A-N: This chapter is quite a bit less… Rated M… than the last one. I tried to go for a less hardcore chapter. These types of fanfictions are my favorite, as they are pretty relatable to a lot of teenagers. If you are younger than 12, I suggest you don't read a lot of my work, especially if you're not into this kinda stuff. Thanks, and enjoy!
After a long winter, Percy was ready to finally get to camp. If he had to wait any longer, he thought he'd explode. As soon as his taxi arrived on the street outside of Goode, butterflies started a war in his stomach. He couldn't help but get overly excited to see all of his friends, particularly one of them. Gods, he felt like it'd been forever since he saw everyone. He told the driver to take him to a location near Half-Blood Hill. Not long after, Percy was walking on the soft grass of Camp Half-Blood. Everyone was either already arguing with each other over last summers disputes, or grinning from ear to ear, excited to see their friends again. He scanned the camp, or at least what was in his view. He didn't yet see the one he needed to. The hole in his heart had not yet filled. He walked forward, slowly, trying to think of something genius to say to her. When he was unable to find her, at first he felt a small panic attack start in his brain. Is she skipping camp this summer? He thought. They were seventeen, so it was doubtful Chiron would allow it.
Speaking of which, Percy would be turning eighteen in a few months. He wondered if maybe she just got stuck in traffic, that is if her dad drove her. She hadn't gotten her license yet, but last summer she had told him that she planned to. He focused back onto the current situation, and decided that he would just peek his head into the Athena Cabin, to see if she was in there. He figured she would be outside on the first day, especially since it was so nice out. Then again, it wouldn't surprise him if she was nose-deep into one of her, boring to him, architecture books. Just as he had suspected, Annabeth was sitting cross-legged on her bed, reading some book called The History of San Francisco Architecture. As he walked in, she hadn't even noticed him until he came right up beside her, which kind of disappointed him. She glanced up from her book, and smiled. He smiled back, and she went back to her book. Percy was so stunned he didn't even bother to question her, he just walked out, making sure his footsteps made it sound like he was angry. Annabeth glanced back up, wondering what she did wrong.
Percy stormed off to his cabin, the Poseidon Cabin, and flopped down onto his bed, on the verge of tears. He didn't want to talk to anyone, especially Annabeth. How could she just go back to her book, without a word, like it's more important to her than I am? He thought. He decided to push the thought away, trying not to make himself any more angry than he already was. He tried, but it wouldn't escape his mind. He was trying to decide which he was more, angry, disappointed, or just sad. He started to hear a high pitched ringing in his right ear, and he knew that he was about to pass out. He'd had this feeling before, when he watched a doctor show. You'd think as a demigod, he could handle blood more. Normally he could, but on that particular episode, there was A LOT. But this time there was no blood, and he wasn't sure why she was feeling light headed. Maybe it was because he was going to emotionally explode, because he felt like this. He had just gotten ignored by the only person in the world that he cared about more than himself, besides his mother, obviously.
He heard a knock on his cabin door, and thought that it was probably Chiron wondering why he wasn't at Archery. He was wrong. Annabeth let herself in, ignoring Percy's angry grunt when he saw her. She walked up to his bedside, and stared at him for a good fifteen seconds. Afterwards, she asked, "What?" He stared back, trying to figure out why on earth she was unable to see what she had done. He looked down, trying to break their locked eyes. He turned over and tried to ignore the fact that she was still there. He closed his eyes, pushing himself to go to sleep. He knew that Chiron would be around soon to keep him busy, no doubt Annabeth would tell him something was wrong. Chiron would do anything to keep the campers happy, especially Percy, since they have grown to be good friends over the years of saving the world too many times. Lost in his thoughts, he almost forgot that Annabeth was still staring at him. He knew she would stay there all day if she had to. She was too persistent to give up, on anything, ever. He turned his head around, trying to get a good look at her. He realized that his head couldn't turn 180 degrees very well, so he was forced to completely flip over.
She didn't say anything, just kept staring. Percy knew what she was doing. She was trying to force him to talk. As much as he didn't want to give in to her tricks, he felt the need to tell her how selfish it was of her to ignore him completely for a book. As he told her, her cheeks turned ghostly white, like what she had done had only just hit her. She didn't know what to say, so she just started crying. As much as Percy thought she deserved it, he couldn't help but feel bad. If she really hadn't even thought anything wrong, maybe she didn't mean any harm. She sat down on his bed, and continued to sob. Percy couldn't stand to see her like this, but he was still slightly furious, so he said, "It's ok, maybe I overreacted." He got up from his bed, her hand in his. He pulled her up and dragged her out of the cabin. They walked together through a trail in the woods. Percy had made the trail the previous summer by having Nico use his dead powers to kill all of the grass to form a small pathway through the woods, with Chiron's permission of course. Percy and Annabeth veered off the trail about a quarter mile down. Percy sat down in the grass, pulling Annabeth, still slightly crying, down next to him. Percy laid down in the grass, extending his limbs to stretch, and then put his arm behind Annabeth's head, who laid in the grass a mere few inches next to him. His anger had dissipated, and he now got that feeling he got every summer he came back to the camp. He couldn't explain it, but it was definitely a good feeling. He was finally back, after a winter that was pretty rough on him.
Annabeth went to a completely different school, and between school and their schoolwork, they had no time whatsoever to do anything together. Now that he thought about it, it had been almost nine months since he even talked to Annabeth. His anger level raised just slightly, thinking about how the first time the saw each other in nine months was ruined when he was utterly ignored. He could tell Annabeth was thinking the same exact thing, as tears started to stream down her face again. He leaned over and kissed her. That seemed to help, as it brought a smile to her face. "Don't worry about it, really, it's not that big of a deal. Honestly, it's better that you were reading that book anyways. You're going to be an amazing architect someday. Not that you already aren't. I mean… Uh…" Percy realized he really screwed that last part up. Annabeth let out a half-hearted laugh. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain." She replied. He smiled. He was just happy that she was happy now. They laid there, and eventually fell asleep. Percy woke up with a start unable to breath. He realized where he was, and he looked to his left. Annabeth was still sleeping, but it was dark out. For some reason, he felt that it wasn't a good idea to sleep in the woods. He shook her awake. It was dark out, but he could tell it had only just gotten dark. Or maybe it was just early morning, he thought. As Annabeth woke, she started screaming. Percy jumped and tried to calm her down, telling her that it was ok. She eventually calmed down, and told him that she was having a very bad dream. She put heavy emphasis on the 'very'. He walked her back to his Cabin, but as he walked through the door, he tumbled to the ground. He felt a sudden tidal wave of tiredness flow through him, and he fell asleep right there, on the floor.
When he woke up, Annabeth was lying right on top of him, their legs somehow tangled. He struggled to get himself up without waking her, but it was nearly impossible. She woke, and when she did, she did not look happy. "That was an uncomfortable sleep." She complained. "What happened?" Percy replied. Annabeth went on to tell him how he passed out right on the floor, but she didn't want to move him, incase she woke him up. Instead, she decided to sleep on the floor next to him. Percy wondered how the managed to get all tangled up, but he let the thought slide. He was starting to think that Annabeth didn't only sleep by his side. He smiled at the thought, and she looked at him, with that wondering look in her eyes. He asked why she didn't go back to the Athena Cabin, and she didn't reply. She sat there for a minute. Percy assumed she was trying to make up some excuse to explain why. She didn't. "Because you looked lonely" She replied. She winked at him, and Percy blushed. He didn't press her with more questions, but one hundred thousand more ran through his head. He was just happy to be with her, and back at Camp. She ran her hand through his hair, got up, and walked away. Percy sat there for another hour, sitting on the floor, not sure how he felt; awestruck or depressed. Probably a little bit of both, he thought. He was sad that she just got up and left, but awestruck with the fact that she slept, no, cuddled, with him that night. He became a bit self-conscious, when he remembered that he most likely drooled all over the floor. He looked down, surprised to see no sign of any drool on the floor.
He smiled, and thought: This is going to be a great summer.