Percabeth costumes were inspired by art done by Burgyy. Just search up Percabeth Tangled.

Hope you enjoy the chapter! All songs belong their respective owners.


Chapter 13: The Fireflies are Paid Actors

October 31

Percy

Percy knew there was some fishy business going on right now. He knew all about fishy business, he could communicate with them, and they had the best gossip. Heck just last week, he had been sent to the principal's office because his skateboard had been confiscated. How was he supposed to know you're not supposed to ride your skateboard across the football field in the mornings?

He later found out; it was the football captain that had snitched. The young demigod swore that the football captain was out for him. They had been on bad footing since day one and they were at each other's throats constantly.

Now Percy didn't want to get into the details on how their feud started, that would be a story for another day, but as he was sitting in the principal's office, the fish in the aquarium were telling him some juicy gossip. You wouldn't believe the amount of dirt the fish had. Everyone always assumes that fish just swim mindlessly and look pretty, but they saw and heard everything.

'My lord, why are you in this office? Did you do something bad?' A goldfish asked.

'The asshole football captain reported me for riding my skateboard across the field and he got it confiscated. I'm here to pick it up.' Percy responded through his mind.

'Why so much derision towards that young man?'

'It's a long story, but just know that he and I don't get along,' he waved off.

'Oh, we can tell you some gossip we heard from the principal this week to pass the time,' a guppy offered.

Percy straightened his back on the seat. 'Some gossip, eh? Can it be used to blackmail people?'

'Oh, most definitely my lord,' An angelfish added. 'You wouldn't believe the mess the principal is in right now.'

Percy spent the next ten minutes listening to what the fish had to say. As it turned out, Principal Howard had an affair with another man before her husband found out and filed for divorce. There was an ongoing court battle for custody of the kids that was not going in her favor. Not only that, but the man she had an affair with had recently been arrested and tried for tax fraud. And to add insult to injury, she was pregnant with his child. This was further compounded when the fish told him that the principal was under criminal investigation for potential tax fraud by the IRS. And to further exacerbate the point her car got a flat tire this morning.

Wow the woman could not catch a break.

Percy met with the principal after the fish told him all this. He retrieved his skateboard and tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible, but he honestly felt bad for the woman. He was a troublemaker, sure, but this was too much. No way was he going to blackmail her.

Besides what was his source? The fish. The principal would probably think he was mad and have him sent to an institution. But he did have to admit, the gossip was good.

He left the office several minutes later after being given a lecture about not skating on school property and to try to get along with the football captain. He waved the fish goodbye then went back with this business.

As it stood now, he was sitting at a low table in the Hades cabin playing a game of UNO with Annabeth and Nico. They all had their Tartarus Club T-shirts on. They decided to have their meeting on Halloween, it only seemed fitting. If Percy was keeping tally, Annabeth had won two games, Nico had won two games and Percy had won zero games. What was going on?

He tried to keep a poker face as the viewed the four cards he had on hand. He looked at Nico, who had a blank look on his face with only two cards on his hand. Then he looked at Annabeth who also had only two cards in hand.

She placed a green 5 on the pile and then yelled out "UNO!"

Nico had a blank look on his face. He then looked at Percy, a mischievous look began creeping on his face. He grinned. "Sorry Percy, this has to be done." Then he placed a plus 4 on the stack, giving Percy four more cards. He then yelled out "UNO!"

Percy gasped. "Nico! Dude, how could you? This is the fourth time you screwed me over!"

Nico shrugged. "Sorry Percy, better luck next time."

He grumbled as he picked up four more cards. Of course, he picked up only bad cards and no plus 4s so he could screw over Annabeth and Nico in return. He looked at Annabeth and knew this game was determined. She placed her last card on the pile, and she won. This meant that she got all the blue cookies and got to pick the movie they would be watching.

"Looks like you win Annabeth," Nico sighed.

Annabeth was bit busy rubbing her victory in their faces. "In your face losers!"

Percy sighed and placed his remaining cards on the deck. He then handed Annabeth the container that had all the cookies in it. She took her laptop out of her bag and placed it on the table, looking for the movie they would watch.

"So which movie are we watching Wise Girl? It better not be some architecture documentary." Percy said with a raised eyebrow.

"We're watching Tangled," was her response.

Nico looked a bit confused. "Why Tangled Annabeth? Didn't take you as the type to like Disney Musicals."

"There's tons of stuff you don't know about her." Percy mused and started listing things. "She can't cook to save her life. She loves watching romcoms and those cheesy Hallmark movies. She loves blasting and singing Taylor Swift. She sings off key sometimes but it's the cutest thing- ow." He cried when Annabeth shoved him with her elbow on his ribs.

"Shut up Percy," she said.

He turned to look at her. In a low voice, "make me, Annabeth."

She turned to look at him, there was a playful light in her eyes. She leaned in closer and bought her lips close to his. "I can make it happen; you know."

She leaned in closer but were interrupted by a loud whistle coming from Nico. "Sorry you two, but no PDA in my cabin." That was the fourth time he had blown that whistle. He blew it every time they got too close to each other.

"Ugh come on Nico. It's the least you can do after screwing me over with those plus fours."

"Nope, not going to happen. Now let's watch the movie before the snacks run out."

"Fine," Percy grumbled. Under his breath he said, "I should have thrown that Wonder bread at you when I had the chance." But nobody heard it.

They sat together as they watched the movie. They discussed various topics such as their experiences in Tartarus and how they were doing. Nico said he was doing better, and that Will had been a great help in the months that he returned to camp. Percy wondered if there was something deeper going on between Will and Nico.

The highlight of their conversation was the Halloween event that would take place later tonight. Since Percy only attended camp during the summer, he never got to experience a camp Halloween. Annabeth explained that the campers dressed up and go cabin to cabin to ask for candy. The head oldest counselors also dress up and they would be the ones handing out candy. Annabeth said that the head counselors handing out this year would be Katie, Clarise, Will, Nyssa, Drew (Piper and Jason weren't at camp), the Stolls, Percy and Annabeth. Some of the younger head counselors would not be handing out candy.

"Did you guys bring your costumes?" Nico asked, popping a mouthful of popcorn into his mouth.

"Yep, they're all set." Annabeth answered.

"What are you guys going dressed as? Doing a couple's costume?"

Annabeth tapped her chin thoughtfully. "It's a surprise Nico. And you?"

"Oh, mine's also a surprise."

Percy made sure to bring his costume with him. Annabeth would kill him if he forgot it at home after she spent so long on it.

A couple of weeks ago. They had visited a costume store where they tried all sorts of costumes. Percy dressed up as a firefighter, a police officer, a gladiator, a goldfish, a bottle of ketchup, and Jack Frost. Ultimately, none of the costumes worked, they all seemed too… tacky. Especially the Aquaman one.

He liked the Spiderman one but Annabeth didn't quite appreciate it.

Annabeth herself tried on a nurse, witch, clown fish (he liked that one), a bottle of mustard, the Tooth Fairy, Wonderwoman, and a hot Cheeto (he loved that one, she didn't). Suffice to say she didn't like any of them.

After their failed shopping trip, Annabeth took Percy to her dorm room where she had him take off his jacket and stand as she took his measurements.

"What kind of costume are you thinking about Wise Girl?" Percy asked.

"It will be a surprise, Percy. Do you trust me?"

"You know I trust you, but I hope it's nothing embarrassing."

"I promise you it's nothing embarrassing. It will be a cute couples costume."

"Uh-uh."

She draped the measuring tape on his shoulders and whistled. "You got some nice shoulders here." She laid her head on his back and took a breath. "Nice swimmer's shoulders."

"Is that also part of the list of things you like about me?" He asked. "In addition to my ass?"

"Perhaps." She placed a gentle kiss on his back. She took his remaining measurements such as the length of his legs, arms, width of his chest, waist, arms and like ten other things that he forgot. She wrote them all down on her journal.

She then measured his full height, and she grumbled under her breath. "When did you get so damn tall? I liked it better when you were shorter than me."

He placed his hands on her waist pulling her close. "I don't know, but I couldn't do this when I was shorter." He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her a couple inches off the ground and kissed her. He placed her back down after a couple seconds.

She got on her tip toes and pressed another kiss to his lips. "Good point," she admitted. "It would be embarrassing if you were still shorter than me."

"You never makes easy do you?"

"Have you met me?"

"Regrettably," he deadpanned.

She pressed her hands on his chest. "We'll I also regret meeting you." She pressed another kiss on his lips.

"Oh my god! Can you two stop being so cute? You're going to give some cavities," Victoria gagged from her bed.

Percy had tried on his costume this morning before they left to camp, and it fit him perfectly. Annabeth said her costume would need some last-minute adjustments which she hoped the Athena campers could fix for her.

Judging by the costume Annabeth made for him, he had a pretty good idea what her costume was. Heck they were watching the movie about their characters just now.

"Oh, look here, Piper just posted pictures of her and Jason's Halloween costumes." Annabeth said, he showed Percy and Nico the picture. They were both wearing old fashioned clothes. Piper wore a long purple dress with a white shawl around her arms and shoulders. Jason wore dark trousers with a white button down and a coat on top. It was the position they were in that really gave who they were dressed as. Piper had her arms spread out like she was flying while Jason held her waist. Underneath the post it said:

#Piper #Jason #Rose #Jack #Titanic.

Percy was still getting used to this social media thing. Ever since the Athena, Hephaestus and Hecate cabins worked together to make phones safer, he had been catching up on getting with the times. His instagram was quite bare with only a couple of pictures (most of them with Annabeth).

"They look pretty good. Where are they anyway?" Percy asked.

"Last time I checked, they were in California. I think Piper might have mentioned going to Camp Jupiter."

"I wonder if Frank and Hazel will also be dressing up for Halloween."

Nico interjected into their conversation, "who knows, now let's back to the movie you two."

As the three of them were watching the movie, Percy put his arm around Annabeth's shoulders, and she leaned against his side. He then looked at Nico expecting him to blow the whistle, but the son of Hades didn't so, Percy guessed they were fine.

They were near the end of the movie when Annabeth got another message. Percy looked over his side to see it came from Piper. Apparently, Piper wanted to see some Halloween pictures as well. Annabeth made a quick response then set her phone down so they could see the rest of the movie. Communications were still an issue but some messages could get through.

The sun was beginning to set when the movie concluded. They all stood up to clean the cabin before getting ready for the celebration.

"Thanks, you two, it was a nice meeting," Nico thanked.

"Don't mention it man. It was fun as well. But don't screw me over in UNO again."

"If you ever need any help Nico, just let us know, ok?" Annabeth offered.

Nico nodded a bit uneasily but gave them a small smile. Afterwards, the son of Hades shooed them away. He said he needed to start putting his costume together and would see them later for the candy.

The two demigods were walking to the Athena cabin, Percy with his hands in his pockets. He had never seen the camp during the Fall. The leaves had changed to bright reds, yellows, and oranges. Their air was cooler as well. It honestly felt like a completely different experience than attending during the summer. They passed a couple campers on the way to the Athena cabin. Several pumpkins and Halloween decorations decorated the cabin area.

"I'll see you later ok," Percy said. He leaned down to give Annabeth a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Later Percy. I'll come get you at your cabin."

Percy walked down to his cabin where as always, he was the only inhabitant. Tyson was at their father's forges but would be going to California with Ella in the Spring. On his bunk was his camp duffel bag where his costume was. He unzipped it and started laying out the pieces that Annabeth made for him. A small grin decorated his face. He got the feeling that Annabeth planned this weeks in advance and she planned to have him see Tangled as well.

He started changing into his costume and ten minutes later he was done. He looked into the bathroom mirror, admiring Annabeth's workmanship. She had pretty much nailed the Flynn Rider costume. He wondered how beautiful Annabeth would look like in her Rapunzel costume.

By now the sun had completely set. The Jack-o-Lanterns outside had been lit. He grabbed the bags of candy from his bag and the large bowl that he bought from home. Annabeth told him that Halloween was one of the rare days in which Chiron and Mr.D allowed outside food and drink to enter the camp without being punished. Of course, Percy had been sneaking in contraband and dealing with the Stolls to get said contraband for many years now. He poured out the candy on the bowl and just waited. Who knew that this would be a waiting game.

There was a knock by the door. He opened it to see a small group of young demigods dressed in their costumes at the door. "Trick or Treat!" They exclaimed.

"Whoa you guys look great!" Percy grinned then kneeled down to get a better look at them. "Can you guys tell me who you're supposed to be?"

"I'm Iron Man," a voice he recognized as Harley said. Harley pumped his fist to his chest.

"That's great Harley." Percy then turned to look at the two girls standing next to each other. He recognized who they were but asked anyway. "How about you two?"

The two girls started shoving each other and trying to cover each other's mouths. "I'm Elsa- No I'm Elsa- shut up you- I'm the better Elsa- you could never- Percy who's the better Elsa?" These girls were definitely Holly and Laurel, the daughters of Nike. Their competitive nature was making them fight each other.

"Ah I think you two are great Elsas," he offered.

"Oh, puh lease, that is such a cop out answer. He obviously means me," Holly said.

"You must have wax in your ears, he definitely meant me," Laurel retorted.

"In what way did he mean you? Your hair is all messed up."

"Well at least my dress doesn't have dirt."

"Girls!" Percy yelled. That got them to quiet down. In a softer voice, "come on you're both great Elsa's, there's no need to fight." He put a reassuring hand on their shoulders. "Do you guys want some candy?"

The twins along with Harley nodded. For some reason, Holly and Laurel's faces were growing a shade of pink. To try to not reignite their competitive nature, he gave them all the same type and amount of candy. They waved their goodbyes and rushed to the next cabin. He caught a bit of the conversation going on between the pair. "I still think I'm the better Elsa-in your dreams- did you see the way he looked at me- no, did you see the way he looked at me."

Percy decided to stand by the open door instead of waiting inside the cabin. He saw some of the other counselors hanging around their doors handing out candy. He recognized some of their costumes, Will Solace was dressed up as Han Solo, Clarisse was wearing a miliary uniform and hopefully was not handing out bombs. Nyssa from Hephaestus was dressed like a mechanic which wasn't too far off from what she normally looked like. Drew was dressed in traditional Japanese attire.

His eyes zeroed in on Annabeth who was wearing the light purple dress that Rapunzel wore in the movie. The dress fit her athletic figure well and her blond hair was tied back in a low ponytail. He noticed that Katie was wearing a dress made completely of fall leaves was next to Annabeth, weaving flowers into Annabeth's hair. Percy was pretty sure that his mouth was open from staring at his girlfriend. She caught his eye, the smirked and winked at him. Percy sent her back a quick kiss. She smiled back then turned to talk to the campers in front of her.

"Dude, pay us attention, we've been standing here for hours now," he heard someone say. He turned to see Connor and Travis standing in front of him wearing Gryffindor student uniforms.

"Who were you looking at?" Connor asked.

Travis rolled his eyes. "We all know who he was looking at. He only has eyes for one girl."

Percy cleared his throat. "Great to see you guys too. Tell me, what are you guys dressed as?"

"Oh, come on Percy you know damn well who we are. We watched the movies together. Remember?" Connor asked.

"Umm… you guys are giving Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley."

"We need watch those movies again Percy. You clearly do not see the genius of these costumes." Travis added.

"Yeah, yeah, but you guys even twins." He turned to look at the Hermes cabin where there was no one. "Shouldn't you guys be at your cabin handing out candy?"

Travis shrugged. "We don't see that many people at our cabin after we handed expired candy last year."

"Yep, that was whole mess. Who would have thought having people consume candy that expired 15 years ago was bad for the stomach." Connor added. "Gave the entire camp explosive diarrhea."

"Huh, remind me never to eat at your house." Percy mumbled. "Anyways, want some candy?"

They stuck their hands inside the bowl and took a handful each then ran off before he could say anything. "Thanks Perce, we promise not to your TP your cabin if you piss us off."

The remaining campers weren't as chaotic as the Stolls were. The Apollo cabin visited. Will was dressed as Han Solo, Austin as dressed as a musician with his trusty guitar, Kayla was dressed as Merida from Brave with her bow on standby. The Demeter Cabin then paid a short visit with Katie dressed like leaf nymph and Miranda was dressed as Toph Beifong from The Last Airbender. The Ares Cabin visited next with Clarisse and Sherman dressed both in miliary combat uniforms. They were handing out grenades instead of candy. Clarisse assured him it wouldn't blow up in his face, but he wasn't so sure.

"Just pull out the pin for a wonderful surprise Prissy," Clarisse said cheerily. He didn't trust her.

"Uh-huh. Is this wonderful surprise an explosion to the face?"

"Don't be such a scaredy cat," she continued. "It's Ares' cabin special Halloween surprise.

"Yeah, I'm not trusting anything from Ares."

"Suit yourself pretty boy." That nickname didn't sound like a compliment coming from Clarisse.

Lou Ellen from Hecate was dressed as Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service and was handing out 'poisoned apples.'

"Are they really poisonous?" Percy asked her. He was eying the red candy apple she had given him. "I've had some bad experiences with poison."

"For you Percy, never," was all she said then winked at him. He wasn't sure if she was being truthful. The apple looked really good. Perhaps he would risk it.

The Aphrodite cabin visited afterwards with Drew leading them. "Ah godsdammit," she cursed. She then pointed as Percy. "Aquaman. Why didn't you dress as Aquaman?"

"Don't call me Aquaman." He raised an eyebrow and looked at the remaining Aphrodite campers Lacie, Mitchell, and Valentina. "Why is she in bigger bad mood than usual?"

"Oh, she bet that you would dress as Aquaman and Annabeth would dress as some brainiac scientist and we bet you wouldn't," Mitchell supplied.

"Yep, so it looks like Drew is going to owe us some drachmas," Valentina interjected a grin on her face.

"I never swore on the Styx, it's not a binding oath," Drew sneered.

"Oh come on Drew, don't be such as sore loser," Percy smirked. Drew only gave him a look of disdain. "So, tell me what are you guys dressed as?"

Lacie was the first to speak, "Sailor Moon."

Mitchell followed next, "Tanjiro Kamado."

Valentina shortly afterwards, "Elle Woods."

Percy then looked at Drew. She was still giving him a look like she was sucking on a lemon. She eventually gave in, "Princess Kuguya."

"That's great you guys. Here, have some candy."

Drew was the first to leave after getting her candy. "I'll see you around, Aquaman."

"Don't call me Aquaman." Once she was out of earshot be leant down to see the younger campers. "Is she giving you guys a hard time?"

'She's… not as bad as before. She mellowed out since Piper put her in her place but she can still be a serious biatch sometimes." Lacie mumbled.

"Hey, if she ever gives you guys trouble. Let me know. I'll put her in her place for you or have Piper do it instead," he joked.

"Tha-than-thanks Percy," they all stammered. All three of their faces were growing shades of pink.

"No problem you guys." Percy then ruffled Mitchell's hair.

"Oh, come on Percy, I spent an hour getting my hair done."

"Whoops, sorry man."

He saw a couple more campers as the night continued. Every couple of minutes the joyous atmosphere was interrupted by someone screaming their lungs out. This was quickly followed by laughter. He was unsure why.

As the night wound down, many of the campers had returned to their cabins with only a handful of them still outside. Percy was ready to call it a night, but a voice stopped him. "Hey there handsome, got some candy for me?" He smiled; he recognized that voice anywhere.

"I always have some candy for my Wise Girl." He turned around to see Annabeth in her Rapunzel costume. Her blond hair was tied back in a low ponytail with flowers embroidering it.

She stepped closer and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "How was the candy exchange? Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, it was nice. I got some candy, grenades, a poisoned apple, and called all sorts of names. How about you?"

"Same old, same old like every year." She leaned onto his side, he wrapped and arm around her. "But I'm glad you were here to celebrate at least one Halloween before we go to college."

He kissed the top of her head. "Wouldn't miss it." He continued looking around the cabins as more campers were headed into their cabins. "By the way, did you see Nico? I haven't seen him."

Percy suddenly felt something poke him in the back and he jumped. He pulled Riptide out of his pocket and was about to unsheathe it until he saw a figure dressed in a black cloak, black armor and a black helmet that covered its face. Judging by the figure's height and build he guessed that was Nico.

Percy put Riptide back into his pocket and breathed. "Nico, would you stop sneaking up on me like that?"

Nico removed his helmet. "Sorry Percy, but the face you made was hilarious."

"Where have you been all this time? I don't think I saw you at my cabin?" Annabeth asked.

Nico shrugged. "I've been sneaking around giving people heart attacks. Those screams you heard earlier were because I scared someone."

"That was you?" Percy said. Nico nodded. "Damn man."

"I see you got the Sauron costume down pat." Annabeth said.

Nico smiled. "You like it? I spent some time making it and stuff. I think it turned out great."

"Yep definitely would give anyone the heebie jeebies."

"I see you guys did a couple's costume." Nico noted.

"Yep, it was Annabeth's idea," Percy informed him.

"You guys look great. I'm going off to scare more campers. If you hear more screams, just know that it was me." With that he disappeared into the shadows.

Seconds later a loud scream broke through the camp. It sounded like Clarisse. They looked at each other and laughed. They stepped into the Poseidon cabin. Percy put the remaining candy on an empty bunk. Annabeth wrapped her arms around his waist and lightly kissed his back. Percy placed a hand where hers were on his stomach.

"Hey you, ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok. Just a long day you know."

"Want to talk about it?"

"It's honestly nothing bad. Just had this dumb idea. Not sure if you would be up for it."

Percy traced his fingers on her knuckles. "Let me hear it Wise Girl. You know I like your ideas, unless it's something that gets me pulverized or is embarrassing."

"Nothing like that. You know." She took a breath. "Want to go with me to the canoe lake?"

"At this hour? Aren't we nearing curfew?"

"You sure are selective when following the rules mister."

Percy snorted. "Yeah, you got a point there."

She gave him another gentle kiss on the back. "So, will you follow me?"

He removed one of her hands from his stomach and gave it a light kiss. "Always."

They walked outside, the camp twinkling in the starlight and moonlight. "I need to stop by the Apollo cabin first. Do you mind waiting outside?"

Percy nodded. He waited outside the Apollo cabin, looking up at the stars. He started tracing the constellations that Annabeth taught him. There was Pegasus, Andromeda, the stupid Cassiopeia constellation, Perseus and course the Huntress.

Percy crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the Apollo cabin. "Hey Zoë," he called. He looked up at the constellation. "I don't know if I've told you before, but I met your grandfather Iapetus before. We call him Bob now. He is cool guy. He really helped us out when Annabeth and I were in Tartarus."

He paused. "I wish we could have saved him. He sacrificed himself so we could make it out." He took a breath. "I really wish he were here with us now. He loved the stars; he would have been proud to see you up in the sky watching and protecting everyone."

He laughed lightly. "I also somewhat met Hercules when we were traveling to Greece. I know you and him didn't get along. Honestly, I was upset when I didn't get to meet him. I wanted to kick his ass for what he did to you. If I ever run into him, I promise to kick his ass for you."

The door of the Apollo cabin opened. "Who were talking to Percy?" Annabeth asked.

Percy pointed up at the huntress. "Just talking to Zoë. Telling her I'll kick Hercules' ass if I see him in person."

"What is up with you and wanting to get into fights with every immortal?"

He stepped closer. "It's a talent of mine you know." Percy would have leaned in for a kiss, but Austin stepped behind Annabeth carrying a guitar. "Austin, what's up?"

"Annabeth said to follow you guys to the canoe lake. That she has a surprise."

Percy looked at Annabeth, a confused look on his face. "It's a surprise Seaweed Brain, let's go." Annabeth practically dragged him by the wrist to the canoe lake. He noted the small tinge of pink adorning her cheeks.

What was going on? Was all Percy could think as he was being dragged.

They found a canoe at the edge of the water. It was the biggest one in camp and shaped more like a gondola. Annabeth stepped in first and took a seat in the middle. Percy followed and took a seat across from her. Austin was the last to get in. He took a seat behind Annabeth at the end of the canoe.

"Can you move us further into the lake?" She asked.

He raised an eyebrow but did as she said. The waters moved the canoe further into the lake. He calmed the waves down so that the boat was barely rocking.

The water was so calm that the night sky was reflected on it. He looked back at Annabeth; she was fiddling her thumbs. "What's up with you Annabeth? Is something going on?"

She stopped fiddling her thumbs. "I just wanted to have a moment with you."

Austin quietly started strumming his guitar behind him.

He leaned in and whispered against her ear. "You could have sneaked into my cabin after curfew, you know. Your invisibility cap works again right?"

"Percy! What exactly are you trying to imply?" She looked scandalized.

He snorted. "Don't be acting all innocent on me now. You know what we do."

'Gods you're so annoying."

"So I've been told." He looked at the still waters as they reflected the sky. "So are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"Wait a bit longer." She said. "I promise you it will be worth it."

"Whatever you say." He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. The dim starlight made them sparkle.

Annabeth started running her thumb over his knuckles. "I really like the way the costume turned out. Makes you look nice."

Percy felt a blush growing on his face. "Yeah- uh, your costume looks great on you on as well. Makes you look really cute. I really like the flowers in your hair."

"You'll have to thank Katie for that."

They stood there in silence, listening the quiet strums of Austin's guitar and the sounds of wildlife.

"This is dumb." Annabeth spoke while holding hands.

"What is?"

She hesitated for a moment. "When you were kidnapped, I kind of fell apart looking for you." She continued tracing patterns. "I blasted music in the cabin and drove my siblings crazy."

"Sounds like something you would do."

She pinched his thigh. "Anyways, there's a couple songs that kind of reminded me of you." She looked at Austin and then nodded. Austin began strumming his guitar louder. A slow, melancholic melody.

Then it suddenly came to him. Oh…Oh.

Annabeth was about to sing to him. He had heard her sing before and even when she sounded like a dying cat giving birth, he thought it was the most adorable thing in the world. She took a deep breath as she started softly singing her song. It was Back to December by Taylor Swift. A slow song filled with regret and longing.

She had a tear running down her cheek once she was done. He didn't hesitate to wipe it off and leaned in to kiss her. A soft kiss that carried his feelings for her. They separated, and she looked into his eyes.

"I hope I wasn't off key that time," she murmured.

"You were great Annabeth. That was beautiful." He kissed her forehead. "No matter how you sing, you sound beautiful to me."

"It was hard Percy. Not knowing if you were ok or if you would even remember me or anyone," she cried.

"Hey it's ok Annabeth. I'm here now. I promise I'm not leaving."

She laughed lightly. "I cried every time that song came on you know. I was kind of a mess."

"Well, you wouldn't be Annabeth if you weren't at least a little bit messy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He laughed. "Nothing, nothing. I'm glad that get to spend time together." Any other songs you sang?"

She gripped his vest. "There were a couple others. Want to hear them."

"I'd love to."

She turned back to motion Austin. He started playing a faster more cheerful melody. "I can finally sing these songs as happy ones instead of sad ones."

She began singing a medley of songs. Much more cheerful ones such as You Belong with Me, and Sparks Fly.

"Remember after the Labyrinth after you bought Rachel in?" She asked.

Annabeth was prodding a subject he didn't want to be prodded. "Uh… yeah what about that?"

"Well, you were so oblivious to my feelings that I wanted to strangle you." She frowned. "You only made it worse when you bought Rachel, and I figured out you were at Calypso's Island after the eruption. I was so close to just stabbing you."

"Well, it's good to known that your violent tendencies were present even back then."

She chuckled. "Well anyways. I was giving you so many signals and you never picked them up…" she went quiet for a moment. "But I was also scared. The Great Prophecy was on the horizon, and we all thought you were fated to die. I was afraid to get too attached and then you would leave."

"That's why I was angry when Rachel came along. You were spending so much time with her and I watched from the sidelines," she continued. "If you were fated to die, I wanted to spend more time with you but you spent it with Rachel. That's why I was so angry back then."

"Hey, Annabeth," he whispered. He placed his hand on her chin to raise her up so they made eye contact. "I'm sorry for all that ok. I never meant to hurt you. It was a very weird time and I was afraid as well. I wanted to spend some time as a normal teen and not have to worry about a war…"

Annabeth breathed out. "I know that now. I'm not angry, demigod life just sucks," Annabeth summarized.

"Definitely," he agreed. "They should put that on-the-job description. May cause lifelong trauma and early death."

She looked around the lake for a moment before speaking again. "Anyways, I sang You Belong with Me during that time so many times you wouldn't believe it. It drove Malcolm sick."

"Hey at least it was a nice song" A small smirk crossed his face. "You could have been singing her more violent ones like Bad Blood or Look What You Made me Do."

She smirked. "Oh, trust me, I sang those songs when you pissed me off and every time someone hit on…You know what, never mind, I sang a couple songs for you so now I expect you to sing something for me."

Percy was taken aback. "Right-right now? I didn't plan for this. Oh gods."

She grinned. "Not right now but maybe in the future."

He scratched the back of his head. "I'll think of something."

"You better. I just poured my heart out to you. I expect something in return."

He leaned in closer and whispered against her ear. "You wanna go into my cabin and you know…?"

She slapped his shoulder. "Not like that, Percy. I want you to sing me something."

"I'll think of something."

She smiled then looked back at the forest surrounding the lake. There were small yellow lights coming from the trees. They were slowly making their way to the water. "Oh! It's starting."

"What's starting?"

"The fireflies. They always come out this day of the year."

"You planned this?"

"Of course I did. Athena always has a plan. I made you watch Tangled and made us these costumes for this moment."

"Wait so what do you want me to do?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sing the song from the movie with me. There's a reason I made you watch it." The fireflies were getting closer and started illuminating the area around them. "I hope you remember the lyrics." She motioned to Austin to change the melody to a slower one that resembled the one from the movie.

"Annabeth, I don't know how I feel about this. I'm not the best singer." He said uneasily.

"It will be fine. Come on. I don't care if you sound like a dying hippocampus giving birth."

"Gee thanks, that sure helps."

The fireflies came closer to the boat, lighting the water with soft yellow lights. Annabeth gave him one last look. "Come on, it will be ok." He nodded and she slowly started singing.

Annabeth:

All those days watching from the windows
All those years outside looking in
All that time never even knowing
Just how blind I've been
Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here, suddenly I see
Standing here, it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be

And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see you

Annabeth looked at him. Austin kept strumming the chords. She gave him an encouraging look. He took a breath. Hopefully he remembered the lyrics.

Percy:

All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur
All that time, never truly seeing
Things the way they were
Now she's here, shining in the starlight
Now she's here, suddenly I know
If she's here, it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go

She smiled and held his hands before they sang the next verses together.

Together: And at last I see the light

Percy: And it's like the fog has lifted

Together: And at last I see the light

Annabeth: And it's like the sky is new

Together:

And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once, everything is different
Now that I see you

Now that I see you

They were close to each other, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Those stormy greys in her eyes had him captivated like he was looking at the most beautiful piece of jewelry in the world.

They embraced in a kiss as if they were the only people in the world. Percy felt a warmth grow within himself, like the fireflies were giving him their light.

They split apart only when they heard Austin crying from behind Annabeth. They turned to look at him. "You ok there, man?"

Austin sniffled. "Sorry, that was just so beautiful. I can't wait to tell everyone else."

Percy grinned. He bought his attention back to Annabeth.

Annabeth smiled. "Well, I must say. That was better than expected. You didn't sound like a tone deft hippocampus giving birth."

"Uh- thanks. You sounded nice too."

"I look forward to you singing some songs to me in that nice voice."

"Wait this didn't count?"

"Nope, I'm going to make you apply yourself."

"You're impossible!"

"Love you too."

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I love you too."


AN: I choose the Percabeth costumes due to the fanart and because 'Tangled' is my favorite Disney movie.

Chalice of the Gods comes out soon. Have you guys ordered your copies? I preordered my (3) copies months ago and also the Mark of Athena Graphic novel comes out on the same date (September 26). I wonder If I'll have to rewrite sections of this fanfic to make it fit better with the new content. Guess we'll see.

Ok so have some good/bad news. I've mostly prewritten up to chapter 20 but I seem to have a hit a wall in writing. I'm playing with some ideas like Annabeth going to like an architecture convention and Percy spending some time underwater with his immortal family.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

See you in the next one! (There's two Riordanverse cameos in the next chapter, kudos if you can guess who)