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She smirked mischievously at him. "Now that I have you cornered, what say we test out my theory?"

"I think I know where this is going. I think you're going to prove me wrong," he said as he leaned forward slightly, his eyes darkening. "How do you propose to do that?" He teased before grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, placing it between his legs.

Annabeth bit her lip playfully, leaning in closer to whisper against his ear. "How does a man with a good memory like yourself forget the promise that we made last night?" She placed her free hand against his cheek, running her thumb along the scar that cut through his face.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from his mouth. Instead of answering, he pulled her down gently, capturing her lips with his. Annabeth closed her eyes in response, melting into the kiss. His tongue traced along the inside of her mouth before sliding it between her teeth, exploring her mouth for all its potential.

Once they parted for air, Annabeth rested her forehead against his, staring at each other with lust filled eyes. "I love you, Percy Jackson."

He smiled softly. "I love you too, Annabeth Chase."

***

The next afternoon, Annabeth sat outside, wrapped in one of Percy's hoodies with a book in her lap and headphones in her ears. She hadn't expected to hear anything unusual over the sound of her music - Percy tended to insist that he wouldn't listen to anything but rock when he was awake - so she wasn't particularly surprised that she didn't hear the sounds of his footsteps behind her, but she certainly didn't expect him to drop a stack of books onto the table next to her. Startled, she glanced at him before looking back at her book. "Are those my textbooks?" she asked incredulously as she picked one up to inspect its cover.

Percy nodded, sitting down next to her.

"Why? Shouldn't you be doing some reading? You're supposed to be getting your GED this semester, remember?"

Percy scoffed dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I'll pick that stuff up next semester. But that doesn't mean I'm done already, you know. Besides, the classes aren't that different, so I thought I could use some extra practice. At least, I hope that's what it was."

Annabeth nodded understandingly. "Alright. Well, I'm glad you're practicing, then." She paused for a second before asking, "So what're you doing now?"

"I was gonna go upstairs and work on my assignments for a little while."

"You know, that might actually be a great idea. Maybe you should just start taking a nap. Why don't you lie down? It'll take less effort."

"You want me to take a nap? Are you kidding me?" he asked in disbelief, although he couldn't stop himself from smiling as he watched her nod her head vigorously and point towards the staircase. Reluctantly, he stood up and headed upstairs with one of his bags.

While watching Percy leave, Annabeth sighed in relief. Although she was worried about their relationship, she'd noticed that he seemed calmer when he was in his room. She suspected that sleeping in his bedroom gave him peace of mind, especially since it was much warmer compared to his room upstairs. Once he had disappeared upstairs, she turned back to her book, but she didn't read very far into it before falling asleep. Her dreams consisted mainly of Percy's kisses and their many other activities that led up to their passionate make out session on the sofa.

When she awoke later, Percy was already gone. Annabeth got up and stretched before going downstairs. She made her way to the kitchen as soon as she reached it. She figured she should prepare breakfast for Percy since she knew that they were having lunch at Thalia's house later. Before leaving the kitchen to grab food and water however, she took another moment to gaze around the living room. This wasn't the first time that she'd done so, but the sight brought a warm feeling to her heart. It felt nice knowing that he spent more time there than anywhere else in the house.

A few minutes later she was standing in front of the fridge, pulling out the ingredients for eggs and bacon while keeping an eye on the clock in the corner of the room. It was nearing noon already and she wondered if Percy would be coming down anytime soon. He usually was whenever they ate together, but she hoped that the weather would hold off a bit longer. After all, it wasn't exactly easy to get the ingredients when it rained.

Finally giving up on waiting for Percy to appear downstairs, Annabeth grabbed a glass of juice and headed towards his study. She knocked politely twice on the doorframe, announcing her presence to prevent anyone from rushing into the kitchen without seeing her.

Percy barely even flinched as she walked into his study. "What is it, Annabeth?"

She tilted her head to the side as she placed the glass of juice on the desk before making her way to sit on his couch. "