When We Were 'Us'

This Idiot Thinks He's A God- Annabeth POV

It was kind of a whirlwind romance for Luke and I. We'd been friends since I was seven, but the past six or so years we hadn't been able to talk to each other at all. He hadn't been able to do anything at all.

The camp was... somewhat okay with it. I'd made my case to a few of my friends and most of them had admitted that it was for the best if I didn't love Percy like I thought I had.

I never meant to hurt him. I just didn't know what to do, and then it was too late, and I probably ruined what could have been a great friendship afterward. 

Luke was on pretty strict regulations for exercise and eating and such, given his condition, but he hardly ever followed them. Like now, as I walked into the Hermes cabin and saw him halfway up some makeshift ramp on his wheelchair, trying to grab a book off of the bookshelf.

"I'm pretty sure Will told you that you aren't allowed to do things like that." I put a hand on my hip, watching him as he nearly pushed himself out of the chair with one hand, straining for the book.

"Well last I checked I'm the head of Hermes and he's not so," Luke grinned, sticking his tongue out childishly.

I rolled my eyes. "You're also injured and in a wheelchair, Luke. Is it that hard to ask for someone's help? What are you even trying to grab?"

"Firstly, you're just as hardheaded as me, so you've got no room to talk," he teased, wheeling himself backwards down the ramp and tucking the book under his shirt. "Also, I'm grabbing your birthday present."

"I, unlike you, am perfectly healthy." I shook my head and walked over, leaning down to kiss his cheek. "C'mon, Luke, please just ask someone next time... are you still thinking about having a picnic for dinner?"

"I'm nothing if not cripplingly romantic," he said with a wink. "Or.. is it 'crippled romantic?'"

"You're the worst, you know that? You really are. Your puns are worse than Leo's."

"At least mine have substance to them, rather than just taking a word you just said and saying it with a different intonation and calling it humor."

I laughed at the defensive tone. "That's fair... I just wanted to make sure about the picnic, though, because there's a big blanket in the Athena cabin that we can use if you want to do that."

"Oh great idea. Though I don't know how big we'll need it, since it'll just be the two of us. Honestly, a comforter from a queen bed should do us just fine."

"Good point..." The other reason I'd come in suddenly popped back into my head. "Hey, don't you have a check-up at the infirmary soon?"

Luke looked shocked, then laughed, shaking his head. "What would I do without you, Hmm? Remember things on my own? Preposterous!"

"Yeah..." I put my hands on my hips again. "Don't think I don't remember when you pretended to forget about your birthday that one year when you knew that everyone was planning on throwing you a big party that you didn't want to go to."

Luke shrugged. "Listen, I'm not huge on big events. And that was back when I thought I wasn't that important, and that sixteen was just another year."

"Well you are important, just remember that." I sighed as I heard someone yelling my name outside, leaning down again to kiss him quickly. "I love you."

"Love you too, Annie. Go on." He shooed me jokingly out of the cabin.

Malcolm was waiting outside. I raised my eyebrows at him. "Yes?"

"Lindsey is crying again."

Our little sister had shown up a week ago, and it was very rare that she wasn't crying. Her father had dropped her at the border and taken off without a word, and she was having trouble adjusting to the camp life.

For whatever reason, I was the only one that could calm her down.

"Alright, I'm coming... is she under the bed again?"

"No, not this time. That's got to be an improvement, right?" Malcolm walked with me back to our cabin.

"Hopefully. Poor girl, she's just scared of everything. I don't blame her."

"I don't either." He shook his head. "At least we can try to help her out."

"That's what we do as demigods. We help each other out because no one else will."

[A/N you're in luck, kids, I've got here an UNEDITED version of the dialogue that @LordOfThePen and I wrote for this. Look at what I have to deal with: 

"Well last I checked I'm the head of Hermes and he's not so," Luke said, doing the illegal action while also childishly sticking his tongue out.

"You're also injured and in a wheelchair, Luke. Is it that hard to ask for someone's help? What are you even trying to grab?"

"Firstly, you're just as hardheaded as me, so you've got no room to talk," he teased.

"Also, I'm grabbing your birthday present. Or Christmas. Whichever time of year it is," he added, knowing the All Powerful Editor would make his words true no matter what.

"I, unlike you, am perfectly healthy. C'mon, Luke, please just ask someone next time... are you still thinking about having a picnic for dinner?"

"I'm nothing if not cripplingly romantic," he said with a wink. "Or.. is it 'crippled romantic?'" he added, a sort of thoughtful tone in his voice.

"You're the worst, you know that? You really are. Your puns are worse than Leo's."

"At least mine have substance to them, rather than just taking a word you just said and saying it with a different intonation and calling it humor," he said defensively.

"That's fair... I just wanted to make sure about the picnic, though, because there's a big blanket in the Athena cabin that we can use if you want to do that."

"Oh great idea. Though I don't know how big we'll need it, since it'll just be the two of us. Honestly, a comforter from a queen bed should do us just fine."

"Good point... hey, don't you have a check-up at the infirmary soon?"

"What would I do without you, Hmm? Remember things on my own? Preposterous!" he said with a grin, though he had intended on "forgetting" about it if no one had mentioned it. He had something of a habit of that.

"Yeah... don't think I don't remember when you pretended to forget about your birthday that one year when you knew that everyone was planning on throwing you a big party that you didn't want to go to."

He laughed. "Listen, I'm not huge on big events. And that was back when I thought I wasn't that important, and that sixteen was just another year," he rationalised.

"Well you are important, just remember that." *insert someone calling for her to go elsewhere* "I love you."

SOOOO yeah. He said I should post it. Enjoy]