Chapter 22
"Red, white, blue's in the skies. Summer's in the air and baby heaven's in your eyes." Lana del Rey, 'National Anthem'

Annabeth

I take a swig from a bottle of water. It's dark now, and the fireworks should start soon. Percy and I finally got out of the pool, dripping water from the ends of our hair. I vow to kill him once the party's over. The Demigods started playing their own music about twenty minutes ago, after the party died down a bit. Hazel comes to sit on the deck chair beside me.

"Hiya, Annabeth. Some party, huh?"

"Yeah. A bit much, though." She nods in agreement.

There's a silence, and it feels choking. I like Hazel, but she's a quiet person, and I'm not one to start conversations.

Before either one of us can think of something else to say, Piper and Silenna are gathering our attention. "Okay, who wants to play Truth or Dare?" They ask. Percy comes and takes my hand.

"Now might be the time to escape, unless you'd like to spill every secret you have to the public."

I shudder at the thought and follow him through he trees. If only he knew what secrets I kept locked away. If only they all knew. I navigate around a fallen tree branch. "Where are we going?" My clothes have dried, and I'm barefooted. "It's almost time for the fireworks."

Percy doesn't say anything, just speeds up the pace.

I toy with the idea that he's gong to murder me, but erase the thought as quickly as it comes. This is Percy we're talking about, here. He'd wait awhile before murder.

The dirt underneath my feet has changed; once a dry, packed earth, now rocky and sloping downwards.

There's a reflection of light in the dark. We're approaching water. The moon glows, an orb in the sky and a white streak across the surface of the water. There's a dark shape floating on the surface. A boat.

"Your chariot awaits, my lady." Percy says, holding my hand so I can climb in, and then he follows.

We sit on the rough wooden boards that stand as seats. I'm waiting for something, but I'm not sure what that something is. I guess I'm waiting for Percy to speak, and it takes a moment before he does.

"Um, Annabeth. So..."

"So..." I'm still waiting for coherent speech, and it doesn't appear to come. It's a moment of awkward silence; I really thought we were past this. Percy just stares at his feet.

The first firework goes off, causing the sky to light up in a parade of red sparks, followed by white ones. They fizz, then go out.

Percy takes this time to speak. "So, Annabeth. I... I wanted to say how um, glad I am that you came. This summer's been weird-" I raise my eyebrow. His words stumble as he tries to explain himself. "Not, exactly, a bad weird, just... Different. Good different, not bad different..." I start laughing. I can't help it, he's adorable when he's flustered. He sighs. "I'm really bad at this."

I laugh. "It's okay. It's cute. Well, I'm glad I came, too. I hated you when I first came. You ripped me from the only house I've ever known-" I say house because Carol was never home. To me, home was where people you loved and people who loved you were. For me, home was wherever Thalia was. It still is. "And took me from my dad. My life got ripped to pieces, and it was your fault."

Percy looks like a kicked puppy. "I'm really sor-"

I hold up my hand. "No, let me finish. I hated you until I realized- you didn't want me here, either. It isn't your fault, and I was blaming you for nothing." I take a breath. "Besides. Look where it ended up." I'm meaning our friendship... Maybe I mean something else. "For the longest time, since Dad married Carol, I haven't trusted anyone Thalia. You are now the second person on that list." And I do trust Percy, with anything.

He meets my eyes. Opens his mouth to say something, probably about how I'm being a sap. But no, it's rushed and I barely catch what he says. "You can slap me for this later."

Underneath the sparks illuminating the night sky, Percy Jackson presses his soft lips to mine. My first kiss couldn't have been more perfect.

After a few seconds, he pulls back. "Sorry, I shouldn't have-" I interrupt his 'that was a mistake speech' with my mouth, and we share another kiss. And another and another and another.

It could have been ten minutes, it could have been three hours. I can't tell how much time has passed, only that there was Percy. He looks at me, my head resting on his shoulder. I'm half asleep. "We should be getting back."

I scrunch my forehead. "Don't wanna." He's right, though I'd never tell him so. I lean up to kiss him again, and he obliges, though jus barely.

"Annabeth," he places a finger on my nose. "We need to go back. There are at least sixty people who could be out looking for us." There's actually seventy-two, but a dozen doesn't really make a difference at this point. "Come on."

I groan, but accept his help to get out of the boat, still tied to the dock. I don't know what he had planned; I think I liked the turn of events better.

We make it to the house, and there's still people milling about. No Frank or Hazel, and most of the families with younger kids have left. Leo looks up at our arrival.

"Hey, lovebirds. Where've you been?"

I sigh. This is going to take some explaining.

Percy
I had an elaborate plan for this evening. A speech and everything. I was fine when I was leading her to the boat, but that was only because I couldn't see her well in the darkness. But the second we approached the boat, I was a bumbling mess.

The way Annabeth's eyes lit up at the sight of fireworks was fascinating, and a million doubts crossed over my mind: why would she choose you? Someone as wonderful as her could do so much better than an imbecile like yourself. She'll never love you.

She probably thinks I'm an idiot.

I only made it worse when I started to insult her. Not like I meant it, but nothing was coming out right. Inwardly, I was cursing myself to the pits of Tartarus. Stupid, stupid, stupid! But then Annabeth did something marvelous and if it weren't for her tone I'd question if she was lying. She called me (or at least my confused and rather shitty speech) cute. Most importantly of all, she said she trusted me, which means a lot. I know she only trusts Thalia, and adding me to the list is a huge honor that I really don't deserve. I don't deserve her.

I don't deserve the amazing mind, the gray eyes and the way they light up when she's enthusiastic about something. I don't deserve her hugs or her innermost thoughts. I don't deserve any of it.

And yet I still wanted more.

She was going to kill me for this, I just knew it. But consequences be damned, I was going to do it. I was going to kiss her.

I was expecting something bad, like a slap. At least some yelling, maybe a kick. Never would I have foreseen the turn of events.

I pull back and my eyes meet Annabeth's. They are wide, questioning, shocked. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have-" I try to explain, but she grabs my shirt and pulls me close for another kiss. I may not deserve it, but holy Hades, I'll take it.