Okay, so it's been a really long time since I updated and I know this is shorter than what I usually write but it would mean a lot if you tell me what you want and what I should change.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson!:)

Many people may say that I'm too smart for my own good, that I overanalyze things easily, that I just needed time to breathe whenever I'm too stressed out from a challenging Trig problem or a complicated blueprint that I wanted to finish in my past time but being with Percy may change their perspective about me.

Of course, there are times when I would bombard him with facts, say every single thing I know to his face just to tease him. But there are also times when he leaves me speechless that I don't even know how I ended up in that situation. He has too many tricks up his sleeves and I'm the person he's going to live his entire life with so I'm the one he's going to surprise. I barely even knew he was artistic until I saw it, or that he can sing until I heard it. And now, I found out that he can play the guitar. Good.

It was a sunny Monday morning, three days after the party and we were lazing around the house, unable to find a single thing interesting to do. Due to the humidity, we were all too hot to do anything and even breathing was difficult. Michael Yew arrived to our house with his half-brothers, Lee and Will; because even they were bored and found that the only people who could truly entertain them were in this beach house. Apparently, Will brought his guitar for something to play with and having to practically brag about his skills to every person he knows during the party, I guess he needed another thing to do with it.

"Hey, Perce. Can you play?" he asked suddenly, looking at the man beside me with an expectant look in his eyes.

"I'm not really sure." Percy answered honestly, taking the instrument from our friend's grasp and placing it lightly on his lap, me having to lean away just a bit to give him some space.

He checked the tune of each string, having to check twice on the third one before adjusting it a little until the sound was perfect. He took three deep breaths before having to fix his fingers until they were on the right place and started strumming, a song that I can easily distinguish as "Hey Soul Sister" by Train.

His hand was a blur against the strings, smiling as if he missed the feel of an actual acoustic guitar within his grasp. "Where'd you learn to play?" I asked, not quite as surprised as the others but still very dumbfounded

"My grandfather was an expert with instruments so he taught me how to play when I was a kid and I guess it just stuck with me all through these years."

"Grandfather from what side of the family specifically?"

"Mom's side."

And I almost laughed at the idea. His talent mostly came from his mother's side whereas his love for water came from his father's. His parents were perfect already, having every single attribute that would surely make the perfect son and now, the proof was right in front of me, playing one of my most favorite songs with a smile that could be compared to Apollo himself.

There was something about how the others were looking at him that made him a little uncomfortable. Of course, most of us have known each other ever since we were in diapers and almost sixteen years of knowing him, he still managed to surprise them. Percy didn't look like a musician, or a singer, or an artist. Of course, people would believe that he was a swimmer because it was seen in his lean, muscular figure but the fact that he was any of the others mentioned, they would probably laugh at me before they would even consider it. After all, Seaweed Brain is pretty clumsy.

Finally, Thalia relaxed, followed by her brother, and the rest soon after. Well, everyone except for the Stolls who still seemed as if my boyfriend's talent was the worst thing they have seen today. But Percy merely chuckled, unable to keep it to himself.

As the song ended as abruptly as it started, I stared at him in wonder, finding it really hard to look at him like I did after seeing him play that well. He was perfect and I wasn't. He handed the guitar back to Will who took it gratefully, already playing an improvised solo that he probably just thought of. "Okay, Percy. Tell me what else you can do." I demanded, placing both hands on his shoulders. "You've been keeping so many things from me."

"Well, I do have this sport, other than swimming, that my dad told me I was pretty good at." He mused, chuckling lightly as he stared outside. "I tried it once with Jason and Nico and even they surrendered so easily."

I shot the two named men my best menacing glare just to get them talking but even they looked afraid to speak of it, pleading to Percy not to continue his sentence. "What is it?"

There was a very dramatic pause before he copied my position, two hands on my shoulders. "Beach volleyball"

My jaw fell to the ground. I've seen Nico play before, when we were still thirteen and it made him look as if the sport was made for him. He said that he's always been interested in volleyball as a child and he grew up learning. And now, you realized that he wasn't the best after all. That the best was also that one person I couldn't even beat in swimming. "Wait, Nico Di Angelo lost in his own game?"

"No, I didn't say that he lost but I did manage to get us tied. I don't think he liked it when that happened. And trust me, he may be slow in the water but he's actually quite impressive on land."

"Ah, but land's my element, Perce." Nico teased lightly, laughing.

"So he still won?" it was a stupid question, knowing well that he already said the answer just ten seconds ago.

"I didn't say that either" he answered simply, brushing a lose strand of my blonde hair and tucking it behind my ear, making me feel strangely feminine.

There was silence for a while. And absolutely no sound was heard except for the usual breathing and tapping of feet because of the ADHD's sudden overwhelming power over us. We can keep quiet but we can never stand still. Maybe it was for the best, that we were always so alert and active in times when we need to be and times that we don't. It was actually pretty annoying, having to live through everything with so many flaws that made your view of the world different from a normal person's. But we endured that. I mean, look at Percy now and how perfect he's become.

It was Jason who finally broke it. "So, Percy, rematch?" he asked rather innocently, a crooked smile on his face. Jason and I have always had a rough relationship. When I first met him, I never trusted him. There was just this very odd sensation in my body that controlled the rationality that I would usually rely on whenever I would see the regality that is him. He was different from Percy, very different, but the similarities were uncanny. And right at this moment, they shared the same amount of enthusiasm.

Of course, we couldn't argue with people as stubborn as them but I knew from the very start that this was going to last for a very long time. No one will admit that they lost until they actually did and Jason and Percy were too proud to back-out, especially when Piper and I were watching them intently. "Let's just get this done and over with, Grace." Seaweed Brain sighed as he held the ball, a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Then we're on the same page then, Jackson." They've always had a knack for not-so-friendly competition. They grew up wanting to know who was better and even when they can see that they were clearly balance, that there was actually no argument there, that they were fighting for nothing, they still want to continue with it.

Grover hesitantly blew the whistle, the sound screeching in my ears, loud enough to make me cover them just to protect that certain sense organ from total destruction. I rely on my hearing a lot, thank you very much. "Sorry," he apologized quickly and very sheepishly, placing the offending object away from his grasp.

It was Jason who scored the first point and that was only because Percy was distracted. But he eventually caught up, having to score twice for himself. And it was very impressive. His speed and agility was inhuman, almost making it look as if he was gliding on the sand.

And we cheered for the respective guys, me having to laugh at how desperate everyone was acting. But I couldn't really blame them. It was what we usually do when they were competing; especially something that was turning as good as this one. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him slide just to stop that stupid ball from hitting the sand. I was actually afraid that maybe he got injured or something because I didn't know what was under. Maybe there would be glass. Or rocks. Or a crab.

In the end, which was about ten minutes later, Percy won. Jason actually was left disappointed as he wiping the sweat from his brow. "That was much better than I expected, Jackson." He taunted with a small smile.

"You have way too low standards, Grace. Plus, just face it. I'm better than you!" This was said with a laugh so no one took it seriously. Even I didn't see anything that might lead to another fight between them.

In turn, Percy helped his cousin up and patted him lightly on the shoulder, feigning sympathy. It was actually really funny because of the glint in my boyfriend's green eyes. "That was absolutely amazing. I can't believe that it lasted that long. And you're not even that tired!" I shook him for effect, showing him the amazement that was present.

"Ah, but many years of sports taught me how to not get tired so easily." Just to prove his point to the not-so-innocent statement, he placed a soft kiss on my waiting lips.

They spent the rest of the day inside, too lazy and stubborn to even bother standing up from our place. After cleaning the small cut Percy received from that single mistake he made, we ate whatever Katie ate and I even managed to spend at least half an hour locked inside the library with nothing but my boyfriend and the books to accompany me.

It might not have been that eventful but it was honestly better than what I asked for. And we all stayed by the front porch to bid Will Solace and Lee Fletcher farewell and for keeping us company. They even said that they were going to come back very soon but this time, it would be a surprise. I was actually quite scared for when that happened. If they're coming back without us knowing, then they would probably bring something, or someone, who would bring me to an early grave.

Then again, a lot of other things might happen before that.

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