A/N: I'm BAAAACK!

I really don't feel like explaining the reasons why I had no time to update, honestly. I mean, I think we all know the reasons why. School, extreme writers block, stress…

So, enjoy the story?

"M-Me and Annabeth are going out. We-We're dating," Percy blurted out, stammering like an idiot.

And then, well, I kind of did a spit-take.

"You're WHAT?" Sally sputtered, completely ignoring my spit-take. She looked absolutely elated.

"We're um, kind of, dating…" I answered, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, actually, we have been for three weeks. We didn't really know how to tell you guys," Percy added, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously.

Sally's jaw dropped. "THREE WEEKS? And you didn't tell us? Do you know how long we've been waiting for you two to finally come to your senses and realize you like each other?"

Well, I made it pretty obvious, but it took your oblivious son two years to realize that I liked him, I thought.

Just as I was about to answer stupidly, Paul coughed and spoke up.

"You guys do know I saw you guys making out by that tree over there, right? Sally didn't see anything, though."

Oh, gods.

I froze, staring at Paul. I probably looked like a bright red, goldfish, with my mouth hanging open and my cheeks flushed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Percy didn't look much different. We were both blushing in horrible, uncomfortable embarrassment.

"Why, may I ask, were you two making out behind a tree? In a public restaurant?" asked Sally, a smile dancing on her lips.

Percy and I glanced at each other, unsure of how to respond.

Percy swallowed hard and chuckled, something he did when he tried to come up with excuses. This isn't going to turn out very well…

"Come on Mom, we're teenagers, cut us some slack. We can't help it!"

I must say, Percy is such an eloquent man, I thought sarcastically.

"Oh gosh, they get it from the gods," Sally muttered quietly.

I widened my eyes and blushed so much I was afraid I would look like a bright red tomato for the rest of my life.

Paul and Sally were obviously enjoying my reaction. They tried to keep straight faces, stifling laughs and pursing their lips to keep from smiling. I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest when I noticed Percy cracking up beside me. He's such a supportive boyfriend, isn't he?

"How'd you guys even start going out in the first place? Sally and I gave up and stopped hoping you two were going to get together since it took you so long," said Paul, after he managed to collect himself.

Percy and I looked at each other for help, not knowing how to respond. What the Hades were we going to say? "We kissed on Percy's birthday, got thrown in the lake by the other campers, and then we continued making out underwater for a really long time!"

Uh, no.

Not giving me enough time to think of a plan, Percy decided to speak first. I had a hunch it wasn't going to be very pleasant.

"Well, let's just say that Annabeth practically threw herself on me-" said Percy, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

If I had been drinking something, I would have done a spit take AGAIN.

"I did not!" I interrupted, giving him a playful shove. I could feel my cheeks getting hotter and hotter, and wondered if anyone else was as mortified as I was. Who knew I could get so flustered?

"Oh come on, don't deny it Annabeth. We all know you can't resist me, just admit it," he smirked.

"That's funny; I can't imagine Annabeth, of all people,doing that. I always thought that Percy would be the one throwing himself all over Annabeth, considering he always talks about her-" Sally said, winking at me.

"MOM!" Percy exclaimed, stopping Sally from talking any further. His face looked exactly like the bright red strawberries at camp. A few people had started staring at us, probably wondering what the Hades was going on.

"No, seriously, how did it honestly, truly happen? Sally choked out between fits of laughter. Her face had turned a shade of light pink, just like the exterior of the Aphrodite cabin.

Percy and I laughed nervously and fidgeted.

Maybe if we don't say anything for a long time, they'll change the subject! Gods, I'm getting horrible at thinking up plans these days. Athena would disown me if she heard me right now.

I could just imagine her right now, scolding me. "See, I told you, that son of Poseidon is ruining you! Since when do you get flustered like that? You're a daughter of Athena, not Aphrodite!"

Stupid ADHD.

I half expected Percy to blurt out something utterly idiotic, but he was too busy chatting with the fish in the fish tank across the room. I felt Sally giving me an expectant look, as if she actually thought we were going to answer her question.

I tried to avoid their stares, and instead pretended to be deeply interested in my hands.

Oh, look! A scar! That one's from when Percy and I were sparring, and he accidently slashed me with Riptide! And I got that one when I tripped over a rock while I was too busy glaring at Rachel and Percy!

I looked up at Sally for a millisecond to see if she was still giving me an expectant look, but shifted my eyes back down again when I saw her arch an eyebrow at our silence.

Paul cleared his throat and smiled. "Um, now would be a good time to talk."

I bit my lip, looking over at Percy again. He was still having a mental conversation with that lobster. Honestly, I'm offended that he pays more attention to sea creatures than he does to me.

Come on, Annabeth, you're a daughter of Athena, think of a plan! All you have to do is tell them the extremely long story of how you and Percy got together, and you'll be perfectly fine!

I silently prayed to Athena that this would work out well, and took a deep breath.

"Um, well, we somehow ended up kissing a few hours after the war ended…and then we just…started going out?" I answered, although it sounded more like a question.

Sally looked unimpressed, while Paul face palmed.

"So, you're telling me that you two kissed, and then you magically started going out?" Sally questioned, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, other things happened, but it's a long story," I explained, trying to come up with an excuse.

"We're listening," Sally said, smiling. She looked over at Paul, who looked deep in thought. "Aren't we, Paul?"

He blinked at her. Looking like he had no idea what we were even talking about, he slowly nodded his head.

Sally grinned at me, motioning for me to go on and tell them. Oh, crap.

"I think Percy would be happy to tell you!" I insisted, nudging him.

"What?" Percy asked, completely lost, as usual. That's what he gets for paying more attention to a crustacean than he does to his girlfriend!

"Percy, would you like to tell us how we started going out?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes like Drew when she had tried to convince Percy to break up with me.

He glared at me and faced his parents, who were not so patiently waiting for us to tell them the very embarrassing, personal story of how we got together.

"We kind of…" he mumbled, looking around the room for inspiration. His mesmerizing green eyes landed on a huge grandfather clock that I had been resting on while Percy and I had been forced to make out. The corners of his mouth twitched up as he reached for my clammy hand under the table, interlocking our fingers.

What the HADES is he doing? I screeched, mentally.

"Sorry, we have to go, Annabeth needs to, uh, return to her dorm, because she's going to be late if we don't hurry up, and it's already six forty-five, and if we don't get back by seven, her dorm master will freak out and she'll get in huge trouble!" Percy said, all in one breath.

And with that, he quickly pulled me out of my chair and grabbed my wrist, dragging me towards the door. Sally looked shocked and enraged, while Paul looked like he knew this was going to happen, because he just grinned.

Sally jumped out of her chair, about to run after us, but Paul grabbed her before she could even take one step.

I faintly heard her complain and mutter something to Paul, to which he replied, "It's going to fine Sally, just don't make cookies for a week and Percy will probably tell you everything. We'll discuss grandkids later."

I blushed furiously, and saw that Percy didn't look any different. We were still running through the aisles, and practically everyone was staring at us. Percy's idea wasn't the smartest, but not having to tell his parents the story was relieving.

My ADHD part of my brain took over, and I noticed that Percy's hand was still firmly wrapped around my wrist, pulling me everywhere.

"Hey! I'm supposed to drag you places, not the other way around!" I scolded him. He just turned around and looked at me, a smug smile on his lips.

We had reached the door now, and we were right by Maggie, who was smacking and popping her gum, intently focused on her bedazzled phone. She looked up and seemed to have noticed Percy and I. Her cold, blue eyes locked with my gray ones, and she instantly scowled, her lip curling up in disgust.

This amused Percy, but infuriated me.

At the last minute, I decide to do something utterly stupid, but yet satisfying.

I grabbed Percy by his neck, pulling him towards me. Grinning like a madwoman, I crashed my lips against his and kissed him with all I had. At first, he was so startled, he just stood there, stiff as a board, but he eventually recovered from his shock and kissed me back. After a couple of seconds, I pulled away, smirking at Maggie's reaction. She was almost trembling, with her fists clenching at her sides and her eyes blazing with fury.

It was a cliché thing to do, but it's not like I was going to leave the restaurant without making her angry. I had too much pride.

"It'd be nice if you didn't show so much PDA, you know," she growled. Ugh, you should see Ares and Aphrodite.

She then glared at me and leaned down to whisper something in Percy's ear. She obviously wanted me to overhear, because she didn't bother to lower her voice.

"Call me," she said, and handed Percy a slip of paper with a phone number scrawled on it. Percy frowned down at it, looking confused. Before he could do anything else, I snatched it away and tore it up into about six million little pieces. I beamed at Percy, proud of myself.

Maggie's jaw dropped in shock. She swallowed hard, gave me one last final glare, and stomped off, shaking with anger. The other customers looked at her, then Percy and I, and Maggie again, looking like they couldn't believe that just happened.

Ladies and gentlemen, my work here is done.

I smirked and looked up at Percy, who was smirking as well, and pulled us out of that dreaded restaurant. The night was cold and chilly, the wind whipping my hair around. Nonetheless, it seemed perfect, even though we basically just ditched Percy's parents and ran out of the restaurant. I couldn't help sneaking a peek at Paul and Sally through the restaurant window, and as soon as I caught a glimpse of a bright red dress, I almost shrieked.

Chris and Clarisse were sitting with Paul and Sally, probably telling them everything that happened between Percy and I this summer. The little food I had consumed at dinner threatened to come back up as my stomach churned and twisted.

"What's wrong?" Percy asked me, looking concerned.

"T-They're sitting w-with them!" I stammered, looking up at Percy with wide eyes.

He furrowed his eyebrows, looked into the restaurant, and smiled.

He smiled.

Putting his hand over my eyes, he grabbed my waist with his other hand and steered me away from the window. I slapped his hand away and glared at him.

"Percy! What are you doing? They're humiliating us! I'm so going to tell everyone about her stupid dress-"

"Annabeth-"

"-and she's going to be the one that gets humiliated-"

"I think you're-"

"- and I don't even care if Athena find's out! I can date you-"

"ANNABETH!" Percy exclaimed.

"What?" I yelled.

"It's not a big deal. Besides, it's not like we had the guts to do it anyways, there's no point in yelling about it all night long," he said, opening the car door for me. I slid into the leather seat and watched him as walked around the car and plopped down into his seat as well.

"I hate it when you start being all rational," I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and pouting like a little kid.

"I'm always rational, what are you talking about?"

I rolled my eyes playfully and leaned back in my seat, resting my feet on the dashboard. I released a sigh of relief as I savored the strange moment of peace. No monsters, no arguing, no worrying…

"You know, if we get in a car accident, your knees will hit you in the face with your feet on the dashboard like that," Percy pointed out, a cocky smile plastered on his annoyingly handsome face.

I scowled and opened my eyes, glaring at Percy for ruining the short moment of peace and quiet.

"What are you more worried about, me getting a minuscule amount of dirt on your car, or me bashing my knees in my face?" I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

"I'm just worried about your beautiful face, babe," he answered smoothly, making me blush.

"Don't call me babe!" I exclaimed.

"You know you love it!"

I groaned at our immature conversation.

"You're so annoying. I can't believe I'm even dating you," I said, smirking at his expression.

"And yet, you're the one who got all jealous when you saw me hanging out with Rachel, kissed me first in Mt. Saint Helens, and kissed me first after the war," he said as he started the car.

"…"

"Ha, I'm right!" Percy yelled, fist pumping.

"Well, most of those things are true, but-"

"All, not most!"

I groaned again and rolled my eyes.

"Let's just say that somewhere between making fun of each other, annoying each other, laughing at each other, and screaming at each other, I kind of started having a tiny crush on you," I compromised, smiling.

Percy raised his eyebrows and looked over at me. "Tiny crush?"

"Fine, a huge crush," I muttered.

"What did you say? I can't hear you."

"A huge crush," I hissed.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I STARTED HAVING A HUGE CRUSH ON YOU!" I yelled, irritated.

"Ohhhhh," he drawled out, as if he didn't hear me the first time. "Well, ditto."

"Hmm?" I asked innocently. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"I started having a huge crush on you too," he growled.

"I still can't hear you."

He sighed dramatically. "I. STARTED. HAVING. A. HUGE. CRUSH. ON. YOU. TOO!"

I smiled in satisfaction and looked out the car window.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Percy stick his tongue out at me and revert his eyes to the road. "You're distracting me."

"Am not!" I argued, turning my head away from the window to look at him.

"Yes you are! You're going to make us have a car accident," he retorted.

"Oh, really?" I asked, arching an eyebrow. "How am I distracting you, Percy?"

"I don't know, you just are!" he muttered. He was definitely hiding something.

I leaned over and put my elbow on the armrest of his seat, resting my chin on the palm of my hand.

"Tell me," I whispered.

He blushed and pretended to be deeply interested in the tire of the car in front of us.

"Stop that," he mumbled.

"Stop what?" I asked innocently, scooting even closer to him.

"Stop distracting me!"

"How am I distracting you, I'm just talking!"

"Every time I look over at you, you're just sitting there being all…cute and stuff," he huffed.

I grinned, satisfied. "I'm sorry that I'm distracting you by 'being all cute and stuff', Percy."

He rolled his eyes and laughed. "Why are our conversations so weird?"

"Because we're a weird couple?"

"How are we a weird couple? The Aphrodite cabin said we were meant to be!"

"Well, first of all, you're a son of Poseidon, and I'm a daughter of Athena. Which is the craziest, most messed up combination in the world considering our parents hate each other," I said.

"Okay, that's only one reason-"

"Let me finish! Second of all, we're nothing alike. We basically have nothing in common, except for the fact that we're both demigods-"

"And, we're both amazingly hot!"

"Stop interrupting me!" I exclaimed, blushing at his comment.

"Fine," he mumbled, pouting like a little kid. "Go on about how we're the weirdest couple ever."

I moaned and put my head in my hands. "Okay, look. We're a strange couple. That doesn't necessarily mean we're not a good couple…it just means that even though it's a bit…peculiar, it works, somehow. I like you, you like me. End of story."

I didn't mention the fact that I had a feeling that I didn't just like him…I loved him.

But, it's not like I'm going to say it first.

I looked up at Percy to see if he would respond, but he didn't say anything. He just blushed (suspiciously) and kept his eyes on the road.

Gods, what's up with all the blushing today? I thought to myself.

I looked out the window again, studying the different buildings as we passed by them. I tried not to be surprised when I noticed something strange. Although I had lived in New York for five years, I still wasn't used to the dynamics of everything. After all, I hadn't been able to go out to the city much often, because Chiron wouldn't let us out of camp. Now that I was actually living in the city, I could finally experience what it felt like to live there.

I just stared outside for what seemed like hours. For once, the silence wasn't awkward. Huh.

"We're here!" Percy announced in a sing-song voice, pulling me out of my trance.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at my watch. Sure enough, twenty minutes had passed by.

Percy sprinted over to my door and smoothly opened it, holding his hand out for me. I was about to laugh at him for suddenly acting like a gentleman, but then I noticed the odd look on his face. He looked…worried.

He looked in my eyes for a few seconds, just staring at me. It looked like he was deep in thought (that's a first), and I was about to comment on his strange expression, but he suddenly pulled me into a hug, startling me.

Sure, we were a couple and all, but he never randomly hugged me out of nowhere.

"Why do I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen to us?" he whispered as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Because bad things happen to us?" I murmured into his neck.

"True," he laughed.

"Since when are you so paranoid, Seaweed Brain? I'm supposed to be the paranoid one," I said softly, shifting my head so I could look at him.

He sighed. "I don't know…it's probably nothing… So, are you gonna kiss me goodbye, or what?"

I rolled my eyes at his sudden change of subject. Bipolar, much?

"Well, I don't know if you deserve it. You made me do a spit-take, in front of your parents," I pointed out, smiling.

"But, it was hilarious and we finally told them we were dating, so I do deserve it," he whispered, leaning in and brushing his lips across mine.

He wrapped his arms around my thin frame and pulled me closer. I pressed my lips harder against his, not caring that there were drunk, tipsy people wandering around staring at us. I laced my fingers through his hair, savoring the feeling of his warm, soft lips. We went on like that for what seemed like years. Although I didn't want to, I pulled back, knowing that I wasn't going to have enough time to sneak in if we didn't stop.

Percy pouted like a little kid. "Really? That was only, like, a minute!"

"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit, Seaweed Brain," I replied, smirking.

"You sound like my mother," he groaned.

"Bye, Percy," I grinned, walking towards the entrance of the school.

But, Percy apparently didn't want me to leave just yet.

"A-Annabeth?" he stuttered just as I was about to pull open the door.

I turned around to face him, arching an eyebrow at his expression. He looked absolutely horrified, like I had just told him that my mother was right behind him. What is up with him today?

"What?" I asked him, cocking my head to the side.

"How the Hades are we going to tell Poseidon and Athena?"

A/N: Wow…that's the end. This is finally the end of this story. I can't believe it…

I'm going to miss all of you awesome, faithful readers. I mean, I want to thank all of you, but I can't possibly type up all of your names. So, I'd like to thank Dovey, AKA DovewingsdotOfdotNarnia (I don't think Fanfiction will show the whole name if I don't put dot there!) who is the sweetest person EVER! Your reviews and PM's ALWAYS make me smile. I'm so glad I've gotten to know you! ;) I'd also like to thank piano108, who is hilarious and freakin' awesome! Your reviews and PM's always make me laugh uncontrollably! XD

Of course, there are three million other people I'd like to thank, but that'd be the longest list ever. I love all of you!

Gosh, I can't believe I've actually completed this! At first, I didn't even think anybody would read this! I mean, according to Fanfiction, this story has close to 30,000 hits, which is crazy. You guys are awesome. ;)

And of course, this Authors Note wouldn't be complete without a…QUESTION OF THE DAY!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What was your favorite thing about this whole story? (Not chapter, story.)

:'( I'm going to miss all of you.

P.S.: This chapter was almost 4,000 words, without the AN's…aren't you so proud of me?

I LOVE YOU ALL.

*HUGS*