Hey, guys. Here's Chapter 7!

Chapter 7: Annabeth Chase, Mortally Embarrassed by Mother

Date nights at the Jackson household were always interesting for Annabeth Chase.

It didn't matter that she was a demigod on those nights. For at least that night, Annabeth and her boyfriend Percy could pretend they were just normal teenagers enjoying each other.

Normal. The word itself was so overrated.

Annabeth sighed, the meager scarf draped over her neck doing nothing to shield her from the cold wintery breeze. January in New York was nothing like summer.

But the reason most summers were special for Annabeth was mostly because of Camp Half-Blood…

Annabeth glanced around her. She was in the F Train that would take her uptown to Percy's place. The tracks rattled as the train whizzed by, much like Annabeth's antsy heart. She'd just finished a day's work of architecting Olympus. Not an easy job when you had little to work with; the only material held in abundance being rubble.

It was time to relax.

…

Annabeth curled up on the sofa, a bowl of pretzels in her left hand and Percy on her right. Right side, not right hand…

He fiddled with the remote, setting it to some channel (The Discovery Channel, heck, she didn't care) and turning sideways to face her. He scratched the side of his head. "Listen, I know you really wanted to watch Roman Holiday but it's not on, so I hope you're okay with—" —he squinted at the small flat-screen TV— "—To Kill A Mockingbird. They're both Gregory Peck, so hey, I figured we might as well."

Annabeth smiled as she munched on a pretzel.

Percy noticed her smile, and his eyebrows knit together. "Why the smile?" he wondered.

"No reason," she mumbled, the smile still in place.

He grinned at her like he was a pirate. The thought secretly sent currents of pleasure running through her body; she shivered. "Oh, come on. You can tell me."

She shook her head adamantly like she was a little girl; which she kind of was, considering the fact that she was wearing footie pajamas.

His green eyes glittered with amusement. "Then I'll have to tickle it out of you," he declared, reaching out with his two hands, his fingers wiggling like claws.

In fact, Annabeth had just enough time to put the bowl of pretzels before Percy pounced on her.

Literally. He tickled her sides and she spasmed, her legs kicking out from underneath her and her arms going every which way. "Stop," she gasped.

"Never," he vowed, tickling her stomach—oh, gods!— and lower.

And even though she was not in the most comfortable of positions and her hair was a mess and that was most definitely unattractive, Annabeth couldn't help but crack a smile. Warm nights indoor, that's what winter was about. "What if your parents come home?" she managed weakly.

Percy licked his lips. "Paul's at a teaching seminar in Boston and my mom's got the whole grocery place on lockdown while she hunts."

Annabeth giggled. And then she giggled some more, because Percy kept tickling her. She almost wanted to say stop once more, but just then, the air around them shimmered…in the godly way.

"The hell are you doing to my daughter, Jackson?" roared an unmistakably angry feminine voice.

Percy leaped off her, his hands instantly going to his sides. "I didn't do it," he said. A great guilty plea.

Annabeth froze. Her insides hurt, but not just because Percy had just been tickling her. Her stomach was lurching at the endless possibilities of harm that could come to Percy by way of…her mother. "MOM?" she gaped openly.

"Yes, Annabeth," she snapped as if she were dumb and Athena were the goddess of wisdom. She was, sadly. "Now Jackson, answer me."

"Like I said before as well, ma'am, that's not my name," corrected Percy gently, surprisingly gentle in the situation.

Annabeth was most positive her face was scarlet. She would never be able to live this up.

"Would you prefer to be called sea spawn?" spat Athena.

Percy blinked. "No," he said curtly.

Then the strangest thing happened. Athena turned to her. "Now, Annabeth, before I lecture you on how to pick a sensible boyfriend, Aphrodite told me to tell you that your salad bar idea seems to be stable and has been approved by all the other Olympians."

Annabeth blinked, processing all this information dumped on her. She focused on one thing. "Wait, mom. Aphrodite told you this?"

"Yes. Now why would you—" Athena broke off suddenly, just coming to the realization that she'd been 1-UP'ed by the goddess of love. Athena smiled pleasantly (and thinly) at both Annabeth and Percy. "Excuse me for a moment."

Athena disappeared, the fizzling Iris Message showing only the faintest image of a fiery column in the background. Snickering could also be heard; this followed by a string of curses.

Annabeth and Percy shared a worried glance.

About a minute, a frazzled-looking Athena showed up again, more than a couple flyaway hairs sticking up angrily from her head. "Sorry about that. Now, like I was saying, Annabeth, a nice boyfriend should be—"

This time it was Annabeth who cut her off. "Sorry, Mom. Love you, bye!" And she slashed her hand through the Iris Message, only the faintest of misty droplets sticking as residue on her hand.

Percy was wide-eyed, staring at her. "You…just…" he stuttered.

Annabeth smiled. "Now…where were we?"

Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I am.