Sunlight was filtering in through the windows when Annabeth finally opened her eyes. She stretched, then froze. The party. Piper. Percy.
She sat up, looking around. Percy was in the kitchen, eating pancakes at the island counter, slightly spinning side to side on the stool he was perched on. He was wearing a tee-shirt, backwards, so Annabeth assumed that he slept shirtless.
Of course, he could have put the shirt on in the dark, she reasoned. Was he shirtless last night when he'd come to say good night? She couldn't remember.
And for that matter, why was she thinking about it?
"Morning," He called to her.
"Morning," She replied, rolling out of bed and walking over to the counter.
"Want pancakes?"
"Sure."
He opened the oven and took out two chocolate-chip pancakes.
"You make them in the oven?" She asked.
"No, I made them on the stove, then put them in the oven on low temp to keep them warm for you."
"Ah," She nodded. "They aren't blue."
"Nah, I'm out of food coloring."
She laughed. "Of course."
"Why of course?"
"I thought you had, like, saved it for your mother."
"You thought I had grown out of it," He said, pointing his fork at her.
"No!"
"Don't lie, Annabeth."
"Okay, fine," She admitted. "I thought you had grown up and given up blue foods. No, it sounds wrong."
He made a face at her.
"It does, though. Percy not wanting blue food? I'm surprised you didn't run out to get some."
"I almost did, but I didn't want you to wake up and think I was kidnapped. Or something."
"Ah. I'd have just thought you were sleeping."
"So no one would call the police?"
"Nope."
He frowned at her.
"Your shirt's on backward."
"Your hair is messy."
The buzzer sounded, and Percy slid of his stool. "Huh. People don't usually come in the morning…"
"It's the kidnapper," She called to him, finishing her pancakes.
"Oh, it's Piper."
Annabeth swore. "Where can I hide?"
He looked amused. "I don't know."
"Oh, you never play hide and seek in here by yourself?"
He sighed. "Under the island counter, the end cupboard is empty—you should be able to fit."
She grinned slightly, knowing that she was right—he played hide and seek.
The cupboard wasn't spacious but it was big enough for her to fit in, if she hugged her knees to her chest and held her head low. She left the door cracked open, so she could see. The cupboard was facing out, so when Percy opened the door, she had a clear view of Piper.
"Hi, Piper," He said.
"Hey, Percy. You seen Annabeth?"
"No."
"Uh-huh. Were you camping?" She asked, gesturing to the pullout bed. Percy scratched his hair.
"Yes."
"Oh." She smiled slyly at him, shifting her weight, and stepped right on the heel of Annabeth's shoes.
"Huh," She said, picking them up. "I have this exact pair. Look, there's even the scratch I made falling down the stairs. Huh. You know, I lent my shoes like this to Annabeth."
"What a coincidence."
"Yeah. You know, I was going to offer to bring Annabeth her stuff, since there are still a bunch of people in my apartment, but I guess since she's not here… Anyway, can I use your bathroom?"
"Sure. It's the door on the left."
Piper went into the bathroom, and Percy opened the cupboard.
"What should I do?"
"I want my clothes. But I don't want her to know I'm in the cupboard."
"You can stop by later, ask for them."
Annabeth nodded.
The bathroom door opened, and Percy jumped back and hit his head on the edge of the counter. Swearing, he kicked the door to the cupboard closed.
"Percy? You're out of toilet paper." Piper called.
He walked off, until Annabeth couldn't hear him. Then she heard Piper's footsteps walk toward the counter and stop.
She knocked on the door. "Are you naked?"
"What? No!"
Piper opened the cupboard door, smirking. "That looks uncomfortable."
"It's really nice. Want to try?"
"No, thanks. Did you guys hook up?"
"No! I slept on the pullout!"
"Sheesh, okay. I checked his bathroom, he doesn't have any con—"
"There you go, Piper," Percy called. She closed the door.
"Thanks, Perce. I don't have to go anymore. By the way, next time you're hiding someone, make sure their underwear and dress are well hidden, too. I'll bring her clothes over."
Annabeth heard the door open and close, then the pullout bed creak. With difficulty, she opened the door and fell out onto the linoleum.
"Ow," She said.
Percy laughed. She tipped her head back to glare at him.
"It's not funny."
"It kind of is," He laughed.
She gave a small giggle, which turned into a bigger giggle, which turned into a laugh.
"Ah, come on," Percy said after they had died down, helping her up. They stood there, regarding each other.
The door buzzed.
"I'll get it!" Percy said. Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"It's your apartment, Percy."
He opened the door, revealing Annabeth's suitcases sitting on the welcome mat.
"Huh," Percy said. "She ran."
Annabeth sighed as they lugged her stuff in. "She brought all my clothes over," She told him, looking at the cases. "All of my stuff has been packed up and brought here."
"It's a sign," Percy said, closing the door and locking it. "You can never leave."
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "It unlocks from the inside. I can get out."
Percy shrugged. "Well, obviously Piper meant that you aren't welcome at her place anymore. Which could be good. She's probably having sex with Jason 24/7."
"Oh, thanks for that image."
"Anytime." Percy finished stacking all her cases in a pile by the couch.
"You're going to give up your couch for me?" She asked him.
"I never use it. And I can just sit on the bed."
"If I'm sleeping?"
"I'll just sit on the bed."
"If you have guests and I'm sleeping?"
"I never have guests that early."
"You did today. Just a couple more minutes, Piper would have seen me sleeping."
"At least you don't drool."
"True. How much?"
"How much what?"
"How much will it cost, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth rolled her eyes, unconsciously reverting to her old nickname for Percy.
"Nothing."
"You have to charge me something."
"You can clean," He decided. "I really, really hate vacuuming and dusting and such."
"Like the housewife?"
"Nah, I'll cook and take care of the children."
She threw a pillow at him, making him laugh. "No, seriously, I'll cook. I excel at it."
"Fine, then."
He stuck out his hand, and she shook it.
"Okay, you'd better start cleaning. The dishes are on the counter."
She rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed. "I'm in the middle of this book. You clean up your plate."
He stuck out his tongue and picked up her book from the end table.
"You want me to clean? Fine. I'll start with this book."
He put it on top of the bookshelf. "Reach it if you can, Wise Girl."
He went into the kitchen, so she got up and went to the shelf. Stretching on her tiptoes, she couldn't reach it. Mentally cursing his height, she put her foot on the bottom shelf. She still couldn't reach it, since he'd put it in the very back, next to the wall.
Carefully, Annabeth placed her foot on the next shelf, holding onto the one next to the top. Finally, she grasped the book and leaned back, still holding the shelf, to blow off the dust.
Then she felt the shelf tipping. Panicked, she tried to let go, but she was too late—the bookshelf crashed to the floor, on top of her. It wasn't extremely heavy that it was hurting badly, but it was too heavy for her lift off, and it was uncomfortable, books pressing into her chest and legs.
"Percy!" She called, still struggling. He peeked around the corner, looking slightly alarmed, and then burst out laughing. "It's not funny," She mumbled, pushing at the shelf. He disappeared into the kitchen, and she dug around for a second, trying to get a book off her arm. Then Percy was right next to her, lifting the bookshelf up by her face. Which meant her eyes were right by his arms—his muscular arms. Ooh, she thought, then squashed it.
"I have been waiting for years to do that," He laughed, sitting next to her. The bookshelf was on her other side.
"Excuse me?"
He pointed to the carpet. "It's really not your fault."
There was a lump under the rug, wide enough to cover the back bottom of the base. Which meant that the bookshelf was always leaning forward.
"That was mean."
"But funny."
She glared at him. He sighed.
"I'm sorry, Annabeth, for dropping a bookshelf on you."
"You'd better be," She grumbled, getting up and stepping over the shelf.
He lifted it back up, and she pretended not to watch, to be absorbed in her book. It took him a few minutes to get all the books put back exactly right, and so she thought that maybe this wasn't as drastic decision as she had decided it might.
"Should we make a schedule?" He asked, straightening.
"What, like The More the Merrier? No."
He shrugged. "Then no complaining."
"Do you take really long showers?"
He gave her a devilish grin. "Sometimes."
"Uh-huh." She went back to her book.