Hi guys!

You probably forgot about this story already, since we haven't updated in so long, but here's the next chapter! This song is Speak Now (by Taylor Swift, of course), but this is only part one. We didn't want to leave you on a cliffhanger, but the whole songfic was too big to read all at once. Hope you enjoy!

~ThreeOlympianGoddesses

Intro

"Annabeth!" a familiar voice calls from somewhere within my apartment. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion. She's not supposed to be here! I quickly run out to the living room. There, sitting on my white leather couch, is my best friend, Thalia Grace.

"Thalia!" I scream, running over to her.

"Hey!" she says, standing up from the couch and hugging me.

"What're you doing here?" I ask breathlessly."You're supposed to be with the Hunters."

"I came to surprise you. I had hoped we could head to the wedding together,"Thalia explains as she looks me up and down. Right now, I'm in sweats, since it's a Sunday and my day off. My hair is a mess since I didn't bother to comb it this morning, and ratty old slippers were hastily placed on my feet. "And that, is not wedding-appropriate", she comments, pointing to my clothes.

"What wedding?" I ask slowly. And that is when I notice her outfit. It is so much different from mine. Thalia is all formal in a black dress that ends slightly below her knees. It has ruffles leading up to a gray bow placed at the waistline. Thin spaghetti straps hold the dress up. She paired the dress with zebra print Converse. The shoes are so Thalia. But I know this wedding has to be important because Thalia absolutely hates to wear dresses. Just then, a horrid thought appears in my mind. Oh no. It can't be. Could it? No, he would've told me.

Thalia frowns. "What do you mean? Didn't he tell you?" Suddenly, I don't feel so good. My suspicions are confirmed. Percy is getting married.

Thalia pulls an envelope out from the large black purse she's lugging around. She hands it to me. "You really didn't know? The invite was sent out 2 months ago!" Thalia says. I hurriedly pull out the invitation, getting a paper cut in the process. As I suck on my finger to remove the blood, I look at the piece of paper. It's green and light brown. The color of their eyes. Clever. I say to myself. There are tiny flowers and vines going up and down the sides. I have to admit, even though I hate Valerie, the girl's got good taste.

"You are invited to celebrate the wedding of Percy Jackson and Valerie Cohn," I read aloud, "The celebration will be held at blah, blah, blah, on March 2nd at five PM! That's in an hour!" I yell, and start pacing nervously.

"You better hurry up if you want to save Percy," Thalia says. I stop walking and gape at her.

"You think we can get to that venue in time, stop the wedding, escape Valerie's wrath, and get Percy back?" The way I say it makes it sound virtually impossible.

Thalia shrugs. "It's worth a shot," she says.

I sigh but run into my room. I come back minutes later in a no-straps flowy green dress that reaches my knees. Sally gave it to me last year for Christmas. As I yank on a pair of gold strappy sandals, I say, "Let's go crash a wedding."

I am not the kind of girl
Who should be rudely barging in
On a white veil occasion
But you are not the kind of boy
Who should be marrying the wrong girl

I ride on the back of Thalia's black motorcycle. It probably looked weird, because we were in dresses.

"This is it," she says. We stop right in front of a little chapel on the beach. Nice touch, Seaweed Brain, I think. Seashells line the shoreline, hinting a free giveaway. Some little toddler is running into the lapping water, and his mother is trying not to get his suit wet. Thalia parks in the middle of two white limos. I think she leaves a scratch on one of them, but if Thalia knows, she doesn't care.

"Let's do this!" she states firmly, nearly pushing me off the bike. We walk to the chapel, and after taking a deep breath, I open the doors. A few people are milling around in the entryway, waiting for the wedding to start. I don't know any of them. I follow Thalia into the main church. The priest is up on the altar, fiddling with a small black book. Even more people are scattered around. Thalia gives me a nod, and tells me, " Good luck, Annabeth." I give her a hug, and watch her head over to the right side of the chapel.

I sneak in and see your friends
And her snotty little family
All dressed in pastel

I take a deep breath again and the salty air instantly calms me. My nerves settle down enough so I can look around. The place is decorated nicely, with green and brown orchids strung on the back of the pews and white bows hung on either sides of the chapel. I see Grover with Juniper, Nico and a pretty brunette girl, Connor and a Kardasian look-alike, Travis and Katie, Clarisse and Chris, Jason and Piper, Drew and a guy cuter than Zac Efron, and Rachel...All my CHB friends. I can even spot Poseidon, Dionysus, Apollo, and Aphrodite. How could Percy not invite me? I look to my left side to see Valerie's family, probably. I expected to see a richie-rich family, but these people actually look genuine and kind. They kind of reminded me of my own family. Well, besides the matching clothes part. They're all wearing the same pastel-colored dresses for the girls and ties for the boys. It's like a sea of pink and blue.

Okay, forget everything I said about the left side. Valerie's clan may be good-looking, with dark hair, eyes, and golden tans, but they're monsters! No, not the Greek kind. Like, the if-you-don't-do-what-I-say-I'm-gonna-hurt-you kind. For example, a young girl, (Valerie's sister?), just screamed at some man (Valerie's Dad?) for getting her the wrong color dress. She apparently says its a shade lighter than everyone else's, but it looks fine to me. And every time they take a step, they have to stick their noses in the air. It's like they smelled dog manure and are trying to find the source. It's just plain weird.

And she is yelling at a bridesmaid
Somewhere back inside a room
Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry

I close the doors of the main chapel, having seen enough, and end up in the entryway. I can hear the waves crashing in the distance and it reminds me of Percy. I shake the thought out of my mind and start figuring out which way to go. Suddenly, I hear screaming. It sounds kind of like Valerie. I cock my ear to one side and decide to find out where she is. I walk down a narrow hallway and come face-to-face with a door. I crack it open a smidge and peek inside. Valerie is in the room wearing her wedding gown. I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh. Her dress is absolutely hideous. The bottom is shaped like a a plain, round bowl with a hole at the bottom to stick her legs through. The upper part is a tube top, as straight as a straw. There's tiny lace stitching at the waistline, but that's it. The dress is lightly tinted pink, which just adds to the ick factor. If Valerie thinks it makes her look pretty, she's wrong, because she just looks like a cupcake. A big, fat cupcake.

Anyway, she's surrounded by four or five girls, her bridesmaids. She's yelling and screeching at one of them. From what I can make out, the bouquets are red and white instead of solid hot pink and Valerie is blaming her for the mix-up. Just as picky as the rest of her family.

Valerie stops screaming and I hear her take a really big sigh that would knock a giant over. "Whatever. It's not like everything needs to be perfect," she says. I'm surprised. Maybe she's not like the rest of them. "I don't love him anyway", she says, surprising me once more. I gasp quietly. "In a few months, I'll claim he stole my diamond necklace and sue him. When the lawsuit is over and I win, I'll have all his money. You know the plan. We've been through this," Valerie scolds while one of her bridesmaids fixes her hair. My eyes widen. I can't believe I just heard that. Valerie's a crook! I should have known!

This is surely not
What you thought it would be
I lose myself in a daydream
Where I stand and say:

I shut the door and lean against the cream colored wall of the hallway. I wonder what Percy thinks about all this. Is this what he thought marrying Valerie would be like? A total nightmare? I try to step into Percy's shoes. What would I feel like marrying a total snob of a girl, and having to be around her snooty family? Maybe he doesn't even know. Suddenly, I find myself daydreaming of me telling Percy what Valerie is really like. It goes something like this:

I dash into the room Percy is getting ready in, breathing heavily. He's at the mirror, trying to get his tie to fold properly. He sees me in the refection and frowns.

"Annabeth?" he asks, surprised, turning around. "What are you doing?"

"Just listen," I say, and I hear someone calling Percy's name outside the closed door. "I don't have a lot of time. But here goes...

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door

Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said "speak now"

My daydream ends. I realize I've sat down while dreaming, which is a bit awkward since I'm in a dress. I push myself up with my hands and hear soft music playing. The wedding is starting. I walk back down the hallway and slip into the church unnoticed. I step over to the right side, since I do NOT want to be associated with the left side.

So, that was Part One. Tell us what you think by reviewing! Also, if you have any song requests, please tell us! Thanks.