Back For the Summer [Annabeth]

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Walking over Half Blood-Hill was one of the single best feelings Percy had all year. It was shocking that he had hardly any problems at school, after all trouble seemed to locate him no matter where he was. There was an incident three weeks ago. Percy supposed it was too much to ask for a full year without a near death experience. Stupid taloned, fanged woman. After spending time flipping through pages on the internet and recalling something he actually learned at camp, Percy recognized his monster as a Keres. He had been meaning to talk to Chiron and Annabeth about the situation. It didn't get him kicked out of school which was a first. Thankfully it happened on a weekend outside of school. It was probably one of the first times that Percy wasn't a wanted fugitive.

He had already dropped his stuff off in the cabin and waved a hello to a few of his friends but oddly enough he couldn't find Annabeth. Percy sighed as he strolled over to the familiar lake. She was probably busy with something, he didn't worry too much. Though he did feel a bit antsy about not seeing her. It had been a few months since they saw each other over Christmas. Percy walked to the edge of the lake and gently knocked a rock into the cool water. He smiled and waded out up to his knees. It was awesome being the son of Poseidon, it came with certain perks like never having to worry about getting wet again if he didn't want to.

The smile slowly dropped from his face as his thoughts slipped to the recurring dream he had been having for the last few weeks. He hated demigod dreams because there was always a truth to them. Percy glanced nervously over his shoulder hoping to spot Annabeth. Did she even come back this year? For a split second the thought of Annabeth not returning ran through his head. But it was stupid to think that way. There would be no reason for her not to return. Percy was here after all wasn't he? He scoffed and laughed to himself imagining how Annabeth would role her eyes if he had verbalized this to her. Drawing in a deep breath and running his hand through the water Percy looked out across the water. It felt great to be back.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth walked out of the Big House onto the porch, the centaur Chiron next to her; the two had obviously just finished a rather serious conversation as both had a sullen expression and neither seemed terribly inclined to talk. After a moment, Annabeth took a deep breath, let it out in a heavy sigh, and nodded. Without a word, she walked down the porch steps and off into Camp. Summer at her boarding school in New York had been pleasantly uneventful, but thanks to the school year ending earlier than most, she usually came back here to Camp Half-Blood early. Last summer, she’d been perfectly fine with this, but when she’d gotten back to camp just last week, she’d had to leave hardly a few days later. Between her and a couple other senior campers that had stayed year-round, a…small problem had to be taken care of before it could cause too much trouble. A small problem that had left Annabeth just returning to Camp now looking quite a bit worse for the wear.

Trying to tuck a stubborn piece of hair that had, among a good third of her hair, come loose from her ponytail and was hanging rather limply against her face, she walked along the creek that cut through Camp Half-Blood. She could imagine she was a rather ominous sight for the several campers she passed - especially those new to the ever-growing camp -, with her mud-spattered jeans and sneakers, long tear mark in her jacket sleeve that showed where a piece of clothe had been hastily tied around her arm, though the cut has long since scabbed over, and just overall appearance of an unpleasant battle. Which it most certainly had been. But no lives had been lost and the problem had, eventually, been taken care of, and that was the important thing.

She was just starting to veer away from the creek towards the cabins to wash up and relax a bit when she noticed someone standing just off the shore of the lake. Annabeth would likely have thought the person a little off their rocker if she hadn’t recognized him. Well, maybe she could wait and hit the showers later. She’d really missed Percy since Christmas and, well, he’d certainly seen her in worse condition than this, so that wasn’t that big a deal. It was probably false hope that he’d let it pass, knowing him, but she couldn't very well just head back to the cabins without saying hello. With a warm smile, headed in his direction, stopping a few feet from the water’s edge. “Why am I not surprised to find you here, Seaweed Brain?”

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy’s attention was caught by a few of the younger campers running just on the shore. He turned and watched them. They had to be around twelve, the same age he was when this entire world was introduced to him. Since he didn’t recognize their faces he figured they must have been new campers this summer or even over the school year. Percy inwardly smiled knowing the Gods kept their word. He did give up immortality after all for these kids and for the minor deities to be recognized. Okay, so that may have been a selfish thought.

Percy went to turn back around until he caught the familiar face of his girlfriend out of the corner of his eye. He did a double take. Instantly a smile formed on his lips despite the nickname. He actually didn’t mind it so much anymore, as long as it was sad by Annabeth and Annabeth alone. There was relief that washed over him to see her walking toward him.

“Simple strategy, find water find a son of Poseidon. Not rocket science Wise Girl.” As soon as Annabeth was close enough for Percy to get a better look at her the smile dropped and charged out of the water. He went to her side and lifted her arm carefully to inspect the damage that had been done to his girl. Whoever, or whatever did this better hoped they were dead.

“What is this? I leave you alone for a few months and you get hurt?” Percy let go of her arm and shook his head in disapproval. “What’d you go and get yourself beat up. Where were you?” She looked a wreck. Well, not a complete wreck she was still beautiful. No amount of mud or blood would alter that. Not like he had much room to talk, after all he had almost gotten killed a few weeks prior. “Is something wrong? Was the camp under attack?” His barrage of questions would no doubt be returned with some kind of annoying look, tone, or semi-degrading(though all in good fun) remark.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth was far too used to Percy’s sarcasm and joking around to take any offense at his statement. His sense of humor - when it was at the appropriate time, preferably - was one of the many things she loved about him, really. She smiled and started to counter, “Yes, well-” That was as far as she got, however, as Percy, in his fairly normal show of short attention span (Annabeth sometimes wondered if ADHD quite covered it), ran towards her full tilt before she could get another word out. Where anyone else who attempted running like that in as deep of water as he’d been in would likely have fallen on their face pretty quickly, she guessed the whole son-of-Poseidon thing helped him out a bit…unfortunately. She took a step back, not particularly fancying the idea of being plowed over. Luckily, he had the sense to slow down and, much to her dismay, started fussing over her arm.

“Percy, I’m fine. Really. It’s practically healed completely anyway. What is this, 20 Questions? Calm down.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head, laughing slightly. “Good to see you too. Anyway, camp wasn’t under attack or anything, just some weird report from a park on the outskirts of Manhattan. Draiads were really worried, so a couple of other senior campers and I went to check it out. Just a monster taking up residence there where there was a nice buffet of mortals. It’s gone now; but up a good fight though.” Of course, she didn’t plan on telling him the monster in question had been a fully-grown basilisk…he didn’t need to know the specifics. She smiled and finished with a jokingly mocking tone, “Any other questions?”

Without even waiting for an answer, she pulled him into a close hug. “It’s good to see you again…” It was so perfect, being back here at Camp with Percy - even if he was presently freaking out about something he really didn’t need to be. Then again, this place would hardly feel like home, at least by recent standards, and Percy would hardly seem like Percy if everything was actually peaceful. But such was the life of a demigod. After a minute, she pulled away, putting her hands on either of his shoulders and fixing him with one of her verging-on-annoyed looks. “Now, if you’re quite finished with the pop quiz, am I allowed to ask how you’re doing?” The smile that immediately broke through her facade gave the annoyed look a lot less punch though.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy rolled his eyes right back at Annabeth. How could she just brush this off, is what Percy was wondering. Even if the attack hadn’t come to the camp the fact that it could have bothered him. Normally he wouldn’t have worried so much, but those dreams had put him on the edge. He shook his head and returned her smile. Percy was mildly surprised by the sudden hug but quickly gave into it. It felt nice to hold her again.


”You too.” He muttered holding her tight. This was probably one of the best reasons for coming back to Camp. Getting all sentimental and soft Percy was close to pushing away but Annabeth made the first move. He blinked as she put his arms on his shoulders. Then he saw the familiar expression on her face and he laughed. He wasn’t sure how to answer her now; at first he had been all gun-ho about letting Annabeth and Chiron know about his dreams and the attack. Now, after seeing Annabeth hurt, he didn’t want to bring it up.

He hesitated. Then in the most casual voice he could muster he replied, “Not bad. Not particularly good either. There was an incident about three weeks ago. With a monster called Keres, it was no big deal. The dreams haven’t exactly been a picnic in Central Park, oh you know like the one we had last summer. Other than that I’m fine, so where’s Grover and Chiron at?”

Percy had hoped he bypassed the topic enough to move onto the next. But inside he knew that it wouldn’t be Annabeth if she didn’t respond to it in some fashion. He had worried over her little scrape, not it was her turn. Percy put his hands in his pockets and glanced up from the ground anticipating her raised voice.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth’s smile fell practically the minute he opened his mouth. She let go and crossed her arms, her lips nothing more than a thin line and eyes narrowed. Why should she not have been surprised to hear this, and even less surprised he was brushing it off; though, admittedly, she had only just now done pretty much the same thing, but still. This was so like him: stubborn and usually ignorant of the significance of things. “No big deal? Honestly, you can have such a thick head sometimes. Do you even have the slightest idea what you were facing? The Ke-” she stopped short, not wanting to say the name out loud, even within the safe borders of camp. Names had power, and could be very dangerous indeed.

After a second, she continued, “Those things aren’t exactly push-over, run-of-the-mill monsters, Percy. If there is, or was, one in the area…that’s not good. They’re historically drawn by death, and usually a lot of it. Battles, massacres, that sort of thing. You know, real pleasant stuff. Where exactly did you find it?” She rubbed the bridge of her nose, thinking hard. The sudden appearance of the basilisk, the Keres attacking her boyfriend… things seemed to slowly be going to Hades in a hand basket. So nothing all that new really, but that still didn’t make it pleasant.

And these dreams Percy was always having were really worrying her. His dreams had generally foreshadowed bad stuff in the past; no reason to quit a good record like that…. “And you’re having more dreams…?” She sighed heavily and hooked his arm in hers, leading him back to the water’s edge, glancing around at the relatively deserted area - most of the other campers seemed to be too busy settling in or catching up with their friends to pay her and Percy and care. “Come on,” was all she said as she walked the short distance, stopping a couple feet from where the water lapped at the ground invitingly. Unlike Percy, she did not have that convenient ability to not get wet. She let go of his arm, sat down and turned to look up at him expectantly, though a slight hint of worry hid within her stormy gray eyes. “You might as well sit too. Looks like we have the usual amount of catching up to do.”

Though she strove to keep it all business-like - this was an important topic, possibly for a good few more people than one would hope - she wasn’t the best at hiding what she really thought around Percy sometimes, something that annoyed her greatly. But right now, there was just so much going on. Despite the fact that he had swam in the Styx, she still couldn’t help but want to be there for him when it came to a fight. And the dreams: well, the fact that he had immediately tried to cover up that he’d said anything at all wasn’t the best sign. But at the same time, she wished it all could be just ‘no big deal’ and once, just once, start the summer off on a happy, relaxed note with no bad news and just looking forward to another summer. But right…demigod stuff… in a world full of gods, monsters, and any other odd number of things, it was a ‘normal life’ that was the myth.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy fell silent and didn’t bother arguing with Annabeth until she had finished. It was safer and just plain easier that way. Actually, it was never easy when it came to arguing with Annabeth. That was something Percy learned a long time ago. One would assume he would learn by now to just stop entirely and agree with what she had to say for once. He shook his head and held his hands up to Annabeth in a surrender sort of way. Mostly he was trying to get her to calm down.

“Woah. It’s all right. I was up state with Mom and Paul for a weekend and it sort of attacked the car on the highway. They’re okay though.” Percy added quickly. He sighed and relaxed his shoulders a little dropping his hands back to his side. “I’m all invincible and stuff so it wasn’t much of a problem. I don’t know how—well I know how it found me—but I don’t know why it was there. It doesn’t make sense.”

Percy stumbled forward on his feet as Annabeth linked arms with him and lead back toward the water. When she let go and sat down he stared at her. He closed his eyes and shrugged giving into her desire to plant it right there on the shore of the lake. He eased himself to the ground next to her. After he situated himself on the ground he turned his head toward Annabeth and smiled expectantly. He had yet to receive a kiss from her and was too scared with her present mood to try and move in for one himself. On that level he knew better.

His smiled faded when no kiss followed. He drew in a quick breath and brought his knees up resting his arms on them. “I don’t suppose there is just cause to say don’t panic when I tell you my dream right?” Percy licked his lips and drove into the dream, still not wanting to give every detail he stuck to the main points. “I’m always standing in darkness, and that’s the majority of the dream. I can’t hear anything, see anything or even smell anything. I’m aware that I’m alive there I can feel my heart beating but no sound. At the end of the dream I hear this voice, I can’t understand what it’s saying but it’s a low baritone. I suddenly can’t move or even think straight. I get this feeling of fear paralyze me. It was beyond what I felt when we saw Kronos. Or even what I felt when I thought I was going to lose you.” Percy flushed red and felt his gut churn upon remember Annabeth’s encounter with the knife in battle two years ago.

Percy stopped for a moment to look to the ground and then back to Annabeth. “I don’t know what these dreams mean but I think it might be safe to say, something is coming.”

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth listened in silence, absorbing everything he was saying and trying to make sense of it. Without even thinking about it, she wrapped her arm around his back and moved slightly closer to him as if she also felt it was her job to protect him no matter what (something that she would readily do, should it come down to it). But for right now, she would just spend time with him. She’d missed being around Percy more than she’d admit and, even though the news wasn’t particularly good…it was better than it could be. “I… suppose it might have just been a rogue one…” Though what were the chances of that happening right in time with his eerie dreams? She had a bad feeling about this.

She let him recount his dreams, seemingly always the same one. That in itself was generally not a good sign. Darkness… a low voice… and then fear. Like in all the unpleasant memories he had, suddenly coming from nowhere…no, definitely not a good sign. She let out a sigh. “I think you’re right. The last time you had dreams like that…it wasn’t long before Kronos started really gaining power. And I think we both know what came of that. But…I suppose this time at least we know better. We know they’re likely not just strange dreams. Maybe we can be better prepared than last time.” She tried to keep her voice positive as she spoke. Her apprehension showed in her voice, however, as she continued. “I have a bad feeling about this, though. Worse than the average ‘something coming’, I mean…just the way you describe things… I need to do a little more research, I think. But I don’t like the sound of it at all…we should talk to Chiron……another time…”

She stopped short in what she was saying. As usual, she seemed to be one to drag conversations, even ones that were already unpleasant, to a pessimistic low. She would dwell on what Percy had said later, when she had time to herself to think, and preferably a good source of books and the like. It was Percy’s first day back to camp and, by the usual miracles, both were still alive. That was certainly worth celebrating. And who better to celebrate with? Pulling his chin towards her with her free hand, she kissed him. Off in the distance, lost to her (for once) focused attention, one of the newer campers let out a whistle.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy shrugged. He personally wasn’t convinced it was a rouge monster. It was all to coincidental. And over the years Percy had learned to make connections between dreams and the trouble that always seemed to seek him out. He moved his mouth around thinking about the incident. He turned his head toward Annabeth. Anybody else would have an impossible time trying to stay positive when talking about a topic such as this. But Annabeth was like anybody else.

“We can’t really be prepared if we don’t know what’s coming.” He countered, hating to be a bearer of bad news. “I’d like to talk to Chiron about it but at the same time, I’m almost afraid to. Like I wonder if I ignore it maybe it’ll just go away.”

That was probably one of the dumbest things Percy had ever said or thought. For some reason it just entered his head and he couldn’t help but verbalize it. Percy was about to make up for his lack of thinking when Annabeth’s hand pulled his chin. He was only slightly caught off guard and allowed for the events to play out. Everything that had been bothering him fogged over in his mind as Percy focused on Annabeth’s lips on his.

A distant whistle reached his ear and for a moment Percy scowled. He glanced over his shoulder at the camper. He flushed red a little but pulled Annabeth toward the water with a mischievous grin on his face. He willed a water bubble to come up from the lake to surround them and drag them underwater for another private session of the boyfriend girlfriend variety.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth couldn’t help but laugh, something that tends to make kissing one’s boyfriend a little hard, when she noticed Percy pulling her toward the water with one of his of-course-I-have-something-planned looks on his face. And, well, if no one had been looking at them before, though the whistle she just now registered proved at least one person was, they certainly couldn’t miss them now there was a huge bubble coming out of the lake to engulf them. No, that wasn’t conspicuous at all. Her face was burning red as she held on to him tightly. She had to admit, he didn’t always have the worst plans, though his ability to carry them out inconspicuously was often slacking.

A brief chill ran up her spine as one of her tennis shoes hit the edge of the water, which was certainly not warm yet, but thankfully the rest of her stayed dry. Not for the first time, Camp Half-Blood slipped away above the waves. The air - yes, air - was perfectly fine down here though. Yes, this was definitely one of the perks of dating a son of Poseidon. Annabeth let out a laugh. “It seems to be more and more normal for me to end up wet to some degree or another whenever I’m around you. Though I’ll admit the new perspective is nice.” She wasn’t looking at the water around them though. Her eyes never left his, which seemed to almost have a glow of their own, like the sunlight streaming through the water around them.


((OOC: That was pathectically short. Sorry!))

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

The bubble surrounded them and formed a perfect airtight space for the two of them under the surface of the lake. It was just like two years ago when Percy first truly kissed Annabeth. It was when Annabeth official became his girlfriend. Best way to tend the summer ever. He smiled at Annabeth and pulled her closer. He laughed.

“Come on when you’re with me you shouldn’t worry about getting wet. Unless I want to get you wet, that’s an entirely different story. For now though, I prefer my girlfriend dry.” He leaned in and kissed her. His head pulled back after half a minute. It was good to be the son of Poseidon. Private kissing sessions with his best friend and greatest person he knew, not having to worry about drowning during said sessions. He kissed her again.

“You know, I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of this.” Percy gave her a crooked grin holding onto her hands. The grin fell slightly though. There was a muffled sound that echoed in his ear. His head whipped around as he searched for the source in the lake. He blinked and strained his ears to try and hear more. At first it didn’t sound like anything, just noise but when it came again it came as a deep whisper.

I know your fear.

Percy let go of Annabeth and willed himself to leave the bubble keeping his girlfriend safe inside. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary and none of the water nymphs or aquatic life seemed to be jarred. After a minute he returned to the bubble still bone dry. Forcing a smile to his face Percy took hold of Annabeth’s hand.

“Did you just—“ He hesitated. “You know what never mind. Could have sworn I heard something, probably just some nymph or fish mocking us.”

Percy wasn’t sure why he lied to Annabeth. Maybe he didn’t want to worry her. Then again she had a right to know what was going on. Percy glanced around feeling uneasy, that sounded like the voice from his dreams. Not a good sign.

[Annabeth Chase]

Going out with a son of the Sea God certainly had a perk or two, but also came with a lot of weird stuff too. Take this for instance. Sure, getting away from the rest of the camp was nice, but having a fish swim up and stare at you from eye level wasn’t exactly normal. And the whole being inside an air bubble underwater… she doubted she’d ever get used to that. But hey, what did it matter. It meant private time with Percy. Annabeth laughed at his words, though she soon forgot that when he kissed her. It was easy to forget what she was talking or thinking about, or anything in general, when he did that.

Though the breaking of said kiss wasn’t high on her want-to-do list, she had to smile at his words. “You know, I don’t think I will either.” This even, at least partially, made up for all the Basilisks and Keres and news of Percy’s none-too-encouraging dreams. At least, for the time being. She went to kiss him, but was interrupted when he suddenly started looking around, seeming more than a little panicked. “Percy?” But before she knew it he let go of her and left the bubble entirely without another word.

It’s eerie how alone and vulnerable she suddenly felt the instant he left the bubble. “Percy, wait!” She wanted to plead that he come back, but she realized in her head how childish that sounded. Then again, she couldn’t help but feel afraid, not that something might happen to her, but that something might happen to him. If something was out there, whatever had gotten his attention enough to make him leave… she wasn’t sure she liked it much. And here she was, completely useless to help him. She pulled out her dagger, hoping maybe it was just some weird son-of-Poseidon-thing. Maybe…

Though he seemed to put a good amount of effort into smiling when he came back, she didn’t trust it at all. She didn’t bother playing along (like that was new). “Percy, what’s going on? What did you hear?” She squeezed his hand slightly, worried for him. If only he wasn’t so annoyingly stubborn all the time!

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

What had happened underwater jarred Percy from his wishful thinking that he could try to have at least one perfect summer with Annabeth. He wanted to forget his dream but the voice Percy was certain he heard only confirmed that something bad was going to go down this summer. What else was knew. He swallowed and looked back to Annabeth forcing another smile. This one was goofier than anything. He took Annabeth’s hand and willed the bubble to take them back up to the surface. It took them to a shallower part of the lake near the shore where the water only came up to their waists.

The bubble popped and Percy had forgot to focus on protecting Annabeth from the water and getting wet. He winced knowing he would be dry no matter what when they waded out. Maybe it would take Annabeth’s mind off of the event underwater. He walked out of the water and back onto the shore. He didn’t say anything to her until he set foot on land.

“I told you it was nothing, just a few nymphs mocking us. I didn’t want to be under there anymore. I guess we can’t get privacy anywhere.” He said with a shrug.

“Why do you suspect that it was something bad that I heard.” He turned his back on her and stared out at camp. Percy replayed the voice in his head. It sent a shiver down his spine. He knew it had to be the voice from his dream. He didn’t like feeling afraid or unsure. In fact he hated it, and hated whatever was making him feel this way.

[Annabeth Chase]

Annabeth came out of the water with him, as if she had a choice, and was immediately reminded that Percy’s powers could be used for a lot more than simply keeping dry. The bubble popped and, not only did it the still-cold water rain down on top of her, but it also sloshed up around her legs. An enormous chill ran through her entire body as she sucked in a surprised breath, which unfortunately set her coughing as well as the water was still falling. Cold, drenched, completely disgruntled, but not letting his momentary from before out of mind, she sloshed to the shore after him, wringing out her t-shirt and hair as best she could. Thank the gods it was sunny out at least.

She rolled her eyes at his words. “Honestly, Percy. Do I look that stupid? I’ve been around you for, what, six years? You’re usually the collected type, but something really bugged you down there. I really wish you’d tell me. I want to help.” It sort of hurt that he didn’t seem to want to trust her with this. He’d trusted her with so much before, and she trusted him with absolutely everything, all the way down to her life. When he went all aloof like this… it was… scary.

With a deep breath, she closed the small distance between them and took his hand, squeezing it slightly. She wanted to pull him into a hug, but the fact that she was still dripping wet stopped her; sure he may not mind the wet part as he likely wouldn’t even get damp at all, but the fact remained that she was freezing cold. “Percy, please promise me if there’s anything I can do, that you’ll let me know, okay? I want to be there for you.” That said, she let go of his hand and took a step back.

[Ψ ADMIN SUSHI Ψ]

Percy looked back to Annabeth and sighed. He felt bad for getting her soaked but the sight of her drenched made Percy let out an involuntary chuckle. His face turned serious again though and he knew he would receive a smack across the arm, or a scolding look at the very least. He tried to ignore the urge to laugh and forced himself to think about the voice and his dreams. Percy decided it’d be best to avoid eye contact with her, maybe that would help the subject drop.

Now, Percy wasn’t that much of a fool to actually answer the question Annabeth asked. He entertained the thought but knew better than to say anything. Not unless he wanted to risk getting into serious trouble. Percy walked over to Annabeth glancing around to make sure no one else was looking or listening in. “I should know better then to try and keep anything from you. I just don’t want you getting hurt that’s all. I mean in the Battle of Manhattan I was—“ He paused remembering the day Annabeth took dagger for him. He didn’t want a repeat of that ever again.

“I heard a voice and I’m pretty sure it was the same voice from in my dream. And it said ‘I know your fear.’” Percy laid it all out there on the line for Annabeth. He kept his voice low so that no one passing by would be able to hear them. “Whew. That feels better getting it all off my chest. I’m a little hungry do you want to go and get some food? Mom sent a batch of her blue chocolate chip cookies with me. Haven’t opened them yet, thought I’d wait for you. You want one? I wonder if Rachel is here yet, maybe she’ll want one too. And Nico.”

Percy took Annabeth’s hand with the intent of leading her away from the lake and ultimately away from the conversation. Chances of this plan working were slim to none. Percy knew that, but it never hurt to try.