This is a little shorter, I'm sorry, but, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3

"Don't be so uptight." I told Percy. He was practically hiding behind the umbrella. "Relax."

I finished putting lotion on and glanced back at him. He looked worried, but then tried to calm down. I laughed and shook my head. Thalia and Nico were surfing out in the water.

I wore my light blue two-piece bathing suit. The top was a ruffled tube top and the bottom was regular. Percy wore his red shorts, and he did look fine, but of course I didn't tell him that.

I settled back onto my towel and shut my eyes. The sun was hot. There was a salty breeze. It was a good day. I sighed and grabbed a book from my book bag and turned onto my stomach. I read quietly while Percy watched.

"Annabeth?"

"Hm?"

"Tell me about yourself."

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. I closed my book and sat up. "What do you want to know?"

He shrugged, shaking his weird blonde hair. I smiled, thinking how weird he looks. "What's so funny?"

"Your hair." I chuckled.

He smiled and shook his head, "Thanks. Annabeth? When my vacation here is over, would you like to come back to my country with me? You can bring Thalia."

I nearly choked on the beer I was having. I stared at him, my eyes wide and my mouth agape. "What? I, um… Are you being serious? If you're joking, Jackson, I'll punch you!"

He chuckled, "I am being completely serious."

"Why me?" I asked, still shocked.

"I like you."

"You like me? Why is that hard to believe? Are you being serious?"

He looked at me straight in the eyes, and I swear my heart leaped ten million times. "I am being completely honest and serious and everything else. Please?"

"You just met me, for all you know, I could be a criminal."

He shrugged, "I don't care. I like you. There's something about you and I don't have a lot of time left here. Bringing you with me is another way of getting to know you better."

I stared at him for a little longer, still not quite believing it. "Alright, sure. But this better not be your plan to just get me in bed or anything."

He smiled widely, "This is great! And, of course not, Annabeth. You doubt yourself."

I rolled my eyes, grinning. He stood and looked around. I watched him curiously, and incredibly excited. I was going to Alans with the Prince. My heart was beating a mile a minute. Suddenly, Percy swung down and lifted me up bridal style. I screamed as he ran with me in his arms, straight to the water. With a giant splash we were already deep inside.

I surfaced, and attacked Percy with water. He laughed as I threw a little mini tantrum. "Calm, down, calm down, I'm sorry!" He said, swimming close to me and grabbing my arms.

I narrowed my eyes, but I managed to smile. He grinned and gestured me to follow him. We swam back to Nico and Thalia, who had taken a break on their board and were deeper in the water.

"Hola, chicka." Thalia said as I slid onto her purple board.

"We're going to Alans." I told her, trying to play it off.

"Percy! I wanted all of us to be there when you told." Nico grumbled.

Percy laughed and shrugged. Thalia stared at me, "We're going where?"

"To Alans!" I exclaimed.

She grinned widely, "Are you guy serious? When? Oh, god, I feel faint."

I laughed, Nico grinned at her, "In about a week. Don't faint, you'll drown and die, and then our plans are ruined."

Thalia nearly fell off her board trying to do a victory dance. "This is so great! Oh, god, we have to go shopping!"

I laughed, "Calm down! First, let's get some pizza."

We swam out of the water and dried ourselves. I slipped into a see-through, large shirt on and dried my hair with the towel. I turned and stopped suddenly when I saw Percy absently watching me. A faraway look was in his eyes. I cocked my head to the side and quickly took out my camera. Once I took a picture, Percy seemed to realize what was happening and shook his head.

"Sorry I was…"

"In la la land." I sang, grabbing my bag and laughing.

Percy smiled, slipping a shirt on, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Are you guys done?" Nico asked impatiently.

We turned and saw Nico waiting for us, annoyed. Thalia was beside him, chuckling. I ran up to catch up with them. Percy was right behind me.

We sat in a large pizza place, at a booth. Thalia sat next to me, and Nico was across from me and Percy was across from Thalia. We ordered a plain pie, and soda. Thalia bent her pizza in half and took a bite, happy to satisfy her hunger. I laughed at her face and took a bite.

I looked at Percy and Nico. They looked a little hesitant. Percy took the first bite, and then Nico. After they chewed and swallowed, Percy suddenly grinned.

"This is the best thing I've ever had." He announced. Nico nodded furiously, we all laughed.

Thalia and I laughed as they wolfed down the whole pie. "Can we get more?" Nico asked, slurping his soda.

Thalia and I laughed and nodded. After we ate another pie, we decided to go for a walk on the boardwalk. Percy and I walked ahead of Thalia and Nico. He bought me an ice-cream, which I thought was very sweet. I contently ate it.

"Annabeth, tell me the truth," Percy suddenly said, looking at me. I raised an eyebrow, but let him continue. "Do I… Look good as a blonde?"

I laughed, thinking he was going to ask something a bit more seriously. "Honestly? … No. You look much with black hair. It suits you.""

He chuckled, "Thanks for your honesty. You know my mom doesn't know where I am right now?"

My eyes widened, "Oh, my god, Percy! She's going to have me arrested, thinking I kidnapped you!"

He laughed, "It's alright! Whenever we come to the United States, I usually disappear for a few days with Nico. It's nothing to worry about."

I shook my head, "Percy, call her or something. I don't want her to get a bad impression of me."

Percy stopped slowly, giving me a wry smile, "So, you're saying one day… You'll meet my mom?" He asked.

I blushed and looked down, "I just assumed… We are going to Alans with you, so I thought I'd meet her at some point…" I fiddled with my fingers, feeling as if I implied something a little more serious.

"You're so cute, I'm just kidding." He said, wrapping his arms around me.

My face was buried in his shirt. He smelled like soap. He swayed me while we hugged, but then we reached that moment, where we hugged each other a little longer than we should of. He pulled away, smiling slightly at my expression. I breathed out a laugh and smiled.

He put his arm around my shoulders, grinning, and we started walking again. I thought, for a moment, that maybe I'm catching feelings. This, really, isn't good since that'd mean I'd be falling in love with a prince. Something like that usually happens in fairy tales, and this, I know, is not a fairy tale.