other side, and it isn't a small pool.

She treads water in the middle of the deepest part of the pool and watches as Percy swims passed her.

Once he touches the wall again, he stops and looks around for her. Annabeth swims towards him and holds onto the wall next to him.

"Hey, you okay?" he asks, not even sounding breathless in any way.

"Yeah," she breathes. "You?"

He grins. "I could do this all day."

"You can't do this all day."

Percy shrugs. "Maybe not literally."

"I understand why Jason and Grover always tell you to join the swim team now."

"I'm still not sure if I actually am."

"You should," she says, placing a hand on his arm and he smiles softly.

"You really think so?"

"I don't know much about competitive swimming, but yes. At least give it a shot."

"I guess the next time they have tryouts I'll sign up."

Annabeth smiles and hugs him. "You'll do great."

"How do you know that?"

"I have a good feeling about it, that's how," she remarks.

"A good feeling? Oh then I'm doomed," he jokes.

Annabeth gives him a challenging look. "Oh really? What's the school's record for fastest swimmer?"

Percy thinks for a moment before he tells her.

She gets out of the pool and grabs her towel, drying herself off before picking up her phone and opening the stopwatch on it.

"What are you doing?" Percy asks her.

"I'm going to time you. Now get yourself ready."

"Do I get something in return for this?" he asks as he climbs out of the pool.

Annabeth can't help but stare and admire him. His muscles are even more defined than she had originally thought. His strong arms, broad shoulders, even his chest and back look like they've been carefully crafted for a specific purpose. Likely a result of his swimming and sword practice. If he can wield a sword and shield as easily as he can, and also swim as fast as he can, he definitely did some physical training to get there.

"I don't know," she answers him, trying to hide her reddening face in her towel, playing it off like she's drying off her face. "That will have to be determined."

"Lucky for you, I like surprises."

He gets himself ready at the edge of the pool and dives in the moment Annabeth tells him to. She keeps a close eye between him and the stopwatch on her phone, waiting for the moment his hands touch the wall he had started from. When he finally returns to the wall, she stops the clock and checks the time.

"Well? How'd I do?" Percy asks, his head poking up from the water.

"Come here and see," she says. She watches him carefully as he climbs back out of the pool and walks over to her. He shakes some of the water out of his hair, which only makes him look even hotter to Annabeth. She shows him his time when he reaches her and his face breaks out in a smile.

"I'm not far from the record," he says.

"Have you trained before?" Annabeth asks, trying and failing to avoid looking at his body. It's a question with an obvious answer. She isn't sure why she even asked.

"Yeah. Quite a few times, actually," he admits. "If I really work on it, I think I could break the school record before we graduate next year."

"I agree," she says. "Now... come here."

"What? Why?"

"Just come here, you dummy," Annabeth says, beckoning at him with her index finger.

Percy obeys and steps closer to her. She reaches out to him, places her hand on his cheek, and pulls him towards her as if she's going to kiss him and pushes her body against his. But, with the intent to tease him, she stops just short of his lips and stares into his eyes, biting her bottom lip. Percy lets out a sigh, as if his soul left his body.

Annabeth giggles and slowly steps past him, letting her fingers scrape along his jaw and under his chin as she walks towards the pool.

Percy groans impatiently. "Annabeth," he whines. "That was not fair."

"What do you mean?" she asks, innocently.

"You can't just tease me like that and get away with it," he says.

"Oh, but I just did," she says, grinning. She turns and dives into the pool.

She knows she can't get away from him in the water, but that's the idea. She wants to draw him in. Sure enough, she hears the sound of Percy diving in after her and moments later, she feels his arms around her. She turns and looks at him underwater, his green eyes shimmering with the water. She smiles at him as best she can under the water and wraps her arms around his neck.

She pulls herself up to him and kisses him then, but only for a moment. She tugs at his bottom lip as she pulls away and then kicks to the surface to get some fresh air.

Percy comes up next to her a second later.

"Still think it wasn't fair, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asks him while gasping for air.

He looks just as breathless as she feels - her heart is pounding in her chest, threatening to smash through her ribs.

"I... take back what I said," he manages to say.

"Good." Annabeth wraps her arms around his neck again and kisses him one more time, a longer and sweeter kiss, before going back to swimming.