Percy, true to his word, had taken the challenge to heart.
A week after the cookie incident, Theo's previously serene existence had become a relentless game of hide-and-seek.
Only, Percy was always seeking, and Theo was always, always, found.
It had become a game. Or rather, for Theo, it was a living nightmare. Wherever he went, Percy Jackson was there.
Theo was in the bathroom washing his face. "Okay, safe place. Nobody comes here except to pee. I am alone. I am free..."
"Hey Theo! Nice morning, huh?" Percy popped his head through the door.
Theo nearly fell into the sink. "Percy, what the Hades?! Why are you here?! This is the bathroom! Do you have no boundaries?!"
Percy just grinned, hearing the panic. "Just checking on you. You left the cabin pretty early."
'I left to escape you!' Theo screamed internally while splashing water on his face.
Every breakfast, Percy seemed to materialize at Theo's table, sandwich in hand, ready with a cheerful "Morning, Theo!" that made Theo choke on his food.
During archery, Percy would 'accidentally' send arrows wildly off course, only for them to land suspiciously close to Theo's bench.
Even at swim lessons, Percy would 'casually' float past Theo's sunbathing spot by the lake, always managing to splash a little water on him.
'He's like a barnacle! A really loud, main-character-shaped barnacle!' Theo internally shrieked one afternoon as Percy, supposedly practicing his sword forms with campers, somehow ended up doing a dramatic, splashing pirouette directly in front of Theo's face at the edge of the canoe lake.
"Whoops! Reflexes!" Percy yelled, giving Theo a dazzling, slightly damp, grin.
Theo just blinked slowly, water dripping from his eyelashes. 'I'm going to turn him into a kelp monster. I really am. Just one little monsterization. As a treat.'
Percy heard the thought and stifled a laugh, a genuine, bubbling sound that only made Theo narrow his eyes further.
Meanwhile, this behavior didn't go unnoticed. Annabeth Chase was not amused.
She had spent the past two weeks with a furrowed brow, a permanent crease etched between her intelligent grey eyes.
It wasn't the new cabin designs, which were progressing wonderfully, or a sudden monster attack, those she could handle.
No, her current intellectual puzzle was far more perplexing: Percy Jackson.
She sat on the porch of Cabin 6, sketchbook open but untouched, watching the scene across the green.
Percy was over by the canoe lake, doing that thing he did where he pretended to practice swordplay but was really just showing off. And right there, looking like he wanted to dissolve into the grass, was Theo.
'When was the last time we had a proper date? What about our current relationship?' she thought, crossing her arms.
She watched as Percy "accidentally" splashed water all over Theo again, grinning that bright, lopsided grin that used to be reserved only for her.
They used to spend every free moment together, strategizing, talking, just sitting in silence.
Technically, he was still spending time with her. They ate together. They trained together. They walked the borders of the camp together like they always did.
But lately? Percy seemed to have allocated maybe ten percent of his schedule to her, and ninety percent to chasing the kid around like an overexcited puppy.
Even when Percy was with her, his head would turn every five seconds, eyes scanning the crowd, looking for him.
It was ridiculous. It was illogical. And frankly? It was starting to hurt.
But it felt different.
It was in the tiny things. The micro-expressions. The way his knee bounced constantly, like he had too much energy to sit still.
He was sitting right next to her on the steps of Cabin 3, his shoulder warm against hers. He was holding her hand, his thumb brushing gently over her knuckles.
The same comforting gesture he'd done a thousand times.
"...and I was thinking we could do that, it would give us better coverage during capture the flag," Annabeth said, her voice steady.
"Yeah, sounds good, Wise Girl," Percy said. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her, a genuine-looking smile.
But Annabeth noticed his eyes weren't quite focused on hers. They kept darting past her, scanning the crowd like radar.
His attention was fixed on a spot near the Hermes Cabin.
There was Theo.
Annabeth lowered her pencil. 'He isn't even trying to hide it,' she thought.
It wasn't that he was ignoring her completely. It was worse. He was present physically, he was being affectionate, but mentally? He was miles away.
When they talked, his answers were quick, agreeable, but there was a faint tightness around his mouth, like he was trying very hard to stay seated.
And the moment Theo finally moved? It was like a switch flipped. Percy's posture relaxed instantly. His eyes lit up. The energy returned, tenfold.
Yesterday, they had been sitting at dinner. Annabeth had been telling him about a dream she had, something important, something she needed to talk through.
Percy had listened, nodding, holding his burger, even reaching over to steal a fry from her plate like normal.
But every few seconds, his gaze would drift over her shoulder.
Every time Theo quietly laughed, or shifted in his seat, Percy's eyes followed.
Annabeth stopped talking. She just watched him. She realized that Percy wasn't chasing Theo instead of her... it felt like he was just... preoccupied.
Like Theo was the only thing that actually held his interest in him anymore.
She was the comfort. She was the routine. The person he was with because that's what they did.
The realization settled in her chest, cold and heavy. Annabeth felt a cold knot tighten in her stomach.
Jealousy was an ugly emotion, and she hated feeling it, but it was impossible to ignore.
'Am I just the safe option now?' she wondered, gripping her pencil until her knuckles turned white. 'What would happen to us?'
She looked at Percy's profile. He was still holding her hand, but his smile had widened.
It wasn't directed at her. It was a look of pure, unadulterated amusement, watching Theo trying to sneak around unnoticed.
Annabeth closed her sketchbook slowly.
She loved him. She knew that. They were supposed to be partners.
But she wasn't sure if she was enough anymore. Or if she was just... there.
She stood up, dusting off her jeans, her expression hardening.
She needed answers.
The next day.
Annabeth's mind, a labyrinth of strategies and solutions, was usually a fortress against petty emotions.
But the sight of Percy, the hero of Olympus, the boy who had faced down gods and monsters, the love of her life.
Now acting like a puppy chasing after… Theo, was beginning to fray her nerves.
Jealousy, hot and sharp, pricked at her. It wasn't just confusion anymore; it was a genuine, unwelcome sting.
It wasn't that she hated Theo, particularly. He was just… there. A background character, as Percy had so aptly (and unknowingly) described him.
But Percy's sudden, unwavering attention towards this "background character" was utterly baffling and, frankly, infuriating.
Especially when that attention seemed to eclipse even her, his best friend, his… well, she wasn't sure what they were anymore, but it was certainly more than whatever he had with Theo.
She found Percy not, as usual, near the sparring arena or the dining pavilion, but by the stables, leaning against a fence, seemingly engrossed in watching Theo attempt to communicate with a pegasus.
Theo was, predictably, failing spectacularly.
The pegasus, a magnificent creature named Blackjack, kept nudging him playfully with its snout, while Theo, despite the sheer panic brewing inside, maintained a disturbingly serene exterior. 'Oh gods, it's going to eat my hair! Is this how I die? Mauled by a majestic, winged horse?!'
'I knew it! I shouldn't have come here to meet the famous Blackjack!' Theo thought, his face remaining perfectly calm, like an unyielding statue.
Percy chuckled, a soft, fond sound. "Careful there, Blackjack. He's fragile."
"Aye, Boss!" came the loud, spirited whinny, followed by the great pegasus stamping his hooves eagerly, his massive wings fluttering with excitement.
Theo whipped his head around so fast he almost got whiplash, eyes wide with outrage.
'Me? Fragile?! No way! ...Okay, maybe a little, but that's beside the point! When did you get there!'
"Percy," Annabeth's voice cut through the stable air, cool and sharp like a newly forged dagger.
She strode up to him, hands on her hips, a storm brewing in her grey eyes.
Percy jumped, startled, nearly falling off the fence. "Annabeth! Hey! Didn't see you there. Just, uh, admiring the equestrian arts." He gestured vaguely at Theo, who was now attempting to subtly back away from Blackjack, who seemed to be enjoying the game.
Annabeth ignored Theo entirely, her gaze locked onto Percy. "We need to talk. Just for a moment." Her tone left no room for argument.
Percy gulped, exchanging a quick, panicked glance with Theo, who was now fully attempting to merge with the stable wall.
'Oh, this is good! This is perfect! Go get him, Wise Girl! Trap him with your wisdom! Finally, some real progress! Don't mess this up, Percy! My ship is sailing!'
Percy suppressed a sigh. "Okay, Wise Girl. What's up?"
"Follow me." She led him away from the stables, past the startled pegasi and a rapidly disappearing Theo, towards a secluded spot near the strawberry fields.
The air thrummed with unspoken tension.
"What is going on with you, Percy?" she demanded, her voice low but intense. "For the past two weeks, you've been… off. Distracted. And it all seems to revolve around him." She gestured back in the general direction of the stables, where Theo was likely still trying to make a clean escape.
Percy scratched the back of his neck, suddenly very interested in a loose thread on his shirt. "What are you talking about? I'm fine! Just… enjoying camp. It's quiet, you know? No quests, no monsters, just… normal stuff."
"Normal?" Annabeth scoffed. "Since when is it 'normal' for you to spend every waking moment bothering a younger demigod who clearly wants nothing to do with you? You're acting like a clumsy stalker, Percy!"
"I'm not stalking him!" Percy protested, his cheeks flushing. "I'm just… trying to be friendly!"
"Friendly?" Annabeth's voice rose. "You haven't asked me to spar, you won't talk to me longer, you've barely finished a sentence without getting distracted by his presence! You're following him around like a lost puppy!"
The accusation stung, partly because it was true and partly because Annabeth was never wrong.
'Oh no. The Girlfriend! She's here! She's finally noticed! This is it, Percy, you're doomed! Confess your sins! Tell her everything! But don't tell her about me! I am innocent! I am just an innocent bystander!' Theo's thoughts, surprisingly close by, echoed Percy's own internal panic.
"It's not like that, Annabeth," Percy tried, but even he could hear the weakness in his voice. How could he explain? "I just… I want to be friends with him."
Annabeth's eyes blazed. "Friend? More interesting than me? Than us?" She stepped closer, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I thought… I thought we were getting somewhere, Percy. After everything, after the war… I thought you finally saw… me."
Percy's heart lurched. He hadn't even realized how much his recent distraction had affected her. He suddenly felt like the biggest Seaweed Brain in the entire world.
"Annabeth, no! It's not like that at all!" he insisted, reaching for her hand, but she pulled away. "You're… you're my best friend! You're amazing! Smart, brave, beautiful… I mean, really beautiful!"
'Smooth, Percy. Real smooth. Just tell her now about your feelings! And kiss! You can do it!' Theo's thought chimed in, annoyingly helpful.
Annabeth's expression remained stony, though a faint blush touched her cheeks at his sudden fluster. "Then why?" she pressed, her voice cracking slightly. "Why are you so focused on him? What's so special about Theo that makes you completely forget about us? About me?"
Percy opened his mouth, then closed it. How could he tell her? "Well, you see, Annabeth, I can hear his thoughts. And they're really, really funny. And he thinks you and I should kiss already."
He can't say it, he promised himself that this secret is his to keep. No one, no one will know.
And he knew, instinctively, that wasn't going to go over well. Not at all. He glanced over his shoulder. Theo was nowhere in sight. Probably heard Annabeth's "Battle Strategy Face" and made a tactical retreat.
Annabeth just stared at him, her grey eyes searching his face, trying to decipher the complex, usually simple, workings of his mind. The silence stretched, thick and uncomfortable, punctuated only by the distant cawing of a crow.
Finally, she let out a long, frustrated sigh. "You know what, Percy? Talk to me when you can think straight. You know where to find me."
She turned on her heel, walking away with stiff, angry strides. "Just… figure it out, Seaweed Brain. Before you lose more than just your focus."
Percy watched her go, a fresh wave of panic washing over him. He'd messed up. Big time.
'Dude, you blew it! Totally! Epic fail! I told you to say something smart, not just blurt out 'beautiful'! What were you even thinking?!' Theo's voice, now sounding genuinely exasperated, screamed in his head.
Percy groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I know, I know!" he mumbled to the empty air, feeling more lost than he had on any quest.
This time, Theo didn't respond. He had indeed made a tactical retreat, and was probably currently holed up in his cabin, mentally barricading himself against the impending emotional fallout from his "Favorite Couple."
Percy was on his own. And for the first time since this whole mind-reading thing started, Theo's silence felt less like peace, and more like a punishment.
'Please come back.'
But even he himself didn't know who he was begging to.