Percy Jackson in Beacon Hills (PJOxTW)

Chapter 2

Percy

I was so excited to get a break from all the crazy monster stuff that happens in New York every time I'm there. After defeating Gaea and reuniting with my mom and Paul, Annabeth and I had spent almost all of our time at my apartment. We couldn't sleep away from each other or we would get nightmares, and when we were awake, we needed each other to help us through our flashbacks. At first my mom didn't let us sleep in the same bed, but after a couple nights of waking up to our screams, she gave in. Every night Annabeth falls asleep to the steady beat of my heart, and I fall asleep to her rhythmic breathing, and the comfort that we were alive and together was enough to keep the nightmares at bay, at least for the time being.

Eventually, my mom declared that Annabeth and I were going on vacation. According to her, we needed time away from constantly training and worrying that something would attack us at any given moment. She called her sister in California, and arranged for us to stay with her and her son, Scott, and finish out the school year in Beacon Hills. My dad made Zeus promise not to zap me out of the sky during our flight over, which he grudgingly agreed to, only because we did save the world... again. However, that didn't stop me from gripping the seat so hard my knuckles turned white every time we encountered the smallest bit of turbulence. Thankfully, Zeus kept his word and I made it back to the ground safely.

Melissa picked us up from the airport, commenting on how much I've grown, and took us back to Beacon Hills. Annabeth and I are sleeping in the same room, thank the gods. We had just started unpacking after Stiles and Scott left us to settle in. Scott seemed to be acting strangely, tensing up every time we got close to each other and eyeing me warily, although I might just be paranoid. I decided to push that out of my mind and just enjoy my time with Annabeth, away from the monsters.

"Ready for school tomorrow?" Annabeth asked me. I groaned.

"Why are we starting tomorrow? We haven't even been here for an hour," I reply.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Because, Seaweed Brain, school is important. You need to do well if we want to go to college together in New Rome and last time I checked, missing a whole year of school is not getting you any closer to graduating."

"Oh, right," I say sarcastically. "My bad. Next time my crazy aunt tries to kidnap me and erase my memory, I'll tell her I can't, because I have school."

Annabeth laughed, but then looked at me seriously. "Just promise me you'll try your best. I really want to go to college with you. Then we can live in New Rome together, get jobs in the mortal world, get married, have kids." Annabeth stopped talking and a tinge of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"Kids? You're getting a little ahead of yourself, Wise Girl," I said. Sure, I knew that Annabeth and I were meant to be together. That meant we would get married and start a family, but neither of us had mentioned anything passed college aloud before.

"Well, I mean, I just thought-" Annabeth stuttered.

I cut her off with a kiss. "I can't wait," I tell her. "But for now... high school."

"High school," Annabeth agrees.

We put the rest of our things away in a comfortable silence. We didn't need words to make each other happy, just being together was enough. When Annabeth put her last book on the shelf, I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her onto the bed with me, wrapping my arms around her.

"How are we going to explain our nightmares and flashbacks?" Annabeth asks after a short silence.

I sigh. We don't get them as often when we're together, but there is still the occasional nightmare that results in screaming, crying, and in my case, a small earthquake or exploded sink. The flashbacks aren't as obvious if you don't know what's going on, but that's still not something I want to put Scott and Melissa through.