Guys. Guys! Guys!

We are so close to a hundred favourites and 200 follows. I'm biting my nails over here! Sorry for this late update. Whenever I sit down to write, life is like: "LOL bish, nope." So yeah...

Welcome to all the new readers, and also the old ones! How are y'all doing? Also, we're finally on to ten chapters! Whoop!

Thanks to DetectiveRan008, Real Percy Jackson, the flower bed, AnnaUnicorn, Tori Chase, PercabethfanNo.1, DeadlyHuggles, Fratzy, Percabeth4ever, Don't Trust Ducks (luv that username, btw), Ms Chenandler Bong, KiSierra, SugarRushedTornado, andFallingRed! And also a big big thanks to all the readers!

I was thinking of replying to all reviews here from next chapter onwards..

Disclaimer: Same old, same old. Me no own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Ch 10: I Become A Stalker:

"Where were you this morning?" Annabeth muttered absentmindedly as she flipped through her textbook. It was evening, and Annabeth had effectively spent her entire day by worrying about the fallen angel, also her friend's safety, mourning over Luke's death now and then, studying for her upcoming exams, and all in all, stressing herself out.

Just a normal day in the life of Annabeth Chase.

Percy had remained in her house and had busied himself by hogging her television. When she curiously enquired if he read novels, he replied that he was dyslexic and didn't waste his time by bothering to read.

"Well, don't watch it too much," she had told him.

He had looked at her quizzically. "I won't get eye problems, you know."

"It's not your eyes I'm worried about," she had almost laughed. "I'm worried about the bill."

Right then, he was in her room (she had reluctantly let him in when he had threatened to break the door off its hinges), and was sitting cross-legged on her bed, and was attempting to solve her Rubik's cube. Or in other words, he was dominating Annabeth's property, and that was vastly pissing her off, though she valiantly tried to ignore it.

Percy looked up when she spoke and a grin made its way onto his face. "Why do you ask? Did you miss me?" She rolled her eyes at him. "To answer your question, I went to visit my mother. You had no need to worry about your safety, though. I have put up wards around your house and have ensured that they work perfectly."

Annabeth felt her eyebrows shoot up. "Wait. You have a mother?" Then she mentally cringed at how incredulous she sounded and wanted to berate herself for being so silly. "I mean, of course you must be having a mother. It's just that…" she trailed off, not finding the perfect words to describe her thoughts.

"What?" Percy drawled, an amused glint in his eyes. "Did you seriously think that demons can't reproduce?"

"That's not it," she hissed. "I just can't imagine you as a child."

"Really?" He grinned wider. "Hate to break it to you, but I was a very cute kid."

Annabeth suddenly had a deeply terrifying mental image of a chibi Percy with tiny demon wings and puppy dog eyes, smiling brightly all the time as he stabbed his enemies with a sword. She suppressed a shudder. "My imagination makes it look terrifying. I'm scarred for life."

She saw his shoulders shake with silent laughter as he returned his attention to the 'eccentric' cube he was holding. Annabeth merely shrugged her shoulders to herself and turned back to her book.

Percy didn't speak for a long time, but then he said out of the blue, "Say, where is your family?"

Now that made Annabeth freeze in surprise. "London," she blurted out before she could stop herself. Shit! Shit! Why did I answer him? Why do I always behave like this when I'm near him?! This is frustrating! I can't believe he caught me off guard! She could feel his gaze burning holes into her back and urged herself to not turn around.

"London," she heard him repeat slowly. Did he even know where London was? Annabeth chided herself once again for having such useless thoughts. "Why not here?"

"I'm not really on the best of terms with them right now."

"And why is that?"

"Why are you so interested?" she snapped, unable to control her annoyance at his insistence, glaring at the textbook in front of her. The topic of her parents was a sore one for her.

He didn't reply for that, and Annabeth wondered if he was surprised at her behavior. After a few seconds, she heard a shuffling sound behind her, and before she could even wonder what was causing the sound, a hand slammed the Rubik's cube onto her desk, causing Annabeth to jump in terror. She vainly tried to calm down her racing heart while Percy muttered, "I can't solve this thing."

But of course you can't! You couldn't have steered the topic into something else, could you?! "There's a formula to solve the cube," Annabeth muttered after her heart had calmed down and she had finished swearing at the demon in her mind. "Although I am afraid that I haven't memorized it."

Percy hummed in reply as leant against her chair and put his hands on her shoulders. That caused Annabeth to stiffen yet again. Part of her curiously wondered what the meaning behind his sudden gesture was. The coolness of his palms was seeping into her skin, which made her suppress a shiver, and she wondered if she should shrug his hands off.

"What," she said slowly, "are you doing?"

"Why won't you tell me what's wrong between you and your parents?" Percy mimicked her tone and it seemed as if he was taunting her. He tightened his grip on her shoulders.

Freaking demon! Annabeth shouted in her mind. Are you trying to hypnotize me or something? Why can't you just leave this matter alone? Get a hold of yourself, Annabeth! "Again, why are you so interested?" she asked warily.

"Because I'm your mate."

She nearly snorted at that. "Why are you even asking me? Can't you just read my mind or something and find out?"

"Ah, but I can only read your current thoughts, not your past memories. To do that, I must possess your body, something which is not possible at the moment," he nodded at her chrysoberyl bracelet. "Besides, aren't you the one who asked me to stay out of your head?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes, ignoring the playful smirk he sent her. "Why do you want to know about my parents?"

"Because you're my mate," he repeated. "And I want to know more about you."

"I'll tell you when the time is right."

"I'm not falling for that bullshit," Percy let out a light laugh. "Tell me right now," he whined like a little kid. "Annabeth."

Somehow, a smile slipped onto her face. It was hard to remember that he was a demon sometimes. "And what if I don't?" she playfully raised an eyebrow, playing along.

"Then I will irritate you so much that you'll be forced to say it. I'm absolutely serious," he added upon noticing her blank look. "Sheesh, Annabeth. I'll even tell you about my family."

"You will?"

He nodded his head eagerly.

She rolled her eyes. "Then you go first."

"Huh? But that's not fair. I asked you first! Besides, ladies first. Isn't that what they say?"

"They do. But the lady is asking you to begin, and hence you must be gentlemanly enough to listen to her requests."

"You're impossible," Percy grumbled. "How did I get a mate like you? Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your parents."

"Well, my parents met for the first time many centuries ago. And…"

"And?"

Percy didn't response and stared at her quietly. Annabeth blinked at him, wondering why he had suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence. He scowled at her. "You begin. I'm not speaking further."

She blinked again.

"You tricked me into speaking," Percy replied. "I asked first. You start speaking before I think of other ways to get you to reveal your past. And besides, I was never a gentleman."

Annabeth was about to retort that she most definitely not tricked him, but figured out that it would just be a waste of time. It was likely that Percy wouldn't stop pestering her until she told him about her parents (though she still wasn't sure why he actually wanted to hear about them so much). "You're not going to give up, are you?"

"Not at all, love."

Annabeth sighed, ignoring the fact he had just called her 'love'. She tapped her chin dramatically. "Well, where to begin? My mom and dad first met on a lovely Sunday morning in spr-"

"Cut the crap."

She chortled, before the smile dropped from her face and her expression became serious once again. "Whatever. You see, when I was five, my parents had a divorce. I don't know the exact reason why, because Dad always refuses to tell me, but I guess things just didn't work out," she bit her lip. "When they separated, my mother gave me an option. I could either go with her, or I could stay back with Dad. And well, I was young, and I was gullible, so I decided to stay back. My mother threw a fit after that, calling me names and cursing me and what not." Annabeth took in a deep breath.

"Hey," Percy squeezed her shoulders, his voice gruff. "You can stop if you want. I'm sorry that I insisted."

"No," she breathed out, slightly irritated. "Don't tell me to stop if I've already begun. After about a year of their separation, he married another woman. And the most unfortunate thing was that she was extremely nice. I wanted to hate her. I kept trying to look for reasons to hate her, but I got none. She gave birth to twins sometime later, and those two brats are probably the best siblings one could ask for. Yet I was secretly unhappy. I kept remembering my mother's warning that I will regret my choice throughout my life."

Annabeth paused to let out a laugh, bitter and devoid of emotion. "In the end, I felt very guilty about trying to hate my dad and step-family despite the fact that they had done nothing to me. In the family, I was the antagonist, not anyone else. I had been given an option, and I had chosen this life, so I shouldn't really want to hate others. I decided to move out and come here to study. The rest moved to London a few months later."

"Do you visit them?"

"Yea, once every year during Christmas."

"Oh, the horror."

She was tempted to smile. Percy was trying his best to change the topic, and not saying that he was sorry or things. Talking about her family was not an easy thing for her, and only her two friends knew about it.

"Say," his voice was like silk against her ears. "Do you need a hug?"

"From you? Not at all."

"That's what I thought," he chuckled before embracing her tightly. Annabeth yelped in surprise, not having expected the sudden sly move from him. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but then she wondered why she even bothered to try.

"Oi, let go." She got no reply. Annabeth squirmed due to the coldness of his skin. "Percy, you're cold."

"And you're hot."

"Holy shit, that was so terrible," she groaned. "I can't believe you actually said that."

"C'mon," he grumbled next to her ear before nuzzling his head against her hair. "You might be somewhat immune to my charms, but I'm not to yours."

Annabeth kept quiet, partly in surprise, and partly because she wasn't sure about what to say in response to that.

"Annabeth," he sounded exasperated. "I think you are beautiful, downright irresistible and charming beyond belief."

"Uh, thanks?" She was still unsure why he was complimenting her all of a sudden.

"You're so irresistible that if it weren't for this goddamn piece of agate, I would've probably jumped on you a hundred times by now."

Okay. That went from 0-100 real quick. "Well, that's the entire point of putting that agate locket on you, dumbass." He made a strangled noise, undoubtedly disappointed at her ignoring his precious compliments. "Percy," she sighed. "Move."

"No."

"Well then, I order you to get off. I have my exams upcoming and I can't allow myself to become distracted by such things."

"Are you for real?" he muttered as he stepped back, sounding unsurprisingly upset. "You're so confusing and bipolar at times. It makes me wonder how I ended up with a mate like you."

"The feeling's mutual, demon," she rolled her eyes. Annabeth thought about how childish he was behaving. It was a completely different behavior from how he was when he first met her. She had read in a few fantasy romance novels about how males usually reveal a softer side of themselves to their mates. She absentmindedly grabbed the Rubik's cube and started rotating it aimlessly.

"Can you solve that?" Percy asked.

"No. As I said earlier, I haven't memorized the entire formula. As of now, I can only solve three or four sides."

"You know, for a human, you are pretty talented."

"Gee thanks demon. That flattering remark won over my heart."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it did," he retorted. Annabeth arched an eyebrow and craned her neck to the side to look at him. He smirked at her. "After all, I have to make you fall for me."

"Good luck with that," she said with an impassive face, trying to keep her voice deadpan. She hadn't expected him to take her words seriously. Annabeth Chase would probably never understand demons, not even if her life depended on it.

"Thank you. And do me a favour and answer this question of mine," he lifted a finger. "How many boyfriends?" Percy asked simply.

"Boyfriends?" She choked. This guy surely knew how to change topics real quick. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just want to," he said in a suspiciously eagerly way, which did nothing to calm Annabeth and made her a bit more anxious. Knowing Percy, he would probably kill off all the persons whose names she'd utter, even if it happened to be her brothers'.

"I haven't dated anyone before," she told him. "It's the truth," she added upon noticing his frown.

"Why ever not?"

Annabeth shot him a look. "I don't know. First off, I don't think any of those dudes out there wanted to date a boring and anti-social nerd like me."

"But you're so beautiful."

Stop calling me that. I might blush. "There are more gorgeous-looking girls out there," she replied. "And besides, dating is too much trouble."

"Annabeth, I said that you are beautiful."

"Stop sweet-talking," she muttered as she looked at him with slight surprise. She had originally planned on thanking him, but changed her mind. There was no way she was going to give that ego boost. Not so soon, anyways.

"I'm not lying."

"Yeah, well. Thank you," she ended up saying that.

He groaned. "You are so dumb!" Annabeth narrowed her eyes at time. "Though I suppose you are right," he mused some seconds later. "There are, without any doubt, prettier girls out there."

She rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time that day, before chucking her History textbook at him, and then feeling a pang of displeasure hit her heart as she saw him dodge her weapon with great effortlessness.

-o-o-o-

"Why are we here once again?" Annabeth muttered as she stared at the enormous residence in front of her. She knew that Piper's dad was rich, but never knew that he was this rich. She bit her lip as she glanced at all the guards patrolling the perimeter. The security was top notch, but Annabeth doubted that they could win against a paranormal being. "If they catch us, we're dead," she whispered. "Or more precisely, I'm dead. You can probably just vanish into thin air or something."

"In the first place, you are the one who insisted on coming here with me," Percy replied in a monotone. "These guys are not going to find us, and even if they do attempt to kill you, I'll massacre them beforehand."

"How romantic," she muttered before glancing around, feeling weird that she was hiding behind some bushes. She felt like a stalker. Oh, the irony, she sighed mentally. "Do you really think he might be here? The fallen angel, I mean."

"Well, that's the entire point of us being here, to remind you," he didn't even bat an eyelash, both literally and figuratively. "We are here to find out if Mr. Fallen Dude is really after your charming friend or not."

"Feeling sarcastic today, aren't we?" she shot him a glare.

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Wise Girl."

"... Wise Girl?"

"That's my new nickname for you, love."

"Er..."

"Never mind that," Percy ran a hand through his hair. "We have to get to this no matter what. If he really is under manipulation of a demon, then you are in massive trouble. He might have been sent here to kill you, and he is probably trying to lure you into a trap by going after your friends."

"There is still a chance that he may not be what he seems," she said quietly.

He turned to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "You shouldn't hope so much."

She knew that, yet she prayed for the best for her friend. She didn't want Piper to be dragged into all this, just because of one or two jealous demons. Annabeth clenched her fists unconsciously.

Last time she had been unable to kill Drew. But this time she would try her best to succeed. She would not allow supernatural creatures to mess with her life anymore. The dagger was safe and sound in the pocket of her jacket. If any demon appeared today, she would not let it get away.

Annabeth Chase was in quite the vengeful mood.

All of a sudden, Percy bent over and whispered in her ear. "Don't be so stiff. It's cute, and very, very distracting."

She scowled at him, being caught off guard. "Mind your own business."

"I tried my best, but you're more appealing."

Annabeth huffed as she rubbed her cold hands together. She really regretted coming to investigate with Percy. She could've done far better things on a Sunday morning, like sleeping in. Although she didn't admit, she was still a bit tired from the events that had occurred in the span of two days.

First, she had been almost choked to death, and then she was made to watch her crush die in front of her, and to top it off, she had been unable to even harm the murderer. On the contrary, she had been rendered absolutely helpless.

Percy grabbed her hands, which didn't do her much good, for his hands were icy cold. "Annabeth."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I know." What's with him?

"Do you hate me?"

She stared at him. Why was he asking that? "I don't," she replied slowly but truthfully.

"And why is that?"

"Well, I guess you're not that bad," she said. "Why are we talking about this?"

"I..." He had a weird look on his face. "Listen, I-"

He was cut off when the two of them saw a blur of black move in the sky. The guards didn't seem to notice it, but the two of them saw it all. Annabeth felt her eyes widen as she watched the culprit hovering in the sky, surrounded by wave of blackness.

It was the fallen angel, obviously.

And he was staring directly at them.

-o-o-o-

*Shots fired*

I tried my best during this chapter. It's so hard to write cute scenes, but I hoped it made you smile a bit. If not, then... I can't complain. Yesterday I was rereading my entire story. And whenever it came to the romance part, it made me cringe so much. I was thinking all the time: Did I seriously write that?

Ah well, please R&R, guys! I love you! I really do!

PS: The brief flashback Annabeth experienced in Chapter 6 were the memories of her mother shouting at her before leaving. If you caught on to that, congratulations! If not, then now you know. :)

Kudos~!