Percy Jackson had gotten a phone.
That one sentence was the main reason for Annabeth's anxiety right now. It was the beginning of April, two months before the end of the school year. She had gone to camp for Spring Break, along with Percy and a lot of their other friends. It was almost depressing to see them all together again, the last time they would all be together before… everything.
She and Percy hadn't talked much since the end of last summer. She still felt guilty, but then she reminded herself that they both should feel guilty, that they both ruined whatever had been between them that summer. She, with her stupid kiss, and he with his inept ability to not be able to take a hint, to not be able to come find her and just talk, talk things out like adults. Except they weren't adults, which made their whole situation even more messed up.
In the first few months of the school year, they'd IM'd once. Percy had a huge test coming up in math right before winter break, and he had desperately needed help. So, she had walked him through everything he needed to know and he had called her a couple days before Christmas to let her know he had gotten a B.
"Annabeth!" He had said, excitedly jumping on his bed like a three year old, and despite Annabeth's crazy feelings she just had to laugh. She needed these moments to remind herself that they were best friends before anything.
"Hmm." She hummed with a smile on her face, as she took a sip from her blue water bottle.
"I got a B!" Percy screamed, and she shrieked and they were so happy. She told him she was proud of him and the smile she earned was enough to make her endless hours of tutoring worth it. Ever since then, Percy had called to get help with math homework, but the calls were slowly becoming less about math, and more about their lives; what they did at school, how their families were doing, how they were doing, physically and mentally. And just like that, her feelings for Percy Jackson came tumbling back, in a rush, in a crazy inexplicable insane rush.
Here they were, a spring breeze blowing through their hair. He was at least three inches taller than her now, and his hair had gotten a little longer, and it just made him look so much older and mature and she was ten times more attracted to him right now than she had ever been. Somehow in these past few months, Percy had grown up. She knew it had to happen at some point. After all, she had grown a lot this past year, in different areas other than height. It was unexplainably warm for March 23rd, but she was loving the seventy-five degree weather with shorts and a t-shirt on.
Their first night was peaceful. They played Capture the Flag, and the Athena cabin had won. Whenever she and Percy were on the same team (he traded every week) they had a ninety-seven percent chance of winning. Annabeth knew this was a true number – she had calculated it last summer. He had called her a nerd when she told him, but his smile betrayed him. Percy and her might have fought all day long and had the weirdest, most complicated relationship at this camp, but when they were in battle together they were a well-oiled machine. They had pizza for dinner, and as they were sitting by the campfire late at night, flames bursting a bright orange, she could smell it on his breath as she sat close to him. For the warmth, she told herself. The camp stayed out there until past eleven, which was way later than they were allowed in the summer, but rules were thrown out the window at gatherings like this. The sun had dipped down so many hours ago, and Annabeth was shivering. He wordlessly slipped off his sweatshirt, and she tried to ignore the way his shirt rode up and she got a first class glimpse at the defined v that led deeper, except she couldn't ignore that and if it hadn't been so dark out the whole camp would have witnessed her blush. Percy, thank the gods, didn't notice, and she took his sweatshirt with a quiet thanks. Campers sang silly songs and she got that similar warm, fuzzy feeling she always got at this time, when she knew that this was her home and she was totally and completely accepted here. She yawned, and Percy slipped an arm over her shoulders and she gladly snuggled into his shoulder, the butterflies in her stomach going absolutely nuts right now. It didn't matter though, because she was safe and warm and home.
The second day was cooler, and Percy and she took the chance to spar the whole day. They went crazy, laughing and spinning in graceful circles – well, at least she was graceful. Percy was more of a clumsy fighter, but it was okay because he had saved her butt more times than she could count. They were sweating, Annabeth's hair sticking to her neck, her back, her cheeks. Percy's hair spun wildly, droplets of the water he had recently poured on his head spinning back on Annabeth. She started to zone in on crazy things, things she had seen before, but had never seen them in this way before. His eyes sparkled in the sun, and she noticed little golden flakes spread throughout them. She noticed the way his arm muscles rippled when he thrust his sword at her, and she almost didn't get her knife up to block him. She noticed his slightly chapped, bright pink lips, and the way he licked them every few seconds. She did not notice, however that he had disarmed her, and now had her pinned down on the ground, propping himself up on his elbows, grinning and she just had to grin back, even though he had won that round. They both realized the position they were in right then, and Annabeth had the sudden urge to kiss him, hard and passionate because she was flooded with teenage hormones, but he coughed nervously and rolled off her quickly, and she didn't know whether to be disappointed or not. They continued fighting, pressing the other so hard, but every so often they'd distract each other by doing the simplest things. Annabeth, flipping her hair and Percy noticing her porcelain smooth neck, or Percy's shirt riding up and Annabeth getting a glimpse of those abs she was longing to touch.
On the third day, Percy had woken her up in her cabin, putting a finger to his lips. It was 6:30, and Annabeth complained and complained but she eventually let Percy drag her out of bed. She slipped on his sweatshirt and his gaze was intense, focused, something that never happened, but she tried not to think about it.
"Seaweed Brain." Annabeth said, shaking her head once they were outside and had been successful in not waking up any of her siblings. "What are we doing?"
Percy just smirked, and grabbed her hand, and Annabeth's heart raced. "You'll see." He led her down to the beach, the sand soft under her toes – she had forgot to grab shoes in the rush.
They walked for what felt like hours, but was probably only about thirty minutes. Time was always a weird concept with ADHD. His hand still hadn't left hers, and he swung them carelessly. The wind blew his hair, each strand flying wildly in a different direction, and when the sun hit them just right, Annabeth thought she might die from the butterflies in her stomach. They didn't talk, just enjoyed each other's company. This had become easier and easier to do the more they knew each other.
A rock came into view, one that apparently Percy had spent multiple days at. It was out of sight from the camp, the waves rushing onto the beach. Annabeth had never found the same calmness in the sea as Percy had, but as she stood here with him, his features as relaxed as they had ever been in the past 9 months, Annabeth felt it. Or, maybe it was just Percy who was making her calm.
They sat together, on his rock. It was flat, and surprisingly comfortable for being so hard.
"I wanted to watch the sunrise with you." He whispered. They always whispered when it was just the two of them. Annabeth thought it maybe had to do with them being so close, so intimate. Most likely, they were just weird.
The sky definitely put on a show that morning. Purple, pink, orange, yellow. Every color violently streaked across the sky. She decided it was representative of her feelings. Crazy, wild, beautiful, insane, colorful, passionate.
"I'm glad you woke me up for this." She whispered back, and Percy chuckled. He never let go of her hand.
On the fourth day, they fought. They were always fighting, so much that it barely meant anything anymore. Percy had gotten dish duty since his cabin hadn't been clean for inspection. Annabeth was annoyed that they couldn't spend the day together.
"You're a child." She had told him.
"You're insufferable." He yelled back.
"You're an idiot." She screamed.
"Rachel, doesn't get mad at me when I do stupid things." Oh, fuck, that was the wrong thing to say, and Annabeth felt that too comfortable jealous feeling stirring in her stomach, and she let loose a whole lot of words that Percy didn't deserve to be called, but she just couldn't help it. How could he be so blind?
She ended her argument with an intelligent. "And I – I just hate you!" He didn't even register what she had just said, standing there in shock after her speech.
"I hate cleaning!" He had said back, and she started laughing. Which, of course, made things worse. So, they stormed around like the children they were all day. Percy finished in an hour, and instead of talking – they were terrible at that – they spent the day avoiding each other. Annabeth hung out with her siblings, Percy hung out with Beckendorf, and they thought about how much more fun they would be having if they just made up. Of course, they didn't. They were both way too stubborn for that. It was one of the things that made Annabeth take a step back and think about if they really could work this out, if they really could be together in the way she wanted them to be. At least she thought she wanted that. You couldn't really know until you tried.
That was the scariest thing about love. Annabeth was a planner, and love was a risk. Annabeth hated risks. She didn't take risks in battle, with her family, with her schoolwork. Percy had always been a risk, and she knew that. So far, though, it had paid off. Percy was the best and the worst thing to ever happen to her. Maybe that's what love was. She didn't know, which frustrated her to no end. Annabeth hated not knowing. She wondered if she would ever know what love was. She knew she would fall in love, but did anybody ever really know what it was?
Dinner came and went, capture the flag was played two nights in a row, just because they didn't have to follow rules as much in the off season. Annabeth almost skipped campfire. Her siblings were irritating her, Percy was mad at her, and she really didn't feel like singing stupid camp songs tonight.
Of course, she was glad she didn't. She wasn't really surprised he came and sat by her. They were going to make up at some point, and he apologized ten times the amount she ever did. What did surprise her though, was the arm that wrapped around her waist – he had never gone lower than her shoulders - and his deep voice that whispered in her ear, making her shiver. Of course, Percy thought it was because she was cold so he offered her his sweatshirt. Annabeth took it, only because there was nothing better than cuddling up in Percy's freshly worn sweatshirt at the end of the day.
"I'm sorry." He had whispered.
"It's okay." Annabeth said. "I'm sorry too." She looked up at him.
"So we're good?" He asked.
"We were never bad." She whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. Apparently, they were both feeling brave tonight.
"Good." He said, and kissed the top of her head. Annabeth smiled despite herself, and snuggled in closer, enjoying his warmth.
On their fifth and final day, Annabeth and Percy ran around camp, packing everything into one day. They started with the canoe lake. It was a beautiful day out. The sun hadn't gone away the whole week, and Annabeth was starting to wonder if Chiron was helping out with the weather. Percy and her were laughing and joking together as he got out a canoe for them.
Naturally, he tripped over himself as he pulled out the oars, and Annabeth doubled over with laughter, her stomach hurting. She saw Percy clutching the edge of the canoe in a fit of laughter, but his face was bright red. "Smooth." He commented, and Annabeth burst into another round of giggles. Eventually, they got themselves together, and climbed in, Annabeth in the front and Percy in the back. She leaned back, closing her eyes and letting the soft breeze blow through her blonde curls. Camp was so peaceful and beautiful and Annabeth never wanted to leave this little bubble.
By the time she had opened her eyes, Percy had made it to their favorite spot in less than five minutes. She was about to ask how he did that, then mentally slapped herself. How could the thought of her best friend being the son of Poseidon slip her mind? But it did, all the time. Maybe it had to do with her wishing they didn't live these lives, this life where you were almost dying every five minutes, where you had to watch your friends die right in front of your eyes. Maybe it was a selfish gap in memory, one where she could momentarily forget that he was supposed to die this summer, and how if he was just a normal demigod maybe she could tell him how she felt.
He stopped where the creek met the lake, the calm rush of the circle turning into a babbling stream, water skipping over the rocks lodged in the ground. They had come here a couple years ago, after their second quest together, to talk. It had kind of become their spot, their little oasis from everything going on.
It was hard, knowing that the whole camp was depending on the two of them. Annabeth couldn't be weak, she couldn't shed a tear, she couldn't dwell on their problems. She had to be a leader, cunning, smart, a warrior, beautiful, perfect, everything the camp was expecting her to be. With Percy, though, she never had to be any of that. They leaned on each other, probably too much than what was healthy, but it didn't matter, it couldn't matter right now. He was the one person she could be real with, who she could talk about all her issues with. He never judged, he never made fun of her.
Percy had always joked that Annabeth was perfect, a little machine. Sure, maybe she was 'perfect' in a monotone, robot kind of way, but Percy… Percy was the perfect human. A true hero.
The week was over too soon, and before she knew it, they were piling into camp SUV's and being taken to JFK. The thought of returning to San Francisco made Annabeth want to cry, but she knew she had to, at least finish out the school year. Next year, she was definitely staying in New York. Whether it was for Percy, or for camp, or for the opportunities here, she didn't know yet. She just knew this was where she was always the happiest.
She and Percy hugged goodbye, holding on just a little too long. Aphrodite campers were giggling up a storm in the corner, but they never noticed. In fact, they hadn't noticed the stares all week long. They really hadn't noticed anything other than each other. She felt tears spring into her eyes as she stepped away, and when he gave her a small wave as she boarded the plane, she thought that maybe he had some tears too. Hopefully.
Home seemed bleak and boring, but it was home all the same. It pained her to say it, but she had gotten used to some of the comforts. Her all white room on the top floor that calmed her the minute she walked in. Her stepmom's lasagna. Her brothers fighting over Lego's in the living room, the quiet hum of the TV on as her dad watched the latest sport's game.
She started to miss Percy almost instantly, but what was she going to do? Call him five hours after she had last seen him? They hadn't ever IMed more than once or twice a week, but now she just kept getting the urge to talk to him. She wanted to tell him the story of how her brother's had barged into her room five minutes ago, wanting to know all the details of her week at camp; they had just found out about her being a demigod a couple months ago, and pestered her with questions constantly. She wanted to tell him how her family had ordered from her favorite Thai place to surprise her when she got home. She wanted to share her life with him, and it pained her to not be able to.
It had been a week since spring break. Friday night (or morning, if you wanted to be technical), Annabeth got a text that night from a number she didn't know. She was laying on her stomach, in cotton shorts and Percy's sweatshirt, bare feet kicked up in the air. Her favorite architecture book was laid out before her, and it was late almost five in the morning. She had a nightmare, and she couldn't go back to sleep after. It happened often, and Annabeth had learned to go days without a good night's sleep.
She grumbled, grabbing her phone off her nightstand. Who could be bothering her at this godly hour. She loved morning, mostly because nobody bothered her. It was just her and the lights of San Francisco, curled up in blankets and coffee and books. It was her most productive time of the day.
Oh, fuck. Her stomach stirred, and she felt like she couldn't breathe, and she didn't know what to do, and she realized why somebody would be bothering her at this time, because they were awake right now, because it was a normal hour for them. She stared at those three words, for god knows how long before she actually registered them.
Hey, Wise Girl.
And wow, her fingers flew.