AAAAHH! I'm so sorry! *dodges bullet and celestial bronze daggers* I wrote a longer chapter to make up for not updating in a while, though... *invisible crowd cheers*
Ok. First thing's first. I apologize for not updating, but I needed to read the Blood of Olympus. Review or PM me your thoughts on it! Secondly, I am sorry, but this is a bit of a filler chapter. Please don't kill me- I'll make sure I update faster for the next chapter! And I promise: This story is not going to be so... sad and un-funny all the time. I swear it on the River Styx! *thunder rumbles*
Thank you again to all my (hopefully!) loyal readers, reviewers, and favorite-rs!
Je ne suis pas Rick Riordan. (That's French for "I'm not Rick Riordan.")
Annabeth woke up from her terrifying dream of Percy getting married to a faceless bride, hearing the sound of papers being shuffled. Instinctively, she jumped up and judo-flipped the person. Putting them in a tight headlock, Annabeth growled, "Tell me who you are in the next two seconds, and I might not kill you."The person relaxed in her grip, grinning in the darkness.
"It's me, Piper. I couldn't sleep, and came in here to look at some of your blueprints."
"Sorry I attacked you," Annabeth said, turning the lights on.
"Oh, it's fine. I'm sorry I startled you!"
"S'okay. I'm just... a bit on edge. Bad dreams." Annabeth glanced at the drawing of an owl by the sea, and hurt filled her eyes. "Meet me in the kitchen in a bit, would you?" she said, looking at Piper again.
Piper smiled gently, knowing her friend had dreamt about Percy. "Okay. Can I look at the blueprints?"
"Of course. Just don't crumple them!" Annabeth laughed, remembering the time Piper had sat on Annabeth's first assignment for her new firm, ruining both it and her new skirt. And angering Annabeth. Ah, memories. Piper smiled, cautiously grabbed the blueprints, and headed out the door.
Annabeth made no sound as she slipped through the empty hallways towards the kitchen. She entered noiselessly, a soft breeze at her back. Glancing around suspiciously, she narrowed her eyes. She could have sworn that she smelled the scent of the sea. Annabeth shook her head, and sat down on a barstool at the granite counter with a pen. She grabbed a napkin, and started to sketch a wedding dress.
"Hey, there," a voice said from behind her. "You want some pancakes? They're blue, though..." Annabeth whipped around.
"Percy?!" she exclaimed. That explained the slight hint of salt in the air. Her eyes widened for a minute, and she hastily added, "Mr. Jackson, I mean."
He smiled. "Call me Percy." Annabeth hesitated.
"Maybe," she responded. If it doesn't hurt too much to say, she added in her mind.
"Ok. What are you working on?"
"A wedding dress," she replied, not meeting his eyes.
"For Piper?" he asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Maybe. I... saw something like it in a dream." She shuddered involuntarily at the memory. Percy beaming at another girl. Percy saying I do. Percy kissing another girl with his soft, salty lips-
"Bad dream?" Percy's voice shook from her thoughts.
A ghost of a smile appeared on Annabeth's lips at the irony of the situation. The reason for her bad dreams was asking her if she had a nightmare. "You could say so," she muttered. Percy sat down on the barstool next to her. He gasped when he saw Annabeth's drawing.
"That's the dress you saw!?" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock.
Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes," she responded cautiously.
Percy fumbled for words to hide his surprise. "It's... very beautiful, that's all." What he didn't say was that he had a dream too, but it wasn't bad. Last night he had dreamt of Annabeth walking up the aisle in a very similar dress- maybe the same one!- and saying 'I do'. She said "I do" to me, Percy thought giddily. If only she would fall in love with me in real life. If only she didn't hate me as much as I love her.
Annabeth sighed, seeing the bittersweet expression on his face. "I could go for a blue pancake," she said, hoping that the darkness of the room would prevent the potentially married-or-engaged Percy from seeing the tiny tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
"Oh. Yes, of course. Two blue pancakes, coming up!" he laughed, giving her a mock bow. He could have sworn that he saw tears glinting in her eyes in the streak of moonlight shining through the window. Percy fought the urge to wipe them away. Anything for you, he wanted to say to her. I would do anything for you. Not just trivial things as simple as pancakes at 2:00 in the morning. I'd do anything if you wanted me to, he thought. And Percy meant it with all of his soul. Annabeth watched him from behind as he made his way over to the cabinets, searching for ingredients. She thought of the night before, when he zoned out. Could he have been thinking about a girl? When he saw the dress design, could he have been thinking of how beautiful it would look on her? Annabeth had to pinch her nose to keep from crying. STOP, she yelled at herself mentally. You don't care if he has a girlfriend. You don't care if he's getting married. It's just another reason to hate him. He shouldn't have kissed you if he had a girlfriend. A tiny voice inside of her seemed to respond: he might not have a girlfriend.
Percy jumped when he accidentally dropped the pan, startling Annabeth. She couldn't help herself from asking, "Are you okay?"
Percy turned to her, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah... sorry about that. Did I startle you?"
"No," she replied, turning back to her drawing.
After a few minutes of silence passed, Percy blurted,"So, I was thinking about your drawing. The one I saw yesterday?"
Annabeth winced, making a stray mark on her sketch. She pursed her lips and sketched the skirt around it, making it look like a shadow on the dress. "The owl one?" she asked, not looking up from her work.
"Yeah. I was thinking about Poseidon and Athena. They couldn't have been rivals all of the time, could they?"
Annabeth hesitated before responding, "They hated each other for all of eternity, except for one time."
"So they worked together once?" persisted Percy.
"Yes. They made the chariot together. Athena made the designs and created the wood, and Poseidon made the horses." They lapsed back into silence. Could I forgive him? Annabeth wondered, watching Percy putting a large amount of blue food coloring into the pancake batter. Percy was wondering the same thing. Could she forgive me? Can we be the opposite of Poseidon and Athena, and work together all of the time, except for this one fight? Could I ever win her back? Or will she hate me for eternity?
"Here you are, madam," Percy said with a smile and a mock bow. "Two blue pancakes, à la Percy."
Annabeth stifled a laugh, and said, "Thank you."
"Anytime, milady." Percy whipped out a can of whipped cream, and put some on her dish. This time Annabeth couldn't help from smiling at the childish smiley face he had drawn on her pancakes. He sat down next to her with a plate of his own.
"Three pancakes? Really, Percy?" She raised an eyebrow at his dish.
Percy stopped for a moment, considering her question with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I'm a growing boy, and need food?" Annabeth shook her head, smiling, and focused back on her pancake. Taking a bite, she gasped in delight.
"This is the best pancake I've ever had! Did you make this from scratch?"
"Yeah," Percy responded, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck.
A disturbing thought occured to Annabeth, and the smile disappeared from her face. She asked in a guarded tone, "So... did your girlfriend give you this recipe?"
Percy cocked his head to the left, and looked at her quizzically. "It's my mom's recipe. And I'm not in a relationship," he said, watching to see if she reacted. You're the reason I'm not in a relationship, he wanted to tell her. He wanted so badly to explain to her how he felt. You're the only person I've ever fallen in love with, Annabeth Chase.
Annabeth let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, and her small smile reappeared. I don't care if he is involved with anyone, she scolded herself. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him..."Anyway, I'm glad that you enjoyed your pancakes," Percy laughed. She glanced at her plate.
"I finished them already?" she asked in surprise.
Percy shrugged. "I guess you were hungry. It is 2:15 in the morning. Do you usually wake up this early?"
"I do when people are messing with my blueprints."
"What do you mean?"
"If I hear someone looking through my stuff, I instinctively judo-flip them. And Piper happened to have a case of wedding-planning-insomnia..." Annabeth said casually.
"Why am I not surprised? Annabeth Chase, you haven't changed a bit," he declared.
"And neither have you," she replied with a smirk. "You still have the mental capabilities of seaweed. Except for your pancake-making skills, which I must say are quite good." But really, you have changed, Percy wanted to say. He wanted to take her into his arms right then, and hug her. You've changed so much, he so desperately thought. You're even more beautiful now, at 2:00 in the morning, then you ever have been before. I've watched you grow up in formal dresses. But with your hair up in a messy bun, old pajamas on, and no makeup on at all- I love you more than ever.
"Annabeth, I was looking at your designs and- oh! Percy! I, uh... didn't see you there," Piper said, stopping short in the kitchen doorway, watching Percy staring at Annabeth with a longing look in his eyes. Mentally cursing herself for interrupting a potential "moment", she turned to Annabeth. "You've eaten?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the empty plate in front of Annabeth.
"Yep. I made her pancakes," Percy said proudly.
Piper looked incredulous."You got her to eat!?"
Percy's nose wrinkled in confusion. Annabeth silently noted that he looked adorable when he did that. NO. I DO NOT FIND PERSEUS JACKSON ADORABLE! she screamed in her head. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him... "Why wouldn't she want to eat?" Percy asked.
"She usually grabs a coffee and maybe some toast before work, a small sandwich for lunch if she's able to step away from her blueprints, and a light dinner. I can barely get her to eat at all! She's always working, nonstop. It's always go, go, go with this one," she gestured to Annabeth, who was blushing to her roots.
"I eat," she protested. Percy was looking at her with evident concern in his eyes, his eyes sparkling like the sea in the moonlight.
"Do you need more pancakes?"
"Uh..." Annabeth tried not to sway with the rhythm of the tiny waves in his eyes. "No thank you. I'm fine."
"Ok..." Percy said, watching her out of the corner of his eyes. Piper rolled her eyes. Ah, love. Or hate, depending on Annabeth's mood. She glanced at Annabeth, who was currently glaring at her empty plate accusingly, as if it had personally offended her. Piper suppressed a groan. Apparently it's hate right now, she thought ruefully. Why did I haev to interrupt them?
Piper was just trying to think of an acceptable and non-suspicious-sounding excuse to leave the kitchen when Jason stumbled into the kitchen and did a double take, making Piper laugh. Jason's brow furrowed in confusion."Uh, did I miss something? Is it morning?"
"Nope!" Piper said cheerfully, pecking him on the lips. "It's two-thirty in the morning. We're all up waaaaaay too early. Except for Annabeth. This is late for her. I think she's an owl or something. I swear that girl is nocturnal." She shook her head at Annabeth, and stuck her tongue out. Annabeth returned the face, and Percy giggled. Anabeth turned to face him.
"What's so funny?" she asked, her eyes glinting. Even though there was a teasing tone to her voice, anyone who knew Annabeth could recognize the warning in her eyes. But Percy didn't seem to notice Piper silently screaming at him to tread lightly.
Percy grinned widely. "Annabeth Chase is having fun! Annabeth Chase stuck out her tongue at someone!" he laughed delightedly.
Annabeth's eyes flashed with a stab of pain and anger. "I punched you twice, quite successfully both times, if I remember correctly. So why would't I be capable of sticking my tongue out at someone?" she asked Percy quietly, looking him straight in the eyes. Piper mentally face-palmed. Jason met her eye, and they both started to back up towards the door. We need to talk, Piper mouthed to him. Jason nodded. They watched as their friends stared into each other's eyes.
In that moment, it seemed to Annabeth that nobody existed in the universe except for her and Percy. Looking into her eyes, Percy felt all of her unshed tears as though they were his own. I hurt her, he realized. I hurt her so much, that everything hurts. I have to fix this. This is all my fault. But somehow I still love her more than life itself. Tears pooled in his eyes, as Annabeth's mouth opened in shock. Mirrored in his dark eyes, deep as the sea itself, Annabeth's memories flooded over her. She saw a little girl in a poofy dress, ordering a smiling little Percy around. She saw her eyes, laughing, reflected in the teenager Percy's, which were seemingly glowing in the light of lanterns all around as he leaned closer and...
Annabeth turned away quickly. Any remnants of a smile on Percy's face had faded, and he turned away from her too. "I've... got to work on something," Annabeth stammered. Anything other than being around Percy. She got up abruptly, and turned to face him for a final moment. "Thank you for the pancakes, Percy," she said. Her voice sounded pained, even to her own ears. She turned and ran past Piper and Jason into the hall, frantically repeating her mantra in her mind. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him... How could one innocent little boy give me such anguish?
Piper grabbed Jason's hand. They watched as Percy picked up Annabeth's pen, and drew something on the sketch she had made. He slowly got up, and walked over to the window. Piper could see tears pooled in his eyes, glittering in the fading moonlight. "I will fix this," he whispered a silent oath to the rising sun. "Because I love her."
Percy turned from the window, and walked past Jason and Piper silently, not even noticing his friends. Once he turned the corner at the end of the hall, Piper pulled Jason into the kitchen. "I want to see what he drew," Piper said, tugging on Jason's arm.
"What if it's private?" he asked, looking at the napkin warily.
Piper gasped. "It's not private. Look at this!" Jason leaned over her shoulder, looking at Annabeth's sketch. Below it was a little drawing of two wedding bells and a little message. For my Wise Girl, the scrawl read. Because nobody will ever be as beautiful as you, even in this perfect dress you designed. I know you'll never see this, but at least I got some of this off my chest. Piper looked at Jason, who had a tear rolling down his cheek. "That's beautiful," he said.
"We have to help them," Piper decided, picking up the napkin. "We have to give them the happily-ever-after they deserve.