The last day of the competition has finally come, but everyone seems to be acting out of character. Since when does Mickie refuse a good fight? Has Silena officially reverted back to her days of hating on Annabeth?

CHAPTER 8 – a bet is won

Today was the last day of the competition.

Two days had passed since the girls' last confrontation.

And here Annabeth sat — hurt and confused — waiting for Chiron to start the game. Wasn't she supposed to be happy now that she had told her nemesis to leave her alone? Why did she feel like something was missing?

"You okay, Annie?" her best friend asked her when he plopped down on their bench.

"I don't know. I keep replaying what happened over and over in my mind, and it's driving me crazy!"

"You did what you thought was best," Percy shifted closer to her, "Stop beating yourself up."

Grover sighed, "But it doesn't mean it was the best thing to do. Did shutting her out of your life make you happier?"

Annabeth put her head in her hands. "Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore. It's just that… I keep telling myself that she would have hurt me, you know. And I just… I don't know if I can trust her again after everything she did. She's only in this for a stupid bet! To prove her point," she said with certainty. "She might pretend to like me but the truth is she doesn't even like me."

Grover had his 'I-know-something-you-don't' face on. "And yet…"

Annabeth turned and glared at him.

"What?" the blonde snapped.

"A little birdie told me that Silena had a meltdown when you left." He held up his hand – stopping whatever Annabeth was about to say, "And no, she wasn't putting on a show since no one was around to witness it. Well, no one but Juniper"

"But —"

The girl was speechless. It didn't make any sense. She had come to accept her feelings for the other girl – as unrequited as they were. 'So then why was Silena so affected by our fight? And why do I still care so much about her?'

She had assumed that whatever feelings she held for the brunette girl would fade in time and go away, especially since Annabeth had made it her point to avoid Silena at all costs.

She spent as much time as possible in the arena training with Percy — a place where no child of Aphrodite ever set foot.

She surrounded herself with friends or siblings when going somewhere.

She tried her best to dismiss Michael's glares.

And yet, she wouldn't — or rather couldn't — stop thinking about Silena.

'What is it with this girl, seriously?' Annabeth mentally groaned.

Grover elbowed her, "Look, here's your girl"

Percy whistled, "Damn, she looks ready to kick some ass"

The brunette girl shone in her full-body armour, her hips slightly swaying even as she rather aggressively made her way over to her team. Her body language left little to no doubt as to her intentions — she was here to win Capture the Flag.

As she flung her ponytail to the side, her eyes caught Annabeth's dumbstruck stare. Silena's gaze hardened before she deliberately turned away from the trio.

Annabeth felt a weird pinching sensation near her heart. "I fucked up. She really hates me."

Grover rolled his eyes, "I'm seriously reconsidering your nickname. Incoming scoop everybody : our very own Wise Girl is apparently not so wise when it comes to love!"

They watched as Silena angrily rounded on some passing kid for no reason other than his "ugly ass shoes".

Percy shivered. "If I were you I would avoid coming anywhere near her when she's like this"

The sound of a horn rang across the creek. It seemed as though the camp itself came to life at once. Golden drachmas were passed around. Cheers and victory chants were progressively getting louder.

"Well, here goes nothing". Annabeth got to her feet, and made her way over to her team.

The horn sounded once again, as Chiron galloped to them, calling for the two team captains to step forward.

There was chatter all around them. Everyone knew how intense this game would be. It was common knowledge how fierce Annabeth was in battle, and how stubborn Silena could be when her ego was being challenged.

Charlotte not-so-softly nudged her forward, nearly causing her to stumble into the other team's captain, who skilfully sidestepped her. In that brief encounter, she caught the faint scents of citrus and vanilla. She was instantly transported back to the memory of their first kiss.

"Annabeth, Silena" Chiron said very officially, giving each of the captains their flag. "You may shake hands."

Her heart was beating frantically against her chest, and she knew her cheeks were redder than the flag. Silena took advantage of her apparent distraction to quickly press and release her hand, as if she loathed any prolonged physical contact with the blonde.

"You're going down, Silena."

"Careful out there, Chase. Wouldn't want a repeat of last time, would we?"

"On the count of three…"

Their eyes met once again.

"One…"

A silent plea of forgiveness.

"Two…"

A clenched jaw.

"Three! May the best of you win"

Both teams darted in opposite directions. And so began the grand finale.

Trailing behind Charlotte and Keith, Annabeth was lost in her own thoughts. So far, nothing had happened. Yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't quite right with their strategy.

Connor proposed a strategic move—booby-trapping their flag so that only two of them needed to stay behind. He planned to strategically position ropes and triggers, ensuring that, by the time the opposing team untangled themselves from each trap, the flag would already be relocated.

He named this defensive operation 'Move the Flag'.

Meanwhile, the three teammates remaining would lead the offensive strike. Based on their opponents' characters and previous strategies, they were likely to leave at most two people guarding their flag. Three versus two. If they were quick enough, it would be an easy win.

And yet.

Why did Michael volunteer to guard the flag with Connor?

It didn't make sense. Throughout the entire competition, he had adamantly rejected defensive roles, often asserting that "real men are no guard dogs — no offense to you, Connor." So, why the sudden change?

"Oof"

Lost in thought, she collided with Charlotte. "Shh."

A little farther ahead, Keith gestured wildly, signalling a 'stop right there' motion. He then pointed his left arm towards a bright red spot emerging from a clearing— the flag.

They hurriedly joined him, already revelling in the victory.

And yet.

"What the actual fuck" Charlotte whispered in disbelief.

Not one, not two but three of their opponents were scattered around the flag. Lee Fletcher, Chris Rodriguez and Silena Beauregard.

"Shit" Annabeth threw her head back in frustration. Their plan was rapidly going downhill.

Charlotte cleared her throat. "Damn, I thought you said they were heavy on the attack. What are they playing at?"

"What do we do now?" Keith asked.

"We still have time to come up with a new plan" Annabeth assured him. She crouched down to start drawing some kind of map on the ground.

"Okay, if we think about it…"

"Guys"

"We're not outnumbered, so that's a plus I guess" Keith offered.

Charlotte's strong fingers gripped her captain's shoulder. "Annabeth"

Annabeth dismissed Charlotte's hand. "True. And there's also the element of the surprise, so-"

"Not anymore"

Annabeth glanced up and felt her stomach drop. They had been spotted.

She tightened her grip on her sword as she realised that they would have to charge into the fight.

"Get the flag!" she yelled, leading her teammates in for the charge.

They burst out from the trees, running towards their red prize.

"Stand your ground," Silena hollered at Lee and Chris.

Keith rammed his shoulder straight into Chris's chest and knocked him to the ground. Attempting to disarm him, he found himself swiftly pulled down as well. Charlotte was busy deflecting and slicing through Lee's arrows.

Which only left Annabeth and Silena.

Annabeth raced towards the flag, but the other girl tackled her before she could reach it. They rolled on the ground in a huddle of limbs —both having a sensation of déjà vu. Silena leaped off of her, circling her warily.

An arrow landed right next to them.

Silena sighed. "Look, why don't you just surrender and save yourself a whole lot of energy"

The blonde girl couldn't resist throwing a taunt in. "Why? Afraid I'll hurt you?"

"If I remember correctly, you were the one saying I was hurting you on purpose!"

"Because you were and you still are!"

"How can I even hurt you if I don't even talk to you anymore?" Silena growled, "Actually, I don't even care. You know what's your problem? You're a coward!"

Annabeth scoffed. "Says the one who refuses to fight for fear of losing once again."

"Fuck you!"

They both charged at the same time, weapons clashing with a metallic clang.

Annabeth, with her strategic mind, aimed for Silena's weaknesses, attempting to exploit any opening in her defences. But each of her strikes and parries was countered with agile footwork and lightning-fast reactions, Silena narrowly evading Annabeth's every attempt to gain the upper hand.

Her focused expression remained unwavering, her stormy grey eyes tracking Silena's every move. She noticed how her reactions were getting progressively slower. The daughter of Aphrodite was quickly tiring, not used to such intense fights.

Desperate to end the fight, Silena attempted a bold manoeuvre, gracefully spinning away from Annabeth's attack and retaliating with a swift strike. Her left side was left wide open. She was a second too slow to raise her sword in time to meet Annabeth's, who landed her first hit. The blade nicked her left shoulder, blood already staining her shirt.

"Who's the coward now ?" Annabeth's voice came as the injured girl backed away.

A sharp kick pummelled Silena backwards, and her back slammed onto the ground with a loud thud. No one stood between Annabeth and the flag.

Victorious, Athena's daughter knelt on the ground, her knees straddling Silena's hips as she pressed the flat of her blade against her throat. "I win."

'But why do I feel as if I have lost something far more important ?'