Annabeth and oblivious ch 4

Disclaimer:

My current status is: not Rick.

Therefore: I own nothing.

Annabeth POV:

Half an hour after Percy left I'm still sitting here on the bathroom floor with my face pressed against the cool exterior of the sink and my legs propped up on the toilet seat.

I don't want to take any chances that Percy might still be around because I'm afraid that if I see him before the capture the flag game I'll chicken out and refuse to say what needs to be said.

That I love him.

Suddenly someone starts pounding on the door and yelling.

"Open up please! You've been in there for forty minutes already, some people actually have to use the bathroom you know?" said a girl's voice from the other side of the door.

I internally groan and slowly start the process of sitting up.

I use the sink to lift myself up and unlock the door walking out to meet the astonished faces of a few campers who had yet to hear about the incident between me and Percy.

I'm sure I must be quite a sight with my cheeks flushed, still clothed in armor, my dagger by my side, and dirt streaks down my face caused by a few tears that had escaped.

I could see they wanted to question me but I roll my eyes and brush past them figuring they will soon hear all about how that seaweed brain accidentally stole my second kiss.

My first was when I kissed him on Mt. St. Helens (a decision I'm still not sure, I regret or not).

And what a wonderful second kiss it was, no matter that it was brief.

I always thought those Aphrodite girls were crazy for spending hours on end discussing crushes and kisses but now I'm realizing that maybe I'm the crazy one for not indulging in what they like to call "girl talk".

I honestly never thought that lips could be so soft or that one brief meeting of breath could be so enticing.

I snatch my invisibility cap from its perch on the edge of my bedframe and swiftly put it on reaching for the door handle to exit the cabin.

I decide to spend my last hours of secrecy at the archery range, somewhere Percy would never be caught dead after his first attempt at shooting when he almost took Chiron's head off.

I reminisce in moments of Percy's adorable idiocy as I make my way there. With all of the fond memories I have of him and remembrance of all my not so secret outright staring, I'm surprised that he didn't notice my true feelings. I love his obliviousness even though it annoys me to no end.

Before long a horn starts to sound and I put down my bow, it's time.

I walk swiftly but unsteadily towards the meeting area where teams will be announced and weapons provided. Pretty soon I arrive, too soon in my opinion, and luck is on my side. Percy is nowhere to be seen, but there are tons of campers crammed around here so I know he's probably somewhere close by in the mass of people.

I spot Clarisse picking on some of the other campers, pushing them around in an attempt to psych them out.

"C'mon sissies! You think you can possibly beat me? Bring it on! I'll have you disarmed before the game even starts!" She says bragging to anyone who will listen. I roll my eyes and push my way to the front of the crowd.

Chiron is standing there with a large smile and he opens his mouth to speak.

"Welcome campers, I know for some of you this might be a new experience and all I can say for you is try your best, make sure to keep your armor on, and good luck. As for you returning campers...go easy on them. Alright, now that that's settled its time to announce teams and team captains. The leader of team one will be: Annabeth Chase!"

I'm not surprised, I'm often captain of one team or the other. I only hope that-

"The captain of team two will be: Percy Jackson!"

Of course it is, my luck never seems to hold out. As Chiron goes on reading who will be on what team I have members of mine walk up to me and form a lazy circle. This simply will not do.

I quickly command them to form tighter ranks around me, not only so everyone can hear our battle strategy, but so that I won't have to see Percy.

I'm already buzzing in anticipation of what I'll tell him. It seems to show as I stutter a few times when giving my usual speech, earning a few concerned glances.

Suddenly we hear gasps of exclamation and confusion coming from team two.

I don't want to look over because I'm afraid I'll see him.

But I know he must've said something either really smart or really stupid, I figured the former would've been astounding enough to warrant that level of surprise.

Reviewing my plans I decide they're good enough for anything he could've devised. However, I will keep on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary, besides a bunch of demigods running around with swords and knives and an intent to harm.

We file out and make our way towards the general direction we suspect the flag is near.

Once within range we spread out and I keep three of my best fighters with me, as well as sending two scouts (The Stoll Brothers) just ahead of us.

We can still see them weaving through the trees when all of a sudden Connor is tackled from above.

Clarisse has the Ares kids hiding in the trees!

I shout to my men and we assume a fighting stance. There are four of them and two are new campers, I can tell by the sloppy grip they have on their weapons. The other two are pretty good fighters from what I've seen in practice drills and I nod to my teammates to take them out first.

It is silent for only a second before we throw ourselves into battle. I quickly disarm one of the newbie campers while the other tries to sneak up on me.

After I finish with the first I spin around to face the second and all it takes is one look at my face before he pales and turns to run back into the woods.

I guess my reputation precedes me and I knew I'd have to talk to Chiron later about harsher training protocols.

Suddenly a dark form steps out from behind a tree, it was Clarisse herself! I smirk inwardly, this means we must be close to the flag.

In all of the recent games, she's chosen to play defense, always sticking close to their home base.

I begin to charge when she suddenly holds up a hand. Her face is twisted as she opens her mouth to speak, almost like the words pain her.

"Hold off, men!" She calls to the two campers who are still locked in battle with my fighters. I couldn't be more shocked.

Maybe this has something to do with Percy's plan?

I refuse to let my guard down.

"What's the deal, Clarisse? Going soft?" I taunt hoping to get a rise out of her, I quite like fighting dirty when it comes to drills and games like this.

In real situations, however, I leave that sort of idiocy up to Percy.

She sneers at me, "Hardly! If I wish in charge, I would've taken you and the rest of your team down ages ago. But your boyfriend wants to get a little one on one action, I decided to allow it because I figure it'll be a laugh for us all to see a repeat of earlier. So I think I'll be taking off now, and while you two get it on, we'll be busy taking your flag. See ya around, Chase." She says with a large smirk and takes off with her two goons following.

I feel all of my former confidence shrink. How did she know about...the incident?

Gods, if she knew, the whole camp knows!

A cold knot of dread settles in my heart.

However, I'm not about to miss this opportunity to be alone with Percy by wallowing in self pity. I motion to my teammates to go join the others and they quickly speed away.

Heading towards my objective I walk out into a clearing.

I'm not surprised to find the flag positioned right by the side of a river, especially with Percy defending.

Looking around I can't seem to find him, but I am not fooled into thinking he's not nearby. I hear a scuff behind me and before I can spin around my arms are pinned behind my back and my knife clatters to the ground.

"Annabeth, listen I-"

I can't believe it!

That stupid Seaweed Brain disarmed me!

He didn't even have the guts to face me, he had to sneak up behind me. I am beyond furious! Not just for this, but for what occurred earlier too.

All thoughts of love and confession leave my mind as I slam my head back into his face.

"Ow! What the he-"

I bend down and scoop up my knife in a fluid motion bringing the point up to rest on his neck.

I glare at him through a mass of blonde hair that has come loose from my ponytail.

"I can't believe you! Sneaking up on me like some five year old trying to scare someone!" I yell at him torn between my conflicting desires to kiss him senseless or dig the knife in deeper.

"I can explain, Annabeth. Just calm down. Look, obviously this isn't just an ordinary game of capture the flag-"

"Oh, obviously." I parrot back at him in a sarcastic tone, rolling my eyes. He squints at me in that adorable way of his and continues on.

"Annabeth...about before, I...um...you...uh..."

My heartbeat starts to accelerate as I realize what he is talking about. Our kiss.

I loosen my grip on the knife and let up on him a little. Suddenly, I become shy for some reason and start to blush. Gods, I hate myself for it.

"Look, there's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to come out and say it, alright? I'm a complete dork when I'm around you! I always thought being around smart people was supposed to make you smarter too but it clearly doesn't work like that. Whenever I see you I get this bubbly happy feeling and it's great but it makes me act like a complete moron. So I don't know if I even deserve you or if we can still be friends afterwards but I just need to tell you that-"

As I hear him ramble on and on something becomes unbearably clear. He's stalling for time. No, this won't do at all.

I gather my confidence back and in one swift motion I sheath my knife, tangle my fingers through his hair and lean up to kiss him.

Wow.

His lips are as amazing as I remembered. The first time I kissed him on Mt. St. Helens it was so rushed and sloppy, and the second time it was nice but still rushed. I didn't know what to expect for our third kiss but it sure wasn't this. His mouth is warm on mine and his lips are soft and firm, he slides his hands around my waist until they come to a slow stop at my back.

After a few minutes of dueling with our tongues I pull back and look at him.

He's in a daze as I open my mouth to tell him what I've known for years, "I love you, Percy."

His jaw drops almost comically and I laugh at the expression on his face. Slowly, his look of shock is replaced with the goofiest grin he can muster. He quickly leans in and kisses me softly once, twice, and then pulls back and gazes at me affectionately.

"I love you too, Annabeth...though I admit I'm a bit peeved I didn't get to initiate our first proper kiss. And that you told me you loved me first. And that you're a much better kisser. Gods Annabeth, did you save anything for me?" He says jokingly.

I smile, as much as I'm enjoying this moment I know I'm running out of time. So I step further into his arms and look up into his eyes lovingly.

"Just shut up and kiss me, Jackson."

And he doesn't hesitate. After a brief minute of kissing I start to hear intense battle cries ring out around the other side of the camp and rustles in the bushes nearby. I know it's time to make my move.

As we kiss, I slowly back him up, opening my eyes a few times to make sure his are closed and that I'm heading in the right direction. I keep pushing him, and just a little more...there! I remove one hand from around his neck and pick the flag right off of the ground next to us.

He's so caught up he doesn't realize for a minute until cheers and groans start raining out all around us.

"It's about time!" Someone shouts from the edge of the clearing and I blush as I realize just how many campers were hiding in the brush. A good twenty people surround us and start congratulating me on my victory, for a few of them I can't tell whether they mean the game or Percy.

Percy looks on in shock, "A-Annabeth...what just happened?"

I laugh and say, "I just kicked your sorry butt is what happened. How does it feel, Seaweed Brain?" I tease.

He pushes aside a few of the younger campers and takes me into his arms right there, in front of all those people.

"I've never been better." He smiles at me and then leans down to capture me in a kiss, I blush like mad but slowly reciprocate. As we separate, the truth of the situation starts to gradually sink in for Percy.

"Wait so...we lost?"

"...You're an oblivious idiot, you know that?"

"Yeah...but I'm your oblivious idiot."