Hey(: This is my second fanfic (check out Concerning Halfbloods if you want to read my other story) and I'm planning on it being a five-shot for now. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, or any other creations of the great Rick Riordan.

Looking back, I can still remember remarkably well the shrill laughter coming from the entrance of that dreaded hotel and the blinding lights that gilded its great door in a golden glow. I can remember the unpleasant, prickly feeling of suspicion when I saw the shifty eyes of the Lotus Casino's bellhop. How I'd had a split second of indecision- to get the heck out of there or scold myself as a paranoid girl overdue for a well deserved break- and gone with the latter.

But I still can't believe I hadn't remembered the only important thing to occur in that time-trippy Vegas casino. Something had happened during those euphoric days- a result of two carefree spirits, some spontaneity, and an overdose of Red Bull. A spark was ignited between a certain son of Poseidon and I, hidden deep within the layers of amnesia I would experience after our little 'vacation' was over. I had never forgotten something so pivotal before in my life- and I'm the girl that still remembers the capitals of Finland, Hungary, and Nepal from third grade social studies! It's a wonder the memory ever resurfaced from the depths of my mind every again- but the wonder and miracle of it is that it did. And that's what this little tale of mine is all about.

June 17, 2004. Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lotus Casino.

"Die, you filthy, savage humans! Die" Grover screamed next to me, turning his little plastic gun this way and that, firing at little virtual hunters on the screen like no tomorrow.

"Grover," I said softly from behind him. He waved a hand in a shooing gesture in my general direction, engrossed in his maniacal deer-takes-over-world hunting game.

"Take that, human!" he cried again as a small box popped up reading 'New Highscore!' I sighed. How could blasting at a glass screen for three hours be so captivating? I had really enjoyed Build It, this game where you basically construct your own virtual world and all of its architecture, for a while, but now it was getting old. Surely Grover's deer-killer game was having the same effect?

"Grover!" I said again, louder this time. That stupid satyr still didn't hear me, but now was dancing around in circles singing something about high scores and hot burritos. "Oh for the love of Zeus!" I cried, "Grover!"

He jumped and released his hold on the gun's trigger. "Annabeth! Wh-where'd you come from?"

I rolled my eyes. "Grover, you've been on that game for a good three hours. Don't you want to find Percy and explore a new floor of the hotel?"

Grover frowned a little, wringing his hands nervously. "Well..." I narrowed my eyes menacingly, silently daring him to say no.

He gulped. "Well, I just cleared level twenty one...and you can't resume the game once you quit it..." He was seriously saying no! I couldn't believe it. My best friend would rather sit with a joystick and plastic gun in hand than spend time with me. Cool. Really cool, Grover. I gave him a withering look and turned on my heel.

"Have it your way, goat boy," I called over my shoulder as I ran out of the room. Where was Percy? I ran past room after room of flashing lights, electronic sound effects, and the clicking of game controllers. Past a room with a soda fountain (no really, an actual fountain), through a glass tube that cut through a swimming pool. The hotel seemed to have no end.

Finally I saw Percy lounging by the water's edge, clad in green swim trunks and, to my embarrassment, no shirt. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that I didn't like looking at his tanned abs or anything. I just had trouble not staring at them so he didn't get that idea.

I plopped down next to him, dipping my feet into the water. "Hey," I said quietly. He looked out into the distance, not even grunting in reply. "Percy," I said, really getting irritated by the silent treatment both of my friends were giving me. Still no reply. "Percy!" I snapped, poking him in the leg.

He let out a small gasp and whirled his head around in surprise. "Annabeth!"

"Good, I see you've still remembered my name, Seaweed Brain," I smirked, raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, you startled me with that intense poke of yours," he chuckled.

"You were a thousand miles away! What were you thinking about?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "My dad."

"Oh," I mumbled. Parents were an awkward subject for both of us right now. "Why, is something wrong?" I was sailing into uncharted waters now. Percy had hardly ever opened up to me, and the relationship was mutual. Probably due to the fact we could hardly get along, had parents who despised each other, and had known each other for less than a month or two. But that didn't mean I couldn't try and change things.

Finally, after a little hesitation, he mumbled, "A little."

I waited for him to elaborate, and eventually he started again.

"I-I don't think I like him," he finally spit out. I sighed. That was a typical symptom of a new demigod, I had gone through the same feeling myself a couple years ago.

"Percy, don't lie to me," I said softly. "You hate him, actually."

His jaw dropped a little and his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Once I got past the comical expression, I realized Bemused Percy was actually quite cute. Maybe I should say more say perplexing things more often?

"How did you know that?" he asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Come on Seaweed Brain, you're not the only one who's been through this before."

"Really?" he said, sounding relived.

"Really-really," I assured him. "I despised my mom all throughout my childhood for abandoning me. My dad...he-," I stopped talking. Why was I telling Percy this? I hadn't even told Chiron about my scarred past home life. There was just something about this boy, how he seemed to nod in all the right places and when to say something, or nothing at all, that made me want to open up to him. So I continued.

"My dad signed off parenting duty on day one. He was never there for me, never driving me to school on rainy days or taking the time to eat dinner at the table with me or letting me win in a game of chess or-"

I looked at Percy, wondering if he was ignoring me and my stupid rant of bad memories I'd somehow never let go of. He wasn't. In fact, the sparkle in his green eyes seemed to tell me to go on.

I couldn't believe myself. I actually continued talking. "There was this one time- I think it was second grade- and our class was having the annual spelling bee. Being dyslexic and all, words were not my strongest suit, but I wanted my dad to go anyway. You know, just to be a familiar face in that crowd of parents, someone to applaud when I stood up or- or just to show that he cared."

My mouth was dry and I felt uncomfortable, but the words kept tumbling out. "But you know what? He didn't come. And I was really upset, but I didn't want to be angry with him because he was the only important person in my life. So I blamed everything on my mother. My cowardly mother who didn't have the courage to stick around and care for me. It took a lot of time and thinking once I got claimed by Athena before I forgave her. I'm still bitter about it sometimes- and I'm not the only one. You know, Luke really struggles with it too. You're not alone."

Percy smiled a little. "Thanks, Annabeth. I guess it's going to take a while for me to start to understand his true intentions of why he left Mom and I-" Percy stopped, a choking noise coming from his throat. His mom. I felt horrible, forgetting all about the pain my friend was coping with. This was terrible! How could we be sitting here, lying lazily in by a pool in Vegas, when Percy's mom was- suddenly I felt like I had just ran into a brick wall. My mind was all a blur. What had we been talking about? I turned to Percy, but he was wearing as blank an expression as I was.

"What were we just-," he squinted hard into the sun. Struck with a random pang of irritation, I decided it didn't matter at all. Percy seemed to be concluding the same thing, because he shrugged and asked, "You want some Red Bull?"

I laughed, shaking the strange feelings off. "I've never had an energy drink before, to tell you the truth."

Percy looked incredulous. "What?" he demanded. "How do you stay awake during history class? How did you study for all those tests at two in the morning?" I snorted, and he reluctantly joined in. "Who am I kidding, I've only studied for a test once in my life."

I grabbed the can from him and popped the top. "Cheers," I said, clanking mine against his. "To a world without history lectures or late night studying!" he cried.

"Now that's something I can toast to," I laughed. Minutes lapsed into hours as we sat under the summer sun, swishing our feet back and forth through the cool water. I lost track of all time as I sat there laughing and talking with Percy as though I'd known him my whole life. The afternoon kept ticking by, but strangely enough I wasn't hungry. People came and left. A summer monsoon blew in and chased most people back indoors, but we didn't move from our spots. Once or twice, Percy made to get up and explore somewhere else, but I'd grab his hand and pull him back next to me.

"Stay," I said with a smile. And he did.

Finally, as the sun started to sink in the red sky, I started to realize it was our cue to head back up to our room and grab some dinner. Percy seemed to notice it too, and stood up a little reluctantly. After throwing his shirt over his head, he helped me up to my feet.

"Oh," I groaned, "stood up way too quickly!" He wrapped his arm around me to help me gain my balance and I blushed at the touch. In a strange way, it felt very appealing. Percy let his hand drop back to his side after a I regained my legs and turned towards me with a grin.

"You got some sun today," he said, tapping my nose lightly. I giggled slightly and inwardly winced at the girly noise. Not even Luke had called that out of me before.

"You only got tanner," I said bitterly, jealous of his flawless brown skin. I smiled at him, and gray eyes met green. All I could see were those eyes, those killer green eyes the color of a summer lagoon, and they captivated me. Subconsciously, I leaned closer and closer, to see that green sea grow larger and larger- and suddenly I was planting a kiss on his smooth, tanned cheek. The moment my lips brushed his skin, a small spark ignited in me, a little flame inside that made my stomach grow pleasantly warm. I stepped back quickly, shocked at what my lips had done, and my sunburnt cheeks grew even redder.

Percy squeezed my hand and the small flame flared a little, making my stomach swoop. "We should go," I said softly, and I quickly ran out in front of him so I could recompose my jumbled emotions. What had just happened? I needed time to figure this out, to figure him out, to figure me out. But the farther I walked away from Percy, the more I wanted to be beside him. Though little flame had died down inside, the spark still remained.

Two days later, I would walk out of the Lotus Casino and forget about that spark altogether.

Did you like it? Please review, it helps me know where the story is going and what things I need to keep or change. I'm hoping I can get the next chapter pretty soon from now, but reviews will only add to my motivation to update.

Thanks for reading!