Chapter 25

Fast forward -

"Good job, boys" Beckendorf said, patting Grover on the back and panting heavily as the four came to a stop.

"How long was that?" Jason asked.

"Almost 8 miles"

"My legs are killing me!" Percy winced, "Thanks, Beckendorf" he said sarcastically through gritted teeth.

"You'll be fine. Remember what we agreed on" Jason said and gave Percy a fist bump.

"Whatever, man. I'll see you guys later" he said and made his way down the stairs and back home, wincing with every step he took. Running 8 miles was no easy task, even for someone like Percy. He made his way back to the house slowly, got in, and collapsed on his knees. He had to crawl to the shower.

When he was finally finished, which felt like ages, he dried himself off and grabbed something to eat. He sat on the couch for a while, checking his phone until he heard the lock and door open.

"Hey, Percy"

"Hi, Annabeth" he answered as she sat beside him and kissed him.

"How was running?"

"Hard."

"Just that? Hard?" Annabeth asked after a short silence.

"I can barely walk. I had to crawl to the shower" he said seriously and Annabeth cracked up, clutching her stomach and leaning on Percy for support. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry" she said and wiped some tears from her eyes, "When you said that I started thinking of an older version of you crawling to the shower slowly."

"That's brutal" Percy said with a laugh. Annabeth thought about the conversation she had with her friends that morning, about the prom. In all honesty, and she would never admit this to anyone but Percy, she couldn't stop thinking about it. She grabbed his arm and turned him towards her.

"Percy?"

"Annabeth?"

"I…I just…" she stuttered. She didn't know why she had so much trouble, but she also knew it wasn't going to be easy. "Can I ask you something?"

"That's funny" Percy said. He looked down at his hands with a smile and blushed, "I wanted to ask you something too" he met her eyes again. Annabeth's hand slowly made its way up to his face and cupped his cheek. It always comforted both of them: Annabeth loved Percy's cheeks, and Percy calmed down when Annabeth touched him. They met foreheads, staring into each other's eyes for a while.

"Would you go to prom with me?" they asked at the same time, looked at each other, and laughed.

"Of course I'll go with you!" she said and pulled him in for a big kiss, "What took you so long, Seaweed Brain?" she asked and threw her arms around his neck, still looking in his eyes.

"To be honest, I was a little nervous."

"Nervous?

"I don't know why, I mean, we've been together for so long. I just didn't feel confident enough, I guess." He said and smiled, "What about you? What's the reason you asked me?"

"There are a lot of them" she said and kissed him, "First off, I love you. You're handsome, and amazing, and fun, and-"she rambled but Percy interrupted her with a kiss.

"Now the real reason"

"What do you mean the real reason? Percy, that was the real reason. You know I meant all that, right?" she said and saw him blush. "I wouldn't ever consider going if it wasn't with you."

"That still doesn't answer my question"

"Well…I…I was scared it was going to be awkward for you" she said and looked deeply in his eyes, "I just thought peer pressure was going to force you to do something you didn't want to do just because everyone else does it. I thought about bring it up for a long time, but I didn't want to pressure you either. And it's okay with me if you change your mind." She said the last part honestly, but she really wanted him to go. Annabeth decided that If he didn't go, she wouldn't go.

"You think I don't want to go?" he asked and smiled at her.

"You do?" Annabeth asked with a light in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

"Of course I do. But to be honest with you, I was worried at first. Then I had a talk with the guys this morning. They convinced me that you were waiting for me to ask. I wasn't going to, but I thought about it a lot. And I realized that even though I'm a horrible dancer, and I'll probably step all over your toes, spending the night with you would be great."

"I'm really happy you want to go Percy."

"Me too" he said and kissed her. They snuggled with each other for a while until Percy's thoughts drifted to something else. Something he really wasn't looking forward to…

- A week later -

"How does it look?" Grover asked and looked at Percy. The two decided to go shopping for tuxedos together. He was wearing a white tux with a red vest and tie.

"You look awesome!" Percy said with a smile after looking him up and down.

"Do you think Juniper will like it?"

"Dude, it looks great! Relax okay?"

"I can't, Perce, I can't" he said nervously and started pacing back and forth. "What if she thinks I look weird? What if she doesn't like the stitching? What if I mess-"

"Grover!" Percy semi-yelled and gripped his shoulders firmly. "Grover, look at me" he said and snapped his fingers looked in front of Grover's eyes, "You look awesome. You know what? What do you say I call Annabeth? Let's see what she thinks"

"O-okay" Grover stuttered as Percy led him over to a chair.

"Just relax, think happy thoughts." Percy said and dialed Annabeth's number.

"Hi, Percy"

"Hi, Annabeth, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"You don't happen to be with Juniper now, right?"

"No, why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Grover's just freaking out over his outfit and I thought you could do us a favor and give it a look."

"Of course, I'm with the Rachel and Piper here, and we'd love to. Send me a picture"

"Alright, I'm sending it now" Percy said and put the call on hold.

"Say cheese" He snapped a quick picture and sent it to Annabeth.

"I got it"

"Wait, before you start, I'm putting you on speaker so Grover can hear"

"Grover?"

"H-hi"

"Grover, you look great. Don't be too hard on yourself"

"O-okay, okay. Thank you, Annabeth"

"Don't mention it. Juniper's going to love it, okay? Trust me."

"We're still on for later, right?""

"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it"

"Cool, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Alright. I love you"

"Love you too" Percy said and hung up, "See? I told you! Listen, Juniper's going to droll all over her dress when she sees you."

Grover took a few deep breaths before speaking, "Thanks, Perce. I really needed that."

"It's nothing, it's what friends do. Get this off and I'll try mine" he said as Grover made his way back to the changing rooms. He took the tux off as Percy went to change as well. He stepped out of the changing room and Grover's mouth dropped in awe.

"W-w-wow" he said and looked Percy up and down. A simple black suit, tie and vest, clung to his muscular physique perfectly. It was simple, but he nailed it perfectly.

"Grover?" he said and stepped closer to his friend, still stuttering. He turned around and noticed people, especially girls, looking at him.

"Oh good, people are staring at us." He muttered sarcastically and snapped his fingers again, "Enchiladas, Grover, wake up!" Percy hissed. He finally snapped back to reality.

"Y-you look…wow" Grover said. "Everyone seems interested now"

"That's because you freaked out" Percy said and stepped away.

"No, it's not me. They're looking at you, Perce" Percy turned his head, a bunch of girls waving, biting and licking their lips while staring at him.

"Great" he muttered and rolled his eyes. "Whatever, who cares. How do I look?"

"Incredible. Just look in the mirror" Grover said as Percy turned towards a mirror. "If you think Juniper will drool all over her dress, wait until you see Annabeth" Percy looked himself up and down, but he didn't see anything special. Just the same old him.

"It fits well…" he said and looked at himself again, "I'll take it, how about you?"

"This is the one for me" Grover said and pointed to his tux.

"Good. I'll get this thing off and we'll get out of here."

- Line break -

"Who's that?" Piper asked as Annabeth picked up her phone.

"Hi Percy" she said with a smile. "Sure. No, why? What's wrong? Of course, I'm with Rachel and Piper now and we'd love to. Send me a picture." she said and waited. Her phone buzzed as the picture arrived, "I got it." she said and the girls looked at Grover's outfit up and down.

"He looks good" Rachel said.

"I think he looks great. He shouldn't be freaking out"

"Grover?" Annabeth asked, putting the phone to her ear again. "Grover you look great. Don't be too hard on yourself." she said and chuckled, "Don't mention it, Juniper's going to love it, okay? Trust me. Yeah, I wouldn't miss it. I love you" she said and hung up with a smile

"You have to stop doing that" Rachel interrupted.

"Do what?"

"The your-eyes-glow-and-you-smile thing you do whenever you talk about him. It's creepy." Rachel explained

"Is someone jealous?" Annabeth retorted back.

"No. Now stop stalling and put the dress on" she said and shoved her into the changing room. A few moments later and Annabeth walked out, looking as beautiful as ever, the dress hugging her curves and features perfectly. She noticed Piper staring as Rachel wolf-whistled.

"How do I look?"

"Annabeth, oh my god, you look stunning!" Piper squealed and hugged her.

"Thanks, Pipes"

"Yeah, Annie, I don't know how your boyfriend will make it through the night. You're taking it."

"Fine, can we just go pay? I want to go home"

"Ready for another go with the prince?"

"Don't even go there..."