I don't even know how to start this.

A/N: I've been probably the worst updater out there... please forgive me for that. But I'm back now, and I am going to try and finish this story by next year. If you are impatient (you have a very good reason to be), then just check up on the story next year and it should be close to complete. I've made an outline of where I want this story to go, and I will work on it whenever I can.

Story time, then. I made a one-year commitment to a solo ballet performance that I spent more than 8 hours practicing every week. Between that and my school, it was really hard for me to find time to do just about anything. Now, that's done and out of the way, and I am managing school quite well.

That is why, I've decided I am coming back for good and finishing the story that I started.

So, here's the next chapter that you guys were waiting so patiently for. Thanks for the continued support. You guys are the best. (:

Percy's POV

I already know that Annabeth Chase is stubborn. I never expected her to be this stubborn.

I decide I should just focus on swimming for a few days and clear my mind out; especially after what happened at my house. A small smile forms on my lips as I remember it, and before I know it, I'm walking to school with a stupid grin on my face.

I couldn't get enough of the image of her in my clothes.

It was yesterday that I realized Annabeth wasn't too bad at all. She's insanely smart, athletic, and no doubt has beautiful features. My mind goes back to our kiss and I sigh.

She made it clear she has no feelings for me, whatsoever, I think sourly. I decide it will take a few weeks for me to change that.

I walk down the familiar hallways of my school and see Jason and Grover waiting by my locker. I smirk when I see Piper standing by Jason, her hand tightly clasped in his. However, I'm surprised to see Annabeth, standing next to Piper, talking animatedly to Grover.

A grin unconsciously makes its way onto my face as I walk towards them.

"Hey, guys." I say, opening my locker and putting a few things in it.

"Hey, man." Grover replies, grinning. "Your friend here is a freaking genius. Did you know that?" He says, shaking his head in amazement.

I look over at Annabeth, who is blushing slightly, but smirking at me.

"I think he knows that now." She says casually, her smirk growing. I chuckle and role my eyes.

"First impressing my mom, and now my friends? Man, you must really want a piece of this." I joke, laughing along with the other three as she sticks her tongue out at me. I don't know when we started to get along, but I realize I really enjoy this side of her.

"Wait, are you guys going to th-"

"Hey, Percy!" I'm interrupted by none other than Drew, who saunters up to me and smiles. I smile back uneasily, taking a glance at Annabeth, who's eyes are close to impossible to read at the moment.

"Hey, Drew. What's up?" I ask, not bothering to look her in the eye, but instead looking at my phone. She clears her throat before continuing.

"I don't exactly understand the Spanish homework, and I have a test on it second period. Do you think we could ditch first period and study?" She asks, a small pout on her face. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and I look straight at Annabeth, who's biting her lip and looking at the ground. A small smile appears on my face for what seems like the millionth time that day.

"I would, but I need to be in class." I lie. I watch as Annabeth's face lifts up, and her eyes meet mine, a questioning look in them.

"Are you sure?" Drew whines, tugging at my arm with her hands.

I give her a tight smile, but shake my head. "I'm sure. A girl I know recently told me about the importance of studying. I would hate to disappoint her." I say, smirking and drinking in the small smile on Annabeth's face. Drew's face drops as she looks between me and Annabeth.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll see you later." She says, sending me another flirty smile before leaving with her friends. I see Jason, Grover, and Piper stifling their laughter as Annabeth looks everywhere but my eyes.

I roll my eyes, and wink at her.

"What would you say if I asked you to ditch first period with me?" I say, a grin on my face. She immediately rolls her eyes, but a small grin forms on her face and she pushes me playfully.

"I thought a girl told you the importance of studying," She jokes.

I chuckle lightly. "She did, but she also reminded me that too much studying is bad."

I watch as she lets out a cute as hell giggle. "I do not recall saying that, Seaweed Brain." She says, smirking. I'm just about to reply when Jason cuts in.

"You two lovebirds have fun; we'll see you at Greek?" He asks. I smirk and raise an eyebrow at Annabeth, letting her decide.

She sighs and gives me a wary look. "Okay. See you at Greek." She says while I mentally fist bump.

"See you guys later." I say, nodding at Grover, Piper, and Jason. Piper hugs Annabeth and I watch as Annabeth blushes as Piper whispers something in her ear. Grinning widely, Piper waves and follows Jason and Grover to their classes.

I give Annabeth a questioning look, and she blushes even more.

I give her a crooked smile. "I'll get it out of you sometime." I say.

She shakes her head sideways, a small grin playing on her face. "Hell, no."

I laugh and put my hand at her back, walking her out of the school. We stop at my car and I go to the driver's seat before looking at Annabeth, who's sitting in the passenger seat. Her grey eyes are trained on mine and I see her eyes glaze as I stare into their depths. When a car outside honks somewhere in the distance, we both are jolted back to the present, and she looks down and plays with her fingers.

I have a small smile on my face when I talk to her. "What do you want to do?" I ask, grinning at her. She lifts her head immediately and her eyebrows scrunch up cutely as she thinks. I also notices that she's still playing with her fingers nervously, so I backtrack.

"Listen, if you really don't want to ditch class, you can go." I tell her seriously. Her eyes widen and she gives me a surprised look, but then a glowing smile appears on her face.

"I'm bored with being good twenty-four seven, you know?" She jokes, smirking.

I laugh loudly. "That's good. For a second, I thought you actually consider being good for 24 more hours." I deadpan.

She smiles and gives me a smirk. "I know where we should go." She says, her eyes gleaming. "Hand over the keys."

I look at her warily, and shake my head. "Tell me the place, darling." I say, smirking.

She raises an eyebrow. "No."

"Why?"

"Because it's a surprise."

"Come on, Annie. Please?" I give her my puppy eyes and I see her resolve melting, but before she says anything, she closes her eyes and shakes her head. I try a different tactic.

"Please?" I murmur, sliding closer to her and leaning my head towards the crook of her neck. I hear the sharp intake of breath from her and I smell her sweet vanilla and lemon hair. I close my eyes and gently kiss her neck, while I feel her hands grip in my hair.

When I look up, I see her beautiful eyes are glazed over and she's staring at me, a curious look in her eyes. A small smile appears on her face and she blushes. I let a grin on my face before leaning over the console and giving her a firm kiss on her lips. She kisses back with the same passion, before pulling back for air.

"L-Let's go to the place now. It's Blue Bottle Cafe. I love that place." She says softly, a new unreadable emotion in her eyes. I smile and nod, starting the engine.

We sit in silence and I can feel her glancing at me. Without looking at her, I take one hand and hold hers. I hear her gasp, but I just look straight ahead, a small smile on my face.

She finally relaxes, and when I finally look at her, a light blush is coating her face and there is a beautiful smile on her face.

When we reach the cafe, we both go inside and order. I frown when I see the phone number on her cup.

"Who's Kevin?" I say, my eyes glaring at her cup. She looks at her cup in surprise, and lets out a small laugh. "He's my friend."

"Your friend?!" I ask, incredulously. Anger surges through my veins. She gives me a reassuring look.

"Yeah. He.." She stops suddenly, and gives me a nervous look. I'm not eating that shit up though.

"He what? Is it that bad of a secret that you can't tell me?" I ask, my mouth set in a firm line. I give her a disapproving look and look away sharply.

She rolls her eyes and looks away. When she looks at me again, she's narrowing them at me. She grumbles something under her breath. "... thought you had changed." I hear the last part before she gets up and walks towards the car outside.

Fine, I think sourly. I'll go ask the dumbass himself.

I walk toward the counter and stop in front of the guy at the counter. His name-tag reads Kevin.

"Hey, why the hell did you give my girl your number?" I ask angrily. He smirks and raises an eyebrow.

"Your girl, huh?" He asks in an amused tone. I ball up my fists and glare when he holds his hands up in surrender.

"Calm the hell down, dude. I do that to every guy who comes here with her. It's judging their character. And by the looks of it, you have an apology to make to her." He leans closer. "Since you look serious about her, I'll tell you a little secret. I'm gay. And you're the first guy who's come here with her. This place is very special to her. Since she's a regular, I know her very well, but I'm not into her."

I stare at him, trying to comprehend what he just said.

Well... I fucked up.

I set my coffee down and raced outside, looking for Annabeth. My heart stops when she's no where to be found.

"Shit, shit shit." I mutter, looking around the place. Finally, I see a blonde head on a bench at the far corner of the shopping complex. She's drinking her coffee while she reads a story on her phone. I sigh and make my way up to her, my hands in my pocket.

"Annabeth." I start, looking into her eyes as she lifts her head to glare at me.

"What do you want now?" She says, irritably.

"Just... hear me out, okay?" I kneel down next to her and look into her eyes. "I'm so fucking sorry. I didn't mean to say everything I did. I was being stupid, and all I knew was that I wanted to kill Kevin for giving you his number because I was jealous. I hated that he gave you his number when we were together. You're mine, and even if you don't know that, I know that it's always been you. I'm not trying to turn all sappy on you, but when I said that there was something more between us, I wasn't joking. Please, forgive me?"

Her eyes are wide in shock and she looks into my eyes. I can see the gears turning in her head, but when I look deeply into her eyes, I see a new happiness in them.

She takes me by surprise.

She pulls me towards her and kisses me. I stay still in shock before kissing back, holding her to me, and hugging her tightly. When I pull back, I place my hands on her cheek.

"Will you... go out with me? Like on a real date?" I ask. She sighs and pecks me lightly on the lips.

"Why not? We'll go on one date... and see how things work out from there. No promises." She says simply, a serious look on her face. "But if you screw up again, Seaweed Brain, no third chances." She says, grinning.

I laugh and hold her to me. A date with no strings attached is a good thing. Maybe I'll change my mind about her.

I try to convince myself, but I know I'm already in too deep. But I also know that she's not Rachel.

Maybe this will be a good thing, I tell myself.

Okay, guys! There you have it. I have finals this week, so wish me luck! :) Sorry for being the worst updater ever... I'll try and make it up to you guys.

So Percabeth is finally together (officially) so now let's see how it goes from there... they haven't met their biggest problem yet.

I'm going to start another story sometime after I finish this, since this will be over sometime halfway through this year, but I need to make a choice:

A) Kind of like "Problems, Secrets, and Love", a crime based fanfic.

B) A celebrity fanfic with the whole hate-love relationship

C) An actual non AU story with one-shots about their post-BoO lives, which will probably be Percy and each character one-shots.

R&R!