Annabeth

"You look beautiful, Annabeth," Piper told me. She and I were standing in the bathroom in our room, looking at my reflection in the mirror. I wasn't one for boasting and such, but I had to agree with her. We were getting ready to go to the celebration, and Piper had done my hair for me-perfecting the curls in such a way that they shone like honeycomb spirals. I think one of the major differences was that the locks were clean, as opposed to the past few days where my hair hadn't really been washed frequently.

My dress was a flowing silver-grey with a sea-green belt attaching at the waist. Aphrodite had picked it out, and I had narrowed my eyes when I saw the belt. She had picked out everybody's outfits, actually, not letting anybody have their way. Well, except for Thalia, who stubbornly refused to be put in a dress. She was just wearing a nice tunic, which was the best we could do.

Piper's dress was a light peach shade with a brown belt. She looked like a goddess to me, for she had finally done something with her hair other than those choppy little braids she normally has. But her eyes were fixed on me.

"Percy will love it," she said, smirking.

I glared at her in the mirror, but to be honest, that was who I was thinking of. A smile grew on my face as my mind wandered to him. I was going to be in the Questers' group. Percy was the captain. That meant I would be with Percy practically all day, everyday. That thought sent my stomach aflutter. Piper seemed to be glowing with happiness as well, seeing as she had just made her relationship with Jason official by kissing him in front of every god and the Questers. I guess she wasn't any better than me, though. Gods, I can't believe I told everybody that I loved Percy. I mean, it was true, but what about Percy? Did I just say that and he doesn't think that way about me? That would be horrible.

"Come on! You two are taking forever!" Thalia yelled at the two of us, stomping into the bathroom and grabbing us both by the arm.

"You look fine, now let's go. Your men are waiting."

Piper and I just exchanged glances and rolled our eyes at Thalia's statement, neither of us even bothering to protest. Thalia brought us out of our room and down the hall, not letting go until we stood in front of the dining center.

"Almost everybody is already in there," she said as two demigod guards opened the doors for us and nodded a greeting. She was right, the room was crowded.

The table and chairs had been pushed to one side, the table now littered with delicious cakes and mouth-watering delights. So many people in colorful clothing and varying styles lounged about, chatting or standing aside or watching the dancers. The dancers were on the stage, about ten of them, moving in sync with each other, their limbs like flowing water as they danced about in fluttering cream chitons. It was a beautiful sight. Music went along with the dancers, filling the air with sweet notes.

Almost immediately, Jason came and whisked Piper away, walking with her. Thalia went to eat-no surprise there. Then Drew approached me.

Yeah, you heard me right. Drew Tanaka, the epitome of a jerk, walked straight up to me. She looked dazzling in a red flowing dress, her body curvy and her hair pinned up expertly.

"Why, Annabeth! Welcome back!" she said in a fake, sweet tone. "I missed you."

"Oh, I bet you did," I said in the same voice. "I missed you too-wait, I shouldn't lie. Scratch that." She raised an eyebrow, the sweetness dropping and her true self showing.

"Hm, you're the same as ever," she said, raising an eyebrow as she looked me up and down with a disgusted expression. She cocked her head, her glittering eyes poisonous. "Tell me, have you seen Percy? I heard he was around here, and he probably wants to see me. My dad wants to talk to him too."

"Percy what now?"

We both heard the new voice and pivoted, looking to see the exact person we were talking about walk up. Percy looked amazing as always in a sea-green tunic that, I noticed, matched my belt perfectly. Drew noticed this, and her lip curled in revulsion.

"Oh, it was your mom, Drew," I said, smirking. Percy came up to stand by me, his eyes the same color as his tunic and my belt. They studied me intensely.

"You look beautiful, Wise Girl," he said, smiling. I returned it, glancing briefly at an astonished Drew with a glint of triumph in my eyes.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain," I replied. "You're not too bad yourself, you know."

Drew stalked off, and Percy looked curiously at her. "Who was that?"

"Oh, you don't want to know," I told him. He shrugged, then looked back at me. He was thinking, his eyes distant as he pulled a hand up and brushed back a stray curl.

"What're you thinking about?" I inquired. "How I should've worn something a little less flashy?"

"No, I think it looks great," he answered, smiling. That lopsided grin never failed to take my breath away. "I was just wondering how in Hades I would've been able to get through the past few months without you." I felt my cheeks heat up, and I tried to look casual.

"You would've been fine, don't worry."

He frowned. "I'm not too sure about that. I owe you one."

"Well," I said, "you'll have a lot of time to make it up to me. With me becoming a Quester and all. I hope you don't get tired of me." A smile grew on his face as he thought of that. I would miss the temple and the friends I had there, but the Questers had become my family. I belonged with them. I belonged to their quests, their running about, fulfilling things for the gods, and most of all, I belonged with Percy. I knew that no matter what, I would never be complete without him. He was my better half, whether I liked it or not. But I think I was okay with it.

"Percy, come here!"

We both turned to see Jason beckoning him over to where the Questers were. Percy looked at them, then back at me. He seemed reluctant to go. "Find me later?"

"I promise," I assured him. He smiled slightly, then started walking over to the group of Questers. I watched him go, his strong form retreating and dodging people and demigods and gods alike. My eyes were brought back, however, when another person addressed me.

Sally Blofis stood there where her son just had. She was dressed nicely, her hair coiled into a bun. Her smile was warm as she looked at me. "You look very pretty, Annabeth."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blofis, you do as well."

"I just wanted to thank you."

My eyebrows drew together. "For what?"

She sighed, looking back at her son. Percy was laughing with his friends as they shared jokes and stories. I could see pure love shining out of her eyes as she looked at him. "For helping Percy. Ever since... Calista's death, he's never been the same. I was scared for him-scared that his heart would stay shattered and never be mended, that he would never be happy again. But you've changed that." Her gaze returned to me, and her eyes were full of gratitude. "You have. Every time Percy looks at you, he gets happy. He's smiled more in the past few days with you than he has in a long time. I can see it. He loves you so much, Annabeth. He does."

Her words made me ache to just see Percy again, even though he was right across the hall. I didn't even blush at her words. She was so fully convinced it was like it was natural-Percy loving me, that is.

"I-I love him, too," I told her. "And if I can make him happy, I will. Every day of my life I will try. He makes me happy as well. And sad sometimes. And elated. And basically every little emotion you can feel, he pulls out of me. Your son... he's amazing, Mrs. Blofis. Don't thank me, I'm surprised he even looked at me in the first place. It was by some random chance he and I grew so close."

"Oh, no it isn't. It was planned by the Fates. Besides, you two are perfect. He needed some wisdom and happiness in his life, which he was pretty much devoid of both of those."

"Well, I'm happy to supply it."

She smiled, placing hand on my arm, her grip firm. "Take care of my son for me, will you?"

"Of course, you don't even have to ask."

"He'll take care of you, I'm sure. He loves you too much to do different."

And with that, Sally Blofis sank back into the crowd, leaving me feeling emotional and joyful. I wanted to run and find Percy, but then another person came up to talk with me about the battle and thanking me for "saving the world"-even though I didn't do much.

The night passed by in a blur of music, food, and talking. I didn't talk to Percy alone, we were always in groups. But more often than not, we didn't pay attention, just stared at each other like love-struck teenagers. Well, I guess that was what we were, to be honest. But not that petty love that people overrate--this was something much deeper, that would last a long time.

Piper and Thalia and I chatted some, and Athena and I had a talk about what life would be like now I was going to leave. She said she would keep my room the same.

Poseidon came over and our conversation consisted of seafood and bombs. It was crazy how similar Percy was to Poseidon. People were passing by, some drunk from the wine that Dionysus made sure to never run out of, others looking for friends. My eyes would roam the room looking for a familiar head of black hair, but I couldn't find him. Once I saw Drew trying to talk to him, but he was focused on his piece of cake too much, which made her mad and she stormed off. His eyebrows shot up, looking surprised but not too concerned. I smiled at that.

In the early morning sometime, quite a few guests had already left for bed. The Questers were still going about, eating and talking. I spotted Harley curled up on a chair, sleeping peacefully. Jason and Piper never left each other's sides. I still couldn't find Percy, so I went up to ask his friends.

"Has anybody seen Percy?" I said to the group of Questers. They glanced around, shaking their heads, and muttering "No."

"I think he went outside," Nico said, gesturing to the big double doors leading to the village. I thanked him, then let my feet lead me there. The doors were open, showing a night full of sparkling stars. A cool breeze drifted in, tussling my curls as I walked out. I squinted in the darkness, but I couldn't see anything. My footsteps sounded around me as I trudged down the stairs, heading down the street. It was a nice night outside, the air fresh and crisp, but it was a little chilly. I shivered, hugging myself as I traveled. Soon I was out on the bridge, still looking but to no avail. I was about to give up and head back in when I saw a figure standing out, alone, at the end of the bridge of Mount Olympus. As I got closer, I recognized Percy. He was standing, arms crossed, staring out at the sky. If you really focused, you could see little lights from the torches in the cities down below us, but clouds drifted in and out, omitting sight sometimes.

I came up to stand beside Percy. His eyes flickered sideways to meet mine for a second, then went back to the sky ahead of us. For a moment, none of us said anything, the air wading around us. There was so much emotion between us at the moment, but it seemed to be holding us apart, not letting us speak.

"I hated this day. When you left," he said suddenly. I knew exactly what he was talking about. He was remembering that day that the Forbiddance Law was set, the day that we had to split up, neither of us knowing if we would see each other again. It felt like a million years ago.

"Me, too," I agreed.

Another silence, then Percy said, "I talked to him. Luke."

My head shot around to stare at him. "What?"

He shrugged, exhaling. "I don't know, I guess I just-I just wanted some answers. I didn't get anything, obviously. But I wanted to know why he did what he did. Why he killed..."

I put a comforting hand on his arm. "Percy, what happened happened. I can't understand what you're feeling, but I want to help. If you-"

"You are," he insisted, turning his head to look at me. "Gods, Annabeth, you've helped so much."

He slid an arm around my waist, and I turned into his embrace, wrapping my own arms around his back and neck. He kissed the top of my head, and I wanted to stay there, under the stars with him, not going anywhere for a long time. He smelled like the ocean, and the muscles in his back rippled under my hands as he hugged me tighter.

"Annabeth, I need to ask you something."

I leaned back a little, staring up at his face. "What?"

He took a deep breath. "What you said in the council room, was it true?" Before I could answer, he plowed on. "Wait, I have to tell you something first."

Percy inhaled again, biting his lip. "Oh, gods, I can't find the right words. Smart people can come up with long speeches that spill their heart out, but I can't. So, I'm just going to say that I don't want to be just friends, Annabeth. I don't want to have to act like a friend around you when all I want to do is hold you or kiss you or tell you that I-," he froze, and I waited, not breathing and my mouth slightly open at his straightforward words. "I love you," he finished firmly. I was still frozen. "It's true. I love you, Annabeth Chase. You took my heart from me a long time ago, but I don't care. You're the most amazing person. I needed to tell you this, and I should've told you all this earlier." His voice had dropped to a low tone, and I was aware of how close we were. I could see my reflection in his eyes which were searching my face.

"Annabeth, I don't want to go one more day without you." His hand came up and cupped my face, his thumb running over my cheek. "I fell in love hard. First with your grey stormy eyes, ones that always seem to see right through me." Percy's voice was a whisper. "Then with your strong will." I could feel his breath on my nose, and he reached out to plant a kiss on it, pulling back to say, "After that, your smile had me captivated." A kiss on my forehead. "Then your sarcastic retorts that could make me smile." My cheek felt his lips. "Your laugh that rings high and clear in my mind, lighting my day up." My other cheek. A small smile started to grow on my face, and he pulled back, looking all over my face. "Gods, Annabeth, I just love you."

I pushed myself forward, bringing his head down to mind for our fourth kiss. I loved kissing this boy. Every time, it was new and exciting, never boring, never dull. The kiss had started out fierce and hungry, but it soon slowed down, each of us showing our love for each other through that one kiss. His hand entangled itself in my hair, and I felt his own silky locks under my fingers. We were so close, our hearts beating in unison-a hard, fast drumming sound. His lips and my own fit perfectly together, and now I had no doubt that the Fates made it that way; he and I were meant to be together. And for the rest of our lives, we would still be side by side.

My mouth pulled back briefly just for me to whisper raggedly, "I love you, Percy."

A little lopsided grin adorned his face, taking my breath away. His green eyes were so close. His thumb came up to caress my cheek once more. "I kind of knew already; you did shout it out to all of Mount Olympus."

"Really, Percy?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I had to fight down my smile. "You know how to ruin the mood, don't you?"

He didn't answer, he just proved to me that the mood wasn't ruined by continuing where we left off. However, that was broken up to when we heard a familiar voice say, "Oh, come on, Athena. They're so cute!"

I heard Percy sigh at his dad's voice, and he pulled away, burying his head in my neck as I did the same, grinning. I could see above Percy's head two people standing a little ways away, watching us.

Poseidon was grinning towards me, and he winked when he caught my eye. I blushed. Athena was staring through narrowed eyes, her arms crossed. "Seriously," Percy's dad said. "They're perfect together. Aphrodite was right."

"Because this isn't at all creepy," I muttered sarcastically. Percy smiled against my neck.

"They're gods," he answered quietly. "They do what they want, they don't really need an explanation."

"You mean to say you knew from the very beginning that this would happen?" my mother voiced disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow at Poseidon. Percy played with my curls, muttering something about having no privacy in the home of our parents. I smiled, kissing his neck. It was hard not to smile, knowing that everyday Percy and I would be together; not as friends-something better.

"Of course. Did you not?" There was a slight challenge and spurning in Poseidon's voice.

"No," Athena countered, her own voice venomous. "I thought my daughter was above your slimy spawn."

"Aw, come on." I saw Poseidon lightly bat Athena's arm, to which she just sent her eyes to the heavens. "They're cute. Admit it. Besides, one day, you could have my son as a son-in-law. Wouldn't that be great? You and I would be related by marriage!"

"Unfortunately, you and I are already related, you imbecile!"

"Well, I still get to pick the wedding colors. We're having green."

"Um, no. Grey."

Poseidon wrinkled up his nose. "But grey's so... grey."

"Oh, really? What makes you think grey is grey?" Athena's voice dripped sarcasm before she huffed in vexation. "What goes on in your mind beats me."

Percy stuck his head out and whistled loudly. Our parents didn't hear it, they were too busy arguing. But a second later, Blackjack flew right up to the edge of the bridge, and Percy slid on, pulling me on as well. I settled in front of him as Blackjack flew away, his ebony fur glowing in the moonlight. The receding figures were still bickering, but I just leaned my head back against Percy, relishing every moment. I glanced up to see him smiling happily.

"What?" I asked, bringing a hand up to touch the back of his cheek lightly.

He looked down at me. "Well, you make me happy. But the fact that we'll get to see each other basically every day because you're joining the Questers is even better." He put a small kiss on my lips, so soft it felt like a butterfly. It still sent a shiver down my spine.

"Blackjack said we better stop this or he's going to puke."

"Tell Blackjack to deal," I replied, craning my head even more to get a good kiss with Percy. Blackjack whinnied in objection, but I just ignored him. Percy smiled, but he just kissed me right back. Elation bubbled up in me, making me giddy. I realized the sun was starting to rise. We had stayed up the whole night. I didn't care; if every night got to be like this, I would never get sleep.

"Everyday," he whispered against my lips. "Everyday I will love you, Wise Girl. And I hope you'd say the same."

"Nothing else, Seaweed Brian."

Dawn's glow was starting to creep up, lighting the heavens slowly. Pink, fluffy clouds decorated the sky, making every bit of this moment as enjoyable as possible. I had just put my head back against Percy's chest, sinking into him as his arms swept around my waist and held me tight. Blackjack beat steadily with his wings, keeping us aloft.