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New Chapter Two

Apparently I was still working on the next chapter, which I thought was chapter two... So this is the real one. But I will count the people who commented on the other Chapter Two, though.

Sorry about this! Here's the chapter. :)

Percy's POV

I looked at Annabeth. It had taken her about twenty minutes to get back to sleep. I had an arm around her, and had been trying to get to sleep, but my mind seemed to think that sleep was the worst thing ever.

I had agreed to wake her up if I couldn't sleep, but now I was hesitant to do so. Why should I stop her from going to sleep just because I'm afraid of going to sleep?

No, I could manage to stay still for a couple of hours and then pretend to be asleep when she wakes up. I buried my face in her hair and closed my eyes.

About two and a half hours later, Annabeth started thrashing around and screaming.

"Annabeth," I said. "Annabeth, wake up. Annabeth!" She didn't wake up or stop thrashing. I shook her awake, getting smacked a couple of times in the process.

Annabeth woke up, and shot up, looking around frantically. It pained me to see so much fear and pain in her eyes.

She spotted me, and then visibly relaxed a bit.  "Percy...Oh thank gods... You're alive, it was just a dream..." she grabbed me and hugged me, gripping me tightly.  She cried, and it broke my heart.

I wrapped my arms around her comfortingly, letting her squeeze the life out of me.

"How do you do it?" I asked quietly.

Annabeth looked at me, waiting for me to clarify what I meant.

"How do you go to sleep every night, when you know you're going to get these nightmares?"  Annabeth thought for a couple of moments silently.

"Because it makes me look forward to waking up more," Annabeth replied.

I sighed.  "You have a rather optimistic view on this."

"If I didn't, I would never have gotten this far.  When I wake up, you're around to comfort me, just as I am for you.  I know that you will be with my through anything, just as I will for you.  Why don't you ever ask me for help when you need it?"

"It's complicated..." I said.

"I'm willing to try and understand," Annabeth said.  "You know you can tell me anything, right? That you can ask me anything?"

I hesitated for a second.  "Then I have a question."

She waited expectantly.

"What's your sexuality?" I asked.

She looked mildly surprised by the question, but answered it anyway. 

"I'm bi," she replied.  "Why?"

"I was just curious..."

Her grey eyes studied me curiously, but she didn't push me.  If wish that I could see inside her head.  How does she decide when to push me for an answer and when not to?  It probably came naturally as a daughter of Athena or something, but I couldn't help but wish that my power had been brains instead of water powers.  How useful are super powerful water powers of I'm too stupid to even think straight?