Chapter 6: I Gain Myself A Girlfriend, (Finally).

Hi, I got a new chapter for you guys. Told you I'd continue this. Also, thanks for 50 reviews, it shows me that you guys care about this story. Of course, most of them were from the Percy/Harem thing, but that got resolved. Finally, some serious Pertemis shiz. Also, tell me what you want the master weapon to be. A sword, bow, upgraded version of Katastrofi, etc. Probably gonna go for the first one, but I want your guys' inputs. I'll be doing that with many major decisions in this story, since I like having the readers getting their own way sometimes. I know I get peeved when the author of a story I like makes a bad decision and ruins the whole thing. AKA people who hint at Pertemis the whole story and end up doing Percabeth.

Disclaimer - I don't own PJO, Rick Riordan does.

Chapter 6: I Gain Myself A Girlfriend, (Finally).

"Artemis, wait!" I called as I heard the cave door open loudly, before slamming shut. How does that even happen? Isn't it an automatic door? Ah, what am I thinking? I need to see what's wrong with Artemis.

I reached the door, and pulled the lever, standing impatiently as the cave wall slowly shifted to the left. It seemed to be taking forever, so I just ended up squeezing through what little gap was already opened.

It was nighttime now, and it was raining. Great, just great. It seemed as if a storm was heading in our direction, so I tried my best to find her and bring her to the warmth of the cave as soon as possible.

Now, the hard part, figuring out where that goddess ran off to.

There wasn't really any significant places on this island that I know of. Aside from Leto's den, it was mainly just forest and the beach. So basically, I had to search every inch of this 3 square kilometre island to find her.

I knew she wasn't in Leto's den, that part was easy, so I headed off into the forest to begin my search. I knew right away that it wasn't going to be easy. The forest was big, and there weren't exactly pathways or anything. Despite the small size of the island, I could easily get lost, since I hadn't really learnt the forest like Artemis had. I'd have to find actual clues or signs as to where she went.

I tried some of the few hunter tricks Artemis had taught me over the past week. Checking tracks, finding the direction of the wind, and various other stuff that led to one conclusion, I suck at tracking.

After that failure, all thoughts of getting lost left my mind and I chose a direction, before walking that way. I made no turns on my trek, just a straight line of walking.

I paid no attention to footprints or tracks or even the animals I had come across, and it was only when I reached the beach when I realized where I was. I made to turn back in another direction, but was stopped by the sound of muffled sobbing.

Artemis?

I hadn't realized I'd said that aloud, and worried when the sobbing ceased. For a second I thought I'd been hearing things, but those thoughts went out the window when I heard her surprisingly fragile voice say. "Go away."

I frowned, and moved closer. She wasn't sitting on the beach or anything, she was hidden behind a bush just before the sand met the grass. I pushed the shrub aside, and what I saw made my heart shatter in 3.45 billion pieces.

My friend, my best friend, was sitting there, hands around her knees with her head bent down. Her body was shivering with the sobs, and her knuckles were a deathly white, as if she was hugging herself so hard that it hurt.

She looked up as the leaves rustled, and I could see tear streaks running down her face. She saw me, and immediately put her head back down. "I said go away, Perseus." She had used my full name, and that hurt a bit.

Sadness swept through my eyes, and I knelt down so we were at the same height. I tentatively reached out my hand. "Artemis…" I left the sentence short, because the goddess in question snapped her head up, sadness replaced with anger. "I said, GO AWAY!" She shouted at me, and it felt like she had shot me in the heart with one of her arrows.

I contemplated doing what she said, and leaving her to sort out her own problems, but that thought immediately left my mind. What kind of friend would I be if I did that?

Instead of leaving, I fully emerged into the clearing and sat down beside her, not tearing my eyes off of my best friend. She looked up once more, an angry expression still plastered on her face, but before she could comment, I interjected.

"Artemis, I'm not gonna leave. I want to talk. What's wrong?" I asked her, and she sighed, looking away. "I don't want to talk about it." I gently nudged her with my elbow. "C'mon Moonbeam, you can tell me." I pushed her to tell me, but she shook her head and looked at me. "I… I just don't want to talk about it."

I shrugged, and stared out at the coastline of Delos. "Well, I'll just sit here until you do."

We both sat there, staring off at the sunset in total silence. The melodic sound of the tides hitting the shore flew into our ears. All in all, it was peaceful. It reminded me of my childhood, of memories where I'd be sitting on a beach with my younger brother -and occasionally my mother- and we'd just sit in silence, taking in the beauty of a stunning orange sunset.

I missed my little brother. He was very dear to me, and now he was gone. And unless I managed to survive this curse, there was a very good chance I'd never get to see him again. My sweet little brother. How proud I was of him.

The slim huntress next to me sighed and put her head down, her arms pulling her knees towards her chest. She silently stared at the descending chariot of Helios before speaking softly to me. "Why do you have to be so annoying, Percy? Why do you have to make this so difficult?" She asked, hints of a sob coming out, and I felt partial sadness at her being upset.

"What do you mean, Moonbeam? What do I make so difficult?" I asked, concerned for her, and she wiped a single tear from her eye and turned her head away. I took a huge risk considering she was Artemis and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her small body up against my side.

Artemis tried to push away, but found it futile, and eventually gave up, leaning herself into me. I enjoyed this, the feel of her warm body up against mine, her soft hair tickling my right wrist, and the feel of the Greek summer breeze flowing past, taking away all our worries and fears. Except for one, one which I could see all over Artemis' confused and scared face.

"Artemis, what do I make so difficult?" I asked, and she snapped her head in my direction, tears still in her eyes. "Everything! Everything is so complicated with you! Your identity is confusing as Hades, you can hardly do such simple things without shooting me or hurting yourself, and you just make it so hard to let me get over my feel-" She cut herself off, blushing bright red and turning away.

My eyes widened, and I was in disbelief of what I'd just heard. Artemis, the beautiful maiden goddess, had feelings for me? Not gonna lie, she was probably the most beautiful person I'd ever met, topping Aphrodite by a mile, and I'd had slight feelings for her in the past, but most of that was quenched down by the fact that she could never love me back, yet here she was admitting her feelings for me.

"Artemis, did you just say what I think you said?" I asked, and her blushed brightened tenfold. She hesitated for a bit, then nodded, and turned to me with her arms still wrapped around her knees. She sighed, then began speaking.

"Percy, there's something I have to tell you. I have been having…. Strange feelings and emotions about you, ever since you crash landed here on Delos and I brought you back to our home. These… feelings have been making me feel strangely, and I, I am so confused…. Percy, I think, I think I'm in love with you." She finished, leaving an awkward silence between us. After a moment, I saw her start crying, accepting that I didn't love her.

Luckily for both of us, that wasn't true.

I brought up and hand and gently, with my thumb, I wiped her tears away. She looked me in the eyes, her silver ones boring into my sea-green ones, and a silent agreement passed between us. Almost perfectly in sync, we both leaned our heads in and closed our eyes, and I felt her hot intoxicating breath on my lips. I hesitated for a second, contemplating If I was ready for my first kiss, and if I was doing it with the right person.

Then I connected my lips with hers, and we had officially shared our first kiss.

Her lips, oh her lips. The taste of strawberry was so good in my mouth, the feel of it sending me into bliss. Our little kiss turned more heated, as I felt her tongue pressing against my lips. My hand snaked around her back and pulled her into me, opening my mouth so that our tongues could battle for dominance. It was a tie, and there was no real winner in our small battle. Before it could go too far, I pulled away, and got lost in those stunning awestruck silver eyes.

Artemis exhaled sharply, and then started breathing again at a normal pace. "Percy, that was incredible. I… I can't believe I just had my first kiss." She exclaimed, and I chuckled. "Me neither, Moonbeam. But I'm glad I shared it with you."

Artemis giggled, and pecked me on the lips. "We should tell Mom, and Apollo too." She said, standing up and offering her hand. I groaned, taking her hand and standing up. "Oh right, Apollo's gonna kill me." Artemis smirked, and stood as tall as she could. She was about two inches shorter than me by doing this, she was almost my height. "I shall protect you, my little beta." She crossed her arms, trying to look tough, and I laughed.

"Come on then, let's go, my alpha." I said, and we started the trek back to Leto's cave. When we got there, the door opened and Leto looked over at us from her spot in the living room.

"Oh, you're back. How was it?" She asked, then her eyes wandered to our linked hands. The titaness raised an eyebrow, and smirked slightly. "So you finally did it, huh?" She asked, and Artemis hesitated for a bit, before smiling giddily.

Leto jumped up with the speed of Emperor Palpatine striking down the Jedi and hugged Artemis tightly, restricting her breathing. I laughed, but my amusement choked when I was grasped by Leto and pulled into the hug. Leto started crying. "Oh, my baby's already found a boyfriend. You godlings grow up so fast." She sobbed, and Artemis reached around and patted her on the back, both in a 'there there' fashion and a 'okay this is out of my comfort zone can we stop now' way.

"Mom, I can't… breathe." Artemis choked out, and Leto recoiled from us like we'd suddenly been diagnosed with measles, and clapped her hands together whilst muttering stuff to herself. "Alright well I'm gonna head off, don't get in too much trouble." She winked, making both of us blush, and scurried out of the room.

We sighed, and looked at each other, before bursting out in laughter. "That could've gone way worse than it actually did." Artemis giggled, leaning on me for support. I smiled. "At least your mother's understanding. Your brother, however, is gonna be a different matter." I said, slightly worried about what her brother would think of our new relationship.

As if to confirm my fears, we heard someone clearing their throat over by the doorway, and looked towards the noise. Standing there, arms crossed over his chest, and with a pissed-off expression on his face, was Phoebus Apollo.

"Whatever are you talking about, you two? What exactly am I not going to be understanding about?" He asked, and from the way he said it, it almost seemed like he knew what the answer was, but some gut-feeling told me he didn't, and that the upcoming confession would end badly.

"Well…" I began, but stopped and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "You see, Apollo…" Artemis started to explain but stopped and started to stutter. Her breath hitched, and she looked at me for confirmation. I nodded, and we both linked our hands, visible to Apollo.

The young god's face reddened, and he became to violently breath in and out, like he was about to release a kamehameha blast upon me. Wait, this guy's a god, so that's very much possible.

Before he could blast me into oblivion, I ran out of the room, and all I heard was Apollo's wrathful shout of "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, PERSEUS."

FiNaLlY, i've finished that goddamn chapter. I got up to that part where Percy made it to the beach a while ago, and then just didn't write anymore. I'm so sorry, but personally problems have been holding me back. I'll try harder on this story.