Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan. Storyline is mine.

Chapter 51

Percy

I can feel her slowly relaxing as I rub circles on her hand. As much as I wish we could just go back to normal, we need to talk about this and I need to see where her mind is. She thinks she's an open book but even after so much time around her, I can't even decipher what her thoughts are when she's talking to me about them. Annabeth on the inside is different from Annabeth in her brain.

I drive around for a bit, trying to figure out where to take her before I finally give up and pull into a little diner we used to go to when the school year started. The bright neon lights are still on, announcing to the world that the beat up dining room is open 24 hours a day.

I step out of the car and jog over to her side, helping her out. I don't let go of her hand even as we sit down in a booth across from each other and the young waitress plops two menus in front of us.

I start to talk but she squeezes my hand. "No, let me explain," she says.

The waitress comes back before she can say anything and I just order what we always get. She stays quiet and smiles at me, as if just now realizing that I'm absolutely crazy about her. Of course I remember what she gets every time we used to come here.

The waitress walks away with our order and I return my attention to her. Her eye makeup is still on, heavy enough that every person in the audience can distinguish every emotion that crosses her face. Her eyes seem endless, tears already beginning to form.

"I've been so ridiculous, Percy." She takes a breath and reaches for my other hand. "I was so scared that you would be taken away from me by my mother, so instead of letting her do it, I stupidly did it myself. You didn't even do anything wrong!" She shakes her head and the first tear falls down her cheek.

I release a hand and brush it away with her finger, grabbing her chin and lifting her face.

"I just love you so much. I really do. At the end of the day, I just kept going to bed thinking, 'What is he doing? Will he move on from me?' I would see you laughing at school and basically going back to normal and I just had to trust that the plan Will came up with would work and-"

"Will?" I ask.

"He was the one who talked some sense into me. I had this plan figured out weeks ago, but he told me to trust that you would take the ticket. It was so hard for me not to pull you aside in class and just spill it all." I can't even grasp what she is saying. Here I was thinking Will has been after her since the start.

"I'm great at self sabotage. But you can't let me sabotage this again. You're keeping me sane. Everything was going to well and I got suspicious. Like I didn't deserve for things to go this well for me."

I wipe the rest of her tears and lean over the table to kiss her forehead. "You deserve this and so much more. You deserve the best I have to offer you and I'm going to keep being the best version of me that I can."

She grabs my neck and plants a kiss on my lips before releasing me.

We keep talking, unleashing everything that we have kept in in the past few weeks and even before that. I tell her about how I'm training for basketball now. She tells me how she's almost finished with college applications. She's already looking at scholarships.

"One of those schools has a dance program right?"

She gives me a pointed look. "No, because I'm majoring in architecture."

I cock my eyebrow. "That's why double majors and minors exist."

She laughs, "So you've decided your major right?"

I roll my eyes. "We aren't talking about me though."

The food gets set in front of us and she throws a fry at me. I scoop it up and eat it anyway. She wrinkles her nose and says, "We should talk about you. You happen to be one of my favorite topics."

My eyes widen and I fake gasp. "Right up there with mythology and the meaning of life?"

She pushes my arm and starts to eat her burger. "I haven't had food like this in so long." She moans a little bit and both of my eyebrows shoot up.

"So good," she says. A little bit of ketchup sticks to the corner of her mouth and I reach over to wipe it off. She licks it off my finger before I wipe if off and her cheeks immediately flame. I can't help but laugh and lean over to kiss her again. "I missed this so much," I whisper.

She smiles widely and bites her lip. "I think we've gotten over the heavy stuff for now."

"Oh, so you're saying you just want cheesy romance novel material?"

"What if I do?"

I jump up and stand on the bench. "Then I guess I'll have to serenade you."

She starts to shake her head and reaches for my hand to yank me down. I just clear my throat. "Wiiiiiise meeeen saiiiid, Only foooools ruuuush iiiin. But I, I can't help faaaaalling in loooove with youuuu."

I hear people clapping and I jump down from the seat and kneel down in front of her. She just covers her mouth, trying to contain her laughter and sinks deeper into her side of the booth.

"Shaaall I staaaaay, Would it beeee aaaaaa sin. If I, I can't help faaaalling in loooove with youuuu."

She slaps a hand over my mouth and pulls me into the booth next to her. "Stop it!" She can barely say it through her laughter and I can't help (no pun intended) but laugh along with her.

"You wanted romance novel material, I'm pretty sure I read that exact scene one time. Now you're giving me mixed signals."

She keeps laughing, " I knew you read romance novels! I knew it!"

I poke a finger into her side, sending her into another peal of laughter.

People are still clapping so I stand up quick and bow for them, blowing kisses. She pulls me down again and people keep clapping and laughing.

"Well did you read this?" she asks, curling her fingers in my hair and pulling me towards her. I smile into her lips as I kiss her, and for the first time, I wish we could stay in this diner all 24 hours that it's open.