Teams are made, Grover is onto something, Annabeth is caught between advices and threats... and finds Silena intriguing...

CHAPTER 4 - do you play for my team?

"Annabeth! Annabeth!" she awoke to the persistent yelling of one of her half-sisters.

Annabeth tried stuffing her head under the pillow but it wasn't enough to block out the noise. She groggily sat up and glared at the little girl, clearly in a foul mood after the restless night she just had.

"What?" she grumbled, pulling the blankets off of her.

The little girl was literally buzzing with excitement. "Today is the day Capture the Flag starts! Come on Annie, we have to hurry or we'll be late for the making of the teams!"

"Fine, fine, just give me a minute"

Annabeth reluctantly got up and went into her closet, already dreading what was about to come. After grabbing her sword, she sprinted out of her cabin and all the way to the dining pavilion, nearly colliding with someone.

Just as she turned her head sideways, her eyes caught Silena's sly smile. 'I wonder what she's up to this time,' she mused, still fuming from her previous little act. 'Pathetic acting skills and Colgate smiles can only get her so far, after all'

"Hey Wise Girl! Why don't you come over and sit with us?" Percy asked her, beckoning her forward.

"Long time no see," Grover greeted her, chewing a soda can.

"First of all, have you ever heard of table manners? Like swallowing before speaking? And secondly, if you weren't so occupied with Juniper then maybe we'd see you around more often," she commented while sitting beside Percy.

"Whatever. Trees have ears dear Annabeth," he winked, trying to look mysterious. "Especially the ones near the waterfall."

"So now you believe everything Gossip Trees says?" Annabeth snapped, trying to figure out what he actually knew.

Percy looked well and truly lost. "Guys?"

"Well, I'd say they're pretty reliable… Even though I had a hard time believing it in a first place." He pondered for a moment, before adding "But I guess it makes sense now."

"Care to enlighten me?" she managed to ask, even though she was internally panicking. 'Damn it. He knows.'

"Well… The tension, the looks, the mysterious whispers… Literally everything!"

She tilted her head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. "Have you seriously been observing me that much?"

He couldn't stop grinning, "All I'm saying is that you're as subtle as a…"

She cut him, quite flustered, "There's nothing here! So stop making things up in your mind!"

"Nope, it's real," he leaned forward, almost whispering at this point. "She's looking over here, and I bet it's not for me"

Before she could check, Chiron raised from his seat and cleared his throat. "It's time for name drawing!"

At the centaur's gleeful announcement, the young demigods all turned their heads towards the large golden bowl sitting on a pedestal in front of the fire brazier. Chiron strode over to the bowl, as excited whispers rippled through the crowd. He drew random slips of paper and made five piles of five names each.

Grover tried to cheer a stressed-looking Annabeth. "Come on, it won't be that bad. You love competition!"

"Not when Silena's looking at me like the cat who got the canary," she muttered, glaring at the other girl.

Having finished, Chiron had to raise his voice to be heard. "Young demigods, when your name is called come over and stand behind the banner with your team number. You will have the evening to elect a captain."

A giggle was heard from Aphrodite's table.

"In team number one we'll have Grover"

Annabeth frowned suspiciously at Silena.

"Katie"

A cheeky wink was all she received in return.

"Malcolm, Naya"

Too caught up in this little staring competition, both girls only caught bribes of Chiron's words.

"… and Annabeth. And that's it for team number two."

Annabeth almost flinched when she got called. She quickly walked over to the purple banner with a big number two written on it. Charlotte Beckendorf, Connor Stoll, an Ares guy whose name she had forgotten and Michael Yew were already there making plans. Or trying to.

"… clearly. I just don't understand why you're making such a fuss about it."

"You can't auto proclaim yourself the captain!"

"Yeah! Ever heard of voting rights?"

Only Charlotte seemed to pay attention to her, "Annabeth! I'm so glad you're here! Those three idiots are already getting on my nerves…" And turning back to said idiots, "I vote for Annabeth as our captain, who's in?"

"Hey!..." Before she could protest, three hands had already shot up in the air.

Charlotte made a show of counting the votes. "Connor, Keith and me. Seems like you're outnumbered Mickie. Now let's get out of here and start thinking 'bout strategy boys!"

As they headed for the camp armory and away from the other groups, Annabeth was violently shoved aside by a strong hand.

She hadn't noticed Michael Yew sneaking up on her. "Listen here little girl, I'm the one making the rules. This victory? Mine. So back off, or else…"

Annabeth stood her ground, not one to give in to threats. "Or else what?"

He gripped her shoulder tightly, "Don't think for a second that I haven't caught up on your little game with Silena. So fair warning: the girl is mine. As is this victory"

"That's funny because I don't remember her ever mentioning you", she sneered, forcefully removing his large hand. Voices could be heard coming towards them.

The blond boy whispered a last warning, "Stay away from her and we'll get on just fine", before backing off and running ahead. The girl stayed put. 'How can Silena like this boy? He talks about her like she's his property, he seems toxic and so full of himself. What does she see in him?'

"Hey girlfriend! Why the longing face?" Grover asked, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "You get to be with Charlie while I'm stuck with the most boring people here… and you're not even in Silena's team! So…"

"What do you know about Michael Yew?"

"Hmm, Michael Yew as in Apollo's child? Star poster guy? Blond hair, blue eyes and ripped as fuck? THE guy every girl or boy either wants to be with or wants to be? Could charm the pants off anyone with three verses and…"

Annabeth threw herself on a wooden log. "Stop it! I get the picture, thanks"

Grover lowered himself to her side and stroked her back, "Hey… What brought this on?"

"It's just… Did you know about him and Silena?" she asked, looking down at the ground.

"Did I know that they're fuckbuddies? I thought it was common knowledge…"

"Well I didn't! And he just asked me to stay away from her, which is totally stupid since I'm not the one making a move!" she vented out her frustrations.

"Maybe he's feeling threatened by you!"

"Me? That's even more stupid! Silena is just trying to win a bet, there's no chance she'll leave him for me when there's no feelings involved…"

The goat boy had his scheming face on. "Who says she won't fall for you? Step one: you make her jealous. Step two: you flirt with her. Step three: you win the bet and her heart. Bonus: you teach Michael a lesson"

"No! Are you crazy or what? My plan is to avoid her until the three weeks are up"

"And look at how that worked out for you" he pointed out, ideas coming and going at a rapid pace, pieces fitting together in his masterplan. "And since you're so set on not falling for her…"

"No! I'm not taking any risk! There's no way I'm losing this bet! And Michael said…"

"Forget about him! Let me give you a little piece of advice…"

That's how Percy found them three hours later, huddled together on a wooden log, talking about life, love and missed opportunities.

"Um, guys? Everything alright here?"

Annabeth rounded on him, "Just peachy, Percy. Silena wants to seduce me, Michael wants to destroy me and I'm sure Aphrodite's having quite a laugh up there! But otherwise I'm okay. And I have to go plan a victory. But not mine. So if you'll excuse me…"

"… wait, what?" By the time Percy reacted, Annabeth had already left.

"Sit down Seaweed Brain, and let me explain. Our girl has a crush."

Meanwhile, as Annabeth was making her way to the camp armory to join her team, a hand shot out and grabbed her by the elbow.

More than fed up, the wise girl lashed out without turning around, "Fuck you Michael, just because you're…"

A feminine voice, one she was starting to know quite well lately, interrupted her rant "Michael?"

Annabeth startled. "Silena… I was just… I mean…" she stammered, feeling quite flustered by the skin on skin contact.

"What did he do?" demanded to know the other girl, looking almost concerned.

"Nothing! He's on my team, and let's just say he's insufferable, vain and egoistical" she said, putting some distance between them. "Congratulations. You're well suited for one another"

A hurt look flashed across Silena's face, before it was replaced by a sly look, "Oh chérie, are you jealous of him?"

Annabeth vehemently shook her head. "What? No! I already told you I didn't like you and…"

"And yet you can't stand the thought of him touching me, kissing me, making love to me…" she taunted, getting closer and closer to her flushed victim.

The girl couldn't hold it in anymore, "How can he make love to you if he doesn't even love you? He treats you as if you were his property!"

Silena stood rooted to the ground, her smirk slipping off. "We're just fuckbuddies, that's it. I avoid feelings"

"So you've never actually loved anyone?"

"I… What is it to you anyway?"

"It's just… it must get quite lonely" she mused, trying to come to grasps with the idea that the daughter of love had never felt love.

Silena seemed to have regained her composure. "Hmm it does… will you keep me company?" she asked, adding a flirty wink for good measure. "Now that you've banned me from my most pleasurable activities my bed is getting really lonely…" she whispered in her ear, kissing the deliciously tanned skin behind her ear.

Annabeth couldn't think, overcome by a strange feeling, "I…"

She vaguely registered Silena talking "Let's make another bet, chérie"

Citrus and vanilla scents clogged her brain. Butterfly kisses caressed her skin, lower and lower, lips never staying too long nor applying too much pressure. It was torture. Of the most magnificent kind.

"Hmm?"

"If my team wins Capture the flag, I get to spend a night with you. If not, I stop flirting with you. Are you in?" she inquired, punctuating each word with a light kiss.

All in all, and for how heterosexual she claimed to be, Annabeth was powerless to stop the weak "Yes" from escaping her lips. The implications behind this little word only registering much later.

Silena distanced herself with a little smirk. "Perfect, now I believe you had somewhere else to be, non?"

Annabeth took off running, all the while facepalming herself for her weakness, 'Team strategy! I am so late! And so doomed…'

Needless to say, team meeting was chaotic, what with Michael's murderous glances, Connor's never-ending pranks and Annabeth's doubts running amok… 'Why did I like it so much?'

TEAMS

1. Grover, Katie Gardner, Malcolm (Athena), Lucas (Ares), Naya (Demeter)

2. Annabeth, Michael Yew (Apollo), Charlotte Beckendorf, Connor Stoll, Keith (Ares)

3. Percy, Clarisse La Rue, Lou Ellen, Jules (Aphrodite), Pollux (Dionysus)

4. Will Solace, Drew, Castor (Dionysus), Jenna (Hera), Finn (Hermes)

5. Silena, Lucy (Athena), Travis Stoll, Lee Fletcher, Chris Rodriguez

Hi everyone! It's been a really long time but I'm here to finish this fanfic! Hope you'll enjoy it :)