Side by Side: A Percabeth story [ON HOLD]

2 - Fantasies and Fierce Blushing

   "Annabeth! There you are!" Percy called, reaching his arms out to me as we were swimming in the middle of the ocean. "I thought you'd drowned!"

   He reached me and pulled me into a tight embrace, letting us sink below the surface of the water. He created an air bubble around the two of us, and leaned toward me, his eyes full of love...

   "Annabeth! Annabeth, wake up, sleepyhead!" Malcolm's voice reached my perfect dream all too soon. "It's already past breakfast! You're going to miss lunch, too, if you don't get out of bed!"

   I checked my clock. 11:24 AM, it told me. There was no light next to the ALARM setting. Hades, I'd forgotten to set my alarm.

   "I'm up, I'm up," I told Malcolm groggily as I pushed myself out from under the covers slowly. Then I heard a sharp pounding on the door and a deep voice.

   "Malcolm, is Annabeth awake yet?"

   "Getting there, Percy," my half brother sighed, earning a prominent eye-roll and a light shoulder punch.

   Percy groaned. "Annabeth, I'm going to miss canoe practice at 11:30! You have to hurry up!"

   "I know! Gods, I just woke up; I forgot to set my alarm!" I shouted at the door exasperatedly. "I need to get some actual clothes on, for the gods' sake!"

   "No need to shout, dear," he sang sweetly. Gods, he was annoying. "I'm only going to be fifteen minutes late for a half-hour lesson. No big deal at all."

   "Yes, Percy, I know your schedule. Now both of you leave me alone so I can actually get ready!" I exclaimed to the boys. "I need some privacy here."

   Malcolm scurried out the door, and I could hear receding footsteps as the two guys walked away. I could finally have the Athena cabin to myself -- and my thoughts.

   I was confused about last night's dream. Usually, demigod dreams mean something; sometimes they're like prophecies, telling the future. Sometimes they're like messages from the gods, with no picture and just a voice or a dream-meeting with a particular god or goddess. And sometimes they're signs of things yet to come; double-meaning dreams. I was pretty sure my dream had been the latter. So what did it originally mean? What other meanings did it have? Were Percy and I going to get together somehow, or was that completely unrelated?

   Finally, I was dressed and my hair and teeth were brushed. 11:30 on the dot. I grabbed my trusty Yankees cap and headed to the canoe lake.

***

   Percy was waiting for me, making the water at the lake swirl and twist, creating beautiful patterns. When he glanced back and saw me coming, his eyes widened and he immediately let the water fall. Turning his back on the lake, he started toward me.

   "Did you see that?" he asked me anxiously. I shook my head, and he breathed an obvious sigh of relief. "Okay."

   "What? Was it secret?"

   "You might say that. You might also say, 'It's for everyone except Annabeth to see until I give the OK.' or 'Annabeth should not pay any mind to my quirky water tricks until I tell her to.' You know, that sort of thing." He grinned, but the wild look in his eyes told me he wasn't completely satisfied with my answer. "Just don't stick your big nose in my business."

   "Hey! My nose is not big!"

   The son of Poseidon shrugged innocently, but he was still smiling like an idiot. Yeah...he was an idiot.

   "If anyone's nose is big, though, it has to be the Stoll twins', I gotta say," a voice next to us replied. Percy and I jumped, then quickly calmed down once we realized it was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. "Sorry for scaring you."

   "It's okay," I replied, chuckling. "You're absolutely right."

   Percy looked at me in mock surprise. "Annabeth Chase, being mean to the Stoll twins? Unheard of!" He grinned. "At least you're not talking behind my back. Wait -- are you? Hmm, I think I know what you'd say. 'Percy is so big and strong! Oh my gods, he is so cute! I wanna hug him and cuddle and --" I cut him off, my face pink as a pig's.

   "Percy, shut up!" I blushed three shades darker when Rachel raised her eyebrows at Percy, then me. She cocked her head questioningly, and I shook my head quickly. She gave me an innocent smile and flashed a heart with her hands, turning my face as dark as a tomato. I growled at her; she giggled and ran off to her cave in the woods.

   "What was that all about?" Percy asked curiously, flashing me a brilliant white smile. "Are you... talking about me?"

   I grit my teeth. "No, Percy, we were not talking about you," I replied forcefully, shooing him off to his canoe. He grinned once more and set off for the lakeside. Today had been a disaster so far!