Important author's note at the end! Enjoy chapter 11! :)

That was the best night of sleep I had gotten in a long time. When I woke up, I felt totally calm and relaxed, like nothing was wrong. The birds chirped cheerfully outside, and the early morning sun shone in through my windows. The air was chilly, but I was warm. The covers must've been helping me.

However, I soon realized it wasn't the covers. When I went to move, I realized what I was laying on was rising and falling, and then my ears picked up something more than just birds. Breathing. Not mine. I moved my legs, only to realize they were tangled with another pair.

With a yelp, I shoved at the body in my bed, leaping back. I had shoved hard enough that the person went flying off the bed, landing on the floor with a thump that I winced at. I waited, my breath suddenly racing.

"Ow," the person said.

My heart had started to calm. At first I hadn't recognized who I was laying in bed with, and that scared me. I'd been in Hollywood long enough to know that if someone caught a movie star in bed with a random person, that would be on the news for about a week, with at least one life ruined by it.

"Gods, woman," Percy continued, sitting up on the other side of the bed. He was just tall enough so I could see his head, his black hair sticking out in every single way in an endearing bed head. "First you wake me up with a shoe, now it's shoving me off your bed. I pity your future husband."

"Percy!" I said, yelling but keeping my voice muffled as best as I could. "What are you doing here?"

He replied through a yawn. "You're the one who told me to stay."

I face-palmed. "Until I fell asleep. Not the whole night, you idiot!"

He stood up, stretching. "We didn't do anything, just slept in the same bed, relax." Then he paused, frowning. "We didn't do anything, right?"

Another face-palm. "No. We did not do anything, thank the gods. Ugh, I'm so stupid!" I said, thinking out loud. Then I turned to him. "You have a girlfriend, you can't go sleeping with other girls!"

His eyebrows furrowed and he pursed his lips. "Oh, yeah. I forgot."

I raised an eyebrow. "You forgot about your girlfriend?"

He held up his hands defensively, his green eyes bright. "Hey, it's early. Don't expect me to remember everything, Wise Girl."

I groaned, getting up and pacing around. "We can't let anybody know you spent the night in my room. Don't tell anybody," I demanded, giving him a stern look.

"Alright, alright," he said. He pushed his hands up, stretching. As he did so, he shirt lifted to reveal a tanned line of stomach, the "v" of his hipbones visible. I turned my eyes away, blushing.

"Besides," he continued. "Nothing happened."

I rubbed my temples. The headache from last night was mostly gone, now receding to just a full throb. "I know. Just—go to your room, and make sure no one sees you."

He scoffed. "Yeah, the one person that lives here."

I rolled my eyes. "Just go."

He started to go to the door, but stopped to look at me. "Did you at least have a good night sleep?"

"Yes, Seaweed Brain," I told him impatiently. "It's just that—we can't do that. You have a girlfriend, and I . . . well, I—"

"Rachel doesn't have to know about last night. And even if she found out, she can't do anything without labeling herself a huge hypocrite." Percy's tone had turned bitter, and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" I asked.

Percy took a deep breath, not meeting my eyes for a few seconds. When he did at last, it was as if he hadn't said anything like he just did. His eyes danced mirthfully. "I don't know why you're so embarrassed, though."

"I'm not, Percy. Now go before someone sees us."

"Unless," he said, smirking and tapping his chin thoughtfully. "You actually did want something to happen."

I glared at him. "Get. Out." He just stood there, cracking up, so I threw a pillow at him. He caught it easily.

"Fine! It was just a joke. I'm leaving," he said, still chortling. I watched him as he headed to the door.

He peeked out into the hallway, then stepped out of my room. Grabbing the knob, he was about to close it when he paused, saying, "Wise Girl?"

I turned back to him, having been about to go to my closet.

He grinned cheekily, the lopsided smile making my heart skip a beat. "Good morning."

I rolled my eyes. "Good morning, Seaweed Brain. Now go!" I shooed him with a smile, and he obediently shut my door. I heard him enter his own room and I sighed, plopping onto the bed.

I shouldn't have done that. But it's not like anyone knows, so I think we're safe.

Yawning, I stood up and went to put some jeans, taking out my hair so that it fell in curls around my shoulders. Poseidon was at the table, and so was Percy. The latter was eating Fruit Loops while his dad was reading a book. As I came in, he greeted me with a smile.

"Good morning, Annabeth," Poseidon said. "Hope you had a good night's sleep."

I smiled, grabbing a bowl and sitting next to Percy. "I had an amazing night of sleep, thank you."

Next to me, Percy smirked into his bowl, muttering loud enough for us to hear, "Not as amazing as she was probably hoping."

My cheeks turned red and I slapped his arm, glowering. He bit his lip, stifling chuckles.

Poseidon's looked at me. "I heard quite a bit of moving upstairs last night. Was everything okay?"

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, I just—I called my mom. And we didn't really have a . . . nice conversation."

He dipped his head. "I understand. But everything's okay?"

"Thanks to Percy."

"Ah, yes. I heard him go to your room last night. I hope he helped with your mom." Poseidon paused, a twinkle in his eyes as he shifted his gaze to stare down at his coffee, swirling it slightly. "Though I don't quite remember Percy coming back out."

Percy paused eating, glancing at me while I cursed under my breath. "Uh, no—," I stammered. "He didn't, um, we—"

"Nothing happened," Percy said firmly. "I just accidentally fell asleep."

Poseidon was trying to hide a smile. "Okay, I believe you two."

"Just please don't—," I said, not wanting word to get out.

"My lips are sealed. Though it's not as bad, I mean, you're just friends," Poseidon said.

Well, I knew that. I had been reminding myself over and over again that Percy and I were "just friends."

We all settled into an awkward silence, the only sound being the sips of coffee and the crunching of cereal. This was great.

Percy finished his cereal, then said, "I'm gonna go get the horses ready. We'll probably go on a trail ride today."

I nodded. "Okay, I'll be right out." He nodded, flashing me a smile before going out the door. I stuck my mug in the dishwasher, about to follow him when I paused, a thought striking me.

"Poseidon?" I asked tentatively. When he grunted, I took that as a sign to continue. Shuffling slightly, I said hesitantly, "Why don't you like Rachel?"

He froze, his eyes coming up to meet mine sharply. "What?"

I but my lip, uncomfortable. "It's just that . . . Well, right now, you know what happened last night. Nothing happened!" I rushed on. "Just, you know—anyways, you didn't really care. And Sally didn't seem to care when I . . . talked to her either. Normally I'd think the parents would be making sure the boyfriend stayed true, but you don't really, so it just sort of makes me think that you don't like Rachel." The last part came out as a sort of mumbling. My cheeks were red, and I hated that I even brought up the subject.

Poseidon sighed. "I don't want to give off a wrong vibe. I don't hate Rachel. I just . . . she lost my trust, as the parent of her boyfriend."

I waited, but he didn't seem to be going any further. However, this time I didn't push down my curiosity. "Can I ask why?"

Poseidon took a deep breath and leaned on the counter, lips pursed as he contemplated. "Half a year ago. Percy went to her house to surprise them on their thirteenth month anniversary, and he found her with another guy."

My jaw dropped. Rachel had cheated on Percy? Rage boiled up inside of me instantly. All the hate I had currently harbored for her and tried to get rid of flashed in, overflowing my brain. Why in Hades would she do that? I wanted to punch that stupid girl for hurting Percy. Though what Percy said earlier, about her being a hypocrite, made sense now.

"Why did he stay with her?" I asked, surprised to find my voice wasn't bitter. Emotions were going crazy in me—hatred for Rachel, sympathy for Percy, confusion as to why they were still going out.

"She pleaded with him after he stormed off in complete fury. He was broken. But he believed her, her saying that she didn't mean any of it. I think she learned from her mistake, but I don't trust her yet. However, Percy is extremely loyal, and he stayed that way. He didn't want things to end between him and Rachel. So he kept it, despite the disapproval of his parents. Though Sally and I are struggling to come to terms with his decision."

I nodded. "I guess you could give him advice, you two being a spouses before. About perseverance and trust and all that. I mean, you two are still great friends."

Poseidon looked at me. He seemed like he wanted to contradict what I said, but he stopped himself before he spoke, and switched to, "You're most likely wondering why I told you all of this. Especially since it was probably Percy's place to tell you."

I hopped to my other foot, hands clasped behind my back. "Yeah, I was kind of wondering that."

"Well," he said, giving me a smile, "ever since what happened with Rachel, Percy's kind of been uptight and quiet. But since you've been here, he's lightened up. You've made him laugh in the past month more than he has in the past year, including the times that he was going smoothly with Rachel. You're a good friend, and he needs one of those. Sure he's got Jason and Leo, and Grover, who you haven't met yet but he's off on some wilderness thing, but they aren't exactly the kind of friends that he needs right now. He needs a friend that will support him through anything. And I think he's happy to let you fill that position."

I grinned. "And I'm more than happy to fulfill it."

Poseidon returned my grin. "So yes, I care about my son's relationship, but I care about him more than that. I want him to be happy. That's why I want him to stick with you, Annabeth."

I felt my cheeks heat up, and I felt a burst of privilege at that. He gave me a warm smile, and I flashed it back at him.

"Thank you, Poseidon," I said.

He shook his head. "No. Thank you."

With one last smile, I headed back to the door, slipping on my boots and waving goodbye to Poseidon. My mind was swimming with this new information.

For some reason, Poseidon's last words made me extremely happy. I wanted to help Percy. I loved to see that lopsided smile light up his face, and if I could help it, I was going to make it stay there. I'd be that supportive friend for as I could, even though I'd have to leave soon.

"There you are, Wise Girl." I realized I was in the stable, having walked out absentmindedly to it. I turned to the voice seeing a saddled Porkpie and Blackjack. Percy was waiting by them.

"Did my dad talk you to death?" he asked, only half-jokingly.

I laughed. "No, it's fine." He smiled, and I thought about Rachel. I really couldn't understand why she would even think about doing anything with any other boy. How could she not be satisfied with Percy? He was amazing, and she said so herself. I mean, we all make some mistakes, but I was just mad her mistake had to affect Percy.

"Why're you looking at me weird?" Percy asked, eyebrow raised.

I noticed I was staring. "Um, I was looking at your hat."

It was close to the face, so it was partially true. Percy frowned, gesturing to his cowboy hat on his head. I nodded.

"Well, do you like it?" he asked.

My head dipped. "Of course! I love cowboy hats."

He smiled crookedly. "Good thing, otherwise I would've gotten this for no reason."

At the word "this", he reached behind Porkpie to the railing, and when he pulled his hand back, clutched in it was a brand new, black and shiny cowboy hat.

I gaped. "Are you for real?"

He grinned. "I think so."

I shrieked, throwing myself at him. He laughed, returning the hug. When I leaned back, he smiled and stuck the hat on my head. I felt it on my curls, and I had to tip my head back to see him.

"Now you're a real cowgirl," he told me quietly.

My smile was wide. "Thanks, Percy. For everything." My words really did imply everything. For helping me learn how to ride horses, for comforting me last night, and for the hat.

Without really thinking, I pushed myself on my tiptoes and bent my neck to kiss his cheek, angling my head so he didn't knock my hat off. Percy's grin grew wider. if that's even possible.

"If I get a kiss every time, I might just have to go buy more hats," he said jokingly. I rolled my eyes, shoving him slightly.

"Your welcome, Wise Girl," he told me, green eyes sparkling. "Though I'm happy to do anything for you."

Gods, this boy.

Rachel didn't deserve. I don't think any girl deserved him. He deserved the world, but he didn't know that.

That's what made him so darn adorable. Well, that and his lopsided grin that made my heart fluttery.

I woke up two days later to the smell of pancakes. My stomach rumbled, and I took in a huge draft of air, savoring the scent. Sally must be here. With a grin, I threw myself out of bed, running downstairs. I loved Sally and the company she gave. She was the only female I had contact with, other than Rachel, at the ranch, and I cherished that. I wanted so badly for my friend Piper to come down and I hoped she could soon.

Like I predicted, Sally was in the kitchen, humming a tune as she flipped blue pancakes at the stove.

"Good morning, Sally!" I said brightly, hopping into the kitchen. She turned, a smile on her face. We hugged briefly, and when we leaned back, she was looking at me concernedly.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I heard about the fall, and you got a concussion, right?"

I shrugged. "The concussion wasn't too bad. I've just had a few headaches. But I think I'm alright. The cut has scabbed up, and it's healing pretty quickly, so no worries there."

"Well, that's good news. Let's celebrate with a pancake, shall we?"

I laughed, taking a seat at the counter. "I can't think of any better way." She plopped a pancake on a plate, and I drizzled syrup on it. When I took a bite, butter and sweet and sticky syrup and fluffy dough exploded in my mouth, and it was one of the best things ever. "You're pancakes are so good, Sally. I envy Percy, who gets to have these all the time."

She smiled. "Thank you, Annabeth. And Percy might not get one if he doesn't get his lazy butt out of bed. Would you mind running and getting him for breakfast real quick?" I shook my head, quickly scooping one more bite in before standing up and jogging over to the stairs. I took them two at a time, the messy bun on my head sliding about. I approached Percy's door and knocked. When he didn't answer, I knocked again.

Still no answer. He was probably asleep. "I'm coming in, Percy," I called, giving him a warning. Putting my hand on the knob, I opened the door.

I hadn't really been in Percy's room too much. We were always downstairs or outside. It was a messy room, which was expected for a teenage boy—clothes strewn about, the bedcovers ruffled, and the drawers pulled out. His walls were blue, but otherwise the room was identical to mine. Same shape and size, closet in the same corner. The bathroom was on the back side too. As I looked at it, the bathroom door opened up, and Percy came out.

In boxers. That was it. His hair was wet, so he had apparently just taken a shower.

I yelped, bringing my hand up to slap my face, covering my eyes. "Percy!"

"Oh, hey, Annabeth," he said. I could hear his footsteps as he moved to his drawers.

"Put some clothes on!" I screeched. "Gods, I'm standing right here."

His footsteps came again, and I felt his presence near me. "Aw, come on, Wise Girl. You know you want to look." I scowled, shoving my hand out to where I guessed he was from his voice. I missed, and I had thrown my hand forcefully enough that my momentum carried me into a hard naked chest.

Percy chuckled. "Well, if you just want to skip the looking part, okay then."

I huffed, peeking through my fingers to regain my bearings again. "Sally is here, and she made pancakes. She sent me up to get you, but now I'm leaving. And get some pants on."

"I'm covered, jeez." I heard him retreat, and rolling my eyes, I backed out of the room. I heard Percy laughing as I ran down the hall. My brain couldn't get the image of Percy out of my head. I mean, not that that was too horrible. He didn't have a bad body.

Stop, stop, stop. I settled into my seat at the counter once more, trying to ignore what just happened.

Sally glanced at me from by the sink. "You look a little flushed. Did you take the stairs too fast?"

At her words, my cheeks grew hotter. "I'm fine." She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. I ate in silence for about ten seconds before someone came into the house from the front door.

I turned, expecting Poseidon, but getting Paul instead. I had met Paul before, he was a pretty nice guy. He greeted me with a warm smile, and I returned it. After giving Sally a quick kiss, she asked, "Did you bring it?"

He nodded. I frowned, saying, "Bring what?"

Paul turned to me. His salt-and-pepper hair flashed in the kitchen light. "Something for Percy."

My interest was peaked, but before I could ask what, Percy came tromping down the stairs.

"Don't be so loud on the stairs, Percy," Sally chided, getting him a plate full of pancakes. "You're going to break them."

"Pfft," Percy said, smirking and sitting next to me. I didn't meet his eyes. "No I won't. I'm not that heavy mom. But if I keep eating your pancakes I will be."

"Are you going to stop eating the pancakes?" she asked.

He grinned lopsidedly. "Nope." She sent her eyes to the ceiling, and Paul grinned.

"Good morning, Percy," he said.

Percy nodded. "'Morning, Paul. Why're you and mom here?"

His mom and stepdad exchanged a glance, and Paul said. "Actually, we have to talk to you."

Percy paused, his fork freezing on the way to his mouth. "What did I do now?"

I snorted as Sally laughed. "No, Percy. We have something for you."

"Okay," Percy said slowly. "Though my birthday is in August . . ."

"Yes, we know," she said. "But just think of this as an early birthday present." She started heading outside, Paul in tow. Percy and I looked at each other confusedly, then we followed them, stepping into the morning sun. It was cooler today than the rest of the days, and everybody was excited to hear that the heat spell might be broken soon, for the forecast was predicting rain later this week. I was so grateful—I think I've sweated enough in the past couple months.

We stopped at Paul's car, an old Prius. Paul opened the door, and something jumped out.

It was a small something, small and furry. It let out a tiny bark, and started running around.

"We think every ranch needs a dog, and we just had a litter of puppies," Sally said with a smile. "So why don't you have this one?"

Percy's jaw had dropped and he watched the puppy run around, barking in a high-pitch at random things. It had a dark grey coat, and it was a mastiff. It's energy level looked high.

"Her name is Mrs. O'Leary," Sally told her son. "And I think she'll fit in great here."

Percy grinned widely, giving his mom a hug and Paul as well. "Thanks, mom!"

She laughed. "Have fun catching her. She's pretty fast."

Percy waved a hand dismissively, the grin still stuck to his face. "Ah, we'll get her, right, Annabeth?"

I held up a hand. "Woah, bud, who said anything about me?" But Percy had already started running after the puppy. We watching in amusement as the puppy led him in circles, and he dove quite a few times on the grass to try and catch it. Whenever he was laying on the ground, the puppy would pause and bark at him, as if laughing. I would laugh too, watching Percy. He was such a goofball.

Soon Percy just gave up, rolling onto his back in an eagle-spread manner. Mrs. O'Leary came up to him and licked his cheek. A little part in side of me went "Aww."

Percy sat up, and Mrs. O'Leary finally jumped up to him. He grabbed her up and held her tightly, scolding her for running so fast.

"You're right, mom, she is fast," he commented as he walked up to us. He came to stand by me, and I stuck a hand out to pet Mrs. O'Leary. She yapped enthusiastically at me, making me grin. Right then, Poseidon drove up in his truck, parking at the garage and stepping out. He walked over to greet Sally and Paul, and then he smiled at the puppy, saying how perfect it would be to have a dog at the ranch. We just needed to train her.

"Percy?" Poseidon said, making his son look up from the mastiff. "Fourth of July is in a couple days—" at this, Percy grinned widely, clearly super happy, "—but it's going to be raining, starting in a few days. Looks like it's the end of the drought after all."

Percy's smile drooped, like it was melting.

Poseidon patched it back up, though. "So we're going to have to have the party early. Like, tomorrow early. I told everybody in town, and they're ready."

"Tomorrow?" Percy said, eyebrows high. "That gives a tiny amount of time to prepare. Usually it takes three days!"

"I know, but the other days were already full of people doing other things when I asked around, and tomorrow was the only time when they would be available. So we better get to work."

Percy turned to me, his eyes sparkling as he grinned in excitement. "The party's going to be awesome. We do it every year, and there's tons of games and food and fireworks and a bonfire with s'mores and—"

"Percy," I stopped him. I didn't really want to hear about all the fun I was going to miss. "I can't go."

Percy frowned. "Why not?"

Sighing, I told him while gesturing to myself. "Famous movie star, unfortunately. They'll all recognize me."

"Well, how did you go through the airport to get here?"

"I had Piper do it, my make up artist," I told him. "I can't do disguises."

Percy's smile totally disappeared, and he looked at Sally, who shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"But it'll be fine," I said, forcing a smile. "I'll just stay in the house. I've been doing that all this summer anyways."

"But . . . you need to come. This is the party of the year. Everybody's coming," Percy said slowly. His hand had paused, and the lack of petting made Mrs. O'Leary angry. She barked at Percy, but he didn't listen, just looked at me.

I lifted a hand. "I can't, sorry. I'll be fine."

"Percy, you know she can't," Poseidon said after taking a deep breath. "But we have to get ready, and we better start as soon as possible. Let's get everything we need today, and we'll set it up tomorrow morning."

"Well, that sucks," Percy said, seeming to have not heard his dad.

I rolled my eyes. "It wouldn't have made any difference anyways, it's not as if I've come before. Everything will be the same."

"Well, yeah, but I wanted you to come."

Inhaling slowly, I said, "Come on, let's go get everything as your dad said."

Biting his lip, eyebrows furrowed, Percy did as he was asked, following me back to the house. Mrs. O'Leary seemed to have sensed the atmosphere, and her barking ceased and was replaced instead with a breathy whining. I pet her head quietly, trying to stem my own disappointment.

Poor Annabeth. What do you guys think is going to happen?

ANNOUNCEMENT: Okay, so big thing happening. I'm going to be taking a road trip all around Northeast United States… so like NYC and Rhode Island and Niagra Falls and Vermont. Good thing is, I'M GOING TO BROADWAY! To see Wicked! BAD THING: I'm going to be gone for ten days, and we're leaving tomorrow. We don't have internet. So no updates until around June 8th. I'm sorry! I really hate that I can't! I feel really bad, but there's nothing I can do. :(

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I'm sorry about the kind of slow update. It's been a hectic week, trying to get everything ready for the trip.

Q&A

rocketgod123: I'm trying to get Grover in! :)

bmftas101: We'll see about Leo getting a girlfriend. You all would want Calypso for that, right?

Skyline: Well, I don't have any other fanfics I'm currently doing. However, I do have my own story on Wattpad, called "The Harmony To My Melody" if you want to check it out. My username on Wattpad is the same as on here. Comments and votes would be highly appreciated. :) Thanks for the nice review!

Percabeth12-7: I loved your review. I even read it in a sort of Robotic voice in my head. XD You're awesome. :)

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting . . . and if you haven't done any of those, feel free to! If I don't get another update in until the 8th or so, goodbye! :( Love you all!