I've Been Trying All Night Long Just to Talk to You

Camp Jupiter: War Games

Nyssa

1st Cohort, Defense

"So how's the kissing scene going?" "..." *At the same time* "Excuse me?"

Words: 625

So, here's another prompt for the Camp Jupiter: War Games forum. Check it out, it's fun and I moderate it, and we need more people! Or at least check it out, we have a lovely community and we have a lot of fun prompts and such.

Disclaimer: The title, 'I've Been Trying All Night Long Just to Talk to You', is a lyric from Eric Clapton's 'Lay Down Sally'. I do not own PJO by Rick Riordan, or Lay Down Sally, by Eric Clapton.

I've Been Trying All Night Long Just to Talk to You:

Percy had been trying for a long time just to talk to Annabeth Chase. After all, she was picture-perfect Annabeth Chase, with golden curls and startlingly stormy gray eyes. But she was still a pretty girl, and it was hard to talk to pretty girls at time, especially when they hated your guts.

And Annabeth Chase was one such pretty girl who hated his guts. He didn't know why, but she had a special vindication saved just for him, and if it had not been for Chiron Brunner, the Theatre director, and his insistence on Percy being the male co-star, he would not have talked to Annabeth at all.

They were doing some obscure play about some guy and this girl next door...something Percy would never watch if he had the chance...and Annabeth was the female lead. Which meant...they were expected to act romantic. Which meant, at the end, there was a kiss. They were getting dangerously close to the end, and while Chiron had privately pulled Percy aside to tell him about that, Annabeth had no idea.

She'd hate him even more if she knew she had to kiss him.

"Annabeth?" Upon seeing him, her bright, lively eyes hardened into chips of ice.

"Jackson." she said cordially. "I hope you've been practicing for the big scene." Percy nodded, feeling a bit like an idiot.

"Of course. Have you?"

"Obviously." Annabeth said nothing more- as talking to Percy would probably ruin her whole I hate Percy thing. He wasn't sure why that was a thing.

"Ah. Percy, Annabeth. Glad to see you two getting to know each other." Chiron, the director, rolled up in his wheelchair, the blanket over his legs. Annabeth paused, but didn't say another word. To contradict Chiron would not work well for her, but to go along with it, she probably couldn't stomach. Percy stared at her almost challengingly. "Percy, how is your part coming along?"

"Very well, sir." Chiron's eyes twinkled, and if Percy had not been on guard before, he would have felt a vague sense of foreboding.

"So how's the kissing scene going?"

"..."

"Excuse me?" Annabeth burst out. Chiron feigned surprise.

"Should I not have said that? Oh, bother..."

Percy looked at Annabeth. Annabeth looked at Percy. Chiron started to wheel away. "Well, I do hope you two work this out...until Monday." Percy wanted to know why, why, he had to ruin it. Now Annabeth was going to kill him with that intense, fiery look in her eyes. Before Percy could say anything, she turned back to him as if she was going to kill him...and kissed him- only for a second, and then she pulled away as if she'd kissed a toad.

"You look like a fish, you Seaweed Brain. What, never kissed a girl before?" Annabeth turned and strode away, leaving Percy standing there.

"...wow."