Chapter 18

Annabeth POV

I've never been to the Colosseum this late before. I mean don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm some kind of prude or anything, I've just never had a reason to be roaming around the resort at this hour.

It's almost 11:00 at night, and though I'm sure a lot of people are awake right now, most of them have either retired to their rooms or have made their way to the higher floors of the resort; the ones that are only for people twenty-one and up, if you know what I mean. That's where all of the resort's bars and casinos are, and every once in a while, I pass a middle-aged woman in a cocktail dress stumbling down the sidewalk, and I immediately know where she's been.

There's something unbelievably classy about the resort at this hour, despite the fact that some people act like it's Vegas. It's as if the darkness somehow removes the family element of the resort that's so present in the day time, leaving only the pretentious upper class adults to waltz around in their expensive clothes at night.

I'm glad to say that I don't feel terribly out of place, because I'm still wearing the elegant silvery sundress from earlier today. I'd put it on to go out to breakfast with my dad before everything went down with Helen, and I decided to keep it on for the day. I still haven't gotten over the whole ordeal with my dad and Helen, and I find myself clenching my fists at the mere thought of what I had overheard this morning. I quickly try to suppress my anger.

The only difference in my attire now from this morning is that I wear a simple grey one piece under the dress. It's almost a staple of resort life to wear a bathing suit under your clothes at all times. I've found that I spend pretty much half of everyday surrounded by the water, either down my the beach or at the pool. That's something I love about being here at the resort. Its surreal, almost like you're on vacation 24/7. Which I guess you kind of are, now that I mention about it.

When I enter the lobby it's unusually quiet, and my sandals click loudly against the marble floor as I head towards the archway that leads to the downstairs stairwell. The whole place is dimly lit, and I feel as though I'm not supposed to be here, which of course it ridiculous, but still, there's something eerie about the place at night, an elegant, adult ambiance I guess, that makes me feel like I should turn around and head back out of the Colosseum.

But of course, that isn't an option.

And I don't want it to be an option.

I'm about fifteen minutes early meeting Percy, and I know that I should probably just wait in the lobby until the time that we agreed to meet, but for whatever reason, my feet continue to move me forward. The invisible cord that I have felt has tied Percy and me together all day pulls taut at the thought of him and I almost involuntarily quicken my pace down the steps, rounding the corner to the pool entrance level.

Percy had told me to meet him after work, and I've been a little confused as to exactly what that entails. Am I even in the right place?

The only light in the large hall is the moonlight that shines in through the open arched windows, casting a white, shadowy feel over the floors. The hall is completely empty of people, and I figure that Percy is probably down by the pool, so I walk over to try the entrance doors that lead out to the pool, giving them a sharp tug. With a start, I realize that they're completely locked. I read the sign on the door and see that it says that the pool closes at 10:30. I turn back to the hall. If Percy had wanted me to meet him down by the pool, it didn't seem like there was any chance of that happening.

I'm about to pull out my phone and text him asking where he wanted to meet, when just then, I hear a scuttling sound behind me and I whip my head around to see a door to my right swing open.

Percy stops in his tracks when he sees me.

The door he had come from is labeled Staff Locker Room, and is tucked away under the marble staircase, so I'm not surprised that I hadn't noticed it before.

But I certainly notice it now.

I gulp at the sight of Percy. The moonlight reflects off of his jet black hair, giving it a silvery glow. He's wearing his work uniform; red lifeguard's swim trunks and a white polo, and he has a towel wrapped around his neck.

"Annabeth," he says, obviously surprised to see me.

"Hey," I blurt.

Nice one.

I can't seem to move my feet, but luckily, Percy doesn't seem to have that problem, and takes a couple steps towards me so that we're only a few feet apart.

Neither of us seem to know what to say, but I find that it's not because of awkwardness. It's more like there's too much to say, and neither of us know where to start.

Percy nervously tugs at the towel around his neck. "You're early," he says, raising his eyebrows in question.

I feel my cheeks go hot. "Yeah, sorry," I start. "I just-"

I don't know where I'm going with this. Obviously I'm not about to tell Percy that I didn't have enough self restraint to hold myself back for a couple minutes longer. He doesn't seem to take notice of my sudden embarrassment though.

"I was just gonna meet you upstairs," he says with a laugh. "I'm not quite done here yet." Percy motions to the fact that he's still wearing his uniform.

I feel a sudden flush rise up the back of my neck. Of course he isn't ready you idiot! I chide myself. There's a reason he told you to meet him at eleven.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I say. "I didn't even think-"

Percy laughs. "Don't worry about it." His eyes flash with amusement. "I'll tell you what," he says. "I still have to finish packing up some stuff by the pool, but why don't you come with me? It'll make it a lot more enjoyable if I have you there."

I feel a grin threatening to take over my face. "Sounds good."

Percy smiles at my response, and we head down towards the pool entrance doors, Percy pulling out a set of keys as he walks. He unlocks the doors with ease, and the two of us step out into the night.

It's a lot warmer outside than it had been inside the hall, and I'm suddenly very glad that I had decided against changing into jeans and a jacket before coming tonight. I'm sure I'd be sweating up a storm any minute now if I had.

I hang back as Percy takes a minute to lock the doors back up again. Once he's finished, he motions over to the lifeguard stand with his head and I follow close behind him as we walk.

I've never seen the Colosseum pool empty before, and the sight is absolutely beautiful. The pool seems a million times more vast without the dozens of people in it, and the pool lights make the water glisten in the dark.

Percy hangs back for a second to match my pace as we walk around the length of the pool.

"You're mom didn't give you too much trouble, did she?" Percy asks, turning his head towards me.

It takes me a second to figure out that he's referring to this morning.

I feel my cheeks go hot. That seems to be happening a lot tonight.

"My dad picked me up, actually," I tell Percy. "Took him an hour and a half to get there," I say, rolling my eyes. "But he got there eventually."

Percy frowns. "That sucks."

"Yeah, but at least with my dad, he doesn't know me as well, so I think he didn't feel like he had the authority to get mad at me or anything," I say with a grin.

Percy laughs.

We have finally reached the lifeguard stand, and Percy leans over to start packing up his things.

"Sorry, Annabeth, this should only take a minute," he says, and starts picking up a clipboard and jacket that lay under the chair, piling them into a sports bag that rests at the base of the stand.

"No worries." I slide off my flip flops, stepping over to the edge of the pool to sit down.

The water is unbelievably warm, and a little shiver runs down my spine as soon as I slip my feet in.

I tilt my head back to look at Percy as he packs up his stuff and can't help the laugh that escapes me. "You're such a seaweed brain," I say shaking my head.

"What?" Percy asks defensively, with a smirk.

"Would it really kill you to be a little more organized," I say, motioning to the stuff he has laying all over the place.

Percy pouts. "This is organized for me."

I raise my eyebrows at him and laugh. "Alright."

Percy grins and shoves a last couple of items into his bag before zipping it up. "Man, someone's judgy."

"Eh, it's better than being unorganized."

Percy scrunches up his face and lightly punches me in the shoulder as he leans down to take a seat next to me.

"You're just jealous that I know how to loosen up," he says, defiantly.

"Oh yes," I retort, my voice oozing with sarcasm. "That's what it is."

Percy jokingly sneers and pulls me into a quick headlock, making me giggle as I swat his arm away.

"You're so annoying," I say, laughing.

Percy slows, his playhousing coming to a stop as he slowly brings his eyes to mine.

"And you're beautiful," he says.

And just like that, the mood completely shifts. Percy's hand still rests at my neck, and he slowly brings his hand up, tucking my hair behind my ear and letting his hand linger at the base of my neck. I feel as though my heart will beat out of my chest, and very gently, I bring my hand up to his, and hesitantly intertwine our fingers, where they rest linked together on my shoulder.

Percy hesitates and bites his lip. I can tell he doesn't want to ruin the moment, but it's obvious that he wants to say something.

"What is it that you were trying to tell me last night?" He asks, hesitantly.

I mentally facepalm myself. I had completely forgotten about that.

The day that Percy told me about how his dad was having difficulty obtaining permits for local environmental research, a theory popped into my mind, and has been eating away at me ever since. I've been meaning to tell Percy about it for a while, and I really tried to tell him last night, but with everything being so complicated lately, I just haven't gotten the chance.

I let go of Percy's hand, and bring my own hand down to my side, looking out over the water. I think about what I want to say for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"A little while after I arrived at the resort, I was working in my mom's office, just filing paperwork and stuff for internship credit," I say, tilting my head towards Percy. "Because she's the resort's architect, it was mostly just legal files and blueprints, nothing too interesting."

I lift my legs out of the water and pull my knees up to my chest. "That is, until I came across a file that was labeled confidential. Normally, I would've totally ignored it. But the thing that caught my attention was the fact that the file seemed completely ordinary, just a bunch of the resort's environmental statistics, measuring the soil composition and the pH level of the water and stuff, so I couldn't figure out why on earth it was labeled confidential." I pause, taking a deep breath. "I probably shouldn't have, but I decided to take pictures of the file, and made duplicates of the papers as soon as I got back to my room."

I glance over at Percy to see that he is listening intently, a look of serious interest on his face.

"And were you able to find anything?" Percy asks, curiosity plain in his voice. "Were the results not up to code or something?"

I take a deep breath. "Well that's the thing," I say. "For days I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. I did the research, and all of the results listed in the files were up to code. It seemed like there was no problem, and I simply couldn't figure out why on earth someone would label a completely non-problematic file confidential."

Percy's look of confusion mirrors the same confusion I remember having felt back then.

"I was just about ready to give up looking through the files," I continue. "I was convinced that they had simply been mislabeled confidential. Then, on my last readthrough though, I suddenly noticed a tiny symbol in the corner of one of the pages, something I had missed before. It was like an upside down Greek omega symbol. It looked out of place, and the fact that it was on the documents struck me as strange, so I decided to look it up."

Percy's eyebrows draw together with concern. "And what did you find?" He asks.

"The symbol is the logo for a company that creates fake legal study results." I tell him. "The file was labeled confidential to keep people from seeing that symbol and finding out that it was a forgery."

Percy's eyes grow wide. "So someone is lying about the environmental study results." He concludes. "But why?"

"To hide something." I say. "My guess is because the real results aren't up to code."

"And that's why someone is trying to block my dad's research," Percy puts together. "Because he might find out the truth if he gets a permit to work in the area."

"Exactly." I say.

Percy's eyebrows are furrowed, and he looks deep in thought. "That's crazy," he says, shaking his head in dismay.

"I know." I place my head in my hands. "Percy, I'm so sorry," I mumble hurriedly. "No matter what, the fact that I found those files in my mom's office means that she's probably linked to this whole scandal, whatever it is." I rub my temple. "My mom is probably a part of what is bringing your dad so much trouble. They're against each other in a war that no one even knows exists."

Silence.

I'm almost afraid to look up at Percy, scared of what expression I might find there.

Then suddenly, I feel him touch my shoulder. I look up at Percy's face, and what I find there isn't anger, or hatred. It's something else entirely. His expression has shifted into one of even deeper, more urgent concern.

"Annabeth, why on earth are you telling me this?" He says, his voice dripping with worry. "This is really serious stuff. If anyone found out, you could be in some serious trouble." Then he shakes his head. "Forget trouble, you could be in serious danger."

I meet his eyes, confusion taking over me. "You're not upset with me?"

"Of course I'm upset!" He says. "You're putting yourself at risk!"

My heart breaks at the fact that he cares more about me than himself in this moment, and I feel my chest clench tight with the strength of what I feel for him right now.

"I know," I say, shaking my head. "But you were obviously really distraught over the whole thing, and it was clear that you were in pain." I look away. "And that was more important to me." A moment passes, and my heart pounds hard in my chest. "Because I care about you."

I feel hollow inside, exposed. I've laid all the cards on the table, and now it's Percy's move. I don't dare risk a glance at him. I'm too scarred.

And though I've always been excellent at strategy, at predicting other people's moves, I never could've predicted what Percy does next.

One moment, we're both sitting there, inches between us, but lightyears apart.

And the next moment, his lips are on mine.

And I feel like my soul has left my body.

The kiss is unlike anything I've ever felt before. It's as though I've lost all awareness of my surroundings.

Our connection is suddenly the only thing that exists.

It's not fireworks. Fireworks are fleeting.

It's the stars. Hot and burning and brilliant and eternal.

It's a supernova. A gravitational collapse.

Percy brings his hand up to my face, and I gasp at his touch. His caress had surprised me, as though I had completely forgotten we had bodies as well as lips.

I link my fingers through his, holding his hand close to my cheek.

We are no longer skirting around our emotions, delicately dancing around our feelings. The glass has shattered, and we have only skimmed the surface of what lies underneath.

I feel a whole new wave of hunger take over me, and I lean deeper into our kiss, adding fuel to a fire that already rages across every part of me. I bring my arms around Percy's neck, and find myself leaning forward to straddle his hips. It's as if my body has taken over any regulatory part of my mind.

Percy wraps his arms around my back, and I feel the muscles in his arms flex as he pulls me close to his chest, moving his lips from the corner of my mouth down to the edge of my jaw.

I gasp into the crease of his neck and clasp the back of his shirt tight between my fingers.

Percy continues to kiss my neck, and I feel as though I am melting into him, every inch of my body turning to liquid.

He brings his lips up to mine one last time, and for one perfect moment, it's like the world has finally aligned into singularity.

When we finally pull apart, we are both breathing hard. I rest my forehead against Percy's temple, my arms still wrapped tight around his neck. I can feel his breath, hot on my chest. It sends chills down my spine.

It takes a moment for my temperature to cool down, for my breathing to slow. But when my pulse finally returns to a semi-normal speed, a grin makes its way to my lips.

"Wow." Percy breaths into the crease of my neck.

Somehow, I have enough strength to laugh.

Percy brings his forehead to mine, and we stare into each other's eyes for what feels like an eternity.

"That was incredible," I whisper. Percy pulls me closer.

"You're incredible," he breathes.

My arms are wrapped tight against his neck, and his hands rest gently at my hips. In his grasp, I feel a certain safety that I've never experienced before.

Everywhere around us seems to be completely deserted, and it feels as though we are the only two people for miles. All around us, the Colosseum is completely dark, and despite one or two windows on the top floors, the only visible light comes from the moon up above and the glow of the pool behind me.

My mouth is inches away from Percy's when suddenly, I get an idea, and a grin makes its way across my face.

Before I lose my nerve, I run my hands down the sides of Percy's torso until I reach the base of my thighs, where the edge of my dress has ridden up to. I grasp the end of my dress in my hands, and before Percy even has a moment to realize what I'm doing, I have pulled the dress completely over my head, revealing the simple grey bathing suit I wear underneath.

Percy's eyes go wide as he takes me in.

Nervously, I tuck my hair behind my ear with a smirk. "Stop gawking seaweed brain."

Percy laughs underneath me, and I throw my dress over his head so that it lands amongst our other stuff.

Based on the mischievous smile that takes over his face, I can tell that Percy knows where I'm planning on going with this.

"Man I am so getting fired," he laughs, shaking his head, and slips his own polo over his head, tossing it behind him.

I can't help the grin that takes over my face at the sight of him.

"Hypocrite," Percy laughs.

I raise my eyebrows at him in question. "Excuse me?"

"You're totally gawking," he says with a smirk.

"Am not," I protest, but I know it's no use. He caught me.

"Mmhm," Percy says as he pulls me into another kiss.

I feel like all the oxygen in me leaves my body the second our lips meet again. Lazily, I bring my fingers up to Percy's hair.

We're only together for a moment when I feel Percy's lips form a smirk beneath mine, and I can't help the laugh that escapes me because, suddenly, I know what's coming. I tighten my grip around Percy's shoulders as he fastens his arms around my waist and pushes off the edge with his legs, sending us both falling into the pool.

I feel the warmth of the water take over me, and I pull Percy closer, locking our lips as tight as possible, holding onto him for dear life.

We stay like that for what feels like hours; liplocked and enveloped in each other.

And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.