A fluffy, funny, ridiculous fic dedicated to one of my best friends, "Annabeth".
Annie, I luv you.
You'll Always Have My Heart
"Thanks so much!"
Annabeth grinned up at the centaur. The girl turned and skipped through the Big House, pausing only at the door to the outside.
She stepped outside, grin gone, her face a complete mask of anger and shock and confusion and pain. Her shoulders slumped forward, and her eyes crisscrossed over her nose, giving her a bedraggled puppy look. One thing could be said for Annabeth Chase, architect, she was a good actor. And very good at playing pranks.
The girl wandered down the steps, heading for the cabin compound. She stopped at a fountain and –- making sure that no one could see her –- rubbed some of the water on her cheeks. Pulling her hair out of her ponytail and letting it fall around her shoulders only completed the effect.
She hadn't brushed her hair this morning. Annabeth's hair and not brushing did not go well together.
Annabeth heaved a dramatic sigh and continued on her way to the Athena cabin. She'd tell her cabin mates first, and then maybe Clarisse and the rest, avoid Percy and Hope for the rest of the day and see what became of it. Pure mayhem would be a good turn out. She dragged her feet through the grass, it would be a long day, but seeing everyone reactions would be so perfect.
More than half of her cabin was already in the Athena cabin, only Malcolm and Brinn missing. Lou, Kirsten, and the newest girl, Julia, were talking quietly from their bunks. Lou had some of Annabeth's plans for Olympus spread out in front of them, and a red pen in his mouth. Kirsten read a file on the Daedalus laptop, and Julia had a computer in front of her as well.
"Anna!" Kirsten cried, looking up, "what's wrong?"
Annabeth looked at some of her best friends and had to choke to keep from laughing at their worried expressions.
"Is Percy okay?" Lou demanded.
Dejectedly, Annabeth nodded and walked towards her bunk. She collapsed into it with a sigh. "I've got to move to Olympus."
Julia blinked, "Huh?" Her strawberry blond hair feel into her face as she swirled her head back and forth. She cursed and tied it back again. "What's wrong with that?"
"I won't be around here," Annabeth said, "like, at all. Maybe occasionally, but when Percy goes back to his mom's I'll hardly ever see him!" She buried her face in the gray pillow, hoping that she had pulled the part off effectively.
"Oh my gods," Kirsten cried. "Forever?"
"The foreseeable future, yeah," Annabeth moaned.
"Have you told Percy?" Lou asked, bit his lip in concern.
"How do I tell him?" Annabeth demanded, "I mean, I'm not going to see him for ages."
"Just relax," Kirsten said, "do you want me to go get him?"
"No-o-o."
"Annabeth!" Lou and Julia cried together. They glanced at each other and Lou continued, "You've got to tell him eventually. And why are you moving anyway?"
Annabeth hiccuped to cover a smile at her friends reactions. Now Malcolm and Brinn needed to get the news. "Because the gods don't want me living down here when I'm designing their palace and everything. I hate this!"
Kirsten slipped off her bunk and came to sit at the foot of Annabeth's bed. She rubbed the other girl's back and said, "Things'll turn out okay. Right?"
"Maybe," Annabeth moaned.
The door opened and Malcolm and Brinn stepped inside. Brinn froze, her bright gray eyes darted to Annabeth almost immediately. "What's going on?"
"Annabeth is moving to Olympus!" Lou cried, in answer.
Both Brinn and Malcolm's mouth dropped open.
"Styx," Brinn rushed over to Annabeth's bed, "why?"
Annabeth hiccuped again. It was harder than she expected it to be. "I'm leaving at the end of the day." The Athena cabin was silent. There wasn't anything to say. They stared at their counselor as she pulled her head up out of the pillow and looked at them. "Chiron says that I can pick the next counselor. Lou?"
Lou bit his lip again, "I won't be anywhere as good as you Anna."
And with that, the whole Athena cabin was in a major group hug.
Annabeth washed her face in the bathrooms, with Brinn, Kirsten and Julia watching her from the doorway. She fixed her hair up in a bun and swallowed, staring at herself in the mirror for effect. "I think I'm ready."
"Good," Brinn said. She stepped inside and grabbed Annabeth's hand. "Let's go find Percy."
The four daughters of Athena headed for the Poseidon cabin. Annabeth stuck to the back, wondering how Percy was going to take the news. Granted, it was all one big prank, but still, the reaction of her cabin had made her feel slightly guilty. Slightly. But not all that guilty.
They made it to the blue cabin in a record pace for slowness. The three girls looked at Annabeth and she swallowed. "Thanks guys."
Brinn gave her another hug and then pushed her to her boyfriend's cabin.
Annabeth knocked.
"It's open!" Percy called from inside.
She opened the door and slipped inside, "Hey Percy, Nico." The two boys were playing Spit in the sent of the room. Poseidon's cabin was pretty, what with the water fountain in the middle and the blue and green and gray colors. And the little metal pegasi that the cyclops Tyson had hung up years ago.
"Hey Annabeth," Percy said, sitting up and grinning at her. He cocked his head, "What's wrong?"
She flopped down next to him. "The gods want me to move to Olympus." There, short and to the point.
Nico got up and practically ran from the cabin.
Percy looked at his girlfriend, blinking. "Well that was unexpected."
After a pause, Annabeth said, "Is that all you're going to say?"
"Um, yup."
Annabeth glared at him. She punched him in the arm. "I. Am. Moving. To. Olympus."
"Yeah, I got that," Percy said. "I'll still get to see you, right? Like, day trips..."
"Occasionally," Annabeth stressed. He could be so think sometimes. But still, that's what made Seaweed Brain so special.
"Oh," he looked at the cards in front of him.
An awkward silence ensued.
Neither one looked at the other.
One of the metal pegasi dropped into the fountain with a massive SPFLUSHCH!, causing both Annabeth and Percy to jump. And then Percy started laughing. Annabeth stared at him. Had he lost his mind? But then, Percy never really had a mind in the first place, so moot point.
"Awkward!" Percy said, still laughing.
Annabeth gave him an indulgent smile. "So what do you think?"
"You're still my girlfriend," Percy said. "Even if you moved to the moon, you'd still be my girlfriend."
This was even better than she had thought. "But we'll hardly get to see each other! Like, at all."
"It'll still work out," Percy said, "I think."
"But-"
"No buts," Percy demanded, he leaned over and kissed her, surprising Annabeth to the Underworld and back. This was SO not the Perseus Jackson that she knew.
After dinner that day, Annabeth headed back to the Athena cabin to finish 'packing' her bags. The world had spread through camp like wildfire.
Annabeth Chase was moving. And they had decided to throw a party for her at dinner. That had been fun. Camp parties were the best.
There was a piece of paper posted to the door, filled with Percy's handwriting. She pulled it off the hook and blinked at it, tears welling in her eyes.
Annabeth,
Your favorite color's marshmallow gray,
Mountain Dew is your favorite drink,
but that matters not to me.
You always know how to make me laugh,
you know how to cheer me up.
We share our laughs, we share our smiles
You're leaving and that makes me sad,
I cried, and I wondered why, but why?
because you're Annabeth Chase
you've saved my life more times than I can count,
you're ridden a Fury piggyback
and that's just awesomely cool!
You understand my poetry
and that's a feat within itself.
You don't care that I am me
Because you're you and that's enough.
You're leaving and that makes me sad,
but Annabeth Chase, you'll always have my heart.
3 Percy
She stared at the poem in disbelief. He was right. It was horrid poetry, but Percy writing poetry in the first place! Annabeth felt guilty. She just wanted to cause a few laughs when she told them it was a prank, but this was... oh Percy.
"Hey," Percy said, almost if on cue. "I thought I'd come by and..."
"I'm not leaving," Annabeth blurted out. "I just wanted to get you guys to think that, gauge your reactions."
His face was blank, "So you..."
"It wasn't real," Annabeth sobbed, "and you went and wrote this and made me feel awful for being so mean and-"
Percy started laughing. After a few seconds, Annabeth joined him.
She looked up at her boyfriend, "So you're not mad or anything..."
"Anna," Percy said, "what does the last line say?"
"I'll always have your heart." Annabeth repeated, softly.
He grinned at her. "You'll have my heart, but seriously, Anna, you prank me, I'll prank you." He grabbed her hand and started running, where too she didn't know.
"Now I'm scared," Annabeth said, smirking.
"You'd better be."