And Chapter Two is up! Even though I got two reviews, they made me warm and fuzzy and I decided to continue. A bit more fluff in here, but, eh. I think I did pretty well for not reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians for a year! ): Anyway, I need to get my hands on The Lost Hero and read it, but dad's making me read Dragonlance (which isn't a bad series). But, anyway, hope you enjoy!

x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x. x.~.x.

Percy set the box of condoms down into the bag, wracking his brain to figure out where to put it and hide it from his mom.

"The glove box, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth snickered.

Percy glanced at her, grinned slightly, and shoved the box into the compartment. "I still don't get why you bought those," he muttered. "Just because I have these episodes doesn't mean I can't control myself.

"They're not for you," she whispered, and she glanced at him meaningfully. "They're for me."

Percy turned towards her and raised an eyebrow, saying nothing. She sighed, her hands tightening on the wheel.

"The reason I haven't been allowing you… incredibly close as usual is because I've been… losing control."

Annabeth admitting something wrong was absolutely ridiculous. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Annabeth?"

She smiled softly, but kept her keen eyes on the road as always. "We're in a relationship, are we not?" Her grip on the wheel loosened and she relaxed in her chair. Percy watched her face before he looked to the road himself. "I don't know about you, but I'm all up for an honest relationship."

"I never thought we were exclusive," Percy admitted, looking out the window and he could feel her eyes on him for a moment.

"We aren't. Just in a relationship. We can be girlfriend and boyfriend without having sex."

"Hmm, we can?" Percy inquired, busying himself with a loose thread on his shirt. "I thought sex was all the rage."

They pulled into the parking lot of Sally and Paul Blofis, but neither of them left the car.

"I thought you didn't want sex," she whispered and she turned her head to look at him.

Percy smiled gently. "I don't," he said.

Annabeth frowned. "Well, what?" she demanded.

Percy loved to confuse her. It didn't happen often, which made it the best thing for him. The way her eyebrows furrowed, her cheeks flared and her eyes bore into him. He loved all of it and he turned to watch her.

"What do you want?"

Percy opened the car door and grabbed the bag. "I want you, I don't want sex. It's just a three-letter word that means nothing. But you… That's the right three-letter word." He then closed the car door and walked up to the house that Paul had got the money for—miraculously—and rang the doorbell.

"One moment!" a muffled voice yelled inside. He heard the slam of a car door and Annabeth came up to stand next to him.

"I hate you sometimes," she muttered. "But that makes you all the more loveable."

He was about to kiss her when Sally Blofis opened the door. She smiled at Percy and Annabeth.

"Hello," she said. "Percy, Annabeth, please come in."

Percy smiled and walked inside, smelling his mother's familiar scent, without the musky odor of Smelly Gabe. He was incredibly glad Smelly Gabe was turned into a statue. Paul seemed a lot better than Smelly Gabe.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Sally inquired.

She shut the door quietly behind them and took the bag from Percy. "Thanks," she said and walked down the hall to put the bag into the living room.

"Percy!" Paul walked in and shook his hand. "Is it bad we have to make you get us things from a store in order to see us? It's been a few months."

Percy laughed lightly. "Yeah, my bad. Been caught up with… life, I guess." He glanced at his mother and there was a strand of understanding between them. Percy was trying his best to keep his Demi-God side out of his life again. He felt as if he had grown too old for the quests, though the thrill of them never expired. Annabeth felt the same way, more or less—she just hated the danger they ensued.

"God, how old are you now?" Paul asked.

"Twenty?" Percy guessed.

"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth muttered. "He's twenty-one. Kid can't even get his age right."

Paul glanced between them before sitting down at the table. Percy sat himself and Annabeth swiftly sat next to him. "I made spaghetti. Hope no one minds."

"Thank you, Mrs. Blofis," Annabeth said politely.

Percy got his food, but didn't have much the appetite. He was ready to go to his own home and—hopefully—have Annabeth stay. But his train of thought was broken when Sally asked a question:

"So, what's been going on between you two?"

Percy sat up and raised an eyebrow at his mother. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you two seem to hang with each other a lot, no?" She swirled some spaghetti and ate it.

Percy coughed and sat back in his chair. "Well, yeah. But then there's Grover. He comes over occasionally, but I don't see him as often as I used to. Tyson calls sometimes."

Sally nodded, but Annabeth stayed unusually quiet.

"How's it been for you, Annabeth?" his mother asked.

She looked up at Sally. "Nothing much. I got a job offer."

Percy blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Did you?" She glanced at him, but busied herself with chasing the noodles on her plate with her fork before setting it down.

"Yes. I got a job offer to help build a monument in Central Park. They want a miniature version of a Victorian house."

Percy blinked again and he smiled. "You never told me this!" he whispered hastily to her.

"Never found the right time between all the kissing," she muttered under her breath and Percy snickered.

Sally smiled brightly. "That's awesome! When does it start?"

"A few weeks from now, I have the plans pretty much done for now. Just need to get the supplies. They want it to be child-proof so the kids can run around in it and see what it was like in the Victorian age."

Percy felt a surge of pride for Annabeth. "Still abashed you didn't tell me."

"And I'm still abashed you have a wide vocabulary," she responded sarcastically.

"How rude," he said.

"Just making innocent fun."

The dinner went on with jokes and laugher from the four of them. But time wasn't on their sides, making Percy leave the house before eleven at night could strike. Annabeth followed him, decreeing that she needed a ride home herself. Sally and Paul wished them good night and good bye for now and they were off to the car.

"You need a ride home? You're driving," Percy said, sitting into the car and buckling his seatbelt.

"Well, I wanted to leave, alright? I have important business."

She turned on the car, but before she could pull out of the parking lot, he took her wrist lightly.

"Annabeth…" he whispered. Once again, her eyes darkened and it only fed the flood that hungered inside of him.

"Not now," she whispered softly, looking at him.

"Yes now," he muttered, closing the distance between them and pressing his lips to hers. She instantly reacted, but instead of reinforcing her 'no' statement, she crawled across the car and into his seat, sitting on his lap. "Hello…" he whispered, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Percy…" she said quietly and he sucked in a breath. "Percy, Percy." He closed his eyes, listening to her voice and her hands slowly ran up and down his back, before moving under his shirt. As her hands moved up, her fingers ghosted over his Achilles' heel and his body seized up, gripping her to him much tighter than before. He squeezed his eyes shut as a thrill rolled through his body and a soft moan came from him. Annabeth froze herself. "You just moaned," she laughed gently.

Percy found himself at a loss for breath. "You touched it," he muttered, his voice cracking a bit.

"I touched what?" she asked, running her hands under his shirt and she touched it again, receiving the same action, but Percy this time dug his fingers into her hips.

"Touched… it…" he muttered, finding it hard to think right now.

"I haven't the faintest clue what you're talking about. You should really clarify."

She was about to touch the spot again when he reached behind her and took her hands, putting them in front of her chest. "You're not helping my situation, Annabeth," he groaned.

She smiled and ghosted her lips on his. "I know," she whispered, moving a hand to stroke his cheek. "How does it feel when I do that?" The curious, curious Annabeth…

"Like a million hands are touching me at once," he muttered.

"That doesn't sound sexual."

His fingers tightened around her wrists, his eyes opening to look at hers. "What your doing doesn't sound sexual," he replied, using the same tone she did.

"Hmmmm," she hummed, dipping her head down to his neck and she kissed it softly.

Gods, he muttered. She's going to be the death of me…

Somehow, her hands broke free of his grasp and she rubbed his shoulders, continuing to kiss his neck. "We are in front of my mother's house," he whispered, but she ignored him. "I mean, my mother's and my step-dad's house," he continued. She still ignored him. "I mean…"

"Shut up, will you?" she snapped. "Your mindless babbling is really ruining this."

"And you say we're not exclusive…" he groaned.

"We aren't."

"Are we?"

Annabeth Chase went silent and then she opened her mouth. "We are," she whispered. Her fingers moved to the spot again, but instead of caressing it gently, she dug her fingers into the heel and he arched his back, moaning louder than before, his heart skipping several beats. He found himself panting afterwards, watching her with loving eyes.

"We are," he agreed hoarsely and she smiled before hopping off of him.

"I'm going to get you back."

"Of course you are," she giggled. "It's like playing with fire."