Chapter 16

Percy POV

I've never seen Olympus beach as crowded as it is tonight. All down the beach, bonfires light up the strip with groups of people huddled around each one. There are tents out and picnic blankets, and it's unbelievably warm considering how late it is, so everybody is dressed in shorts and loose tops.

Even if there weren't mini American flags and red, white, and blue plastic cups everywhere, I'd still be able to tell it was the Fourth of July simply because of the smell. Nothing says July fourth like the smell of barbecue. I try not to let the smell make me hungry.

As I begin making my way towards the water, I have to walk through all these groups of people, and I've got to say it kind of makes me feel like a loser to be walking alone. All around me I'm surrounded by happy couples, all with their arms wrapped around each other and smiles on their faces, and it certainly doesn't help that I'm going to be meeting up with Thalia and Jason, both of whom have dates tonight.

Everyone else in our group has already been here for about an hour. Unfortunately, I got caught up at this little thing called my job, so I'm running a wee bit late.

I keep my eyes peeled for my group as I walk along the beach, and when I finally spot them, I immediately feel my heart leap in my chest.

I had no idea that Annabeth was going to be with us.

I mean, I should've been able to infer it on my own because of how close Thalia and Annabeth were getting, but for whatever reason, it just didn't even cross my mind that she would be here tonight.

Annabeth is facing the water, her long ponytail swaying as she talks to Thalia. She wears a giant grey t-shirt that is so big, it almost completely covers her shorts.

I quickly start straightening out my shirt and attempting to brush out my hair with my hands before realizing it's a lost cause. Here goes nothing.

I've barely taken two steps in their direction, however, when Thalia notices me.

"Percy!" She shouts, waving me over. She gets a couple of glares from surrounding groups, but if there's one thing Thalia Grace cares absolutely nothing about, it's what other people think of her. "We saved you some Takis!"

I smile, shaking my head.

On the blanket, Thalia sits on Annabeth's right with Luke on her other side while Piper sits on Annabeth's left, Jason bringing up the outside.

"Hey guys," I say as I walk up. Everyone gives me a wave.

"Here man," Jason says, patting the space by his side.

I move to go sit next to him, when all of a sudden, Thalia shrieks, "No!" And practically dives over Luke to get to the outside of the blanket. We all look at her like she's crazy.

"Thalia what-" I start.

Once she finally gets into a sitting position again, she shrugs, trying to pass off as casual. "There's barely any room left on the blanket on that side," she says pointing to the spot next to Jason. "Just sit there." She motions to her old spot between Luke and Annabeth. Luke rubs the a spot on his arm where Thalia had just kneed him in her attempt to climb over him.

My cheeks go hot at the idea of sitting next to Annabeth, but I know that if I try to get out of it, it will look like I don't want to sit next to her. And trust me, that was definitely not the case. I notice Annabeth shaking her head at Thalia with a disapproving smirk, but I don't have enough time to try and psychoanalyze what it means because I'm too busy blushing.

I sit down. "Hey."

Annabeth shoots me smile. "Hey seaweed brain."

I shake my head with a grin. Then, with a glance over at her smug expression, I can tell that Annabeth is pleased with herself for making me smile, so I lightly elbow her in the ribs to knock her ego down a few notches, which makes her burst into laughter.

I briefly catch Thalia staring at us, a wicked grin on her face, but as soon as she sees that I've noticed, she quickly ducks back behind Luke, suddenly very interested in the fringe on the picnic blanket.

"Ignore Thalia," Annabeth says, her laughter dying down. "She's insufferable."

"Oh trust me, I know. But for the record, ignoring her doesn't usually do the trick. It would take a nuclear bomb to get that girl off her trail once she sets her mind to something."

Annabeth laughs. "True."

Piper leans over to whisper something to her, and while Annabeth's attention is diverted, I take a moment to look at her. Her jawline looks a million times sharper right now in the darkness of the night, and her blond hair is turning silvery under the moon. Annabeth chuckles at whatever it is Piper says to her, and I can't help but smile at the sound of her laugh.

When Annabeth turns back towards me again, I quickly pretend like I haven't just been staring at her.

We sit together in a comfortable silence, joining into bits and pieces of everyone else's conversations every once in a while. We go on like this for a couple of minutes until suddenly, Annabeth surprises me by addressing me directly, her voice growing so quiet she is almost whispering.

"Percy," she starts, hesitantly.

I look at her. The grin that she had worn just moments before has been replaced by a look of deep contemplation.

"What is it?"

Annabeth avoids meeting my eyes, and thinks about what she is going to say for a long moment before she speaks. "Percy, about what you said yesterday..." She swallows. "About you being worried for your dad because of the blockades that are being put on his environmental research…" Annabeth slowly looks up at me. "I think there's something I need to tell you."

I look at her with confusion. What could Annabeth possibly know about that situation?

"What is it?" I ask her, my concern evident in my voice.

Annabeth opens her mouth like she's about to speak, when all of a sudden, Piper shouts out in excitement, "It's starting!"

Sure enough, out in the distance over the water, I see the first spark of the resort's Fourth of July fireworks display shoot up into the air, and a brilliant golden shower of light sprays down over the ocean when it explodes.

I'm really curious to hear what Annabeth has to say, but we've been waiting to see this fireworks display for a long time since it's one of the best ones in the country. Surely whatever she was going to tell me can wait.

I shoot Annabeth a smile. "You can tell me after. Let's just enjoy the fireworks right now."

For a brief moment, Annabeth looks like she wants to protest, but then thinks better of it and smiles slightly, nodding her head. "Okay."

To my right, Luke and Thalia have scooted over a little bit and are now laying back on the sand, watching as the second firework of the night shoots up into the sky. I look to the left and notice that Piper and Jason have done the same, and Piper leans her head on Jason's shoulder as they watch.

Annabeth and I follow suit, and together, we lay back on the sand just as the next firework explodes in the air. The coloration is absolutely beautiful.

As more sparks shoot up into the sky, I suddenly become very aware of how close Annabeth and I are lying next to each other. Our proximity seems to have intensified by a million percent since we lied down.

My heartbeat increases, and each pound of my heart is echoed by the rapid booms of the fireworks exploding over the water.

We lie there for a couple of minutes, but it feels like hours because we're so mesmerized by the sky. All the while, I am having trouble focusing on the display because I feel like there is an electric current between Annabeth and me that grows stronger and stronger with each millisecond that passes by. The force I feel between us is so incredibly intense that it seems like a miracle that the people around us can't feel it as well.

I don't dare risk a look at Annabeth. I'm certain that the weight of my gaze would alert her to my stare, strong enough to shatter whatever invisible membrane exists between us, the only thing keeping the forceful electric current between us at bay.

After a couple of minutes pass by, the pace of the fireworks up above picks up, and I know that we are approaching the grand finale. Lights explode overhead, creating blasts so loud, it amazes me that they don't shake the world. Shapes appear in the lights, so quickly it looks like someone is flipping through the pages of a picture book, the images morphing and changing with every bang.

And then the pages begin to slow, and I know the display has reached its end. A last few sparks explode in the sky until at last, the book shuts closed.

After a minute, Annabeth glances over at me, smiling. "That was great."

I return her glance, staring deep into her stormy eyes. "Beautiful."

Obviously, I'm talking about the fireworks.

Over Annabeth's shoulder, I see Jason starting to get up. "That was awesome," he says. "Do you guys wanna go get something to eat now?"

That sounds pretty good to me, but just then, Thalia shoots Jason a look like, Absolutely not!

"Thalia what-?" He starts, but she cuts him off.

"Luke and I are going to go get dinner together," she says. "You and Piper should go do the same." She says it slowly, like she's trying to make him understand something, but he looks just as confused as I am. Thalia and Jason are sitting up now, but the rest of us are still lying down, watching the whole scene unfold with amusement.

Thalia shoots Jason an overexaggerated wink, and then tilts her head in my direction. I literally have no idea what is going on in her head. But then again, who does.

"Thalia I swear you are being so weird tonight! Why shouldn't we all go out together?" Jason says, but just then, Thalia gives Piper a look like, Get your man in check!

Piper laughs, and then pulls at Jason's arm, starting to stand up. "Come on Jase," she says softly. Jason looks at her, and it's like whatever he had been about to say suddenly slips out of his mind. There's always been something about Piper's charm that makes you want to do exactly what she says.

"Ye- Yeah," Jason says, dazedly, standing up and taking his girlfriend's hand to help her up. "Maybe we should go."

Thalia looks really satisfied. Luke just shakes his head at her like he knows exactly what she's up to. He and Thalia stand up, brushing off whatever sand magically made its way onto them over the course of the night. "Come on," Luke says wrapping his arm around Thalia's waist.

As they begin walking back to the resort, Thalia glances back over her shoulder and shoots Annabeth a devious smirk.

Annabeth glares at Thalia, and she's blushing like crazy for whatever reason. Honestly, what the hell was going on?

Looking around, I'm surprised to see that almost the entire beach has cleared out, except for us, and the thought of being alone with Annabeth makes me feel like my stomach is going to jump out of my chest. Once Thalia and Luke get out of earshot, Annabeth turns her head on the blanket, looking over at me. "Your cousin is a piece of work."

"You should've seen her during puberty." Annabeth bursts out laughing.

She turns over on her side so that her body is completely facing me, and I do the same, watching her expression change with her smile. When Annabeth smiles, her face scrunches up and she looks so genuinely happy that you can't help but be happy too. I trace Annabeth's features with my eyes as she settles into position. I follow the lids of her eyes down the arch of her nose, the curve of her cheeks and the edges of her lips. When I get back up to her eyes, I notice that Annabeth is looking at me too, and we just stay there like that, staring into each other's eyes.

At a summer camp I went to once, we had to do this activity regarding eye contact, and it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The instructor paired us off randomly and told us that we each had to sit there and hold eye contact with our partner for five minutes, but if you laughed or looked away or tried to break the silence, you had to start over. In the end no one succeeded. It doesn't seem like something that would be that difficult in theory, but once you sit down and you actually have to do it, you find that you're so uncomfortable that you automatically want to look away or laugh or crack a joke to break the tension. I didn't succeed that day, but man I wish that instructor could see me now.

With Annabeth, the tension isn't uncomfortable. I mean, there's still a tension there for sure, but it's something quite the opposite of uncomfortable. It's a comfortability that I've never felt with anyone else before in my life, a comfortability I didn't even know I could feel. I stare deep into her eyes, and I have no desire to look away. I am completely lost in her.

In that moment, lying under the stars, I feel something incredible shift between Annabeth and me. I can feel the shift, just as surely as I can feel the ground beneath us. An understanding passes between us. A barrier comes down.

Annabeth reaches up to touch my cheek, running her fingertips from the corner of my eye to the edge of my jaw, and back up to my bottom lip.

I close my eyes, leaning into her touch, trying to block out everything but the feel of her skin on mine, however slight her touch may be. Because now, that electrical current that I've always felt has always tied us together finally has a physical focal point. Her touch burns my skin like a brand, so hot that it seems impossible that the trail of her fingers won't leave a visible mark.

Annabeth finally rests her hand on the blanket directly under my chin. I open my eyes, and slowly, I move my arm out from under me where it has been resting at my side. Carefully, I bring my hand up to Annabeth's shoulder, and I trace the muscles in her arm all the way down to her forearm, then her wrist, and all to the very tips of her fingers, just below my chin.

I move my eyes up to meet Annabeth's again as I slowly lace my fingers through hers. I bring our interlocked hands up to my face, and touch the outside of her wrist to my cheek.

My breathing is heavy against Annabeth's hand, and her skin feels cold against the warmth of my breath. I am suddenly overcome with a burning desire to take away her cold, a yearning to bring warmth to every aspect of her life. I close my eyes briefly, pulling her hand closer to my cheek.

I grasp onto her hand like she is my lifeline, my one tie to the mortal world. And looking at Annabeth, there is suddenly no mistaking that she feels the same way. Seconds pass by, or maybe it's minutes. Time has no place in this moment. The connection I feel to Annabeth right now is so powerful, so strong, that it exists as its own entity, immune to the aspects of life as trivial as time. This connection is all consuming, and I've never felt anything like it before in my life.

"What was it you wanted to tell me earlier?" I ask, meeting Annabeth's eyes.

She has a sharp intake of breath, and closes her eyes like she's in pain. "Later." Annabeth says, and a tear slides slowly from the corner of her eye, towards the ground. I understand that tear. It's not a tear of sadness, but rather, a byproduct of this intense emotional transformation that is slowly taking us over, consuming us from the inside out. I bring her face close to mine, and very gently, I brush her tear away with the side of my cheek before it can fall to the ground. Even the pull of gravity can't compete with the strength of the connection I feel to her in this moment.

Slowly, Annabeth moves in closer to me, and I feel the warmth of her breath against my chest. Our hands remain clasped between us, and it's suddenly hard for me to conceptualize how I've been able to go my whole life without Annabeth Chase's hand in mine.

With my free arm, I draw the blanket up around us, enclosing us and capturing our collective warmth. Annabeth nuzzles in closer to me, and I bring my lips to the top of her hair, burying myself in the scent of her.