Lost

43

After being practically force fed by Grover and recounting everything that had happened to several people, I was so exhausted I hardly made it to my cabin.

I passed out the second my head hit the pillow and, for once, I was able to have a dreamless sleep.

A small knock awoke me sometime early in the morning. The sun wasn't up yet and the moonlight barely shone in through my window.

"Come in," I murmured groggily as I rubbed my eyes and peered at the door.

It slowly opened and in walked Annabeth. She was dressed in pajamas and her hair was released from her usual ponytail and cascaded down her shoulders.

"Annabeth?" I asked as I instantly shot up, all sleepiness leaving my system. "What—what are you still doing up?"

She shrugged as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sorry, I...I thought you were still awake."

"Come here."

She smiled as she made her way over to my bunk and crawled in it with me. I wrapped my arm around her as she unknowingly stole my blanket.

"I can't believe I get to be with you again," she whispered as she clung onto me. "All those lonely nights with Arachne hanging over me...I thought I'd never see you again."

My grip on her tightened as she told me everything that she'd gone through. From Arachne torturing her and her friends for information to thinking I'd forgotten about her.

And here I was, thinking my life was a living hell without Annabeth. She'd had my torture but doubled.

"Don't worry, we're never being separated again, okay?" I whispered as I ran my fingers through her hair, trying not to think about the fact that she could be going to California soon.

"I'm not going to California," she said definitely as if she could read my mind. "At least not now. Maybe someday to go to college, but I think I'm going to finish senior year here. And I already talked to Chiron, and he thinks that I can just go back without—"

Before she could finish I pulled her into a kiss as I was practically overflowing with joy. She was staying here, and we were going to see each other daily.

If I would've heard that several months ago, I would've burst into tears. I was sure I would never see Annabeth again, at least not until I died. But here she was, in my arms.

"I love you, Percy," Annabeth whispered as she burrowed her head in my chest. Her grip on me loosened as she slowly drifted into sleep.

I watched as she twitched in her sleep. Her hair smelled like lemons and I could tell she wasn't having a nightmare by the small hint of a smile on her face.

And in that moment, just staring down at her, I knew that we were never meant to be separated again. I needed to spend my life with her, no matter what.

"I love you, too, Annabeth."