"Remind me why I'm doing this again."
"Because," Annabeth suppressed a smile as she set up her camera. "You promised. And besides, I've gotten way too many requests for this." She finished setting up and glanced back.
Percy was lying on his back with his eyes closed, tired after a long day under the sun. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his skin was a deep bronze from his lifeguarding job. Annabeth had decided to shoot the video after his afternoon shift at the beach, where the lighting would be nice and bright.
She had started her YouTube channel after the Giant War. Since her friends were spread out all over America, she had started making videos to keep them updated with her life. Originally, her only viewers had been her friends, but then the views had started to skyrocket. She honestly had no idea why. Viewers had started requesting other things, like asking her to do a tutorial on her everyday hair, or a workout video on how she stayed fit. Now, her channel was an everything sort of channel, and she had almost half a million subscribers.
One day, she'd been shooting a video at Percy's house, while he was taking a nap. He'd woken up sometime during her filming. So, in the middle of her video, he'd stumbled sleepily in, kissed her on the cheek, then disappeared into the kitchen to get some food. Annabeth had decided not to cut it; she never edited her videos.
Her subscribers had exploded.
"Who was THAT?!"
"Boyfriend tag!"
"You guys are adorable."
"Boyfriend tag!"
"He's so cute."
"BOYFRIEND TAG!"
She finally gave in. Convincing Percy, though, required negotiation.
Percy crossed his arms obstinately. "I am not doing some girly makeup video. No way."
"It's not a makeup video. Come on, Percy," Annabeth took his hand pleadingly. "Do it. I'll make you blue cookies."
She saw him soften a little.
"With extra chocolate chips?"
Annabeth beamed at him. "Of course."
Percy looked at her reproachfully. "Fine," He sighed finally.
Annabeth threw her arms around him. "Thank you, Seaweed Brain."
"Okay, put on a shirt," Annabeth ordered. "Then we'll start."
Percy was still lying on his back. He stuck his tongue out. "I bet they'd rather see me like this."
Annabeth threw his shirt at him.
He pulled it on, then scooted close next to her. He threw an arm around her as she leaned over to turn on the camera.
I clicked on a new video from one of the channels I was subscribed to, by a girl named Annabeth. She made awesome videos, and I watched them weekly. This time, I saw she was doing "The Boyfriend Tag", and I smiled. I'd seen her boyfriend in one of her previous videos, and he was really cute.
The video loaded. The two of them were sitting on a blanket on the beach, the sun bright and blinding. Behind them, I saw a calm, rippling ocean and a spotless blue sky.
Annabeth and her boyfriend were sitting side by side, cross legged on the blanket. Annabeth was wearing a simple white summer dress, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders. She was so naturally gorgeous, I was jealous.
Her boyfriend sat beside her, his arm around her shoulders, wearing a red lifeguard tank top and some swim shorts. His skin was deeply tanned, and he was lean and muscular. His hair was jet-black and windblown, and he had sea-green eyes.
Wow. He was as handsome as Annabeth was gorgeous. They were one good-looking couple.
"Hey guys," Annabeth said with a smile. "Today I'm going to be doing the boyfriend tag. This is Percy, as most of you already know." She gestured for him to speak.
Percy waved awkwardly. "Hey."
Annabeth looked like she was trying not to laugh. "Let's get started." She took out her phone.
Percy tugged at one of her curls distractedly. "Is this going to be like a test?"
Annabeth slapped his hand away. "Yes. Ten questions. Ready?"
He groaned. "No."
"First question: what was your first impression of me?"
"Oh," Percy smiled. "Scary. And pretty. You had hair like a princess." He tugged on one of her curls again.
Annabeth smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
"Next question," She pulled away. "My biggest pet peeve?"
"Uh," Percy hesitated. "When I'm late for our dates?"
Annabeth laughed. "You're late for everything."
"It's not my fault if monsters-" He started indignantly, but Annabeth quickly covered his mouth with her hand. "Shut up," She muttered.
Percy's green eyes widened. "Oh. Right. Nevermind."
I frowned. No idea what they were talking about. Did he say monsters?
"What's my unique talent?"
Percy snorted. "Spewing random facts about buildings and architecture stuff."
Annabeth punched him. "I don't spew facts." She rolled her eyes, then glanced down at her phone.
"Next: where was our first kiss and how was it?"
His teeth were bright against his skin as he smiled. "At camp, in the dining pavilion. And it was an awesome first kiss." He kissed her quickly.
Annabeth scrolled through her phone. "Hm...what's my favourite thing to do?"
Percy paused. "Um," He fidgeted. "Spend time with me?"
Annabeth shot a look at him. "Your ego needs deflating. I like reading, sketching architecture, running-"
"Fine," Percy pouted.
Annabeth laughed. She obviously loved being with him.
"Next question-"
"I'm hungry."
She rolled her eyes. "Five more questions, Percy. Then you can go eat." She glanced down at her phone. "Do you prefer me with or without makeup?"
"No makeup," Percy said instantly. He hugged her tightly to his chest. "You've always been beautiful to me without it."
"So sappy," Annabeth mumbled into his shirt, but she was blushing.
He let her go and she straightened up. "This is a stupid question," She said. "But what's my eye color?"
Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Oh," He said confidently. "That's easy. Purple."
I giggled as Annabeth threw a handful of sand at him. They both got up, laughing, and disappeared from the screen.
They reappeared a few seconds later and sat back down, still laughing. Percy brushed some sand off his shirt.
"Sorry," Annabeth smiled. "My boyfriend's an idiot."
"Grey," Percy corrected. "Your eyes are grey."
"Finally," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Next question: who's my best friend?"
"Besides me?" Percy asked playfully. "Um, Piper, I guess. And Hazel and Leo and Frank and-"
"Good enough," Annabeth interrupted. "Okay...what do I love most about you?"
Percy frowned. "What kind of question is that?" He looked thoroughly confused. "My, uh...my..."
Annabeth was laughing. "Here, I'll help you out." She poked him. "You said mine were purple."
"My eyes?" Percy sounded surprised.
"Yeah," Annabeth said, combing her fingers through his hair. "I love the colour of your eyes."
"Oh," Percy still seemed confused. "Okay then."
"Alright," Annabeth glanced at her phone. "Last question. What's something I do that you hate?"
She looked at him, interested in his answer.
Percy sat there, looking at the ocean as he thought. I noticed that the colour of his eyes matched the ocean perfectly. The sun was starting to set, washing everything in a warm orange glow.
He looked back at Annabeth, then took both of her hands. "You're going to laugh at me," He said, sounding almost shy.
Annabeth seemed to soften. She smiled at him. "Why?"
"Because," Percy mumbled. "I hate it when you leave."
My heart melted. I'm sure Annabeth's did the same.
She laughed softly, and there was tenderness in her eyes. "Percy," She said gently, putting a hand on his cheek. "I'm not going to leave. Never."
They looked at each other for a moment, the setting sun burning behind then. Then he kissed her, and before the video ended, I thought I heard him whisper, "As long as we're together."
Just some Percabeth.