Teacher, Not Hero (femPercy Jackson X YJ)

Twenty-Two: Fireworks

Percy P.O.V:

Two weeks. Two WEEKS. That is 14 days. 336 hours. 20160 minutes. 1,209,600 seconds. I would know, I counted every one of them. Ugh.

After my little 'incident', my dear mother decided to put me on house arrest for those 1,209,600 seconds. And I was going to make her live to regret them.

As a hyperactive, ADHD, 17 year old with godly powers, I can assure you, it was not fun times. Now normally, house arrest was great. I had a viable excuse not to do things, plus, I got to hang out with my family and feel like a normal human being. However, this time, it was not to be...

Despite my arguing that I was fine, my mother was determined not to let me out of her sight and to keep me as far away from the Justice League and their 'co-conspirators', -as my mother called them- as physically possible. Not that I blame her. I mean. I was tortured non-stop for a good 23 hours.

Will had done a fantastic job of patching me up. I had really only called him to fix up my back but because he was just so nice, he also removed the knife blade and shrapnel from my side. Very thoughtful.

When I had told my mother that is was actually demigod business that had gotten me so beat up, as a way to try and convince her to let me go back to work, she flipped even more and not only grounded me from League contact, but also from all godly contact. This of course meant that despite Nico and Will's pestering, they couldn't get into see me. And, it also meant no Annabeth.

I know my mother had her reasons. I mean, this was not the first time something like this had happened and it surly wouldn't be the last. A demigod's life was hard as it is. You always make enemies no matter who you are. If you go on a quest, if you kill a monster, you are a target. I had it a little bit worse than some other demigods for mainly three reasons. 1: I went on a lot of quests. 2: My father was Poseidon, and, apparently, that meant I taste good? 3: I was a Hero of Olympus. Believe me, I did not want the title, but I couldn't necessarily change it. All it brought me was trouble. Because I was this so called hero, I supposedly knew more information than your average demigod. Which, I suppose, is true. I am the only one that knows the master code to the Olympian Vault.  Among other things...

However, despite all of this, I had managed to convince my mother to finally release me back into the world. Just in time too. It was Spooky Time! (Actually, I think that was the main reason for letting me out; she didn't want to put up with my nonsense...)

That's right ladies and gentelmen. Guys, gals, and non-binary pals. IT IS HALLOWEEN! Okay. Halloween is my all time favorite holiday of literally all time. Wait. Whatever. The point is, my beautiful, thoughtful mother had released me, just in time for the spookiest season of the year. And, I had had 1,209,600 seconds to plan out ever spooky move.

You see, I had been terrorizing Camp Half-Blood for nearly 6 years and my poor mother nearly 12 before that. Now, I hadn't gotten Camp Jupiter yet, however, they were fairly terrifying and were surrounded by ghosts 24/7 so I didn't think I would be able to get them as good. However. I was in a once in a life time situation. I could terrorize the Kiddie Team. I had neglected to inform them of my safety and health, therefore, they all probably thought I was in a coma or something. I would be the last person on their suspect list. Plus, they had never seen me in action. They had no clue what to expect. It was the perfect storm.

The first phase of my operation required me to collect some spooky volunteers from Camp. So, with a smile and a duffle bag over my shoulder, I waved to my mother and jumped out of my window. Oh come on, I had to get her at least once. Once I was airborne, I mist traveled to Camp. Scarring literally everyone as I had appeared in the middle of the dinning hall during breakfast.

At first there were slight screams and the drawing of weapons. Then, once they realised who I was, there were cheers. I smiled. Hopping down from the table I had landed on, I was immediately encased in hugs and welcomes.

And then I saw her. Annabeth. My breath hitched and my mind drew a blank. She kept walking towards me, a bright smile on her face as she saw me. She pushed all the other campers aside, much to their protests and pulled me away, grabbing my arm and breaking off into a run, leading me towards the lake.

"Annabeth?" I called to her once I managed to regain my ability to speak. "Annabeth, were are we going?" She glance back at me, amusement in her eyes, blonde curls flowing behind her. Gods she was beautiful. In that moment. I didn't really care where she was leading me. As long as she was leading me.

After running for what felt like forever, she finally stopped us on the beach of the lake. The water seemed to brighten upon our arrival and the sun shown on the sand, trying to draw our attention to the bits of sea glass that speckled the beach. But all I could think about was Annabeth. Seeing her standing before me, her grey eyes shining with emotion and her honey blonde hair sparkling in the sun, all I could think about was how much I loved her. My Annabeth with her brave soul and kinder heart. Her quick mind and sharper sarcasm. Just her, in all her glory.

"Percy?" She asked, her eyes meeting mine, hesitation lacing her voice.

"Yes?" I prompted her to continue. I needed her to continue. It hurt so much. This, standing here with her not knowing who I was hurt me more than any knife. Any whip. Any poison.

"Percy, I-I think I remembered something," she said. I opened my mouth to congratulate her on this but she held a hand up, silencing my celebration. "I don't know if it's true. I can't tell. With the way you're avoiding me, I can't see how it can be. Even now, I can tell you want to get as far away from me as possible." Oh gods. No no no no no no. She had it all wrong. I wanted to spend every second with her. The 1,209,600 seconds I spent cooped up in my house I thought of her. Every single one!

"But I think," she continued, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. "I think that despite this, what I remembered might really be true. I am kind of hoping it is." She looked up at me, a new emotion in her her eyes. One I had gone so long without seeing it I had almost forgotten what it looked like.

"I remembered...I remembered that I loved you." She said, hesitation crawling through her voice, ensnaring every word. My heart stopped and I gapped at her, eyes wide. I couldn't believe it. She remembered me.

"Is it true? If it's not then just forget I said any-" I cut her short by crashing my lips into hers. Tears in my eyes as I kissed her. And even better, she kissed me back. Once again I was met with something I had gone so long without I had nearly forgotten it. The feeling of her lips. The way everything around us melted away as I melted into her. I had forgotten the way everything lit up when we kissed. It felt like the Fourth of July. And all I could see were fireworks.