3: I have a talk with the goddess of love

"Go, Percy, go!"

I didn't know if I was more nervous or annoyed. Nervous because this would be the first time I was going to talk to Annabeth after our break up and annoyed because of Nico's constant and unnecessary encouragement.

"C'mon, Percy! Just go with the plan. You got this!" he cried, bothering me to no end. The only reason why I didn't tell him off was because I knew he was rambling out of extreme edginess. The plan was to chat with Annabeth as naturally as possible during dinner and slowly bring Nico into the conversation so he got a chance to talk to her. It was rather a stupid plan but we couldn't think of anything else.

I got this, I told myself as I walked up to her. Her blond hair was exceptionally beautiful tonight. The way it reflected the light of the setting sun was gorgeous… Whoa, didn't I get over her? I halted. Wasn't I in love with Thalia?

Categorizing these thoughts as "friendly" and not as anything more, I continued on to the Athena table where she was sitting with her half-siblings. Nico gave me the thumbs up and a wide grin when I looked back for the last time.

"Hey, Annabeth," I called as quietly as possible so that others wouldn't hear, "you want to sit with me for dinner? I-I mean only if you w-want to…" I could've hit myself for stuttering like an idiot in front of her.

She turned to face me, looking startled. "Really? You're asking me?"

I wondered if I did something wrong. Maybe there was a rule saying that if a couple broke up, they couldn't eat with each other? "Only if you want to…" I murmured again.

Her sudden smile was dazzling and almost made my knees buckle from underneath me. Whoa, again. What was wrong with me? Why was my heart beating so fast all of a sudden? "Sure!" she accepted my request quite enthusiastically. My stomach did a little back flip as I cracked a wide smile.

Everyone was used to seeing us sitting together at meal times so nobody gave us any notice. After we got our food and offered a portion of it into the fire, we began to eat, with a little awkward space inbetween us that we were unaccustomed to. I tried my best to swallow down my food as my eyes goggled her eating so gracefully. I sat there hypnotized by the movement of her lips until I realized she was staring right back at me.

"Percy? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned about my sanity. I actually wasn't sure but I nodded anyway. Obviously awkward, she muttered, "You know you don't have to act nice to me just because we broke up… I mean this is nice of you but you don't have to ask me to eat with you out of pity. That hurts my pride." Her gray eyes stared intently into mine. I stared mesmerized.

"Percy? Are you listening?"

I shook my head to force myself to think straight. Annabeth frowned.

"I mean, yes, I was listening." I felt dazed and my vision became blurred. Suddenly, the temperature seemed to have gone up by a hundred degrees. "Sorry, Annabeth. I'm feeling a bit sick," I explained myself, not knowing if that was the right word for how I felt. More like weird.

Her eyebrows came together and her eyes got all big with worry. Gosh, she was cute. "Are you okay? Percy, you're sweating like crazy!" she exclaimed. She began wiping my forehead with her napkin but I couldn't concentrate on anything. The smell of hamburgers and pizza transformed into a lovely combination of roses, lilies, daisies, and other tantalizing aromas I couldn't name.

"Hey, loser," a familiar mean voice said from behind me. I turned and gasped.

It was my old enemy Clarisse, daughter of Ares, my least favorite cousin. After we had fought side-by-side two years ago, she had gone back to her nasty self, although admittedly, she had changed a lot. She was nicer and friendlier. But she hadn't lost of the habit of provoking me every chance she got.

It was definitely the same Clarisse I knew standing there, next to her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez who greeted me with a nod. But the way I saw her was completely different. I had never thought of her as pretty but that was an understatement now. She was stunning, even her evil eyes sparkling like gems. There seemed to be a glow around her as if she was a goddess.

My body seemed to move on its own accord. I knew what I was about to do but I couldn't stop myself.

I walked right up to her and kissed her on the mouth.

"What the HECK!" she screamed, pushing me so hard that I fell to the floor. I was dazed, uncertain of what I had just done and why. Chris looked like he was somewhere in between extreme anger and confusion and Annabeth had her mouth hanging open. A lot of the campers had turned toward our direction, some gasping and others laughing.

"FREAK! YOU IDIOT!" Clarisse continued to yell, pointing at me. My stomach turned and I felt as though I was going to puke any second.

Today was turning out to be a very strange day. And yet the strangest was yet to happen.

An ear-piercing shriek sounded throughout the camp. Clarisse stopped throwing insults at me.

"Eros, you stupid fool! I told you to hit him when he saw Hephaestus's daughter! That's the second time you've missed!"

We all turned towards a large, quivering bush. It took a moment for me to recognize the voice.

"Aphrodite?"

"Oh, now look what you've done," the voice said, annoyed. A beautiful young woman appeared out of the bush with a small boy holding a bow and a quiver of arrows trailing her.

"Hello, Percy Jackson," the goddess of love greeted me with a smile that could melt any man's heart. "I've missed you so much!"

"Er, hi…?" I answered uncertainly. She just continued to smile at me. I found it very hard to think straight when such a beautiful face was staring at me.

Annabeth stood up and raised her voice, "Why are you here? What have you done to Percy?"

Aphrodite's smiling face turned to her. "I'm here to plant love in this lifeless camp!"

"I said, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH PERCY!" Annabeth demanded furiously. This was the first time I had seen her so angry, especially at an immortal being. The goddess's smile wavered.

"I just wanted some love," she said simply. "Make the prince of the sea fall in love with the ugliest girl! Ah, how romantic!"

I wondered if she had lost her sanity. It took a long time for my brain to register that I was "the prince of the sea" she had mentioned. When had I ever been a prince?

"You pig! You dare steal my boyfriend from me?!"

Everyone stared at Annabeth in surprise. Aphrodite's eyes narrowed and the pleasantness was wiped off her face.

"You dare call me a pig, half-blood?" Her voice sounded extremely dangerous. "Me, the most beautiful creation, a PIG?!?"

"That's right," Annabeth shot back, grey flames in her eyes. I cringed from the heat radiating from the two women. There was excitement in the atmosphere, sensing that a fight could occur between a demigod and a goddess. I could see some standing on tables, trying to get a better view.

I wanted to tell them to stop. I didn't want Annabeth to get hurt.

But before I could get any words out, I hurled, throwing up whatever was in my stomach.

And that's it for chapter 3 :) I know this one was really bad. I tried to write it in bed when I was sick and maybe the illness affected my brain -_- Well, yeah, I have no idea where the story's going now. So, Percy's been hit with Cupid's arrows a few times and something's definitely wrong with him but the question is: does he really like Annabeth or Thalia? (Don't worry, it's not Clarisse but then that would be interesting... lol) I hope it wasn't too bad. There's probably lots of mistakes, too, so feel free to point them out! And please please review, it's really encouraging! (Many thanks to those who have already reviewed and please continue to!) Also, I'm desperate for story ideas :) Thanks, I'll try to update soon~