It's a long one, but I hope you enjoy it!

~Happy reading!

Annabeth

This was the longest Annabeth has ever spent on her appearances. Nothing will ever beat this record.

A whopping 65 minutes. Not to mention the timer was still running as Piper fixed up her hair.

"Are we almost done? Am I allowed to scratch my nose now?" Annabeth complained. Piper had done her makeup, her hair, and basically anything Annabeth couldn't do on her own. This girl worked wonders. Annabeth had no idea to do any of this fancy stuff. Contouring? Winged eyeliner? It all seemed impossible to her.

"Is the setting spray dry?" Piper asked as she was working on Annabeth's fancy 'do.

"Um...I think?"

"Sure. But scratch gently!"

Annabeth obeyed and scratched her nose as gently as possible. Thank goodness. That was about to drive her insane.

"Okay, princess. You're ready." Piper chimed. Piper didn't allow Annabeth to see her look until it was complete. She wanted the whole process to have this fairy godmother type of effect. Annabeth secretly really liked it.

Piper spun around. Her smile was so wide that Annabeth trusted she did well. She didn't think Piper would have the audacity to turn her into a monster. They're good friends after all.

Annabeth took a look at herself in the mirror and absolutely lost it.

Her makeup was on freaking point. She told Piper that she wanted a more natural look but still wanted to look fancier than usual and she totally nailed it. Her face looked like perfection. Annabeth's hair was also amazing, with a simple half-up-half-down hairstyle. She let her natural curls flow over her shoulders.

"Oh uh, as a little touch, I added a cute pin on the back of your head." Piper took a mirror and showed her the small little surprise she added: a silver owl pin resting on the curled in part of her updo.

Annabeth chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Nice. Now watch all my enemies come and attack me."

"Hardy, har har. We're lucky Captain Athena is letting us go to prom. For a Captain, she's pretty damn nice." Piper remarked. She began taking their dresses out of the closet. Piper had a point though. They're spies in training, they weren't supposed to have time for all this normal stuff. In the constitution, there isn't supposed to be time for dances or dates or whatever normal teenagers did on their own free time. The constitution is incredibly clear. In short, it basically says "Agents can only train, eat and go to school. No time for fun stuff!" Annabeth's mother always thought to make an exception for the big, teenage milestones though. Like graduations and school dances. She's a great captain. It doesn't mean she's any less strict, though.

"You're, right, she is nice." Annabeth chimed. She began slipping into her long, red gown. Annabeth had chosen a burgundy, high neck, halter gown with a mermaid-like skirt. She loved the fitted look. Piper decided on a black, v-neck, A-line gown. It was simple, just as she liked it.

"C'mon Night Owl, tick tock. Our dates are going to be here soon!" Piper snapped Annabeth out of her trance.

"Okay, Hypnosis." Annabeth teased. She kinda hated it when they used their agent names. It made her wonder if the kids at Jupiter were as lucky as they were. They were kids, after all. "I wonder if the kids at Jupiter are this lucky and get to do all these normal teenager things."

"Well knowing the monster that runs their facility, absolutely not."

Annabeth smiled sadly. In a way, they deserved it. Evil doesn't deserve anything good.

Percy

Bowties suck.

He doesn't care about what the Eleventh Doctor has to say about them, they freaking suck. They're monsters, they're uncooperative, they should go burn in Hell.

"Fuck!" Percy tried to tie it one more time, but it was impossible. He managed to do this back in 8th grade, but why wouldn't he do it now?!

There was a knock on his door. Appeared a neatly dressed Jason Grace. "Wow, Sharky. You're looking handsome."

"I would agree except I can't tie this fucking bowtie." Percy huffed. He motioned for Jason to help him. Jason simply rolled his eyes but made his way over anyway. Jason is way too nice to reject. He's always there if you need help with something. He's a good guy like that. "So..is Captain still mad about us going?"

"Oh, he's pissed." Jason chuckled nervously as he tied Percy's bowtie. Technically, they aren't supposed to go to prom. They were supposed to training for "world domination", or as Percy's dad calls it, "the most important day in the history of Jupiter." Nothing like a little world domination to make his dad happy. Yippee. "He was going on and on about how he shouldn't let us go. That prom was a total waste of time and they we needed to train more."

Percy scoffed. "Yeah, well we train about 365 days a year. Isn't that enough?"

"You know him. He's not satisfied with anything. But we made a deal with him. We come back half past midnight, and we put in extra hours next week. Got it?"

"Yeah, whatever." Percy honestly couldn't care less. They just train and train and train - and for what? Nothing has happened. They haven't taken over anything. He just wants to go to this freaking night, hang out with Annabeth and have some fun.

Jason finished tying Percy's bowtie. He saw that Percy was pretty pissed off. He clapped his friend on the shoulder, giving him a bit of encouragement. "Hey, we're going to prom. You'll hang out with Annabeth. You'll dance a little. We'll have fun. We'll be normal, okay?"

Percy managed a small smile. The thought of hanging out with Annabeth was what made him motivated to have a good time. He didn't want her to see him upset. "Okay."

"Alright, let's go, buddy. Piper's probably waiting for me. You sure you don't want to go with us?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I promised Grover that I'd hang out with him and take pictures with him. Can I get a ride to his place though?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, dude. Let's go to prom." Percy and Jason took one last look at themselves in the mirror. They straightened up their suits and made their way out the door.

Annabeth

Luke and Jason showed up at her house at a punctual time. She was incredibly surprised.

Jason adorned a grey, fitted suit and a black tie that matched Piper's attire. Piper couldn't get over the fact that Jason was in a suit. "Doesn't he look freaking adorable?!"

"Piper-" Jason began to blush.

"Uh, no! Shut up! You look so cute!" Piper was totally flipping out. She was fangirling to the point where she couldn't stop taking selfies. That was a first.

As for Luke, he wore a simple black suit with a red bowtie. He couldn't seem to stop smiling. "Wow. You look pretty good Annabeth."

"Aw, thanks, Luke." Pretty good? I look hot you asshole, thank you very much. Annabeth decided to suppress her anger. Probably for the better.

The four of them took about a million pictures in the backyard. Even though the facility was disguised as a house, they put in quite a bit of effort into making it look totally normal. Captain Athena hired some great people to turn the backyard into a spectacular garden full of roses, tulips, and basically any of flower you can think of.

Annabeth felt really awkward taking pictures though. Luke was so...serious. Not to mention that he was trying to make sure he looked good in every photo. He told Annabeth how to pose, where to stand - everything. If it were Percy, Annabeth could relax. They'd probably take a bunch of silly pictures too.

Once that was over, everyone got into Luke's car. Piper stopped Annabeth before she could make her way out the door. "We'll be there in a second!" Piper hollered at the boys.

"What is it, Pipes?" Annabeth got a scared something was wrong. "Are we not allowed to go anymore?"

"No, we're fine. We can still go. Just take one of these." Piper handed her a simple, black, clutch purse.

"What's this?"

"Emergency gear. In case we get called to a mission in the middle of prom. It's got a suit and some small weapons inside."

"Piper, you can't possibly think-"

"Better safe than sorry, okay? Evil never rests." Piper gave Annabeth a pressed smile and made her way back to the car.

The four of them pulled into the venue parking lot. Their prom was being held at a fancy event center, equipped with a ballroom and everything. That's where all the dancing was happening. The theme was a night in Paris, which was possibly one of the most generic prom themes you could ever possibly imagine. Annabeth was beginning to feel unsure if she liked the environment or not. The venue was crowded, there were people everywhere, and the music was so loud that she was sure her eardrums would fall out. Nevertheless, she took it all in with a grain of salt and hoped for a fun night.

They all had some fun together during the first half hour. They danced a bit, took some photos in the photobooth, and had some of the complimentary crepes. They hung out with some of their friends. Everything was great until Piper and Jason decided to go hang out, just the two of them. That left Annabeth with Luke.

Luke was kind of being an asshole. He didn't open the door for her (not that he needed to, she just thought it would be nice since it was a fancy event), he really didn't offer to do fun things, he didn't pay much attention to anything that was happening. He looked like he didn't even want to be there. Even worse, he wasn't listening to anything she said. Plus he was just so so so boring to talk to. He didn't talk about anything but himself. Annabeth was seriously considering punching him in the face. Annabeth suppressed her anger and tried to strike up a conversation.

"So, are you excited about college?" She chimed. Luke merely shrugged. He seemed incredibly unfazed.

"I guess. I'm gonna be going to community college so I'm not going far. I'll be busier for sure, but yeah I'm not gonna go far."

"Oh. Cool." Annabeth answered. She didn't want to hang out with him anymore, he was killing her. It was perfect timing. Luke spotted his senior friends and left with them without saying goodbye. Thank God. She didn't want him to say bye.

So Annabeth sat by herself at the table, picking at the last crepe on her plate. She watched as everyone laughed with their friends, danced, got some punch. They were all having fun, and she wasn't. She didn't know where her big friend group was, Luke left her, and Percy wasn't coming. What a great night, huh? She was bored on what was supposed to be one of the greatest nights of her life, yet here she was not having any fun at all.

"Annabeth?"

She knew that voice. Above all music, she knew that voice.

She turned around and found Percy staring at her.

Percy

He honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Annabeth Chase was looking drop dead gorgeous. His best friend was beautiful. His best friend, who usually hates dresses, was wearing a beautiful dress and she looked like the most stunning girl he's ever seen. She is the most stunning girl he's ever seen.

Percy couldn't believe his eyes.

"Oh my God.." He was at a complete loss for words. He didn't know if he'd ever find them again.

Annabeth practically threw herself onto him. She was so happy to see her best friend, especially since she thought he wasn't coming, which was his fault. She hugged him for the longest time, not wanting to let go. Percy didn't mind at all. He's always loved holding Annabeth.

"I thought you weren't coming! I'm so happy to see you! Thank God you came at the right time." Annabeth couldn't stop smiling and Percy couldn't stop blushing. He had a goofy grin on his face, unable to look away. Annabeth took notice of this immediately. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Percy still wasn't able to find his words. He has never been more in love with her than in this moment. He thought his heart was going to pop out of his chest. "You look absolutely beautiful." He whispered. He didn't think Annabeth would hear him, but she somehow did over all the loud music.

"Really?" Annabeth smiled like she was embarrassed. Sure, Percy knew Annabeth was confident and prideful, but she never did stop having those little insecurities. He knew that she was incredibly insecure about her looks (which was ridiculous because she's always been beautiful), and he recalls her telling him how she'll never be as pretty as some girls and that she'll always be a plain Jane. Percy always thought that was crazy talk. A gorgeous girl with a spunky, smart, awesome personality? How much more beautiful can she get?

"Really." Percy managed.

"Thanks, Perce. Luke said I 'looked good.'" She mocked his voice and gagged. "He's an ass."

"Yeah, I thought you were hanging out with Luke? He is your date after all."

Annabeth shrugged. It looked like she couldn't care less. Percy silently celebrated. "Don't know, don't care. He was being kind of an annoying dick earlier and he just left me with other people. I don't really care, anyway."

"He said you looked good? I'm gonna punch him in the face." Percy smirked. No, seriously, he was going to punch him in the face. The guy didn't know how good he had it. "You look like a million bucks, Beth."

Annabeth smiled awkwardly, which was adorable. She was never one to really take compliments seriously. "So, do you wanna be my date now or something?"

Percy chuckled, offering his arm. "I would love to be your date."

Annabeth smiled, gladly accepting. Together, they went to the dance floor and danced for a little bit. Percy was always insecure about social events like these. There were so many people who could see him and they could all see how terrible of a dancer he was. Luckily, Annabeth was there encouraging him all the way. They moved on to the photo booth, which was surprisingly empty. It seemed like no one was really waiting to use it anymore. They took this to their advantage and took as many photos together as possible. When Percy looked back on them, they looked like a freaking couple. He was holding her, she was holding him, he was kissing her on the cheek in one them. They looked so good together. It made Percy wonder if they'll ever be together.

Their chemistry is undeniable. Percy and Annabeth have always been the dynamic duo since kindergarten and nothing was going to change that. But with his life at Jupiter, his endless training, missions and potential death, could it ever even be possible for them to become a couple? He couldn't bear the thought of one day leaving her behind because he'd done something stupid like take a plummet to his death. Even worse, she wasn't even supposed to know about his spy life. Why did the world hate him so much? Why wasn't he allowed to just be happy?

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped him out of his trance. He glanced over and noticed that Annabeth had found Piper. The two of them exchanged hugs and fist bumped Jason. They saw each other earlier, so it was chill. "Piper offered to take pictures for us up on the roof! According to Piper, they've got string lights and there are some flowers too. We didn't get to take some before so I thought this would be nice?"

"I've got a great camera on my phone, don't worry," Piper promised.

Percy chuckled and wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist. "I'm down. Let's go take some pictures."

They spent about half an hour taking photos together. Piper couldn't stop screaming about how cute they looked together, which was weird because Piper normally doesn't get excited about these things.

"You two are so cute! Annabeth you look way better with him than you do with Luke. Plus your chemistry is better."

"Really?" Annabeth noted sarcastically. "I definitely didn't notice."

Percy couldn't help but continue staring at Annabeth. God, he was in love with her. So, so, so in love with her. He was in love with that witty brain of hers, her strong-willed personality and independence. And not to mention she's beautiful. Has he mentioned that yet?

Annabeth was laughing with Piper and turned to look back at Percy. Their eyes were locked on each other's, just smiling and wrapped in comfort. Annabeth's eyes were staring softly at his. Gone was that tough exterior she normally puts up. Percy couldn't help but place his forehead on hers. He was hoping Piper got a picture of that.

"I think it's time to leave you two alone. I'll send you all of these photos later." Piper laced her hand with Jason's and together they made their way back down to the ballroom.

Percy instinctively wrapped his arms around Annabeth's waist, pulling her close to him. He pulled her all the way until their stomachs touched. Annabeth put her arms around his shoulders.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked gently. He knew that she thought all this touchy stuff was because he was upset about something.

Percy laughed softly. He slowly rubbed his thumb up and down a small part of her back. He felt her shiver a bit as he touched her bare skin. He's never touched her skin like that before.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just relishing the moment." Percy answered softly. Annabeth smiled, mumbling an 'okay' and began playing with his hair. "Everything about this is perfect."

"Even though I'm messing up your hair?"

"Hey, you can mess it up all you want, Wise Girl. It's already a mess anyways. I only worked on the front part today." Percy would feel her rolling her eyes. He began to sway side-to-side despite the fact there was no music. There they were, alone on the rooftop, slow dancing to nothing. Annabeth scooted in closer, if that was even possible, placing her head on his shoulder and held one his arms out, ballroom dance style. They continued to sway as the wind gently blew on the warm spring night and the sound of cars below continued to hum.

"I feel like we haven't hung out much," Annabeth mentioned, breaking the silence. "I don't know why, but it seems like we haven't seen each other in forever."

"We're hanging out right now, aren't we?"

"Shut up, you know what I mean." Annabeth huffed. "It's like there's never time for us to hang out anymore. I'm taking five hundred APs, you're busy with work and swim and whatever else you do."

"We're just growing up, Wise Girl. It happens. We get busy and we'll start drifting apart." Percy responded sadly.

"But I just..I don't want to grow up without you. You've always been there, Percy. What if we end up losing each other? We're almost seniors, we're probably gonna go to schools that are really far from each other. What if we never talk again? What if-"

"Hey, hey, don't think about that." Percy cut her off. If he thought about that stuff, he might actually start crying. That's something that never happens. "Just enjoy this, enjoy what's happening right now. Enjoy my awful dancing."

Annabeth laughed. "We're not even dancing, we're just swaying side to side."

"Then enjoy my awful swaying." Annabeth breathed out another laugh, and Percy heard her sniff several times. He began to panic, which happened a lot if he was worried about her. "Are you sniffling? Are you cold?" Percy immediately began taking off his jacket.

Annabeth stopped him. "No, no. I'm just thinking about what's going to happen if we drift apart.." She pulled back and Percy could see tears filling her eyes. "All my life, I've never really felt secure about anything. You know this. My dad left which left some trust issues, I'm afraid to make mistakes, I want to be perfect, and I feel like if I do something wrong then I just..lose it and blame it all on me. I've never felt certain about the things I do and the people I meet." Annabeth broke the hold and took a seat on a bench. Percy soon followed her. "You're the one thing I've been secure and sure about my entire life. You keep me sane. If I lose you, then.."

"Then you're never going to lose me." Percy cupped her cheek, pulling her gently to face him. He was starting to get lost in her grey eyes. "I'll always be there for you, even if we drift apart. You're never getting rid of me, Wise Girl."

"Good. You're stuck with me too, you know." Annabeth joked. She hastily wiped the small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Percy always felt honored that she lets her guard down around him. He's always glad he can see the real Annabeth inside, not just the one who's tough as nails and constantly has her shell up.

They started to catch up on small things they'd missed over the past several days they didn't get to see each other. Annabeth complained about Luke and how he acted tonight, while Percy complained about his dad. It was the usual stuff. Maybe this was the perfect time to bring up his feelings.

"Look, Annabeth. You know that you're my best friend, right?"

"Mhmm," Annabeth answered tiredly. He knew she's had a long night, and her shoes were probably killing her by now. She was resting her head on his shoulder while he had an arm around her waist, supporting her. "What's up?"

It was times like these that Percy hated Annabeth's obliviousness. She had no idea how much fear and nervousness was running through his veins. His heart was running, his hands were shaking, and his forehead couldn't stop sweating. "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong, Percy?" She wiped several beads of sweat from his forehead and cupped his cheek. "Are you getting sick?"

"No, I, um," he didn't know where to start. "Just nervous."

"For?"

"Well," and that was when his watch rang. The screen kept showing the word 'MISSION! MISSION!' Percy couldn't help but groan. At least the privacy screen prevented Annabeth from seeing it.

"Percy, what's wrong?" Annabeth looked worried. Percy took out his phone to read the mission report. He wanted to punch the wall.

Fuck his life, is he right?

"Annabeth, I have to go. I'm really sorry." He put his phone back in his pocket. "We'll talk later okay? I promise we'll hang out soon."

"Percy, you look sick, is something the matter?"

"It's um," obviously, he couldn't tell her that he had a mission to go on. She wasn't supposed to know about all that crap and frankly, he'd like to keep it that way for the rest of eternity. "It's my dad. He wants me to go home."

Her mouth formed an 'o', meaning she understood.

"I'm really sorry. But hey," Percy gave her his boutonniere and pressed a quick kiss on her head. "I had an amazing time tonight. Thanks for being my date."

He could tell Annabeth was blushing because she was trying her best to hide her smile. "Thanks for being mine. Love you, Perce."

"Love you, too. We'll hang out soon. I promise." Percy hugged her one last time and got another good look at her. Yeap. Still, drop dead gorgeous. After taking one last glance at her (yes, again) Percy ran down the stairs and watched as Annabeth fiddled with the flower on the rooftop.

Super long, I know and I'm sorry. I hope you enjoyed it though! Lots of fluff as well if you're into that. It's super rare that I would update this quickly, so consider yourselves quite lucky! Haha. I just really wanted to finish up this whole prom sequence, I was incredibly excited.

Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon! As always, thank you for being patient!

Review this maybe? Thanks!