Aphrodite's Promise

Scott Garcia

Annabeth

As I drifted off to sleep, I restrained myself from a happy scream. Percy liked the painting. It was all that mattered. I had spent the last month, painting it secretly. I made Sally send Percy out, for no reason numerous times so that I could finish of the painting just in time for our date tonight. And tonight, was the best time to reveal the work. Especially considering the tattoos we had gotten. We were closer than ever. I was the happiest girl in the world, nevertheless, this changed as I started having a dream. Dreams were never good for demigods.

This dream was however a flashback. An unwanted flashback. I drifted into a new world for the rest of the night.

I was worried sick, searching for Percy for three straight days, barely stopping to have some sleep or food. Hera sending me messages afterwards, was spreading salt on the wound. Percy and I had just been dating, and it was the best time of my life. Hera was my least favorite Olympian, and I had enough to be angry of. When the messages gave me hints of how I could find Percy, I was a bit happier.

I decided to follow the messages and found Jason, Leo, and Piper. Just then, I totally lost it. I was ranting for a day, calling Hera all kinds of names. I mean, they were nice people. Jason was good-looking, having broad shoulders, blonde hair, and electric blue eyes. You could sense his powerful aura whenever he passed, being the Son of Jupiter and all, long story. Piper eventually became his girlfriend. She was beautiful, having smooth, brown hair, startling kaleidoscopic eyes, and a bright smile. I always knew I could talk to her, even though she didn't know a thing about how Percy was. I felt that it was easy talking about heartbreak with the Daughter of Aphrodite, and so our bond grew pretty strong. However, I would always become sad when I saw how cute Jason and Piper were together. The way Jason was treating her as the only girl in the world. I couldn't help but think of how Percy did that to me. Leo was the one making everything funny, and really lighten my mood just a bit. He looked like a Latino elf and was always making puns. He could fix anything, having Hephaestus' blood. When I say he could fix anything, I mean anything, apart from you-know-what. Poseidon was just as upset with Percy's disappearing. He had cursed the whole camp. No one could mention or refer to Percy's name. This included no drawings of him, no writing his name, nothing. None of the new campers knew what Percy looked like. I knew of a special way of talking about him though, even though I did this rarely. It pained me every time I thought about him, but simultaneously, I got a warm feeling whenever I told stories of how goofy he was. My old friends, which had been with me from the very beginning, understood whenever I mentioned his nickname. I would laugh over how stupid Percy was, admire him for how brave he was and yearn for him for how loving and caring he was. The only reason I got through that phase was because of Grover, the Stolls, even Clarisse and Nico and Thalia, whenever they visited, which thankfully was a lot. They were all worrying their wits off, just like me. I felt close to Nico for the most time. He was my insurance that Percy was still alive, he could sense when people decided to leave this world for good, fortunately, so far Percy was still alive.

Numerous times, throughout summer, I felt somewhat guilty. Percy had turned down immortality, to stay with me. And now he was gone. If he was immortal, he might have still been here. Every week new half-bloods were crossing the magical borders, thanks to Percy Jackson. I liked all of them, except for one guy. He was handsome, don't get me wrong, but he couldn't even reach Percy's toes. He had glowing blonde hair, deep blue eyes and a glowing, light brown tan and a good build, though, not as close to Percy's. The top left of his lip had a tiny birthmark, and he always had chapped lips. He was about four months older than me and reminded me a lot of Luke. Pain surged through my brain whenever I saw him. The whole time Percy was missing, he kept hitting on me.

"Come on, Annabeth. At least give me a chance!" he pleaded. I looked at him with disgust and sighed before repeating what I had told him every time he hit on me.

"I. Have. A. Boyfriend.," I practically spelled out for him.

"You keep telling me. He sounds too perfect. And who names their kid Seaweed Brain?" he said, frowning. I really wanted to punch him right there, but I had been told by Chiron to greet the new campers well, even if it was the one and only, annoying, Scott Garcia, son of Hermes. "Let me give you reasons to date Scott Garcia. I've been told I'm handsome, I'm rich, I'm brave and I love you."

We had literally met just two months ago. The only reason to why Scott was rich, was because he kept stealing expensive jewelry from people, then selling it. He never got caught. I guess you could say became a master in using his father's gifts.

"You really have no idea what brave means do you? You should've seen...," I opened my mouth, trying to say Percy, but no words came out. I sighed then continued. "Seaweed Brain. He's the reason you're still alive," I said. I was going to continue talking about Percy when I was interrupted by Scott.

"Again, who calls themselves Seaweed Brain?" he smirked arrogantly. "Aaand, if this boyfriend of yours's is so great, how come no one mention him in camp?"

I felt a sudden rage within me. "Can't you just leave me alone!" I screamed. The words formed a question, but my tone made a demand. I started breathing heavily. How could he talk about Percy in that way? The boy I loved. Now I started having all the memories of Percy and me. I felt a warm feeling of comfort work its way through my body. All the joy and happiness I felt for the little time I spent as his girlfriend. Then suddenly remembered that he wasn't here. I started shaking with rage. I stared forward and noticed Chiron giving a pleading look. As if to say he will be back, don't give into Scott's game. I calmed down a little and started to walk away. Scott ran after me.

"One date, Annabeth. That's all I ask for. Nothing needs to happen. I just want to go on one date with you, then I'll leave you alone." I considered the offer. I was most certainly not going to cheat on Percy, after all the things we'd been through. After all the things we both sacrificed to get together.

"Fine. One date. That's it."