Because I Care

#13 - Always

This is going to be kinda long, but read on! I promise there will be percabeth fluff. HERE'S MY PINKIE!!

Annabeth and Percy chat room.

A: hey

P: sup?

A: idk

P: meet me outside the back of ur cabin. i have something 4 u

A: k

Outside the Athena cabin.

Percy came jogging up to Annabeth, and in the pale moonlight his green eyes shone through the growing darkness.

"Hey," he said in greeting, and they both smiled at each other. It wasn't cold enough yet to wear jackets, but Annabeth had untied her hair to cover her neck, and they were both wearing their orange Camp Half Blood t-shirts.

"How come you dragged me out here?" she said jokingly, and grinned even wider.

"Well, Wise Girl," he started saying. "You're the one who came out here before I did."

Beth smirked at him and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Stop being smart with me, Seaweed Brain. What's this about?"

Percy looked at the ground for a second, and when he looked back up, his eyes were full of embarrassment and a little humor, his teeth quickly hidden. Annabeth could see right though him like glass. "You'll see."

She dropped her smirk and looked at him, understanding that he wanted this to be special, and took his hand. "So where are we going?" His palm was warm,  and as he laced his fingers through hers, he smiled again. They could barely see each other in the night, but his face glowed as his answer.

He led her to his cabin, and if she didn't know him like she did, she would have stopped half way there and ran back. They didn't speak as they walked, letting the comfortable noises of the lake and forest surround them. Some campers were still at the campfire, and hopefully Travis and Connor Stoll weren't there with their stupid cameras.

They soon got to Percy's dark blue cabin door, and stood there for a while. Their fingers were still linked together, and he pulled her hand towards him so that she wrapped her arm around his waist. He laid his newly freed arm over her shoulder, and said, "I hope you like it," as he swung the door open.

Annabeth stepped inside the dim cabin, and honestly didn't really see what the surprise was. He flipped a light switch, bathing almost ever inch of his mess in light.

"Gods, Percy. You need to clean up." She didn't mean it as a joke, but it made him laugh anyways. What looked like dirty shorts and camp shirts were thrown around everywhere. His bed was unmade, but at least Tyson's was still nice and neat.

"Well sorry." He managed to pick up a pair of running shorts, and lifted up to eye level for her to see. She scrunched her nose in mock disgust, and he knew almost too well that it was fake. He chuckled again and threw it to the side. "Come here," he half asked half ordered her, and sat on the bottom half of the bunk bed. Annabeth hopped to various bare parts of floor to sit next to her boyfriend.

She waited for him to speak, and he wrung his hands to together, obviously nervous. "Are you okay?" she asked just in case, and he looked at her with a weak smile.

"Yeah. Uh, Annabeth?" What was she supposed to say? She kept silent and stared at him intently, knowing that it was pressuring to tell her whatever he was holding back. "I... umm... I just want you to know... I've been thinking about us... and-"

"Oh gods," Annabeth muttered, and stood, attempting to walk out the door. His cloths tickled her bare ankles.

"Wait! Where are you going?" She could hear the panic in his voice, but reached the door anyways. "Beth!" His hand wrapped around her wrist, and that's when she just snapped.

Spinning around, she spat back, "Don't touch me! I know what you're trying to do, Percy. You don't just tell someone you love them and then break up with them!" She tried reaching for the door knob, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her path. Suddenly tears sprung into her eyes, one of them silently dripping down her cheek. The boy she loved didn't feel the same about her anymore. It was over.

"No, Annabeth. I'm just nervous." He tried wrapping his arms around her, but she pushed him away and into the wall.

"About what? Breaking up with me?" Her body was shaking with sobs, seemingly uncontrollable, but she barely held it together.

"About giving you this."

She looked at him, silent tears still streaming down her face as he dug through his short's pocket, finally pulling out a tiny box.

"What's that?" she said quietly, and she suddenly felt so terribly stupid.

"I promise that I will never break up with you. I promise that I will fight next to you if Poseidon and Athena go at it again, what ever side you choose." Percy sucked in a breath, and Annabeth used that pause to take a step closer to him. "I promise-" he started again, this time lifting the box to chest hight. "To always protect you, for your mother's sake. And lastly-" He opened the lid to revel a silver ring. "-to always be your Seaweed Brain." He grinned at the last promise, and Annabeth felt like the worst girlfriend in the history of worst girlfriends.

"Gods, Percy, I'm so sorry." She rushed into his arms, burying her wet face into his shirt. "Here," she said, and let him slip the promise ring onto her finger. It read 'I love you' on the outside part, and Annabeth's eyes glittered from its reflection.

Percy saw her reading the words he had asked Tyson to engrave into the metal, and whispered, "Always."

She tilted her head up at him, and standing in his messy room, Percy wiping her tears away with his thumb while she wrapped her arms around his neck, Annabeth said, "This is the least stupid thing you've ever done."

They both grinned, and Percy retorted, "I think saving you in the Sea of Monsters wasn't very stupid either." Leaning forward, the tips of their noses were barely touching.

She ignored his comment, and right before their lips met, she promised back, "Always."

They didn't know it then, but Travis and Connor were outside Percy's window, both of them almost too shocked to take the picture.

The next day, almost everyone had heard about the almost break up, but every single one of them had seen the picture of Percy and Annabeth kissing, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, with a silver band encircling the daughter of Athena's left ring finger.

Percy's getting the hint not to be so stupid, eh? lol this one is my new favorite, not because of the fluffiness, but because of the detail I tried to put into it. GO PERCABETH!! i swear if Ricky makes them break up im spamming him with emails