Percy agreed to celebrate his birthday only if I was there to do so with him.

With a roll of my eyes, I asked him how that was possible, seeing as both he and Doctor Apollo wouldn't let me out of this stupid hospital room until I was fully healthy. So that's the reason why, on the morning of August 18, I woke up to party streamers running the length of my room, a table with presents in the corner, and a cake on the counter next to me. And yes, everything was blue.

Barely a minute after I woke up, the door to the room opened and the whole clan tromped in—Poseidon, Sally, Paul, Malcolm, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Rachel, Mrs. O'Leary in Sally's arms, and last but not least, Percy.

A laugh was torn out of me as I sat up. "You were serious when you said you were going to decorate the room."

Sally replied with a smile, "A birthday is not complete without decorations!"

I shook my head, still chuckling as Percy came over to me, sitting beside me.

I held out my arms and gave him a hug, saying in his ear, "Happy Birthday, Seaweed Brain." I could feel him smiling on my cheek.

"Thanks, Annabeth."

"You know, you didn't have to do this. You probably would've had much more fun if you celebrated at your own house."

"Not without you, Wise Girl," he answered, leaning back and offering me a lopsided grin that made my stomach clench. I returned the smile.

"Let's get this party started!" Leo yelled, running over to the presents.

The next hour was filled with laughter, jokes, and presents. We decided to have cake before lunch, because after all, you never know when you're going to die. Live life while you can, right?

Percy had regained that sparkle in his eyes that had faded ever since our argument and the car crash. He played with Mrs. O'Leary, joked with Jason, Leo, and Frank, and even had a nice conversation with Rachel.

He was in the midst of opening up Sally's present to him when I felt someone slide into the bed next to me. I looked over to a red-haired girl with bright green eyes.

"Oh, hey," I said, shifting to face her.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at me expectantly. "What did you two do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Something obviously happened between you two that put you at odds with each other." She didn't sound accusatory or jealous, just curious.

I sighed, twiddling my thumbs. Only Jason knew about the kiss between us, and I didn't really feel like repeating everything again. But for some reason I felt like I needed to still get it off my chest. I wanted to talk about it with another friend, and Piper wasn't here for me to spill.

So I told Rachel everything, making sure my voice was quiet so nobody would hear. They were all focused on the presents anyways.

Rachel listened intently. I told her everything from the day of the kiss to the argument during the horse lesson to the car crash to the making up the other day. She sometimes would look away at Percy, nodding absentmindedly while deep in thought.

When I finished, I waited with bated breath for what she was going to say.

"There's something more."

I frowned at the three words she spoke, saying in a baffled voice, "What?"

She pursed her lips, looking just as confused gazing at Percy. "There's gotta be something more to his motives of not being with you. I don't understand. Anybody could see he's crazy about you, and you're crazy about him. I know, he may have needed some time, but . . . I don't know. It just doesn't sound like that's the only thing."

"What do you—"

"Annabeth!"

I was cut off by my brother's voice, and my head snapped over to him, eyebrow raised. He gestured to Percy, who was looking at me expectantly. In his hands he held a small, wrapped box—my present.

A smile appeared on my face as I watched him, urging him to continue. He walked over to me while taking off the tape and paper, sitting beside me as he beheld the cardboard box under.

He glanced once at me, then looked back, breaking open the box. The room was silent, waiting to see what was in it. Only Malcolm, Poseidon and I knew what was inside—Poseidon because I had to ask him a question about it.

Percy dropped the box once he had grabbed the things inside. He held two pieces of paper in his hand, and his eyebrows furrowed as he read the small words.

Then his jaw dropped and his eyes widened to the size of quarters. "No freaking way."

I bit my lip, smiling largely. "Yep. Two tickets to New York. I think it's time you visited a beach, Seaweed Brain."

Everybody gasped and then started talking animatedly, shrieking with excitement. Percy just sat there, stunned. Then slowly he turned to me, a grin growing on his face.

He opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, managing to say, "Thank you, Wise Girl. Thank you so much."

I smiled back at him. "Just think of it as a gift, me thanking you for tolerating me all summer."

His green eyes danced with mirth as he pulled me into a tight hug, and I laughed, returning the embrace.

"I was going to get two more tickets for Poseidon and Paul to join you, but Paul has to teach school those days and Poseidon said he had a meeting with some other rancher dude. So it's just you and your mom."

"Thank you," he repeated, his words full of utter gratitude.

I rolled my eyes. "You're welcome, now stop thanking me! You deserve this."

His eyes went back down to the tickets clutched tightly in his hand, beaming down at them like they were a pot of gold. "The ocean. I get to see the ocean."

I smiled at him. "Yes you do. And in less than a week. I had to send you soon before school started. When does your college start, exactly?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Sometime in August."

"You're going to the University about a half hour away, right?"

He nodded emphatically. "Yeah, I didn't want to go far. I've still got to help dad around the ranch."

"I'll be leaving soon."

That dimmed his excitement, and he glanced back up at me, his sea-green eyes latching with mine.

Rachel's words flitted through my head. Was him needing time and space just it? Or was there something else that was holding him back? The pessimistic side of me said that maybe he just didn't like me at all. Just as a friend.

"Annabeth, thank you so much, darling," Sally said, coming up to us. She clasped my hand in hers, squeezing it. "I've wanted to take Percy to the beach for so long."

I grinned back at her. "I'm sure you guys will love this place. It's called Montauk Beach."

She dipped her head, then turned to Percy. "Well, we better get packing. We leave in four days!" She let out a little excited squeal, turning to go blab to her husband about it.

Percy chuckled, watching her. "I think she's more excited than I am." He turned to me, a little frown on his face. "You sure you'll be okay here?"

I sent my eyes to the ceiling. "I'll be fine, Percy. You'll only be gone for three days, not including the day of travel. And besides, I'll have your dad and Paul and Jason and Leo and even Mrs. O'Leary."

He bobbed his head, but he was already distant again, thinking of his trip. I was glad he was so happy. I wanted to do this for him ever since he told me loved the water but had never been to the beach. I was more than capable of getting him tickets, anyway.

I just hoped he and his mom would have a fun time.

Two days later I was discharged from the hospital.

Malcolm stayed in Colorado just long enough for me to get settled back at the house before he took a flight back to California. His absence had taken a toll on his business, and as much as he wanted to stay, he had to go back to attend his job.

I was glad he came, though, and I told him so as he was leaving.

"There was no way I wasn't coming," he said back to me, his hug tightening. "I'm glad you're alright, little sis. And that was a good idea, getting those for Percy. He's really happy."

I nodded, then leaned back in the embrace. "Malcolm, what you said about me and Percy . . . well, I just wanted you to know that that's true. I do like him. A lot."

He smiled, tapping my nose. "I knew that. I was just stating the fact."

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the blush on my face. "I just wanted to tell you myself."

"Okay. And what I said about him being better than Luke? That was true too. Definitely."

Cocking my head, I replied, "Can I ask why he's better?"

Malcolm shrugged, looking to the side. "I don't know. I just have a better feeling about Percy. And I can see he genuinely cares about you. Meanwhile I never know what Luke is thinking—his acting skills can be kind of scary."

I laughed, then told him, "You better go or you'll miss your flight. And Poseidon is taking you, and he doesn't like to wait."

With one last smile and wave, he headed out the door, leaving me behind. The afterimage of bright blond hair and a wide smile lingered in my brain as I heard the car outside start up. It was the new truck Poseidon had gotten, an exact replica of his old one. I had begged to help him pay for it, but he adamantly refused, and he made me deal with it.

"Annabeth?" Percy called from the other room.

When I hummed in reply, loud enough to reach his ears, he asked, "Do you want to do a puzzle?"

I rolled my eyes, sighing. "Is this the kind of puzzle where I do all the work and you eat and play with Mrs. O'Leary and we argue the whole time?"

You could hear the grin in his voice as he said back, "Yeah, pretty much."

A rueful smile assisted the roll of my eyes as I answered. "Okay, Seaweed Brain."

It was the day before Percy was going to New York to the cabin by the beach. He was ecstatic. My ears felt like they were going to fall off because Percy had blabbed to me all day long about how it was incredibly awesome and that he was going to have the best time of his life. Mrs. O'Leary caught on to this excitement, and by the end of the day, she was hopping around with almost as much enthusiasm as Percy.

"I wonder if I could try surfing," Percy mused at the table while we were eating supper. "And do you think we'll see any sea creatures? I hope we do. I love dolphins. And fish. All fish. Gods, I even love sharks!"

The telephone hanging in the wall started ringing, and Poseidon with one last amused look towards his son, got up to get the call.

"You really are excited," I commented, pushing around the food on my plate with a smile.

A lopsided grin adorned his countenance. "I'm more than excited! I'm . . . I'm like—like super excited!"

I bust out laughing, sobering up just long enough to say, "I like your vocabulary."

His eyes twinkled. "Thanks again, Annabeth. You really shouldn't have done it, but I'm sure as Hades glad you did."

I reached out and patted his shoulder. "I'm just glad to see you so happy. Friends do that for each other, right?"

His eyes dimmed a little, and I frowned. However, before I could ask him anything, Poseidon reentered the room.

It was like his demeanor made everyone quiet and we all stared at him—or, more importantly, the downcast look on his face.

"What's wrong? Who was on the phone?" Percy asked, eyes narrowing at his dad.

Poseidon exhaled largely, coming over to his seat. "That was your mother, Percy."

The black-haired boy and I exchanged quick glances before I pressed with, "What did she want?"

Poseidon seemed to regret what he was about to say. "She can't go on the trip tomorrow."

Percy's fork clattered to the plate. "What do you mean she can't! Why not?"

"Paul just called, and apparently Sally come down with a sort of flu virus," he explained calmly. "She's been throwing up, and she's got a high fever. She said she wished she could come, but she'd just be a burden. She's really sorry."

Percy was silent. All that excitement from before had been replaced with disappointment.

Meanwhile, my mind was racing with concern for Sally, panic because this was supposed to make Percy happy, and anxiety because what was going to happen now?

As if he was reading my thoughts, Percy voiced, "What now?"

Poseidon sighed, pursing his lips as he sat back down. I twiddled my thumbs while I frowned.

"I don't want to go by myself," Percy said. My heart twisted at his fallen face, his eyebrows drawn together slightly.

"I can't go, and Paul can't go," Poseidon stated. "We could try Jason or Leo or some of your other friends."

Percy shook his head. "Leo's grounded because he blew up a garage." I held in a snort. That sounded like Leo. "Jason can't, he's gonna see his sister for a week. Frank also can't, he's got his military camp thing."

Poseidon's eyes briefly flickered to mine, and they lit up. "What about Annabeth?"

I froze, my teeth pausing in the midst of gnawing on my inside cheek. "What?"

"What about Annabeth?" the older man repeated, looking around. "You could go with her. We could probably conjure up some form of disguise, and she'd get through the airport. Plus she knows her way around places, and it would be good for you two to spend some more time together before Annabeth has to leave."

My heart drooped a little at the word "leave," but then it picked back up again at a faster pace when I realized exactly what he was saying.

"Wait, wait," I said, holding up a hand. "You want me to go with Percy to New York. Just us." Oh, gods.

"Yeah." Poseidon was starting to nod his head as if he were warming up to the idea. "That way Percy doesn't have to go alone. It'll be fun."

My head snapped over to Percy, trying to gauge what he was thinking about this.

Percy was frowning, staring at the table, but he started to bob his head as well, shrugging. "Sure, why not?"

"But—I—" I didn't even know why I was protesting. I guess I just didn't know how I'd be able to make four days alone with Percy without saying anything utterly stupid like "I like you a lot, Percy." If I went, the trip could end really badly.

"Yeah, let's do it," Percy said, smiling now with a twinkle in his eye as he looked at me. "You in?"

I opened my mouth and then closed it, still mulling over my anxious thoughts.

But then Percy added those puppy dog eyes, making him look absolutely adorable. "Please, Wise Girl? For me?"

I let out a huge breath, shaking my head as my own smile formed. "Okay, then. I'll go."

While he whooped and got excited all over again, my mind was racing with one prayer that was bouncing painfully around in my brain, desperately trying to make it up to the gods in the sky for admittance.

Please don't let me regret this.

To put my life in a cuss-free, small sentence: It sucks.

Two weeks into school and I've already done two research papers, three presentations, four labs, and volleyball has started and I have games every Tuesday and Thursday and practices every night. I mean, seriously. I'M JUST A SOPHOMORE. Please cut me some slack! Bleh.

So I apologize profusely for the extremely delayed update. I know, curse me, hate me, I don't care, I deserve it. Sorry it's so short and that it bounced around a lot—it was kind of just a filler. But I hope you like it nonetheless!

Thank you for reviewing! They brighten my dull days more than you would think when I read all of your feedback, because I almost never get flames and I love you all for that. :)

PLEASE: If any of you have wattpad, I have a story on there, and I would absolutely adore you if you checked it out. It's called "Little Lady" and my username on wattpad is "Sophia-Dee". So if you have time, please drop a line there. I might just be more encouraged to make a new chapter for City Girl, Country Boy too. ;) Thanks guys. Love you.