Dedicated to Starly910 who gave me the idea and requested it. Hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HOO. Rick owns it all.
oooOOOooo
"Percy you really don't have to do this."
He grinned at Annabeth, smiling as he shut her car side door. "Of course I do. I only got to see you for a week this time, I want tonight to be special."
She rolled her eyes at him but smiled to herself all the same, oddly touched at his words. It was true, Percy was spending Spring Break with her family here in San Fran, but that didn't mean he had to take her out on a date night. Really, eating cookies while watching a movie (most likely the Avengers, again) and snuggling would be fine. A great way to end their time together.
"So," Annabeth asked, curiosity and slight nervousness entering her voice. "Where are we going? You never said."
His devilish smirk adorned his face when he glanced at her as he put the car into drive and wove goodbye to her dad who was watching them from the door. Annabeth distractedly waved as well and saw her dad step back, closing the door.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
She resisted the urge to groan. She was trying this thing where she let Percy be in charge for a change. And lately it had been nice, actually, a chance to relax.
"But what if I didn't dress right?"
"Shut up," he admonished her gently, teasing. "You look fine. Gorgeous, actually."
"You have to say that," Annabeth replied, not at all moved by his words. "Seriously, is this too casual?"
Tight, dark, high-waisted skinny jeans, a white and black polka dotted tank top that had spaghetti straps and ruffles in the middle. Her hair was down, unusual for her, and she had on fake gold drop earrings with completely fake shiny diamonds in the middle of the golden teardrop. Her makeup was minimal, mascara, a bit of eyeliner on her upper lid, some pink lipgloss and that was it.
He rolled his eyes at her, dropping one hand to catch hers and hold it, sending tingles through her. "You're perfect," he said. "I would have made you change if you weren't. You have a sweater though, right?"
She nodded. In fact she had brought her white shawl but they were practically the same thing. No need to focus on details.
Because she wasn't in control here. She was sitting back, letting Percy take the reins.
Oh gods, they were going to die.
No, she told herself firmly. Everything would be fine. Completely fine. Percy had this handled, he wasn't completely incompetent. He had this covered, Annabeth should stop worrying.
And she was right.
When they got to the docks/restaraunt of the local lake Annabeth gasped. This place was expensive, she knew that. Fancy, beautiful and Annabeth's favourite restaraunt in the world, but expensive.
Too expensive.
"Percy," she muttered before they got out of the car. "I can't- we can't- the price-"
"Wise girl," Percy said quietly as he opened her door for her. "I got this."
And staring into his earnest green eyes, she believed him. She smiled and let him take her hand, guiding her towards the reception area.
"We have a reservation," Percy spoke before the waitress at the stand even opened her mouth. As he took care of everything Annabeth looked around, once again taking in the splendor of this place.
The floor was wooden, as this diner was built on a dock. Lanterns hung on strings in a square shape, surrounding all the tables, and there were a couple of candles to be found on every table, depending how big the seating for the table was. The lanterns split into a walkway above them beside the reception desk, as if they were a guide to where you were supposed to go. The outdoor restaraunt had an amazing view of the water and the night sky. The roof also had lanterns hanging from it and beside the seating area was the kitchen- it had walls and the sound was surprisingly muffled from it. Sometimes you could almost forget there was a kitchen.
"Right this way, miss," the waitress stepped out from behind the counter and picked up a couple of menu's for the two of them. Annabeth saw other people waiting for a table shoot them jealous looks but she looked away quickly, slipping her hand into Percy's.
Maybe they should have let their boyfriend's take charge. Maybe he would have gotten them a reservation.
She grinned. Too bad for them. Or maybe they just didn't have as amazing as a byfriend as she did.
"Percy," she whispered to him as they passed other tables on their way to the one set out for them. "You are absolutely fantastic."
He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist as they walked, pulling her to his side. "I know," he whispered in her ear.
She laughed and playfully pushed him, going to sit in her chair. Percy followed, dutifully pushing it in for her, before moving to sit at his own.
"You got the best table here!" She exclaimed to him. "Seaweed Brain, you've gone all out."
He looked beside them to the lake. They were on the edge of the seating places, the low railing all that separated them from the lake itself. "I figured it was a good precaution," he said. "In case there's any monsters around, I have a weapon right beside me at my disposal."
Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him.
"Or, you know, some might say it was a coincidence."
She grinned and reached across the table to hold his hand. "Gods, I'm in love with you."
"Well I should hope so," he muttered, meeting her eyes. "I would hate to think this was all for nothing."
She squeezed his hand, feeling tingles go up her arm. "So," she said in a lighter tone, changing the subject, "what are we having?"
oooOOOooo
"Are you serious?" She hissed at him once their waitress, a red head named Trudy who was obviously trying to flirt with Percy, left from taking their orders. "You're having mac'n'cheese?"
"Hey!" He defended. "I'll have you know macaroni and cheese is the food of the gods!"
Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him again. "Sure, if the gods were five year olds."
He pouted at her. "It is! That is the most delicious dish you will ever encounter in your life! It's the food of the gods, I'm telling you."
She rolled her eyes and squeezed his hand. "Seaweed Brain," she said slowly. "The gods eat ambrosia."
"Yeah," Percy said as if she were stupid. "But what do you think they taste when they have it?"
"Umm, I'm thinking - and this is a wild stab in the dark here- ambrosia."
"Wrong!" Percy said triumphantly. "It's macaroni."
She decided to let it go. This was one argument it appeared she would not be winning. "Seaweed Brain," she murmured softly. "I could have made that for us tonight. We didn't have to come all the way out here just-"
"No, no," he stopped her. "This is my last night here with you," he said quietly. "I want to enjoy it, I want it to be memorable."
"But we'll see each other again soon-"
"Wise girl," he cut her off. "Just enjoy it. You said you'd let me handle things this week. This is how it's going to go. Besides we're here already, I've ordered my delicious food, you've ordered your... fish," he wrinkled his nose at her but otherwise didn't comment, "just enjoy it."
"You're right." She sighed after a moment. "I'll just sit back and-"
"Annabeth?" An incredulous voice interrupted them.
Her eyes widened at the sound. Oh gods, please no...
She turned her head and her hopes plummeted, crashed and burned. She should have known the gods- or the fates- were never so merciful.
"Tina," she greeted the girl who had just been seated across from them. Brown bobbed hair, blue eyes, pale skin, curvy figure... Tina was the most popular girl at Annabeth's school- not to mention her worst nightmare.
"Wow, what a coincidence," Tina said dramatically, looking across the table to her new boyfriend Mark. Blonde, muscly and new captain of the football team. Typical. "Isn't it a coincidence, Mark?" She didn't wait for his answer, turning to look back at Annabath and survey Percy with obvious interest. When she was done she looked back to the curly blonde. "I didn't know you came to places like this!"
Annabeth grit her teeth. "Oh, you know," she said, tone colder than before. "Special occasion."
"Actually," Percy broke in. "Annabeth comes here quite a bit. I'm surprised you haven't seen her around." He shrugged, playing nonchalant. "Then again, maybe you don't come as often."
"Oh," Tina said curiously, stunned for a second. She looked him over again before turning to Annabeth, a fake grin plastered on her face. "Who's this Annabeth? He can't possibly be your boyfriend!" She aimed a wink at Percy, to which he grimaced quite obviously.
"This," she answered Tina,"is Percy. And in fact he is-"
"Tina!" Multiple girl's voices squealed at once.
Annabeth held back a groan, shooting a look at Percy. Could this night get any worse? Why had he brought her here?
"Tawny! Jackie! Heather! Lauren!" Tina squealed back. "Oh and look, there's Chris, Tony and Jake too!"
"Who're they?" Percy leaned over to whisper to Annabeth.
She sighed. "The rest of the idiot squad. Well, except Jackie. She's nice."
Tawny, a curly haired blonde with pale skin, lithe frame and big blue eyes pulled up a chair to Mark and Tina's table. Jackie, a black haired, brown eyed, tan girl who was curvy but not overly so, followed suit. Heather, a natural red head who was the athlete of the group, skinny to the bone, and freckled all over sat on Tony's lap. He was her boyfriend. He was different from the rest, not a jock or prom queen he was most definitely a geek. Glasses, pale skin, curly brown hair, he was adorable and despite who she was, Annabeth was glad he had found a girlfriend. Besides, Heather wasn't that bad around him. He helped keep her more real in a way.
Then there was Lauren.
Lauren's hair reached her shoulders, the colour was a tone in between red, blonde and brown. She was pale, skinny but curvy, small and fragile looking- but Annabeth knew that she was tough as nails. Lauren could be called the ring leader of their little group of five. She was the one everyone wanted to be best friends with. She whispered into everyone's ears, spreading rumours or- well actually, she mostly told the truth about other people. But most would keep quiet about the bad secrets. Instead, when you crossed her, Lauren told everyone and ruined your social life for a time, at least until she decided you were forgiven. And for some reason everybody told her everything. She appeared trustworthy but just wasn't. She had dated almost no guys, all of them too scared or intimidated to approach her and ask, but it was just a given fact that they all wanted to.
Right now Lauren was dating Jake but it was obvious she wasn't into him.
Jake followed Lauren like a trained puppy. Doing whatever she asked whenever she wanted. So did the rest of them but Jake was the worst. Sandy haired with deep chocolate eyes, he was smart and funny but never independant.
Then there was Chris.
He was just a perv. Dark hair, soft voice, hazel eyes.
"Tina," Lauren's voice, slightly cold and condescending. "With Mark. How... nice."
Annabeth hated her.
"And Annabeth!" Lauren glanced at her for barely a second before turning to look at Percy and grinning. "And a boy too, mmm. What's your name, hon?"
Annabeth kicked her boyfriend under the table. If Percy fell for any of this girl's bull she wouldn't kiss him for the entire night.
"Percy," He replied in his normal tone, causing Annabeth to look over at him. She had never seen a guy withstand Lauren's charm- especially when she called them hon.
"Percy," Lauren repeated.
"You're cute!" Tawny exclaimed, interrupting. "Good catch Annabeth!"
Annabeth looked over at her in surprise. Tawny hated her. Why was she suddenly acting like they were best friends? In fact, Annabeth realized, all of the girls except Lauren were looking at Annabeth with frank interest.
"Hey Annabeth," Jackie said quietly.
She nodded, sending the girl a small smile. "Hey Jacks."
"I'm Jackie," the girl said, turning to Percy. "You must be Percy. Annabeth's told me a lot about you, it's good to finally meet you."
"Oh yeah?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows at Annabeth. "All good things I hope."
"You wish," she teased back.
"Well, it's good to meet you too Jackie." He replied, turning back to Annabeth's friend.
"Are you kidding?" Chris's voice interrupted them. "Is this guy your date or something?"
When Annabeth looked up she saw he had been speaking to her. Or, more accurately, her breasts. "Of course he is," Annabeth told him.
Chris looked back and forth between them, spotting their entwined hands across the table. "Well Percy," he sneered, turning to look at her boyfriend. "You should know, Annabeth and I... we have something."
Percy looked up, his eyes flashing slightly. "Do you?" He asked, tone calm.
Chris nodded, moving until he was standing next to her. Annabeth resisted the urge to gag. She saw the rest of them were just watching, waiting to see what would happen.
She hid her smile. Chris was usually able to scare any guy off; but he hadn't met Percy yet. Percy had handled monsters, gods, titans, giants and Tartarus. He would be fine.
"Yeah, see Annabeth and I have a special connection."
"Chris-"
"Shhh, baby, there's no need to deny it," he said to her, smiling like a snake. Annabeth was disgusted, her skin was crawling. "In fact, it's pretty serious, so maybe you should just leave-"
Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked pleadingly at her boyfriend. Usually she would handle Chris herself but she just wasn't in the mood tonight. Besides, Percy looked like he would enjoy it.
"How about you leave her alone?" Percy asked, but it didn't come out as a question.
Chris snorted. "Right, like you could-"
Percy stood up, their height being about even, Percy an inch or two taller.
"Whatever. She's still my girl." Chris turned to look at her, wiggling his eyebrows. "Or at least we all know she wants to be."
"But Annabeth's here with me tonight," Percy responded, tone dangerously close to an angry growl. "And you seem to be alone. So who do you think she prefers? Who's the one who should leave?"
"You wanna go, you little prick-" Chris said, turning angry, clenching his fists and taking a step towards Percy.
Annabeth stood up, ready to stop him, Percy stood his ground, ready to fight him Annabeth assumed, but niether of them were necessary.
Lauren took a step until she was between Percy and Chris. She placed a hand on Chris's chest. "Chris," she said quietly. "How about we all call you a cab and you go home, alright?" She grinned wickedly. "Sleep it off, get ready for some crazy stuff tomorrow? How does that sound?"
He hesitated before glancing around. None of his 'friends' would meet his eyes except Lauren. Percy glared at him but sat down and Annabeth followed suit.
"Whatever," he muttered, stepping back. "I'm leaving, you guys are boring." He turned to point at Percy, threateningly. "You better hope I don't see you anytime soon, punk."
Percy just raised his eyebrows. "Dude, I've handled worse things than you. You're practically a picnic."
"Chris," Lauren said in a quiet voice, "how about we go get that cab, huh?"
"Yeah man, catch you later." Tony said
"See you tomorrow," Tawny muttered.
Annabeth just glared and Percy snorted. "Who's that guy?" He asked her while they were all distracted.
"A creep," she answered. "He's been hitting on me for a year."
"Maybe I should-"
"Just leave it," Annabeth said tiredly. "He's usually harmless, I just ignore him. Tonight was... more extreme than usual."
"Still."
She grinned. "Jealous?" She teased.
"Annabeth," he said frowning, but not denying it. "I don't like it."
"Niether do I," she agreed, letting it go. "But Percy, it's nothing. Seriously. Usually I hardly even know he's there. They hang out together, I stay to myself. We hardly ever talk."
His eyebrows pulled together. "Do you want to leave? I don't like them. Although Lauren, Jackie and the other guys don't seem all that bad."
"Lauren is a demon from Tartarus," Annabeth muttered but shook her head. "No, you went to so much trouble arranging this for us, I don't want to just leave..."
"You sure?" Percy asked. "Last chance," he added, spotting Lauren walking back.
"Positive," she replied, leaning over to peck him on the lips. "In fact, our food looks like it's just arriving."
"One mac'n'cheese," Trudy said, delivering the plates with a flourish,"one breaded fish with a vegetable side. Enjoy," she grinned, mostly at Percy. "Tell me if you need anything, anything at all."
"Thank you," Percy murmured, obviously distracted while he stared at his food.
Annabeth cleared her throat. "Yes, thanks."
Trudy shot her a glance and nodded, walking over to the crowded table beside them. "Can I take your drink orders?"
When she was gone Lauren looked over at them. "Sorry about Chris," she apologized- probably for the first time in her life. "He's been drinking."
Ahh, Annabeth thought. Makes sense. "He's 17," she stated.
Lauren looked over at her. "So?"
Annabeth just shook her head.
"Well, anyways," Lauren said. "We'll let you enjoy your meal." She looked back at her friends. "Right guys?"
The rest nodded. "Sure," "nice seeing you," and "of course," all filled the air.
"Have a nice date," Lauren said before glancing at Annabeth. "See you at school, Annabeth."
Annabeth's mouth hung open when the girl turned away, joining in with her friends.
She turned to look at Percy who was watching her, amused. "What?"
"That was..."
"Nice?"
"I was going to ask if she was possessed by an edilion, because that was most definitely not Lauren from my school."
He shrugged. "Whatever you say," he said, spooning in a mouthful of his food.
She hesitated, glancing over to see them all laughing, before shaking her head and turning back to Percy. That was one mystery she wasn't in the mood to solve. Instead she started to eat.
Mortals were weird, she decided. But then again, she thought as she watched Percy scarf down his macaroni, eating like he had been starved for days, were demigods really any better?
oooOOOooo
Love you all! Thanks for reading!
Percyjacksonfan3