When Did We Grow Up?

Percy stood rigidly under the glass ceiling, as if he was expecting a monster assault, which in this place was entirely possible. The sun shined through the clear panels, cutting a gleaming line on his messy black hair. As I approached him, I realized what an oddity we would be, and the thought could only make me grin, despite my previous uneasiness.

My Seaweed Brain was standing straight and tall, his athleticism was clearly pictured. As always he was fidgeting with his bronze-capped pen, tapping it against his thigh, twisting it in his sun-painted hands. Percy was shuffling his gaze from a stairwell, to the back door, to the rowdy group of people swarming a painting. In addition, to truly point out his nervousness, he began to rub his lower back; surely, he was missing his armor. His childish grin when an elderly woman waved at him just rebounded against me.

Then there was I; curly blond hair and heavily burdened with suitcases, I was sorely out of place in this gallery. I clunked my bags up the stairs from the basement where I had been working. The queue of tourist, that had moments before been gazing admiringly towards the display, now glared at my noisy ascension. I drew much attention from the onlookers, and Percy was one of them.

He drew near and he latched his gaze onto mine; sea green and stormy grey.

"Got enough luggage, Wise Girl?" He scoffed, only partially joking. I could tell he genuinely cared about my preparedness. He grabbed one of the bags, and then weaved our fingers together. He gently pulled me to the back steps that led out of the museum and to his car.

"It's Annabeth, Seaweed Brain." I corrected him as he sent his clumsy smile my way and picked up a second suitcase, leaving me with my backpack and a third suitcase.

We reached his car and he popped the trunk. I shoved everything except my backpack in; hurrying to the front seat, Percy started the engine. When I shut the door with a solid thump, a defining silence encompassed us.

After a few moments, it became too much for either of us to handle and Percy spoke up.

"How was work?" He paused then continued. "Or, you know, that unpaid stuff you do?" He was joking, but not entirely.

I answered him, engaging in a conversation over an Ancient Greek Arts display I had been assisting. Over the summer after my junior year of high school, I had taken an unpaid internship with one of the NYC museums in effort to boost my college applications. It had worked, and I was offered the position again this year. Percy was staying almost all summer at Camp Half-blood, sometimes dropping in and visiting me at work. I had gone back to camp on my days off and trained, but never quite as much as Seaweed Brain.

This year, I had been accepted into Harvard University to major in Architecture. I had been thrilled; it was almost unbelievable. But then again, having top grades and the head of Administration being a distant godly relative, my dreams were coming true. Because, believe it or not, Seaweed Brain was not kicked out of Goode, and was even accepted into a College in Florida to major in Marine Biology. We were going to be separated by half of America. Neither of us were particularly thrilled, however; we would always be able to communicate, and after discussing things, Seaweed Brain agreed to continue our relationship.

Once Percy dropped me off at the airport, he was to head off on a road trip-you know, no flight be cause of the big man up in the sky-to his University with Paul, Grover, and Nico. I had been contacted by Harvard and asked to arrive early due to rooming issues. We had to split before summer was over and we both hated the idea.

We sat in endless traffic, locked our fingers, and counted the minutes 'til goodbye.

When Percy pulled into the parking lot, he gathered the bags and handed half to me. I felt tears prick my eyes. How could this be happening? Why? I just hoped the first semester would go quickly.

Our hands were intertwined once again, and we paced ourselves to the sliding glass doors. I kept walking, and yanked on Percy's hand before realizing he stopped. His face was scrunched up. He shook his head.

"Uncle won't let me any farther." His grief-heavy voice struck me odd; Perce could always keep his emotions in check.

I set my bags up against the outside wall, and wrapped my arms around his waist. Percy held me tight. I only realized he was crying when his tears fell on the bare skin of my bent neck, my head resting on his shoulder. Then I realized it was okay, Percy really, really cared for me. Moreover, that was okay, because I really, really cared for him. So I let my tears drop onto his shirt.

I pulled away, using the back of my hand to wipe my watery eyes. A thought struck me. "When in Hades did we grow up?" I smiled a little and my Seaweed Brain laughed. He wiped his eyes.

Then, despite his distaste for PDA, Percy kissed me. His hand held my chin and I placed mine on the back of his. Our other hands were locked. Not wanting to separate, we slowly pulled away.

He kissed my forehead and whispered, "I've never grown up. I still drool in my sleep." I could feel his smile even though my head was bent.

I only nodded and gathered my things, past my goodbye.

I boarded my flight and took my seat quickly. Hurriedly, I checked Daedalus's laptop and held back my sorrow when I saw my screen saver.

It was a picture of Percy and I, right after we had kissed and the campers hoisted us. We held hands, and reflected each other's smiles. It was one of my favorites, because Percy and I were on the shoulders' of those we love.

"Goodbye, Seaweed Brain." I whispered and shut my laptop just as the battery died.