Pros and cons. Percy had to weigh them out. Time seemed to stop as he considered the ramifications of his choices. He had agreed to kiss Callie. It was a game. She was pretty. Seemed like a no brainer. If Annabeth was in his shoes, what would she do? Percy could honestly say he didn't know. But when Percy thought about what he really wanted, he moved without hesitation. His hand cupped Annabeth's cheek, and he caught the look of surprise on her face before he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers. Her surprise didn't last long, as almost instantly she was kissing him back, pressing her hand against his chest to support herself. The kisses were fast and urgent. His hand fell to her waist and he pulled her towards him. He fell back so that he was propping himself up on his elbows while she pressed into him. Percy would have continued but he considered where they were. He grabbed her arms, feeling the warmth of her bare skin, and gently lifted her off of him, her soft lips hesitantly separating from his own. He sat up and saw that everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing to watch them. Even Kermit in his underwear was watching them, though he was still shovelling chips into his mouth and looked largely disinterested. Percy blushed. When he looked over at Annabeth he saw that she was looking equally flustered, though her focus was on Percy, not the rest of the room. He cleared his throat.
'Um, here." he picked up his card, the one that said you must kiss the most attractive person in the group and handed it to the girl in the middle. She read it aloud.
"Well, I'd say you passed that challenge with flying colours." Some people laughed, and the tension disappeared. Now that everyone knew it was just Percy's challenge, no one seemed to care. They were already looking at Callie for her to take her turn. Percy looked at Callie and was relieved to see that she mostly just looked amused. She shot him a look that seemed to say, I knew what you'd do the whole time. Still, Percy couldn't help but feel there was a twinge of hurt underneath her relaxed expression. He looked over to Annabeth. She still hadn't taken her eyes off of Percy, though her expression had changed. Percy thought he knew why. She hadn't known the kiss was for the game.
"I'm just gonna…" She said to Percy, trailing off as she gestured towards the other room. She stood up and left in the direction she had indicated. Percy just sat there. He felt stumped. Was she angry? Had he been wrong to kiss her? What was he supposed to do now? It took Callie slapping his shoulder to snap him out of it.
"Ow!" he turned to see her looking at him, bewildered.
"Are you dumb?" She asked. He wasn't sure how to answer that.
"Uhhh."
"Go!" Callie gestured emphatically in the direction that Annabeth had left in.
"Oh! Right." Percy hadn't considered the option. "Um, thanks." Callie just shook her head.
"Boys."
Percy stood up, beginning the harrowing journey back through the ever increasing crowd of people that had piled into the house. He was tall, and he used his height to peer over the crowd, trying to catch sight of Annabeth amongst the hoard. His efforts were fruitless. He continued to make his way through the crowd, moving closer to the door through which he had entered the party. He spotted Thalia in a group of people with similar costumes. Together they looked like some kind of indie punk rock band, but there was no sign of Annabeth. He reached the flight of stairs near the front door and decided to head up. This was where Annabeth had taken Nico when they first arrived. He reached the top of the staircase and entered the first room he saw. It was a small room with about ten boys in it, all crowded around the middle of the room. In the middle sat Nico and another boy, facing each other. They both had stacks of cards in their hands that they were studying intensely. After a moment, Nico moved, smiling fiendishly while placing one of the cards in his hand face down on the floor between them.
"I use Army of the Undead, allowing me to resurrect two of my fallen allies." Percy wasn't sure what this meant, but the surrounding boys let out a collective 'oooh' and Nico's opponent looked devastated. Percy thought about asking Nico if he had seen Annabeth, but he figured even if she had come up here he wouldn't have noticed. He was too absorbed in his Mythomagic. Percy left the room, leaning against the railing on the second floor and looking down at the party below. From this perspective, he could see how truly massive the party had become. He didn't envy Callie and whoever would be helping her clean up the next day. He was at a loss for what to do, so he began his descent back down the stairs. As he was walking back down, he spotted her. Annabeth was right there, at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the wall next to the front door. In front of her was some guy with long blonde hair who had his arm on the wall beside her. Annabeth stood with her hands behind her back, not really paying attention to the guy who seemed to be talking at Annabeth rather than to her. He was leaning in a little too close for Percy's comfort, though Annbeth didn't even seem to notice. She was distracted.
"So yeah, my parents rented me out my own place which is pretty sweet," The blonde boy droned on.
"Annabeth," Percy said, reaching the bottom of the stairs. That got her attention.
"Percy."
"Dude, do you mind?" Asked the Cobain impersonator, flashing an annoyed look at Percy.
"Can we talk?" Percy asked Annabeth, ignoring the guy. Annabeth thought for a moment.
"Sure. Why don't we head outside? I could use some fresh air."
"Hey, what the hell?" Cried discount Austin Butler. Annabeth moved around him, heading for the front door. Percy followed. They stepped out into the cool Autumn air and Percy inhaled. The subtle scent of the ocean breeze carried up from the water, easing his nerves. He followed Annabeth, who had begun to walk down past the house, towards the path that bordered the ocean. The two of them walked in silence, Percy staying two steps behind Annabeth. He studied her. She was wearing sandals to match her toga, which must have been a nightmare to walk around in all night, but she stepped with elegance. Her smooth, golden hair bounced lightly with every step she took, and her skin shone mesmerizingly in the moonlight. He knew it was a costume, but if someone told Percy that this is what those Greek goddesses were supposed to look like he'd believe them in a heartbeat. Annabeth slowed down as she approached a small wooden bench along the oceanside path. She sat down and Percy joined her. The bench had a small memorial plaque engraved in it, though it had worn away with time so it was almost illegible. They were now almost directly behind Callie's house, facing the ocean with the music from the party faintly audible, though no louder than the gentle breeze which blew past. For a moment, the two of them both just gazed out at the ocean. It was beautiful. The near-full moon reflected off of the unusually glassy and calm surface. Percy was hesitant to end the moment, but he had to say something.
"Annabeth, about that game-"
"I'm not angry Percy." He had been hesitant to look her way, but when he did he saw that she was looking up at him. It was a good thing she had interrupted him, because the moment he looked at her he forgot what he was going to say. Gods she was beautiful.
"You're not?" She shook her head, still looking up at him, though there was something about her expression that still seemed a little sad.
"Then, how come…after the kiss…" Percy was looking for the right words but was struggling to find them.
Annabeth let out a small sigh. She turned a little on the bench, facing Percy more directly. She lifted her arms, resting them gently on his shoulders, and wrapped her hands loosely around the back of his neck. Percy's eyes were wide as she closed the gap between them, but when she kissed him softly they fluttered shut. Their lips moved slowly against each other, though the same urgency as before was still there. Even though he could feel each and every one of Annabeth's kisses, her tongue gliding gently against his, her hands tightening around his hair, Percy still felt a sense of longing. He wanted more. Once again his hands found their way to Annabeth's waist, and once again he found himself pulling her towards him. She didn't resist. Annabeth swung one of her legs over his so that she was straddling his lap, the fabric of her toga sliding off of her shoulder. She pressed against him, kissing him harder, her hands trailing down to trace his jaw which moved rhythmically. Percy's hands slid down from Annabeth's waist, down her leg, stopping when his right hand reached skin rather than fabric. It was the shorter side of her toga. His hands began moving back up, pushing the soft white fabric up as they did. He squeezed her thigh and her lips parted, her breath catching in her throat. Percy tried to use this opportunity to kiss her back with the same intensity she had introduced, but she pulled back. Percy opened his eyes, his breathing heavy, and looked at her. She had opened her eyes as well and was looking down at Percy, her fingers tracing circles gently on his back. Her gray eyes met his green, and she spoke.
"Have you ever considered, Percy, that I'm not playing a game?" Percy had been distracted by the feeling of her thighs on either side of him, pressing against his own, and while he had watched her lips move he had not registered the words they had spoken.
"What?" He took a moment trying to figure out what she meant. "Oh! The game? Listen Annabeth, I'm sorry about that. I should have told you about the card and-"
"No, Percy," She interrupted, her voice soft. "Not that game."
"Then what?" He asked, much too distracted by the scent of her perfume to try and decipher what she meant.
"Ever since we started talking, it feels like you think I'm playing a game, like I have some kind of ulterior motive."
"Oh, umm…"
"Have you never thought that maybe the reason I keep spending time with you, and flirting with you, and kissing you, is because I like you?" Her eyes seemed to be looking through his, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was thinking.
"You like me?" He asked the question like the words he was saying could never make sense in the order he was saying them. "As in, like me?" If looks could kill.
"Yes, seaweed brain. I. Like. You." She gently slapped both of his cheeks. emphasizing each word. "No tricks, no scheme, I just like you." Percy didn't know how to respond. Up to this point, he had been operating on the assumption that whatever they were doing boiled down to some kind of game for Annabeth. He wasn't stupid, he knew that there were real feelings involved as well, but he had always just assumed that Annabeth was going to have her fun, and then get bored and find someone else to play around with. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't speak. Instead, he cupped her face and brought her lips back down to his. They kissed, but it was different. There was a strange, tingling feeling that transfered from Annabeth's lips to Percy's, spreading through him until his whole body felt like it was buzzing.
"Like you too" He muttered against her lips. She pulled back.
"What was that?" He could see from the mischievous look on her face that she had heard what he said, but she wasn't letting him get away with it that easily.
"I said I like you too, Annabeth."
"Yes," She said back, leaning her face in, her lips hovering an inch from his, "yes you do."
By the time they got back to the house, Nico and Thalia were already by the front door. Thalia was still talking to a friend, though she had thrown her leather jacket back on and seemed ready to leave. Nico was in an animated conversation of his own, emphatically discussing the potential of different Mythomagic decks. The party didn't show any signs of slowing down. On the contrary, there were still new cars pulling up full of kids ready to join in on the fun. Percy would have liked to thank Callie for having them, but he didn't feel much like snaking his way back through the now completely jam packed house to reach her. Annabeth went to grab Thalia while Percy moved over to Nico.
"Hey man, you about ready to head out?"
"Sure thing Percy!" Nico replied before turning back to his new friend. "You've got my number, text me if you end up getting the new Heroes of Olympus pack when it comes out." He turned back to Percy, grinning.
"Check this out," he said, flashing a wad of cash at Percy.
"You were playing for money? But Nico, we don't have any money!"
"Correction, Percy," Nico said, looking smug as he fanned out his small pile of twenty dollar bills, "you don't have any money." Percy shook his head.
"All right money bags, let's get going." Percy, Nico, Annabeth and Thalia left the party, heading for Percy's car.
"Here," Percy said, tossing Nico his keys. He didn't feel like driving, and he would be spending the night at Nico's anyway. Percy sat in the passenger seat while the girls climbed in the back. It was a relaxed ride back to Annabeth's, all of them were pretty tired from the night's activities. Percy played some chill music and they rode in a comfortable silence, occasionally telling each other a funny thing that had happened at the party. Nico had the most energy, so they got a fairly in depth play by play of his Mythomagic victories. It wasn't long before they arrived back at Annabeth's, and the two girls hopped out of the back.
"Thanks for driving us around boys," Annabeth said, stepping out of the car and closing the door behind her. She looked back and shot Percy one last playful smile before following Thalia into her house. Percy watched as she walked away, a little sad to be seeing the last of Annabeth in her toga. Nico took the car out of park and headed for his place. Percy was going to have a lot on his mind trying to fall asleep that night, but there was one question that seemed to loom over him above all else. Is Annabeth my girlfriend?
