Eyes like the Ocean

two

i know i said i would update weekly but...i do what i want :)

Annabeth and Thalia had a movie marathon the night after they both settled in the beach house, so they hardly saw Percy. The next morning, though, he spotted Annabeth eating cereal at the kitchen table and smiled to himself. He was secretly glad that Thalia was still sleeping and Annabeth was alone. He quietly jogged down the stairs.

"Morning, Princess," he said cheerfully. Annabeth was a little startled by his sudden presence, but she shook her head.

"Nope," she said, waving her spoon in a nu-uh motion.

"What?"

"Not doing it...the nickname thing. Thalia tried that on me when were younger." Annabeth ate a spoonful of her Frosted Flakes. Percy let out a whine in exasperation.

"Well, with that hair it's kind of impossible," he said as he made his way to the cabinet and took out a bowl.

"My hair?"

"Blonde, princess curls. It's very pretty, actually." Annabeth grunted and rolled her eyes. Percy frowned at her, setting the bowl down on the countertop. He spoke to her as he walked to the pantry.

"You know, I remember you being a lot nicer yesterday. Is that a special feature that only occurs when my annoying cousin is around?"

"No, but I don't see a point in being friends. The house is huge and we don't have to see each other if we really don't want to." Percy was silent for a second, then walked over to the table so he was across from Annabeth and set his elbows down, leaning in towards her. She could see the bits of blue swirling in his eyes.

"And...why can't we be friends?" he asked.

"I...I just don't want to."

"Bullshit." Percy looked straight into Annabeth's eyes, which made a shiver go through her spine for multiple reasons. One, because of how much it reminded her of Thalia, of how she could see right through you and the other reason was because of how intense his gaze was. He wasn't going to let this go. The other reason...well, she didn't want to even admit that one to herself.

"Just...I don't think Thalia would like that too much," Annabeth admitted, quickly shoving another spoonful into her mouth and staring at Percy with wide eyes. He laughed.

"Oh, come on, you didn't actually believe her, did you? Plus, it's not like we're going to fall in love or anything. We're friends," he said, but the slight doubt in his voice was visible. "Listen, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we were chill with each other and hung out every once in a while. Honestly, Annabeth, when was the last time Thalia cared about anything?"

Since Luke, she thought, but she didn't dare say it. Luke was still a sore subject, especially for Thalia. Sure, he'd cheated on Annabeth, but the three of them had been best friends for the longest time before that, and Thalia felt even more betrayed by his actions than Annabeth had. They only talked about it the night Annabeth found out, then stashed all the memories away and tried their best to forget about him. His sandy, blonde hair and cold blue eyes appeared in Annabeth's mind, and she winced despite herself.

"Hey, are you okay?" Percy asked, leaning in closer. "You look pale..."

"I'm fine." Annabeth stood up abruptly. She wasn't even embarrassed by her pink Valentine's Day pajamas, she just wanted to leave. "I'm gonna go."

"Wait," Percy hurried over and grabbed her wrist gently but firmly and stared into her eyes with genuine concern. "Did I say something? Are you-"

"I'm okay," Annabeth assured. "I just-"

"Guys?" Annabeth slipped her hand out of Percy's and tried to smile up at Thalia, who was now descending the stairs. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," she replied quickly, stepping away from the kitchen. "I'm tired, though. I think I'm just going to go up to my room for a bit." Thalia raised an eyebrow at her, but she must've been drowsy, so she just shrugged.

"Whatever." Annabeth ran up the stairs without looking back at Percy.

***

"Hey, did something happen last night?" Percy asked, watching the top of the staircase, hoping Annabeth would come back. Thalia glanced at him worriedly.

"No..." she said. "What's up with you guys is the real question." He froze, then redeemed himself and faced his cousin.

"Don't know what you're talking about, Thals." She grunted but dropped the subject, which Percy was thankful for because he'd actually been thinking about Annabeth since yesterday and wasn't sure how long he'd last without blurting that out. He didn't know why, since he barely knew her, but he wished he wouldn't.

"Hey, so the new Godzilla movie came out..." he said. "How about me, you and Annabeth go see it?" Thalia eyed him suspiciously.

She crossed her legs under the table and said, "Only if I sit in between you guys."

"Oh my God."

"I don't trust your hormones."

Percy rolled his eyes and got up, taking Annabeth's bowl to the sink along with his. Maybe she's right, he thought. He shook his head. No. He barely knew the girl. And like she said...not a shot.

sorry that's it short again...i decided to actually update a couple to a few times a week. vote if you liked it!

P.S. there's a new member of the Wattpad community :) . she's writing a reddie fanfic, (eddie and richie from IT) so you guys should definitely go check it out. thanks for reading,

-reyna