The next day, minutes after Annabeth had explained to her father and step-mother that she would have to leave early (which was kind of awkward) there was the sound of hooves against concrete.

"Hey! It's the dude!" Bobby exclaimed, running to the door. Annabeth cursed in Ancient Greek, standing. Someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Her dad asked her.

"I don't know. Probably Percy." Annabeth's luggage was still upstairs, since there was no room on the back of a Pegasus for it, so she just slung her backpack which had been stuffed with a set of clothes and everything it had in it when she first arrived.

"You're leaving now?" Helen looked shocked. Annabeth nodded, making her way to the door.

"Wait!" Fredrick stood and walked over to Annabeth, hugging her quickly, "Even though you had to leave, I'm glad you came to stay even for a little while." He said, pulling back to smile at her honestly. Annabeth looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"See you later, dad." She turned the door handle, blocking the twins from escaping out the door. Percy stood there waiting, his hands in his pockets, beside Blackjack.

He looked the same as he always did. Messy, black hair, sea-green eyes, and lopsided smile. "Hey." He said, spreading his arms slightly. She hugged him. "I missed you." He remarked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I was only gone for three days." Annabeth chuckled, pulling back. Percy smiled down at her.

"Three days too long, then." Suddenly, he turned red, "Um, sorry. Let's go, I guess."

Annabeth turned back to look at the house. She could see her dad peeking out behind a curtain, watching them closely, and raised her hand slightly to say goodbye. He looked down and disappeared from the window.

"My dad is making sure you're not going to murder me." Annabeth laughed as Percy shook his head. Blackjack neighed.

"She can't hear you." Percy turned, climbing onto the Pegasus' back.

"What did he say?" Annabeth asked. Percy offered her his hand gentlemanly.

"Asked you if you had any donuts." Percy said casually.

"Well, I guess I didn't come prepared." She took Percy's hand.

"Come on, we'd better get back to Camp soon." And soon enough, they were off. Annabeth sat behind Percy, who held the reigns, her arms around his waist.

"I seriously did miss you." Percy remarked, glancing back at her.

"I missed you too." She replied. They were still in that awkward stage between having a relationship and just being friends. Sure, they kissed, but that didn't really mean they were dating. Right? Well, that was the thing. They hadn't had any dates. Unless the quests counted. Which she was pretty sure they didn't.

To be honest, Annabeth could read a hundred books on relationships and be just as clueless as Percy was. She'd never had a boyfriend. She'd never been in love. Neither of them knew what to do about their feelings, and whether or not to act on them. They didn't know what the feelings were in the first place. For all they knew, the feeling they felt around each other could be platonic, and one day they would realize it and agree they were better off as friends. Or the feelings could be real, of course, but it was too early to think of that. To think of their relationship going years into the future and going deeper and deeper into the spiraling pit of insanity that was love. You couldn't just stop falling through it- falling in love- once it had started. You had to bear through it until you hit the ground painfully.

"What're you thinking about?" Percy asked nervously. His grip on the reigns tightened.

"Nothing. What are you thinking about?" She teased. He was bright red, embarrassed, and suddenly she didn't care about where their relationship was going (at the moment). She wanted to embarrass him even more.

"You know me. Nothing." He replied, keeping his gaze on the skies. She cracked a smile.

"Really?" She asked, hiding her smile. She leaned over so her chin rested on his shoulder. He glanced over at her nervously.

"Yeah." He kept his eyes fixated ahead. She smiled, kissing his cheek. Immediately, he turned the color of a strawberry.

"I-Uh-Thanks? Wait- No- Sorry- I didn't mean it like- I mean-"

"Works every time." She shook her head.

"Oh, shut up." Blackjack started making horse noises, "You too!" Percy said to the horse.

"How did you manage to get a saddle on him?" Annabeth asked.

"Chiron said it was unsafe for us both to ride him without a saddle for so long, but he looked kind of sorry for Blackjack about it." Percy shrugged, apparently relieved that he wasn't being teased anymore.

"But, it doesn't take that long to get to camp on a pegasus." Annabeth said.

"And we're going slow." Percy nodded.

Really, they were going pretty fast. They had to talk over the sound of the wind. But, this was slow for Blackjack.

"Why?" Annabeth asked. Percy looked back at her, grinning sheepishly.

"I wanted more time with you." He said.

"That's sweet, Percy." She said, "But won't Chiron be suspicious?"

"He doesn't care. Just as long as I get you back today." He took one of her hands quickly, lacing their fingers, then let go and took the reigns again. Annabeth nodded.

She laid her head between Percy's shoulder blades. Dimly, she could hear his heart thumping away.

"It'll be a little while." Percy remarked, "You can take a nap if you want."

"I thought you wanted more time with me?"

Percy hesitated, "I do. But, if you're tired, sleep. You're here with me, so that's all that matters."

Annabeth tried to think of something to say back to him. He had a knack for randomly saying really sweet things, and every time she was unsure of how to respond to them. So, she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat (which fluttered slightly when she laid her head on his back, much to her amusement) and let her thoughts take her over.