Prompt 8: Annabeth's 19th Birthday (very specific lol)
Annabeth's nineteenth birthday was going well. She and Percy had spent most of the day traveling around Long Island visiting some of its most famous architectural landmarks, including the windmills of East Hampton and Watermill, Old Whaler's church, Sagamore Hill, Old Field Point Lighthouse, and finishing at Montauk Point Light.
It had been great, just the two of them driving around all day, seeing the different architectural monuments. Percy had happily let her drag him by the hand around the various buildings and had seemed to listen to most of what she told him about them. She was glad they saved the Montauk Point Light for last—it made her heart beat faster to watch the way Percy came alive beside the sea, his eyes reflecting the green of the water, his grin turning slow and lazy as he looked out over the waves. She especially liked when he turned that grin to her as he took her hand, his fingers sliding through hers, lacing them together.
"Good birthday?" he asked.
She nodded, drinking him in. Last summer, they'd spent her birthday grieving Jason and the loss of so many in Camp Jupiter and New Rome. The summer before that, they'd spent her birthday in Tartarus. The summer before that, the Titan War was in full swing. The preceding summers it had been the joys of the Labyrinth, the Sea of Monsters, and the Underworld. To just have today, calm and peaceful, after a really great first year of college and looking forward to their second year, was about the best birthday present she could ask for.
"So do you want to walk around the lighthouse and tell me its history and how it was built and everything?" Percy asked her.
"In a minute." She put her free hand on his neck, pulling him closer, and kissed him. For a few wonderful seconds, nothing else existed. She could even briefly push out of her mind the thought that had been bothering her all day and which she was continuing to refuse to look at.
Once Annabeth was actually focusing on the lighthouse, it was even cooler than she'd hoped for. So, yet again, she grabbed Percy's hand and pulled him around the base of the structure, pointing out features and talking about its history. She'd thought by this point in their architectural tour, he'd be completely zoned out, but he still appeared to be listening, even asking her questions and pointing out some things about the nautical benefits of the massive light and why it was important on this spit of land.
Finally, she cracked and said, "I've been talking about architecture all day. How are you still interested?"
Percy actually laughed at that. Then he slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Because I love you. And it's your birthday, so I'm just happy that you're happy." He hesitated, studying her face, then asked, "You are happy, right?"
Again, the thought Annabeth had been ignoring all day rose in her mind, but she shoved it back down as she managed a smile and told Percy, honestly, "I'm very happy. And I love you, too," she added, moving closer to kiss him again.
They headed back to camp for the evening. A lot of their friends had come in to help celebrate Annabeth's birthday. It hadn't been her idea to have a party at camp, but Piper and Rachel had insisted, and enough of the other campers had agreed that Annabeth really had no choice. So, somewhat grudgingly and somewhat gratefully, she had agreed to the party.
Party preparations were in full swing in the dining pavilion when they got back. Annabeth only caught a glimpse, though, before Piper shoved her away. "No way. It's not ready. Go away for a while…like another hour. Drag your boyfriend off and go make out somewhere or something."
"Eewww," a voice nearby squealed. Annabeth turned to see Angelina, one of the newest Athena campers, making a face. When she caught Annabeth looking at her, though, she giggled and jogged off, streamers trailing from her hands. Annabeth was struck by just how young she looked; Angelina, with her glasses, braces, and incredible aptitude for mathematics and chemistry, was only twelve.
The same age Annabeth had been on her first quest. The quest where Luke had gifted Percy some cursed sneakers that had nearly dragged him, Annabeth, and Grover straight into Tartarus.
"You okay?" Piper asked, studying her face. "I'm not trying to kick you out, we're just finishing up—"
"No, it's fine." Annabeth forced a smile. "Just…thinking about something else. This place is looking great. I'll be back in an hour."
Annabeth made her way down to the beach. A few campers were splashing in the ocean, so she headed a little ways farther down from them, until she was hidden by a dune. Then she sat down in the sand, put her arms around her knees, and took a deep breath, letting the sound of the waves wash over her. After a few moments, she closed her eyes and also allowed the thoughts she'd been battling all day to rush over her.
She was nineteen today. An age many demigods didn't get to and which she was very proud and grateful to have achieved.
It was also the age Luke had been when he'd decided to betray Camp Half-Blood. When he'd been willing to send Percy, Grover, and her to Tartarus. When he'd tried multiple times to kill Percy—who had only been twelve. At the time, Annabeth had been deeply hurt and disappointed in Luke, but now, looking at the other campers, some of whom seemed so young, she simply couldn't understand how he could have made those choices. She'd always had a good imagination, but she couldn't imagine choosing to set them up for destruction. The gods hadn't always treated her fairly either, but she would never take that out on the other campers.
"Hey."
Annabeth jumped as Percy appeared around the edge of the dune. "Oh. Hey."
"Can I, uh, join you? Or would you rather be alone?"
In response, Annabeth patted the sand beside her and Percy plopped down, sending sand flying. She made a face at him, but he just shrugged.
Percy leaned back on his hands, eyes on the ocean. "So, what are you doing out here? Just feeling old?"
"Watch it, Seaweed Brain. I'm only a month older than you." Annabeth poked him in the side. "And no. I was just…thinking."
"Uh-oh." Percy shot her a smile. "What's up, Wise Girl?"
Annabeth sighed. She pulled her legs more tightly against her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "I was just thinking that…the summer we did our first quest, Luke was nineteen."
"Oh yeah." Percy frowned, thinking. After a few moments, he glanced at her. "You're not, uh, having similar thoughts, right?"
"No!" Annabeth burst out. "Just the opposite. I can't understand how he could do it." When Percy didn't say anything, Annabeth continued, in a lower voice, "I couldn't do it, Percy. I couldn't hurt kids. We were kids. You, me, Grover…but he still gave you those damn cursed shoes. Plus, almost everyone at camp was younger than him. And he was ready to kill us all. Or, at least, he was okay letting everyone die. What—" her voice caught. "What went wrong?"
Percy was quiet for a long time, looking out at the water. "When we were on the quest to Greece, I kind of started to think that I understood how Luke had felt. Just a little bit. It sucks to be a pawn of the gods over and over again. But I know that they still beat the alternative. And, yeah, I could never turn on my friends. Or camp. I definitely would never hurt kids. If…if you're hurting kids, you're always on the wrong side." He shook his head. "I don't know, Annabeth. I don't think I have a good answer for you. I mean, part of the reason we did what we did in the Titan War was because we couldn't see his side."
"Yeah, that's true." Annabeth wiped a tear off her cheek. "I didn't expect to think about it today, but this morning at breakfast, looking around at all the other campers, they just seemed so young and then I realized I was the same age Luke had been when he'd tried to kill you with that pit scorpion." She shook her head. "And then I just couldn't stop thinking about it. It feels different from this side, you know?"
Percy nodded. He studied her face for a moment, then scooted closer and put his arm around her shoulders. Annabeth leaned into him and drew a shaky breath.
"Sorry to be all blubbery on my birthday," she told him.
"It's fine, babe." Percy kissed her forehead. "Besides, isn't there an old song about it's your birthday and you'll cry if you want to?"
Annabeth gave a watery laugh. "I think it's party, not birthday."
"Close enough." Percy tightened his arm around her shoulders. "Nice sunset."
"It is." Annabeth laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed there, watching the setting sun turn the sky orange and purple until the conch horn sounded for dinner and it was time to head to her party.
The party was a lot of fun. Annabeth was able to shake off her morose mood and go back to having fun; talking about her thoughts with Percy had definitely helped, as it usually did.
At the campfire later that evening, Harley and some of the other Hephaestus campers, with help from Leo, who was back for the summer, set off a pretty impressive display of fireworks because, as Harley said brightly, "Annabeth is old."
"She is," Percy agreed solemnly.
Annabeth smacked her boyfriend, but high-fived Harley and thanked him for the awesome fireworks show. He grinned and ran off to join his friends, who were roasting marshmallows over the fire. Annabeth had to smile as she watched them, then popped a marshmallow into her mouth; it was gooey and smoky from the campfire—perfect. She didn't love being called "old" (especially when she was only nineteen, which was still pretty young—she couldn't even legally drink yet!), but the way Harley had said it, with hope, reminded her how nice it was, now, that demigods knew they could grow old. Bringing New Rome into the picture hadn't just been good for her and Percy; it could be a source of hope for all demigods. Life was still difficult. It always had been and always would be for demigods, but there was also hope for a future. And that made the impossibly hard things she and Percy and their friends had been through worth it.
Maybe that was what Luke had lost. He'd given up hope. Annabeth thought that was probably true, and she ached for him. That must have been terrible, to lose sight of hope. Annabeth was determined to never make the same mistake.
So she leaned into Percy's arm, lacing her fingers through his, and letting herself smile at the brilliant flashes of light from the second round of fireworks. Apparently, the Hephaestus cabin had been having a lot of fun with explosives, helped out by a few Hermes and Ares campers.
When Percy kissed her forehead, Annabeth felt a hopeful flutter in her chest.
Hope.
That was the magic word.
She had graduated from high school. She had completed her first year of college. Both of those things seemed as incredible and had once seemed as unlikely as the fact that she had managed to survive being on the front lines of two wars. And now, she was hoping for a future she had once never even dared to dream about.
It felt good to be nineteen.
