Hello, and welcome to The Mark of Athena… except not. I'm glad you decided to click on this story! Basically, this story will be comprised of about 20 or so chapters, the majority of which I have previously planned. I'll probably update about every other day; possibly more often on weekends.

This is my first try at an actual plot… usually I stick to fluffy one shots. So please be kind with your review. And yes, I expect lots and lots of reviews. 10 for each chapter would be wonderful. In fact, even if I have a chapter completed and ready to post, I will not upload unless I have at least 10 reviews for the previous chapter. Please and thank you!

Disclaimer: I dis-claim this. Lol

Anyway, on with the first chapter!

Annabeth

Annabeth liked to think that she was strong. She had always thought that she was tough, that no one could mess with her and not fear serious injury. As she sat, knees pulled to her chest, palms sweaty, and mind racing, she thought that maybe it was time to rethink herself a bit. She was currently huddled in the very convenient corner made by the sides of the boat joining at the front of the Argo II. And in about ten minutes, her world would change forever… in either a really, really good way, or a horribly, nasty bad way. She'd like not to think about the bad way at the moment, but that's all her mind seemed able to focus on.

She was a mess. You couldn't tell from just looking at her, a fact that Annabeth was very thankful for, but on the inside… that was a different story. It was just so horribly cliché, but the only way she could describe her emotional turmoil was to picture her heart being cut out of her chest, salt rubbed in the wound, and then left open to the breeze. Her only chance of healing said wound would arrive in approximately eight minutes, but she couldn't think about that now. Alas, as soon as she told herself not to think about it, or him as the case may be, she thought about it.

How she had missed him! It was like Calypso's Island all over again, except seventy trillion times worse. All she wanted in the whole world was to feel his strong arms around her once more, to smell his uniquely sea-ish scent, to gaze into his warm, sea green eyes. She shook her head violently. What had these months alone done to her? She was turning into a sappy romantic disaster, and she would have none of it.

She got up and turned around to peer out over the rail of the boat. The wind whipped her golden curls back from her face, exposing a mixed look of stern contemplation and anticipation, her grey eyes brooding like an impending storm. She rested her elbows on the rail, cupping her face in her hands as she took in her surroundings: the California country side stretched out before her like a blanket of green; the faint shimmering of the sea glistening in the distance. Six minutes.

Six minutes until she finds out. Finds out if he even remembers her name, let alone all the special moments they've shared. And what if he remembers her, but only vaguely? Her name, but nothing else? What if he remembers everything except the final battle? He wouldn't remember their first kiss, or any that came after.

She had to stop thinking that way. Remain positive, that's what she always told herself. Even if she got there and there was some random Aphrodite bimbo hanging off his arm, she would still be his friend, and she would have to remain strong. She couldn't let Camp Half Blood down. Not now.

The last few minutes seemed to slip by almost instantly. She saw the Roman camp slipping into view. What beautiful architecture! She would have to study some of it closely… She heard Jason, Leo, Piper and the others preparing for descent behind her. The moment had come.

Percy

The moment had come. Percy could see the hull of the Argo II high above his head begin its descent. He had been watching it grow bigger and bigger on the horizon for about ten minutes now, and all he could think about was Annabeth. Annabeth and her princess curls, her beautiful grey eyes, and her soft curves that fit so perfectly against him. All he wanted was to hold her close, to smell her deliciously lemony shampoo, to make her laugh. He was not ashamed at all of his ooey gooey thoughts. She was his girlfriend, he loved her, he had not seen her in eight months, and that was that.

He really hoped that she didn't think he had moved on. It would suck if he ran to hug her and she was all awkward. But Annabeth wasn't an awkward person. She would either accept him or she wouldn't. He couldn't bring himself to imagine a world without Annabeth. He had come as close to that as he ever wanted to get.

The Argo II landed with a dull thud twenty feet in front of him. Percy could hardly breathe. He couldn't make out any trace of human activity as the creaking ramp seemingly lowered itself to the ground. A tall blonde boy, probably around Percy's age, made his way down the ramp, followed by several people he didn't know. He deduced this boy to be Jason, whom he had heard much about. For the first time in a while he recognized that there were people around him. Time seemed to stand still. Both Frank and Hazel stiffened beside him as Leo Valdez made his way towards them. He stood by Jason at the bottom of the ramp as more of the Greek campers appeared.

Finally, he spotted a mass of blonde curls bobbing towards the ramp over the railing of the boat. He pushed his way to the front of the group, shouting her name. The head stopped, and then began moving very fast. He assumed she was pushing people out of the way just as he was. He reached the front of the group just as she came into full view at the beginning of the ramp. She was so gorgeous. Time sped back up as he ran to meet her.

End of chapter one!

Don't you just love cliff hangers?

Ten reviews for the next chapter!

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