Distracting (Annabeth)

[PERCY JACKSON]

"Knock knock!" Percy called out as he opened the door. He was in his board shorts, had on a backpack, and carried a surf board under his arm. He walked in the house, closing the door behind him. "Anyone home?"
He propped the board up in the corner before walking into the living room, just off of the main hallway. He dropped his bag to the floor with a thud and slunked down onto the couch, throwing his legs up over the arm. He put his arm over his eyes and groaned loudly.
The day had been so long. He had gone to work at the surf shop outside of New Rome (dangerous yes, but Romans were stupid and didn't do water sports) where he was teaching some kids how to surf. That would have been fine, except the parents kept hankering on him to make their little sweeties better, give them a competitive edge. Percy tried to explain that this was their first lesson, they would need a few more before they would be ready for any competing. But did those parents listen? No! They yelled at him the entire time, and then! And then they had the gaul to tell Percy how he was teaching their kids wrong. Him! They told him, Percy Jackson son of Poseidon that he didn't know how to teach someone how to surf! That wasn't even the worst of it.
After work he had gone to class and sat through an hour of lecture on how to write the perfect paper. Surprisingly, he already knew all of it. But that was from Annabeth's lectures, which were much more enjoyable. Everything was more enjoyable with Annabeth.

annabeth chase

[annabeth chase]

When Annabeth heard Percys voice at the door, she quickly rolled out of bed and through on something decent. She had been taking a nap. Yes, Annabeth Chase had been taking a nap. Don't laugh. She had just experienced and incredibly long and tiring day! She deserved it. Granted, now she was panicking about all the things she could have gotten done while she was asleep. But no matter, Percy was there.

She ran down the stairs, throwing her wild curly hair up into a ponytail holder as she did so. "Percy!" she said as she reached the bottom, skipping over to kiss him on the lips, placing both her hands on his chest. "How was surfing class?" yes, she often didn't take his surfing seriously, but she had to show support, right?

Even though her original goal for napping was to get some rest, that was the exact opposite of what it did. Her eyes were rimmed red and her hair was crazier than usual from all the tossing and turning. She had slept terribly, with bad dreams and all.

[PERCY JACKSON]

Annabeth came bounding down the stairs and walked straight into his arms, that was enough to distract him from his angry thoughts for the moment. Her hands on his chest were a warm comfort and her lips on his create a peace he had been missing all day. He lingered on her lips for a moment before pulling back to study her face. 

"Class was fine. Except for some stupid mom's...Hey, are you doing okay?" He asked mid sentence as he noticed her red rimmed eyes. They looked like his eyes had his morning. Stupid Tartarus dreams. Would he ever be able to leave that place behind? Annabeth's hair wasn't normally done in any fancy ways, but she sure looked like she had just got out of a fight with a gorgon, and he had fought a few of those. He placed his hand on her hair, smoothing out a few of the crazy curls that were trying escape gravity. He was worried about her, though she would kill him if she knew he spent so much time worrying about her. She would say she was fine, seaweed brain, focus on you. But he still worried. 

[annabeth chase]

Of course he was going to call her out. Percy was... well, he was a bit of a worrywort. Annabeth couldn't deny that she liked that about him, but she wouldn't say that out loud. She'd prefer if he worried about himself first, but that wasn't happening. But heck, she worried about him constantly too. She nodded slowly as he placed his hand on her hair, but the nod soon turned into her shaking her head.

Oh great, her eyes were starting to well up. She hated crying, she really did, but Percy was the one person whom she couldn't hide her true feelings from for the most part. She blinked the tears back, trying not to let them escape.

"I don't know," was all she could really say at the moment. Any more and the tears may escape.

[PERCY JACKSON]

The tears in her eyes made them glisten like stars, when he looked at them his knees wanted to buckle. He felt the concern show on his face. His eyebrows creased together and his lips formed a frown. 
"Hey, hey." he soothed pulling her close to him. He held her head with his hand, stroking her hair gently. He had been dating Annabeth for quite a while now, sometimes he didn't know if he was doing the right thing. But when she was crying, that got to him. He felt so powerless, and that was not a feeling he enjoyed. Powerlessness got you killed. Ok, not literally in this case, but he still hated it. Holding her felt like the only right thing to do, well it always good to hold Annabeth. 

"Did you have a...dream again?" He hesitated on the word. He knew they weren't dreams, he had them too. They were nightmares. He kissed her forehead even as he held her tighter. 

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth leaned into his hand has he stroked her hair, and fully accepted the kiss on the forehead as he pulled her in. She let the tears fall now, but she kept silent. She nodded against his shirt, pulling herself even closer to him. "This is stupid. They weren't bothering me for a few weeks and now... it's almost like they came back full force," she said, her voice shaky but she was still able to be understood. She had a lot of practice doing things like that. Talking through tears or other things that limited speech.

"Have... have you had any?" not that she wanted him to be troubled, but she would almost feel better if she knew that she wasn't alone in this one.

[PERCY JACKSON]

The dreams. Yeah he had been having them. They had come on pretty badly the last few nights, and he was thrashing around. It was driving his roommate, Benny, crazy. So Percy had been sleeping on the couch, no need for both of them to get no sleep. 
He hadn't told Annabeth because he didn't want her to over analyze it. But if she was having them too... It was nice to know he wasn't alone. 

"Yeah, I have. Benny is about ready to kick me out." he joked, trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't working. " I was thinking of just crashing here tonight." He leaned his head over so he could look at her face. He tried not to spend every night at Annabeth's... but he spent so much time there it seemed so stupid to him everytime he left, just so he could crash at his house for 8 hours, only to come back to her place. After a while she had just made up a spare bed for him. He used that most nights now. Except for the last two. He hadn't wanted to wake her up with his nightmares. Better a cranky roommate he never saw than a cranky girlfriend. 

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth nodded as Percy said he had been having the dreams, that Benny had to deal with them, and that he was thinking of staying the night here. She smiled a little, "Of course. I've missed you," she leaned forward just enough to lightly kiss him on the lips. "Is that why you haven't stayed the last couple nights?" she asked, her voice suddenly low and suspicious. Percy should know better than to let himself suffer for 'her benefit'. Still, it was sweet that he was trying. No matter how much she hated it, she couldn't deny the kindness and love in the gesture. She did things like that herself, of course. Letting herself suffer in order to protect Percy. They'd done that for each other countless times.

[PERCY JACKSON]

He accepted her kiss, wishing for it to be a little bit longer, for her to hold him a little tighter. But that was how he always felt. Smiling, his hand found their way to hers. "I didn't want to wake you up too." Simply stated, his nightmares could be... violent. He thought back to the sleepover he and Marin had when he was at Camp Half-Blood. Sometimes he wished he could just not sleep. That would solve a lot of problems. Create problems as well, but that was beside the point.

Time to change the subject.
"So, my beautiful bed-headed girlfriend. I brought you something." He let go of one of her hands and reached for his backpack. He didn't let go of her other hand but still maneuvered it so he could hold the backpack while he unzipped it. He pulled out a little leather bag, the drawstring on top tied with a bow. He often saw things in the giftshops that reminded him of Annabeth, but if he purchased every little thing.... well he would have to ask Annabeth for money. So when he picked a gift, he made sure it was a special one. And this one... this one was special.

[annabeth chase]

Before Annabeth could respond, telling him that it was stupid to worry about waking her, Percy changed the subject. As he reached for his backpack, she let him have the moment. She'd call him out on the not sleeping here thing later, if it came up. Hey, even Annabeth couldn't resist receiving a gift from her boyfriend, right? As he pulled out the little bag, Annabeth took it from him with her free hand. "What's the occasion?" she asked, looking up at him whilst holding the little bag.

"Should I open it then?" she said, looking back down at the gift. Percy was funny, buying her little things that he knew would mean something to her. Sometimes it was just something as silly as some tourist souvenir with some inside joke or other on it. But, no matter what it was, she always treasured it. She knew all about magical objects, and she believed that these trinkets were magical too.

[PERCY JACKSON]

Suddenly, Percy was nervous. Yeah, he had done this a million times. Yes, he had faced things that would make grown men cry in their sleep (oh wait... he did that). And, yes, this was his girlfriend, he had known her since he was 12 and there was no reason she should make him nervous. 

But she did. He still felt nervous when he gave her gifts, when she was mad at him, when he left for a few days. He knew it was crazy. But then again, love is crazy. 

He took a breath, calming his crazy mind. "Do I need an occasion? Well, I guess the occasion is: "Annabeth Appreciation Day." It is an international holiday and this year is the first year they are officially celebrating it. However, the smarter cultures in our world have been celebrating it for decades." He gave her a goofy grin, happy to have a change of subject, also happy to be with Annabeth. 

It was a relief to have told her about the nightmares. He felt 100 pounds lighter. Confiding in Annabeth had a magical effect on him. Or maybe scientific... He should look that up. 

"Nah, you're gonna have to wait till next year's "Annabeth Appreciation Day." Didn't you know? You give a present to be opened in a  year. That way you only have to give a present once every two years."

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth Appreciation Day. She glared at that, even though that glare had a little smile involved. She took the gift and slowly opened it. (dude, eaven I have noooo idea what should be in this gift!) Her eyes widened at the contents and she looked up at him, a full grin on her face. "Oh Seaweed Brain, you know me so well," she chuckled, leaning forward to kiss him gently on the cheek. "Thank you," she closed the box, pocketing it for now before turning back to look at him, biting her lip a little, her brow furrowed.

"I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I really should take a nap. What do you think?" she knew he didn't get any sleep either, so the idea wasn't entirely crazy. Plus, they really should try squeezing naps in between school and things, just so that they stayed alert during the important parts of the day.

[PERCY JACKSON]

Inside the small box was a seashell ring, opalescent in the sunlight, with small owls etched along the side. It was like both of them together. How could he resist getting it?

Percy  had been staving off the sleepiness all day, even as she suggested a nap he was fighting off a yawn. He lost his battle and a huge yawn escaped him. 
"You know I'm in." If neither of them had been sleeping well, they may as well take a nap. Besides, ever since Tartarus... well he always slept better when Annabeth was close by. He thought about just laying down on the couch, which could be comfortable, but there were two perfectly good beds upstairs. He took her hand once more. 
"Come on, wise girl. Time to get your beauty rest." he led her up the stairs and into his room. Well the room he used. Ok, it was his. You could tell by the random assortment of items on the shelves, a dented shield, a helmet with missing plume, an old book, among an assortment of blue things. 

Once bringing a girl into his room, especially Annabeth, would have made his face white and his palms sweaty. But he and Annabeth had been though so much together, they had survived so much, it was different. Yes, Annabeth was his girlfriend. But she was also his best friend. Sometimes, he just needed her close, just to be sure she was safe. And that he was safe. So as he climbed on top of his bed and a wave of exhaustion hit him, he lay down. An arm stretched over the next pillow was Annabeth's invitation to join him. 

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the mention of 'beauty rest', of course, but she couldn't help but smile. "I'm pretty sure you're the one that needs beauty rest. Have you looked into a mirror lately?"

As they reached the top of the stairs Annabeth let Percy pick which room they'd snuggle up in. He chose the second bedroom, his room. Her mind flashed for a moment to the thought as to which room they would stay in once they were married someday, but she quickly brushed the thought aside. She was way too tired to think about all that right now.

Annabeth followed Percy and curled up under his outstretched arm. She turned toward him, sighing as she placed a hand on his chest. "We can only sleep for an hour-" she yawned, "an hour tops." She started to drift off...

[PERCY JACKSON]

Percy nodded gently.
"Only an hour." he agreed through a yawn. He set his hand on hers as his eyes fell closed. If he had been counting backwards from 10 to fall asleep he would have forgotten to count at 9. 

Demi-gods often had crazy dreams, apparently naps were no exception. 

He was on the beach looking up into the puffy white clouds, listening to the water lap against the sand. This was his favorite spot, the only thing that could make it better would be...
He felt her hand on his chest, she was right next to him curled into a ball. He squeezed his arm tighter as a smile grew on his face. 
Lightening split the clear sky and the white clouds were instantly angry and gray. The ocean abandoned it's calm demeanor and adopted a violent cast. 
Percy sat up, worried and confused. When he looked over at Annabeth, he was surprised to find Medusa there instead. He scrambled back away from her, tripping over a bit of drift wood and falling into the sand. 
"Just, stay away! Stay away from me!" He reached for Riptide, but the magical pen was not in his pocket. He seemed to recall setting it on his bedside table before sleeping. Medusa stood up and laughed.
"What's wrong Percy? Why don't you give me a kiss?" She cackled, her face morphed between Annabeth's and her own. Percy didn't register that he was looking right at her and nothing was happening. He knew that somehow Annabeth was trapped. She had to be. 
"Leave Annabeth alone!" He snarled, pushing himself up to his feet and falling into a fighting stance.
"Leave her alone?" Her face and voice changed. She was Annabeth now, with an evil glint in her eye. "I am Annabeth. Percy, it's me." She extended a hand, even while a dagger appeared in her other hand. 
Percy took a step back and the Medusa/Annabeth screamed and ran forward raising the knife high. He didn't have his sword, so he used the ocean, his greatest weapon. 
But nothing happened. The ocean wouldn't respond to him. 
He panicked and turned to run, but was suddenly confronted by a solid brick wall at least 20 feet high. He turned back to Medusa/Annabeth, she was right in front of him. She smiled at him, more in a way to bare her teeth than to show affection.
"How about a kiss, Percy?" She stabbed the knife into his chest. He felt it go in, felt it break his heart. Felt Annabeth break his heart. 
And he protected himself. He kicked her away, but his foot passed right through her. He punched her face, but it seemed to fuzz under his hand. He wrapped his hands around her neck and was surprised to find it solid. He felt the knife slip from her hands.

Even as he slept, his body reacted. Years of training kept his reflexes sharp. His hands reached up and wrapped around the closest thing to him. Annabeth's neck.