Mortals Meet Percabeth!

Caleb Weeks

I heard excited chatter as we pulled up to the cabin. Canopies were spread around in the sand, each filled with tables piled high with every type of food imaginable. It smelled great.

My dad slammed the car door shut and stretched. I slipped out of my seat and ran for the crowd of people standing on the beach. I heard my mom shouting as I left the car behind but I barely noticed. All I cared about was the awesome game of volleyball happening inside of a crudely drawn rectangle in the sand.

After a few moments, someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up to see my Uncle Paul gazing at me curiously. He opened his arms for a hug, and I jumped on him. He chuckled and held me up high so I could see the game.

There were only two players, but neither one of them had let the ball drop since I'd gotten there. I frowned, wondering why I didn't recognize either of them. I knew everyone at these gatherings, always. The ball flew back and forth over the net, the guy on the left dived and hit the ball up just in time. A round of cheers went up from the crowd. The girl frowned.

"I see you found a familiar face." My dad said. I grinned, and Uncle Paul laughed. "Always good to see you, Paul." He took me off his shoulders and did the weird bro hug thing with my dad.

"Great to see you too, Jeff." Paul replied, "Now, where is my dearest sister?" He asked. I heard the crunch of my mom's shoe's approaching.

"There you are!" She said in her mom voice. "And there you are!" She said to Uncle Paul. He grinned and gave her a hug. "Now, where's Sally? I've been dying to see her." Dad rolled his eyes and said something about her talking his ear off.

"Sally?" I asked. Paul nodded, offering me his hand. I took it, and he led me to a pretty woman chatting with some of my cousins. She was holding a container of blue cookies.

"Sally, I believe you've met Caleb?" The lady set her cookies down and looked at me.

"I believe I have," She held out her hand for me to shake. I grasped her hand and pulled it up and down. Her eyes twinkled.

"Caleb, this is my wife Sally." Paul introduced. I nodded. She must have noticed me staring at the box of the cookies sitting on the table, because she gave me a wink and nodded towards the container.

"Thanks, Mrs. Uncle Paul's Wife!" I shouted. They laughed, and I grabbed a cookie. I ran back to the beach, pushing to the front just in time to see something awesome.

The blonde girl jumped into the air and slammed the ball into the sand in front of the guy. "I win!" She yelled. 

The guy sighed and rolled his eyes. I suddenly recognized him. I'd met him at some party a couple years ago! He grinned when he saw me.

"Percy!" I shouted. He knelt down and gave me a hug. The girl ducked under the net and plopped into the sand next to us. 

"Hey, Caleb! It's been awhile, bud!" Percy said. "I think you met Annabeth at your Uncle Paul's wedding?" The girl waved.

"Oh! I remember you!" I exclaimed, "You looked really pretty." Annabeth smiled.

"Thank you! You looked very handsome yourself. You were quite the dancer if I remember correctly!" She responded. I shook my head.

"I've gotten a lot better since that. I was only 3 back then!" Percy and Annabeth laughed. "Besides, you and Percy danced together really well!" They blushed.

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it," Percy said, offering to put me on his shoulders. I climbed on, and he steered us toward the tent where I'd met Mrs. Uncle Paul's Wife earlier.  Annabeth followed us into the canopy and began talking to my mom and Aunt Sally.

Percy knelt down, and I slipped off his shoulders. He glanced around, then smuggled me a blue cookie. He scooted under the table and gestured for me to join him. I looked around, making sure no one saw me before I joined him. We finished our cookies.

"Hey, Percy," I whispered. "Do you like Annabeth?" I asked.

"I mean, yeah," He whispered back, "I wouldn't have let her win at volleyball if I didn't." He said with a grin.

"No, no, I mean, do you like like her?" Percy laughed. 

"Can I tell you a secret?" He asked quietly. I nodded. "I really, really like Annabeth," He whispered. I gasped.

"Really?!" I yelled.  He shushed me, but nodded. "Does she know?" Percy chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure she does, kiddo." He replied. A pair of legs approached the table. Annabeth ducked her face under the table cloth. She smiled at us.

"Who knows what?" She questioned. 

"Come join us and maybe I'll tell you," Percy said. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but crawled under the table with us anyway. 

"We were just talking about how much Percy likes you," I explained. She raised her eyebrows.

"Does he now?" She asked. Percy laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Maybe I do," He stated, "What about it?" She snorted, leaning back onto his chest. He kissed her temple and grinned at me. Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy's waist and winked at me.

"Is she your girlfriend?" I said, scrunching my nose. "because EW!" They laughed.

"Oh yeah, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, "Your mom asked me to tell you to stop eating all the cookies." My jaw dropped, but Percy flashed her puppy eyes. Annabeth sighed. "You know that's not going to work, right?" 

He shrugged. "It was worth a shot," He stated, "Besides, aren't cookies supposed to be eaten?" He retorted.

"Yeah!" I piped in. Annabeth laughed, planting a kiss on Percy's cheek and crawling out from under the table.

"I'm afraid I'm not the one who determines how many cookies you eat." She stated, "Now, should I go tell your mom you're hogging all the cookies, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. Percy looked betrayed. She grabbed the cookies from the table and turned to walk away.

"You wound me, Wise Girl." Percy lamented, placing a hand on his chest. She snorted. "Can we at least have one more each?" He begged. Annabeth begrudgingly held out the container. We lunged at the container, each devouring our final cookies.

Annabeth sighed and left to put the cookies away.

"So," I began, "What do you want to do now?" Percy thought for a moment, then pulled me towards the beach where Annabeth had destroyed him at volleyball. We stood in the sun for a moment, then looked each other in the eyes.

"Sand castle." We said in unison.

So Um... Hi. Sorry it's been so long, I got major writer's block and my ability to vibe took a hit. Hopefully this little story saves you from some quarantine boredom. Stay safe, my dudes.

~Roo

PS. Thanks to @Nielshel for the idea!