Hey, some of you have pointed out errors in spelling and grammar in my story. I apologize, I proofread a hundred times, but have written this entire story on the notepad of my iPhone, so autocorrect fails are inevitable. Thanks for your patience!

Six times eight equals forty eight.

Six times nine equals fifty four.

Six times ten equals sixty.

Six times eleven equals sixty six.

Six times twelve equals seventy two.

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut and opening them again. I had mentally recited the multiplication table through twelve seven times already that night, which was a lot even for a daughter of Athena. Keeping watch in the labyrinth absolutely sucked; nothing to do, staring at walls that seemed to mock you and silence that fed you paranoia. Thank the gods my shift was almost over.

I stretched and fiddled with the water bottle in my lap, thinking longingly of Chinese food. All we'd eaten for the past week was granola bars and cashews. I was handling the diet alright, but the guys... not so much. I glanced over at the three sleeping figures in front if me, each one barely visible but from the glow of the celestial bronze details that adorned the wall across from me.

The bronze was a good sign. It meant we were getting closer to the older parts of the labyrinth, and therefore closer to the center. Closer to Dedalus's workshop, closer to Ariadne's string, and closer to this entire nightmare being over. Which, trust me, couldn't be over soon enough. My emotions were being ripped into a hundred different directions, with Luke tugging at one corner of my heart and Percy-

Percy. I mentally kicked myself in the shins for thinking of him. Ever since I had finally been granted access to the full content of the prophecy, every time I looked at him I was filled with dread. While the prophecy didn't necessarily straight out say "Oh, and Percy Jackson is going to snuff it" the general idea was he's implied. And I was not handling it well. At all.

Which was understandable. Of course I'd be devastated if he died, we were combat partners and best friends. That's it... just friends. That's all. Right? Right.

...wrong?

Although our friendship was as strong as ever there was a new and strange feel to it. We tried to ignore it, so Percy and I still laughed and joked as if nothing was changed. Not true of course, everything had changed. There were the shy glances, the blushing, the enormous fact that I had turned down the Hunter's of Artemis, and of course, the freaking elephant in the room, that kiss that I gave him last summer. Everything was so confusing, lines were being blurred and whenever Percy was around my heart did little backflips but-

I shook my head. Get a grip, Annabeth. The last thing I needed in the labyrinth was to be thinking about stuff like that. Down there, you needed to have your wits about you.

My head whipped towards Percy's direction as he let out a loud snore.

Oh yeah. I totally had my wits about me.

Trying to push Percy out of my head, I angled by back to him and faced Tyson and Grover, who were fast asleep. Wracking my brain for something to keep me occupied, I settled on reciting the preamble of the constitution.

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility-

Snore.

-provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty-

Snore.

-to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish-

Snore.

-this Constitution for the-

Snore.

-United States of-

Snore.

Oh, forget it.

Giving in to curiosity and teenage hormones, I lightly padded over to where Percy slept and sat down next to him, drawing my legs up to my chest. I felt better when I was closer to him. I felt safe.

I watched as he shifted positions in his sleeping bag, causing the snoring to cease. Sitting there, I looked at how tiny the sleeping bag looked with him in it- he had gotten so tall and muscular, it was hard to believe that this was the same scrawny kid who had showed up at camp three years ago. I admired the thin arch of his eyebrows, the way his wild hair flopped in his face, the elegant curl of his lashes. I sat there and watched his chest rise and fall as his eyes twitched behind their lids.

Oh gods. I'm that girl, I realized in horror. I'm that creepy girl that watches the guy she likes sleep! I'm the weirdo who-

WHOA. Where did like come from? I don't like Percy!

But in the dull glow of the labyrinth corridor and the utter silence besides the sound of Percy breathing an the thudding of my own heart, I knew I was lying to myself. I looked down at Percy with new eyes; I liked him. A lot.

Hello, earth to Annabeth! Of course you like him! Where the hell have you been these past few years?

I mentally willed the voice in my head to shut up.

So, after years of friendship, battles, squabbles, and near death experiences... I ended up falling for my best friend? Oh, come on. It was so cliché to the point of offensiveness. Not cool, Aphrodite.

Even less cool when one considers that he would never, ever see me that way. And who could blame him? He had fun and flouncy Rachel Elizabeth Dare batting her eye lashes at him. Curse her.

Percy's rhythmic breathing suddenly caught, and he groaned as his eyes fluttered. I leapt up and made a mad dash for my post against the wall, successfully tripping over a backpack and sprawling onto the floor, scraping my shin. Praying Percy didn't notice, I scampered over to the wall and tried my best to look casual.

Percy sat up and rubbed his eyes and turned head toward me. I pretended to be surprised to see him awake, raising my eyebrows.

"Hey," he said groggily. "Anything going on?"

Oh, not much. Did some math, watched you sleep, discovered that I like you.

"Nope," I told him, smiling awkwardly.

"Good," he said. He stretched and got up, walking over and sitting down next to me. I'm fairly certain mortals above ground could hear my heart beating wildly. Gods, what was wrong with me?

"Well, I can't sleep so I guess I'll start my shift now," he said, uncapping Riptide as he did.

"Nah, it's okay, I'm not tired yet," I told him.

"Well, I'm not going back to sleep, so we can keep each other company," he said, and yawned once more.

"You'll have to be awake to do that, Seaweed Brain," I told him playfully. He just chuckled.

"Hey," he said, suddenly alert. "What happened to your leg?"

"Huh? Oh," I said, remembering my spectacular fall minutes before. I looked down at my leg to see that it was pretty damaged, my flayed flesh oozing blood. "I hurt it," I said stupidly.

"Doing what, doing the tango with a cheese grater?" asked Percy, somewhat incredulously.

"I tripped. Over a bowl." As soon as I said it, I mentally face-palmed; why hadn't I just told him I tripped over a backpack, like I actually did? A bowl, of all things... That didn't even make any sense!

"A bowl?" he asked, perplexed.

"Yeah. Uh, you should really stop leaving those laying around," I said, once again wishing I would have kept my mouth shut.

"Uh... okay. I will..." said Percy, looking at me like I was from Mars. "Annabeth, are you okay?"

"I'm super," I enthused. Holy hell, since when did I start saying super?

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."

We stared at each other.

"It's just the war, y'know?" I finally said, desperate to break the silence.

"Oh yeah," he said, leaning back. "It sucks. I just feel like the odds are stacked up against us and the rest of the demigods." He paused for a moment, seeming to debate wether or not to say something. Finally, "I'm worried," Percy said quietly. I looked up and saw fear lurking in his green eyes.

I laughed hollowly. "Aren't we all? But I guess the past is on our side... the gods have beaten the Titans before. Its all the same... another time and place, repeating history." I have him a sad little smile.

"Well, I'm getting sick of it," Percy muttered darkly.

"These things will change," I told him. "We're getting stronger now, according to Chiron. They might be bigger, but we're faster."

"But-"

"Where did all of this doubt come from?" I asked, cutting him off. I was surprised at Percy; he wasn't usually like this.

"I don't know!" he snapped, frustrated.

"Look, I know it seems bad, but this is a revolution. The time will come for us to finally win."

"Come on, Annabeth," he said dejectedly. "We've been outnumbered, raided, and now cornered. It's hard to fight when the fight isn't fair!" I searched his face, and his frustration seemed to collapse. He slumped against the wall. "Sorry," Percy mumbled. "Dunno what's wrong with me. I just have this sinking feeling that I can't explain, and all of these people dying. And the prophecy," he said, licking his lips apprehensively. "Annabeth," he said, his voice low and suddenly urgent. Percy grabbed both of my hands. "Tell me what the prophecy says!" I saw the desperation in his eyes, I wanted to tell him so bad... "What does it say?" he said, terrifyingly close. His features where illuminated by the glowing bronze of our weapons, his eyes slightly mad.

"Percy, I can't-"

"Tell me!" he begged, almost in tears now. Our faces were inches apart, I could count each individual eyelash. "Tell me!" Percy cried, shaking me roughly. I tried to pull away from him, but his hands had iron grips on my wrists.

"Percy!" I gasped, and something came over him, and he relaxed. He looked dazed as he loosened his grip on me, and his bewilderment quickly turned to regret as he met my startled gaze.

"Oh gods..." he moaned, burying his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry," he said, looking shaken. "I don't know what's wrong with me, sometimes I think I'm going crazy and-"

"You're stressed," I told him soothingly. "Not to mention we're entrapped in the labyrinth. Do you know how many heroes have lost their minds down here Percy? It's okay, this is normal." I placed a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the electrifying feeling I got from touching him. "You always have me," I said with a smile. "I promise I won't let you go loopy. I hear heads full of kelp aren't affected like the rest of us anyway," I joked with a wink. Percy gave a weak smile. "As for the prophecy..." I trailed off, trying to asses the situation. "Percy, I have seen dozens of heroes drive themselves to their doom because of what a prophecy claims. I don't want it to dominate your life. It occupies enough of it already."

Percy surveyed me in silence, taking in what I'd said. "We could walk away from this, you know. We don't need this."

"We could," I said slowly, "But you wouldn't." I grinned at him. "Trust me, I know you."

"You're right," he said, cracking a smile. "As always," he said, nudging me lightly. "Sorry lost it."

"It's okay, I understand," I empathized. "We just have to focus and fight for what we've worked for all these years."

"It's going to be a long battle," Percy said.

"It's the fight of our lives," I agreed.

"But we'll stand up champions, won't we?"

"Of course," I said, grinning. Our gazes locked, and I felt like I was drowning in pools of green.

"Thanks," Percy whispered.

"Anytime," I said, barely audible. Time seemed to stop as some sort of connection passed between us. We were leaning toward each other, closer and closer...

Percy stopped leaning and hugged me instead. I hugged him back, and while I liked the feeling of being in his arms, I knew that it wasn't an affectionate hug. It was a comforting hug, one that siblings would share. It was the kind of hug Luke used to give me.

We pulled away awkwardly, neither of us quite sure what to say.

"You're a great friend," Percy finally said, his voice echoing in the silence.

Just a friend.

"You too," I told him. Silence fell between us once more. "Well, I guess I should probably get some sleep," I said, half of me hoping that he would object and ask me to wait up with him.

But he didn't. "Yeah, you probably should," Percy said. "I'll wake you up in a few hours, and we can start moving again, okay?"

"Sounds good," I told him, and stood up to stretch. "Get me up if there's any monsters." I turned to head for my sleeping bag, when I suddenly turned back to face Percy. "You shouldn't doubt yourself so much," I told him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Percy, I've known countless heroes, and out of all of them, I'd trust you with my life before any of the others."

It was painfully quiet.

"And," I said, a little hesitant, "I believe and whatever you do. And I'll do anything to see it through. Even if you are a Seaweed Brain."

Percy looked at me as though fascinated, but didn't speak. Realizing he had nothing to say, I turned to go to my sleeping bag again.

"Annabeth?" he called out, causing me to whirl around.

"Yes?"

"You don't always have to be so strong, you know," he said quietly.

I gave him a small smile. "Yes I do," I said softly. "Goodnight, Percy."

I wiggled into my sleeping bag, and spent the rest of the night staring at the bronze on the wall, wondering what the fates had in store for Percy and I.

Review! And feel free to criticize. Sometimes you guys are too sweet! :)