The Mark of Athena
A/N: Hey everyone! I was kind of disappointed with the reviews until like 3 minutes ago when I checked my email and saw I got another review which meant: I got 2 more reviews! Yay :) and that I could finally write again! Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO or HoO. All rights go to Rick Riordan.
Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO or HOO. All rights go to Rick Riordan. REVIEW=MORE CHAPTERS! If you want me to keep going with this story please review! PLEASE REVIEW! Remember if I get reviews it makes me motivated to write more! I'll update if I get 2 more reviews/ story alerts!
Annabeth:
I was walking around, drinking in the fact that I was finally at home, where I belonged and Percy was home (at last) too. I was also searching for Percy, when I spotted him talking to Grover and Chiron. I pushed through the crowd forming around the Argo II, saying "Sorry, guys, coming through...".
I was admiring how everyone was so happy that Percy was home when I caught up to them. "Good to see you, Chiron," Percy was saying "And okay, cool when can we have it?"
I slid under Percy's arm and asked curiously, "Have what?"
"A party." Percy said simply.
"Oh cool, I haven't been to one in ages," I said.
"You can have it as soon as you've planned it." Chiron said with a half-hearted smile.
I sighed with anticipation.
"Okay, thanks, Chiron." said Percy. I could sense he wanted to go to the lake again. I smiled as I asked "So, Seaweed Brain, what do you want to do next?"
Percy grinned slyly and replied "what do you think?" I started to pull him towards the lake but stopped myself.
Of course I knew where and what we were going to do but I played dumb. "Hmm... I don't know." I grinned. Percy rolled his eyes and pulled me toward the lake where a beautiful sunset was already peaking over the horizon.
"I'll be back; I'm going to get a blanket and some food." Percy said. He leaned in to give me a soft kiss and then he left.
Something shimmered into existence next to me. Mom. Of course, she wants to talk to me about Percy, I thought. I turned and there she was. I hope she doesn't kill him for promising to marry me later on, I thought.
"Mom." I acknowledged her coldly, knowing exactly why she was here.
"Why the sea spawn, Annabeth?" Athena asked me harshly.
"Because he makes me happy, can cheer me up in any bad mood, loves me more than anything except for his family, and is the most loyal and brave person I've ever met. And he means everything to me." I said.
Athena sighed. "He said he would marry you, right? That's why you're being impossibly difficult." my mother said.
"Obviously," I began to say, and she started to glare at me, so I explained what I meant. "I mean, he wanted to assure me how much he loves me. And anything you do can't change that." I said.
The goddess sighed again, "Fine, I'll allow it, because if I destroyed him, it would jeopardize the world, make you distraught, and make you hate me. Only because of these reasons." I looked up, absolutely stunned, and Athena smiled at me wryly.
"Thank you, Mom!" I ran up to her and gave her a hug.
She looked a little surprised, but she hugged me back and said,"You're welcome, my daughter. You have a difficult job ahead of you, but I know you can do it." Then she disintegrated into mist, and was gone. That pep talk really made me happy, and I hadn't realized I'd needed one until now.
Something shuffled in the nearby trees and Percy stepped out, looking as hot as ever. "How much did you hear?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.
Percy smirked and said "Just enough." I rolled my eyes. Percy sat next to me and said "Well, at least your mom won't kill me now." Thunder rumbled overhead. 'Mom, come on, he heard us talking, calm down.' I thought and after about a minute, the thunder stopped.
"So, did you ask Chiron if we could skip dinner?" I asked.
Percy laughed. "Yeah, we wouldn't want the Aphrodite cabin to be getting any ideas."
"Piper would probably tell them to quit being nosy, and that would be the end of that." I said, grateful I had a friend like Piper.
I leaned onto Percy's shoulder and we sat there for a while, just watching the sunset, until our stomachs ruined the perfect moment.
I groaned, and Percy chuckled.
"Please tell me you brought the food." I said.
"Of course I did." he said and rummaged in the bag he brought when he came out of the woods.
Percy brought out some sandwiches, and we ate in silence until the moon and stars came out, and I looked up to find Zoe Nightshade's constellation. I remembered the summer when Luke had captured me and I had to hold up the sky. I shuddered as I remembered the extreme pain I had for a few days.
Percy put his arm around me, comforting me, because he knew, that I was thinking about that awful summer. Well, not all of it was awful, since I finally realized that deep down inside of him, Percy might have some teensy tiny feelings for me. It was quite obvious, since he would always be flustered anytime he was around me. For example, when we danced at Westover Hall, I could tell he was extremely nervous. And I also remember dancing with him on Mount Olympus, and I remember hearing a slow song and wishing that Percy had heard a slow song as well.
I turned around and kissed him, making my memories disappear into mist, just like my mother had.
"Let's stay out here. Sleep by the sea, I mean." Percy said hopefully.
"We should get back," I said, part of wanting to get away from him just to get some fresh air (I get a headache whenever I'm around him, I love him so much) but most of me wanted to stay there by the sea with Percy.
Percy nodded, and laced his fingers through mine.
We walked towards my cabin where he dropped me off, but not before I could kiss him goodnight.
I took a deep breath, knowing my half-siblings were going to demand what happened between Percy and me. Sometimes being a brainiac and having brainiac brothers and sisters could sometimes have a lot of disadvantages.
I opened the door, and found all of my siblings staring at me, I pretended nothing was wrong and walked calmly up to my bunk. Malcolm started to ask me something, but I glared at him like, don't even try to ask.
For the next hour or so, I lost myself in designing some statues and rooms for Olympus when I looked at the clock in the room and saw it was well past curfew. I sighed, gathered my papers, turned off my laptop and sank into bed. I thought about how Percy wanted to sleep by the sea, but that would have broken the rules. I knew that if I had given in, it would probably mean Mom's promise to not destroy Percy would crash and burn and she would kill him as soon as she found out. That is, if Aphrodite couldn't manage to convince Mom not to kill Percy. I sighed again and soon after drifted to sleep.
THE NEXT DAY:
When I woke up the next day, my first thought was to find Piper.
I would normally talk to Thalia about Percy but I couldn't for two reasons: 1. She was somewhere in the wilderness hunting with Artemis and the Hunters. 2. Because if I told her I'd almost stayed out all night with Percy, she would kill me. It didn't matter that he suggested staying out, Thalia wouldn't care. She would kill both of us. No, I had to find Piper.
I walked near the Aphrodite cabin, but not too close to it, when I saw Piper. I started to motion for her to come over and then she glanced my way and saw me looking desperate, she came bounding over.
"What happened?" she asked me, looking horrified.
"Nothing bad... You know how last night Percy asked Chiron if we could skip dinner?" Piper nodded.
"Well we were looking up at the stars and stuff, and I was thinking about the summer that I had to hold up the sky. And so I kissed him, and he said we should sleep by the sea, and I said no since my Mom would kill me if I broke the rules,"
Piper nodded again.
"And I don't know what to do! I mean, like most of me wanted to just stay there with him, but the other, the Athena wisdom part, wanted to run away from him since i had a huge headache," I blurted all this out. I don't know why, but I had to get it out, if I didn't tell anyone this I thought I would explode.
"Wow. You had me worried there for a second." Piper laughed and I managed to smile weakly.
"Well... I guess you should talk to him. You know, tell him you won't break the rules." Piper advised me. I realized she was right. If I didn't tell him, things would get really awkward... I didn't want to lose him just because he made a mistake.
I exhaled with relief. "Thanks, Piper. That's really good advice." I smiled at her, and she returned my smile warmly.
Now, I had to find Percy.
Oh gods please don't let this conversation be too awkward, I prayed.
Somehow, I knew Aphrodite took pity on me, so I figured the talk wouldn't be too awkward or embarrassing.
I walked to Percy's cabin and knocked. No answer. Seaweed Brain was probably sleeping. Oh well. I had to talk to him, so I opened the door.
Sure enough, Seaweed Brain was sleeping. It's like 11:30 but that's normal for him. I had two options: I could run down to the lake with a bucket, haul it back up here and splash him with it. Or I could kiss him, and that would most likely wake him up. Well, the water wouldn't wake him up, because his water powers wouldn't allow him to get wet unless he wants to, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to be splashed with ice cold water from the lake.
I sighed and walked up to his bunk and lightly, ever so lightly, kissed him until he woke up, which took about three seconds.
Percy's eyes fluttered open and he grinned when he saw me, then he seemed to remember what happened last night, or that the fact he was only in boxers and he blushed.
"Go change. I need to talk to you." I said seriously.
He pushed his covers off, and I saw I was right about the boxers thing.
I snickered and looked away quickly.
Creak- that was sound of his dresser being opened and after a few seconds he stepped into the bathroom. A minute or so passed, then he stepped back into the room.
"So what do you want to talk about?" he asked.
I looked back at him and said, "Last night."
"If it's about me spying on you and your mom, I'm sorry." he said, while peering closely at me.
Oh, seaweed brain, what am I going to do with you? I thought.
"No. I can't break the rules, Mom would kill me,"I said.
He was looking at me like, what? And then realization came across his face.
"Oh, that. I'm sorry." he said
"It's okay. I can't blame you, really." I said, a small smile tugging on my lips.
He laughed and said, "Sleeping by the sea would've been real peaceful, but alas, no,"
I laughed; glad things were back to normal. Well, as normal as you can ever be, being a demigod.
PERCY: (A/N: I know I did this POV last chapter, but his opinion is really important in this chapter.)
When I woke up this morning, I was surprisingly happy, (I'm NOT a morning person) but that was because Annabeth had woken me up by kissing me. Then I remembered two things: 1. She was only kissing me to wake me up, she probably wants to break up with me because I wanted to sleep by the sea, 2. I'm in boxers and my girlfriend is in the room. I knew Annabeth could guess what I was thinking, so I grinned and then remembered those two depressing things.
"Go change. I need to talk to you." Annabeth said seriously.
I pushed my covers off and trudged out of bed. I blushed, and Annabeth snickered and looked away so I could change.
I opened my dresser, got a shirt and pants and stepped into the bathroom. I quickly changed and then brushed my teeth. I got my comb out and tried (and failed) to make my messy hair look better than usual. Of course, I failed to do that. I stepped out into my room and walked to the spot where Annabeth was staring at the wall with all of my pictures.
"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked.
Annabeth turned around.
"Last night." She said.
"If it's about me spying on you and your mom, I'm sorry." I said, peering at Annabeth. I had a feeling it wasn't about that, but I asked it anyway.
"No. I can't break the rules because Mom would kill me," Annabeth said.
I was looking at her like, what? And then it dawned on me: depressing thought # 1.
"Oh, that. I'm sorry." I said sheepishly.
"It's okay. I can't blame you, really." She said, a small smile tugging on her lips.
"Yeah, sleeping by the sea would've been real peaceful, but alas, no," I said seriously. She laughed loudly.
I wrapped my arms around her.
"I love you," I said, for the billionth time.
"I love you," she said, also for the billionth (or maybe millionth?) time.
Who keeps track of that? I don't know, I thought.
I'm just happy she didn't break up with me.
"Let's get to breakfast, I'm starving." I said, and my stomach growled on cue. Annabeth laughed.
It's nice to be with Annabeth, just one on one, with no pressure, unlike yesterday.
We walked toward the mess hall in silence, but a good silence, not an awkward one.
We got there just as the cabins were filing in to the mess hall, which was good, because we weren't late. Then I remembered we weren't at Camp Jupiter where they wove you in a cloth with jumping weasels into the river. That thought calmed me down.
At breakfast, Chiron had made an announcement: "I'm sure you all know that Percy Jackson is back home, but let's give a round of applause." The entire mess hall erupted in applause. This was one of the best moments in my life.
"Also, I wanted to announce that there will be a party for campers fourteen years old and older to celebrate our hero's homecoming." Chiron announced. I was shocked. I mean, I knew we were having a party, I'd even suggested it, but no one ever said it was to celebrate my homecoming, as Chiron had put it.
This, of course, resulted in another round of excited applause, except for the campers who were younger than fourteen. Most of them were grumbling about how kids never had any fun, etc. I figured Chiron would probably have another party for the younger kids.
"The Athena and Apollo cabins will take care of planning the party and everything. That is all."
FAST FORWARD TO 2 DAYS LATER, THE DAY OF THE PARTY
ANNABETH:
The day of the party was finally here. The past 2 days my siblings, the Apollo cabin and I were working our butts off, making sure every single detail of the party was perfect. Anyway, I was in the Aphrodite cabin getting my hair and makeup done. Yeah, you might be wondering how on earth the Aphrodite girls managed to convince me to get my makeup and hair done. Quite simply, actually. They told me that I could pick out exactly how much and what color makeup they put on me, and they got to decide what hair style I would get done. I agreed, because, obviously, it wasn't often Camp Half-Blood had any parties, so I wanted to look my best. And yeah, it was all for Percy. Piper was the one doing my hair and makeup because she was the only Aphrodite girl I have ever trusted, except for Silena, of course. What's funny is that the Aphrodite girls had a whole line of people getting their hair and makeup done; it was like a factory line, except it was more of a beauty line.
And I wasn't going to wear a dress or anything, like every other cabin (the girls, duh) in camp, except for Aphrodite's cabin.
Piper finally finished my hair and makeup and I walked toward a mirror, to find a complete different person. Long, thick curls bounced across my back. Perfectly thin eyebrows, just underneath my hair. Long, thick eyelashes. Silvery eye shadow, some pink blush, and a rosy lip gloss.
I glanced at Piper, who was now getting a makeover, too and mouthed: I love it! She smiled and mouthed, Great!
Well, at least I was done with the makeover stuff. I just have to wait another hour or so until the party.
I sat in my cabin, once again losing myself in my designs when someone knocked and I immediately knew it was Percy. Thank the gods I'd changed into my outfit before I could get too distracted with designing Olympus.
I went outside and ignored Percy's gawking at me and pulled him toward the party.
When we got there we were met by an unpleasant surprise. Demons, to be precise, Gaea's minions.
"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. We've been expecting you."
MWAHHAAA! I'm so evil, a cliffy! Remember to review or you'll never find out what happens!
Edit: July 15th, I edited this chapter because it was a little over T and it was kinda stupid :/ hope you guys enjoy this nebc version of chapter 12!