Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Chapter 4: Heartache

Percy's POV

I awoke the next morning and found a letter from my dad newly delivered on my desk. It was good of Hermes to let me sleep. I was up late finishing my plans and I went for a swim then mailed the letter to my dad. I opened the letter from my dad and read it.

Dear Percy,

I'm so glad that you have completed your plans. All of the details have been completed. You will find the construction equipment as well as Atlantean craftsman at the two dedicated sites, plus a little surprise to help winter the ladies.

Love

Poseidon

Dad came through again. I grabbed my plans out of the safe and got dressed. I didn't have time to go to breakfast as I needed to get the construction under way. I ran to the other side of camp, behind the big house. You see behind the big house and down the hill was the beach and beyond that the ocean. It was still very early in the morning and that was good as I avoided the prying eyes of Annabeth. As I went down the hill on the other side of the big house I saw the sea and my heart skipped a beat. The water was beautiful today, with its greens and blues. The sun shined brightly on the surface and made the golden sand of the beach shine beautifully. Once down by the beach I saw the newly constructed pier with small boat marina. Sitting next to the pier was a huge boat house, it was most definitely large enough to handle the construction, but it would be a perfect place to winter the ships.

I ran to the boat house and opened the door. Standing in front of me was my brother Triton with twenty Atlantean ship craftsman. All the materials they needed were laid out behind them.

"Percy, how are you brother?" Triton asked.

"I'm doing great, now that you all are here." I said.

"Let's see your plans." Triton said.

I unrolled my plans and handed them to him. Triton looked at the two sets of plans carefully and smiled.

"Percy these are beautiful, the whole camps going to love them." Triton said.

"How long will it take to construct them?" I asked.

"Not long, we have the best ship builders in all of history. They'll have both ships built by tomorrow." Triton said proudly.

"That's incredible." I said.

"Percy you better take this last plan to the lake, you need to meet Tyson there." Triton said.

"I understand, thank you brother." I said as I ran out the door. I could hear Triton barking orders to the craftsman, "You heard both of these ships need to be built by tomorrow morning."

I ran back through camp and passed the Athena cabin as I made my way to the lake, I didn't even notice Annabeth sitting in the window staring gravely at me as I ran to the lake. As I approached the lake I saw a newly constructed boat house there. I ran to the boat house and knocked.

"Whose there, identify yourself." I heard Tyson say.

"Ty, its me your big brother." I said. The door opened and I walked inside, immediately the door closed behind me. I gave the plans to Tyson and his craftsman. I decided I would stay and help as this boat was my favorite design, for good reason that is.

Annabeth's POV

I hardly slept last night. I prayed to my mom and Poseidon that Percy wasn't cheating on me. Then I saw Percy run passed my cabin and he didn't even act like he noticed me looking out the window. I saw Thalia walk up to my cabin a few minutes later so I walked outside. I knew I had already missed breakfast, I wasn't hungry.

"I missed you at breakfast, wise girl." Thalia said trying to sound upbeat.

"I'm not hungry." I said.

"You look like Tartarus, do you know that?" Thalia asked.

"I know, I didn't sleep much last night." I said.

"Worried about Percy?" Thalia asked.

"Why are you worried about Percy?" A familiar voice said.

Thalia and I turned around to see Nico Di Angelo step out of the shadows, looking a little older and a little taller, but he was still the black haired, olive skinned boy I knew and that Thalia loved.

Thalia hugged him fiercely and then kissed him hungrily. When she finally broke away from him for air. Nico was stuck with a stunned and happy face. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the Athena cabin with Thalia right behind me.

"Annabeth, what are you doing?" Thalia asked.

"We're going to get some information from this friend of Percy." I said fiendishly.

I could see the scared look on Nico's face as he heard me say that.

"What what do you mean information?" Nico said nervously.

"Is Percy seeing another woman?" Thalia asked.

"What? Percy would never cheat on Annabeth." Nico said confidently.

I then proceeded to tell the son of Hades what Thalia and I had learned last night from the letter Percy was writing to his father.

"Why don't you IM your mom, Annabeth? You said that the letter mentioned that she and Theseus knew about it. Ask her if its true." Nico said.

"I can't do that, I'm not even sure if she knows everything and I don't want her to think that I would spy on my boyfriend, she would think I was some kind of a stalker." Annabeth said.

"But you did spy on Percy." Nico said.

"So, I needed to know what he was up to." I said.

"I don't understand women." Nico said.

"You don't have to understand us, you just need to do what we say, got it." I said threateningly.

"Alright, what do you want me to do?" Nico said with his hands raised in defeat.

"We want you to talk to Percy and find out what he's up to, got it." Annabeth said.

"Alright, alright, but I can tell you he's not a cheater." Nico said. Then he walked toward the Poseidon cabin and knocked on the door. When no one answered he just shook his head and walked to the lake.

Percy's POV

We had been working on the boat for three hours and it was already coming along nicely. Then I heard a knock on the boat house door.

"Who is it?" I yelled.

"Its me Nico, can I come in?" Nico said.

"No, I'll come out." I said, as I opened the door just enough to squeeze out without allowing anyone to see in.

"Hey, Nico what's up?" I asked.

"I could ask the same thing of you, when did camp get a boat house and what are you doing in it?" Nico asked.

"Well, it happens to be a project that I'm working on for Theseus and Poseidon. Its top secret." I said.

"Well did you tell Annabeth about it?" Nico asked.

"No, its going to be a surprise." I said.

"Well, she read some letter that you sent your dad and she thinks your cheating on her." Nico said.

"What? Thats crazy, when did she see that letter, I sent it through Hermes like two in the morning. Ah, crap she must have snuck in and read it when I went swimming last night." I said.

"Well, she's not convinced your cheating, but I have a feeling that Thalia has added to the whole paranoia. She has a real problem with jumping to conclusions. I'm sorry for that Percy." Nico said.

"Its not your fault, Annabeth should trust me more. Her curiosity is going to get her in trouble." I said.

"Well, what should I tell her, if I come back with no information she's going to kick my butt?" Nico said.

"Well, just tell her that you found me by the lake and that I wouldn't tell you what was going on at all. Its not that far from the truth." I said.

"Shouldn't I tell her that you're not cheating?" Nico asked.

"No, she needs to learn a lesson here, I think its high time the wise girl learned that curiosity is not always a good thing and that she needs to trust her boyfriend more." I said.

"Your sure about this?" Nico asked.

"Yes, now get outta here." I said. Nico ran away shaking his head. I went back into the boat house. I felt mad and hurt that Annabeth would even think I would cheat on her. I tried to clear those emotions away and concentrated on the construction project that was in front of me.

Annabeth's POV

Thalia and I sat in my cabin waiting for Nico to return, it seemed like forever until we heard him run up and open the cabin door. He walked in out of breath, we waited for him to catch his breath.

"Did you find him?" I asked.

"Yes, he was down by the lake." Nico said.

"What was he doing?" Thalia asked.

"No idea, he wouldn't tell me." Nico said.

"Did he say anything else?" I asked.

"No, not really he just told me to leave him alone, thats all." Nico said.

"See I told you he was acting strange, somethings going on." I said.

"Did you see anyone with him?" Thalia asked.

"No, I think he was by himself." Nico said.

"What do you mean, you think he was by himself?" I asked.

"Well, there is this boat house, I guess its new, he was inside it when I arrived at the lake." Nico said.

"So there could have been someone inside the boat house with him?" I asked.

"I guess there could be, but I didn't here anyone." Nico said.

"When did that boat house get built?" Thalia asked.

"That might be the special item that Percy talked about in his letter to Poseidon." I said.

"I guess thats possible." Thalia said.

The lunch bell rang, Thalia, Nico and I left my cabin and walked to the mess hall. We each sat at our assigned tables. Before anyone could eat a golden light appeared in front of the hearth and once it dissolved standing before us was Theseus, god of heroes, my stepfather.

"Welcome camper, I know that it is still early in the summer, but I want to thank those of you who have come back to camp early. Your dedication is inspiring. Now there are a lot of incredible things to do this summer and most of all I hope everyone is enjoying our new camp facilities. I would like to thank Annabeth Chase of the Athena cabin for designing incredible buildings and facilities. Lastly, I will remind everyone that as heroes we must remain vigilant in our duty to ourselves and to our fellow campers. Thank you and enjoy your lunch." Theseus said as he stepped forward and sat down between Malcolm and I. He gave both of us a big hug.

"I'm so glad to see both of you. You look great." Theseus said.

"Thank you, Theseus." Malcolm and I said at the same time.

"Theseus can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure my dear." Theseus said.

"Do you know what Percy's up to?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Theseus said hesitantly.

"He has been avoiding me for the last day and a half. I think he's up to something." I said.

"I'm sure he's fine, maybe he's just working on a project for his new school. He did mention something to me about some materials they sent him to go over." Theseus said.

I could tell Theseus knew more than he was telling, but I didn't press, you don't want to piss off a god, especially not the god of heroes.

"Well, I hope everything is alright." I said.

'I'm sure it is, now if you'll excuse me I need to sit over with Chiron and Mr. D. Both of you take care." Theseus said as he left our table and went over to sit down next to Chiron.

I barely ate my lunch as my mind was still racing with questions and thoughts about what Percy was up to. After lunch, I left the mess hall and I ran down to the lake. I wanted to see this boat house that Nico talked about. As I reached the lake I saw the new boat dock and sitting next to it on the edge of the lake was the boat house, it was huge compared to the dock. I couldn't believe it could just appear over night, it had to be the work of Poseidon. I though about knocking on the door at first, but then I had second thoughts, so I just sat down on the edge of the dock and kept an eye on the entrance to the boat house. After about an hour the door slowly opened and I saw Percy walk out, he was sweaty and covered in dust. He slowly closed the door and I swear I could here people working inside the boat house on something.

"Hey seaweed brain." I said, I thought Percy was going to jump out of his skin, I guess I surprised him, I laughed to myself, it served him right.

"Hey wise girl, have you been there very long?" Percy asked.

"Oh, about an hour." I said.

"Sorry, I missed breakfast and lunch, I lost track of time." Percy said, I bet he had, I thought.

"Perseus, are you going to tell me what you've been up to?" I asked, yes I used his full name for emphasis.

"Annabeth, all I can say is that I have a special project I'm working on for Poseidon and Theseus." Percy said evenly.

"So its a secret." I said accusingly.

"Yes, it is, they have asked me not to tell anyone the details, its a surprise for the camp." I said.

"Oh, so now its for the camp, its not for you?" I asked.

"What do you mean for me?" Percy asked.

"Come on, Percy I know about the special project, the tall girl, how she will change your life, I even know that my mom and Theseus approve of this project." I said, emphasizing the word project.

"So you have been spying on me, I guess Thalia's been helping as well? Percy asked, damn he's gotten too perceptive.

"Well, she's my friend and she doesn't think a good boyfriend should keep secrets." I said accusingly.

"I told you this is a secret project for my dad and brother, they asked me to take care of it and I'm proud that they trusted me to do it." Percy said defensively, I guess I hit a nerve.

"So I guess this secret project is more important to you than I am?" I asked.

"No its not, but they didn't want me to tell any campers because they didn't want the surprise to be ruined, thats all, please don't make a big deal about this." Percy said pleadingly.

"Me make a big deal about this, whose this tall girl that I read in your letter to your dad." I asked.

"You read the letter to my dad, that was private, why would you do that?" Percy asked.

"Well, I needed to see what you were up to." I said.

"Why can't you trust me?" Percy asked, I could hear anger starting to build in his voice.

"Don't bring this back on me, your the one that's keeping secrets, your the one thats lied." I said.

"I didn't lie to you, I avoided you so I wouldn't have to lie. I knew you would be too curious about what I was doing, but I never thought you would invade my privacy to quench your curiosity." Percy said, he sounded more hurt than sad now.

"Just tell me who the tall girl is Percy! Is that so tough!" I yelled.

Percy just looked at me like I was crazy.

"What's gotten in to you? Why are you acting this way?" Percy asked defensively.

"Why are you being so defensive?" I said.

"Annabeth Chase, what are you doing?" A voice yelled from behind me. I turned to see a very mad goddess of wisdom with a very disappointed looking god of heroes behind her.

"I'm looking for answers from a deceitful boyfriend." I said, I couldn't believe they were mad at me.

"Annabeth, why are you acting this way, this isn't like you?" Athena asked.

"What do you mean, you've always taught me to look for answers and to see through deceit and deception?" I said.

"Percy is not trying to deceive you nor hide things from you out of malice or hurtfulness. He was asked to work on a project for his father and brother. He was also told to keep it a secret." Athena said.

"The letter that I read it talked about a girl and he said he loved her." I said.

"Maybe not the best choice of words in a letter, but considering that Poseidon knew about the project and these things have regularly been called female its not out of the realm of the ordinary for these objects to be called a she." Athena said.

"Athena, thank you for defending me, but I don't know if I can live like this. I'm a hero and sometimes I will be asked to keep a secret or in this case to keep a secret in order to surprise people and to make them happy. Annabeth I love you, but I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me. Theseus, I'm sorry, I failed you on this project, please accept my apology." Percy said as he ran from the lake to his cabin, I could see the tears in his eyes, what just happened, I thought?

"Percy!" Athena and Theseus yelled after him, but he ran to fast for them to stop him.

"Mom, what just happened?" I asked.

"You mean you haven't figured it out, Percy just dumped you, I hope your satisfied." Athena said as she disappeared into a golden light.

Theseus just stood there looking at me and then he motioned for me to follow him. He walked to the boathouse and opened the door enough for the two of us to walk in. When we entered I saw Tyson and about ten craftsman, they looked like Atlanteans. They were working on a beautiful sail boat, it was close to being complete. Then Theseus pointed to the back of the boat and written in ancient greek letters was a name, my name, Annabeth.

"You see my dear, I asked Percy to design a sail boat for the lake and two sailing ships for the ocean. They were the first ships he ever designed and the tall girl he spoke of in the letter was this boat. I hope there is a lesson here for you, one that you can learn from. I'm sorry that this lesson had to come at such a high price." Theseus said as he disappeared into a golden light.

I walked outside and fell to my knees. I couldn't believe how stupid I had acted. I let my brain overrule my heart and in turn I let jealousy and anger get the best of me. I had just drove away the love of my life when he did nothing wrong. He had designed this beautiful boat for camp and he named it after me. He had done everything out of love and I ruined it. I had lost Percy, my seaweed brain.

I know this was a tough chapter to write, all good relationships have at least one rough spot, lets hope our two heroes can overcome this heartache.