Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was almost done with this chapter when I read a certain book that came out on the 2nd and read it in a day and pretty much laid on my bed wanting to die for a long time afterwards. I'm not going to give anything away, but let's just say that it felt really scandalous writing Percabeth fluff after what happened.

At any rate, they're probably going to be a little OC, only because I need some good old fashion fluff to lift my spirits.

This chapter is dedicated to my best friend EVER, Kassidy, for buying me Mark of Athena and a cookie!

oOo

In the morning, my mom fixed us a huge breakfast in hopes we'd eat the last of the food that needs to be refrigerated. By the end, Annabeth and I were feeling so fat, we weren't sure we could carry through with the cleaning-the-cabin-before-departure routine. Mom wouldn't have it and sent us away to clean the guest bedroom anyways.

Unfortunately, things ended in a huge bathroom water fight and Mom banishing us to load our belongings, the garbage and the rest of the food into the car.

I was disgruntled.

"We didn't make that huge of mess," I insisted while wrestling a garbage bag into the trunk.

Annabeth snorted cynically, because we both knew there was no way not to make a mess when having a water fight with the son of the sea god.

She changed the subject. "Have you asked your mom if you can have dinner at my place tonight?"

After closing the trunk, I leaned against the side of the car. "I was thinking about waiting until lunch to do that, actually."

"I don't know if I can even eat lunch after that breakfast."

Though I agreed, my thoughts abruptly wandered to dinner at Annabeth's house. What she had instigated yesterday was—well, I was made uncomfortable by the thought of it, not because I was against the idea, but because it felt deceiving to my mom. I wasn't a mama's-boy, but that just seemed like the #1 way to lost trust between us. After Mom letting Annabeth stay a week with us in a remote cabin, and letting her sleep in my room often, that would be like a slap in the face.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Annabeth said, pushing my shoulder gently. "I know what you're thinking, Percy, but you really need to calm down."

"I know," I told her, but didn't get to finish my thought because just then, Mom came out of the house holding a stack of sandwiches.

"After lunch we can lock up and head out," she said, and handed us our lunch.

Annabeth and I sat on the beach to eat.

The morning air was cool and salty, and the aftermath of last night's rainstorm evident everywhere. Leaves from nearby trees were scattered along the beach, and the flowers from the bed outside the cabin were flattened. Thankfully, the storm had done its round and ended early that morning, leaving the sky blue and water frigid.

I couldn't help but watch Annabeth as we sat there with our lunches.

The past week had been the best of my life. I'd felt her arms, her lips. I'd held her while we slept and I'd danced under the lights of a carnival with her and I'd heard her tell me she loved me. I'd splashed around in the water with her and taken her underneath it with me, I'd wrapped her in a towel and kissed her forehead afterward. I'd seen her in the morning with messy hair and a bright morning grin.

It seemed too good to be true, but it was true.

Annabeth glanced over and me and rolled her eyes, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear. "What's that look for?"

On a whim, I reached over to press my lips against her cheek. "Don't forget this, okay? As a favor to me."

Bewildered, she touched the spot where I'd kissed her and smiled the smallest of smiles. "…I could never, Percy."

Before the moment got too beautiful, she punched my shoulder.

Just like the good old times.

"Are you two done?" Mom called out from near the car, breaking the silence. "We should be on our way."

Reluctantly, I stood and helped Annabeth up after me. Our hands remained clasped when walking to the car, but neither of us made a move to get in. Annabeth's grey eyes seemed lost out to the sea.

My mom noticed our stalling. "Come on; we need to be out by eleven."

"Hey, Sally?" Out of the blue, Annabeth unfroze and turned her curious gaze towards my mother. "Is it okay if Percy stays for dinner tonight? We can bring him home afterwards."

Mom, who had stopped the process of climbing into the driver's seat, frowned. "…It's quite a long drive, Annabeth, are you sure your dad will be okay with that?"

"Oh, he has to stop by Manhattan anyways. It wouldn't be any trouble."

"Well…" After a second of pondering, she sighed and gave us a smile. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt anything."

Nervousness fluttered back into my chest, but I forced it down and opened the car door for Annabeth.

She squeezed my hand once before getting in.

The first part of the car ride seemed to drag on, which was honestly okay with me. Annabeth tucked her knees up to her chest and rested her head on my shoulder as we rode.

Though she obviously felt the same way about the past week as I did, there were only slight negative thoughts when she took something small and rectangular from her messenger bag.

Annabeth turned a disposable camera over in her hands. "I reserve the right to confiscate certain pictures as I see fit."

"No you don't!" I insisted, snatching the camera away and making a face at her. "I get to keep the one of your on the carousel!"

"NO YOU DO NOT."

Annabeth tried grabbing the camera back but I felt it out of her reach.

"Give…me…that…" she grabbed at my arm, "…CAMERA."

"Get off me! That's my neck your elbow is burrowing itself in."

"Give me the camera then!"

"No!"

"Give it to—!"

"Do I have to turn this car around, children?" Mom's stern, yet joking voice cut through our grappling.

We froze, mid-tackle.

Annabeth let go of my sleeve and scooted back onto her own sea, huffing and glaring. "If you show that picture to anyone, I swear…"

"Oh, don't worry. I won't show it to anyone." I smile stretched across my face. "Except maybe everyone at Camp."

"I guess this would be a bad time to point out that I took a picture of you when you were sleeping, all sprawled out on the couch half-naked, cuddling my stuffed panda with drool all over your face."

"That's not as bad as Annabeth Chase, great daughter of Athena, head counselor, in a dress, holding a balloon, riding on a pink pony on a carousel."

Annabeth glared at me with such fury and warning it was terrifying. In a slow, clearly enunciated voice, she spoke. "I have so much dirt on you, Perseus Jackson, that you could bathe a Clazmonian Sow four times over and still have enough left over to dust the Underworld."

In my head, I thought about how true that was. All the times I did and said stuff that I wouldn't ever dare to admit to anyone else.

After I put the camera away silently, Annabeth nestled against me again and, trying to contain her smugness, changed the subject. "Good thing the storm finally died down last night. It was hard to sleep with so much noise."

"You didn't sleep well?" I asked, and as if on cue, she yawned widely.

"Not really. I had an unquiet mind. The rainstorm didn't help much, though." Annabeth picked at a loose thread on her shorts absentmindedly.

"…You can sleep on the way, if you want."

After squinting her eyes suspiciously at me, she pulled her knees back up to her chest and settled against me with her chin on my shoulder.

The lemony scent of her hair tickled my nose, but in a good way. The fragrance would always remind me of her…

The rest of the ride was quiet. Annabeth fell asleep quickly, completely dead to the world, through dropping the cameras off for development, angry traffic and speed bumps. When we finally drove up in front of Annabeth's house, I had to shake her shoulder.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up."

She opened her eyes tiredly and made an attempt at untangling herself from me and her seatbelt. An adorable, wide yawn opened her mouth into an O. "Mm….We're here?"

"Yeah. You're place."

"Don't ever call me 'Sleeping Beauty' again, okay?"

We both grinned at each other and I opened the door for her after getting out myself.

From up in the driver's seat, Mom said to Annabeth, "Are your parents home?"

Annabeth's eyes flicked over to me and it was obvious she was trying to contain a sly laugh. "If they aren't now, they should be fairly soon."

That was a lie, but my mom didn't seem to think anything of it.

After stepping out, Mom turned to me and Annabeth. She involuntarily wrapped my girlfriend in a hug. "Thank you so much for joining us this week, Annabeth."

Annabeth hugged back and let out a little laugh. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Percy would have killed me."

"Got that right," I said, but she shoved me. "Gods, just joking. You'd whop my butt."

"Don't you forget it." She grabbed her bag from the trunk of the car and turned to my mom again. "But really, thank you so much for inviting me with you guys. I understand how that cabin is sort of a family thing, and I'm honored to have joined you there, too."

There goes Annabeth being as eloquent and polite as ever…

It looked as if Mom was ready to tear up. She shook her head and put her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "You're such a strong and wonderful young woman, Annabeth. You took Percy in and helped him grow in ways he wouldn't have otherwise." A little chuckle escaped her lips. "You're just about all he ever talks about when you're not around, and when you are, it's obvious you're all he ever thinks about."

My cheeks glowed red. "Seriously, Mom—"

"Sorry, dear. It's true. Anyways," Mom straightened up and beamed. "You're already family in my eyes. If you ever want to come over and stay a few nights or join us at Montauk again, just let me know."

Annabeth smile looked slightly proud, but she rolled her eyes. "Thank you. I might have to take you up on that offer, just to keep an eye on this idiot—" she bumped her shoulder into mine, "—and made sure he doesn't blow himself up accidentally."

"Again."

"Again," she agreed, still grinning.

There was a pause, in which my mom came over and pretended to dust my shoulder off jokingly.

"You'll be back before midnight, right?" she asked.

"I should be, yes," I said, glancing over at Annabeth for the affirmative.

"And you're sure I don't need to come and get you afterwards?"

"Mom, really. I'm fine. I'll see you tonight, okay?" I gave her a hug, just for good measure, and watched as she got back into the car and rolled the window down.

"Have fun!" Mom called out. "Thanks again, Annabeth, for coming!"

She drove off, leaving me and Annabeth standing at her front door, watching the bumper disappear down the road.

A minute of silence passed before Annabeth let out an excited laugh. One hand grabbed her bag and the other grabbed onto my arm and she hauled me through the door.

"You can wait here if you want," she told me in the living room, letting go of my arm. "I need to dump all these clothes off in the washer and empty the rest out. Do you want something to eat? Or drink?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little and follow her as she jogged down the hallway. "Thank you Annabeth, but I'm fine. Do you need help with anything?"

"That's alright. I've got it."

I followed her for a few minutes as she ran around, shoving clothes into the washer and dumping toiletries off in her bathroom and throwing Percy the Panda onto her bed and hanging her backpack up. After all the hassle was over, we went to the kitchen. It was small and cozy, and on the fridge hung a note written on a yellow sheet of legal paper. It read:

Annabeth:

If you get back before we're home help yourself to leftover chicken in the fridge. We expect to be home around five. If you need anything, you know the number to call us on. Hope you had a fun time!

"…You sure you don't want any food?" Annabeth asked again.

"Seriously, Annabeth, I'm fine." With my hands on her shoulders, I drew her closer until our faces were mere inches apart. "Stop for a second. Breathe. You're going a million miles an hour."

"I'm not—"

"Yes, you are. Just calm down, okay? There's no rush." As a joke, I reached down and poked her in the ribs.

To my surprise, Annabeth flinched away and let out a sound that sounded like a strangled laugh.

Things went through my head very fast. I hadn't really paid attention to her ticklish-ness before because she would have killed me. If I tried tickling her now, I might possibly get seriously injured, but I figured she'd loosened up a lot around me that week. I chanced it.

Annabeth saw the flash of mischief in my eyes a second before I could do anything. She tried scrambling away from me.

"DON'T YOU DARE, PERCY."

I managed to catch her around the waist.

Never before had I heard the sound Annabeth made just then, a joyous shriek of laughter I'd never expected to hear coming from her mouth.

It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever heard, and only encouraged me more.

"Let go of me!" Annabeth squealed, trying to wriggle from my arms.

She managed to squirm free and dash from the kitchen, laughing. No matter how completely out of character that was for her, there was no way I was going to let the moment pass.

I ran after her.

We sprinted out of the kitchen and down the hallways and into the living room, laughing like lunatics. Annabeth lunged dove over the back of the couch and I pursued her, snatching my hands at her and saying stupid things like, "I'm going to get you!"

Every time I manage to almost grab hold of her, she'd do that cute little laugh-scream and slap my hands away to bide herself enough time to make another escape.

She's run, I'd run after her, halfway up the stairs, over the rail, around the living room again, down the hallway and back. The only mistake she made was trying to escape me by dodging into her room, where I had her cornered. The split-second of realization and terror on Annabeth's part was all the time I needed to wrap my arms around her waist from behind and hoist her into the air.

Annabeth kicked and laughed and tried twisting away, but the farthest she got was to tumble us onto her bed, which didn't seem to work out to her advantage. It seemed almost cruelly ironic.

I had Annabeth pinned down to the blankets with my body, elbows propped up on either side of her, legs kind of tangled together, and was smirking down triumphantly at her.

We were panting and grinning and on a crazy sort of high that I couldn't come close to describing.

"Well," Annabeth said from underneath me, every of her rising and falling breaths moving my own chest. "You caught me. Now what are you going to do?"

I knew what she was insinuating, but I didn't react immediately. Elation from everything filled my head and seemed to blind me momentarily, and when I looked back down at Annabeth, I didn't see just Annabeth.

I saw my whole world, I saw beauty and strength and adoration so raw and powerful it soaked my bones, lifted my heart, and seeped into my lungs and eyes and head.

I didn't just "love" Annabeth, no.

I loved her as a best friend, a partner, I loved to hold her in my arms and I loved her smile and her laugh and her scowl and her hair in the morning. I loved the feel of her skin and the sound of her incredulous snorting and the scent of her lemon shampoo.

I loved Annabeth Chase with every fiber in my being, with a burning fire and a blanket of warmth. I loved her with so much loyalty and affection, I loved her and wanted her so badly it was a physical ache, but I couldn't. I couldn't give her that today. The fear of losing all my other feelings for her was veracious and painful.

I couldn't chance it, I just couldn't.

It was terribly hard, but I made myself roll off of Annabeth and get up. I couldn't bring myself to look back at her expression, so my feet carried me over to the window.

Stupid Percy, ruining another wonderful moment.

Of course, Annabeth got up and walked over to stand next to me. For a few seconds, we stood there silently before words forced their way out of my mouth.

"Are you ever…scared that we'll get so caught up in this…love thing that we'll stop being best friends?" I asked, glancing over at her with furrowed brows.

To my surprise, Annabeth smiled sarcastically and bumped her shoulder into mine. "Not at all. One of the reasons I love you is because you're my best friend. I don't think we have anything to worry about, Perce."

That was a nice way of putting it.

"Hey, Annabeth?"

"Hm?"

This was going to sound really ridiculous and lame, but here goes nothing.

"Do you think that…Do you think that for maybe just an hour or two we can forget everything else?"

One of her eyebrows rose.

"Like…" I licked my dry lips. "…Like our parents and our demigod responsibilities and our age and reputations at camp."

That sounded lame, as did just about everything else I ever said, but Annabeth didn't make fun of me. On the contrary, she looked contemplative, with her eyes narrowed slightly and her mouth pursed into a small smile and her gaze boring almost unsettlingly into mine.

Finally, she made up her mind and snorted. "If you haven't noticed, I've been doing that this entire week," she said with amusement, straightening up and tilting her head at me. "You haven't been?"

I felt a little deflated and embarrassed. "Uh… Well, yeah I guess I have been, but…"

Annabeth laughed and grabbed the front of my shirt with a hand. "Come on, Seaweed Brain." She practically dragged me over to her bed and we stretched out backwards, side-by-side on it. Our legs were propped all the way up on the wall, our hips on the pillows and hands linked.

Neither of us really said anything at first. I could feel courage building up inside of me as I watched Annabeth. She was staring blankly up at the ceiling, tongue caught between her teeth, completely out of it.

Gods almighty, she was amazing.

Carefully, I leaned over and pressed my lips against the soft skin of her neck, right below her jaw.

A little puff of air like a laugh escaped Annabeth's nose and turned her head to look over at me, that little smile on her mouth and that little twinkle in her silver eyes. "You're an idiot."

"Why am I an idiot this time?" I asked, grinning.

Annabeth kissed me. Against my lips she laughed and said, "You're too afraid to sleep with me, but you have to be so damn sexy all the time."

Whoa. That was not what I was expecting.

Blood rushed into my cheeks and I blinked at Annabeth, startled.

She just lifted her head and laughed again, crinkling up her nose. "Gods, Perce. You're such an idiot." When I didn't have anything to say to that, Annabeth sat up and switched positions, propping herself up halfway up on the pillows. Her knees were right next to my eyes. Sure, they were great knees, but I still adjusted my own position where I was sitting cross-legged on the other side of the bed so I could actually see her face.

Annabeth was looking at me with some strange expression, but it wasn't a bad one. Her lips were turned up in a sweet, almost sneaky smile, and her eyes were narrowed in thought, but an eyebrow was raised.

Since I wasn't sure if she had something to say, I stayed silent, matching her gaze with me own, hopefully steady one.

After a few minutes, Annabeth grinned and shook her head. "Come over here, would you?"

Curiously, I scooted closer until she could have put her feet on my lap if she wanted.

"No, closer."

After studying her face briefly, I scooted closer still until I was sitting next to her, but she shook her head even so.

"Little closer," she said, and propped herself up better.

Bundling up some more daring, I took a wild guess and stretched myself halfway on top of her, elbows propped up on either side of her ribs, chest-to-chest. Our faces were mere inches apart, and Annabeth had this grin on.

"How's this for close, Miss Chase?"

Her grin widened. "Just about right, but…"

I couldn't stand it. Annabeth's grin and blond curls and sparkling eyes won me over, as they always did. I ended up kissing her again, but that time neither of us pulled away. My fingers tangled in her hair and I held onto her tightly, though the fear of crushing her underneath my weight held me back a little.

Every now and again Annabeth would laugh against my mouth. Her thumbs were hooked into my belt loops, pulling me against her. Where all the restraint on my part came from was beyond me, because with every passing second we kissed I wanted her more and more. It was a physical pain.

It was when Annabeth pulled away from me long enough to curl her fingers around the bottom edge of my shirt and tug it up over my head, my heart really went into overdrive, slamming itself against my ribcage. My head was pretty much screaming but every other part of me told it to shut up.

When Annabeth saw me freaking out, she laughed and put her lips near my ear. "Just go with it, Perce."

…Okay. Whatever you say.

She kissed me again, but I was still nervous. No doubt she could feel me tense against her, but I couldn't help it. She can't expect me to act normal when she started taking my freaking clothes off. Any other boy in the world would have been eager, but to be honest, the thought really scared the pants off me (no pun intended).

I'd never before wanted something so badly, but it killed me. I wanted it but I didn't, but I really, really did. No harm in it. Nothing wrong.

Annabeth.

Her hands slid against my chest, running across the lines and curves of the muscles Camp Half-Blood gave me. It sent shivers all the way up through my spine, but it acted like drugs, turning my brain to standby mode. The button of Annabeth's denim shorts was cold on my lower stomach, and I couldn't help but take my hand briefly from her hair to press my thumb against it. By then my brain had shut off the rest of the way, and I was hardly aware of what I was doing.

A moment after—or hours after, I wasn't sure—we both heard a noise that sounded like the world ending:

A car pulling into the driveway.

Annabeth heard it a spilt-second before I did, which explained why she suddenly yanked away, eyes wide and mouth open. There was a small dark-pink line on her bottom lip, which caught my eye, but her expression forced me out of my trance.

"Uh-oh…" she breathed, and then flicked her stare up to mine.

Then we were in a panic.

I rolled off of her and nearly crashed to the floor in a frantic hunt for my shirt.

Annabeth was stumbling off the bed, pulling her shirt down over her stomach and buttoning her jeans (did I do that?). Her hair was beyond messy, tangled all around her face, and she was bright red. Blankets that used to be on the bed were mostly not, and all but one of the pillows were on the floor.

Gods, how were we going to fix this? The proof was too much.

"Quick, Percy," Annabeth rushed over to her desk, grabbed a handful of papers and pencils, and rushed over to me. She shoved it all in my arms. "Make the bed and then pretend to be doing something with these." Then she promptly sprinted into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Curse Annabeth and her brilliant plans.

I wished she'd given me an easier task. I was an expert at making messes and being stupid and killing things with swords, but making a bed? She'd chosen one of the things I was worst at. However, I did the best I could in the shortest amount of time I could, and then swiftly plopped onto the floor and pretended to become immersed in the papers she'd handed to me.

From in the bathroom I heard a lot of hasty shuffling and swearing in ancient Greek.

The sound of the front door open could be heard from inside the room, and sounds of rowdy twin boys suddenly burst into the house. Bobby and Matthew, Annabeth's stepbrothers could be heard yelling back and forth, running with loud feet in the door, followed by the words of warning from their mother.

"No running in the house!" Mrs. Stepmother said sternly, "And take your shoes off at the door!"

There was a sound of rustling plastic bags and a sigh.

"Fredrick, did you get the eggs?" Mrs. Stepmother asked Annabeth's dad, and a short reply by him said that he did.

Annabeth got out of the bathroom at that time, looking frazzled and rushed, but much more presentable than before. Her hair was combed down and her face wasn't as red and her clothes were straightened and properly done up.

She laid down on her stomach next to me, in less of a hurry, and grabbed some of the papers with a pencil to pretend to be doing something as well. I couldn't help but stare at her as she was "concentrating." I could still taste the sweetness of her lips and feel the curves of her body against mine. The feeling was still fresh inside of me. I really didn't want her family back.

Annabeth looked up from the papers, saw me staring at her, and for some reason she just completely cracked up. Of course, it made me start laughing as well, which was odd because I didn't know why we were laughing, but it was difficult to stop. Annabeth covered her face with her hands as she laughed, shoulders shaking.

From in the living room, we could hear Professor Chase: "Hey, I'm going to check on Annabeth, okay? Make sure the boys don't get those dirty."

There were footsteps leading all the way up to Annabeth's room and a knock.

"Annabeth?" Professor Chase opened the door and popped his head in.

It was difficult controlling our hysterics, but seeing as how no one really knew I was going to be there, we had to stand up and explain ourselves.

When Annabeth's dad noticed me, he gave a start and raised his eyebrows. "Percy! I wasn't expecting to see you here," he said, giving Annabeth a very pointed look.

Of course, Annabeth had it under control.

She gathered up the papers and set them back on the des. "Hi, Dad. I was hoping Percy could stay for dinner tonight, but I couldn't call ahead of time to ask. Is that alright with you?"

Professor Chase blinked. "…Well, I suppose. I can drop him back off home if Sally isn't coming this way again. Have you been here long?"

"Not really."

"Oh." He paused for a second and then shook his head as if to clear cobwebs. A smile appeared on his face and I could see where Annabeth got that little dimple on her chin. "Well, did you two have fun? How was your week? Wait—don't tell me about it until dinner. I want to have a chance to unwind."

We followed him, and as Annabeth passed to go out the door, she shot me an adorable, sneaky grin that made me want to drag her back into the room and lock the door after us. Before we got into too much of the spotlight, she stretched up and as we were walking, into my ear she whispered, "Christmas break."

Everyone was surprised when I walked into the living room. Annabeth's little brothers, Matthew and Bobby, launched themselves at me the second they spotted me and began pulling on my sleeves and jumping up and down asking me if I wanted to play cars with them and if I've ever eaten squid and if we saw sharks and if I'd kissed Annabeth and things like that.

"Go help your mother with dinner and stop pestering Percy so much, you two," said Professor Chase, shooing them away towards the kitchen, but they were excited.

"I'll bet they saw sharks," said one of the twins to the other (I was never good at distinguishing either of them). "Great big ones that nearly bit their legs off."

The other twin agreed enthusiastically. "And sand spiders that were five feet long and chased them around the beach! Remember that movie, Bobby?"

Bobby made explosion noises and began chasing Matthew around, waving his arms and making monster sounds.

As they disappeared down the hallway, Annabeth looked over at me with a disturbed face on. "I'm glad we didn't run into any five-foot-long sand spiders."

Though I agreed, there was no time to say anything because at that moment, her stepmother came in from the kitchen. She had her shiny black hair pulled back into a bun and was holding a pan in one hand.

"It's good to have you back, Annabeth! Did you have a good time?" She briefly hugged Annabeth, but it was obviously uncomfortable for both of them.

"It was great," Annabeth said awkwardly, and pulled away.

Professor Chase, despite the visibly painful embrace, chuckled as Annabeth and I sat down on one of the couches. "And you, Percy? Was it worth putting up with her attitude for an entire week?"

When Annabeth scowled, I couldn't help but laugh and kiss the side of her head. "Almost."

"Almost?" Annabeth shoved my shoulder and crossed her arms, though amusement twinkled in her eyes. "It was harder putting up with your insolent attitude all week, Mr. You're-Cute-Enough-to-Rape."

I cracked up, but her parents didn't find it quite that funny. They exchanged raised-eyebrow looks and it was awkward until Ms. Stepmom cleared her throat.

"I'm going to see if the water's done boiling," she said, and straightened up. "I'm glad to hear you two had a good time. You like spaghetti, don't you, Percy?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said, propping my legs up on the other side of the couch, which was, unfortunately, right across Annabeth's lap. I ignored her as she tried pushing them off.

A few seconds passed after everyone else had left the living room, and after they did, I rolled my eyes over to Annabeth. "You just had to bring up the rape comment, didn't you? Trying to make all three of your parents hate me, is that it?"

She glared at me, but it was more out of annoyance than actual anger. "Athena doesn't hate you that much, and technically Jia isn't really my parent. They probably thought I was just messing around."

"Hilarious," I said. "Annabeth Chase having a sense of humor. That's a good one."

She glared even harder, especially when I laughed. "You're just begging to get hit, aren't you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

She punched my arm.

I kissed her cheek.

Though it was an unfair exchange of feelings, both of us were satisfied at the end.

When dinner was ready, everyone gathered around the big kitchen table. Bobby and Matthew were still in the middle of their game, which had transformed from giant sand spiders to dinosaurs, and they'd taken their dinosaur claws to the table.

"Raptors don't like garlic bread," snarled Bobby, pretending to eat his brother's arm off.

"You two need to calm down," scolded Ms. Stepmom (Annabeth said her name was Jia?). She dished out heaping piles of spaghetti onto plates, topped them with sliced garlic bread and passed them out, along with plates of salad.

"So," Professor Chase cleared his throat after we'd all got situated. He looked at Annabeth and twirled spaghetti on his fork. "Tell us about your week. No five-foot long sand spiders?"

Annabeth shivered visibly. "No, thank the gods. No, we had…we had fun." Her expression grew vague and still, and I knew what she as thinking of, but she snapped out of it fast. "Lots of swimming and beachcombing and pizza."

"And a boardwalk fair a few miles from the cabin," I remembered, taking a bite. "I actually convinced her t—"

Annabeth smacked the side of my head.

"…Convinced her to what?" asked one of the twins after a pause.

"To enter a chili-cheese-dog-eating contest," Annabeth fibbed, covering up for what I was going to say. That was alright; I'd have the picture for proof soon enough.

I leaned over to Matthew and in a fake whisper, said, "She was farting on the couch all night long."

Both boys burst out laughing, but Ms. Stepmom, Professor Chase and Annabeth were all three giving me the strangest of looks.

"That doesn't even amount to your drooling," Annabeth said finally, grabbing her glass of water. "I'm pretty sure you stained a pillowcase with all that saliva."

"Says the girl that sleeps with a stuffed panda."

"That you won after spending fifteen dollars on just about the easiest game there."

"At least I didn't steal your underwear and wear them around the house!"

"You didn't even comb your hair the entire time."

"I found you standing on the toilet seat screaming at a spider."

"Don't you dare bring that nasty hairy thing up, Perseus Jackson," Annabeth smacked her hand down on the table and pointed accusatively at me, "when you can't even crack an egg without managing to get it on the opposite wall."

"It was the same wall, thank you very much."

"Same difference! Y—"

"Okay, you two." Professor Chase cleared his throat. "Seems like you had quite the time. Let's just leave it at that, alright?"

We grudgingly agreed and stopped arguing, but kicked one another's shins under the table.

Ooooooooooo

Dinner was over and it was getting dark out, and both of the boys had gone off to bed. Annabeth and I were both sprawled on one of the couches, letting the meal digest for a bit before I had to leave. Honestly, it was less of letting things digest more of reluctance to leave.

Annabeth had stretched out, resting her head on my lap and pretending to be asleep. Her blond ringlets spilled over my legs and I couldn't help but twist them around my fingers absentmindedly.

From the silence of the house, Professor Chase entered the living room, scratching his blond-and-grey-streaked hair.

"It's getting late, you two," he said to us, causing Annabeth's eyes to open slowly. "If we're to get to Manhattan before midnight we're going to want to leave now."

"Aww…" groaned Annabeth, reaching her arms out in front of her and stretching like a cat. Her back arched and a little strip of skin appeared between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her pants.

Of course, I hated the thought of leaving, too, but there wasn't much of a choice. I stood and offered her my hand. "Come on. If I get back after midnight my mom would worry. She might not let us do anything like this again."

"She'd better." Annabeth said that more like a warning, and leaned briefly against my chest. "Who would I make fun of?"

"Don't worry." I patted her reassuringly. "There's always Iris-Messaging."

We got our shoes on and got into the back seats of Professor Chase's new Volkswagen. The sky by that time was a shade of dark, milky blue, stained with the glow from the city. The color made me even more tired than I already was—after a big meal and being so late in the night—but I didn't want to fall asleep on the drive back home. I wanted to stay awake for the precious little time I had left with Annabeth.

When in the van, she scooted, and buckled herself in right next to me. She wound our fingers together and rested her head on my shoulder.

Things were silent as the scenery passed around us.

"I kind of don't want you to leave…" Annabeth admitted after a long while, glancing up at me. A strand of blond hair tickled my ear. Her voice was unusually soft and gentle. "After a week like that, I'm going to be lonely…"

In response, I pressed my lips against her temple and squeezed her hand once. "Don't worry. We'll see each other plenty. Weekends, breaks."

"Christmas break." She looked up at me again and her eyes twinkled. "Promise."

"Of course we'll see each other. Don't be ridiculous." I kissed her forehead again, but she turned her head in a stubborn gesture.

"No, I mean, like, stay at my place during Christmas break. Like, your mom let me stay with you guys for a week during the summer. Maybe you can stay a week during winter break. Our families could have a joint Christmas celebration on the 25th or something."

"…Okay, Annabeth."

"And maybe we'll get some time to ourselves that we didn't get today."

I knew what she was hinting at, of course. I just rolled my eyes at her. "Okay, Annabeth."

The rest of the ride was quiet. None of us said anything up until Professor Chase had parked his Volkswagen in front of my place.

"Well, thank you for joining us for dinner, Percy," he said, putting his arm around the seat and turning back to look at me. "And thank Sally from us for letting Annabeth go to Montauk with you."

"I will. Thank you, Professor Chase." I shook his hand and got out.

Annabeth got out right behind me. "I'll walk you to your door," she said, and took my hand.

She did indeed walk me to the front door, but did not let go right away.

We stood in quiet for a minute, and then Annabeth wrapped her arms around me. I returned the hug tightly, winding myself around her and burying my face in her sweet blond curls.

"I'm holding you to Christmas break, okay?" I said, jokingly tugging on a strand of hair.

"Okay." Annabeth laughed and drew away, but kept her hands on my torso. "Hey, I owe you for this week. I had an amazing time."

"I think we both needed a little break." I leaned in and kissed her, just a little peck on the mouth. "Thanks for putting up with me."

"Well, thanks for inviting me." There was a moment of indecisive silence until she took a few steps back. "Say hi to Sally and Paul for me, okay?"

"…I will."

Annabeth turned around, but before she could leave I grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her into me again, catching her and kissing her again, putting what feeling I could into it. All the love and adoration I felt towards her. The moment melted my brain.

After a few seconds, I broke the kiss and put my lips up to her ear instead. "Hey, Annabeth…"

"Hm?" She was smiling.

"…I…I love you. You know that?"

Annabeth laughed. "Of course Seaweed Brain. I know that." She straightened up and flicked my chest. "I love you, too. Always. I'll see you later, okay?"

"…Sweet dreams."

I watched her blond ringlets bounce as she walked down the stairs and left me standing in front of the door.

My heart felt swollen, filling my chest all the way up to my ears and burst from my eyes in momentary blindness. I'd just had the most amazing week of my entire life, and there was only one thing I was completely sure of in my life:

I was in love with Annabeth Chase, and that was going to last for the rest of my life. I didn't know where it'll take me, but whatever road I'm going to be traveling I want to travel it with her.

Christmas Break couldn't come soon enough.

oOo

I guess this is it! Thank you to EVERYONE who's read and/or reviewed, and thanks to Rick Riordan for making such an amazing series. Except more Percabeth stories from me, especially since I'm writing a little sequel to this about their Christmas Break!

If any of you were disappointed that nothing actually happened in Annabeth's room, don't you worry. I'll have the sequel out shortly and you won't be disappointed.

Well, have a marvelous…week? I don't know. Have a marvelous life, and I hope to see you all very shortly!

SoggyBug, signing out.