I am SO SORRY for the late update! I really hope you'll forgive me! I was away over the March Break, plus I have ENDLESS amounts of work, or so it would seem. Plus, I do just need a little time to sleep every now and then!

But, I really hope you like this next chapter!

Annabeth

I didn't mean for it to happen. It just did. I didn't ask or anything, it was all Percy. But I suppose it's important to talk about. So, here's how I got invited to dinner at Percy's house.

His house was... different than I expected. The air was filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies, with a slight undertone of wet dog.

When I stepped over the threshold, I was immediately bowled over by a large black mass. I fell back into Percy, whose knees buckled as he caught me under the arms. A scratchy, slobbery tongue licked my face.

"Mrs. O'Leary, off!" Percy commanded the ball of fur. The dog (or maybe it was a small bear) stood stationary in front of us. I regained my balance. "Sit, girl," he said. She obeyed, plopping her butt down on the hardwood floor and slapping her tail against the ground.

"Good girl!" Percy praised her, barely having to bend down to scratch her behind the ears.

"Sorry about that. She didn't scratch you, did she?" he asked, holding onto the dogs collar to stop her from running at me. I shook my head.

"She slobbered on me a bit," I said, wiping the doggy drool off my cheek.

"Really? She normally gets really defensive when people doesn't know come in the house," he said thoughtfully. He cracked a smile. "Look like you're the exception." I let the corner of my mouth lift up a little.

"Percy? Is that you?" a voice called from the kitchen. It was a woman. His mother, I guessed. "Come here for a second! I need your help!" she yelled.

Percy sauntered through the house and turned the corner. I followed slowly, peeking around the corner into the kitchen before I walked in. There was a woman with hair tied back in a messy brown bun standing on her toes, reaching for something on the top shelf of the cupboard. Percy stood beside her, giggling.

"Stop laughing at me and grab it," she scolded him. Percy rolled his eyes and, barely lifting up onto his toes, pulled down a pair of oven mitts from the top shelf. Percy's mom slipped them on and opened the oven, pulling out two trays of cookies, one after the other. I frowned at seeing their blue colour.

"Mom, Annabeth, Annabeth, Mom," Percy said, gesturing between the two of us and reaching for a cookie. His mom slapped his hand away.

"Their for tonight. Tyson and your dad are coming over," she scolded, walking around the counter and holding out her hand to me.

"Hi, Annabeth, I'm Sally," she said. I took her outstretched hand and smiled. "Percy's told me all about you." Though she and Percy did not bare much resemblance, their smiles were identical.

"You can work in the kitchen. I'll clear out," she said as she took off her apron and wiped her hands with it. "Percy, don't touch the cookies," she warned, turning to leave.

"This is torture! You just left them there! You know I have very little self control!" Percy called after her. He sat down at the island and dropped his bag on the floor. I sat next to him.

"Your mom seems nice," I said, placing my bag on the empty seat beside me. I pulled out the two books I had gotten from the library the day before. I handed one to Percy, who looked at it disdainfully.

"Oh... reading... joy," he mumbled. I rolled my eyes at him and pulled out a notebook of paper.

For about two hours, we worked, Percy often getting distracted and pacing around for a minute before sitting down again. After a while, I was beginning to get agitated.

"Can you stop moving around?" I asked him.

"Sorry," he sighed. "ADHD. And the dyslexia doesn't help much either," he shrugged, sitting back down.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. "Me too." He looked up at me in surprise.

"Both?" he asked. I nodded. "But you're so... not jittery. And you've already taken down so many notes!" he exclaimed, waving my notebook in the air.

"My mom has always been a big reader, and she wanted me to be the same, so she put me in a bunch of programs to help with the dyslexia. The ADHD... I deal with it fine enough. The antibiotics help a bit."

"Oh! Yeah, totally. Sorry, I'll try and sit still," he said. He spread his hands toward my book. "Read on, Wise Girl."

"Wise Girl?" I asked, confused.

"Yeah. You're smart, and, as far as I can tell, you're female. Wise Girl," he explained. I shook my head and laughed before going back to studying.

At around 5:30, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I checked the caller ID. "Athena Chase" it read. I pressed the accept button and held it to my ear.

"Hi," I said. Percy sighed and slumped over his book, whispering "Study break".

"Annabeth. Are you still at your friend's house? I'm out for dinner tonight, and your father has a business meeting. Fix yourself something. We won't be home until late," she said.

"Alright. I'll make some pasta or something," I said.

"What was that? Look, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow," she said. The line went dead. I sighed and shoved my phone back in my pocket.

"Your mom?" Percy guessed. I nodded, ran a finger through my hair, and retied it in a ponytail. "Let me guess, she can't make it home for dinner?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Back when my mom was dating this deadbeat guy, she'd have to work late nights. He'd be out who knows where, so I'd make myself dinner. I know the face. Plus, you mentioned pasta," he said. I smiled to myself sadly.

"If you want you can stay for dinner," he said.

"Oh, no, really, it's fine," I told him, sitting up straight.

"Don't worry about it! We have more than enough food," Percy shrugged, swiveling around in his chair to face the hall.

"Mom!" he screamed before I could protest any further. "Can Annabeth stay for dinner?"

"What?" her voice wafted down. "I can't hear you, speak up!"

"I said, CAN ANNABETH STAY FOR DINNER?" he shouted even louder, nearly blowing off my eardrums.

"Sure!" she called. "Always an extra seat at the table!"

And that's how I ended up at Percy's house for dinner.

Yes, it was short, I'm sorry! I just thought something was better than nothing, right? Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner!