Hey guys. I'm updating pretty consistently, right? Basically, I wrote this and the last chapter in my head a while ago and I'm pretty excited for both of them. Okay, the last one was not spectacular at all, but hopefully this one'll be alright. And thanks for the reviews, as always, I loved them.

Enjoy!

Annabeth

"All crew aboard!" Frank yelled out into the restaurant. It was a running joke started some time ago about how they functioned just like a ship crew. Thalia said most of them would be chilling downstairs or with the fridge, so now it was an "aboard" thing.

All the waitresses and single waiter-Chris, stopped bustling around the empty tables and headed in. This was planned ahead of time to be in the middle of the day so that the people on both shifts would be together.

Rachel, as always, staked her claim by pressing herself to Percy and shooting frosty looks in Annabeth's direction. She rolled her eyes at the redheaded waitress' antics and perched on the counter beside Katie, sister of Miranda, who worked in the afternoon.

Hazel stood beside Frank, but instead of being dwarfed like usual, her beam and excited glow made her the center of the room. She lifted a cream-colored box onto the kitchen island and carefully undid the ribbons. A delicately frosted upside-down cheesecake sat in the middle. Loopy chocolate icing spelled out, "Grace's Pizza Place".

Warm smiles spread out around the workers, leaning in to examining the gorgeously done cake. It had a smooth coat of purple icing, the store's main color, with splashes of orange (which most of them preferred) and a little puff in every person's favorite color. She also appealed to most of their childlike natures and dusted the top with crushed candies and chocolate. It really was a well-done job.

"I made this to celebrate our one year anniversary!" Hazel exclaimed, blowing out the small candle she placed inside the first "p". "I had so much fun working here. Our menu has gotten so many new pizzas, and everyone loves our originals. And I have really good news. I drew some scenes from here, and the town gallery actually accepted them!"

The kitchen was full of people clapping and yelling out congratulations. Frank lifted her into the air and spun her in a circle, her cinnamon hair flying.

She pulled some prints from an envelope, displaying pictures clearly drawn with color pencils. There was Calypso sprinkling toppings on a pizza with concentration, Miranda carrying out five large pizzas with ease, Percy and Leo spraying each other with whipping cream, Thalia yelling across the restaurant (probably at the Stolls), Nico leaning on a counter and examining his Mythomagic cards, and Annabeth and Malcolm side by side working on an Olives of Athena pizza, Silena fluffing her hair while Clarisse made a face, Frank standing by the oven patiently, Piper slipping into Jason's office with a huge grin, and Percy grinning at a Blue Coke like he just emerged from a long desert trip with a half-full water bottle.

Annabeth saw another corner beneath the pile, and was pulling it out before Hazel hurriedly pulled it away. She glanced at her questioningly.

"I didn't submit that one," Hazel admitted. Her cheeks were really red. "I don't even know why I drew it."

"Can I see?" Annabeth asked, widening her eyes in a bad imitation of Percy's puppy dog eyes.

Hazel sighed and gave her the picture. Piper looked at it over Annabeth's shoulder and squealed. It was in front of the restaurant, which had hardly any people, and Hazel and Frank were there, kissing. Hazel's converses were mostly off the ground since Frank had lifted her up.

"Wow," Annabeth murmured. "This is really good." The whole restaurant gathered to see. Immediately a few whistles rang out and people were nodding appreciatively.

Hazel was obviously not as used to drawing herself, since her shape was a little blurred, but it was just as a good picture. Frank's cheeks were pretty red when he finally saw it himself.

"Hazel, you should include it in the collection. It would make a great first picture."

The shorter girl lowered her head modestly. "No, it's too personal."

"Come on, it's really good!" Piper and Silena and soon everyone joined in with the egging on.

Hazel glanced at Frank, their faces both scarlet. "Seriously?"

"That's a yes, then," Nico announced for her, slipping it into her pocket. "Mail it to the gallery."

"I am totally going to the exhibit. It's opening around next week, right?" Calypso asked.

Hazel nodded, her thick curls bobbing.

"Let's go together, then!" Piper laughed.

Once they finished going over the drawings and Thalia complaining about how she was "so badly portrayed", Hazel sliced the cake for them.

Percy, as expected, had a neon blue puff, and Annabeth's was slate gray. They both stepped off into a corner and ate together.

"You know, you were the only one with two pictures," Annabeth told him.

"Jealous?" he smirked. "Obviously it just goes to show how important I am around here."
"Then again, Frank was also repeated." She smirked right back.

Percy rolled his eyes. "That's because of Hazel's everlasting love for the big guy." Hazel was coming over, and when she heard, she glared at Percy. He shrugged and said, "Well, it's clearly true."

Hazel looked at Annabeth for support, but she was nodding in agreement to Percy. "You guys are so synchronized it's weird," she told them in a huff and went away.

They broke down in giggles. Well, it was a welcome break from getting accused about fighting all the time.

When she got to her last bite, she grinned at it. The cake was supposed to symbolize each other their times here, and Annabeth loved every second. The work, hanging out with everyone, and being with Percy. She grinned as she took a huge bite.

"Jackson," she called to Percy as she simultaneously sketched and guarded over her plate of onion rings.

"Yeah?" Percy shifted in his spot on the fire escape landing, holding a small panda toy to his chest.

She frowned in concentration as she drew the detailing on the ceiling of a gazebo. "Let's do something tomorrow."

"Like what?" His hand crept out for an onion ring, but she slapped it away.

"Escape from work again," she joked. She bit her lip as she started drawing a fountain. Suddenly someone punched the window partially right across from them. They looked over to see Clarisse giving them a Don't try this with me look. Annabeth could tell because then the waitress yelled this with a few expletives.

Percy shook an onion ring at her. "Five minutes," he told her.

She threw up her arms and groaned. "Why do I even try," she snapped and walked away.

Annabeth picked an onion ring while sliding the plate onto her lap. "No, I was actually thinking of going somewhere."

Percy cocked his head. "Is the oh-so-great and smart Annabeth Chase asking me out on a date?" He gasped and pretended to faint.

She shoved him. "I know it's hard to believe, but you should enjoy it now."

"Well, in that case," he leaned in until he was inches away from hers. Her gaze flickered down to his lips, imagining their salty taste. He placed a hand on her neck and stayed there, watching the hesitation flicker on her face.

"Nervous?" his whispered, his breath brushing her eyelids. She shivered before hardening her gaze and stamping down her emotions. All his cockiness disappeared when he met her usual icy gray gaze.

"Not at all." Then she tilted her head and leaned in so their lips met.

There was a short thump on the window, too short, like someone had been startled, and Thalia's distinct voice yelling, "Ewwwwwwwww!"

Percy's lips split into a grin, but he didn't stop. Instead, he took her waist and tugged her closer to him. Annabeth joined in on the game, cupping his face, and meeting his lips with more ferocity than before.

Piper, then, squealed and shrieked their names over and over. Leo, at first, wolf whistled before joining Thalia's side when they ceased to stop.

They finally broke up for air, waving the grossed out/anticipating crowd away. Breathing heavily, Annabeth leaned on Percy's chest. "Man, I didn't think we were this far in the relationship."

He wrapped his arms around her. "That was an awesome make out session though. I'm glad we made it through."

Once they caught their breath they separated, leaning against the fire escape rail instead. "So, before I was so rudely interrupted," Annabeth started.

"Hey! You were the one who kissed me!"

They argued for a bit before Annabeth remembered she was about to say something. "Okay, Percy, just be quiet until I finish, kay?"

He muttered, annoyed, but nodded.

"So, since we've spent a lot of time hanging out around here, I was thinking we tried something entirely new. Do you know what the opposite of pizza is?" She shook her finger at him when he opened his mouth. "That was a rhetorical question, and you're supposed to be quiet. Fine dining, Percy. Wouldn't that be great? Nope, still rhetorical. I can find us a fancy restaurant, and we can dress up, and you'll have to pick me up. Presumably in your Maserati."

"Can I talk now? Well, since my Maserati is currently at the car shop, getting spit-shined, I'm going to have to offer my humble but gallant Ford truck. You won't mind, will you?"

Annabeth grinned. "Well, I'm not sure if any of those valets will dare to get inside, but it will be an entrance."

"Alright. I guess we can always spurge on the Grapevine every few months. Hopefully the rental suit won't have any food stains."

"The Grapevine?" Annabeth frowned. "Like the semi-formal restaurant in town? What, no, that's not fancy. We're heading to a three Michelin star one in the city. I heard it's good."

"Um, and what are our means for that? Piper?" The waitress actually had an Academy Award-winning actor as a dad and a supermodel for a mom, so she was fairly loaded, but she never claimed up to her roots otherwise.

She grinned and set down her pencil. "Nope, I've got something else in mind."
When they were let off from work, Annabeth drove to the train station. It was only two hours from the largest city in the zip code. She hastily changed in the bathroom, almost ripping her stockings and yanking her hair into a bun she barely remembered how to do. She applied her clear gloss carefully, clutching the sink for balance, and even opted for eyeliner and two colors-blended together-of eyeshadow. Nothing but the best for Athena.

She had to wander the streets before coming across a huge gray building. Annabeth didn't even try to see the top because craning her neck so far back she was essentially upside down would make her look stupid.

As expected, the building was extraordinarily elegant and beautiful. Instead of a simple rectangle, the edges were smoothed over, with sharp points only at the top and bottom. Windows were in varying shades of gray, swirling around in mostly irregular patterns, but still creating the illusion of texture. And for real complexity, the middle of the building folded in slightly, like a crease on a blanket. The tops and bottom had similar folds. Little balconies jutted out, almost hidden against the wall, a simple semicircle of glass with an identical cover above it. There were utterly transparent railings on the balcony, but no one could see them. And the top ceiling, bizarrely, had green hills that belonged somewhere in New Zealand.

The parking lot was flat tan cobblestone, with little rows of flowers lining out a path to the front. There was no visible door, only a flat wall with guards. Then, once the wall sensed a body, two glass doors would "appear" and slid open.

The lobby was a dome combined with a long hallway. The glass top (which didn't even appear on the buildings' exterior) had the geometric diamond shape printed over it, all the pieces fitting together like in a puzzle. Detailed paintings of scenes in history adorned the tops of the walls in a long mural. At the end of the hallway, above the wide reception, there was a picture on Athena on a glimmering silk tapestry. She looked as regal as the Queen of the World, her famous calculating gaze that displayed endless intelligence captured perfectly.

Annabeth was still staring at the tapestry as she got to the reception. The lady sitting there had frizzy hair in an impossibly neat bun, sliver-rimmed glasses, and a white designer pantsuit. Her face was beautiful in sharp angles and strictness. Her posture stiffened the tiniest bit at Annabeth's arrival, but otherwise the receptionist didn't acknowledge her.

She cleared her throat and place her palms on the slivery-white marble counter. "Annabeth Chase," she announced with an air of importance. She winced when she came out sounding like some radio announcer, minus the cheesiness.

The lady flashed her a quick look and returned to her computer.

Annabeth sighed. "Tell Athena that Annabeth would like to see her. Daughter of Fredrick," she added as an afterthought.

The receptionist's gleaming emerald eyes darted up to her at the word "Athena" before ignoring her again.

She sighed, loudly. The people around her would politely pat her cheek or stiffly hug her when she was small and wandering around, but now their professional displays of affection were completely gone. Then again, a lot of the people here at Athena Virtuosity Co. were probably around the same age as she was then. So her chances of getting attention were none.

"Can you please call her and tell her that her daughter is here, Kyra," Annabeth said after reading the gold name tag. Figures that even the receptionist would have an awesome name.

Kyra's eyes flickered across her face. Annabeth tried to mimic Athena's usual unforgiving expression, which she luckily possessed. She even held out her finger and said, "You can take a blood test."

Kyra may have extremely subtly rolled her eyes. "List your birthday, please. And name of father."

"Uh, July 12, 1994. Fredrick Chase." Annabeth wouldn't be surprised if that was the only information about her in Athena's brain, along with her name.

The lady rapped the counter with her knuckles. "Take elevator eight onto the five hundredth floor. Are you motion sick?"

"Not really."

"Well, there are pills in a container inside the elevator." Kyra lifted her chin slightly, and Annabeth got the feeling it was a dismissal.

She shuffled towards the eight elevator with other well-dressed, smart-looking people. The stone doors were painted with intricate owls roosting in tree branches. The whole painting was in white, but still it looked seriously real. The doors opened without sound, and they got into the huge room. The walls were partial mirrors, and there were little glass containers with pills inside. Annabeth ignored them at first, but when the elevator began surging upwards and the numbers changed in a blur, she quickly swallowed one. Her head cleared immediately and her blood pressure didn't bother her at all.

The elevator glided to a stop, and they emerged on the fifth hundredth floor. The ground was covered by an expansive Persian carpet, and the ceiling was glass. Annabeth realized it was actually faintly stained so the light streaming through would be covered. The crowd walked through an actual wall of olive trees planted together, seamlessly disappearing from one end to another. Annabeth hesitantly followed them, and emerged through it without touching any wood at all. She squinted at it for a long while before noticing a few gears at the bottom, in the dirt. Clever.

When she turned around from the wall, her breath caught in her throat. In front of her was a life-sized replica of the Pantheon in Greece, but complete, with a shiny finish, like it was just built. The building material, Annabeth reckoned, was shipped from the same area as the original. Real grass spread out around it, so green they burned on the inside of her eyelids, and the air smelled faintly of olives. She headed inside to find an altered Pallas Athena. The statue appeared like Athena (her mother, of course) in traditional Greek armor instead of a dress. The carving was more skilled and realistic than the first statue, since the times were different. More jewels glittered on her instead of simply gold. Nike was the same as before.

The crowd streamed around the statue without so much of as a look. Annabeth followed after them to an imposingly tall oak door. Three guards stood on either side of it. And a golden owl, exactly like the one on the Athenian coins, was carved onto it.

Annabeth was right. The valet's jaw did drop when he saw Percy's ancient and beat-up Ford truck. He stared at the car keys in confusion and slowly climbed inside. They both held in laughs as they walked into the restaurant.

It was a pretty stunning place, totally worth the five-minute argument Annabeth had with her mother. (Five minutes with the CEO of Athena Virtuosity Co. was like five centuries.) She only needed to announce the paid dinner as an early birthday present and spent the rest of the argument tiptoeing around Percy and the fact that this dinner was a date. Athena got all the details at the end, of course.

Like many fancy restaurants, it was very dark, with only tall candles in the middle of each table and a few small lightbulbs, cupped in glass, hanging far above the room. Violin played soothingly in the corner, and the place smelled like lavender and cologne.

Percy offered her his arm, and even though his rented tux was a bit itchy, Annabeth didn't mind. She tucked her arm under his and grinned at him. His eyes danced in excitement. The hostess led them to a seat in the back. Annabeth set her clutch purse on the table, copying the other women.

Percy leaned in. The candle sent shadows across his handsome features. His perfect teeth shone in the dark. "Wow, this place is incredible. A bit stuck-up, but we all prepared for that."

Annabeth laughed, accepting the wine list from the waiter. "Good thing we did." She switched to a stage whisper. "Look at the service here. They don't get distracted or hold up too long or make goo-goo eyes at their boyfriend in the kitchen."

Percy snickered. "Wow, this place is like a miracle."

They both scanned the wine list, only recognizing the term Merlot from Mr. D, who shipped drinks to Grace's Pizza Place. They got new menus, pretty much the size of their torsos.

Percy whistled as he looked at a few of the dishes. "Dude, this appetizer costs like a hundred dollars for each word, and there are a load of words."

Annabeth grinned. "I know what you mean. I feel out of breath just by looking at this."

They finally decided on some simple steak. For dessert, they went all out with a caramelized and shredded and sewed together and iced pie along with some sort of poached fruit tart based on a cupcake. Or something like that.

When the food arrived and they had their Merlot poured, easy conversation flowed from them. But Annabeth started noticing how they were louder than the other tables, and how their conversation topics (catching Jason weight-lifting at the gym, setting Leo's socks on fire, blowing dishwashing bubbles into Thalia's face) were totally out of place. The waiter standing by them had a very terrified expression.

When Percy told her a hilarious story about when his huge mastiff, Mrs. O'Leary saw a squirrel and plowed into Frank like he was a twig, they both started laughing raucously. Then the annoyed stares in their direction started.

And then when Annabeth was slicing her steak and she nudged it into her mash potato tower, the tip flew off and landed on Percy's nose. They started laughing again, and then Annabeth wiped it off and kissed his nose. Before she knew it, they were making out.

Every time Percy's fingers touched her bare shoulders, tingles went down her spine. Her fingers threaded deeper and deeper in his hair, while her other hand ran down his smooth and muscled back. Their lips moved slowly, more of a ballroom dance than tap dancing. It was a gentle kiss, completely different from yesterday, and once they broke apart Percy stroked her cheek. "You're really beautiful, Annabeth," he murmured.

Annabeth lit up inside. She knew right then that this dinner was a good idea.

Then Percy's sleeve bumped his plate, smearing sauce over his elbow, and they both burst out laughing. It died down quickly, though, because the sound echoed harshly in the silence of the room.

They lowered their heads and decided to whisper.

"Annabeth, I feel like this a completely different planet from the pizzeria," he hissed. "I mean, even this candle has better class than us. Just look at it!"

"Yeah, it looks like the Count of candles."

Percy started chuckling, and realizing his mistake, toned his laughter down to a whisper, but it sounded really stupid that way. Annabeth smirked. "You sound like you're trying to be private because you heard someone's really embarrassing secret."

"Yeah? And what would that be? Let me guess, you actually left your dirty clothes on the floor once?" He gasped dramatically, causing several waiters to look over, alarmed.

Annabeth frowned. "What? No! Why would I ever do that?"

He snickered. "Yeah, that is so absurd that no one does it. So, did you spill something on yourself before? Oh wait, you did. Because you were so startled by how incredible and hot I was you made your apron blue."

She rolled her eyes. "No, I was simply focused, and whenever you appear that state will fail to exist. Have you even concentrated on something for a second of your life?"

"Yes. And, Bethie, did you just call me distracting?"

She gaped. Okay, big, big mistake. He was joking, of course, but unfortunately she thought so deep inside. "No! I said your annoyingness and lack of focus—" she started sputtering. She took a few deep breaths to get her brain awake. "Actually, yes. You're distracting because of how idiotic you are."

He leaned in, pouting. "Actually," he mimicked her, "I'm pretty sure it's because of my good looks."

Annabeth swatted him away. "Keep dreaming, Jackson."

"Oh, I will. And in those dreams you will faint into my arms and wake up and gaze into my eyes and say, 'Oh, Percy, save me!'" He said those words in a breathy falsetto so high it caused his voice to break repeatedly.

She swatted him harder. "I feel like you would fail to catch me because of your lack of heroism. And if I did speak like that you are safe to assume I was kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a fake human chipmunk experiment."

"I was going for dolphin, Annabeth." He waved his fork. "Should've been obvious."

Annabeth face-palmed a bit too hard. "I am regretting his dinner already."

He took her hand and stretched his sea-colored eyes wide open. "Come on Annabeth," he whined adorably. "This is incredibly romantic."

His lower lip was jutting out and Annabeth couldn't stop staring at it while anticipation shook her sternum. She bit the inside of her cheek to get herself to focus. "Yeah, that dolphin sounds like a pretty great guy."

"Hello? Extremely hot guy sitting here?" Percy exclaimed.

Annabeth laughed. "I'll believe it when I see it." When he paused, face impassive, a blush rose to her cheeks. Was it that obvious that she agreed with him whole-heartedly?

Then he smirked. "Blushing, Bethie?"

She buried her face in her hands. "What?"

"Oh, you so are."

"No!" Her voice, maddeningly, heightened to a shriek.

Percy knew her too well. He reached for her fingers, so gently Annabeth immediately gave in to the chivalry, and then he grinned mischievously. "See, that totally a blush," he announced.

She yanked her hands from his with a loud, "Hey!"

Then someone coughed, loudly. They spun around to see a stern-looking man. He told them, in the politest way possible, to be quiet. Both had reddened cheeks when they nodded and looked down.

So they went back to the whisper thing. Whenever Percy got too loud, she kicked his foot. They were doing pretty well until dessert came up.

Percy's dessert plate came with an extra spoon, and his eyes lit up. When the waitress made a move to take his other one, he placed a hand on her arm and told her to leave it. With a light blush on her butterscotch-colored cheeks, she withdrew her arm and hurried away.

Annabeth was still glaring off in the direction the waitress went off when Percy poked her to get her attention. "I have a great idea!" he exclaimed. "You know the Spoon Game?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Nope."

He very carefully picked up his spoon, wiped it with his thumb, and placed it on his nose. It hung there without problem. He smiled and talked around the handle. "But there's a deluxe level. It's pretty much legendary, but two people have achieved it before." He cleaned his other spoon, and very carefully, placed it on top of the other. They both clattered to the ground.

Annabeth sat back and folded her arms, unimpressed.

Percy tried again and again, and then his attempts became hilarious. He lifted his nose up, like the snobs sitting beside them, and the spoon actually stuck on. "Must be because of its expensive lineage," he told her with a smile that caused the spoons to fall. It didn't work again. He even tried licking the two spoons, but they just slipped. He squeezed his eyes shut and muttered random chants under his breath, but no luck. Finally, a million tries later, with their desserts both forgotten, the second spoon stayed. It was completely still. Percy's eyes widened into two huge pools of green, so centered onto the spoon. Even the waiter beside them gasped.

Percy drew in a shaky breath Annabeth herself was holding her breath. Her internal timer counted five seconds. Six. Seven.

Just when her lungs felt a tiny bit strained, Percy's expression twitched uncontrollably. The spoon clattered onto the table, and his shoulders sank in disappointment. "I can't hold still for that long!" he complained. He looked so self-righteous and angry that Annabeth couldn't help laughing. He joined in, saying, "Actually, that was probably my personal record of staying still. Wow."

"Seriously, seven seconds?"

"So what? What's yours?"

"Um, five."

They started laughing again. They were teasing each other about how ADHD would probably trip each other so badly in the future ("So, what if you climbing a tree and you see a blue scarf on a bench and you literally drop from the tree…..") and laughing so hard, Annabeth felt tears flowing down her cheeks when someone coughed really loudly. The stern man from before ordered them outside.

Annabeth called, "Bill's on Athena!" as they headed out the doorway and smirked at the hostess' bewildered expression.

"Well, mission complete," Percy told her as they were on the road. "We acted like total kids."

"Percy, you are a kid." She grabbed the wheel for him as he tried to hit her.

Once they settled down, Percy flashed her a troublemaker grin in the rearview mirror. "You know what's the actual opposite of pizza?"

An hour and a half later, they were both at Percy's apartment, and he was eagerly chatting to the delivery guy while taking white paper containers from him. He said goodbye and joined Annabeth on the couch, setting the Chinese takeout on the coffee table.

"Dig in, malady." He switched on The Little Mermaid.

She reached for the chopsticks before her little crystal bracelet and neatly painted nails caught her eye. "Wait. If we dressed up for the fancy dinner, shouldn't we wear something special for this too?"

So they dug out two pairs of sweats from Percy's drawers and wiped off all their hair gel/makeup. Annabeth carefully folded her strapless midnight blue dress and tucked it in the purse, reminding herself to thank Piper for it later. She totally looked stunning in it, but wearing Percy's salt-smelling sweats made her happiest.

Then they settled together on the couch, a feast of Chinese food set out before them, and watched Ariel fall in love with someone who could never be hers.

Okay that's it. This is one of my favorite chapters. Not as funny as I wanted it to be, but I don't have a whole lot of humor skills. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it as much as me. Also, I didn't get too carried away with describing Athena's company, right? I just love creating beautiful and expensive places. Heh.

Flippityflop: Wow. I didn't put a whole lot of thinking into that sentence, and I would've expected anyone to pay attention to it. I'm glad you found it interesting. Thanks. And that beginning was spontaneous, but I think it turned out well. Thanks again.

Lilie0107: They're cute? I thought they were awkward and confused. Jk. I was working towards that, so thanks. And you seriously read the A/Ns? How? Why? I'm going to try to make them interesting from now on.

Hdgy: Cool! Thanks for taking time to review. And awesome name. It reminds me of Hedge and edgy. But no, Coach Hedge is not edgy.

Au revoir,

Pride-and-loyalty