Annabeth woke up in a bed that smelled like Percy. She sat up quickly, because she wasn't where she fell asleep. Looking around, she realized it was Percy's bedroom—but that didn't stop her panic. Rubbing her face, she tried to remember what happened last night…she must've fallen asleep during the movie.
A pink piece of paper caught her eye. She picked it up, reading.
Annabeth, don't freak. You fell asleep during the movie and I got a business call. I needed to have people here early but I didn't want to wake you. They should be gone by 8:35, so just chill for a while, please. Some of them are my bosses and I don't think they'd think it responsible of me to have someone in my room when I have guests over.
Thanks, Percy
Annabeth glanced at the bedside table—the clock read 8:29. Sighing, she set the note down and looked around. She'd seen his bedroom before, sure, but she had been mostly concentrating on the dresser. He had a double bed, with dark blue stripes on the comforter. His closet was half open, and a pile of clothes was sitting on the floor. The walls were unadorned, except for the windows, and they had shades over them. With a yawn, she climbed off the bed and opened them. Light flooded into the room, and she sat back on the bed. There were faint voices coming from the hallway, but nothing was distinguishable. Sighing, Annabeth looked around again. There was a bunch of books sticking out from under the bed, and Annabeth went to investigate. One was a tour book for New York, one was Sally's early novels, and one was a scrapbook. Annabeth glanced at the door, biting her lip, and opened it. It had pictures from camp, but mostly they were of Annabeth and Percy, or just Annabeth. There was one of Percy and Annabeth holding hands and grinning at the camera, and one of Annabeth in Sally's apartment, looking intently at a book and Percy leaning over and pestering her.
The voices got quieter, and the apartment door opened. Annabeth shut the book, noticing the dust on her fingers. There were marks on the book, too, showing that it hadn't been touched in years.
The door shut. Annabeth shoved it under the bed and hopped onto the bed, sprawling her limbs out and staring up at the ceiling. The apartment was quiet, and Annabeth thought maybe he'd left. She shut her eyes for a second, waiting.
"Annabeth."
Annabeth opened her eyes and shot up.
"Huh?"
Percy laughed. He was standing by the bed, holding two mugs.
"You awake yet?"
She shook her head. "I was awake—I just…"
"Scooch over."
Annabeth shifted over slightly, giving him some room. He handed her a mug full of hot chocolate.
"Sorry about that," He said, taking a drink of his chocolate. "My boss thought it was next week, but he called late last night and said that it was today. I didn't want to wake you."
She grinned. "It's okay. Thanks, actually. For not waking me."
He studied her face, seeming about to say more, when the buzzer sounded.
"I'll get it," He sighed. "One of them probably forgot their hat or something."
He got up and left, and Annabeth went to the door and peeked out. There was a young man with a snotty expression, arguing with Percy.
"That's got nothing to do with-" Percy said, sounding tired.
"Nevertheless, you have a week to be out of here."
"I had people over and you're kicking me out in a week."
The man considered this. "Well, I guess not. You can have a week and a half."
Percy slammed the door shut.
"What was that?" Annabeth asked, coming out of the room.
"Jeff. He said that I have to be out in a week and a half.."
"Why?"
"For one, the wine stains. And because I 'disrupted the peace with visitors this early.'" Percy looked disgusted. The buzzer rang again, and Percy threw it open, snarling, "What?"
Piper blinked, taken aback. "Sorry, grumpy pants. I just forgot to give this to Annabeth. And I need to talk to her."
"Yeah, yeah." Percy went to his room, muttering. Piper dragged Annabeth to the couch and sat down.
"Well? Spill!"
"Spill what?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "You know. What happened last night? The pullout's in."
Annabeth sighed. "We watched a movie. I fell asleep. He had people coming in early, so he relocated me to his bedroom for a while until they were gone. He probably put the pullout away because he didn't want them to know I was staying here."
"Uh-huh. Why was he so grumpy when he answered the door?"
"Probably because he's getting kicked out of this apartment building."
"When?"
"Just over a week."
Piper squealed. "You guys can still room together!"
Annabeth blinked. "One, that's weird. Two, how'd you know that I'm going to be living in the city?"
"Oh, I have sources. And, no. It wouldn't be weird. You'd be used to it by then."
"I don't know..."
"Percy!" She shouted, getting up. "Do you want to get an apartment with Annabeth? Since, you know, she's staying in the city?"
He poked his head out and looked at Annabeth. "Would you?"
She bit her lip. His sea-green eyes were doing the baby seal thing.
"Uh...yeah. Okay."
"Thanks!" A smile lit up his face.
"As long as we can split the cost," She insisted.
"Sure!"
He disappeared into his bedroom, and Annabeth stared at his door for a second, wondering what she just got into.
"This is gonna be great," Piper exclaimed, rubbing her hands together.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You sure?"
"Shush. Now, you'll have to find a good apartment, get all of your stuff from California and bring it here, and move Percy's stuff, too."
"And you can manage all that?"
"Sure, sure." Piper continued talking. "And then you'll have to get—hey!"
Annabeth laughed. "You were ready to, though."
Piper tried to scowl, but giggles broke through. "I was."
Her cell phone rang. She answered it with a flirty greeting.
Annabeth looked away. The apartment was a nice one, and she felt bad for helping Percy leave it.
"Okay, okay!" Piper was saying. "I'll be there soon."
She hung up, looking exasperated.
"Duty calls," She told Annabeth, pointing at her ring. "See you soon!"
Percy must have heard the door close, because he came back out of his room and plopped on the couch next to her.
"So, we're going to have to find an apartment. And move you."
"Were you listening?"
"Who, me?" He blinked innocently.
Annabeth sighed. "Anyway, I'll have to hire someone to drive all my stuff here, because I'm not driving that far. We'll have to find a good apartment, and decide which stuff of yours we want and which of mine. And then we'll have to pool our money to buy the place-"
"Annabeth!" Percy laughed. "We've got two weeks! Which is also when you have to go to work. Sort of."
"Yeah, but-"
"Quiet! Here, let's plan the plans."
He grabbed a piece of paper, a pen, and a duct tape.
"Okay," He said, drawing 14 boxes and labeling them with their days. "This is today."
He proceeds to write down everything they're going to do, like so:
Sunday Plan the Plan
Monday Find an apartment
Tuesday Buy apartment
Wednesday Fly to L.A. and start packing
Thursday Pick furniture we want and finish packing
Friday Hire moving company
Saturday Load furniture and send off movers
Sunday Fly back
Monday Pack Percy's stuff
Tuesday Move everything
Wednesday Move everything cont.
Thursday Unpack stuff
Friday Laugh in Jeff's face
Saturday Be done
"Okay," He said, pleased with himself. "I think it's perfect."
"We don't need a whole day to hire a moving company, Percy."
"Sure we do. What if we have to ask different people? And what if something happens?"
She rolled her eyes. "It takes like 40 hours to drive from L.A. to New York."
"Yeah, see, they'll leave on Saturday, and be here by Tuesday to help us move."
"But-"
He unrolled the duct tape.
"No complaints."
"Are you going to duct tape my mouth?"
"If you keep talking."
"I just thought that-"
He lunged with the tape. She ducked her head and tried to move away, but he grabbed her and put a pillow on her lap, then pushed on the pillow with his foot, holding her in place.
"Don't you dare, Seaweed Brain," She warned.
"Sit still."
"Don't, Percy. Don't-"
He shut her mouth with a finger and taped her mouth. They he sat back, looking extremely pleased. He moved his foot.
"Be good."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Mmmhhmmmph!"
"Sorry, I don't speak duct tape."
"MmMMmmhmm."
"No you're not."
"Hmm, mmMM!"
"Now, is this plan satisfactory?"
"Mm."
"Good."
She glared at him. He laughed. "Go ahead and take it off, Wise Girl. Go ahead."
She sighed through her nose. He knew that she hated removing duct tape.
"Is this plan good?"
"Mmhmph."
"Okay." He stood up and beckoned her to the kitchen. "It won't hurt as much this way."
He had her lean over the sink as he poured water over her face, and while it's poured, peeled the tape off.
"Ow," She groaned.
"Sorry."
He grinned at her, and she tried to glare. Really, she did. But he was too close—leaning over her, his hands just on her face. She took a careful breath.
His cell rang. He turned away to answer it.
Annabeth sighed, partially from relief, and partially not.
When he hung up, he told her that it was his boss and they need him to come in for a while. He left.
Annabeth rubbed her face, trying to remove the sticky pain from the duct tape. She'd have to get back at him somehow, and do something to ease the boredom. Wandering back into the living room, she spotted the TV remote and grinned. Once upon a time, there had been two boys who'd taught her some tricks.
Annabeth spent the rest of the morning working—boiling eggs, folding sheets, and shopping. So when Percy got home at 12:30, she was sitting innocently at the kitchen counter, looking at a magazine.
"Sheesh," He said, hanging up his coat. "I had to train a new employee, but now I don't have to work as much. So I should be good for coming to L.A. Wednesday till Sunday."
"You're coming?"
He rolled his eyes, sliding into the seat across from her. "Duh, Wise Girl. Who's gonna carry all the stuff?"
"My neighbor."
"Uh-huh."
"He's a body builder."
"Okay, okay. I'm still coming. No complaining. You remember what happened last time?"
She laughed in his face. "I dare you to try it again, Seaweed Brain. I just dare you. Seriously, you didn't think you'd get away with it, did you?"
He blinked, turning a shade paler.
"What'd you do?"
"You'll find out."
He groaned. "Anyway, want lunch?"
"Sure. Eggs sound good, actually. Fried. I'll make toast."
"Did you miss breakfast or something?"
She ignored him, sliding off her stool and flinging the magazine onto the couch.
He opened the fridge and took out a carton of eggs and butter. After spreading butter on the pan, he started cracking eggs.
"What the...?" He examined the egg, bewildered. "It's boiled!"
Annabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing. Thank you, Stolls, she thought.
Finally Percy reached the back of the carton, where she hadn't boiled them. He cracked six eggs into the pan.
"You want two or three?"
"Two. Are you going to eat four eggs, Percy? I read an article that they cause growth spurts."
"Sure you did."
He continued cooking them and she finished the toast. Eating and cleaning passed without an incident, and when it was done, Annabeth suggested watching TV. Percy agreed, thinking that the eggs had been the last of it.
They watched Hawaii Five-O, which Annabeth wasn't that interested in. She read while Percy watched. Suddenly, he sat straight up.
"Hey!"
"What's the matter, Percy?" Annabeth asked.
"The channel just changed!"
She sighed. "Change it back."
He watched for five more minutes before it happened again. Frowning, he got up and fiddled with the settings on the back.
The sound on the TV rose and fell, channels flickering, and then it shut off.
"I'd leave it off for a while," Annabeth advised. "It probably needs to cool down."
He listened, going to the bathroom. Annabeth rubbed her fingers. It was hard to push that many buttons that fast.
She heard the toilet flush and waited.
"Annabeth!"
He came back out, his shirt wet and holding a small piece of tape, also wet.
"Yeah?"
"What'd you do?"
"I taped the faucet."
He sighed, going into his room to change.
"Hey—hey!"
"What now?"
"My shirt's too small!"
He came out. The sleeves didn't reach his wrists and the bottom stopped inches above his waist.
"I told you not to eat that many eggs," She said, going back to her book.
He growled.
They spent the rest of the day lazing around, reading, watching movies, and bickering.
When Annabeth had climbed in bed, Percy had told her good night and went into his room. It only took a couple minutes for another shout. She got up, amused but exasperated.
"My bed's too small!"
"Huh?"
"I can't slide all the way in!"
"Let me try." She climbed into the bed and slid her legs under the covers, avoiding the bottom sheet. She fit perfectly.
He tried and got stuck halfway. He kept struggling.
"Percy."
He looked up. She was standing above him, a smile on her face.
"What?"
"It's folded in half."
"Huh?" He checked and found that she was right.
"What did we learn today?" She asked, gray eyes twinkling.
"Don't tape Annabeth's face?"
"Yes."
With that, she left.