Chapter XVIII ANNABETH
"Wise Girl?"
Annabeth jolted up, falling to Percy's side. He was looking around him in confusion, wondering where the heck they were. Annabeth threw herself down on top of him and sobbed into his chest; she was that relieved. She didn't care that they were captured; Percy was awake and he was okay.
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, wiping her eyes.
Annabeth looked up and shook her head.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just glad you're awake."
He didn't reply, just looking her up and down in concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked,
"No injuries or memory loss or-"
Annabeth smiled faintly, sitting up.
"I'm fine.
Percy nodded, but he didn't look entirely sure. He glanced up and then asked,
"Where are we?"
"We were captured by a giant. I think Gaea's holding us here until the sacrifice."
"Well, that's not going to happen." he said firmly.
"Because we're going to survive."
"Percy, that is starting to look like less and less of a possibility."
"I don't want to hear that, Wise Girl. We're getting out of here." he said angrily.
"I'm just trying to be realistic!"
"Well, at the moment, our reality sucks! So I'm trying to stay optimistic right now!" Percy yelled, eyes blazing.
Annabeth flinched backward, her eyes widening. Since they'd been reunited, Percy and Annabeth hadn't fought at all. But, she guessed, that was too good to last. And tensions were running high at the moment, plus they were both completely stressed out, so Annabeth could see why Percy snapped.
But that didn't stop her gray eyes welling up with tears. Percy slumped backward, biting his lower lip. He looked ready to cry himself at the sight of her face. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Percy said,
"Wise Girl, look at me."
She stared mutely at her knees, holding back more tears.
"Please Annabeth," he pleaded.
She glanced at him and he looked at her apologetically, the green eyes she'd fallen in love with full of remorse.
"Please don't cry, because then i'll start and-" he began
Percy's voice cracked and he started again,
"I'm impulsive. I speak before I think. I have ADHD, for Zeus' sake! i am a self-professed idiot. But you picked me."
"No one gets picked, Seaweed Brain." she replied.
"I fell in love with you."
Percy looked at her hopefully, his eyes worried. Annabeth knew she wouldn't be able to stand that look much longer, so she went and laid down beside him, holding him close. He sighed peacefully and pressed a kiss into her hair.
"I'm sorry." he whispered as he nodded off again.
Annabeth was afraid to go to sleep, incase Percy's fever spiked again. It still hadn't gone down and she was getting more and more worried. Annabeth sat there for hours, keeping watch over her boyfriend as he slept fitfully. Every so often, he cried out and she wondered what nightmare he was having.
"Don't hurt her!" Percy mumbled in his sleep.
"Well, someone's having a bad dream, isn't he?" someone said behind them.
Annabeth whirled around and saw a beautiful woman sitting in the corner. She recognized her immediately; It was Aphrodite, one of the only Greek gods unaffected by their Roman counterparts.
"Lady Aphrodite!" she exclaimed, relieved,
"Don't say that name!" the goddess cried, holding her head.
"I'm Venus!"
Annabeth narrowed her eyes and looked closer, spotting slight differences between her and the goddess she's seen in Charleston.
"But I thought you said you weren't affected by your Roman side-"
"i said not as badly as the other gods. I still get headaches."
"Oh- My Lady, why are you here exactly?"
"I sensed big romantic issues. I came to intervene."
"We had a fight a little while ago, but it's okay now."
"Well, in that case-"
The goddess looked ready to leave but Annabeth exclaimed,
"Wait! Can you get us out of here?"
"Even the goddess of love cannot free you from this, demigod." she said.
Annabeth expected that answer, so she changed her tact.
"Well, can you help Percy in any way?"
"Why should I?" the goddess asked, crossing her arms like a child in a temper.
Annabeth gritted her teeth.
"Because I love him and you're the goddess of love."
"Do you truly love him, though? How can I be sure?" Venus said.
"Besides, all the best love stories are tragic. It would be so romantic if he were to die from a fever in your arms."
The goddess looked quite happy about this idea and she said,
"But I'm not totally convinced you are in love, young one. Your face isn't glowing, there aren't stars in your eyes, you hold none of the regular symptoms."
Annabeth turned around slowly and looked at the goddess. All her frustration and rage and fear rose up in a gigantic tidal wave and she screamed at Venus,
"ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?"
Venus blinked, opening her mouth to say something, but Annabeth was already off on a tangent.
"Of course I love him! It would be impossible for me not to! He's my Seaweed Brain, I'm his Wise Girl. I had a crush on him for four years before he actually started to take any kind of notice and then we get derailed by a plot twist named Rachel Dare. After another year of anxiety, nerves, and fighting with him, we finally got together.I'm the only thing that connected him to the mortal world. I took a knife for him because I knew that if he got hurt, he would die. WE KISSED UNDERWATER, WOMAN! UNDERWATER!
Annabeth stopped for air and then began again, ignoring the goddess' surprised face.
"Then, after five months together, he goes missing, off to your Roman camp. He loses all of his memories, except for one thing. ME. He only remembered my name. And you know why? Because true love can't be forgotten. We finally get reunited, oh I don't know, less than a week ago, and then I go on a private quest that ends up with him holding me up from falling into Tartarus. And instead of letting go, you want to know what he does? HE FALLS WITH ME. Because he'd rather be in the depths of Hell than without me. So now we're here, him really, really close to dying, and me having to put up with idiots like you telling me that I don't love my boyfriend! So you know what? GO AWAY!"
Annabeth finally stopped, breathing heavily. She glared up at the goddess, who was grinning madly.
"What's so funny? Is my heart break funny now or something?!"
"You passed the test." Venus said simply.
"Perseus is healed." she said, waving her hand and then disappearing.
Annabeth knelt beside Percy, frantically feeling his forehead to see if his fever was truly gone. To her joy, it was. She starting kissing his cheeks rapidly, the knot of worry in her chest dissolving.
"Wow, you really do love me, huh?" Percy said with a grin.
Annabeth blushed.
"You heard that?"
"I think the gods up on Mount Olympus heard that, Wise Girl."he replied.
Annabeth colored again and muttered sheepishly,
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain. That was nerve-racking enough, screaming at a goddess."
He laughed, hugging her close.
"And that is why I will never be happy with anyone else, Annabeth Chase."
"What do you mean?"
"You're smart without being conceited. You're beautiful without being vain. And you're perfection, without knowing it."