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I woke up before Annabeth today. Which surprised me more than findin' a crab on my head.

I was careful not to disturb her as I slipped outta bed. She's spent the night with the crew, and knowing the debauchery my gang of ruffians get up to, it's no shocker that she all knackered out.

I was all dressed up when I could hear the sheets ruffling behind me. I cast a backwards glance to find her sleepin' like the dead.

I smiled. By Thunders she was beautiful even when she slept. And I'm hopin' I don't sound like a creep.

The fact that thing's have been goin smoother is scaring the living daylight's outta me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely tickled by the improvements.

Annabeth's eyes haven't been screaming bloody murder every time I'm around her, which I do consider progress.

But I can't control this nagging feeling I have, like a chip on my shoulder, that things are never gonna return to normal.

I sighed, finishing up buttoning my cravat. As glad as I am that she helped me with my swordsmanship two days prior, we haven't spoken since.

And there's nothin' I want more than to hear her voice laughing at something dumb I said. To talk from her about my day or argue over something silly. Instead, we seem to do is avoid each other.

I've become guilty of it too.

It's slowly become suffocating on the ship. It seems her crew is avoiding me, and mine (despite me telling em not to) seems to be doing the same to her.

Once the euphoria of the reunion drowned out, it was quickly revealed that everyone was at odds. This is ridiculous given that we were all one big happy crew for almost a decade.

I glanced at her one last time before leaving.

What happened?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hid myself in the crows' nest, hugging my knees to my chest as I watched the sky.

This was the third time Grover avoided my eye with an awkward bleat. My best friend.

Piper seems to be the only one not taking sides in this feud, and I'm so grateful t for that. Despite my best efforts, it seems Percy and I's rivalry has spread to our mates.

When did it come to this?

Everything was dandy when our crew reunited. Heck, they were happier than a monkey findin' a stash o' hidden bananas!

But why was Blackjack's crew mad at us? They must know what happened, and yet, they blame me?

Hell, anyone in my position would've murdered Percy.

I hated this. I miss my ship. I miss the old days

Curse you, Yankee! How dare ya die on me? Do you have no shame?!

I sighed. I should've gone down with my stead like any good captain would've.

Instead, I'm stuck with my ex-fiance, his dashing smile and vexed crew. And I can't seem to hate any of them.

The worst of all, I can't bring myself to stay away from Percy. His presence is all my mind is focussed on, I crave his touch, his words, his familiar scent. I miss being in his arms so much that I want to strangle myself for being this pathetic.

I tilted my bead back against the pole, staring at Blackjack's flag rippling through the wind.

Ain't life a pleasure?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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As ridiculous as it sounds, the fact that I've not seen her all day has been gnawing on me. It was hard not to be worried, even if she was in the safest place on earth.

Maybe its instinct? Years of routine? After all, we were joint at the hip for almost a decade. Or was my bottled-up desire to see her during our sojourn finally manifesting? Or Perhaps it was normal for me to miss her.

Somehow knowing she was on the ship, close by, calmed the thunder in my nerves which plagued me when we were apart. Even if we avoided each other, it healed me to see her safe and sound.

So after some detective work, which is sure to put Sherdock Ships to shame, I traced the elusive pirate down to the crows nest, the only part I hadn't checked yet.

I stared at the long pole. There was no way I had the energy to climb it, after searching several ships for a disappearing woman.

Instead, I did what any smart pirate would do.

I found the rope attached to the crows nest, and tugged at it, watching the bucket, which I soon came to realise was filled with rainwater, travel upwards.

As it travelled a little higher, and I didn't see a blob of blonde hair in my vicinity, I let it go with a sigh.

Clearly, she wasn't here.

A little yelp and thud immediately suggested otherwise. As water dripped down the soaked wood, Annabeth's head popped up.

"P-Jackson?" she called.

"Chase!" I shouted back. Oh crap. I hadn't anticipated what to do when I actually saw her.

"What is it?"

"Errrr," I rubbed the back of my neck, "I...I just tell ya something important!"

"What?"

"Come down and you'll find out!" I lied, ransacking my brain for something to tell.

"Must I?" she asked from up there.

"It's very important!" I crossed my fingers behind my back. What in tarnation was wrong with me?

"Arghhh," she groaned, taking a hold of the rope.

Luckily, my brain and the sea-gods conjured the perfect thing to say.

"Groverfelldownandhelookslikeasatyrwithhorns," I blabbered as she swung down.

"What?" she asked, lips twisting into an amused smile as she floated through the sky like an angel of sorts.

My heart hammered in my chest as I caught her waist, making sure she didn't fall as she stopped in front of me.

She didn't know the rope was short. Or that I feel like I could die with her this close.

Tendrils of her blonde hair tickled my nose as I inhaled her familiar, lemony scent. How she managed to smell like lemons despite their scarcity, I'll never know and never find out.

She didn't notice our proximity as she asked, "What did you say?"

"Oh er.."I blinked, pulling myself together. My brain was melting with her in my arms. Gods she was beautiful.

"Yes...?" she said, eyes shining with amusement. Her eyebrows knitted together ever so slightly when she posed the question.

"Oh!" Right," I cleared my throat.

"Grover somehow fell in the Hold, and managed to bump his head twice," I explained, tryin' not to laugh at the memory, "You should see him now! He got two bumps on his head like he's a Satyr! They're literally horns," I let out a breathy laugh.

Annabeth smiled, "How in a starfishes socks did he manage that?"

"No idea," I shrugged, "you should ask him."

With that, her smile fell. She blinked, taking a fervent step back as she noticed how close we were. I missed her in an instant, my heart giving a dull thud.

"Aye," she said with a pained breath, putting an unnecessary amount of distance between us.

"Are ya okay?"

"Aye, why wouldn't I be?" she countered, "I'm peachy."

"Well ya look about as happy as a sea monster with a toothache," I pointed out, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"Maybe 'cause I was hit in the head by a stray bucket!"

"In my defence, I didn't know where you were. It was an experiment," I countered.

"I didn't wanna be found," she shrugged, "should've left me alone."

"Abandon ya?" I asked, speaking without a second thought, "That's more your style."

Annabeth sucked in a breath, anger flashing in her eyes, "My style?" she scoffed, "You're the one who wrote the book on deception."

"I hate to break it to ya, wise girl," I shrugged lightly, "But I'm dyslexic. I didn't write anything."

"I'm dyslexic too, and I can read," she frowned.

"Who said anything about reading?" I questioned, "I read. I can read you like an open book."

"Can you?" Her eyes narrowed, "Cause I'm filled with the words trust and honestly, words you can't understand even if they hit you over the head!"

"Oh so you're the expert on trust and honestly huh?" I chucked," What about loyalty? love? Do you know what those mean?"

"I. I know enough to know that I won't find them with you!" she screamed, voice catching in her throat. Her eyes gleamed under the sun, glassy and full of emotion.

I took a step back, shocked at the sudden outburst, "Chase-"

"I hate you, Jackson!" she said, louder, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She turned on her heel as I grabbed her wrist, flipping her to face me.

"Why did you leave?" I asked, my voice a whisper.

"Why did you force me to leave?" she inhaled, snatching her hand back. Without a glance back, she bolted.

I watched her go, emotions catching in my throat. I leaned against the railing, not able to breathe. I gasped for air, stomach twisting in knots.

~

For the first time in my life, I joined my mateys down by the wine cellar.

"Captain!" Leo greeted, holding up a mug of ale, "Fancy seeing you here!"

I nodded in his direction, stumbling towards the bar.

Everyone has been going on about how great this alchol crap is for years. Perhaps it can stop the circus in my head? Or better yet, kill me so I don't need to suffer my aching heart.

"Can..can I pour ya a drink?" Leo asked, seeming suddenly concerned. He put a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged It off, "I don't need a mug," I said, grabbing two bottles of rum, "this'll do."

I don't remember a thing from after that.

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Ahoy mateys! I have posted a chapter at last!

Oh! Also, for me hearties getting confused over all the pirate slang, I went back and added little definitions in the comments (for like 80% of the slang) so feel free to check that If there's a weird term.

Also also also also!

Here's a top secret message just for you!
Yes, you!
You reading this!

I mayyy or may not announce a new short percabeth story soon. So I thought itd be fun to do a poll or something in the comments for the name!
So like, vote if you wanna please <3

Over there ————>

Question of the day: favourite food?

(posted 15/8/24- 3:29 am)

Stay tuned!!!
—S