What He Wanted

A one-shot for a Percy and Annabeth pairing thing. It's based off a much older fan fiction I read a while back. Lulu, you'll get this. I might even post a drawing for this but I dunno. TATN / Thalia! 22:02, February 12, 2010 (UTC)

P.S This is going to be loooong. And in Percy's POV.

Chapter One.
I sat in the Poseidon cabin, playing a hand-held game. Thalia walked in nonchalantly. She was dressed up a bit, wearing some make-up. She smiled at me in that convincing way that made me mad. She probably wanted to talk about Annabeth and I. We weren't really dating. We were still friends. Even though- No! We are no more than friends.

"What's up?" Thalia said in that tone mastered by every girl that ever lived.

"Nothing, you?" I asked, pausing the game.

"I'm going out with Luke tonight, so uhhh... could you drive Annabeth to some party she's having with her school friends?"

"Why me!?"

"Because Luke and I are busy, Tyson can't drive, and you don't want to trust any Hermes kids with a car."

"F*ck. There goes my night."

"Stop complaining, Seaweed Brain."

"Fine, Pinecone Face."

Thalia glared at me. "Just drive her in about an hour. She'll come to your cabin then."

With that, my cousin turned and walked away, throwing one more evil glance in my direction. Of course, over the six years I'd known Annabeth she'd grown up nicely until she blossomed into a fine young lady. Her mind was as sharp as always and she was still quite witty. Her attitude had changed a little. She'd starting wearing jewellery after a while. I had found out first-hand why you should never mess with a teen girl when she's on her period.

Growing up had been tough on the both of us. Especially when you have an advantage with your mother being the goddess of wisdom and what not. But, being the brave young soldier she was, she got through it with a smile on her face. Often times, Annabeth would come to me in tears begging for me to listen to some story about getting hurt by a boy or broken up with.

I had to admit, I was really jealous of all those boys that had ever dated her. Annabeth used to just be pretty but now she was getting seriously beautiful. Just the though of her sent my heart beating.

And a Party with her friends? That couldn't be good. It never was. She'd usually come back drunk or ragged from having sex. I always had to help her through the hard times. I recalled an event that had happened a few weeks ago. It had almost derailed my relationship with her at all.

Annabeth had been telling me about some boy-trouble. I'd been contently listening when she had leaned over and kissed my cheek. I'd forgotten how to breathe, blink, or even blush. She'd turned tomato red and run out of the room, covering her face as if caught committing murder.

For the length of time in between then and now, we'd avoided each other. For some reason we wouldn't talk. She would never come to me with her smile, her laugh, her tears, her yells, her teases, her presence. I wanted it all back. I knew I shouldn't because she was probably going to hook up with some boy tonight and be in a relationship.

I felt my heart freeze as I thought about the time she'd gotten her heart broken by Luke. It made me clench my fists and want to punch something. I could feel my conscience talking to me now.

You're waiting for Annabeth, aren't you? It teased. ''You love her and you always have. You think it's not fair that she has to live at some boarding school. You're really waiting for the blonde-haired, grey-eyed Annabeth Chase. You're waiting for her.''

"I am not waiting for her!" I growled to myself.

"Waiting on who?" A feminine voice from the other cabin asked. I winced.

I turned my head to look at her. I immediately looked away again, not daring to meet her eyes. Olive-breath was a tomboy at heart and rarely made an effort to make herself pretty. Then again, she was already pretty. I dared to look again.

I had to forcefully bite my own tongue to keep from letting my mouth go agape. She wore a sea-blue, floor sweeping dress. It had some silver trim near the breast, making it sparkle. The dress had a weave of silver, green, and blue at the bottom. The straps were silver and sparkly as well. Her normally wavy hair was even curlier than before. All in all, the dress made her look even more womanly and grown up. It showed off her still-developing curves. When I tore my eyes away from her dress, I looked at her face. Her grey eyes were shaded by a blue-green colour. She had a little bit of blush on, making her look more colourful. Her lips were painted a light blue, like the ocean in the morning sunlight.

"You... You curled your hair." I muttered tonelessly.

"Well... Yeah. I'm going to my first huge dance with people I've never met." Annabeth muttered, her voice a little higher than I remember. "I got all dressed up and everything. I feel stupid."

"I-I see..."

There was a pause and I started to fear she was leaving or starting to cry. Then I was fearing she would ask me how she looked. I'd be cornered, even with a door right in front of me.

"Wh-what do you think of the dress?" Annabeth asked, twirling a bit and making it sway and sparkle.

Again, I took in the blue dress and saw a silver flower pinned to her left shoulder strap. I took in how her feet poked out from under the dress. Even her silver heels were beautiful. When she took a step closer, I heard the click of the heels and saw that her face looked even smoother than before. She was truly beautiful right now. I would never say this aloud, but she looked better than Aphrodite, the few times I'd seen her. For a moment, I feared Aphrodite was playing a trick on me.

"You look... nice." I finally managed. Someone please f*cking stab me! I thought, screaming mercy in my mind.

"Just... Nice?" Annabeth asked. A sigh escaped her coloured lips and I immediately felt bad for saying that. She seemed disappointed.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, feeling way out of my league.

"Oh no, nothing's wrong." Annabeth grumbled in that familiar tone. The tone was used often around me. It was her 'ask me again how I am or else I'll get moody' tone. I used to ignore it.

"You seem upset..." I tried.

"Upset?" Annabeth asked, nearly snapping. "Why in the world would I be upset? I'm not upset. Do I look upset?" Her voice was raising.

"Well... Now you are..." I spoke my mind as always. Great job, Seaweed brain.

"Duh!" She screamed. "I decide to get all prettied up for one night in my entire life! I spend five f*cking hours on my hair, and the curling iron cost me a lot! I use up five days of my time, wasting the perfect sword-fighting times, to try one and buy a dress, which cost me an arm and a leg to buy! Oh and then I just go out and spend a month's worth of allowance on make-up I'm probably never going to use again! The jewellery? Don't even ask how much these earrings cost! I had to put them on lay-away and get a minimum wage job!"

Annabeth was close to tears now. I didn't want her to ruin her perfect make-up. "And what do I do all this for? A 'you look nice'?!" She pulled up her dress and took off her pretty shoes. "And those! I had to spend hours hiding in the Aphrodite cabin, practising walking with them on! I could have been redesigning Olympus! And they're killing me!" She threw them onto the bunk next to me with a grunt. I'd never seen her so angry. It was kind of scary. "How stupid do you think I am?!"

"I never said you were-" I was cut short by her.

"And why did you avoid me?! Act like I was a hellhound or something!? Am I that disgusting!?"

"No! Never! You're everything but disgusting or a monster!"

"Then WHY-" She screamed at the top of her lungs. She came up short, interrupted by a sort of cough or sneeze. It was followed by a small whimper. "-are you trying to run away from me?" She finished in a soft tone, her tears nearly spilling.

Oh shit! My mind screamed. ''What do I do now? I can't really help her with anything. I'm too ugly and she's way too pretty.'' I knew Annabeth was sensitive with people running from her, being a demigod and stuff. What I had just done had probably hurt her more than anything in the entire world ever had. Even the battle of Manhattan. I stood up and stood in front of her.

"Was it because I kissed you?" Annabeth murmured, now starting to sob. "If it is, then I promise never to do it again, Percy. I swear I won't." She dropped to her knees and started to bawl. "Just don't leave me." She blubbered.

"Annabeth..." I whispered, kneeling down next to her. Those tears were caused by me, a supposed hero. I took the girl into my arms and cradled her there for a minute. She was no longer small, like she used to be when they were twelve. Her ponytail never tickled my face when she turned away from him and called me Seaweed Brain. She was no longer a little girl, like I'd seen so many times in visions.

The teenaged girl sniffled and accepted my hug. She wrapped her arms around me and cried into my shoulder. She rested her head there for a while and never dared look up at my face. I knew my shoulder was probably stained with mascara and other cosmetics.

"I know you're upset, Annabeth." I murmured, trying to keep my voice low. "I apologize for seeming to avoid you." I rubbed her back with a few of my fingers, hoping it calmed her. "I was... confused and afraid." What? It was almost the truth.

"I guess I was the one who did something stupid then, huh?" Annabeth mumbled. She kept her eyes to the floor of the cabin, knowing her make-up was completely ruined by this point.

"No!" I said and immediately bit my lip hard. I was nervous about telling her my true feelings. As I said before, I was too ugly. She was way too pretty for me. She peeked at me from her curtain of curls. I smiled at her weakly. She was still amazingly beautiful with mascara running down her cheeks and her make-up ruined. "I was... nervous. Very nervous about confronting you again."

"Why were you nervous?" Annabeth asked, looking away.

"Because... you kissed me on the cheek." I felt my cheeks heat up.

"You were nervous about me?" Annabeth seemed almost flattered. I noted that she was a soft red now too. I tried not to let that get to me, trying to avoid embarrassment. After all, she was probably disgusted with me by now. "You're never nervous though. Or at least, you don't show it."

I found some strength inside me to smile. After all, she'd just complimented me. "Yeah. I guess so." I said, and then turned serious again. "I was afraid of how I would act... after it..." I couldn't even make myself think of the word, let alone ever speak it again. Send me to The Fields Of Punishment if I do!

Annabeth seemed to understand the situation and moved her hands to my chest shyly. I was taken aback by this. "Well... if the topic bothers you so much we can not talk about it." She muttered, checking her hair to make sure she didn't have to redo it. She was starting to draw circles on my chest with her index finger. It felt nice. I had to hold back a shiver. "No one ever has to know and we can forget about it."

I thought it was my imagination, but I swear I heard some sorrow in her voice. Was it my ADHD brain playing tricks on me? Nonetheless, I said, "But, Annabeth... I don't want to forget."

I felt her body flinch with a sharp gasp. She turned her head to face the Seaweed Brained me. She wore an expression that could of been shock or joy. I couldn't tell. All I knew is that my ADHD had taken over my head.

"I... I don't want to forget something I enjoyed." I murmured. I know officially hated myself and was calling myself some pretty bad stuff. In Ancient Greek, that is. And in my mind. ''You just ruined the best, most precious friendship ever! You idiot!'' My mind screamed some insults. You're worthless after all!

What felt worse was not the words running through my head. And the silence. It was my heart beating in my chest. It was now breaking into a million pieces. I had to blink back tears. I had just ruined the best friendship I'd ever have. This friendship was destroyed and I couldn't fix it. No amount of skill could.

I let go of Annabeth and stood up. She did too. I faced away from her. It was true now, I was a lone wolf. And I was destined to be. The Fates were evil.

"I'm sorry." I turned to leave.

"Percy..." Annabeth squeaked. I stopped. Perhaps now that she'd found her voice she was ready to yell at me. "I still need a ride."

"But I only have that motorcycle. I'll ruin your dress." I protested, wanting her to find someone else.

"It doesn't matter." Annabeth shook her head. "You owe me a ride."

"Yes ma'am."

I can survive many things. War, near-death, cold, wet, extreme heat, my powers being nearly drained, and even humiliation. But I never though I could survive this. After she'd redone her make-up, she'd climbed on my 'car' and grabbed onto my back.

We swerved through the streets of Manhattan until we were going by Central Park. I noted just how flimsy and thin her dress was. She was probably freezing by now. I had to try so hard to not note how she was grabbing onto my waist and her breasts were rubbing against my back. It took all my concentration to not get hit and kill us both.

Why had she insisted on me taking her to that party? She was probably furious and trying to run from me. I didn't want her to. She was to delicate and innocent. There were monsters everywhere and she could be killed. I noted how Riptide still sat in my pocket.

"Turn here!" Annabeth screamed. I made a quick turn into the forestry of Central park. It was night time and dark. There was a party somewhere in there? Highly unlikely.

When she told me to stop, she asked me to carry her. It was muddy. Annabeth realized that she was trying to get a short-cut through the park and asked me to take her to a different place. She knew where it was. There was a deep, hearty woof behind me. I turned to see Mrs O'Leary. I got Annabeth to whisper the address to the hound. Mrs O'Leary could Shadow Travel.

Within a few seconds, we were in a familiar forest. The forest by Westover Hall. Annabeth seemed totally at ease here. Where was her friggin party? The walk was silent. We came out near the cliff she'd dropped off years before. The moon shone just in the right spot. It was beautiful. We could see al the stars. She stood there, her silky black purse hanging on her arm.

Fireflies darted back and forth, casting a dim light. "What?" I demanded playfully when I caught Annabeth staring at me.

"You just looked totally happy there for a sec." Annabeth muttered. Then she said something else but I didn't catch it. I didn't press her.

"Where's this party any ways?" I asked, walking around a puddle. I was calm here. I could breathe easily.

"There... is no party." Annabeth admitted. She held her hands behind her back staring at her reflection in the puddle.

"What? Why'd you bring me here then?" I asked, feeling really stupid and lost.

"Please don't be mad, Percy." Annabeth pleaded. "I just wanted to look pretty for once. I set up Thalia and Luke so that they would think I was just going to a party. They'd be mad if they found out about this. That's why I said that I felt stupid earlier."

"That's... devious." I found the word. I didn't know what it meant, but it sounded right. When Annabeth moved her hands to move her hair from her eyes, I caught a glimpse of her nails. They were a beautiful midnight blue.

"I wanted to get you away from camp for five minutes." She laughed a little. "But I guess my plan failed. I only look nice. I picked this dress and this make-up because it reminded me of you."

I winced, remembering my stupid comment, then blushing hearing the other. "That wasn't entirely true. I was nervous again. And my ADHD brain couldn't find the right words." I rubbed my head bashfully.

"Oh. Then I'll ask you again. How do I look?" She twirled, making her dress twinkle and shine. My heart skipped a beat as I realized I loved her.

I gave a sigh and smiled. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

At this, Annabeth stopped twirling and her eyes widened. Her mouth twitched into a smile but it disappeared. "R-really?"

"Yes." I nodded, feeling embarrassed.

"Better than those mountains we saw a while back?"

"Yes."

"And that waterfall you created last year for my birthday?"

"Even that."

"And Aphrodite?"

"Annabeth!" I exclaimed. I took a step toward and held her chin with my finger. "When I said you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen I meant it. Only Aphrodite can compare to you. There's no mortal thing on this planet prettier than you."

Annabeth stared at me in disbelief. I blushed slightly. The only sound was nature and our breathing. I pushed a curl away from her face. "I think you looked... cuter with your hair down."

A smile lit up her face. She took a step towards me. Our bodies were nearly touching. "And I say you look better with a face full of cosmetics." She brought up the time the Aphrodite girls had given him a makeover.

"That's not what I meant." She said with a giggle. Our faces were an inch apart. She closed the distance between them.

For the third time that day I was caught off guard. But for once, I did not mind. Because all along, this is what I wanted.