sorry about the wait y'all ! lots of stuff that backed it up but here's a longer-than-usual chapter !

enjoy(:

The next morning, I woke with a migraine; And I didn't have to be majoring in rocket science to know what it was from.

From the point that I had scurried out the door to now, drenched in a cold sweat and still wearing my jeans, only one thing ran through my mind: the fact that I almost kissed the wicked little braniac they call Annabeth.

She even made an appearance in my dream for the few hours that I had been able to keep my eyes closed. This wasn't out of the normal, but usually those "dreams" were nightmares. This dream was actually dream-like. I was standing on my fire-escape balcony back home, looking at a potted flower one of my ex-girlfriends gave me.

"Hey," I heard from the level about me. Annabeth was sitting on the steps, her hair pulled back and her outfit looking like she literally dug it out of her closet. My breath caught in my throat.

"Hey," I replied.

"What's that?" she pointed at the flower pot in my hands.

"Err, it was a gift from, um, my mom." I didn't know why I lied. My mind was scolding myself for caring, but it was as if my body and mind were suddenly disconnected. Something else was driving my actions and words, so all I could do was watch.

Annabeth smirked. "Oh, really." She pranced down the steps until we were standing nose to nose. "Well that was very sweet of her."

"Yeah, it was."

"Except you hate flowers. You're allergic to pollen." How did she know that? "So why would your mom get you a flower?"

I blinked. "She forgot."

"Mmm," she said. "You're a horrible liar, Seaweed Brain."

"I'm not lying," I mumbled while setting the pot on the ground.

"Are too. You can never look me in the eye when you're lying." Just to prove her point, she grabbed my chin and turned my head in her direction. My eyes locked on hers and I had to stop myself from staring too much. Mind Percy could have stared at them all day, but Body Percy pulled away.

"You're not so great of a liar yourself, Miss Chase," I said. "You always get a little crease in your forehead when you're lying."

"Do not."

I pointed. "Creased."

"Did not!" She playfully pushed me. I grabbed her arms and slung her over my back.

"Did too!"

"Ah, Percy!" she laughed and held me tight as I spun. The feeling of her arms around me was too real. Her laughter was too real; Her eyes were too real.

But it wasn't real. And Mind Percy knew that.

Body Percy, however, just stopped spinning and took her waist in his hands. "Admit it."

Annabeth's ponytail started falling out so she just took it down. Her hair was perfect, of course. "Oh, shut up. Kiss me."

Annabeth grabbed onto my collar and pulled me in. Right before my lips met hers, however, everything went black and my eyes shot open.

Even the feeling of almost kissing her in my dream was too real. It really a dream, though. I was asleep, yes, but it was so real it almost felt like a...fantasy, maybe?

That is when my head started throbbing.

Someone knocked on the door. Of course, to me, it sounded like gunshots. "Ugh," I groaned. "Come in."

Connor Stoll popped his head in. Connor has an identical twin brother, Travis, and to be honest, the only reason I knew it was Connor was because Katie Gardner, Travis's girlfriend, wasn't on his hip. "Hey, man" he greeted. He took a couple steps in before noticing my appearance. "Whoa. Man, you look terrible."

I scoffed. "Thanks, man."

"No problem," he said. "Now, hey, I came to tell you that there's a water-ball tournament going on in an hour and I thought you might want to join up. I still need one more player." He gave me another pity-look. "Plus, judging by how you look, my guess is you could use a normal Saturday."

He was right. "Yeah, sure. But where are we playing? It's like forty degrees out."

"The indoor pool," he said.

"We have an indoor pool?"

"Yeah, bottom floor in the gym."

I blinked. "We have a gym?"

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"Nope."

"Cool," he said. "Well ask for some directions and meet there in, like, forty-five minutes. I want my team to look good by being there early."

I chuckled. "Alright, will do."

Connor closed the door and left me back with my thoughts. The silence was almost over-whelming so I decided to rinse off in the shower. But again, it didn't matter how warm the water was or how long I stood there as the water poured down, my head stayed clouded. I gave up and stepped out. I changed into a white t-shirt and my sweats, deciding to change into my trunks there.

About fifteen minutes and many attempts later, I finally found the pool. From the looks of it, water-ball was a big deal at OU. Even being there early, I could see at least fifty guys in suits gathering in their teams. The stands had people spread sporadically throughout them who were waiting for the games to begin. I figured they had to be pretty dedicated to come to a student water-ball game at ten-thirty on a Saturday morning. I even saw my dad walking around from team to team, wishing them luck. Just seeing him from a distance still made me mad so I rushed around the opposite side of the pool, hoping he wouldn't notice me.

Connor was already changed and standing next to his brother. When he saw me, he smiled and waved. "Perce!" he called. "Come over here."

I did as I was told and walked up to him. "Hey," I greeted.

"Go get changed then come back out here," he said. "We'll be starting in a bit." I nodded then scouted out the crowd to make sure my dad was gone before heading towards the locker room.

"Percy!" I heard from somewhere in the mass of people. I looked over heads until I saw Luke smiling at me.

"Oh, God," I muttered to myself. He walked towards me and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Hey, man, glad to see you're joining the game," he said.

"Yeah, Connor needed one more person."

He nodded. "Cool. I've got my own team so maybe we'll end up playing you guys."

"That'd be cool."

"Man, we'd whip your asses." He started laughing like we were the best of friends.

I tried to chuckle along. "Yeah, we'll see, I guess."

"Luke," someone called from behind me. I knew that voice. Oh, God. I felt blood rush to my cheeks. "There you are, I lost you."

"Sorry," he said. "I lost you too then I saw Percy so I came over to say hey."

Her head fell and she hid behind her curls. At that moment, I honestly had never wanted to drown more in my life. I was ready to just jump in the pool and make it happen right then. Instead, I pretended to be playing with my swimsuit strings. "Oh," she said. "That's fine." Her tone made it obvious that she was right there with me on the whole 'drowning' thing.

"Listen," I mumbled to Luke. "I should really go get my suit on—"

Luke didn't even pay any attention to me and instead looked right over my head and waved to the distance. "Hey!" he called to someone. Then he turned back to Annabeth and I and said, "Sorry, guys. I'll be right back." He took Annabeth's hand and squeezed it while giving her a look of assurance. She gave him a shy smile back before he took off. My heart started speeding up and I raised my eyebrow. I suddenly didn't want to go anywhere.

"Thought you said you and Luke weren't dating anymore," I said.

"We're not," she defended. Her eyes locked with mine for half a second and the butterflies started up again. "We're friends."

"I don't remember the last time I held hands with a friend."

Her cheeks turned pink and her eyes darkened. Part of me relaxed at the sight of her normal, annoying expression. It made it a lot easier to be around her. "Why do you care so much, Seaweed Brain? You're not letting up on this."

"Well last night I was just curious," I said. There was a pause between us and something told me we both were thinking of the same thing. She bit her lip and shifted like she was hoping someone would come save her. I didn't know what I wanted to happen, I just knew this silence had to end before I really did throw myself in the pool.

"And like I said," I added quickly. "I don't like Luke."

A look of realization came across her face. She shifted back into her usual cocky smirk and her shoulders rolled back. "My, oh my. Is a mister Percy Jackson jealous?"

My face boiled and I squared my shoulders to her. "I am not jealous," I said.

"Well, good," she said. "because you shouldn't be."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Jealousy is only for people who like each other, right?"

"Well, yeah," I said quietly. My heart started beating in my ears and my throat clenched. "But—"

"What happened last night didn't mean anything, Percy." Another silence surrounded us. She crossed her arms and looked away. "It was just a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing," She paused and peaked at me. "right?"

I blinked. It didn't mean anything.

I opened and closed my mouth what felt like thirty times before I just nodded. "Yeah, I know," I said. "You're right."

She nodded back stiffly and kept her mouth shut. It felt like I just swallowed a ten-pound weight and all my muscles tightened. I wanted to go back to bed for the rest of the month and I didn't know why. Part of me wished I was still in bed and the other part was glad I wouldn't have to think about her anymore. At least, I think it was. Instead of thinking about it anymore, I just said, "I'll, err, see you Monday. Enjoy the games."

Annabeth stayed put and I kept walking. The only thing that kept me moving was the idea of someone knocking me out in the pool so I could sink to the bottom and never come back up.

The tournament passed without many memorable moments. My team won with ease and when it was time for us to play Luke's team, I made sure to make them embarrassed to even be there. Afterwards, Luke came up to me with the same smile that screamed We're the best of friends and the greatest guys on campus! People wish they were us!

"You've got game, Perce," he said. "Don't think beating me is going to be a common thing, though. We'll get you next time." He punched me in the arm and laughed.

I chuckled dryly. "Yeah, next time." I made an excuse that I had to go do laundry (I don't do laundry. I pay Nico to do mine.) but before I could turn away, he stopped me one more time.

"Oh, hey, Jackson," he said. "Me and some other guys are going out for drinks tonight downtown. You should come."

I turned back to him. "I'm not twenty-one."

He shrugged. "I can get you a cheap fake."

I shook my head. "Maybe next time."

"Aw, come on, man," he said. "How many 'next times' are there going to be?"

"Next time, okay?" I said as firmly as I could.

"Alright, but I'm holding you to that." He slapped me on the shoulder then ran passed me. I turned to leave in that same direction but that turned out to be a bad idea. Luke ran right up to Annabeth, grabbed her waist, and squeezed. She flinched and started laughing and tried to push him away just like I saw them doing at The Spot before Thanksgiving.

"They make me sick." Nico walked up next to me. I felt a little bad because I didn't even know he was here. "This was everyday last year when she would come take her classes."

I raised an eyebrow. "You saw them? Why were you here?"

"My dad would give me money," he said. His attention turned back to the star couple.

I growled. "You know, they're actually perfect for each other. They both piss me off."

He chuckled. "They piss everyone off. Or, Luke does, at least. What did he want anyway?"

"He invited me to get drinks tonight."

"Wow, Percy," he said with enthusiasm. "And all this time I thought you two were just friends. I'm glad you're finally coming out of the closet!"

I shoved him and he laughed. "Shut up," I said. I took another look over to the lovers where Annabeth was talking to another friend with a big grin on her face. Her hair was back to being unnaturally perfect and she had on a new pair of jeans. However, even with her usual Barbie doll look, her smile seemed to light up the room and even from thirty feet away, I could still see her eyes sparkle.

"Whatcha lookin' at there, Perce?" Nico noticed.

"Nothing," I said. Luke moved so he was standing next to Annabeth and he slipped his hand in her back pocket. She didn't make any effort to move it. I thought they only did that in movies."Staring off into the distance, I guess."

I really needed to get my mind off Annabeth. Not only did I feel totally wrong knowing that I was starting to care, but there was this other feeling. It was almost worse than anger. Actually, it wasworse than anger because it was like I was sad at the same time. I didn't know what it was, but I didn't like it. I wondered if this was what it's like to be a girl on her time-of-the-month.

"Hey, I'm going to go back to the dorm," I added. "I've got some stuff to do."

"Alright," he said. "I'll see you later."

"See you." I marched out of the pool room, out of the gym, and didn't stop until Nico's laptop was up and running.

The people standing in front of Rachel and I were finally able to pronounce their foreign last name clearly enough to show that they did in fact have reservations for seven-thirty at this particular location.

"Next, please," the man behind the greeting desk said. He was a tall, lanky guy dressed even more formally than I was. And let me tell you, black pants and a dress shirt was even a stretch for me. "Name?"

"Jackson," I said. "Table for two." Rachel smiled and playfully bumped me. I had a feeling that Rachel got out even less than I did because when I looked up her number on Nico's laptop and first called her to ask if she would want to go out to dinner, she said yes faster than I could finish the question. Next thing I knew, I was driving my dad's BMW downtown with her glammed up in the passenger's seat.

Getting out was exactly what I needed—and with a girl who was cute, flirty, and not blonde made it even better.

"Okay," he said. "Malory will show you to your table." A tall, blonde girl with menus already in her arms smiled and nodded her head.

"Right this way," she said. Her hips swayed as she pranced to a back section in the restaurant. I couldn't help but stare. At first, I thought it was because I'm a guy and she was hot, but then I realized that she walked exactly like Annabeth did in my dream. Malory's hair started to curl and her clothes started to change into sweats. The world around me slowed and I could hear my heart beat in my ears.

My foot caught on the leg of a chair and I almost fell on top of an old woman. "Oh, God, ma'am, I'm so sorry."

She simply smiled at me just like my grandma would do and said, "That's quite alright, my boy."

I looked back up. Rachel was giggling and Malory was still wearing her hostess uniform. I made a mental note to get to sleep early tonight. Rachel held out her hand in the way that she was more just asking me to keep up. I took it and we continued to follow Malory to our table.

The section she took us to was dark—I'm talking the "Who's hand am I holding again?" kind of dark. The whole room was lit by nothing but candles and from what I could see, every table was set for just two people. On the wall in fancy handwriting was the word Sweethearts. A harpist sat in the corner who was about as old as the woman I almost fell on—probably older.

Malory led us to the middle of the room. Around us, about a dozen other couples sat in fancy clothing holding hands across the table. I pulled out Rachel's chair for her which she smiled and thanked me for. I smirked to myself thinking my dad would've been proud. It quickly fell when I realized that I didn't care.

We ordered our drinks then Malory left us alone. Rachel took a deep breath. "This is incredible," she said while admiring the room. "How can you even afford this?"

"Dad's credit card," I said. "He owed me so I took it without telling him."

She raised an eyebrow. "What did he owe you for?"

"Long story." She nodded her head and didn't push the topic. I was appreciative of that because even a week later, I still felt anger boil inside of me when I thought about him.

"So, Percy," Rachel said. "Tell me about yourself."

"Okay. Like what?"

"I don't know, anything. Like, do you know what you're major will be?"

"Marine biology of some kind," I said. "How about you?"

"Psychology. I'm pretty good when it comes to 'mind and brain' stuff so I figured I should do something with it."

"Makes sense."

"Yeah." Rachel played with the hem of her dress. "Uh, where are you from?"

"New York."

Her eyes lit up. "You're joking, right? So am I!"

I smiled. "Really? Wow, that's awesome."

"Yeah, it's weird being so far from home."

"Tell me about it."

She shrugged. "But it is nice sometimes. Being away from my parents is a bonus."

"Oh, yes," I chuckled. "Well, actually, my dad gets on my nerves, but I do miss my mom and step-dad."

"That's sweet," she said. She started playing with her silverware. "and you're lucky. I've got two parents that piss me off."

"Oh, err, why is that?" I wasn't really sure if that was the best question to ask, but I wasn't really sure about anything when it came to this date.

"They just don't really get me," she answered. "Like, I'm usually not like this." She gestured to her red, sparkly dress and heels. "I honestly don't even know why I wore this."

"They why did you?" I chuckled.

"Well, you said we were going to a fancy restaurant so, I don't know, I didn't want to look sloppy."

"You don't have to impress me," I said. "Dressing up is a stretch for me too."

She smirked. "Good, then we agree on something."

I smiled. A waiter with a name tag that read Steve came by with our drinks then took our orders. When he marched back to the kitchen with much more purpose than a college aged waiter should have, I turned back to Rachel and said, "So why don't your parents get you?"

"Oh, yeah, well see, they want me like this. They even sent me to this all-girls finishing school for society girls. It was hell." I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose. She noticed this and laughed. "I know, right?"

"And they made you go anyway?"

"I tried to get out of it," she explained. Her expression saddened. "but they're in charge."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That sucks."

"S'okay. That's why I like it here. I can be my own person."

At first I couldn't agree. My life was pretty much taken away from me when my parents sent me to OU without even asking me about it. And to make it even worse, now my future is in the hands of my hypocritical father and the teaching abilities of my "I'm just kidding and I actually don't want anything to do with you" English partner.

"I guess," I said.

"Well think about it: here, there's no one to tell us what to do or how to do it and we never have to act like someone we're not. I feel so free here."

"Lucky you. I'm jailed by my dad." I made a face.

Rachel grabbed my hand. I jumped a little in surprise but her soft touch relaxed me. It was like she was doing it more for a friendly gesture than a romantic one. I squeezed back. "Look, Percy, I heard about what happened with your dad, and I really just think he wants what's best for you." She smiled at me. "He probably told you about your grades so you could do what you needed to stay."

I scrunched my eyebrows. "Wait, what? How'd you know about that?"

"Honestly, lots of people know. He's threatening to kick you out if you don't get your grades up, right?"

My heart rate sped up. "I didn't tell anyone that, though."

She cocked her head. "Well, you had to have told somebody. It's all over campus." I clenched my fists. I think I hurt Rachel's hand but if I did, she didn't say anything.

"But, I-I didn't tell—" I froze. "Annabeth."

"You told Annabeth?" she said. "Annabeth Chase? I thought you guys hated each other. That one, I heard from, like, everybody."

I let out one sharp laugh. "Oh, don't worry." I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. "We do."

review guyssssssssss -kenna(: