Hi everyone!

This is a new fic I had on my mind since ages. Here it is!

The inspiration for this was a dream.

I'm writing this more for myself than reviews.

Still, reviews are always welcome :D

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks!

ITOR

Disclaimer: Much as I'd love to, I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and any of Rick Riordan's characters. Key phrase: Rick Riordan's characters.

~Percy~

Ever since the 'Battle of the Labyrinth' as everyone had begun to call it, we kept a close eye on the camp borders. Many a time monsters had invaded despite the protective magic shield – which was really scary. Chiron had immediately prepared us to handle our threat – which is why Annabeth and I were sitting on the tree that used to be Thalia's pine and keeping an eye out for any monsters.

"So…" said Annabeth after we'd been quiet for a long time.

"So…" I repeated, not sure what to say.

"So?" Annabeth asked me.

"So…"

"Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth laughed. "Stop copying me!"

"Hey! I'm not copying you!" I protested.

"Uh-huh?" she asked me, touching my nose affectionately with her index finger.

I'd noticed she'd been doing things like that a lot lately. I had no idea why.

"Yeah," I replied.

We lapsed into silence again.

"Why can't you ever be the first one to start a conversation, Percy?" asked Annabeth, finally exasperated.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Here we go again…

It had been happening a lot lately with us. We couldn't have a pleasant conversation together anymore. It always turned into a fight.

"Its like I'm the only one who wants to talk to you. I'm always making the effort to talk, to use the time we spend together. Its like you don't want to be my friend!" she yelled.

"You think I don't want to be your friend?" I asked her incredulously.

"Not only that, Percy Jackson. I think you don't give a damn to me anymore. Ever since you've been hanging out with Rachel…"

"Oh yeah? Just because I have a real mortal friend and you don't you're jealous of me?" I said bitterly.

And instantly regretted the words.

Annabeth's beautiful grey eyes were brimming with tears that spilled down her cheeks.

"I – I'm sorry…"

"I'm not jealous of you," she cut me off. "I'm jealous of that stupid Rachel Elizabeth Dare! There, I said it!"

I was stunned.

"What? Why are you jealous of Rachel?" I asked her, bewildered. "You're nothing like her. You're –"

"That's exactly the problem!" she exclaimed, tears flowing faster now. "I'm nothing like her. And I wish I was. Because you like her more than you like me!"

"No way!" I said. "You're my best friend, Annabeth. No one could replace you!"

"And she's something more," Annabeth whispered. "She's more than a friend to you. And I wish I was."

And then it hit me. How could I have been so stupid? Oh, right, they called me 'Seaweed Brain' because I was stupid. Still, I didn't think I wouldn't realize this.

"Annabeth," I whispered, wiping her tears. My dear, silly little Annabeth. Whoa – where did the whole 'my dear silly little Annabeth' thing come from?

"What?" she asked me, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Do you really think Rachel is more than a friend to me?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"You're wrong," I whispered, pulling her into a hug.

And the moment was perfect. In that instance, I understood many things.

a) Annabeth was a lot more than a friend to me. I liked her. I really really liked her.

b) I was a lot more than a friend to Annabeth. And she liked me.

c) Annabeth was jealous of Rachel because she thought I liked her.

d) Because Annabeth thought I didn't care for her, we'd been fighting so much.

She pulled away and her stormy grey eyes met my sea green ones. And automatically, my hand found its way into her hair and her arms locked around my neck. I inhaled her scent and leaned in slowly, our noses touching each other, lips centimeters apart…

… And someone screamed.

We broke apart immediately. A girl was trying to run towards Half-Blood hill with a hellhound at her heels. At first I thought it was running with her. Then I realized it was running after her.

She was holding what looked like a bloody, broken body in her arms. It was obvious that whoever the person was, he or she was dead.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. She was already off the tree. "We need to help her."

I jumped down from the low branch we were sitting on and ran after her wordlessly.

We raced down Half -Blood hill and I drew Riptide – my lethal ball point pen.

Annabeth put on her Yankees baseball cap and instantly turned invisible. We'd used this strategy so many times that we didn't need any kind of communication to understand each other. I would distract the hellhound while Annabeth would plunge her dagger into it and then we'd run with the girl. It was fairly simple. Nothing could've gone wrong.

"Hang on there!" I yelled to the girl. "We'll help you!"

I looked into her blue eyes and saw naked panic there. Her jet black hair was absolutely straight and it hung loosely down her back and she was dirty and grimy. It seemed like she hadn't had a bath for ages.

Somehow, I felt very protective towards her. I didn't know why, but I did. This girl couldn't be harmed. All I could think of was – not her.

Oh, and, did I say nothing could've gone wrong? Correction: Nothing should've gone wrong.

Unfortunately, the hellhound chose to move its position in the very instant that Annabeth reached behind it, its tail knocking her off balance. Her cap rolled off to the side.

"Annabeth!" I shouted.

"I'm okay!" she shouted back. "Help her!"

I nodded. Without delay, I stabbed the hellhound's giant paw. It howled in pain and sprang back slightly.

"Run!" I told the girl. "Up the hill. Take the blonde girl with you!"

"What about you?" she asked me.

"I'll be okay!" I yelled. "Now GO!"

"No!" she yelled. I dodged a strike from the hellhound.

"What?" I screamed.

"No!" she screamed back.

"You have to!" I yelled at her. I turned to look at her. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

"Look out!" she screamed.

But it was too late. The hellhound's paw was just an inch above my head. I knew I couldn't roll out fast enough to dodge this blow. I closed my eyes and prayed to the gods that Annabeth would be all right.

Minutes passed. The paw never came down. I opened my eyes to see a pile of monster dust in front of me. The girl was breathing heavily, tears streaming down her face. In her hand, she was holding what looked like a celestial bronze lightning bolt, except it wasn't quite that. It was different. If you tilted your head slightly, the weapon would look like a sea wave, not a lightning bolt. Also, for some reason, it seemed to have tinges of mortal steel and some silver in it.

I gently rested my hand on her shoulder. She jumped violently.

"Hey, relax," I whispered. "I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. Its okay. You're safe now."

The girl looked into my eyes, pain and fear evident in her eyes. Something she saw must have reassured her because the fear lessened a little.

"Who are you?" I asked her.

"Sandra," she whispered.

I looked down to her lap – and immediately regretted it. She was cradling a boy who looked about fourteen or fifteen years old in her lap. His face was bruised and bloody. There were multiple cuts and injuries on him, but that wasn't what made me look away. It was how lifeless he looked. And ironically, he was smiling.

"Who is he?" I asked her.

Her eyes brimmed with tears. I groaned internally. She was the second girl who was crying because of me in a matter of minutes. Way to go, Percy.

She refused to answer. "I'm sorry."

Annabeth walked over to us.

"Percy, you okay?" she asked me worriedly. I nodded.

"What about you?"

"I'm fine," she reassured me. She looked at Sandra and then at me, a million questions burning in her eyes.

"Umm… Sandra, this is Annabeth, my –"

"Girlfriend," Annabeth finished for me. I blushed. Sandra looked away, biting her lip.

"Yeah, actually we just got together," I explained awkwardly. I felt a need for explaining why I took time to tell her who Annabeth was.

"Yeah, I thought so," the girl said, not meeting any of our eyes, tears cascading down her cheeks. Her voice broke though she tried to hide it. "Congratulations."

"Hey…" said Annabeth gently. She rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. She flinched a little but then relaxed.

"We should really get to Camp," I told Annabeth. Everyone would be looking for us by now.

Annabeth nodded. "Lets go."

"No!" Sandra cried. "No, please, please don't leave me alone…"

"Hey, hey, hey," I said. "Who said anything about leaving you? You're coming with us."

She looked at me, probably trying to figure out if I was serious. When she realized that I was, she flung her arms around me, taking me by surprise.

"Thank you," she whispered, burying her face in my chest. I could feel her tears soaking my shirt. I glanced over at Annabeth. She didn't seem to look angry or uncomfortable, just concerned.

And truth be told, it felt right. Like it was meant to be. I knew I liked Annabeth, but what did I feel for this girl who I'd known for just about half an hour?

"Its okay," I told her, rubbing her back soothingly. "I'm here for you."

And I don't know why I said that, but I did. Abruptly, she pulled away from me. She turned to Annabeth.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't mean anything wrong. He's your boyfriend. I have no wrong intentions. I hope you know that," she said.

Annabeth smiled at her. "Don't worry. Somehow, I already knew that."

The girl cracked a small smile. "You're smart."

I chuckled. "That's what they say."

Annabeth pushed forward.

"Lets go, Seaweed Brain," she said, pretending to be exasperated.

Sandra seemed amused. "Seaweed Brain?"

I grinned. "That's my name."

She chuckled. "So, what, you're Seaweed Brain, and you're Wise Girl?"

Annabeth and I exchanged looks.

"That's right," I said. "How did you know?"

Sandra shrugged. "It seemed appropriate."

We walked on in silence to the top of the hill. Neither Annabeth nor I had said anything about it, but Sandra was still carrying the dead body of the boy with her.

"Who is he?" I asked her, my curiosity getting the better of me. Annabeth glared at me.

Sandra pressed her lips together.

"A boy," she replied, and trudged forward.

So, did you like it?

Was it good?

Tell me with a review =)

~ I Tripped Over Reality

PS: I know my name is Sandra. But this Sandra won't be much like me. You'll see if you read on =)