To say Annabeth was in shock, would be an understatement. Before her eyes, 'Minerva,' no, Athena, transformed into how Annabeth was used to seeing her. Greek chiton, dark hair pinned up, and stormy grey eyes peering into the depths of her mind. The demigod stumbled backwards, speechless, shock fogging her mind.

"M-mom?" She stuttered, nerves pulsing through her body. Her heart hammered against her chest. She hadn't seen her mother since the battle in Greece, and there hadn't exactly been much time for warm words and thank you's then. Athena smiled at her, and slid into a stool. She gestured for Annabeth to do the same. Apprehensive, Annabeth followed her request, and perched on the chair, knee relentlessly bouncing up and down. The door suddenly opened, and Percy ran in.

"Hey, Wise Girl, I was wondering if-" He trailed off upon seeing the goddess, then groaned. "Seriously? First, demigod high school principals, now teachers who just happen to be goddesses."

"Ah yes, the son of the sea scum." Athena drawled. Annabeth looked at Percy pleadingly, praying to... not Athena, to Poseidon, that her mother wouldn't zap Percy to little pieces. Thankfully, her boyfriend recovered quickly, and feeling Annabeth's glare on him, hastily dropped to his knees, if in acquiescence.

"Lady Athena." He murmured, tripping over his words.

The goddess in question smiled without emotion, in acceptance of his courtesy. "I'll just -" Percy jabbed his fingers towards the exit, sensing that he was not wanted here, and Athena nodded approvingly. "I'll be waiting for you outside Annabeth." The bridge between Poseidon and Athena's children may have been built, but that between the gods had not begun to be constructed yet.

He left them alone, and as he disappeared through the doorway. The room seemed to darken when he left. Percy, her only light had gone, and now she was in the dark. Annabeth turned towards her mom, and tried for a wane smile.

"So... Um...?" She started.

"Well, I just wanted to say thank you for successfully recovering the Athena Parthenos, and of course, our gratitude for you saving Olympus is abundant. For my part, at least. That is why I am here. Also, I decided to check up on my daughter, of whom I had not spoken too for a long time, and who is, I must say, faring very well." Athena proclaimed. Annabeth, for her own part, was rendered speechless and shocked. She stared at her mother, basking in surprise.

"T-Thanks mom, any time. Thanks for not... um, blasting Percy to pieces."

"Well, this has been a lovely meeting with you, my daughter. That temple is very nice, as are your other designs. Now, go to lunch quickly, before I change my minds and destroy your boyfriend."

Annabeth first blinked at the sudden end to their short meeting. Then, recovering from her senses, made haste out of the room.

Annabeth wiped washing up liquid from her eyes. Never had she concentrated so hard on scrubbing a pot, not even when she and Percy had been ordered by Tantalus to wash up using lava, or the time when Chiron had made her wash up all the crockery after the centaur prom, following a certain incident with Clarisse. Yet this massive pot she was in the process of scrubbing was the largest and stickiest one of her many washing up endeavours. The sink was covered in grime, and though Annabeth dared not look up, she was almost certain the shadowy figure of Dan stood in the doorway, laughing at her struggles, taking pleasure from these hardships. Sadist.

The meeting with her mother had shaken Annabeth somewhat, and even now, an hour and a half later, her brain was numb.

"Uh, no, you can't come in... this is retribution, her punishment."

Dan's voice cut through the air like a knife, shaking Annabeth from her reverie. She glanced up so quickly that the pain of whiplash flared through her body. But such a pain was quickly replaced by joy when she say who was at the door. Percy was making fruitless attempts to cross into the kitchen, but deterred by Dan, who wore his ever-present scowl. Percy pouted like a baby seal, and her insides melted. Just tiny bit. Just her brain to her feet.
"Percy!"
He looked up at her with a broad grin. "Hey, how's the washing up?"
"Hard." She admitted. Percy looked like he was about to say something, but was cut off by Dan, who pushed him back.
"Nuh-uh Jackson, go back to your dormitory."
Annabeth was laughing at the sink, momentarily forgetting the abundance of crockery and pots and pans she had left to wash and dry, and that meeting with her mother. Her Seaweed Brain made one final attempt of crossing the threshold, but Dan casually slid his leg up the door frame to make almost a gateway. Percy tripped over, and landed sprawling in the floor.
"Leave her alone Jackson, or you can't go to the disco."
Percy frowned, and drew a frowny face. His girlfriend glanced up at him, and smiled encouragingly.
"It's alright Percy, I'll meet you by the oak tree in about'-she observed all the plates and pans she still had to do-'an hour."

Annabeth trudged over to the tree, acutely aware of the washing up liquid staining her clothes, on her face, in her hair. Percy was waiting for her, leaning against the tree and humming along to whatever song he was listening to on his iPod. Upon seeing her, his face brightened, and Annabeth fell into his open arms with a smile.

"Don't stain my shirt with washing up liquid Wise Girl, I just got changed," Percy said through a laugh. And gods of Olympus... He wore a simple flannel shirt, hanging open to reveal a tight white T-Shirt, and sported skinny black jeans and black converse. His hair looked like it had been attempted to be combed back, but was only slightly better than usual; just how Annabeth like it.
"I'm not complaining, but why are you dressed like that?"
"The disco,"
"But that's at night."
"Yeah, well I thought I'd ask you how this looks."
"It looks amazing."
"Thank you."
Annabeth gave him another hug, and sat down heavily on the ground, leaning her back against the tree. Besides her, Percy crouched down, and assumed a lying down position. He began to sing softly to the song blaring into his ears. Annabeth looked at him pleadingly. Music?
Percy sighed, but happily, and unplugged his earphones, and let the music float around them like fog.
'Miss Jackson, Panic! At The Disco,' pounded through the clearing. It was funny, Annaneth thought. That the song was called 'Miss Jackson.' She smothered a giggle with her hand.
"Come on Seaweed Brain," she said, tugging at his arm, "We've got Fencing now."

Annabeth heaved her suitcase onto her bed and sighed deeply. The disco was in half an hour, and so far, all Annabeth had done was take a shower. She still needed to choose an outfit, apply a little makeup, brush her hair - she was not looking forwards to that - , and choose some jewellery. Not necessarily in that order. And of course, meet Percy at the oak tree, which seemed to have become their permanent rendezvous. She raked through her small selection of dresses and skirts. And it was a small selection. Desperately, she rummaged through her case, but the only remotely elegant things she had brought was an ugly grey skirt and a long, ankle length red dress, both of which her father had packed for some obscure reason. A blue rumpled dress in the corner of her bag suddenly caught her eye. She hadn't remembered packing it at all, or her father, and, come to think about it, had never seen that dress at all. Yet, it seemed perfect. Smiling to herself, she picked it up and lay it on her bed. It was perfect. A simple, beautiful silk dress of Royal blue colour. Its hem was up to mid-thigh, the skirts rather loose, with folds of fabric overlapping each other, the bodice was tight fitting, strapless, and held above her breast, under her armpits. With a small, nervous smile, Annabeth shrugged it on, and with a new-found confidence in her gait, stalked towards the large mirror on the other side of the room. She admired her reflection, and spun once, the skirts of her dress caught the wind and expanded, flying out gracefully as she turned. Satisfied, Annbeth turned to return to her bed and was met with the stares of the other girls.

"What?"
"N-nothing, the scars, the dress."
Crap.
Annabeth had forgotten about the scars, without words, she spun on her heel and grabbed a discarded bottle of concealer, before making her way to the bathroom. She wasn't angry, but she wasn't going to let the scars prevent her from wearing what she wanted.

There was a hair dryer in the bathroom, and Annabeth made good use of it. Turning it into full power, she let the hot air blast onto her hair. Her curly blonde mane danced like fire. Like fire... With a pang, Annabeth was reminded of Leo. Their late friend who had sacrificed himself to kill Gaea.

Once her hair was dry, Annabeth attacked the comb. She winced and yelped as the brush teased out the tangles. Why did looking good have to mean so much pain? After a very painful battle with her hair, Annabeth picked up the cosmetics case her father had bought her, in the hope that she might use it. Well, it seemed like a good time now. She recalled her friend Silena, daughter of Aphrodite, also late, telling her how to apply each product one time, when Annabeth had been in her cabin, waiting for her to get ready. First, Annabeth put on the concealer, obscuring every limb and extremity that showed scars. Well, she successfully covered the worst of the damage. The ever present souvenirs of Tartarus. Of the hell that almost drove her insane, and the terrors it wrought on her and Percy. Annabeth felt bile rise in her throat, tears scald her eyes. A scream crawled its way up, into her mouth. With so much effort, she almost choked, Annabeth clamped down on it.

No. She was safe here. Tartarus was gone.

With a deep breath, the daughter of Athena picked up the lipstick tub, and tentatively held it to her lips, as if it were a monster, waiting to spring out of the makeup case into a vile, pink, lipstick monstrosity.
Next came the mascara, a fiddly endeavour, and the eyeshadow, light blue. Her piercing eyes reflected the eyeshadow, giving them a shimmering blue sheen. Once done, Annabeth sighed at her reflection, and exited the bathroom, into the bedroom where the other girls were slipping on champagne dresses and eight inch heels or lathering on layer over layer of foundation. Now came the problem of shoes. The only pairs she had brought were her trainers and combat boots, neither of them went with her dress or were appropriate for a disco. Yet the garment she wore, never had she seen it before, never recalled packing it and yet it was perfect, and had appeared completely out of the blue. Annabeth had a sneaking suspicion she knew were it had come from.

Sitting heavily down on her mattress, Annabeth glanced up at the ceiling.

"Hey, um, Aphrodite," She muttered, low enough so that her roommates, who were busy fawning over Shan's violet dress couldn't hear, "I understand if you have more important things to do, but um, I don't have shoes for the disco and seeing as you're the goddess of love and beauty, and Percy's going to be there, I was wondering if could, you know, supply some shoes."
No sooner had she said this, a pair of shoes appeared from thin air at her feet. They had a small stills to heel, three inches, and resembled gladiator sandals, blue straps fastened at the ankle and the toes. Annabeth beamed as she put them on. They were the perfect fit and extremely comfortable. She glanced up at the ceiling again.
"Thanks," she whispered. Standing up, Annabeth looked towards the other girls.
"So, who's ready to go?"
The others just gaped.

Percy was staring. As she walked towards the tree where her boyfriend waited for her, she didn't fail to notice the way he froze and the way his jaw hit the ground hit the ground. It was kind of hard to miss. She neared him and shut his mouth, then pressed a kiss to it.

"You've upped the stakes Wise Girl," he muttered once he had regained his ability to speak. Annabeth curtsied gracefully, "Thank you good sir, you don't look bad yourself."
Percy bowed deeply, and held out his arm to her. She took it, and they imagined they were different people in different eras. Back, back, back to a time when nothing mattered, and the world was black and white and the ladies danced in swaths of velvet and the gentlemen bowed and took their hand and they could spin, spin, spin away and forget themselves and the curses that came with the gods were so far away and hell was something surreal and out of touch that only came with death. And until they reached the doors of the complex they could pretend.

Feet back on the ground, Percy pushed open the doors of the dance hall. They swung outwards, and hit the walls on either side with a resounding that echoed around the room like a bell. They were early, but even so, a few of the kids in vicinity, who had got there early also, jumped startled, and glowered murderously at their peers who had just arrived. Percy smiled nonchalantly and sashayed over to the refreshments table, where a few members of staff were busy laying out platters of cake and other sweet delicacies. Smiling, Annabeth followed him on light footsteps. He gave a start when she slipped an arm around his shoulders and almost spilt his glass of Coke. Was he seriously already on the sodas? Yes, yes he was.

The rest of the students had started to filter in through the doors into the hall, all clothed in mini dresses, tops with low neck lines (The girls) or tight tank tops and even tighter skinny jeans (The boys). Some took Percy's example and made a bee-line for the snacks, whilst a few waltzed over to the DJ to request music and others just mingled in with the crowd. The lighting and decoration was good, Annabeth had to admit, even if she had seen Dan amongst the crowd setting up the hall. A disco light was hung on the ceiling, multicoloured lights flashing around the room in a crazy spectrum of multicolours, as if Iris had visited the place. It was thankful that no student here suffered from epileptic fits, Annabeth thought. Despite the lighting, the room was darkened effectively, so that one could see their cohorts but not the other side of the rooms. It gave the place an amazing atmosphere, even with the cheesy ribbons and bunting that adorned the mirror on the walls. All around, kids were laughing and exchanging conversations, some were in dancing though the music had not yet started. Well, not for a few minutes. Finally, the last of their company and teachers crowded in through the doors, sentries were placed by the doors and with an almost apprehensive nod from one of the Goode teachers, the music cranked up and the world became alive.

Annabeth giggled almost deliriously, drowning and spinning and losing herself in the music, with giddiness crashing over her and elation flooding through her like a wave. Vaguely, she was aware of Percy besides her, clasping her hand, dancing and laughing and moving besides her in sync. They were wrapped up in the lyrics and the instruments and the joy as if it were a blanket, and dimly, Annabeth realised that dancing and fighting were not so different. From the speakers over head played some Fall Out Boy, its name of which Annabeth had lost somewhere with her mind when the music had started. Images flashed around her, distorting reality so that Annabeth was no longer certain what was here and what was not, what was the swirling its if colours engulfing her and what wasn't. Did Percy really have angel wings? Did Shan really have devil horns? Most likely. She smiled maniacally, letting the song transport her to a times Camp Half-Blood: Watching the fireworks with Percy, sitting with Percy and watching the sunset into the late hours of the night before realising such a thing as Harpies existed, Campfire sing alongs with Percy. Happy times she could have back in a month, when she visited the camp for vacation. The song stopped, and Annabeth hurtled towards the ground again. But she did not mind.

Several tracks later, Annabeth and Percy had mastered the art of not quite losing themselves, and could successfully manage a song without being rendered schizophrenic. Annabeth leant against the refreshments table, devouring a slice of Victoria Sponge and chugging a glass of Sprite. She was taking a break from the dancing and the heat of the dance floor, sweating and hot and happy. Besides her, Percy, halfway through his fifth slice of cake, was animatedly was telling her a funny anecdote about the old man at Barnes and Noble (Wow, Percy had been in a bookshop?), when he had been chased in there by a small pack of hellhounds (Oh. That made more sense). Annabeth laughed loudly, especially when he pulled funny voices and facial expressions. Around them kids were dancing. Some of their dancing was a little overdrawn, but many were particularly adept at moving their bodies in time to the music. Something Annabeth wished she were a small bit more capable at. The current song ended, and Percy squeezed her hand.

"Another song?"

"Sure, coming."

Annabeth poured some water into her hands, and washed her face and neck. Instantaneously, she felt refreshed.

"Yeah, I'm ready now." She muttered. Percy led her onto the dance floor, where Wildest Dreams, Taylor Swift was playing. Not her favourite song, but never mind. Annabeth scanned the room nervously, trying to gather an idea of how to dance to this song. Like a game of follow the leader, she began to copy what the others were doing, drinking int he dance moves she needed to keep afloat on the music. Involuntarily, her forehead creased into a frown as she swayed to the music, Percy right alongside herself, failing miserably at the dancing part but not at the happy part. Despite their poor dancing skills, neither of their mood dampened, and the cheesy smiles stayed plastered on their faces. They danced like one, as if they were one person, one soul, one heart that never stopped beating. Percy wove through the crowds, towards a clique huddled in the corner, dragging Annabeth behind him.

"Yo, guys!" He shouted over the bloodthirsty roar of the music. The group looked up, their heads snapping up so fast Annabeth could almost feel the whiplash herself.

"Yeah, Perce?" One asked, a tall dark skinned guy with bangs.

"Why aren't you dancing?"

"Heck man, why are you dancing?"

"It's fun!"

Annabeth nudged Percy nervously. "Who are these?" She murmured privately. "Just some classmates," Percy answered with a smile. He squeezed her shoulder supportively, sensing her discomfort. "It's okay, these guys are annoying but believe me, they don't bite."

"Are you sure, because so far we've had a principal who turned into a sea monster and an instructor who isn't much better," she whispered back. Percy laughed loudly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Gods, it was so annoying when he did that, it reminded her that after all these years of competition, he was finally taller and would most likely stay that way. They had this as an ongoing joke, where Percy would purposefully kiss her forehead to irk her. Not out of malice of course, just as a joke. Annabeth stamped on his foot, but Percy simply laughed and scooped her up into an embrace. He kissed her forehead again.

"I swear to gods Seaweed Brain next time you do that I'll judo-" She was cut off by his lips meeting hers. Though annoyed, Annabeth sighed and leant into his kiss, letting his warmth take hers. When they broke apart, Percy smiled at her. "You were saying?" He asked. Annabeth rolled her eyes and punched him on the arm. They turned to look at the kids before them. "So, you guys wanna dance or something?"

The kid with bangs looked at the girl besides him and with his eyes, asked a question. Then he turned to look at his bothersome peer, Perseus Jackson. "Fine," he said, gripping the hand of the girl at his side, "One dance." Percy grinned. "I knew I could convince you to not be so boring."

"Wise Girl," Percy complained, "I'm hot."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Oh, shut up."

Annabeth poked her tongue out at him childishly. They danced sweltering amidst a dense crowd made up of about one-hundred and fifty kids from four or five different schools, all whooping and hollering and dancing. The air had a musty, thick stench of body odour and the intoxicating smell of too sweet food. "Do you want some fresh air?" Percy asked.

"But it's cold and raining." Annabeth complained. Percy glanced at her sidelong and smiled his gorgeous trouble maker smile. "I promise you won't get wet."
"Okay, fine." Annabeth allowed herself to be lead through the throng. They arrived at the doors and made to go through them, but were deterred by the sentries at the door. "Come on!" Percy protested, "We just want to get out!"

One of the sentries looked down on them and snorted. "Yeah right, to make out in the bushes?"

Percy blushed vigorously and assumed an angry expression. "Im fairly certain you can't talk to-"

Annabeth suddenly doubled over and started to retch furiously. "P-please miss," She stuttered, "I'm going'-she retched again-'I'm going to throw up." The teacher at the door looked alarmed, and mildly disgusted, as if Annabeth might puke all over her. "S-sure, come right through," She stuttered, "Perhaps it's the cake."

"Thanks miss, thanks." Annabeth ran out, clasping her stomach, followed by Percy who was feigning worry. Once they had skidded past the corner of the corridor, they bent over laughing. "That," Percy gasped, "Was a stroke of genius!" Annabeth smiled, and tossed her hair, "I thought you would've got used to it by now. You know, with me kicking your butt for what, five years now?"

Cautious of any other teachers on the move, Percy and Annabeth looked up and made towards the back doors at the end of the hall. The cool air hit them like a blow. Biting, sharp, angry. But refreshing. With childish delight, Annabeth ran whooping into the rain, Percy right behind her.

"I thought you didn't wanna get wet?"
"Yeah, well..."
Annabeth grinned at him broadly, then, wordlessly, pressed a kiss to his lips. It was even better than dancing. It was losing oneself in another until Percy became the only thing in the world. It was losing oneself in another until all that mattered was him and Annabeth and clearing the space between them. Above them, around them pulsated the steady, incessant beat of the music like a large heart. Empowering them. Annabeth's heart melted to her feet as if it were wax, her eyelids shutting out the real world and every thing save for the lips on hers and the boy in her arms. They flew and flew, soaring high above the world and all it stands for, clinging to each other as if for dear life. In the back of Annabeth's eyelids seared an image. Clouds and clouds as she and Percy flew and each one of them had a silver lining.

When the space between them was finally empty again, they stared at each other in shock, green matching grey, black matching blonde. For a while, they just stared and stared, drinking in the comforting sight of each other and the happiness each one supplied. Then the beat stopped and another slower beat started from somewhere in the complex.

'When your legs don't work like they used to before'

Percy blinked, shaking himself from his stupor.
"Come on Wise Girl, let's dance."
Annabeth nodded mutely and gently placed a hand in his. She had a faint recollection, another one, of watching the music video to 'Thinking Out Loud," with Piper one time. Many times in that sleepover in fact. They had been imagining they were getting married to their respective boyfriends, and were planning what song to play at the ceremony. As as joke of course, but still, Annabeth decided not to tell Percy.

Though they did not follow the music video, which was extremely strange and difficult, as claimed by Percy. they began to move together, waltzing around each other with the ease of one well practiced. Their footsteps were light as they spun and danced and twirled around each other with movement freight with grace. It was as though they had been dancing all their lives, as though they had been breathing and living on these steps since birth was the way they moved. The dance was slow, like a sea gentle breeze delicately batting the shore, whistling in the trees. At one point, Annabeth executed a perfect spin into Percy's arms, picking up the perfect momentum and style. At another, Percy lifted her high into the air with so much strength he may have been Heracles. Neither of them was sure when, the routine knitted together into one quilt of soft, beautiful material. The music led them on, guiding them through twirls and leaps and waltzes. And then, their lips came together and they danced as such. Many times they had danced, but never like this. Never beneath the moon and the rain and the stars. Never so close they could hear the other's heartbeat. Never dancing with the swiftness of birds and the agility of gazelles. After minutes. Minutes that stretched into hours or days or years, the song dimmed to a stop. Percy and Annabeth broke apart staring at each other and gasping for the second time that night. Annabeth took a gulp of much needed air and exhaled slowly. The rain washed her face ran down her nose. Another slow song was starting up in the foggy haze beyond her elation. A couple's dance, she thought. Not that she was inclined to go. Not when she could be here all alone with Percy. Annabeth glanced askance at her arms, and saw with a start that the concealer had run. Well, of course it had, but in the heat of the moment she had forgotten. But she wasn't inclined to care about that either.

"Thanks Aphrodite." She murmured.

"Huh?" Percy frowned, "what did you say?"
"Nothing."
And somewhere, up above them in the splendour of Olympus, Annabeth was sure she could almost hear the goddess of love laughing in glee.