Sorry this took so long! I had terrible writer's block. Thanks for putting up with me!

This chapter is dedicated to my best friend in the whole world, Kassidy. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING THIS STORY. You're beautiful. 3

Anyways, go on! We're all waiting for Tuesday to happen, aren't we?

Disclaimer (that I forgot chapter one): I don't own any characters from Percy Jackson or anything like that. I can't count how many times I've said that.

oOo

Tuesday couldn't come fast enough. The impatience was similar to the days leading up to the week in Montauk, but it was less time, so of course it went by slower. I packed and repacked a backpack about four times before being satisfied, only to do it all over again an hour later.

My mom and Paul accepted my jumpy, excited self gracefully and didn't say anything every time I'd go to bed at six o'clock or lock myself in my room to stare at the pictures up on my wall. I admit it was a little juvenile, but anyone could understand my excitement.

For Mom to actually let me go to my girlfriend's house for a whole week without her tagging along was something to mark in the history books.

When Tuesday morning finally came around, I woke up feeling like a zombie. My excitement had allowed me no sleep the previous night, and when I finally DID, it was restless and light. When I awoke, my mouth tasted like morning breath and my neck was stiff. Though I really wanted to bound out of bed and run down the hallway, my brain, which was still half-asleep, only let me move a few inches a minute.

I slowly sat up and blinked my sticky eyes. Tuesday. Hm. Cereal sounded nice right then. Great, I was sounding like Demeter… Yawning, I got up out of bed and shuffled out in search of a huge bowl of Fruit Loops.

On my way down the hall, I head some murmurs coming from in the living room. Mom was probably watching TV or something. Ignoring the noises, I shuffled past the living room door and made my way into the kitchen. There, I poured myself some cereal.

The clock on the stove read 10:47AM.

When I shuffled back out of the kitchen to go see what my mom was watching, I was surprised to see that the murmurs hadn't been coming from our TV set. There, sitting on the couch next to my mom, was Annabeth. They were both bent over some big book or something, chuckling quietly. I leaned against the wall next the door, eating my Fruit Loops and watching them.

"…and this is the day after his third birthday when he was trying out his new rubber duck in the bath!" Mom was saying, pointing at something in the book. "Look at his cute little bubble beard!"

Oh wait.

"Gods, Mom, are you seriously showing her pictures of me in the bathtub?"

The admonishment in my tone made both of them quickly snap their heads up to look at me. Annabeth's face split into a grin, but my mom's was less excited to see me.

"Good morning, dear," she said, turning her eyes back to the photo album. "You're welcome to join us if you go put on a shirt."

I scooped a spoonful of cereal into my mouth and, ignoring Mom's request, detached myself from the wall to go peer over their shoulders at the album. It was full of pictures of me running around without my diaper, sitting in a high-chair with food smeared all over my face, in the bath holding a giant rubber duck, and so on.

"…You were so cute," Annabeth said after a few seconds, glancing up at me. "You and your little rubber ducky…"

"We've already gone over this whole blackmail thing," I reminded her. "Don't start again. So, are you hungry? I can get you some cereal."

"I already ate, thank you." Her gaze turned back down to the photo album. "Nice shorts, by the way."

Of course, Mom immediately looked up and scolded me for the second time. "Percy, please go put on some clothes. You're in the presence of ladies."

"I didn't know she'd be coming this early."

"Glad to see you too, sweetie." The gray in Annabeth's eyes flashed in amusement. "And it's not really that early."

I kissed her cheek before sauntering off to put my bowl away and change into real clothes and maybe even brush my teeth.

Somewhere between leaving the living room and returning, the sleepy indifference of Annabeth's company turned into wild excitement once more. I realized she was here to take me back to her house to stay for a week, and I was caught practically skipping back into the living room.

Mom had disappeared, leaving Annabeth alone. She was standing, looking at the books on our bookshelf.

I snuck up behind her and put my chin on the top of her head.

"You're really bad at sneaking," she observed, turning around to face me with a roll of her eyes, "and obviously not an early bird."

"You know I'm not." A smirk spread across my lips. "I really didn't expect you here so soon. I might have had a chance to wake up before saying good morning."

"Well, you're awake now, right?"

"Of course I am, and I definitely owe you something." Really, her smile was too adorable to resist, so I put my hands on her face and kissed her. Thank goodness I remembered to brush my teeth.

When we broke away, her smile had grown, and made the corners of her silver eyes crinkle. "Good morning to you, too, Percy. You have your stuff ready for this week?"

"Have I ever not been ready? Wait—don't answer that."

Annabeth laughed and took a book off the shelf to study it. "Well, my dad should be here in about fifteen minutes. He dropped me off here and then went to do something real fast, but we both expected you to be awake. Your mom let me in."

"And she decided to show you every embarrassing baby picture ever taken of me." Thanks a lot, Mom. I'd have to get used to that, though. "So if your dad's going to be here soon, I should probably get my stuff and put some shoes on, hm?"

"Probably." After putting the book back, Annabeth stretched her arms above her head. A strip of pale skin appeared between the bottom of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans. "He doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Like father like daughter, I suppose…"

"I resent that." She pushed me by the shoulder in the direction of my room. "Go get your stuff or I'm leaving without you."

"Harsh." With a little laugh, I complied and went to go retrieve my luggage.

Within fifteen minutes, Professor Chase arrived, as promised. He shook my mom's hand (since Paul was at Goode finishing up some teacher stuff) and shook mine.

"I hope you don't mind us coming by so soon, Percy," he said. "Annabeth says you like an early start on your day."

I shot Annabeth a look—imagining all the things I could get back at her with—and laughed convincingly. "She knows me, alright. I wasn't surprised or anything."

Annabeth pinched my arm. "How about I help you take your bags down to the car?"

"I'm a guy. I only ever have one bag."

She pinched me again and flung my backpack over her shoulder. "And it's going to fly itself to the car? Come on."

Not knowing if it was exasperation or excitement that made me, I ran after her out the door.

When we got down to Professor Chase's Volkswagen, Annabeth tossed my bag in and turned around to face me again with one of those looks on.

"You know, if you wake me up before nine at all this week, I'll—"

"You'll what?" She put her hands briefly around my neck and kissed me.

I wasn't sure if I hated it or loved it when she did that.

When the kiss ended, it took a while for my brain to defog.

While heading back inside, I put an arm around Annabeth's waist. "Have you ever thought of how much you could use me? How much power you have over me?"

"Of course I realize. I don't see why I'd ever need to use that against you, though."

"…You know, in my book, waking up early on a break is against me."

"Well, if you want to sleep in until noon every day that's fine, but I was under the impression that you're coming over to spend time with me. Not my couch."

"…Does you on your couch count?"

Annabeth eyed me really hard before her face split into a wide, amused smile, but she said nothing.

Back inside, Mom—as usual—was fussing over me.

"Now, be good over there, Percy. Try not to blow anything up or get yourself killed," she told me while fixing the hood of my jacket.

"I'll try," I rolled my eyes, "but I can't guarantee anything."

Annabeth huffed and crossed her arms, shaking her head with exasperation. Then she smiled at my mom. "Don't worry, Ms.—I mean, Sally. I'll keep him in check. We'll put him to work shoveling the driveway or something."

"Good, character-building work." My mom laughed, and pulled me into a tight hug. "I'll see you next week, then, okay?"

"See you, Mom." I hugged her back tightly, and when I let go, she was looking at me with that certain motherly expression.

"Remember what I told you, dear."

"Of course. Tell Paul I said 'bye,' too."

"Have a good time, you two." She patted my cheek and shook Professor Chase's & Annabeth's hands one more time.

Annabeth's hand found mine. "We'll see you at Christmas!" She told my mom.

With that, we turned our backs on my waving mother and followed Fredrick Chase out of the door.

It was cold outside, so Annabeth and I were glad to get into the nice warm van. Snow had already hit Manhattan, and grey sludge lined the streets, piled on the high rooftops, and coated the sidewalks to make them extra slippery for the pedestrians.

When we were firmly buckled in and hit the road, Annabeth tucked her feet under herself and settled against me. "You ready to deal with my abnormally normal family during the busiest time of the year for a week, Perce?"

For some reason, images of Annabeth sitting in front of her fireplace wearing little Rudolf pajamas popped up into my mind, and it was impossible not to smile. "Bring it on."

It was a long ride to the Chase's house, but there was no boredom in the van. Annabeth busied herself with telling me about another one of her fancy-pants architecture ideas, and I busied myself with watching her facial expressions as she talked. It was…amusing, to say in the least.

When we got there, Professor Chase parked his Volkswagen and turned around in his seat briefly. "I leave to give a class at one, and Bobby and Matthew should be here around 2:30, and Jia will be back from work around three. Does that sound alright? Are you okay with having the boys for half an hour?"

What was I going to say? No, it didn't sound alright?

Annabeth and I shrugged and mumbled some affirmative and the hopped out of the van into the cold air once more. Before she could, I grabbed my backpack and got out to open the door for her. She just rolled her eyes—as usual.

Inside her house it was as warm and friendly as usual, except with a touch of Christmas added. Immediately when you walk in the door, the living room is to the left, and a massive Christmas tree was up against the wall. Lights were wrapped around it and on top was perched a traditional star. The decorations illuminated the room with color and warmth. There was still a box of ornaments and lights sitting open on the floor next to it, though.

In addition to the tree, paper chains and homemade paper snowflakes were hung on the walls and windows. There was an electric fireplace off to the right of the tree with a box of stockings next to it that had yet to be hung.

The whole place smelled of cinnamon and spices, making it taste like cookies, warming me from the inside out.

"You coming, Perce?" Annabeth glanced behind her, and I realized that I'd been standing in the doorway, soaking in the feeling of Christmastime.

I felt a smile growing on my face and I followed.

As Professor Chase got ready for his class, Annabeth was dragging me around nearly every inch of her house, showing me around (though I've been to her house a lot) and showed me how everything worked, from the washing machine to the thermostat to the shower.

"Feel free to just…make yourself at home this week," she said, gesturing around as we stood in the center of the living room. "Really. Anything you need, just…" She gestured again.

"Alright, I'm off." Professor Chase came into the living room right then, pulling on a coat and smiling at his daughter. "You'll be okay while I'm gone?"

"We'll be fine, Dad." Annabeth gave her dad an annoyed look.

"Feel free to open the hide-a-bed and get everything situated, but do me a favor and don't destroy anything. I'll be back later." After giving her an obviously unwanted and embarrassing kiss on the top of the head, the professor waved at us and left through the front door of the house.

There was a pause after Professor Chase left, in which Annabeth and I stood there silently in the living room, blinking around at the walls.

Being ADHD, I got distracted by one of the boxes sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree. I walked over to it and opened one of the flaps back to peer inside.

On the top of balled-up newspaper cushioning was a familiar picture: me and Annabeth during my fifth year of camp, sitting side-by-side on a bench. I had my arm around her shoulders and she was giving me an annoyed look. The picture was crammed into an ornament frame and had a little ribbon to hang it up on it.

Annabeth saw me pick it up, and she went over to me. "…We were going to hang the ornaments today. That's my favorite."

Just the fact that Annabeth kept a picture of us to hang on her tree every year meant everything to me. I glanced over at Annabeth and saw her face was as bright as mine felt.

"Go ahead and hang it up if you want," she said.

I hung it near the top and watched it glow against the colors of the lights.

"So the ceremonious hanging of the first Christmas ornament has taken place," I said, turning back to Annabeth. "Should we celebrate?"

If I'd been expecting a kiss or something like that, I was sorely mistaken.

Annabeth crossed her arms and looked over at the couch against the wall. "We should probably pop the hide-a-bed out. Go grab an extra set of sheets from the linin closet, will you?"

"Yes, ma'am…" I sighed and wandered back off towards the hallway where she'd showed me where the linin closet was not minutes before.

There was a feeling in the air that was so hard to place. No, not hard to place, hard to describe. It was just… The colors of the Christmas lights and the cookie-tasting warmth of the house and the flickering of the fire in the fireplace, and Annabeth, just being around her with all of the Christmas spirit so strong I could almost grasp it.

It filled up my lungs and squeezed my heart and throat and I didn't know what to do with the feeling because it was filling me up so thoroughly. It wasn't a bad thing, though. It was one of the most wonderful feelings I'd ever experienced.

When I got back into the living room, Annabeth was folding the couch throws.

Without much warning, I tossed the bedclothes onto the hide-a-bed, pulled her against me and kissed her, burying my fingers in her hair and feeling our chests pressed up against one another's.

"Percy," she laughed with surprise against my mouth and pulled away—but keeping her arms around my waist. "Really, what was that? I was trying to fold!"

The couch throw was on the floor.

"Sorry," I told her, not really meaning it. A smile was stretched onto my face and nuzzled my face briefly into her blond curls before stepping away. "You can go back to folding now. I'm good."

The look on Annabeth's face was beyond precious, all frustrated and amused and loving. She picked up the throw again and re-folded it, slinging it on the back of an armchair briefly before picking up the second throw.

I made an attempt at putting the sheet on the hide-a-bed, failed, and had a seat at the end to watch Annabeth. Her curls bounced as she moved, and she had to keep brushing them away from her face.

"We should probably get the rest of the decorations ready," she was saying, "for when the boys get home. The windows on the north wall still need lights and the ornaments and stockings need to be hung…" She glanced over at me and saw my failed attempt at making the bed. Shaking her head and grinning, Annabeth shooed me off to do it herself. "You're really something, Percy. You can slay titans but can't make a bed."

"I don't recall making beds being in the demigod job description."

"It kind of goes along with being a responsible human being, you know."

I scoffed and sauntered over to the box of ornaments to pluck one out. It was a little orange globe with a racecar on it.

"Put that back," Annabeth said, snatching it away and putting it back in the box. "We have to wait for Bobby and Matthew."

"I'm surprised your dad trusted us enough to leave us alone for an hour and a half…" After wandering back the opposite direction, I stretched out on the newly made hide-a-bed. "I really like your house. It's cozy."

"Yeah, well, my stepmom isn't here yet." Annabeth sat next to me, folding her hands on her lap and staring into the fire.

There was a long silence.

The electric fire in the fireplace continued to crackle merrily and the lights on the Christmas tree were twinkling different colors and I noticed that Annabeth was wearing reindeer socks.

She noticed me staring and rolled her eyes. "Do you want some Christmas cookies? I can get us some."

"Sure. Why not?"

My eyes followed her as she got up and left to disappear into the kitchen. This was going to be the best week ever.

As promised, Bobby and Matthew got off the bus around 2:30 and they came bounding in. Of course, they were thrilled to see me, and asked if I'd beheaded any monsters lately. When I told them I hadn't, they decided I wasn't cool enough for their immediate attention, so they busied themselves with trying to get into the Christmas decorations.

When Annabeth refused to let them do that, they sulked off. It only lasted for half an hour until Annabeth's stepmother came home. She said a polite "hello" to me and Annabeth, and drank a quick cup of tea before announcing they were going outside to put up the last of the Christmas lights.

Bobby and Matthew ran around excitedly, hastily putting on their snow gear.

While they were doing that, Annabeth turned to me. "Do you want to go out and help hang lights?"

When I'd grinned and said, "Sure," we put our shoes and coats on again, and pulled on gloves.

"The snow's pretty deep," Annabeth observed as we tromped around the side of the house. "Maybe we can make a snowman some time."

"We can give it tentacles," I suggested.

"And make it eating someone!" Matthew bounded over to us, carrying a bundle of lights in his arms. "With big, sharp pinecone teeth!"

Okay, maybe not.

Jia, Bobby and Matthew set to work on the outside of the living room windows and Annabeth and I were working on tacking a string of plastic icicle lights onto the rim of the roof. It started just a little over head-height and sloped upwards, and for a while, we worked quietly as a team.

It was when the roof got a little too high Annabeth had trouble. She stood on her tiptoes, struggling to pin the last foot of lights up.

"Here, let me get that for you," I offered, reaching up, but she slapped my hand away.

"That's okay, I've got it." She gritted her teeth and tried stretching higher.

"Really, I can—"

"I've got it," she said again, smacking me away (again).

To her obstinate tone, I took a handful of snow up in my gloves and stuffed it down the back of her jacket.

A muffled shriek burbled from her throat and she jerked away, squirming. "PERCY JACKSON," she yelled, hastily brushing the melting snow from her back and scowling at me with a deathly scowl. "You did not just put snow down my back."

"Of course n—HEY!"

She grabbed a handful of snow and tucked it in my own shirt, laughing.

Within seconds we were rolling around on the ground, trying to shove snow in each other's faces and articles of clothing.

Annabeth got me in a headlock and began stuffing yet more snow into my shirt, but I managed to flip her onto her back and pin her.

"Oh stop that, you two," Jia scolded lightly. "You're setting a bad example for the boys."

Bobby and Matthew, who were trying to stuff snow in one another's faces were stopped, and they tossed their handfuls of the cold crystals back onto the ground with a huff.

Reluctantly, I let Annabeth up and promptly got punched in the gut. We both grinned.

After fixing the last few pieces of lights, all five of us—me, Annabeth, Jia, Bobby and Matthew—stood back in the driveway to admire the lights.

Their whole house was rimmed with colors flickering in the cool, blue light of evening. They blinked at us merrily, and the little plastic icicles swung delicately in the slight breeze.

"I think we did a good job," Mrs. Chase told the two boys, putting her arms around them.

Despite what Annabeth had always said about her stepmother, I couldn't quite see what she was talking about. I know that she wouldn't make up something terrible about anyone, but all I'd seen of Jia was her just being a regular mom. Maybe not quite so maternal to Annabeth, but not a total witch.

"Come on, let's go in and see what we're having dinner."

We all shuffled our wet shoes out of the cold.

Back inside, Annabeth and I hung our coats and gloves above the fireplace to dry and waddled into Annabeth's room to get dry clothing. Getting snow shoved down our pants was not comfortable.

After changing into a pair of clean, dry pajama pants and a T-shirt in the bathroom, Annabeth and I were required to set the table. Professor Chase was coming home at 6:00, and it was about 5:30. Annabeth's half-brothers were helping their mom mash some potatoes.

When Professor Chase came home a little after six, everyone welcomed him warmly and we sat down for dinner.

"Hey, Dad," Matthew asked while Jia was putting some corn on his plate, "We're going to put the ornaments on the tree after dinner, right?"

"I promised, didn't I?" The professor smiled and motioned to his son's food. "Now eat your dinner, sport. Can't decorate trees on an empty stomach."

When I caught Annabeth giving me a look, I grinned at her affectionately.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked her.

"You have something in your teeth."

Of course.

I kicked her under the table.

After dinner we broke out the box of ornaments and everyone helped put them on the tree. Bobby climbed up onto his dad's shoulders to put a red globe near the very top.

There were so many ornaments: at least three times the amount the tree back at my house had. There were racecars and miniature books and pictures and candy canes and weird fruit and colored bulbs of every shape and size. There was barely a square inch that didn't have an ornament or a string of popcorn or cranberries draped on it.

When we got to the stockings, Annabeth frowned and made an obviously upsetting statement.

"We don't have a stocking for you, Percy." She put an apologetic arm around my waist. "I'm sorry. We'll pick one up for you in town tomorrow."

"That's totally fine, Annabeth," I told her. "I don't need one, anyways. There's no point."

"Yes there is." She let go of me and crossed her arms. "You're getting a stocking. You need one."

After rolling my eyes at her, I flicked the side of her head and shoved my hands in my pockets. "You're so stubborn…"

Annabeth just smiled.

When the night came, the Christmas tree lit up the whole living room, even none of the lights in the house were on. Mr. and Mrs. Chase had said their goodnights, tucked the boys in bed, and called it a night as well.

Annabeth stayed up later, though. I made us some hot chocolate and we sat curled up together on the hide-a-bed, a blanket wrapped around our shoulders, staring at the fireplace. The whole room was a splash of warm color, and with the quiet crackling of the fireplace, the whole thing made me incredibly cozy.

"Today went by faster than I thought it would," Annabeth said quietly after a pause.

"Yeah…" I took a sip of coco. "It was fun, though. More fun than lying around playing Halo all alone until four in the morning."

"What's Halo?"

I laughed quietly and adjusted my arm around her waist, feeling her curls scrunch up against my neck. "Never mind, Annabeth. I was trying to make a point."

"I understood your point." Her exasperated snort was adorable, and she twisted around to look at me. "It is a lot better. I doubt this week will be better than Montauk, but—"

"It will be."

Annabeth locked onto my gaze and read it as easily as a book. To my disappointment, her face fell just a tiny bit.

"I was…I've been thinking about that, Perce. For a long time." She bit her lip. "I don't…I don't know about that so much anymore."

If she was talking about what I thought she was talking about, it surprised me more than I thought it would. She was the one who was trying to convince me during the summer, not the other way around.

"You're mad now." Annabeth huffed loudly and flopped her head back onto my shoulder dramatically. "I'm sorry, Perce, I just… I wasn't thinking properly. I'm really, just… I don't…"

"Annabeth," I interrupted her a second time, putting my finger up to her lip. "Really, calm down. I'm not mad."

"Well, I'd worked so hard to convince you, and…" A blush was slowly growing on her cheeks until it was bright red. She covered her face up with her hands. "For the love of Zeus, this is embarrassing."

"Easy." After making an attempt at prying her hands away from her face, I gave up and pulled the blanket around her snugly. "I said I respected you and that hasn't changed. We don't have to talk about this right now."

Still an insane shade of pink, Annabeth slowly lowered her hands. "I'm still thinking. I've just been worrying. About everything."

"Well, you worry too much. Shut up and enjoy tonight as it is."

A teensy smile appeared on her face and crinkled up the corners of her brilliant silver eyes. She started to say something, but I cut it off with a kiss.

She tasted like chocolate and cinnamon.

"You win this one, Percy," Annabeth finally said, halfway between a grin and a pout. "But don't think you're getting away with anything."

"Whatever."

I sat back to enjoyed the crackling fire, the warmth of my girlfriend in my arms and the flickering Christmas lights.

oOo

It's about time I had this done!

Just to let you guys know, they didn't, like, fall asleep together. You'll figure it out in chapter 3.

And all the other chapters will be a lot better, with less OOC-ness, longer explanation of what they're doing, probably way more fluff. Just better in general. I was off while writing this. Don't give up on me!

Hope y'all liked it, and I'll try to get the next one out a little sooner.

Please review if you liked it! Love you guys, and hope you have a good weekend!