I glanced up nervously at the building that seemed to tower over me, taunting me. Yeah, great idea. Babysitting toddlers. This could not get any worse.

Sally had texted me yesterday night, calling me over today to get "acquainted" with her children. She even offered to pay me for the short visit.

Maybe this has its upsides, too.

As soon as I walked in, however, I realized that it could get worse. A large sign was stuck on the elevator, and much to my delight, it read: "Notice. The elevator is out of order."

I groaned.

. . .

After climbing five sets of stairs, I found myself panting in front of a brown, dusty colored door. A small 'welcome' mat was spread in front of it.

Hoping I didn't look like too much of a mess, I took a deep breath and knocked curtly. Footsteps sounded on the other side. Within moments, the door was swung open, and a cheerful brown haired woman stood in front of me, smiling.

"You must be Annabeth!" She greeted. "It's wonderful to see you. Are you alright, you look a little tired?"

I smiled sheepishly. "I'm fine, thank you. You too, Mrs. Jackson."

"Oh, please. Call me Sally. Now, I'm a little late for work, but come inside, I'll introduce you."

. . .

The apartment wasn't too large, but I almost knew from Sally's cheerful ways that their small family made it a home. As we walked down the hallway, I stopped for a moment to look at the picture frames hanging on the walls.

In one of them, I saw Sally, her arm wrapped around a grinning black haired boy. I frowned. Sally hadn't mentioned anything about him.

Before I had time to think of anything else, the woman herself popped her head into the hallway again, and called, "Annabeth?" and the picture was forgotten.

. . .

"Careful where you step," Sally warned, grabbing my arm and pulling me into what was supposedly their lounge. I knew instantly what she meant, for toys were literally all over the floor, amidst which sat two children, completely oblivious to the mess they were making.

"Alex, Sophia - this is Annabeth, she'll take care of you." Sally smiled wearily at her children. Their little heads snapped up instantly, and two pairs of curious brown eyes fixed themselves on me.

I cracked a small smile.

Within five minutes, Sally had given me a quick tour of the house. The kitchen, bathroom, and the kids' bedrooms.

The sound of us greeted us as we left Sophia's room. Scrunching my eyebrows, I glanced at a closed door across the hallway. Sally caught my gaze.

"That's.. Percy's room. My oldest son."

"Oh," I managed.

Sally looked thoughtful for a moment. "You might wanna look out for him.. He may be seventeen, but he's more trouble then the other two combined."

"I heard that!" A boy called.

Sally rolled her eyes and pushed the door open. From behind her, I saw the owner of that voice laying lazily on his bed. A lean but fairly muscular boy, who's raven colored hair stuck out in odd, messy angles tilted his head to look at me. A pair of twinkling sea-green eyes caught mine, and I was afraid I'd melt right then and there. Forget babysitting.

"You were supposed to." Sally smirked. Turning to me, she added, "Annabeth, that's Percy. If you need any help, ask him. Though I should warn you, it might be better to do things yourself then letting him help."

"Mooommm!" Percy whined. "I'm not that bad."

Sally rolled her eyes. "I'll be back around four or five. You two will manage, right?"

I nodded. Percy shrugged, and before Sally closed his door again, I could've sworn he shot a smile at me.

"Thanks, again," Sally said as I walked her to the front door.

"Don't worry about it, Mrs- Sally. I'll keep 'em out of trouble."

She laughed. "Good luck with that."

After she left, I wandred back to the living room. Sophia was still busily playing with her dolls, but Alex quickly shot up and made his way towards me. After eyeing me for a few seconds, he smiled. "You're b-beau.. pretty!"

My eyebrows shot up. "Um.. thanks?" I replied uncertainly. How else do you react to an eight-year-old hitting on you?

Laughter rumbled behind us. "Duuude." I whipped my head around, and there stood Pecy, leaning casually against the door frame, smirking at his brother. "Flirting, already? Won't get you anywhere."

Alex giggled and quickly ran back to his toys.

"I feel for you," Percy turned to me with a grin. "Having to deal with these devils? You're in for something."

I crossed my arms. "You doubt my abilities too much. Besides, according to your mom, they won't be too much trouble."

Percy's grin widened. "A seventeen-year-old with a babysitter. Can't let my friends find out about that."

I couldn't help but grin back at him.

Yup, this definitely has its upsides.

. . .

"Oooh, a boy. Does my little Annie have a crush?" Thalia cooed.

For someone who stays on top in all of my classes, telling this demon about Percy was not a smart idea. "Why would I have a crush on him? That's absurd. And my name isn't Annie-"

"Oh, shut it, Nanny. Now, tell me about this Percy."

I rolled my eyes at her. I seem to be doing that a lot around Thalia… I wonder why. "Well... We didn't exactly talk for too long, but he seems cool, but gosh those eyes-"

I stopped abruptly. Thalia was smirking knowingly at me.

"What?" I demanded.

"Why would you have a crush on him.. Sounds absurd." My cheeks went pink, causing her to smirk even more. Yay.

I glared at her. "Y'know, somehow, I will invent a way to smack you through phones. Mark my words."