This is a one-shot between BOTL and TLO. It's a conversation between Thalia and Annaeth regarding Percy! (:

Please review and give me some of your feedback! This is greatly appreciated and constructive critsism is always welcome(:

All rights go to RR!

Enjoy!

Something Permanent

She couldn't like him that way. There was no way. He was just her best friend that's all…. right? Annabeth groaned and stuffed her face into her pillow and squelched some extra colorful words into it. She'd been at it for hours, trying to convince herself that she was wrong. I mean come on, a Son of Poseidon? Really? A son of Poseidon with those beautiful kaleidoscope eyes she was always lost in… She could spend days trying to pin point their exact color….

Jesus Christ Annabeth get a hold of yourself!

She cursed and tried to wipe that dreamy look off her face. Annabeth pulled her comforter over her head and inwardly screamed into her pillow…again. Usually she was happy to be alone in Cabin 6, especially after having to suffer through a stuffy labyrinth for days, but now she'd give anything to have some company. And sadly she knew whom she wanted at her side the most. Annabeth let her head peek out of the covers and blew her bangs out of her face. Her gaze shifted to the pictures messily pinned up on her bunk. There were pictures of herself and Thalia, even some of Luke in the far corner. Annabeth tended to hang her favorites close to her head for comfort. She nearly pulled out all her hair when she saw who stared in the majority of them. Gods how could she be so obtuse? Her hands frantically pulled out every pin and let the photographs flutter all over her bed. One landed practically close to her hand and she picked it up to meet her eye line. It was one of her favorites. Grover insisted on taking the picture the first summer he had ended up in her life. It was after their first quest to redeem Zeus's Master Lightning Bolt. Percy had placed his hand lightly on the small of her back and pulled her near. She had tentatively wrapped her hand around his waist and tried to smile at the camera but her mind was a million miles away. Annabeth could've sworn she felt a spark when he touched her. He probably didn't know how much that one intimate touch effected her sleep patterns or even short-circuited her mind for a few minutes, which is very hard to do for a Daughter of Athena, mind you. Her fingers traced his gorgeous smile that always made her heart skip a beat… wait what? Gods she was losing her mind! Annabeth grasped the photo and attempted to chuck it across the room but unfortunately it plopped itself right back into her lap, though there was no breeze or open window. She made the mistake of letting her eyes drop down to the silly piece of paper that had betrayed her. Annabeth glared daggers at the photograph as she felt her frustration build up inside her.

She unsheathed her dagger and threw it like a ninja star across the empty cabin. It landed point first into the wooden door. .

"Knock, Knock?" A gruff voice said from the other side of the door. A very familiar voice, she noted. A hand pushed the door open with ease and a familiar demigod with black hair and blue eyes walked in.

"S'sup Annabeth," Thalia said, throwing herself onto the bed next to her. Annabeth loved Thalia, she really did, however she couldn't help but get butterflies in her stomach when she imagined another demigod with the same features by her side.

"Hey Thals." Her voice croaked.

Thalia peeked up at her friend when her dead voice wafted in the air, surprised. Annabeth let her hair fall from her shoulders, making a wall between them. She couldn't let Thalia see her like this, see her so weak and vulnerable, especially over a damn boy for God's sake.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you at breakfast?" Thalia asked her with narrowed eyes that Annabeth wouldn't meet.

" 'Dunno." Annabeth snapped, looking at the ceiling like there was hidden words scripted in the plaster.

"Uh, huh, sure…." Thalia said, drawing out the word with her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So, this wouldn't have anything at all to do with a specific son of Poseidon?"

Annabeth whipped her head around to glare daggers at her friend; disbelief and anger masked her glum face. "How the hell did you-" But then she saw the object of paper Thalia was fanning herself with and her heart dropped.

Shit. She thought as she glanced nervously at the photo that was previously in her lap.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." She stated, swallowing loudly and suddenly finding great interest in her nails. Annabeth looked everywhere but at her Thalia's face, afraid for what she might see.

"Oh, come on Annabeth! I already know you like good ol' Seaweed Brain!"

Annabeth winced at the accusing tone in her friends voice and shrunk further beneath her comforter. Though she knew the words were true it was a splash of cold water in the face to hear the words out loud. That one sentence seemed to hang in the air and Annabeth would do anything to wipe them away.

"Is it that obvious?" She squeaked, and then grimaced at the weak tone in her voice. She was terrified that she had been walking around with a neon sign that said, "Back off ladies that sexy son of Poseidon is all mine!"

"To other people not really, but to someone that's known you practically all of her life? Yeah, it's obvious. " Noticing Annabeth's body tense under the covers and her immediate silence, Thalia quickly backtracked. "I may have sworn of all forsaken love, but I'm not blind, Anna."

Annabeth didn't know what to say to that, so she said the first thing that came to her mind; the thing she had been dying to talk to someone about since the second it happened.

"I kissed him."

She threw the covers back and stared at her friend's reaction.

Thalia took on the form of a gapping fish; her mouth opening and closing, tying to find the right words to speak. And she sure didn't disappoint.

"Wh-what?"

"I kissed him." She stated again.

"Huh?"

"I. Kissed. Him." Annabeth spoke slowly, like speaking to a toddler.

"Are you serious?"

"Uh huh."

"Seriously?" There goes the last of her patience.

"Serious as a heart attack Thalia now snap out of it!" She needs Thalia to say something coherent, anything.

"Sorry, just a lot to take in…When?"

"Uh.. About two and a half week ago or so.."

"On the quest?"

"No, in New Hampshire, yes on the quest!"

"Where?"

"Mount. Saint Helens just before it blew." Thalia's piercing stare made Annabeth scramble for more details. " He said he had a plan, and that I need to go. I told him to be careful, and then I..And then I uh…."

"Then you what, Annabeth?"

"Then I kissed him. Smacked that sucker right on him." Her voice came out even and level, which please Annabeth greatly.

"When you say 'kissed him'…" Thalia trailed off while Annabeth blushed furiously.

" It was quick, just a little kiss." Annabeth defended herself quickly.

What did Percy do?" Thalia asked evenly, but Annabeth could tell she wanted Annabeth to spill her guts right this very second.

"I didn't see nor did I give him enough time to react, but I think he was pretty surprised. Thalia nodded, processing this information.

"Then?" Thalia pressed.

"Then I ran. I heard him scream, Thals. It was so horrible." She started to shake and Thalia pulled her trembling form into her arms. "Then when it blew up…I-I I thought…"

"I know, Annabeth, I know."

They stayed like for a few minutes, Thalia murmuring comforting words while Annabeth listened. She never shed a tear, though. No matter how much she wanted to Annabeth knew she was stronger than that.

The time lapsed into a comfortable silence until it was interrupted with a serious of giggles that could only belong to one cabin. Thalia scoffed at this until one new voice stood out from the rest, a voice they both knew all too well.

"Annabeth…" Thalia started, but Annabeth had no intention of listening. Instead she did something she knew would only hurt her in the end. She sprang out from Thalia's embrace and hurtled herself to the window.

The sight that greeted her made her heart stop cold.

"Gods, Percy, you're like so brave.." An Aphrodite camper babbled into Percy's ear as they walked to his Cabin. To Annabeth's disgust she immediately recognized her as Drew, followed by a herd of her sisters, all eyeing Percy Jackson like he was a display of art. To her immediate frustration she couldn't hear Percy's reply, or read his lips, but by the way his eyebrows pulled together was a sign that he was annoyed and this comforted Annabeth. Too bad that comfort was replace with white hot anger as she noticed Drew's hand slink it's way around her best friend's left bicep.

"Imma kill her!" Annabeth growled launching towards the door before Thalia's arm wound around her waist pulling her away.

"Annabeth chill." She snapped at a panting and kicking Annabeth.

"No way Thals! Did you see that? I can't believe her! Let go!" She screeched.

"Not until you calm the hell down!"

With a groan Annabeth went limp, allowed Thalia to drag her back to the bed. She attempted to turn her head back to the window, but her friend's harsh words stopped her.

"Don't bother, they're both already gone."

Annabeth let her head fall into her hands, feeling embarrassed. "What am I going to do Thalia?"

"I'm afraid this is a choice you're going to have to make on your own, Annabeth. Whatever your decision is I can't help you. But if you don't like Percy," Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but Thalia held up her hand. "Then don't lead him on, but if you do like him, don't hold anything back."

Annabeth went silent, processing what she'd just heard.

"And if he doesn't feel the same way?" She swallowed loudly, hating the way her sentence sounded out loud, and dreading Thalia's reply. To her surprise, Thalia laughed like the idea was ridiculous.

"Then it's called screw you and your lose." She stated simply. "But I've seen the way he looks at you, Annabeth, he cares about you. A lot. And thought he's too thick-headed to see it, he likes you, too."

Annabeth found herself smiling the first genuine smile in weeks. "Thanks, Thalia."

"Always. But keep in mind that he's not going to be available forever. He's got a lot going for him, and every girl here know it, once they think your out of the picture, they won't hesitate to take a bit out of him, heck, Drew's already there!"

Annabeth bit her lip, hating the words coming out of Thalia's mouth, but knew they were true.

"He misses you, you know."

"Doubt that."

"It's true. I talked to him today in his Cabin, which is a pigs sty by the way. Anyway, he kept glancing at the Athena Cabin every thirty seconds or so."

"Really?" Annabeth smiled, happy with this newfound information.

"Oh yeah. Kept asking about you, too. He thinks he did something wrong. Sorry to play the guilt card but it's true."

"I miss him, too. A lot." Annabeth admitted.

"I can tell," She said, looking pointedly at the photo of the two on the bed. "So why aren't you running to his cabin right now?" Thalia's skeptical look pushed Annabeth over the edge, causing her to say the weakest sentence you will ever hear Annabeth Chase say.

"Because I'm scared." She cringed at hearing those words come out her mouth. She didn't sound like a demigod that could take on Kronos, and that irritated her to no end.

"Look, Annabeth. If there's one thing I know about Percy Jackson, it's that he would never let a fly touch the people he loves. And that he's a Mamma's boy, 'kay? Now when I say people that he loves, you're at the top of that list. Percy is the only guy in the world the Hunters, and Artemis, mind you, have ever liked. Which is saying a whole lot. He is the only man ever worthy of Annabeth Chase, and you are the only woman ever worthy of Percy Jackson. He would treat you like the Queen that you are, more so than he already does. Annabeth, he would never hurt you. You have to understand that."

Annabeth nodded, smiling at her friend's kind words.

"So I ask you this; you like him?"

"Yes."

"You want him?"

"Yes."

"You've made up your mind?"

"Yes."

"Then don't hold back, Annabeth."

And for once in her life, Annabeth decided to do something reckless, maybe even a little dangerous, and kind of beautiful.

All to build something that would hopefully….

Become something permanent.

Thanks for reading!

R&R Please(:

~Liz