Because I Care

Magical

so this is the continuation AFTER percy says "Annabeth... open your eyes." so now i will stop blabbing and let the chapter do the talking.. (lol that rhymed!)

Annabeth.

 "Annabeth... open your eyes."

I didn't know what to expect. It could've been a monster, considering I was dating Percy.

But when I did eventually lift my eyelids open, it was pretty much the exact opposite of a monster. I think my mouth dropped open. I'm still not sure. I only remember Percy's grin, and the leather necklace he held between us.

It was so simple. I'm not saying that in a bad way, because it was beautiful. It was a single pearl. Its surface was a creamy white, polished so that it caught pretty much every light in New York.

"Percy..." I think I murmured, and touched the gift with my fingertips, feeling as if it could shatter if handled too roughly.

"Tyson made it," he explained, and his smile still hadn't gone away. "I think you can figure out what it stands for..." His voice trailed off, like he wanted to keep his mouth shut for once and just enjoy this moment.

"Percy..." I said again, and stopped staring in awe at the gift and looked him in the eyes, trying not to smile too wide. "I... um... well I don't think your present can compare to this now." I was accidentally getting lost in his green sea for eyes... again.

"Oh, one more thing," he said, dropping my other hand and starting to dig in the neckline of his t-shirt. I half expected his to rip it off, but instead he brought out the exact same pearl, or what looked like it, anyways. "Maybe I should explain a little more. I asked Tyson to make two... because.... um... their kinda magically linked to each other." His smile faded, but I barely noticed, because his eyes still had their shine of anticipation in them. He held the pearls his arms length apart, and the white orbs pulled at each other like magnets. "So now you'll know what direction I'm in, no matter what happens..." He trailed off again, remembering our months apart. That was already two years ago, but I swore, not on the River Styx, though, that I would never have to go through that kind of pain again. I can't even imagine having Percy without me now.

"Should've given me this a while ago, Seaweed Brain," I joked, but it was almost true. Our only laughs were our smiles.

"Yeah," he agreed, and shoved his necklace down his shirt again.

"Your gift isn't even magical," I mumbled, and let Percy slip the necklace around my neck. It was cold from being in this weather, but it soon became warm to match my body temperature. It hovered just above my shirt in Percy's direction. Awesome.

"Anything's magical if it's from you," he whispered, almost as if he didn't want me to hear. The dark was making the air around us colder, but I was still warm. I blushed, and dug inside my pocket.

"Merry Christmas, Percy," I said, and handed him a little box. I looked at the ground, because now I was embarrassed that I hadn't given him something that actually meant something to us, or him, even. It was just a thing, nothing more.

"Gods," I heard him breath out, and when I looked at his face it was not what I was expecting.

Percy.

I thought I overdid it. I knew I should've given her the necklaces before I disappeared. Of course, I didn't, being the clueless rebel child that I've always been. So when Annabeth says Merry Christmas and gives me a little box, I think that hers is going to be better than mine.

I took the lid off, but in the dark it was kind of hard to see. I tilted the box in my hands, and the lights from the big house shone against something metal inside. "Gods," I breathed out, and pinched the golden ring to take it out.

The first thing I noticed was that on the outside, it read, 'Once a Seaweed Brain, always a Seaweed Brain.' Tilting it again, on the inside it said, 'I'll always be your Wise Girl.'

I grinned, and saw Annabeth blush. Maybe it was the cold, but still. "And you think this isn't magical?"

"It's not," she muttered, and looked out towards the lake. City lights from outside the boarder glittered across the watery surface.

"Hey," I murmured, and tried to be as gentle as I could as I brought her closer to me. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Yeah yeah," she assured me, the sarcasm easily detected, even by me. "Anything's magical if it's from you." She spoke in her imitation of my voice, so I laughed and leaned in a little closer.

"But it is," I whispered into her ear, and pulled away to string it on to the necklace with the pearl. I fumbled with the worn leather, so she helped me untie the thick knot. I couldn't help but stare at her eyes, how all her emotions were built inside them even though I knew she tried to hide them as best she could. I could see everything - happiness, relief, a little bit of annoyance, and... well... I would say love, but I still can't be sure. She only said those three words once, and technically I had read them. It wasn't even in person. I sound so selfish, but I wanted her to love me back so badly. I wanted to be sure of that, and not just assume that we would last forever, to the Underworld and back.

"You know your gift is better," she sighed, and still hadn't looked up yet. She was long done stringing the ring to the necklace, and just kept her hands on my chest, a little bit of sadness starting to flicker in her stormy eyes.

"I'm sorry," I told her, but she tilted her head up and glared at me.

"Don't be sorry," she scolded, but I stooped down anyways.

"Yeah yeah. Your gift isn't even magical." My throat hurt from making my voice so high, making Annabeth giggle like a little girl.

"Shut up," she said, lifting her chin.

We were both smiling as we kissed, and with the lake right there and our memories in check, we dove into the water, so close to each other we couldn't have been pulled apart.

Best. Christmas. Ever.

so this has NOTHING to do with the story, but read if you want. my friend called me desperate because i was talking to another person about my stories (not even her, may i point out), and now she (the one who called me desperate) pretty much hates me and wont talk to me. am i the only one who thinks that's weird?

and one more thing (found this on a website a long time ago, only just now thought of writing it) <3

"I want to like a guy who's read the Percy Jackson series, so that when I say 'Will you be the Percy to my Annabeth?' they'll know exactly what I'm talking about." -anonymous

AHHH I thought about that all day today :D (as of 8/29) was this enough fluff? i can TOTALLY add more if you guys want <3 thanks for reading!