It's a bird! It's a plane! It's an... EARLY UPDATE!

Well kinda. I mean, I did already have like half this written out, but I did actually manage to update in under 24 hours! So. Yay.

And as for the Bronze Dragon timeline... yeah, I think it probably would have taken place summer of tLO, but at the time I wrote it I wasn't sure and figured it could fit in the summer of tBotL, so yeah. That's what happened. Thanks for the reviews, though! They warmed my heart. *wipes away tear*

Disclaimer: I own nuttin'

The Fireworks was, surprisingly, pretty much how Connor had described it. There were blankets, but no one really sat on them. Most of the campers were standing up and laughing and talking with each other, some holding sparklers or glow sticks.

It was dark. Past ten, I think. Annabeth did meet me on the blanket in the spot I'd chosen, but she looked a little confused about it.

"Why not closer to the ocean?" She asked.

I dug at the soft beachy sand and shrugged, trying to suppress the memories of that horrible day. "I just… would rather not get wet."

Annabeth shrugged. "Okay."

We basically just sat there for the next minute or two in silence. It certainly wasn't the romantic evening I'd envisioned, even though the night was clear and starry and Annabeth and I were sharing a blanket.

I couldn't even think that clearly, what with Annabeth being barely two inches from me and her long hair hanging loose and free around her shoulders.

"Campers!" Chiron boomed suddenly, and the kids who'd been horsing around came to an abrupt stop. He trotted up to the front of the beach. "There has been talk of the titan war. However, tonight there will be no such mention! Tonight, we celebrate!"

Mr. D was sitting maybe ten paces away from Chiron, but even from that distance I could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"Celebrate, as we enjoy the spectacle brought to us by the Hephaestus cabin!"

Cheers exploded across the beach as the first fireworks went off, covering the black sky in a shower of gold. The Hephaestus kids were grinning, staring up at the sky in admiration of their work.

Annabeth was smiling. "It's cool," I said dumbly, then winced. Why can't you think of anything to say? She's sitting right next to you, and you're blowing it!

But Annabeth only laughed. "Yeah, it is. Much better than that stuff they do at the white house… but then again, the president doesn't have children of Hephaestus working for him, so he doesn't really have a chance."

I nodded, distracted by the whoops and shouts made by the campers chasing each other maybe fifteen feet away. They were right at the edge of the ocean and looked like they were having fun. More fun than Annabeth and I, anyway.

There were couples that actually seemed to be enjoying themselves, though: Travis and Katie only a little ways away from Annabeth and I, Silena and Beckandorf kissing in the shadows at the far end of the beach.

I looked away, blushing, when I noticed Annabeth staring wistfully at the kids who were playing some sort of tag game involving burning sticks shooting sparks.

One of them was Percy, who didn't seem to regret not being with Annabeth at all. He tucked into a roll to avoid Michael Yew from the Apollo cabin flinging a sparkler over at him, which singed his hair.

"I used to do that," Annabeth said, nodding toward the group of campers. Her face lit up blue and green from fireworks up above.

"What?"

"Messing around. It was fun." She hesitated. "Do you - do you wanna go? I mean… it kinda beats just sitting here."

For one terrifying minute, I thought she meant head back to the cabins and just end the date, but then I realized she meant joining the other campers in messing around in the waves. Even so, my heart sank a little. Evidently, enjoying a nice night with me watching fireworks just wasn't enough for Annabeth.

"With Percy?" I asked.

Annabeth gave me a look. "Mathew, this isn't a date. I agreed to go with you, as friends. And you really need to get over this stupid Percy thing. It shouldn't keep you from doing something you want to."

Except I don't want to. I want to stay here, with you. She shot me an accusing look, so I lifted my chin defiantly. "I have nothing against Percy!" Except that I hate him. "Let's… let's go."

Annabeth grinned and jumped up much quicker than I would've liked, but held her hand out to help me up. I accepted and we both jogged over, Annabeth grabbing a spare sarkler abandoned in the sand. She blew on it a few times, and the previously smoldering tip whizzed back to life.

Above us, the fireworks began to make pictures across the sky. I could see Hercules facing the hydra, starbursts of red exploding each time the hero's sparkly figure sliced off another head.

It was jarringly realistic.

Then someone shoved a sparkler in my hand, and I came back to life. "Thanks," I said, looking up to see not Annabeth but Conner. "Dude!" He shouted, right next to my ear. I leaned away. "Glad you decided to join the party! Basically, you try to hit other people with the burning end of your sparkler! It's great! I haven't even gotten burned yet! Come on!"

"Okayyyy…" I said carefully. "So, like, really violent tag?"
"Yep!"

"Wasn't the Fireworks supposed to be a dating event?"
"Yeah, well… half the campers ask each other out, but almost no one actually watches the fireworks. Except for, well… you know." Connor jerked his head in his brother's direction. Travis was trying to do something with Katie's hair, and she was smacking him.

"Um, is Annabeth over there?" I couldn't really see much other than about thirty kids tackling and throwing sparklers at each other, because it was so dark. Connor glanced over, his whole head glowing in the light. It made him look like some kind of angel. In a really, really weird way.

Connor shrugged. "I don't kn - oh, wait!" He pointed to a figure that looked a lot like Annabeth, laughing and poking someone else(a figure that looked strangely like Percy) with her sparkler.

My stomach twisted itself into a knot, and I felt a quiet anger bubble up under my skin. I hadn't felt this way in a while, mostly because I'd been trying hard not to think about Percy and Annabeth. And them together.

But then, like a fool, I'd agreed to be Annabeth's date. I'd been swept up, yet again, into her charms! And now Percy had stolen her? Again? She was my date.

"I'll be back," I heard myself say. I walked firmly over to where Annabeth was, the whole scene unfolding in my head - I would calmly insert myself into the situation, and bring it back to the topic of Annabeth and I being dates tonight, subtly making sure Percy got the message.

I wasn't about to fight him, especially now that we were on the beach. Hey, I'd gone down that road before, and it hadn't ended well. Words would have to do. Luckily, Percy was an idiot.

Annabeth was with Percy, water gently lapping at their ankles and about ten feet away from the group attacking each other with burning sticks. I kicked off my sandals, and a wave crashed against my toes.

That was my mistake. The memories came pouring in, then, and I had to press my hands over my ears and squeeze my eyes shut to block them out. I took several deep breaths before opening my eyes and stepping further into the ocean, bare toes spreading over the soft sand.

I could do it. I could be strong, for Annabeth. The ocean didn't scare me. Percy didn't scare me. I'm not scared, I told myself fiercely.

It took me two minutes to reach Annabeth, but by the time I was close enough to talk to her, my breathing had become shallower and I had to concentrate to fight off the waves of darkness pressing down.

The salt, the water, the sand tearing at my skin - "Shut up!" I snapped. I wasn't scared.

"Mathew," someone said, sounding surprised. Annabeth and Percy were both looking at me. Apparently I'd said shut up out loud. Fantastic.

I tried for a smile. "Hi," I said. "I, uh, didn't mean to say that out loud."

Percy laughed. Asshole, I thought. I didn't normally swear… but some people deserved it. "It's fine," he said. His face fell, and he shifted awkwardly. I knew he was remembering that afternoon at the beach. "Do you… do you want a sparkler?"
Annabeth and I both stared at him. Under the flashing lights of the fireworks above, I could see him blush. "I have one," I said. How could he not see the one that was in my hand?

"Right." Percy blushed and I felt a small sliver of sympathy toward him, because this was obviously just as awkward for him as it was for me.

Then I remembered what the point of coming here at all had been. "So, what are you guys doing?"

They glanced at each other. Percy shrugged. "Messing around, I guess?"

I nodded, then gestured at the sky to where Theseus was stabbing the minotaur through the chest. "Is it always like this?"

Percy and Annabeth both looked up at the sky. "Yeah," Annabeth said. "Regular fireworks in the beginning - but a lot bigger and better than the mortal ones, obviously - and then they usually show scenes from famous myths, and then sometimes, at the very end, and if the Hephaestus cabin is feeling generous, there'll be highlights from the previous summer."

"In Fireworks?" I repeated in disbelief.

Percy shrugged. "You can see the myths clear enough. Why not campers?"

"Oh." The water was cold against my ankles, but it didn't feel quite as scary anymore. Then I remembered what I had come here to do.

"Who's Rachel?"

It really worked better than I would have thought. Percy stiffened and Annabeth immediately got a look on her face like she'd swallowed something sour. "I've told you already," Annabeth said. "Remember, last winter? Percy's mortal friend."

Percy frowned. "Why would you tell Mathew about Rachel?"

"He asked! What, I'm not allowed to tell other people about your little friend? If you want to let her in on the secret and introduce her to our world, then-"

"There's nothing wrong with other people knowing!"

Percy and Annabeth were glaring at each other. Woah. Two words from me, and they were already fighting.

"I just overheard you guys talking about her once," I said. "So I asked. She's the mortal you told about the Greek world, right?"

Percy scowled. "She was clear-sighted," he said. "We were about to die. She deserved to know!"

"Oh, sure," Annabeth scoffed. "Just tell any pretty girl you meet all about your secret life so that she'll be impre-"

"That is not what happened!" Percy's hands were fisted and his face was flushed. "I don't like - Rachel's not like that!"

"She's the one you broke the rules for," I sighed.

Percy and Annabeth seemed to have forgotten I was there. "Right," Annabeth said. "Of course not. She's just the perfect mortal girl who's in love with you that you're going to paradise with in a few weeks!"

"I don't even know if I'm going! And at least Rachel doesn't make a huge deal out of it every time I do something wrong, every time I step a toe out of line!"

Annabeth's mouth hung open. "I - I don't - is that really what you think?"

Percy looked at the point above Annabeth's head, his gaze hard. "Kinda seems like it, sometimes."

Annabeth pursed her lips together. "Fine," she said tightly. She shoved her sparkler into Percy's chest. "Have fun at the Fireworks by yourself, Jackson."

He caught it with surprise, staring after Annabeth as she jogged away from us, up the sand dunes and disappearing behind them.

I couldn't believe it. What had I just done? I'd never seen Annabeth get mad at Percy - not once - and yet in the span of two days, they'd had two pretty massive fights.

"That was…" I wasn't sure what to say, but saying nothing at all probably would have been the smarter choice. Percy looked at me, green eyes gleaming. I think he realized it was basically my fault he and Annabeth had gotten into that fight.

The waves around my ankles rose by an inch or two, and I began to get a panicky feeling in my chest. Percy wouldn't… he wouldn't go full rage mode on me, would he? Like he had before?

"Mathew, huh?"

"Um, what?" My voice came out a lot squeakier than I would've liked.

We were almost the same height. I was probably an inch or two shorter, but I was still able to look him in the eye. Well, kind of. If I got enough nerve.

"Why would you ask about Rachel?"
I laughed nervously. "I was wondering about her! And you and Annabeth seem to know about her, given that she's your friend…"

"I thought Annabeth already told you," Percy said. There was an edge to his voice I didn't like.

"Well, yeah, but I…" My voice trailed off as I quickly lost confidence and faded into a whisper. "Forgot?"

"Well, leave it alone, all right? Annabeth doesn't need more-" He broke off, a hesitant expression on his face. "She has enough on her plate. We all do."

That made me angry. Percy didn't get to tell me what I could and couldn't say to Annabeth. He couldn't keep acting like he owned everybody and everything! "You aren't nearly as tough or brave as you think you are," I said boldly.

Percy frowned, like he was thinking about it. "I guess not," he said, like he was actually considering it.

Was this kid just immune to insults? "You're horrible!" I shouted, just to see if it would have any effect. The fireworks were exploding so loudly above us I doubt anyone within ten feet of us could have heard our argument.

"Am I," Percy mused. He looked like I was amusing him.

"You can't even tell when you're being insulted! It's no wonder Annabeth's better off without you, is it, if you aren't even smart enough to know when you're facing a monster!"

Percy's expression changed. Aha, I thought. Got you. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said. I could tell I'd struck a nerve, though. For the first time, the great and amazing Percy Jackson was going down.

"I do too," I said smugly.

"At least I wasn't her second choice!" He snapped, and I froze. Her second choice. Annabeth had asked Percy first, and then said yes when I asked her for the second time.

I knew that Annabeth had only said yes to me after getting into a fight with Percy, but she still wanted to go with me, right?

Mathew, this isn't a date. I agreed to go with you, as friends.

Annabeth liked me, I knew she did! My chest started to squeeze with a strange and sudden panic. She wouldn't have agreed to go to the Fireworks with me if she didn't have at least some feelings for me. All I had to do was prove it. Prove it to me, prove it to Percy, prove it to herself.

"You're wrong," I said, swallowing nervously. "I know you are. And I'm going to prove it!"

Percy looked at me without saying anything. I backed away from him slowly, then turned around and broke into a jog, running away from him and the beach. I had to find Annabeth.

line break dedicated to Ruby

Annabeth was at the top of half-blood hill, sitting next to the pine tree. Well, as close as she could with Peleus curled around the trunk.

It took me about half an hour to find her and actually get to the pine tree, because it was on the opposite side of camp from the beach. By the time I crested the hill and Annabeth noticed me, the Fireworks had stopped. It was probably eleven. The campers would be coming back soon.

"Mathew," Annabeth said, her voice flat.

"Hey," I said. I took a deep breath, and sat down next to her. Next to us, Peleus snored loudly.

"What are you doing here? Please, I just… I want to be alone tonight."

I closed my eyes. I needed to know I was right. I couldn't keep continuing with this half hope that Annabeth liked me back.

"Annabeth, you said yes. You said we'd go to the Fireworks together."

"Oh, gods, Mathew. As friends. I don't - I just don't like you that way, okay? I'm sorry!" Annabeth stood up suddenly, looking close to tears. "And I can't deal with you - with any of this right now!"

It felt like something was squeezing my heart. "You don't mean that," I choked out.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do. And even if I did like someone - not saying that I do - this isn't a time for love! It's a time for training, for preparation! I don't get why none of you seem to understand that we are going to war in less than two month's time!"

At this point, the upcoming war didn't even faze me. I was too focused on Annabeth. Her skin, her hair, her beautiful eyes. And the fact that she didn't like me. She didn't love me.

But I knew she did! I knew it, in my heart. I just had to prove it to the both of us, for the both of us. Percy was wrong, he wasn't right, and he'd poisoned Annabeth into thinking he was the only one who loved her.

He was wrong. Everybody was wrong! Connor, Annabeth, everybody!

And I would prove it. I would prove it.

I stood up, and caught Annabeth's wrist before she could make her way back to her cabin. Her eyes met mine, narrowed and confused. "Mathew, what are-"

But there was no speaking, there was only doing. I pulled her toward me, leaning my head down - but then two strong hands shoved against my chest, and I was pushed backward just as Annabeth's had cracked against my cheek.

I stumbled, but caught myself. The left side of my face stung like hell. Annabeth had slapped me.

"Oh my gods!" Annabeth shrieked, breathing heavily and looking at me like she couldn't believe herself. "Did you just - did you just try to kiss me?"
"I-" It was like my head had been underwater, and now broke free. What had I done?

"Gods, Mathew! I can't even - do you have any sense of boundaries? Leave me alone!"

Annabeth hurried down the hill, and if I hadn't known better I would have sworn I heard her sniffle. But that was impossible, because Annabeth didn't cry. She was Annabeth.

line break dedicated to Festus

I couldn't fall asleep. I got back to the cabin after Connor, Travis, and the rest of the Hermes cabin did. Most of them were passed out.

I stared at the ceiling. Annabeth didn't love me. She didn't. And I had absolutely ruined any chance I ever might have had with her.

line break dedicated to Daisy Wells

I didn't remember falling asleep, but I did remember the dream.

My dream came quickly, whirling into color almost immediately. It was weird though - everything felt so much more realistic than normal. Like, colors more vivid and sounds clearer and it really felt like I was actually there.

There being some sort of bedroom. A really fancy bedroom, too, with a massive king sized bed and silk covers and gold and silver framed paintings hanging on the walls. An ornately decorated dresser leaned against the far wall, with a pale blue carpet stretched between it and the bed.

Three girls sat on the carpet, playing with dolls. The oldest was probably ten years old, and the youngest maybe seven. They all had long dark hair spilling down their backs, but the older one had hers in a tightly woven braid.

They wore matching purple nightgowns, and each had a gold circlet around their head. Practically identical, very rich by the look of it, and everything in the room looked like it belonged in medieval times. It was night, but the room was lit by oil lamps instead of electricity.

Princesses. "Help me!" The middle one giggled, taking her doll - which, I could see now, was a faceless soldier on a horse - and galloped it through the air, toward a second doll(a princess) bound by rope to the wooden leg of a chair.

The oldest one had some sort of puppet on her hand, a big green thing with shiny scales and fins. "Never!" she cried, doing her best to speak in a growly sort of voice.

"Fear not," the youngest girl spoke, taking the soldier on the horse from her sister and rearing him up in the air. "For I shall destroy this beast and save you, dear princess!"

She rammed the soldier into her older sister's green scaly puppet thing until the green fabric actually ripped, then gave it one more jab for good measure.

The middle sister - the one with the princess tied to the chair - giggled. "Oh, handsome one," she cried, "Marry me! Marry me forever and may we have many children, all of whom will be great heroes!"

The oldest one frowned, shaking the torn piece of fabric off her hand. "You can't know that," she said. "You could very well have no children at all, or perhaps a sickly little thing that will never amount to anything at all."

The middle one stuck her tongue out. "It worked out for Perseus and Andromeda," she said. "They were very happy together, for their entire whole lives! And I will have a good husband, too! I will!"

Oh, I thought. Perseus and Andromeda. I knew that myth. It must have been what the three girls had been acting out with their toys… this didn't make sense. What kind of dream was this? What was happening?

Demigods have dreams, I remembered Annabeth telling me at one point. Sometimes prophetic, sometimes cryptic, sometimes they seem completely useless and only confuse you. But usually, when you get one, you should pay attention to it.

This wasn't a demigod dream, was it? I wasn't the kind of demigod that got dreams, I wasn't that important. But for some reason… here I was. Having a demigod dream about three princesses in ancient Greece, playing with dolls.

This had to be the lamest demigod dream of all time.

Then the door opened, revealing a kind looking man with a young face. He had a purple cape around his shoulders and a gold crown with hard ridges on top of his brown curls. He must be the king.

"Girls," he said, sounding tired. The three girls stilled, then stood and turned around.

Now, before I had only been able to see their dark hair and nightgowns. But now that I could see their faces clearly… well. The first two were perfectly normal - pretty and adorable, of course, just like little princesses should be, but the third one, the youngest one… she was practically glowing. She couldn't have been older than seven, but she just drew attention with her cuteness and adorableness in a way I previously hadn't thought possible.

"Daddy!" The oldest cried, and ran forward to hug her father. "You're back!"

The second daughter smiled and hugged her father as well, closely followed by the youngest sister. Their dad took them all in his arms, but released them after a minute.

He smiled. "You should not be awake at this hour," he said, "But as you all are already here… I may as well give you your gifts now."

The three girls perked up. "Gifts?" The middle one asked.

The king nodded. "A merchant was kind enough to give them to me for a small price, as long as I bought the set. Seemed rather keen to be rid of them, but no matter." He pulled back his robe and drew out three packages, each wrapped in light cloth.

My heart started to beat faster. I had an idea what might be wrapped up in that cloth, but I sincerely hoped I was wrong.

"I must send an offering to the gods in the morning, for blessing me these beauties with such a low price," the king said. He handed the oldest daughter her gift first. She unwrapped it slowly, giving a small and involuntary gasp when she saw what was inside.

My blood froze. In her hands laid a dagger - a celestial bronze blade about a foot long. The hilt was a mix of silver and gold, and at the base a single ruby was set in, almost glowing.

I knew that dagger. I owned it. Kokkinos.

"It's beautiful," the girl said, her voice full of awe and wonder. The other two girls all but snatched their gifts away from their father, unwrapping the faster than I would've thought possible.

The middle daughter had Kitrinos, an exact replica of the dagger her older sister had save for the large yellow stone set in the hilt. But the youngest girl… she had the third dagger.

I remembered what Annabeth had told me, almost six months ago: A set of three, but we only have two of the daggers here. You'll have to carry both daggers, but they'll never be complete.

This was the third dagger. The missing one.

The youngest girl, unlike her sisters, unwrapped her dagger carefully. When she was done, the third dagger sat in her palm. It was exactly like the others, but the stone in the hilt was a glittering blue. Cobalt, I thought. Kovaltios.

There it was. The missing dagger. Maybe this dream would show me what happened, how I could get it when I woke up - but the youngest girl just looked up at her dad with shining blue eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

Then the scene faded away, and I woke with a start, heart pounding. I knew what the third dagger looked like now, maybe I could try to find it! What had Annabeth told me, when I'd first gotten Kokkinos and Kitrinos?

I'd have to ask her in the morning. But then I actually did remember something Annabeth had told me about the daggers, back when she was trying to convince me not to take them. Their original owners were princesses.

Princesses that died horribly.

I shivered, remembering those wide, innocent eyes of the youngest girl. The giggling voices as the three sisters played together.

Princesses that died horribly.

I rolled over in my bed and tried to quietly dig Kokkinos and Kitrinos out of my bag. I generally tried not to use them anymore, so there was a small layer of dust that I had to wipe off when I finally pulled them out.

Kokkinos and Kitrinos. They'd looked innocent enough when I'd first gotten them, but now they seemed almost… sinister. The sharp edge gleamed in the small sliver of moonlight shining through the window, and I remembered something else Annabeth had told me.

It's the kind of weapon you would hide in your sleeve and stab your friend in the back with.

Gods. What kind of weapons had I chosen? The kind that got three young, innocent princessing killed?

Kokkinos and Kitrinos wouldn't get me killed, would they? But then again… maybe there was a reason I'd kept feeling almost scared about my weapons, kept finding excuses not to use them.

I couldn't deny the excitement I felt, though, at the prospect of finding the third dagger. Some divine force obviously wanted me too. I'd thought I'd lost Kokkinos and Kitrinos that horrible day at the beach, but then they'd been returned to me mysteriously in a brown package.

And now I was having dreams. I'd have to ask Annabeth in the morning.

Oh, wait… She probably wasn't the happiest with me at the moment. But that didn't matter. I needed to know.

line break dedicated to Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells

Annabeth POV

I couldn't believe Mathew had actually tried to… ugh. I suppose it was my fault, really, that I hadn't made it clear to him before I only saw him as a friend. If that. I'd suspected for a while he had feelings for me, but ignored it. Then it became kind of obvious, he started attacking Percy which really wasn't like him at all, and I just decided he wasn't worth the trouble.

But then that day on the plane, Mathew had just looked so sad… so I'd said we could say hi to each other, nothing more.

Then he'd asked me out, and going to the Fireworks with Mathew Harris was the last thing I'd wanted to do, especially when I could've gone with… well. Anyway. Of course, Percy was being an idiot and decided that he wanted to spend his summer with Rachel, so who can blame me for canceling going to the Fireworks together?

And when Mathew asked me again… Okay, it was kind of mean of me to say yes, because Mathew thought that I actually liked him, and I was only doing it to get back at Percy and prove to the stupid Seaweed Brain that I didn't care if we went together or not, or about his mortal friend.

I didn't! I was regretting going with Mathew before the Fireworks even started, though. To be fair, he wasn't horrible. But everyone else was playing the game with the sparklers, and Percy was too, and I wasn't…

And really, is it my fault if Percy and I happened to separate ourselves from the rest of the group? He's fun to be around! That's it! Seriously. Mathew didn't need to get ideas.

But then he brought up Rachel. I wasn't surprised he figured out she was a sore point between Percy and I and that he tried to use her against us, but I was surprised it worked so well.

And now Percy probably hates me. Fantastic.

So I'd gone up to Thalia's pine tree to think, but Mathew had apparently decided to follow me. He'd had this weird look in his eye, so I should've known something was up, but I never expected he was going to try to kiss me.

Who just kisses someone, especially after they've clearly been friend zoned? Mathew… he's not right in the head. There is something wrong with that boy. In the beginning, sure, he was a good friend, but now he's just annoying. And he tried to kiss me, which isn't okay.

And Percy! Could he take the freaking hint, already? Of course, his brain is comprised of seaweed and maybe two actual brain cells, so should I really have expected him to know when a girl is interested?

It doesn't exactly help that he can't shut up about Rachel.

Whatever, though. Until further notice, I am done with boys. The first one I ever liked turned out to be evil. The second one probably has no idea I even like him, but honestly, who knows what goes one inside that head. And the one boy that does like me is creep.

I probably should have followed in Thalia's footsteps long ago and joined the Hunters.

Sadly, I think it may be too late.

Yeah, I know, this probably wasn't the ending you were looking for. However, this is an actual story, and every chapter can't end in Percy-beats-up-Mathew. Cause then it's just get boring. Plus, isn't it nice that Annabeth beats Mathew up herself? Kind of? I'm not sure if one slap qualifies as "beating up," but yeah.

And the reason she didn't do more, in case anyone's wondering, is cause I feel like she would've been pretty freaked out and wanted to leave quickly.

And, as a preview, next chapter will include: more about Mathew's daggers, and also Annabeth being pretty pissed off at Mathew for trying to kiss her. And possibly Percy will find out about the almost-kiss, not quite sure yet.

AND, if anyone hasn't gotten mad at me for this insanely long A/N yet, there's something more. Mathew's mother... *laughs evily* So, for anyone who doesn't want spoilers, I would suggest stopping reading now. Not that I'm going to spoil anything, just inform you that... nobody's guessed her yet. I'll give you a kind of sort of hint next chapter, if you guys want.

And thanks for reading!

-blackthornfam13