Chapter 8: The Party

Author's Note: Hey, how are you guys today? I hope you all have had a fantastic week. I'd like to begin by explaining that there's been a titanic mental block preventing me from writing. I wasn't sure where to go with this from last chapter but I finally broke through it and here we are. I hope you all enjoy and as always, if you did please review. A special thanks to SysticSnowa for helping me get past my case of writer's block. Go check out her story. Btw, we just broke 4,000 views and I couldn't be happier :)

Percy POV

After the phone call, I hit up some of my other friends, those including Frank, Grover, Lee, Nico and Will. I shot them the text:

Percy: Hey guys, there's a party at Piper's place. I suggest you come, it's going to be lit! :)

Will Solace was the first to respond.

Will: Will Piper be there?

Lee was quick to jump on his case.

Lee: No dipshit, its her house but she can't make it. Of course she'll be there! Sorry Percy, don't know if I'll want to come to that one. We just broke up so…

Frank: How about Hazel? Is she going to be there?

Nico: Yeah, what about Hazel?

Percy: Yeah, she's already there. As is Juniper and Reyna.

Lee: On second thought, sign me up! Dude Reyna is like, so hot.

I laughed audibly at Lee's immaturity.

Percy: Anyone need to carpool? You all know I can pick you up. I have two other seats in my truck.

Grover: Yeah, I'll come but I'll need a ride. Juniper already told me the details. She said that the majority of the school has been invited.

Frank: I heard the same from Hazel. Can you pick me up too Percy?

Will: Damn, Piper must have a huge place to host a banger like this.

Percy: I'll pick you both up on my way there.

I powered off my phone, put it down on my bed and got dressed, preparing for the party. I snuck out of my room and past my mother's room, hoping I was quiet enough that I didn't wake her. I was after all still grounded and she really didn't want me going anywhere. I made it to the door and made it out without incident. Hopping into my truck and I breathed a sigh of relief. Tonight was going to be special, I just knew it.

-20 minutes later-

I pulled up into Piper's driveway with Frank and Grover in the truck. I got out of the driver's side and could hear the music through the house's walls. Grover and Frank got out of the truck and began to gawk at the magnificence which was Piper's house. It was gigantic, raised at least three levels off the ground. The driveway, made up of pristine brick, curved up to the pinnacle of the hilltop that the building stood on. The McLean's owned a four car garage that was as immaculate as the rest of their home. A golden water fountain stood in front of the porch, making for a beautiful sight.

I looked over and saw that Frank's jaw had dropped and Grover was just as awestruck.

"Is that real gold?" Frank asked, more out of wonder than anything.

"I bet," I stated. I looked over at the other two who hadn't made a move to enter the house. "So are we going to go in or what?"

They both nodded in agreement and Frank closed his mouth.

We made our way up the steps to the porch and found that the door was unlocked, as I had suspected.

The entry hall was crowded with teenagers either drinking from their red solo cups or talking amongst their little cliques. I figured Annabeth would be near the center of the party so I made my way down the hallway and into the dining room, abandoning Frank and Grover to their own devices.

I was quick to spot Annabeth amongst the crowd in their enormous dining hall. I saw her standing there talking with a few of her friends, laughing lightly while scanning the room for something, no, someone. We locked eyes and I grinned like you wouldn't believe. She smiled back and excused herself and made her way towards me. I did likewise but on the way there someone ran into me, drink in hand. It splashed all over my front and my face instantly turned beet red.

The guy had napkins in hand and was doing his best to dry my shirt while apologizing furiously.

"I'm so sorry bro, I didn't see you and then you were RIGHT THERE and I stupidly ran directly into you. It's my fault, here let me help you dry off."

He dabbed at my shirt awkwardly and eventually just handed me the napkins. I looked at his face to find he had imp-like features and a nest of curly brown locks. He smiled uneasily at me, unsure of what to say or do.

"It's alright man," I finally said "Just watch where you're going."

"Yeah, no problem dude. Like I said, my bad. I didn't see you there and then…"

I cut him off "Like I said we're cool. What's your name? I haven't seen you around Goode before."

"Leo. Leo Valdez at your service." He humbly bowed to me. At this point I was sure he was either drunk, or the biggest fruitcake to ever grace this planet. He stood back up. "I just transferred to Goode this week. I did manage to see that dope ass fight though. You the man!" He stated smiling wickedly.

"Alright Leo," I said skirting around him "I'll catch up with you later."

Still smiling he said, "Sweet, just let me know when, because we both know the ladies are going to want a piece of Mr. Valdez over here. I'll try to fit you into my busy schedule." He winked at me and then walked away.

I smiled at his antics and kept walking towards Annabeth, who was doing her best to contain her laughter over the whole affair.

Still smiling I put myself in her shoes, knowing I probably would have been doing the same.

"Hey." I said trying to break the ice like a loser.

She responded with, "Hey."

I started by apologizing, "I want you to know how sorry I am Annabeth, I didn't want for any of that to happen…"

She stepped in closer and put her finger to my lips and said, "Shhh, it's over now and I'm over it. Let's just dwell in the present."

She had barely touched me and my hormones were already pumping. This girl made me a mess. Smiling at her I said "Alright, we can definitely do that."

Then she said something unexpected. "Come with me, I want to show you something."

She took my hand and began to lead me back the way I had come in. Her touch was tantalizing, I couldn't get enough. We got to the steps and she smiled back at me, now leading me up the stairwell.

Where was she taking me? The majority of the party was downstairs and there's no way her mind was where mine was so what was she planning to have us do?

We reached a door and she opened the room and pulled me by the hand into it. She shut the door behind us and at this point, I was sure I knew what was happening. I took in the surrounding room. The walls were littered with posters of different boy bands and were painted pink. Piper's room I figured.

Then she surprised me again by walking past me over to her bags. I figured to grab a condom because I had none but she pulled out a small box. Why in the hell did she store her condoms in a jewelry box? Then it hit me. We weren't here to do what I had been thinking this entire time. I mentally facepalmed myself as my stupidity rushed over me in waves.

She sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her, motioning for me to take a seat next to her. I sat down and watched as she opened the box. She pulled out a beautifully ornate silver necklace, with a locket chained to it. I didn't know what significance it had to her but she stared at it adoringly. I watched her as a smile displayed itself across her beautiful features.

"This was given to me by my dad when I was six years old." She started. You could hear the emotion in her voice when she continued, "He gave it to me the year I went away to summer camp. Mom and Dad had been fighting then and he didn't want me to witness that as a child so off I went. Before he left he told me that everything would be alright. That he and mom would sort out their differences. He gave me this necklace as a way to remember him when I missed him. To show that he cared…" She trailed off.

Annabeth's stormy gray eyes gazed up into mine. "Will you put it on me?"

"Gladly." I smiled.

I took the necklace from her hands and we interlocked fingers for a second. Taking the necklace I undid the clasp and let her turn to look away from me. I lowered the locket below her chin and gently redid the clasp. She fingered the locket fondly and turned back to face me.

"I wanted you to know something more about me," She said. "Before things go any further." Annabeth paused and looked deeply into my eyes. I held her gaze. My eyes locked onto her lips and noticed that she did the same to mine. Scooting closer to Annabeth I began to lean slowly in, while she did likewise. We both turned our heads a little to the right and closed our eyes. Subsequently, a second later her lips crashed into mine and I felt the softness of her skin against my own. Annabeth kissed me passionately and deeply, like she needed this. I didn't vie for access to her mouth. It was just a nice, love-endowed kiss. I could lightly taste lemon on her lips. It was quite pleasing.

After a few moments we broke apart and I rested my forehead against hers. I smiled for about the one thousandth time tonight.

"That," I said pausing for effect, "Was amazing." I laughed lightly at my comment. She smiled and we held hands. I looked over at the door and noticed that it was ajar. If I remembered correctly hadn't she shut that? I brushed it off and stared back at Annabeth.

"What are we?" I asked her, unsure as to the answer I might receive.

"I'm not entirely sure Percy." She replied. "If we're going by technicalities then I'm still with Luke but the feelings I have for you are stronger than anything I've ever felt…"

I gently turned her face so I could stare back into her beautiful eyes. "Well what would you like to go by Annabeth?"

She pushed me playfully onto the bed and straddled my waist and leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Well what do you think Seaweed Brain?" And then she was off of me in a split second, feet flat on the ground walking towards the door. Annabeth looked back over her shoulder with a mischievous grin and called, "Well are you coming Percy?"

Damn, this girl was making my hormones a rage. I got off the bed and followed her to the door. We walked out and into the hallway. Looking to my right I noticed Lee was making out with Reyna. Typical Lee. He almost always got what he wanted and right now he wanted Reyna. As captain of the Varsity Basketball team his name carried weight around our school. After having lead us to the State Championship for the third time in a row, it was no wonder.

I followed Annabeth down the stairs and we ran into a group of my friends chatting amongst themselves.

Hazel was standing awkwardly next to Frank. There was a tension between those two, I just couldn't tell you why. Something must have happened tonight. I made a note to myself to ask Hazel or Frank about it later.

Then there was Nico, Thalia, Grover and Juniper among the group as well.

We joined in to their little circle and began listening to their conversation.

"I swear I saw them, I didn't realize they had been invited." Said Grover angrily.

"They weren't invited." Thalia said. Thalia stood their next to Nico in her usual attire, black. She had black spiky hair and a black leather jacket with black jeans. Her eyes were a crystal blue. She was intimidating and yet highly attractive to most guys. She was close friends with Annabeth but from what I've heard, Piper isn't exactly a Thalia fan.

Thalia continued, "Obviously they just showed up."

Annabeth finally cut in. "Who are you guys talking about?"

Grover seemed to notice me for the first time and was hesitant to respond. "Uhhh no one in particular, just some people."

Quick to tell us the truth was Hazel. "We're talking about Chris Rodriguez and Ethan Nakamura."

Grover began to blush furiously, even though it was hard to tell in the light.

Annabeth's face became impassive and everyone began to look at me, waiting for a reaction.

I gave none and broke the silence by saying, "So they're here, so what? It's a party for God's sake! Let them have some fun, so long as they don't bother me."

"Here here." said Frank raising cup in my name.

Annabeth turned around and grabbed my hand and said in my ear, "Let's go dance!"

I had no problems with it so we said goodbye to everyone and made our way to the dance room, which happened to be in the basement. Currently the song Tell Me You Love Me by Demi Lovato was playing.

Michael Yew was the DJ. He DJed on the side and made a decent sum of money, at least from what I've heard.

Annabeth brought me over to Michael's table and stood in front of him until she caught his attention. He took one of his headphone earmuffs off so he could hear her.

Calling over the music Annabeth said "Hey Michael, I'm here to call in that favor. Can you play us a slow song?"

Michael looked over at me and then nodded in agreement. Annabeth then took me by the hand and led me to the middle of the dance floor.

A few seconds later Michael was talking into his microphone.

"Alright y'all. It's finally that time. If you're not here with your lover then clear out because coming at you is our first slow song of the night. If you're here with your lover get on the dance floor because here comes You and Me by LifeHouse, one of the best slow songs ever to be released."

Annabeth smiled up at me and I took hold of her waist while she wrapped her arms around my neck.

The song started as it always does:

You and Me by Lifehouse

Verse 1:

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive
I can't keep up and I can't back down
I've been losing so much time

Annabeth came closer and whispered in my ear, "I want you to know Luke never did anything like this with me. We only ever grinded. He told me he wasn't about dancing."

I whispered back into her ear "Anything for you Wise Girl."

She pulled back and gave me a funny look. "Wise Girl?" She asked.

The song continued to play:

Chorus:

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

"Yeah," I said. "You're my Wise Girl. You're ten times as smart as anyone I know and we both already know you're going places, either with your voice or that intelligence. Hell, you might even become a model."

She blushed fiercely and beamed at me. "You definitely are my Seaweed Brain. No one gets crazier ideas than you do."

I returned her smile holding her close to me.

Verse 2:

All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right
I'm tripping on words
You've got my head spinning
I don't know where to go from here

Chorus:

'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

Bridge:

There's something about you now
I can't quite figure out
Everything she does is beautiful
Everything she does is right

Listening to the bridge my mind was stuck on Annabeth, rightly so. She's beautiful, in everything she does and I'm yet to see her do something wrong. Annabeth was perfect and in that moment, I held onto her like a lifeline, hoping I wouldn't drift away from her.

Chorus:
'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do
Nothing to lose
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you
And me and all other people with nothing to do
Nothing to prove
And it's you and me and all other people
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you

As the song neared it's close Annabeth pulled back a bit from our embrace and stared up into my eyes. She moved her one hand to my cheek and looked fondly at me. She leaned in and kissed me with the same passion as before. The kiss was deep and lasted a good 30 seconds. We broke apart and my boyish grin plastered my face.

She laughed at my expression and said "Are you going to react like that every time I kiss you?"

I replied, "Most likely. I guess you just have that effect on me."

Beaming she said "I could get used to it."

The song finished up with the outro:

Outro:

What day is it? And in what month?
This clock never seemed so alive

Upon the closing of the song a few people began to clap and others hooted and some even whistled.

Annabeth led me from the dance floor and up the stairs. She said, "Let's go for a walk. I want to show you something."

Not seeing why not I followed her out the door of Piper's house. We made our way down to the sidewalk and began to walk into the dark, cloudy night.

-Scene Break-

We made it to a crosswalk. Annabeth, walking a little ahead of me, began to traverse the street at the crossroads of this luxurious neighborhood.

I called out to her, "We there yet? Where exactly are you taking me Annabeth?"

She spun around and I could faintly make out her smile in the harsh limelight.

"We're almost there Seaweed Brain. Someone's impatient." She chuckled to herself.

The road was lightly light by a few streetlights. The trees cast shadows all over the place and made it hard to see distinct shapes.

To our left a car careened around a turn in the road, making its way towards us at a breakneck speed.

Annabeth wasn't paying very close attention and didn't see the car.

The car closed the distance quickly, in a matter of seconds and yet Annabeth was still oblivious. So I ran to catch up to her and pushed her out of the way onto the ground.

I heard her cry out from impact with the ground. Sadly, I hadn't thought to get out of the way too, I was solely focused on saving Annabeth.

The car's headlights were on me and I turned to face my incoming doom. I heard the squeal of tires screeching on pavement and then everything went black.

Author's Note: So, what did y'all think? I think this was by far my best chapter yet and I'm hoping to continue this story in a positive direction. Let me know what you liked/disliked in the review section about the ending, or, perhaps how Percy and Annabeth got together. Did you think I rushed it? Are you madly in love with Percabeth? I truly appreciate the feedback. As always this has been Simple and I'll see y'all next time.