It took a while to convince them it was a good idea but we still did.
Honestly, Thalia was the one who was very supportive of this though Katie thinks it is very dangerous. But, after saying that we would be totally safe with the guys and all, she sighed and relented. And we were off packing the moment the conversation was over.
And as usual, when Percy and I are left alone and are expected to finish something by the end of the day, it would be very normal for us to get absolutely no work done. Thus, causing us to cram. This was no exception.
Seaweed Brain already had me trapped on the wall when the door closed, his lips moving on mine insistently. Seeing that I can't really argue much, I decided that maybe it would be nice if I just go with it. And I completely ignored the suitcases that are waiting to be filled. If it were up to me, Percy should hire a maid to do all his work for him and give us more time for ourselves. Then again, that is the selfish side of me talking again.
"We have to pack, Perce." I groaned, shoving him off me. "I thought we're leaving by tomorrow."
His eyes dropped in disappointment and my heart clenched at the sight. We can continue this when we're done and maybe it would go farther than it usually does… "Fine." He muttered, heading directly to his closet and tossing me random articles of clothing. Due to the many years of experience from packing my brothers' bags for them and helping Percy with the exact same thing, it went by quite quickly. We created a system wherein he would give me what he's going to bring and I fold and put it in the bag. And then, like any other problem, he closed the lock with more force necessary and piled the bags on the floor near the door.
"Okay, since we're done with my things, I'll help you with yours." Percy looked at me with a mischievous look on his face. "Same process?" he asked, already standing up.
It took me a while to answer him, seeing that it was very hard to consider these things especially with the fact that I don't trust Percy with what I'm going to wear at all. He would probably hand me nothing more than underwear if it were possible. But thankfully, it wasn't. Since he doesn't want me so pissed at him.
I had to examine the clothes carefully before placing them in my suitcase, taking a look at him once in awhile to see if he was planning to do something to me. And I'm not in the mood to start screaming at him, now that we were past that phase in our relationship.
We slept by 9:30 because all of us have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I don't want to go to a month long road trip exhausted from a sleepless night. I just won't let that happen.
And it was a pretty peaceful sleep.
The dream included a breathtaking garden and my equally breathtaking boyfriend. Percy and I were lying comfortably on the soft grass, watching clouds and telling stories. I was snuggled up to his side, my lips brushing against his neck and I would feel him move every once in a while, nudging my face with his nose. And it stayed like that until my dream self fell asleep in his arms.
So, I was kinda pissed at the sun when it woke me up.
Percy found it very amusing when he saw me cursing under my breath, eventually calling my attention and asking me what was wrong. I brushed off my dramatics with a very believable excuse saying that I had a bad dream. But through many years of friendship, he didn't believe it. He asked me the real reason and I told him about what really got me intimidating so early in the morning.
"Wait, so you're saying that you're mad because you woke up?"
I rolled my eyes, tapping my foot impatiently. "It was a very good dream, Seaweed Brain."
"What's the dream about then? If it's that good?"
At this note, I blushed to a very deep shade of red, causing him to laugh at my face again. "Come on, Annabeth. It can't be that bad, now can it?"
Just to get back at him and to hide my embarrassment, I ended up hitting my boyfriend on the shoulder. Hard. And he winced as he tended to his bruised limb. "You didn't have to punch me, you know." He mumbled, "But I promise that I won't laugh anymore. Tell me your dream."
There was hesitation, I can't lie about that, but I did end up speaking the very humiliating fantasy to my boyfriend. And, to my surprise, he wasn't looking at me the way he usually does when I talk to him about something private yet incredibly funny. He just placed both hands on my face and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "Let's make the dream a reality then."
It was the way he said it that made my knees a little weak, with a little help from the kiss. But he was supporting me like he usually does, letting me sit down on the bed to pull myself together. I would have slapped myself silly for acting like this in any other occasion. But it isn't. That was when I realized that I wanted to be vulnerable in front of him. Because he needed to see every single side of me. And this was the side that he has to accept in order to make this relationship last forever.
Gosh, I'm getting sidetracked again.
"Come on, Seaweed Brain. Stop with the romantics. Mother nature is waiting for us!" I faked excitement as I headed towards the bathroom to get ready.
Since I didn't know when the next time I'm going to bathe will be, I decided to make the most of the moment and drown myself in the lukewarm running water. And I sighed at how good it felt to my skin. Oh how I'm going to miss you daily showers.
When I realized that I was just standing there for already ten minutes, I sorta panicked. I already had a carefully organized schedule that has a specific time table and, according to the clock, I technically just have two minutes left. This got me more annoyed so I had to rush the bath because I don't want my hard work to be put to waste, most especially when it took me almost two days just to get it fixed.
As usual, Percy was leaning against the doorframe when I was barely clothed. Of course, I had the decency to cover myself up before he even considered opening door but there was still that awkward silence that fills the room when my naked-or almost naked- body would be examined like that. "Quit staring at me like that, Jackson. I'm serious." I glared at him and he immediately snapped his attention to my face, an amused smile playing on his lips.
"Well, I'm sorry Chase but I can't really help myself. You just look good enough to eat."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that a compliment?"
He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him, "Yes" he hissed through my collarbone, licking and sucking at the skin present there
"This isn't the best time, Seaweed Brain. We're leaving in ten minutes. I need to get dressed." I shoved him off of me and he just looked at me with those adorable puppy dog eyes of his.
Let me explain the reason why I was the only one stressing here. You see, Percy had gotten himself ready when I was still very much asleep. He just decided to wake me up a good ten minutes late. I would have thanked him, considering my dream, but it was still quite frustrating.
"Ignore the schedule, Annabeth. We're going to have fun. Not to be told what to do at a specific time period."
I shook my head as I pulled on my skinny jeans. "You should have told me that before I wasted two days of my life trying to get everything on track."
"I'm not saying you should dump it completely. You should just be really flexible. We could always cancel plans if ever we don't have enough time."
He does have a point. It frustrates me when his arguments make much more sense than mine and he would always leave me speechless. I looked at him and managed a smile. Maybe this was a good thing for him. I might just have finally rubbed off on him. "Fine. I'll be flexible. But don't blame me if we extend our road trip and make it last longer than usual."
Percy smiled. "What's so wrong with spending the entire summer with friends?"
"Um, not having enough time for your family?"
It was his turn to roll his eyes. "It was a rhetorical question, Annabeth."
We raced each other down the stairs, and as usual, I won. All of my friends were ready for the next few weeks and the female outfits ranged from shorts to pants, from tank tops to long sleeved shirts, from sandals to boots. But I got Silena's seal of approval to what I am wearing, saying that it was outdoorsy yet sophisticated. How she was so sure of that, I will never know.
My boyfriend was the one who directed us to the garage. Honestly, I haven't actually seen it yet since Percy parks his car outside the house but it was quite impressive compared to the other garages I've seen. It could fit about three to five cars, and there were a variety of tools if ever he would need it. I saw him smile at our awestruck faces but just shook his head, gesturing to a door that was behind a red Ferrari. And yes, I said Ferrari.
"How come you never showed me this place before?"
He smiled, "I wanted it to be a surprise. Plus, your face was priceless when you saw my other cars."
I stuck my tongue at him and he laughed as he placed a small kiss on my forehead, causing me to lose the bitter face and replace it with something happier.
Since I was right beside him, I noticed that he pulled out a set of keys, inserting one on the lock of the door. Once it was opened, we all piled ourselves inside and what I saw made my jaw drop to the ground. "Wow. Just wow."
It was an RV, absolutely perfect for what we're planning to do. It was bigger than the ones I would usually see on the highways but there was this trait that made it similar to the others. "Um… where did you get this?" Nico asked, examining the entire thing.
"Dad bought it for me a few days ago, just for this. He says that it could hold every single one of us but we can't use it every day, have it rest after a few days or so."
His words struck me. How could his father find a van big enough to acquaint fifteen teenagers? It was very unusual. Or had Poseidon planned this already and asked one of his friends to make it for him? Or maybe the beds were big enough to fit two people? Or maybe there was enough space that makes us feel comfortable…
My thoughts came to a stop when Thalia spoke, her tone a little sad. "I'm gonna miss this place." She said, "We're not gonna be here for so long. Can we come back?"
"Of course. Maybe during break or whenever we get the chance. Plus, we are coming back here after the trip. But that might only be for a few days because we have to go home."
We all nodded our agreement. See, maybe this is one of the days where Percy might just show us all his wisdom. "So, are we going or are we going? Cuz I don't know if I could wait a second longer." I turned to Travis and laughed, causing everyone to follow.
"Maybe he's right. Nature's waiting for us."
It didn't even take ten minutes before we were off to see the world.
