Just so you all know, this whole story is from Annabeth's point of view. So keep that in mind, so I won't have to put the POV up on each chapter. Thanks and enjoy! :)

"Annabeth, Rachel is stopping by today."

I frowned at Poseidon over the rim of my hot cup of coffee. I was still in my sweats and a t-shirt, just having come down from dragging myself out of bed to find Poseidon eating a bowl of cereal and reading the newspaper. He had pointed me to the coffee, which I gratefully accepted. I loved coffee. It was the equivalent of a drug to me, and I was totally addicted.

"Uh, who's Rachel?" I asked, my hands cupping the mug and warming my fingers. The messy bun resting on my head let a strand of hair fall out onto my face, and I pushed it impatiently back.

Poseidon's eyes came up off the paper, looking at me. "Did Percy not tell you his girlfriend was going to visit?"

"Oh, her," I said, recognition dawning on me. "He told me about her, but he didn't ever get to her name. When's she coming?"

"Probably about in an hour or so. And Annabeth?" I turned a raised eyebrow to him, waiting for him to finish. "Percy told her who you are. I think she'll be fine, don't worry."

"It's okay," I assured him. "I trust you guys to tell who you think should know and everything."

He nodded. "Jason and Leo—they're two of Percy's friends—are coming too. They're completely trustworthy, we've known them since Percy was a just a little kid with a runaway temper and big baby cheeks. He was adorable."

A laugh was torn from me, ringing high as someone behind us said in an affronted tone, "I was not adorable. I was hot, even at that age."

I turned to see Percy walking up, settling into a seat beside me. He laid his head down on the counter, looking like he was trying to fall back asleep.

"Yeah, whatever, Perce. Think what you like," Poseidon said with small smirk.

Percy stuck his tongue out at his dad, who stuck his tongue out back, tugging a grin onto my face.

Percy's sweats hung low on his hips, showing me a band of boxers to which I quickly looked away from. His black shirt hugged his body and arms, and his ebony mess of hair floated every way it possible could—but it looked extremely endearing. He smelled strangely like the ocean and fresh air and sleep. I didn't know if sleep had a scent, but if it did, it would be what Percy smelled like right then.

Waking up early and I didn't really get along—but if he managed to roll out of bed looking like this everyday before he headed out to do chores, he might make me wake up at first light just to see him.

He noticed I was staring and said, "What? Transfixed by my sexiness?"

I decided to not tell him the truth and said, "No."

"Oh, I'm sorry—you were in awe of my amazing outward appearance."

"Gods, get over yourself," I said, swatting his shoulder before getting up to go get myself a bowl of cereal.

He chuckled behind me, and I felt happy at this little playful banter. We were getting more comfortable around each other, acting like friends on the second day. Maybe by the end of the trip we'd be best friends.

"It's the right cupboard," Percy directed me, "and can you grab me the Trix, please?"

I scoffed. "You've got legs, boy. Use 'em."

He pouted, sticking his upper lip out. I immediately braced myself against any thoughts of mine that might come up at that, stopping them before they could overtake my mind. The only little one that got through was that he looked like a cute, baby seal—pouting like that with his green eyes big and round.

"Please? My legs aren't working," he said.

"Oh, is that it?" I asked sardonically, and he tried and failed to hide his smirk.

"Yep. Just staring at you makes my legs turn to jelly," he said, his smirk growing.

I rolled my eyes as Poseidon guffawed, choking on his beverage.

"You're such an idiot," I muttered, grabbing the Twix as well as the Cocoa Puffs and walking back to the counter. Percy grinned in gratitude, getting up to grab some bowls.

I snorted. "Yeah, you're legs don't work, huh?"

He smiled at me over his should, lopsided with dimples.

"Percy, Rachel should be here soon. She can't stay for too long, though."

Percy paused, turning to his dad. "Oh, yeah. I kinda forgot. Whoops."

"How do you forget about your girlfriend?"

Percy scratched the back of his head uncertainly, shrugging. "I don't know. Are Jason and Leo coming too?"

When Poseidon nodded, Percy grabbed two spoons and brought them over to me. I thanked him, catching the milk that Poseidon slid over. When Percy poured his cereal, I saw that every single grain was blue.

My eyes narrowed. "How on earth did you manage to get all blue Twix?"

Percy smiled, saying, "Dad just pays the store a little more. Plus, here, everybody knows everybody. A lot of them know dad and I, and they like us enough to get us blue food."

"They don't think it's . . . I don't know—weird?"

He lifted a shoulder. "Nah, they're used to it."

"They know he's a bit mental, so that explains it," Poseidon told me. I giggled, and Percy turned to his dad with a glower.

"Runs in the family, right?"

Poseidon looked astonishingly at his son. "How dare you talk about your mother like that, Percy!"

Percy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's who I was talking about."

I ate my breakfast, watching the two bicker back and forth with mirth. Their easygoing relationship with each other made jealousy creep up once more. I mean, my dad and I were on good terms, but I almost never saw him, so it was kind of awkward and quiet whenever we met up.

I excused myself to go change into some jeans and a t-shirt, throwing a plaid flannel on over that. I left my messy bun, not really wanting to do anything with my hair. I always thought boys had it way easier—since they didn't have to take care of hair and all. I mean, sure, some guys' hair is longer, but they could just let it go. Look at Percy, for example. He doesn't do anything with his hair that I know of, and it looks downright amazing.

As I was walking back down the stairs, a car pulled up into the driveway.

Percy had gone up to change, so Poseidon went to go greet the newcomers at the front door. I spun my swivel chair around, facing the door.

Three people walked in. My eyes immediately latched onto the girl that must be Percy's girlfriend. Burning, rust colored hair rested in a haze around her head, and freckles adorned her cheeks. Green eyes, the color of spring grass, landed on me. She looked me up and down, taking in my appearance while I did the same to her. She had paint splattered jeans on top of an old t-shirt, and a paintbrush poked out of her back pocket. She would've looked like a nice, fun girl—one I'd want I hang around with—if it weren't for the look of distaste on her countenance as she watched me. She was beautiful in a striking way—she stood out. I went to my feet cautiously, my eyes falling from the girl's to the other two.

A pair of boys stood there. One was Latino, with a mess of curly dark brown hair and a wide smile that looked like he just had five espressos. He was smaller and wiry, and the figure by his side towered over him. The other boy looked like the typical surfer—blond windblown hair and sky blue eyes. He was ruggedly handsome, a small scar on the corner of his mouth shifting as he smiled at me.

"Hi, guys," I said, waving. I was used to meeting new people, but most of the new people I met were fellow actors or big hit music artists and such. They shared my fame, and in that we were equal. But meeting these new kids who lived in a town most everybody hadn't heard of was unnerving. My biggest fear was that they'd hate me for my position, and think I was a stuck-up snob.

But the two boys' smiles were friendly enough.

"This is Annabeth, as you all probably already know," Poseidon said.

The boys chuckled, and the girl just watched me. She seemed to be evaluating me—trying to figure out if I would do something or not.

The blond came up first. "I'm Jason. Nice to meet you," he said, formally holding out his hand. He had a polite smile on his face. This guy's kinder than most people in Hollywood.

The curly-haired boy was next. He grinned maniacally. "I'm Leo."

For some reason, I just had to smile. I don't know why, but I had a feeling this guy was going to be funny. "Hey, Leo."

Rachel made her way to me on graceful feet, her green eyes making me uncomfortable. She finally smiled, but it looked forced; I could tell by the way that most of the muscles in her face didn't move. She was acting. But acting was my specialty. If she thought she could get past me like this, she was fantastically wrong.

"Hi," she said, her voice sweetly sickening. "I'm Rachel, Percy's girlfriend."

She seemed to stress the words Percy's girlfriend. I smiled back, making sure it looked real.

"Hey, happy to meet you," I replied. Lies. All lies, I thought evilly.

Rachel looked at me once more, from top to bottom, then inhaled and looked to the stairs. Percy was slumping down in jeans in an old black t-shirt that made his sea-green eyes brighter than ever. He was yawning as he looked at his friends, rubbing his hair. He hadn't done anything to smooth it down, but I was fine with that.

"'Sup, guys." Percy stuck out a hand and waved. Jason and Leo greeted Percy, then went back to talking with Poseidon. I occasionally caught their discreet looks toward me. It was weird. I guess they probably hadn't met many famous people, and now there was a huge celebrity right next to them. I didn't really ever get that feeling—except maybe with, you know, Luke Castellan or Oprah.

"Hey, Rachel. I haven't seen you in a while," Percy continued, tearing me out of my thoughts.

She went up and gave him a hug, oddly fierce and protective. Why she was acting like this, I had not a clue. "Well, that's your fault. I've asked you constantly if I can come over, and you don't reply, or you make up some excuse." She ran a hand over his hair. "Oh, I wish this would stay down, not be all messy."

He frowned, moving his hair out of her reach. "I reply a lot, and they aren't excuses. They're actually real things."

She raised an eyebrow, her eyes glancing over to me briefly. "Like a new movie star coming to your house to spend the summer with you? You're letting a total stranger in for the summer and you can't find time for me in a week? See a problem, babe?"

I inwardly winced at babe. I hated pet names like that. Nicknames were fine—I even liked nicknames. It gave you a sense of being close with that person. But those pet names, like babe and honey, just didn't do it for me.

If I was correct, I could see Percy's facial features cringe for just a millisecond. He looked over at me, as if realizing that their conversation had careened towards me, and a crash was just waiting to happen with this fuming red-headed bomb.

"Uh, Annabeth?" Percy said, looking around for a distraction. "Why don't you go get changed, we'll get you on a horse today."

I raised an eyebrow, but didn't bother in telling him I was already changed. Instead, I just nodded slightly, then started upstairs. Rachel watched me go, her eyes glittering, then once I was out of their sight, I could hear their anxious whispers float up. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I bit back my curiosity and trudged onward.

Once in my room, I fell onto my bed, finding the pillows and shoving them under my head. The windows were open, and a slight breeze came through, bringing the crisp draft of spring. It was clean air, unlike city air. The birds were loud, calling out to one another like neighbors. Trees stood side by side, never leaving one another, and standing straight and proud even through the stormy nights.

I wished people had the capacity to do that.

I rolled around on my bed, getting up once to look in the mirror and stick my hair back into a braid, letting it fall a little past my shoulder blades. I had no makeup on, and I wasn't planning on putting any on for a long time. It's not like I could really leave the house—that would put a risk on my freedom from the world of famous people.

Soon, I got bored, and decided it was time to go back downstairs. If Rachel wasn't done talking, oh well. She can finish her words elsewhere, staring at a wall or something.

When I reached the top of the stairs, I heard two people. When I rounded the corner, it appeared as if Jason and Leo had left with Poseidon somewhere, and now only Percy and Rachel stood. Percy was gesturing with his arms, and Rachel was staring obstinately at him, arms crossed and her eyebrow raised.

Stopping, I backed away, staying out of sight but close enough to hear.

"You don't have to worry," Percy was saying exasperatedly. "Gods, shouldn't you trust your boyfriend? I told you her real identity, and we weren't really supposed to do that. She wants to stay secret. Only you and Jason and Leo know. Why don't you trust me?"

"I do," came the terse reply.

I was pretty sure Percy threw his hands up in irritation. "Then what's your problem? I told you, nothing will happen. You're my girlfriend, not Annabeth."

My ears pricked at the sound of my name, and I listened earnestly. "I know that, but does she? I mean, she's kind of pretty and popular and rich. You could fall for her."

Percy sighed, so loudly it was audible from where I stood. "Looks and titles aren't everything, Rachel."

"Well, they sure didn't hurt when you started dating me."

"I didn't date you because of your reputation. I dated you because I liked you. What, did you date me because of my title or my looks or whatever? Did you want to have something just—just show off to your friends like a puppy?" His tone was disgusted.

Unfortunately, Rachel replied a bit too late to be able to convince the whole truth. "No, Percy. You know that. We've been dating for a year and a half. I would've dumped you by now if I just wanted to show you off."

I frowned. Maybe not the best choice of words on her part.

"Oh, that's reassuring," Percy answered, sarcasm oozing from his words.

I figured I had better come out of my hiding spot then, so I made a show of having just appeared there, holding up my hair as if I were fixing it as I walked back down, forcing a yawn.

"Hey, guys," I said nonchalantly. I looked to Percy. "I'm ready when you are."

He smiled at me, tightly but it was genuine. "Okay, we'll go."

"Um, what about me?" Rachel asked.

Percy looked over his shoulder. "Didn't my dad say you had to be at one of your friend's houses?"

"Well, yeah, but I could cancel," she said, her eyes flickering to me and Percy, standing together.

Percy shook his head. "Oh, no, don't do that. I wouldn't want you to ruin your reputation by ditching your friends." I caught the hostility in his tone, and Rachel narrowed her eyes. Then her face cleared, and she walked over to Percy, looking him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she said. "I didn't mean any of that." She leaned forward, kissing him on the lips.

Now Percy might not have been able to tell, but I could hear her from an actress's ear. She sounded exactly like me when I was practicing my lines and hadn't quite gotten them down yet. My voice was still a little monotone, not quite like I was playing the part right. People maybe could hear that I was acting.

Rachel sounded like that. She wasn't telling the truth. Her apology was spoken like she was reading off of a script. She was good at speaking it—it sounded believable—but when you lived in the world of acting for basically your whole life, and you were considered one of the best actresses in the entire world, you were able to see the difference between heart-spoken apologies and faux, cheesy "I'm sorry"s.

I stood by awkwardly as they embraced. Well, it was more like Rachel went at him while Percy just kissed her lightly, a hand stroking her cheek. After a few seconds, he pulled back, not meeting his girlfriend's eyes. He looked at anything but her—and that "anything" happened to be me. I met his eyes, watching his reaction.

"It's fine, just . . ." he trailed off, taking a deep breath. "It's fine. Now go, before you're late. I'm taking Annabeth to the stables."

Rachel smiled sweetly at him, then left. But behind his back, she sent me a warning death glare, scary enough to make Chuck Norris piddle his pants. But I wouldn't back down. Instead, I just looked at her coolly, keeping my expression neutral but allowing a hint of amusement to peek through. This just made her eyes narrow even more, and she disappeared out the door, walking down the sidewalk to her car. Jason and Leo, who were talking with Percy's dad outside, had apparently ridden with her, for as they saw her walking away, they said goodbye to Poseidon and followed her into her black sports car.

Percy watched her go. I sensed his mood had changed—he wasn't as cheerful, more downcast. He let out a long sigh, then beckoned me forward. We got our boots on, then he held open the door, letting me through before closing it. Poseidon was doing something in the garage, and he waved as we passed. We returned the gesture before continuing onward. I had to take quicker steps to keep up with Percy's long legs, but he didn't slow down. He didn't even seem to know he was walking so fast; his gaze was distant, thoughtful.

My checkered flannel shirt flapped in the slight breeze, and it was colder than yesterday. It seemed the heat wave had passed, and now we were getting just the last bits of the chilly spring.

"You're going on Porkpie," Percy said, bringing me out of my thoughts. We had reached the stable, and a few horses were in the stalls, but most were grazing in the paddock. A head peeked out from between stable bars, whinnying at me slightly before slipping out of sight once more.

The stable was a long barn, with a large walkway down the middle and stalls on either side. In the middle of the barn, there was an entryway that bisected the building, leading to two more doors that went outside. A tack room was situated on the left side close to where we were, and next to that was an office to manage the stable.

Two horses were tied up outside the door in the middle. Porkpie stood peacefully, swatting at flies with his tail, while Blackjack pranced around, neighing when he saw Percy.

A smile adorned Percy's lips when he saw his horse, and he went up to pet him. A saddle was set on the rail the horses were tied to.

"First we have to brush them down, so grab that round brush—called a curry comb—and bring it over here." Percy pointed to a bucket of assorted brushes, and I grabbed the one he had gestured to. He already had one in his hand, since he had a similar bucket by him. I watched as he started rubbing Blackjack's back, going in circles and picking up dirt. I copied his movements, satisfied when I saw the dirt matted into Porkpie's coat flake off.

We got the backs of the horses, and around their stomachs and legs, before moving onto the next brush—this one just pushing all the excess dirt off. Percy worked smoothly, like he did this everyday. Well, he probably did.

"Do you have to take care of all the horses?" I asked whilst smoothing Porkpie's white blond mane. Percy was combing out Blackjack's tail, making it shine in the morning sun.

"Most. Dad helps, and Paul helps sometimes too when he's not working. He's a teacher at a school," Percy explained. "Jason and Leo help too. Jason actually is boarding his horse here, Tempest. Another one of my friends, Hazel, has her horse here too. When they come, they help out with the other horses, too. Rachel comes to ride sometimes."

I nodded, petting Porkpie's forehead. He bumped me with his nose, wanting more attention. I laughed, kissing his golden nose before going up to take the knots out of his hair. I caught Percy smiling at me.

"What?" I asked.

He shook his head quickly, trying to drop his smile. "Nothing, it's just . . . well, it's basically your second day here, and the horses already love you," he said, "and you love the horses."

"You got that right." I grinned at Porkpie who was craning his head around to me. "Who wouldn't love these guys?"

"That's what I thought. But Rachel doesn't really do anything with the horse she rides, she just . . . rides. She even makes me brush and tack the horse."

We stood in silence for a little while, the only sound was the birds and the horses. Then I opened my mouth, closed it, then forced it open again.

"Percy?" He grunted, and I took that as a sign to keep talking. "I know it's probably none of my business, but . . . are you and Rachel okay?"

Percy's hand paused, and he stared at one spot on Blackjack. When his horse snorted in annoyance at the pause in brushing, he continued again. After a little while, he answered. "Yeah—yeah we're fine. We just don't see eye-to-eye on everything, but that's normal, right?"

He sounded like he was asking himself that, so I didn't reply to the question, but kept on talking. "But you guys like each other enough to stay together for a year and a half?"

He nodded. "Yeah, and—wait, how did you know that?"

Oops. "Um . . . I—you told me. Yesterday."

Percy frowned, screwing up his face so that it looked kind of funny but somewhat cute. "Did I? Oh. Well, yeah, obviously."

"And you've never noticed . . . anything about her?" I asked, thinking of her fake apology.

Percy looked at me, puzzled. "Like what?"

I did a quick debate in my head: should I or should I not tell him that Rachel was acting during that apology? It might have been a one time thing, but she sounded like she'd rehearsed it. It came out too easily, no ounce of guilt in it.

However, Percy seemed like he was trying to hold onto their relationship, no matter how much it might be unstable. Besides, like I said, it truly wasn't any of my business.

I sighed. "Nothing. Never mind."

His eyebrows drew together, but he shrugged. "Alright, now let's get the saddle on." He tossed the brush back into the bucket, then went to the saddle.

"Are you going to ride?" I asked.

"No, I'm going to supervise."

"Oh, joy," I muttered. Percy let out a laugh, and I was pleased I could make him laugh when he wasn't having such a good morning so far.

"Don't worry, I'm a nice instructor."

I smiled at him. He threw a gray saddle blanket over Porkpie, then beckoned me over. I lifted the saddle, a little surprised by the weight, but I managed to get it over Porkpie's back. Then Percy started instructing me on the saddle. There was the cinch—the strap that went around the horse's stomach—that needed to be tightened, and the breast collar that ran around the front of the horse. Percy put the reins in, letting me watch as he slid the bit neatly into the horses mouth, pulling the rest of the bridle up over the ears of the horse and attaching another strap at the throat.

"This is kind of confusing," I said, watching in a daze.

He grinned lopsidedly, reminding me how nice of a smile his was. "You'll get it, don't worry."

Percy grabbed a brown helmet, bringing it over to me. He plopped it on my head, and it was too big, falling over my eyes. I huffed, pushing it up, only to have it fall back down again.

"It's too big," I told him, hearing his amused chuckle.

"I can see that."

"Well, I can't see anything," I grumbled, pushing the helmet up once more, and holding it there. He was smiling at me, handing me a new helmet. This one fit nicely, and I latched it under my chin as Percy untied Porkpie, giving me the lead rope. Percy walked beside me as we went back into the barn, making our way to the other door that led to a circular area that had wooden fences around it.

"This is the round pen, which is where we are going to start." He opened the door, leading me in. Porkpie followed me diligently, and stood still as we waited for Percy to finish hooking up the door again. I watched the muscles on his back, visible through his taut shirt as he leaned over the gate, shift as he moved. When he turned back around, his intense sea-green eyes latched onto mine.

For a moment, we just stared at each other. I had no idea why, but neither of us moved. We just watched one another—Percy studying my face and me trying to read his. His hair flew a little in the wind, and I wanted to reach out and brush it back. But at the same time, I couldn't move.

Porkpie whinnied impatiently, making both of us jump a little. Percy stammered, "Uh, let's, uh—let's get you on Blackjack—I mean," he shook his head, "Porkpie. Blackjack isn't your horse. Blackjack's my horse. Why would you be riding my horse?" He breathily laughed a little, biting his lip when he noticed he was rambling.

I felt my cheeks heat up a little as I nodded. Percy came over to me, standing close. I could see my reflection in his eyes.

"I'll help you up," he said. My head bobbed again, and he came closer. His fingers came up, brushing a loose strand of blonde hair back behind my ear. The heat in my cheeks flamed up even higher.

He knelt, putting his hands together to form a step. I placed my foot in it, then he heaved up, pushing me onto Porkpie. Once on, I stuck my feet in the stirrups, looking at Percy.

"Alright. Let's start walking in circles around the edges of the fence, I want to check your balance."

So we started, Percy standing in the middle and Porkpie and I circling him. My balance wasn't great; I never had that much of a need for it. Walking was okay, but when we tried trotting, I had to desperately clutch the saddle horn until Percy helped me slow down a bit. I had a lot to learn, I knew.

But I looked at Percy, his green eyes watching me and his muscular form standing straight and tall, a friendly lopsided smile coming onto his face as he noticed me staring.

A few more lessons with Percy teaching me wouldn't be too bad, right? Right.

Thanks for reading! :)