Percy's POV

"Perseus Jackson!" Sally Jackson screamed, wisps of hair flying as she paced back and forth.

"I know, Mom."

"I can not believe you. Paul and I go out, trying to have a nice night, and I come home to find my eighteen year old son doing God knows what with his girlfriend in the basement!"

"We were just kissing." I kept my eyes low, trying not to challenge her.

"Just kissing?! Just kissing?! Did you see that giant purple thing on her neck? No? 'Cause I sure did! What will people at school say? People can be so cruel you know. I hope you're prepared to deal with this. I-"

"Mom, please listen to me! I need you to take a deep breath, calm down, and hear me out."

She looked to her fiancé sitting awkwardly in the corner, who gave her an encouraging nod. She sat down next to me on the couch, breathed deeply through her nose, and put her hands in her lap. "Okay."

"Thank you. What Annabeth and I were doing was not a big deal." Her hands tighten on her lap. "Really, it wasn't. We were just making out on the couch. It wasn't going to lead to anything more, if that's what you're worried about. It's what pretty much every couple does. And as for the 'giant purple thing on her neck', no one will notice. She'll cover it up with makeup." She raises her eyebrows at my knowledge of how to hide hickeys, so I speedily continue. "You can trust us, mom."

"But can I? Honestly Percy, you didn't even let me know she was here. It really seems like you were trying to hide something." There's hurt in her voice, and I realize I am at fault.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It's just that she called, and I was so happy because she seemed kind of annoyed with me today, and I had to rush out and get her flowers because she was coming over really soon. Letting you know completely slipped my mind."

She hugs me tightly. "My sweet boy. You got her flowers." I hug her back. "But next time, please just let me know she's here. And preferably, no girlfriend home when we're not."

I'm a little disappointed, but I nod. "Okay." Paul nods and smiles at me from his spot in the corner, looking a little more comfortable now. "I'm gonna head to my room. Love you Mom. Night Paul." Mom hugs me and Paul claps me on the back. We still haven't quite figured out how to act around each other. I head to my room and shut the door, pulling out by phone to call Annabeth.

"Hey, how'd it go with your mom?" She asks.

"Eh, not too bad. Just the standard 'what were you thinking, how can I trust you,' that kind of thing. She's fine now though."

"Yeah? That's good."

"Did you get to finish your homework?"

"Yeah." I can hear the grin in her voice. "Didn't take me long at all without you there to distract me."

A grin of my own spreads across my face. "Sorry about that."

"No, don't apologize. It was a very nice distraction. I welcome it in the future." My smile fades when I hear the catch in her voice.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. This book is just really sad."

I chuckle. "You're reading while we're on the phone?"

She giggles, although it's still a bit sad.

"Well, I'll let you give your full attention to your self-destructive book. Pick you up in the morning?"

"Yes please. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." I hang up and change into my pajamas.

Annabeth's POV

"No, don't apologize. It was a very nice distraction. I welcome it in the future." The future. My voice catches. We might not have a future.

"Are you okay?" There's concern in his voice, making me feel a little guilty.

"Yeah. This book is just really sad." I lie.

He chuckles. "You're reading while we're on the phone?"

I giggle, then wince because it sounds sad.

"Well, I'll let you give your full attention to your self-destructive book. Pick you up in the morning?"

"Yes please. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." He hangs up and I start to get ready for bed.

The morning is a bit of a struggle. I wake up 20 minutes late, and since I was at Percy's the night before, I forgot to do laundry, meaning I had limited clothes to choose from. I hadn't even noticed that it was 7:13 and Percy had called three times. There was a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I call, thinking it's my mom. Percy walks through the door, closing it behind him. I look at him in confusion. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to pick me up for 20-ish minutes. I mean, I'm glad that you're here, but I'm not even ready yet."

He holds up my phone that was placed on my nightstand and shows me that school starts in seventeen minutes.

"Oh no!" I exclaim.

"Wow, this is a first. I'm witnessing history right now. Annabeth Chase, for the first time in her life, is running late." I make a face at him as he sits smugly on my bed. "You're still in your pajamas." He observes.

"I forgot to do laundry last night so I have nothing to wear."

"Ohhh. Can I help?"

"You can try." I do my best to hold out a laugh. "But hurry, because I don't like being late." I kiss him on the cheek as he mulls over the clothes in my closet.

"This?" He pulls out a blue sundress.

"It's 35 degrees outside."

"Hmm, okay, so we're focusing on temperature too. Gotcha."

I smile and roll my eyes.

"Okay, how about this, with this, and these?" He presents a dark blue knit top, a pair of black jeans, and grey Ugg boots.

"Wow, not bad!" I praise. "Now get out so I can change. And start the car so I can jump in and we can go?" I push him out the door and quickly change. I grab a grey infinity scarf, a pair of earrings he bought me, and my bookbag, and run out the door, calling 'bye' out to my family as I do so.

"I did good, if I do say so myself." He smirks. "Are those the earrings I got you?" I nod as I put them in. "They look nice on you."

I smile. "Why thank you."

We pull into the school with three minutes to spare and rush to our first hour.

A/n This chapter is shorter than the others, but I figured I better update twice since it took me so long to update before. I'm already working on the next chapter :) hopefully I'll stay on top of things this time. Please review! xx