Chapter 9: Annabeth
The following day we had, at last, after what seemed like endless hours stuck in the car with both Leo and Percy (both of whom have ADHD and become very hyperactive when bored) arrived at Piper's charming beach house. We got out of the car and stretched out our sore legs and smelt that wonderful smell of ocean. The sun was warm and shined down on our faces and was very welcome after many cold winter weeks in New York. A light cool breeze whipped our hair around and you could feel the ocean spray in it. We all stood silent for a minute, breathing in deeply the fresh ocean air, feeling perfectly content.
The boys started to unload the bags from the trunk. Hazel pulled her suitcase from the pile and looked at the house we were going to stay in next week. "Wow Piper, this place is just perfect!"
It was true; the house was everything I had hoped it would be and more. Somehow it was both elegant but comfortable and cozy at the same time. It was like a log cabin/mansion. On a hill overviewing the ocean only a minute walk away, the house had large windows, a wrap around porch with a swing, two stories, and window boxes with lavenders in them. When we walked inside, we were right away greeted to a very cabiny feel. Wood flooring covered the whole cabin and there were wood stairs leading up to four upstairs bedrooms and a game room. Downstairs was a huge living room and kitchen, both of which were somewhat rustic and antique. It was obvious that Piper's dad had decorated the place- if it were her mother it would be modern and all up to date.
Piper and I agreed to share a bedroom, while Hazel and Calypso shared their own. Percy agreed to sleep with Frank because Percy was the heaviest sleeper while Frank the loudest snorer. The rooms were just as wonderful; two queen beds in each room and cozy bed sheets. I started to unpack, neatly organizing all of my clothes into the dresser, but Piper just threw her suitcase in the corner.
"I'm ready to go to the beach!" She said as she flopped on the bed.
I rolled my eyes as I color coordinated my underwear. "We just got here. Don't you want to settle in?"
"Absolutely not! We have a whole week to settle in," Piper pulled her hair into a messy bun and kicked off her shoes.
"And we have a whole week to go to the beach," I said standing up and moving my suitcase to the closet. "I'm going downstairs to unpack the groceries. After that, do you want to make cookies?"
Piper glared at me, never one to turn down sugar. "You know my greatest weakness." She then rolled off the bed and I dragged her downstairs. After unpacked for 10 minutes, which was a new record (Piper thinks I'm crazy for keeping a record of how quick I can be to organize things), I pulled out all the ingredients for my master cookie baking. Soon we had the whole house smelling like heaven.
Just when we had finished the cookies, Percy and Jason came downstairs wearing running shorts and workout shirts.
"Where are you going?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
Percy stole some cookie dough before I got the chance to smack his hand away. "For a run. Hmm, this is good!"
"Why on earth would you do that?" Piper said in her most disgusted voice.
Jason laughed and kissed her on the forehead. "Because beach runs are the best ever. There will probably be a sunset halfway through."
"And so we don't get fat from all this cookie dough," Percy said as I smacked his hand away from getting more.
"Stop or there won't be any more!" I giggled. Just then Frank came downstairs.
"Ooh, can I have some?" He asked. I nodded and gave him a large spoonful, sticking my tongue out at Percy. He managed to sneak a little more before he and Jason left. Frank, Leo, Hazel, and Calypso all went to go watch the sunset and then bring back pizza, so Piper and I were left alone.
"Annabeth," Piper said matter-of-factly as she put the cookies in the oven. We both sat on the counter and ate the rest of the dough. "I wouldn't consider myself a relationship expert, but I pretty much am a relationship expert so hear me out."
I rolled my eyes. "I don't think I'll like where this is going."
"So you and Luke broke up like what- 5 months ago?" I straighten, automatically sobering up. Piper continued. "And yeah- that was hard and stuff. No denying that he was a jackass. But you've moved on. Right?"
"Um, I guess?" I never like talking about Luke. Our breakup was messy, to say the best, and so was most of our relationship. Everytime I thought about him, I still felt anger and sadness. I thought being with Percy would mean I could forget him, but somehow it just made me think of him more. There were so many things I hadn't told anyone about our relationship, not even Piper or Thalia.
"Okay, so maybe not," Piper shrugged. "That's okay. That's not my point. Percy Jackson also just went through a breakup. He, however, does seem to be mostly over it. At first I was confused- why was he over Rachel so quickly? They were almost soulmates. What happened?"
She looked at me, and I tried to look innocent. "I don't know? Maybe he's more emotionally stable than me?"
Piper pointed her finger at me. "Oh, but I don't think that's it! You see, I've noticed something different in both of you over the last few months. He's been happier and so have you. You've also been flirting, like non-stop. And you have great chemistry, and all these inside jokes from times that no one else in the friend group was around for."
"Piper, come on. I mean, I tutor him. We spend a lot of time together!" I tried to back out of it. We do have a lot of inside jokes from dates.
"Annabeth, just let me ask you. Are you guys dating?"
I sighed. What should I say? Would this trip be the one that decides whether or not Percy and I tell the whole friend group we're dating? "Piper..."
"If you are, it's fine. I don't know why you would keep it from us," She smiled and looked me in the eyes. "I'll totally support you guys!"
I guess it would be the trip the truth gets out. I gave out a long sigh. "It's just that you told me it would be like I was his rebound. A-and getting over Luke was hard. We really care about each other and I didn't want people to think that we were some fling. I can't have people at school thinking bad things about me. I care too much."
"Oh my God!" Piper looked totally shocked. "I was just guessing. A pretty damn good guess, but holy shit! How long have you been dating?"
"Um, I'm not sure?" I was completely taken aback by her reaction. She was jumping up and down, spinning in circles.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! This is so exciting! You guys are too cute! I can't wait to tell everyone!" Suddenly she quietly down and looked me in the eye. "Annabeth, I can't believe you thought that any of us would care. I'm so happy for you. You guys will have the cutest kids!"
I laughed. "Thanks, but don't tell anyone yet. I want to tell them on my own."
Piper just giggled and started singing, "Percy and Annabeth, sitting in a tree". By the time we pulled the cookies out of the oven, the rest of the group had come back, raving about the sunset. Percy and Jason quickly took showers to stop their stench from the run and then we turned on the bachelor and watched it while we ate our pizza. During the movie I whispered to Percy, "I think we should tell them."
He raised his eyebrows. "Right now?"
When we told them, their reactions were similar to Pipers. Calypso, who was the only one that knew, went along with it all. Hazel kept smiling and congratulating us, Leo pretended to be a proud father watching his kids grow up, Jason just shook his head and said "I knew it! I knew it!". Frank was totally in shock. He kept saying how he never saw it coming, to which Leo repsoned, "Really? Because everyone else did!"
I automatically felt a relief fall off my shoulders. I was so scared they were going to judge me, and now I honestly couldn't remember why. Instead, they were so supportive and happy. I never felt that with my old friend group. When we started the show again, I sat on Percy's lap, resting my head against his shoulder.
"This is so nice," He whispered in my ear. I couldn't help but smile, because it was nice. It was the best feeling in the world. That night I couldn't stop grinning when I went to bed, thinking about all the things I could finally do with Percy now infront of our friends. It was going to be the best week ever.
The next morning I woke up abruptly to someone shaking my shoulder. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw Percy standing above me grinning. I groaned and threw my pillow at him. "What are you doing?"
"Shh!" He whispered. He was wearing sweats and a sweatshirt with adorable bedhead. "Piper's still asleep."
"Like she should be. It's 6 in the morning! Why are you here?" I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.
"The beach is beautiful right now and I didn't want to go alone. Besides, you haven't been down yet," He grabbed my hand and housted me out of bed.
"You're annoying," I grumbled as I slipped on a sweatshirt over my sports bra and spandex and my crocs.
He just laughed and we snuck out of the room. We held hands as we walked down the stairs and out the door towards the beach. The cold ocean air hit me as soon as I walked out the door causing me to recoil a little bit. The sun wasn't even up yet and I missed the warmth of my cozy bed. Percy excitedly pulled me down the winding sand path towards the beach. It was a long beach and on a private island, so we pretty much had it to ourselves, except for the next door neighbors who had two little kids. It wasn't until we got to the bottom that I realized he had brought two blankets and pillows. He layed one on the ground and we both sat on it, as he pulled the second on top. I cuddled into his chest, feeling the comfort of the up-down of his breathing. He wrapped his arms around me and stroked my back. Screw my bed- this was way better.
"See," He said, gazing up at the stars with me. "Isn't this nice?"
"Hmm," I sighed into him and moved in closer. He smelled like chlorine and cookies, and strangely comforting smell.
"The sun is coming up," Sure enough it was. The sky was soon full of bright oranges, pinks, and purples. The water was suddenly much bluer and the whitecaps seemed to get bigger. In the distance you could see a cruise ship gliding across the water. Percy pointed to our left. "Look- a pod of dolphins!"
I sat up and saw them, about 15 or 20, swimming in the water, jumping in and out of the waves. I looked at Percy. "Is that what you look like when you swim?"
"Totally. That's why I'm so much faster than everyone. They just haven't figured out the right technique yet," Percy sat up with me and put an arm around me. "I'm glad we told everyone. I knew you just needed time to figure out what you wanted."
I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I'm glad we told everyone too. Well really, you should thank Piper. She forced it out of me."
"I'm sure she knew we liked each other before we even did." Then we kissed for what seemed like forever. But this kiss was different. Somehow it was softer and more intimate, more special than the ones we had shared previously. With my eyes closed I took in every little detail: the way the wind whipped against our faces, the way his lips felt against mine, and way his hand brushed my back. I never wanted it to end. When we finally pulled apart, the sun was all the way up and so were the rest of our friends, all standing on the deck and wolf whistling.
Later that afternoon we all went to the beach together. I wore a cute white romper and birkenstocks with a light blue bathing suit underneath, my hair tied up in a loose bun. Percy, Piper, and Leo were the first in the water. Jason and I laughed as Leo got hit by a huge wave and dragged underwater until he reached shore and came up spluttering. Percy and Piper started surfing and were naturals. Everyone watched them for a short bit, amazed by their technique and ease.
Hazel and I made a sand castle, using a few buckets and shovels we found in the garage. We had already planned out a drawbridge, moat, and a huge wall by the time Calypso joined. By the end we had constructed a masterpiece complete with seaweed hanging from the sides of the castle. Jason and Frank had disappeared a few minutes ago, most likely to bring lunch for everyone. After we had finished our castle, we laid out on the sand, trying to tan. When I finally began to feel my skin start to burn a little, I was startled as someone lifted me and ran towards the beach.
"Percy!" I shrieked, laughing. "Put me down!"
"Nope!" He laughed, running faster. He finally set me down, my feet in the cold ocean.
"Augh! It's so cold!"
He grabbed my hand and pulled me further into the ocean. "Come on, let's go further out. It's more fun."
It was true. I had never been much of a beach person before, so I didn't really know what you even did when swimming in the ocean but Percy quickly taught me how much fun it could be. We went out deep, almost so that we couldn't touch, right to where the waves were breaking. Right as they were about to break on us, Percy would grab my hand and we would dive underneath them. Everytime I would get a rush of adrenaline, wondering if we would make it or get swept back to shore. Sometimes we would go out further, to where our feet couldn't touch the ground and backfloat over the waves. After a few minutes, I wasn't cold anymore.
When we went back to shore, I tried to teach Percy how to do a handstand on the sand. He may be an excellent athlete and could even do a backflip, but his handstands lacked any talent.
"No, Percy," I rolled my eyes at his antics. He was currently doing the worm. "Stop. Use the momentum from kicking off and hold yourself up on your hands." I then demonstrated a perfect handstand and held it for 20 seconds before going back down.
He tried again, kicking harder this time off the ground. He almost had it, but went too far and fell straight on his back, coughing with the wind knocked out of him.
"Oh God, Percy!" I laughed breathlessly. "Are you hurt?"
"Only my dignity," I helped pull him up and brushed the sand out of his unruly hair. "How 'bout we be done for now?"
"Quitter."
"You are a bully," Percy pulled me in for a quick kiss before we headed back for the rest of our friends. Piper and Jason were making out on a towel, Hazel and Frank were being cute as always, and Leo and Calypso were fighting friendly about something dumb. I smiled at Percy as we ate our sandy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He opened his mouth and showed me the mushed up food inside it. I laughed and threw sand at him, getting it all inside his sandwich.
"Oh, you are going to regret that!" He laughed and got up and started to run at me. I screamed and ran as fast as I could down the beach and into the water. When he caught up to me, he tackled me into the water and and both plunged underneath. When we finally emerged, we were both laughing our heads off.
I splashed water at him. "You are such a seaweed brain!"
He drew me in for what felt like the hundreth kiss of the week. I secretly hoped for a hundred more. "Not as much as you are a wise girl."
All in all it was an amazing trip. We spent the rest of the week on the beach constantly, whether we were in the water, making a sandcastle, or roasting marshmallows. It was amazing. I felt so at home and comfortable the whole time. And any time Percy and I got to be alone ended with a lot of kissing and snuggling. The teasing from the rest of the group didn't even bug me. I was so happy and content to just be there, living life to the fullest with the people who mattered the most to me.
When we finally got home, dreading the week of school we had ahead of ourselves, Percy and I agreed that we didn't have to hide anything at school. Not even glares from Thalia could stop me from being happy. Little did I know that I was about to have a huge secret revealed to me that I never would have expected, and would change Percy and I's relationship forever.