The instant support I got from all you readers was amazing. Thank you so much! :)

Annabeth

When you wake up in San Francisco, the sounds that meet your ears are constant traffic, beeping horns, people yelling, ads explaining, and—yes, sometimes this happened—people screaming outside your door. Being a world-known actress, that was more than likely to happen if your whereabouts were open to the world. It took quite a few security guards to get them away, but mostly I just left, signing so many papers and bags and t-shirts that I had my signature perfected down to the very last curlicue.

So being used to all the noise, when I woke up at the ranch, I instantly noticed something was different. It was silent. Almost no sound except for birds in the woods by the house and a horse whinnying. It was amazing, honestly. The streaks of sunlight streaming soundlessly in set the room in a hazy tone, making me want to lie in bed all day and just revel in the different but pleasant atmosphere. The bed was cozy, the morning air was crisp and fresh, and the open window letting nature's sounds in—I felt like I was acting in a movie. It was picturesque.

I pulled myself into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes and looking around the room. My suitcases lay deserted by the foot of the bed, mussed up from me searching for my pajamas last night. I messed it up even more, finding a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt with a New York slogan. I yanked my hair back into a messy ponytail, then went my door.

My tiptoed footsteps made muffled noises on the floor, and my looming shadow on the wall bounced up and down. When I reached the door, I opened it quietly, then peeked out. Nobody was in the hallway. There was also no noise coming from Percy's room. I slipped out, shut the door, then trudged down the stairs. Nobody here, either. But before I could wonder too much about where the people were, I caught sight of a plate sitting on the island counter in the kitchen. It was covered by a glass, keeping the food warm. Under that, I saw, were scrambled eggs and sausage patties and a sliced apple. As the smell wafted over to me, my stomach rumbled, and my feet dragged me over to the counter. A neon green sticky note was attached to the surface beside the plate, held down by a fork laying out beside the dish.

Annabeth

I had to go to town. Percy's out doing chores. Enjoy breakfast! :)

Poseidon

I grinned at the smiley face, then grabbed the fork and dug in. It was delicious, way better than the fast-food restaurants I usually had breakfast at when I'm was being rushed around the country for a movie. I glanced out the window while I was eating, looking for a glimpse of a person outside, but I couldn't see Percy. When I finished my meal, I brought my dishes over to the sink. Contrary to the popular belief, I knew my way around a house. I didn't have a servant accompanying me every minute, ready to wash my things and pick up my phone if I drop it. That's stupid. I can do things like a normal person.

I scrubbed the dishes so they resembled a sparkling gem, then opened every single cabinet to try and find where they went. Of course, it had to be the last cupboard I opened that held the plates.

After that, I grabbed some shoes and went outside, hoping to find something to do. I didn't want to stand around and do nothing. The sunlight greeted me like a warm embrace as I stepped out. It was around eight, so the dew had vanished already, the grass plush like a blanket of green covering earth's dark colors. Walking down the steps, I followed the concreted sidewalk over to a paved platform in front of the garage. Between the sidewalk and the house was a garden, vibrant flowers peeking up at me. I could see the woods, and I heard the birds singing from here.

It was scenic, absolutely beautiful. I never got to hear the birds, see the stars, or even smell that fresh of air in a big city. Here—it was like I was in a fairytale, any road so far away I couldn't hear anything but nature and the occasional horse from the stable on the hill.

"Good morning," I heard a voice say from behind me, breaking the moment. I spun around, seeing Percy standing there in work clothes. Mud splattered his boots and the cuffs of his jeans, which hung off his slim hips. A flannel shirt was thrown hastily over a t-shirt, and a cowboy hat blocked his eyes from the sun. He looked like he should be in a movie. His green eyes watching me carefully, brighter than the grass.

"Hey," I said. "What're you doing?"

He shrugged, his glove-covered hands coming up slightly. "Chores. I need to let out the horses, but dad also wanted me to weed the garden and—"

"I can help," I told him quickly, anxious to do something to make him like me better. I remembered his cold, distant way of greeting me last night. Plus, he was sacrificing a lot to let me stay here, maybe I could help him a little.

He looked dubious. "Can you, I don't know . . . weed?"

I gave him a look. "Really? Of course I can. I didn't grow up under a rock."

"Yeah, but," he said, smirking, "the city can conceal even a bit more of nature than a rock."

"I'll do fine." My voice was firm, and he looked at me, saw my determination, and lifted a shoulder once more.

"Okay, fine. Thanks." He gestured back to the house, the light shifting on his face and shadowing a strong jawline. "My mom's gloves are back in the left garage. Usually she's the one that takes care of the gardens, but she and her husband are out on a trip."

I nodded, starting to walk over to where he had pointed. But before I had gone a few steps, Percy called out again. "Annabeth?" I turned, raising an eyebrow in question. His eyes were unreadable again; he was good at concealing his emotions. "I like you without makeup on."

I frowned in confusion. "Um, thanks?" But he had already turned, heading back to the stables to see the horses. "Okay, then," I said, shaking my head a little and going to the garage. The left garage turned out to be not really a place for cars, but a shed full of tools and yard appliances. A mower sat in the corner, flakes of cut grass still clinging to the motor. I searched the shelves nailed onto the left wall, and found a pair of small, grey gardening gloves. They were resting tiredly in between a sack of fertilizer and a hose, and when I pulled them free, a bit of dirt shook loose. I slipped them on my hands, feeling my fingers get covered with the hard leather before walking back out. I headed to the garden, the colors of the flowers once again catching my eye.

I was glad I had put on my boots, for it was kind of sludgy around here—but that made it easier to yank out the stubborn plants. Soon enough, I had a pile of greens sitting on the sidewalk, and the once messy garden was looking a little neater. I was all about doing a thorough job, and Malcolm always teased me that I had OCD. I didn't, I just liked things to be perfect. So maybe I was a perfectionist. Whatever.

"Nice job," someone said behind me. Percy had come up with a wheelbarrow, and he started piling the weeds in. His flannel shirt was off due to the warmth beating down on us from the midmorning sun, revealing glistening arms with muscles that shifted as he moved. His shirt was sweaty, clinging to his stomach in a way that made me blush a tiny bit. Why would I blush, I'd seen men without shirts on a lot. I mean, I was an actress and sometimes that happened. So why was this one guy making me blush as I saw his covered stomach?

I averted my eyes, looking instead at his face while scolding my blush for visiting unexpectedly. "Thanks. Though it's not that hard to weed."

He chuckled. "You should see my girlfriend, she hates weeding and isn't very good either. So that proves that statement wrong."

Girlfriend? Even in my head, my voice sounded disappointed. I was instantly mad with myself. Why would I be disappointed? Gods, I've barely known the boy for a day. I shoved all my thoughts down, forcing a smile. I thought before I spoke, knowing I might say something I'd regret. "Well, I bet her talent lies elsewhere." There, that was pretty nice, right?

He shrugged. "Yeah. She's coming over later in the week. She knows who you are, by the way. We can trust her. I thought you two would be pretty good friends." My eyebrow rose. She better be pretty trustworthy, because I'd kick her if she reported me to paparazzi or something. That happened once when my identity got out to the wrong person. I was trying to just get a nice vacation in the Bahamas with my dad and brothers and stepmom—then all hell broke loose as cameras were shoved in my face on the way out of a restaurant.

I nodded, not looking at him. The sun beat down on me, and I shivered slightly as I felt a drop of sweat slither down my spine like a snake. "Yeah, sure. Thanks for thinking of it."

"Yeah, and . . . " His thoughtful voice made me turn to watch him. He bit his lip, his sea-green eyes trained on me. "I'm sorry—for not being too friendly last night. I was just kind of . . . unfriendly, I guess. I'm just gonna have to get used to someone else being here. And it was kind of weird meeting you, since I've only seen you in, like, movies and magazines and such."

"That's fine, Percy," I told him, waving off his apology. "I should be saying sorry for making your family go through what you're going to have to go through this summer. I just hope I won't totally ruin it."

He smiled slightly at me, a lopsided grin that strangely sent my stomach aflutter for a moment. I smiled back, and he said, "Well, I have to finish chores. But I'll see you later, Annabeth."

"Bye, Percy," I replied, finally feeling better that Percy wasn't too mad with me. Before Percy had disappeared around the corner of the shed, though, a car came up in the driveway. It was Poseidon, the black automobile glinting in the sunlight as he came to a stop in front of the garage. He got out and spoke with Percy for a bit, probably about whatever he went to town for. I went back to my weeding, pulling out the leaves that didn't belong.

"Good morning, Annabeth!" Poseidon's happy voice entered my ears, and I turned with a smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Jackson," I said.

He frowned, holding up a hand. "No 'Mr. Jackson', my name is Poseidon." He grinned at me, coming up to look at my work so far.

"Very nice and neat, we might just have to hire you full time."

I laughed. "I'm willing to help out."

"Thank you, Annabeth, but you don't have to. You're a guest."

"A guest that's staying for about three months," I countered.

He shrugged, smiling. "Well, if you want, you can take a break and come help me make some sandwiches." I agreed, standing up and glancing towards the garage where I had last seen Percy.

Poseidon noticed my line of sight, and he said, "Oh, he's got to fix a part on the paddock fence that tore down from a storm a couple days ago. We'll bring him a sandwich so he doesn't have to quit."

I nodded, and Poseidon and I walked up to the big house, taking our boots off outside before tromping into the kitchen. Poseidon went to a cabinet and opened it, twisting to throw a loaf of bread at me. I caught it, and he nodded in approval. "Good reflexes." I laughed at his words, going to the counter to lay out the bread.

Turns out Percy liked blue. I'm not kidding. Poseidon had somewhere gotten blue mustard and mayonnaise, and the cucumbers he used even had a blue tint. At least the ham and cheese weren't blue, that'd be kind of disgusting. When I asked Poseidon, he just said that Percy liked his food to be blue. I shook my head, dismissing the thought as I poured an indigo stream of mustard onto the sandwich. Poseidon kept telling me to pile on the ham and cheese until I wasn't sure if Percy could fit his mouth around it.

"He's a growing boy, he likes his food," Poseidon said when he saw my raised eyebrow, rolling his eyes. I finished and wrapped Percy's up, then quickly ate mine while I headed out the door.

"Just go around the barn to the paddock and follow the fence, you'll find him soon," Poseidon told me, his mouth half full of a turkey sandwich.

It was even hotter out now, the sun beating harshly down. The big barn doors were slid open, revealing a long line of stalls, most of them empty. I wanted to go and see the horses, but I knew I better get Percy his lunch, so I trudged on. My boots made muted thumps as I traveled down the paddock fence, the horses inside looking up to see me while chewing on their own meals. There were a lot of horses, all of them well groomed and fit. I spotted two foals running around gaily, their energy high like toddlers after candy. Farther down, away from the bulk of the horses, I saw a lone horse. It was all black, tall, and looked like a knight's steed—majestic and dark. It was eating placidly at the moment in front of the fence, and the fence was shaking as Percy pulled and twisted on the pole, tightening the wires.

The black-haired boy looked up when I came over. I held out the meal. "Here's your blue lunch."

He grinned. "The best lunch there is." He accepted the sandwich, water bottle, and the chocolate bar I had snatched for him, dropping the pliers onto the grass. There was a grass walkway—big enough for a four-wheeler—between the fence and the forest. On the outskirts of the forest laid an old tree stump, and Percy went to sit on it. He lifted his hat to run a hand across his forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat collecting there. His hair, despite being in a hat and sweaty, still looked extremely adorable. I had a sudden urge to run my hand through his messy locks, feel the strands underneath my fingers and see if they were as silky as they looked.

I switched my eyes quickly, looking instead at the horse beside us, it's color matching Percy's hair. The male horse watched me through dark, thoughtful eyes, a lock of black hair falling down his forehead. He had no markings whatsoever—no stars or socks or stockings. He was just pitch black, like twilight on a moonless night.

"Who's this guy?" I asked, walking a bit closer.

Behind me, Percy swallowed the large bite of food he had taken. "That's Blackjack. Be careful, he doesn't like everybody."

I put my hand out, ignoring Percy's warning. Blackjack studied me for a moment, then trotted up, butting my hand to make me pet his nose. "Hey, Blackjack," I said, feeling the soft fur. I brought my other hand up, stroking his muscled neck. I glanced over my shoulder at Percy. "Why isn't he with the other horses?"

"He kind of follows me around," he answered, smiling. "I found him when he was just about a year old, and he wasn't being treated very nicely by his owner. I felt bad for him, so my dad bought him for me and brought him to the ranch. Ever since then, Blackjack never leaves my side. He makes a great riding horse, too."

I listened to Percy's story, still running my hand down Blackjack's neck. "He's beautiful."

I heard Percy chuckle. "And he knows it, that arrogant animal. He can get pretty feisty and obstinate."

Blackjack snorted and tossed his head. I could almost see the his indignant response in the action, and Percy smiled at his horse.

"He knows it's true. I think the the motive of half of what he does is just to spite me."

I laughed at Percy's statement, turning to ask him a question when I saw he was drinking from his water bottle. That was all that was left. "You finished already? That was fast."

He shrugged. "I was hungry. Thanks for bringing it, by the way."

"You're welcome," I replied, then asked, "Can I see the other horses?"

He glanced at the fence that needed to be fixed, but then lifted a shoulder and said, "Why not?" I smiled at him, and Percy stood up and started walking down the paddock fence to the nearest gate. I trekked at his side, watching the horses inside. The sun made their coats gleam, and they looked peaceful but strong and stern, almost like a quiet, protective father. Just looking at them, they looked nice and friendly, but you knew they were formidable and could do a lot if you messed with them in the wrong way.

Blackjack trotted along the fence by us as we walked, tossing his head and hopping around.

We reached the gate and Percy unmatched it, swinging it inward and waiting for me to come in before shutting it. The grass was taller here by the gate, not yet eaten down by the horses. Percy slid the chain on the gate around the post, securing it, then started walking toward the herd of horses, beckoning me to follow.

As we neared, heads came up to watch us, jaws chomping on grass. I reached my hand out slowly to the first horse, feeling his stomach before walking farther along to his head. He stopped eating, letting me pet him.

"That's Porkpie," Percy said. He was standing behind me, Blackjack beside him. Percy's hand came up to scratch the horse's forehead almost absentmindedly. My eye caught an animal that stood out, mooing at the edge of the herd. Yes, that's right. Mooing.

"Um, a cow?" I asked, pointing to the cattle standing with the horses, his black coat bony and his big brown eyes studying me.

"Yeah, we found him at a rescue center when he was just a calf and brought him back, or else he was heading to the butcher even at that age," Percy explained. "I named him Bessie." At my arched eyebrow, he threw out a hand in defense. "I was, like, ten—I didn't know the gender, and I bet I wouldn't have cared anyway."

I laughed, making my way to the middle of the herd, and soon there were plenty of horses inching curiously closer to me, reaching out and wanting to be pet as well. I laughed, trying to give them all attention, greeting them like newfound friends. This was amazing. If I just got to be with these horses all summer long, it would be one of the best summers ever.

Percy watched me with a small smile on his face as he saw my obvious happiness. "Have you been around horses before?"

I shook my head, my hand falling down a tawny colored horse's neck. "Not really."

"Why not?" he asked. "I mean, you're kind of like a big actress, you could do what you want. I'm sure you could buy quite a few stables, too."

I grinned at him over a horse. "I can do what I want, only if my mom says its okay. She keeps me pretty corralled under her watch. So every once in a while a movie I'm in will do something with horses, but it's always brief and isn't much. I've always wanted a horse, but my mom thinks it will distract me, and she said I should focus on my job. So that's a big reason why I want to get the part in this upcoming movie. It's all about horses."

He nodded thoughtfully. "And the other reasons you want to get into the movie?"

I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks heat up slightly. "Oh, just sounds cool and it's probably going to be popular."

He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing to do with the main actor, though, right? What's his name—Duke Kellen?"

"Luke Castellan," I corrected him quickly—too quickly—then blushed again as I saw him smile amusedly.

"Nothing to do with him, huh?"

I sighed. "Okay, maybe I kind of want to work with him, too."

"Does the big movie star have a crush?" he teased, still petting Blackjack.

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled, cursing the fact that my light cheeks showed color so well. "I am a teenage girl, you know. It's normal to have a crush."

He grinned, and I couldn't help but smile as well. Percy was fun when you got a little more comfortable. Maybe he and I could become friends like Poseidon said.

"So when will my first lesson be?" I asked.

"Well, one of the lessons would be to get relaxed around horses, and have them be at ease with you, too," he said. He walked up to stand next to me, gesturing to the horses surrounding us and butting their heads affectionately against me. "But it looks like you already passed that test." I chuckled.

"But we'll have you on a horse soon," he reassured me. "After all, you've only got about three months. Don't worry, you'll get to see your Lukey-poo soon."

I scoffed, shoving him lightly in the chest. Woah, that's a really hard, really toned chest. That thought chased everything out of my mind, disappearing before I could stop it. I grit my teeth, forcing a glare to appear in my eyes, directed at him while he sniggered at my face.

I groaned. "Just forget I said anything about that."

"Sorry," he said, his tone implying that he wasn't at all sorry. "It's engrained in my brain."

"Great," I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Percy laughed, he and I turning to head back to the gate. The horses watched us for a moment, then turned their heads back to the grass. Blackjack walked alongside us, occasionally butting at Percy's shoulder to receive a pet or hug. I smiled as Percy shook his head, casting his eyes skyward and holding out a hand to his horse. They were close, I could tell. I wanted a horse like that. Not for the first time, a inkling of regret creeped into me at starting my career.

I envied Percy; it was true. He could live here with his father and his mom and stepdad in their picture-perfect home on a piece of land that looked like it came out of a fairytale. No fear of being surrounded by crazy, screaming people, or having their every move watched on paparazzi, and if they did one tiny thing wrong, it will be plastered on every single magazine, most likely exaggerated so much it doesn't even connect to what really happened. Even now, my face was on every teen magazine, the press wondering where I had disappeared to for the summer. Their big theory was that I had gone off to the Caribbean Islands to film for an upcoming movie and that Luke Castellan was with me and we were dating. But they also were convinced I was cheating on him.

That is absolutely ridiculous. A time ago, I would've been furious and blown up and yelled at them, but I had learned that wouldn't do much—other than mar my reputation, which I needed to get into new movies. So I just shook my head, took a deep breath, and shrugged the rumors off. I just hoped they wouldn't find me in Colorado. Mom had gone to every effort to make sure I wasn't found, but those reporters were incredibly persistent and sneaky.

I watched Percy's back as he walked a little ahead, laughing as Blackjack almost knocked him over onto the green covered earth. The sheen of sweat covering his body glistened, the clear and bright blue sky blasting heat down to the humans below it.

Everything here was perfect. It was just a normal life, no extra fame or troubles.

It was times like this that I was jealous of people that weren't famous or known world-wide.

They didn't know how easy and nice they had it. They never would until they got a taste of what I had, then they'd maybe regret striving to become famous in the first place.

Thanks for reading! Review! :)