Whoa, you guys have been going crazy in the comments! I'm glad y'all like it so far, and prepare yourselves for Percabeth in this chapter! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

Annabeth's POV:

"This is really nice," I told Percy as I sat down across from him at a fancy Italian restaurant. If I had known we were going to such a nice place, I would have worn something besides jeans and a somewhat dressy blouse.

"Good evening," a perky redhead said as she handed us our menus. "My name is Abigail and I'll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

"Um, I'll have a root beer," Percy told her. "Annabeth?"

"I just want ice water." Usually, I would have gone for a soda, but I was feeling nervous about my date with Percy and decided water would be better for my stomach.

"Okay, I'll be right out with your drinks," Abigail said before hurrying to another table. I started flipping through my menu, though I wasn't paying much attention to what was written on it. I was mostly worrying about the date and messing it up. Technically, it wasn't really a date because I hadn't actually asked him out, but he picked me up and took me to a nice restaurant, so maybe it was. Either way, I was planning on talking to him about getting back together, or at least making amends.

"These are all pretty expensive," I said as I glanced at some of the prices on the menu.

"Geez, you're right. I'm not sure I can afford twenty dollars per plate." I looked around the restaurant, but our waitress was nowhere to be seen.

"It's not too late to leave," I told him. "Let's just leave a few dollars as a tip and go somewhere else." He pulled out his wallet and set a five dollar bill on the table. After a quick glance around the restaurant, we ran for the door, only stopping once we were outside to laugh.

"I'm pretty sure we made that more dramatic than was necessary," I told him once I caught my breath.

"I feel kind of bad," he admitted as we walked to his car.

"Bad enough to spend fifty dollars on dinner?"

"Heck no. Come on, let's find somewhere to eat that's within my budget." And that's how we ended up eating at Taco Bell. It wasn't fancy, by any means, but I definitely felt more comfortable there than I did at the other restaurant.

"How's your burrito?" he asked through a mouthful of nachos. I gave him a thumbs up and finished chewing.

"So, is this a date?" I asked. I really wanted it to be, but I wanted to know for sure.

"That depends on you and Matt. Are you over him?" Oh, gosh, why did he have to ask that? Yes, I was completely over any feelings I'd had for him, but I was definitely not over what he'd done to me. Of course, I didn't want Percy to know that, so I tried to act casual.

"I don't have any feelings for him," I reassured him. It was the truth, and I was pretty sure it was the answer he wanted to hear.

"Well, that's good." He nodded and stuffed another chip in his mouth. He looked like he was about to ask another question, possibly about Matt, and I knew it was time to change the subject before I gave anything away.

"Why did you break up with me?" He looked shocked at the question and started chugging his drink, probably stalling out of hope that I would change the subject before he had to answer. Oh, crap. I shouldn't have asked that. "I mean, I thought everything was going fine and one day you just broke up with me. I just wanted to know what I did wrong. You know, so I can avoid doing it again."

"What?" He started choking on his soda and took a moment to clear his throat. "You didn't do anything wrong, Annabeth. I told you that when I broke up with you."

"I know, but I've just always assumed you told me that to make me feel better. You know, people always say the whole "it's not you, it's me" thing when they end a relationship to make the other person feel better, but everyone knows it really was them." He sighed put his head in his hands for a moment.

"God, I'm such an idiot," he said after a few seconds, looking back up at me. "Annabeth, I found my dad."

"What?" I was completely shocked. Percy's dad had abandoned him and his mom when he was only a baby. He'd never received so much as a postcard or a phone call from his dad and Sally had prevented him from tracking him down by telling him his father wasn't worth it. When she married Paul, he had given up even trying and Paul had essentially been a dad to him, but I knew he always wanted to meet his real father. I just never thought he would actually work up the guts to do it.

"I wanted to know the truth about why he left us, so I tracked him down. He's a millionaire businessman living in Florida now. I went to see him a few weeks ago, back when I told you I was visiting my grandparents. He had no idea I was coming, and I just showed up at his house, which may not have been the best idea. They were in the middle of throwing a huge party, so I was able to sneak in without being noticed. He lived in a mansion and he had a freaking Lamborghini in the driveway. Can you believe that? My mom and I have been struggling with money for years, barely getting by, and he's rich.

"That's not even the worst part. The party turned out to be for his sixteen year old daughter. He and his wife were spoiling her with gifts and I watched him stand in front of everyone, giving a speech about how much he loved his daughter and how proud he was of her. I left after that and came back to New York. How could he abandon me and my mom for a whole new family? That should have been us there with him, but instead what do I get? Not even a phone call, or a birthday card, or something to acknowledge that he knew I existed. I'm not even sure I can afford to go to college and there he was, spoiling his daughter with expensive gifts and a nice party. And my mom- God, my mom loved him so much and he left her alone with a baby and hardly enough money to survive. How could he do that to her?

"I just was so angry after that, and somewhat depressed. I started treating everyone around me unfairly, including you, and I hated it. That's why I broke up with you, Annabeth. I couldn't control my feelings and I didn't want to hurt you, so I thought it would be easier on you if I ended our relationship until I got a handle on myself. It was a really hard decision, but I wanted to protect you. I hope you know I still love you." Wow. I'd spent all this time thinking I did something wrong and feeling bad about what had happened to me when Percy was going through a really hard time. What would it feel like to be unwanted by your dad?

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. "I could have supported you and helped you get through it."

"I know, I was being stupid. But I'm getting better now. My mom made me go to therapy and I didn't want to at first, but it has helped a lot. And last week Dr. Sanders said she thought it would help if I started dating you again. I was so relieved that I could stop ignoring you, but I guess I just thought you would take me back right away. I completely screwed things up last week at the movies, and I'm so sorry. I just- I didn't think you would move on so quickly, which was stupid. Why shouldn't you? But if you're really over Matt, I would love for you to be my girlfriend again."

It was so much to process. He thought he was protecting me by breaking up with me, but that was the reason I'd gone out with Matt. It wasn't his fault of course, but he could have just told me what was going on. Then again, wasn't I doing the same thing to him? I wasn't exactly planning on telling him what was bothering me, so I couldn't get mad at him for keeping a secret. It was a huge relief to finally understand why he'd ended our relationship in the first place, though. He had acted so weird after he came back from his trip and seemed upset, though he wouldn't tell me what was wrong. A few days later, he had broken up with me without an explanation. Now it finally made sense.

"Annabeth?" Percy asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry," I answered. "I would love to go back to what we had before." A huge grin spread across his face.

"Really?"

"Of course." I wanted to kiss him so badly, but I was afraid of ruining the moment by having flashbacks about Matt. Then I remembered what Thalia had told me about not letting Matt control my life. I needed to move on. So without thinking about it too much, I leaned across the table and brought my lips to his. He seemed shocked, but didn't take long to kiss me back. I sat back after a moment and grinned. No flashbacks, no Matt, just me and the guy I loved.

"Whoa," Percy said. He looked amazed, like he'd just had his first kiss, but I knew for a fact that he'd had many before now.

"Maybe we should leave," I suggested. "I think we're making people uncomfortable." I saw a couple nearby covering their young children's eyes; they didn't look too happy about their children seeing a couple of teenagers kissing in the middle of Taco Bell.

"I think you're right," he agreed. "Do you want to come to my house and watch a movie? My mom and Paul rented some DVDs and I'm sure they won't mind if we join them."

"That sounds fun." We gathered up our trash and cleaned up our table before going outside. I hadn't seen Sally in weeks and had only seen Paul at school occasionally, so it would be nice to see them again. Most importantly, though, I was excited to spend time with Percy. Once we were outside of Taco Bell, he grabbed my hand and turned to me.

"So, where were we?" he asked. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him as our lips met.

This chapter was slightly shorter than the rest, but I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! I love reading the reviews, they really inspire me to write more!

Oh, and don't worry, Percy will find out soon! The next chapter should be up maybe in the next day or two! :)