A runner up cover by Dizznee_Worldtho!

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PERCY JACKSON

7-18-20

There weren't many things I could say with complete confidence, yet I could confidently state that I would never grow tired of waking up beside Annabeth Chase.

I grinned dazedly and nestled my head farther into the crook of her neck. She was facing away from me and my arms were entangled around her waist. I squeezed her closer into my body and breathed in her lemony scent.

Annabeth let out a small, almost inaudible grunt. She squirmed a bit before relaxing into my arms.

I pressed a kiss against her neck and whispered, "You okay?"

She hummed affirmatively. "Yeah, I'm fine." She tugged my wrists so that my grip loosened and turned herself to face me. "Quick question, Perce."

"What's up?" I responded.

"Were you sniffing me?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Maybe," I drawled.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and pecked my lips. "You're lucky I love you, weirdo."

I kissed her back. "You're right, I am."

After lying in bed together for another ten or so minutes, we made the begrudging agreement to get out of bed. I peeled the sheets off of my body and sat up. Annabeth followed suit.

"I'm going to go take a shower, okay?" she told me.

I nodded. "Sounds good."

Annabeth stood up and hurried around the room. She quickly grabbed a pair of sweats and a fresh tee-shirt from her drawer, before rushing out of the room.

I frowned. She seemed to be in a rush, and I really wasn't sure why.

I reluctantly got out of bed and threw on a pair of black basketball shorts and a Led Zeppelin shirt. After straightening out my covers so my bed was "made", I wandered out to the kitchen.

The kitchen was empty. I assumed that Mom and Paul were out doing errands, seeing as it was we'll past nine o'clock on a Saturday. I decided to redeem myself from the previous morning and make some breakfast.

Relatively fifteen minutes later, I had a batch of blue pancakes whipped up and was in the process of flipping one when Annabeth waltzed in.

Dressed in a pair of my old sweats and her favorite Goode High School tee, with her hair flowing down her back like strands of golden thread, Annabeth looked better than ever.

"So you're trying to burn down this kitchen too?" she teased.

I laughed. There was the happy, confident girl I knew and loved.

"Actually," I pointed out, "I'm doing a pretty good job today. Clearly, yesterday was just a fluke."

"Mhmm," she murmured, leaning against the counter beside me. "Sure."

I rolled my eyes and kissed her nose, before returning my focus to the pancakes. "If you keep distracting me, Wise Girl, I will burn the building down."

Annabeth laughed and reached up to the cupboards to grab two plates. "Hurry up, I'm hungry."

I chuckled and flipped one last pancake before turning off the burner and putting all of the breakfast treats on one large plate I'd already gotten out.

Annabeth and I sat at the table and chatted mindlessly whilst munching on our breakfast that wasn't even slightly burned nor undercooked.

After I gobbled up my stack of five and Annabeth ate her ladylike pile of two, we headed over to the living room to hang out and watch some Netflix.

An hour or so later, we decided to head out. Summer was coming to a close, after all, and we wanted to make the most of it.

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8-29-20

"Let's go shopping!" I suggested, purposefully making my voice high and squeaky in a mocking way.

Annabeth recoiled. "Ew, no way. I'm not spending my last day in New York at a mall."

"Why not? It'd be so fun, come on, Annabeth."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, trying on endless amounts of clothes, criticizing how my body looks in each item, and inevitably only getting one or two things that end up costing at least $100 together. So fun."

"Don't be so negative, jeez," I teased her.

"I'm being realistic."

I laughed under my breath. "Look, the actual idea of shopping may be tedious and boring, but wouldn't it be fun to do it together?"

As I whispered the last word, I stepped closer to Annabeth and brushed a curl from her face.

Annabeth sighed and her eyes fluttered shut, before abruptly opening and entrancing me with a fiery gaze. "Fine."

I grinned and pressed a fast kiss to her lips. "Let's go get ready so we can get to the mall before all of the good stuff is gone!" I yelled, running to my room to throw on nicer clothes than my sleepwear.

"That isn't how it works, Seaweed Brain!" my girlfriend called after me.

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I had made out pretty well on our shopping spree. I had two bags of goods from separate stores, and in the third store of the day, I had already found a few things that would be a good deal. Annabeth, on the other hand, was stilling wandering about with zero items.

After choosing between two pairs of jeans, I checked out and headed over to Annabeth, who was gazing at a mannequin judgingly.

"See anything?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I kind of like that top, but..."

I looked at the mannequin's outfit: a pair of teeny tiny light wash jean shorts and a baby blue halter tank top with two navy stripes across the chest.

"But what? I think you should try it on."

Annabeth scrunched up her nose before grabbing the top in a couple of sizes. On our way to the dressing room, I picked up a boxy light grey tee shirt with the store's logo on the upper left side for her to try on as well. I waited outside the room while Annabeth tried on the tops.

She eventually came out wearing the tank top. "It's okay. I'm not sure, though. It kind of makes me look weird."

I rolled my eyes and smiled a little. "It looks a little bit big. Maybe a size down would look less 'weird'."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "You think?"

I shrugged. "Might as well try."

She turned and shut the door to the room. After a moment, I heard a grunt before the door swung open.

"This is so tight," Annabeth grumbled. "Is it supposed to look like this? Is this 'trendy', or whatever?"

"Wow, Annabeth the critic," I joked, chuckling. "I think it looks really good. Go try on that tee-shirt I grabbed and then we can head out to grab some food."

She nodded before once again closing the door to try on the last top.

Ten or so minutes later, the two of us were walking out of the store with a shopping bag adorning each of our wrists. We decided to go to the Chipotle right by the mall for lunch, then back home to finish our packing for California.

We had an early bird flight the next morning to the Golden State. The following week would be spent settling into our new home, and then school started the next Monday. I was a little nervous, but also very excited to start a new chapter of my life with my girlfriend.

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So...I've had this chapter ready for, like, three days now...and totally should have posted it, like, three days ago...hehe...

Um, anywho...WHAT IS FREAKING UP Y'ALL!!! I'M FEELING GREAT! YOU KNOW WHY? LIMITLESS LOVE IS OVER 20K!!!

Ahem, moving along. I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, I would greatly appreciate if you left a vote!

Comment what your favorite store(s) to shop at is(are)! Mine are American Eagle, Old Navy, and Aeropostal!