So this chapter takes place after BotL and serves as a sneak peek for a PJO one-shot I published. I wrote it before this story was a concept and considered throwing it in here but decided to leave it as its own story. I'll put more info about it at the end AN.

Story #10: A Retelling of the Kiss at Mount St. Helens

Annabeth has been on edge since she saw Percy walk into his own funeral. When she returned to Camp and he was presumed dead, she wasn't sure how to feel. Would everything at Mount St. Helens have happened if she didn't kiss him? What if he died for real without it? She spent those two weeks at Camp thinking about it.

At least he came back. She kept it to herself how happy she was to see him alive but those previous thoughts still lingered because she and Percy didn't talk about it.

Annabeth wanted to unwind and she figured it'd be best to spill to Silena, Clarisse, and Juniper since they've been on her case since she got back. It was mostly Silena and Juniper. Clarisse was curious, mostly about Percy's status.

So one night in an empty Aphrodite cabin, the four of them sitting on Silena's bunk, Annabeth told them everything up to the kiss at Mount St. Helens before it erupted. Then, upon hearing that story, Silena and Juniper exploded in glee almost like the volcano itself.

"That is absolutely romantic!" Silena exclaims, hugging a heart pillow tightly at her chest.

"I liked the part about Jackson being burned alive," Clarisse adds, twiddling a knife in her hands with a grin.

"This feels like I'm at a grotto, listening to the best stories ever told," Juniper says, lying on her stomach and looking up at Annabeth with anticipation for the rest of the story.

-o-

Percy didn't think he was gone for so long and that the Camp assumed he was dead. It surprised him to walk back into Camp as if he was gone for the weekend only to see everyone at his funeral. For a moment, he thought he was dead but then Annabeth got mad at him so he knew he was alive.

But he and Annabeth never spoke about how she kissed him. He wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it because what could he say? How would he bring that up?

"Annabeth kissed me."

His idea was to tell anyone but Annabeth, friends he could trust. Maybe Grover, Tyson, Chris, and Beckendorf could give him advice. Besides, they wanted to know what happened from his perspective since Annabeth's word got around Camp.

They were no help. They stared at him as if he walked into his own funeral again but more deadpanned.

"Finally," Grover says with an exhausted sigh.

Beckendorf doesn't look surprised, but his blank face shifts into an impressed grin. He glances at Chris who's nodding approvingly.

Tyson's brow curls above his eye. "Wait, I thought you and Annabeth were already dating."

-o-

"He blew up a volcano for you!" Silena yells at Annabeth, nearly loud enough for the entire Camp to hear. She wouldn't be surprised if Aphrodite heard all the way from Olympus.

"Because of you!" Juniper adds, fluttering excitedly. Her voice was also loud for all the other nymphs and dryads to hear.

"You burned him alive for me!" Clarisse exclaims.

Silena stops cheering to narrow her eyes at Clarisse. "You were concerned when he was missing afterwards and later presumed dead."

Clarisse scoffs. "Yeah, but then he came back which was terrible." She catches Annabeth's eye and clears her throat. "I mean terrible for whatever came out of that volcano."

Annabeth sighs, lying on Silena's bed. "He was on Calypso's island for weeks! Calypso! I'm afraid to ask what happened."

Juniper takes a seat closer to Annabeth and gently rubs her head, cushioning her curls. "Look, Annabeth, if you really love someone or at least care for them, you have to be prepared to accept them as they are and their past. You'll hope that one day you'll wake up to an Iris message saying they'll tell you everything. Sometimes you're better off not knowing or maybe nothing happened. Don't chase after someone lusting for someone else. You want someone who wants to chase after you."

Annabeth glances up at Juniper who's still stroking her hair. She isn't sure if that piece of advice helped or not. Their quest is barely over, the prophecy is still looming over their heads, Percy was back from the presumed dead, and here she is wondering about trivial things.

"I'll ask Charlie if Percy tells him anything," Silena says.

"Same with Grover," Juniper adds.

"I could get the info from Jackson," Clarisse says determined, pounding a fist into her hand.

Silena crosses her arms and cocks a hip at her. "Last time you did that, you drank toilet water."

Clarisse rolls her eyes. "Well, now I know not to shove him in a toilet, Silena."

Annabeth sits straight again. "I mean, I thought he was dead for two weeks!"

Clarisse sighs happily, looking up as if recalling a happy memory. "I remember celebrating…" Her face drops a little again when she looks at Annabeth. "I mean mourning."

"He crashed his own funeral!"

"The other nymphs and I were talking about that for weeks," Juniper says.

"At least he came back alive," Silena points out.

"Not gonna lie, that was pretty cool but don't tell him I said that," Clarisse says.

-o-

"She kissed me … what does that mean?" Percy asks his friends.

He needed legitimate advice from friends with girlfriends. Clearly, he needed to get out more since his current company wasn't helpful.

Grover takes a long sip of coffee from a seemingly empty cup. It got to the point where he ran out of coffee and was making screeching sipping sounds.

Tyson gasps dramatically. "You're cheating on Annabeth?"

"No!" Percy exclaims.

"It means…" Chris starts before drifting off since he doesn't know nor has an answer.

Beckendorf takes over. "It means you'd better keep that to yourself until you find out and don't ask Annabeth what it means."

Percy nods. "Finally, some good advice."

I wrote this chapter before I read ToN and Clarisse having the same "passive but kind of concerned" attitude towards Percy was very similar to Ares with Apollo.

And for the one-shot that's out now:

It Just Is - Percy and Annabeth get into small disagreements in the labyrinth while internally thinking about their feelings for the other (Percy x Annabeth OS / BotL Deleted Scene)