For all his excitement he had previously shown, Percy was definitely not looking too happy now. In fact, he looked absolutely terrified and sort of . . . green.

Maybe because we were on a plane that was pulling out of the gate, about to take off. Percy had previously relayed to me that one of his biggest fears was flying.

"It's not that bad," I tried to reassure him, turning the little knob above me to soften the blow of the air conditioning. "Really. If you don't think about it, it's just like you're in a car."

"A car that's miles off the ground and could plummet to the earth and kill everybody or be struck by lightning or hit another plane or—"

"Okay, okay, calm down, Percy," I said, trying to not let the amusement show through my tone. "It's only about six hours."

"Anything can happen in just one second. We could die in one second. So six hours is, like, a bajillion possible seconds for us to die."

"Technically six hours only consists of about twenty-two thousand seconds. Not a bajillion."

"Not the time to be a smart-alec, Wise Girl."

I bit the inside of my cheek, hiding my grin. "Right. Sorry, Perce."

"Gods, we're gonna die."

I rolled my eyes. "Percy, just relax. We'll be fine."

"We're moving. We're accelerating extremely fast." He reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it to the point where I bet my fingers were blue. I couldn't believe he was actually this scared of planes. His eyes were tightly shut, and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. I was surprised he wasn't having a panic attack.

Reaching down with my free hand, I grabbed my small bag and opened up the flap, pulling out a bottle of pills.

"Here," I said, handing them to him. I continued as he looked at them skeptically. "They're heavy sleeping pills. I take them sometimes when my head is so wrapped up with crazy things that I can't even think straight. They really work. Though I might have a hard time waking you up when we land."

As he heard this, he eagerly grabbed the pills, dumping a couple into his palm and tossing them into his mouth. He grabbed the water bottle at his feet and swallowed quickly.

After about five seconds, he looked at me. "Why am I not asleep?"

A peal of laughter slipped through my lips. "Percy, give it a few minutes! Gods, you are such an idiot."

He grinned sheepishly, not letting my hand go as he settled down into a more comfortable position.

I watched as the pills worked their magic. The worry lines drawn on his forehead were slowly erased as his eyelids started blinking for longer periods of time. The fright in his bright green eyes slowly dimmed, and soon, when he blinked once, he didn't show those gorgeous orbs once more.

Still his hand didn't leave mine.

"He was pretty scared, wasn't he?"

I turned to my side, seeing an older man with a scruffy face and kind brown eyes. He was watching both Percy and I acutely. I noticed he was in the section of the plane that had the seats pulled up so his wheelchair could fit snugly in, attached to the side of the plane.

"Yeah, I guess he was," I replied quietly so as to not wake up the sleeping black-haired boy. "Beats me why he's so deathly afraid, though."

"Every man has a weakness," he answered. "Even the strongest. Like Achilles."

I smiled. "Considering his name"—I pointed to the boy beside me—"is Perseus, I'd say that's a pretty accurate comparison."

The man copied my smile. "My name's Chiron."

Accepting the offered hand, I returned the greeting with a simple, "Minerva."

"Like the Roman side of the Greek goddess Athena."

"Yes, exactly," I said, pleasantly surprised. "You seem to like Greek mythology."

"I taught a few classes of it in high school. I also am a camp director at a camp based on Greek mythology."

I pursed my lips. "That's pretty cool."

"I can't say I don't like my job," he said with another smile. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a call. It was nice meeting you Minerva."

"You too," I said.

It was a good thing he hadn't recognized me. My disguise was simple, but apparently it worked pretty well. Rachel had helped, coming over to do my makeup before I left. I had color contacts in, making my eyes appear brown. My hair was straightened and pulled back into a neat low ponytail. My hair is never so nice like that, usually it was either a messy ponytail, or an elaborate up-do appropriate for red carpets. My Yankee's cap covered most of my features, though, which helped. I was also dressed sluggishly, in joggers and a plain t-shirt. Whenever people see me in public as Annabeth Chase, my mother always makes sure I'm well dressed and easily recognizable.

Speaking of my mother, I hadn't really told her about this shenanigan yet. Well, she didn't have to know about it. We'd be back soon.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt a soft weight drop onto my shoulder. I looked down at Percy's head close to mine, the silky black strands soft against my cheek. A surge of adoration for the sleeping boy rose within me, and I smiled into his hair, giving his hand still clutching mine a little squeeze.

"Woah, look at that, Annabeth!" Percy said from beside me. "Look at all the water!"

I bit back a smile, saying, "Yes, it's called the ocean, Percy."

He just stared in open-mouthed awe, watching his dream come true. "Look at the waves! And the water, it's so blue. And it seems to go on forever. It's amazing. Can we go swimming today? Please?"

This time I let the laugh out. "We'll see. We have to unpack first. Let's get inside."

He picked up his backpack, then grabbed mine before I could, carrying it like the gentleman he is. The taxi had dropped us off right at our doorstep, and I scanned the area we would be living in for the next few days.

It looked like it was transported out of a magazine and onto the beach. The place was secluded, no other houses that close to us. The beach was the backyard to the quaint little wooden cabin, and the waves that crashed along the shore was a peaceful background noise, one that I could get used to.

The beach continued down, curving around to reach New York miles away. I had wanted Percy and Sally to enjoy the beach by themselves, so I made sure the cabin was away from any other people. Therefore, there was nobody near by. Farther down the road, lines of houses neighbored each other, hugging the street, and a few restaurants and shopping stores were also there. But for the most part, we had our own little beach.

"This is awesome. Thank you, Annabeth.

I rolled my eyes. "Perseus Jackson, I already said you're welcome. And you've said thank you several times."

"And I'm gonna keep saying it, because this is freaking awesome."

Smiling, I replied to him, "I'm glad you like it. Now let's this stuff inside."

He grinned lopsidedly back at me, then headed up to the cabin. The wooden steps of the little porch creaked out a welcome, and I fished out the key we had gotten from the owners, inserting it in the slot and pushing the door open.

It was a cute little room, and surprisingly spacious for looking so small on the outside. A kitchenette stood on one side, and on the opposing side was a couch that faced a battered TV. Straight to the back was the doorway to the bedroom, which contained a queen-sized bed and a sliding back door to go straight to the beach. Through the glass by the window above the head of the bed I could see the rolling ocean, the sun glinting off of it.

I could practically feel the excitement sliding off of Percy as he took it all in, his gaze settling on the ocean.

"Can we go swimming now?" he asked, sounding like a toddler.

I laughed. "Go ahead, Percy. I'm gonna get everything situated." Another laugh escaped my lips as he let out a whoop, then rushed over to the back door and ran out. Two seconds later, he came sprinting back in, his cheeks tinted red.

"I kinda need to get my swimsuit on, huh?"

I bit my lip, holding back a smile as I answered. "That might be a good idea, Seaweed Brain."

Two hours later, Percy was splashing about in the water, entertaining himself by trying to stay still then touch one of the fish from the schools of the tiny creatures that would come up by him. I was laying out on the sand, hoping to keep my tan. Sunglasses were a constant on my face, plus a floppy sun hat, just in case someone decided to wander up here. It reaching a later time in the afternoon, and my stomach was beginning to feel empty.

I pushed myself up to sitting position, digging my fingers in the sand. Little drops of sweat had started to form against my forehead, and I wiped them off before addressing the boy galavanting in the water. "Percy!"

His head shot up to me when he heard his name, his eyebrows raised. I motioned for him to come over to me, and he tromped out of the sea, heading my way. Once he reached me sitting down, he leaned over and shook his head vigorously. I shrieked as the cold drops of water splattered my skin.

"Stop it, Percy!" I said through my grin.

He laughed, stopping before asking what I wanted.

"Let's go get something to eat," I told him.

As if on cue, his stomach growled fiercely, and a sheepish smile lit up his face. "Yeah, I agree."

Percy dried himself off, then just threw a shirt over his head. I slipped on a simple cream swimsuit cover that was almost like a dress, then wrapped all of our stuff up, bringing it into the cabin. When I came back out, Percy was waiting for me, and he offered me a bright smile.

We went walking down the street to the small town not far away.

"Percy, what are you going to do after college?" I asked, suddenly curious.

He let out a deep breath. "I don't know. That sounds the start to a deep conversation."

"I'm just wondering. What do you want to be?"

We walked in silence for a little while, Percy kicking thoughtfully at a stray rock on the empty sidewalk. "Probably take over the ranch. It's been in the family for gods know how long. Marry someone, raise a family—just have the typical life."

Before I could suppress it, my mind flashed forward to years later, placing myself in Percy's life. I saw us dating, saw me walking down the aisle, saw little kids running around with horses as Percy and I watched.

Then my mind retreated hastily, and I knew I was acting insanely. Stop, stop, stop, I told myself, reverting back to the old chant.

But "Annabeth Jackson" does have a nice ring to it, that voice continued. Sometimes I thought someone was interfering on my thoughts and saying stuff like that, and I couldn't stop it.

Stop, stop, stop.

"What about you?" Percy asked beside me, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he looked over at me with raised eyebrows.

I set my gaze straight, the sun glinting off my hair in the corner of my eye. The buildings were growing steadily larger with every step we took. "To be honest, I have no clue."

"Well, it's probably going to be something with acting, right?"

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. "I guess."

He frowned in my peripheral vision, but didn't say anything, apparently waiting for me to elaborate.

"I don't know. I feel like that's what everybody is expecting. I mean, I'm Annabeth Chase, world-reknown actress. That's what I'm going to be stuck as for the rest of my life."

"And you don't like that?"

"I know I may sound selfish and snobby, but I'm just not . . . content. I know I'm rich beyond belief, and thousands of girls would kill to be in my position, but . . . I don't know. I feel like if I just keep going the way I'm going, I'm going to end up at a dead end with a shallow life. And it scares me."

More silence ensued. I hugged myself, rubbing my arms despite the warm sun rays streaming onto my skin.

Percy let out a single, breathy laugh. "Looks like I was right about the deep conversation."

I smiled, letting my face stretch wide. When I looked to the side, I caught Percy staring. When he caught me catching him staring, he cleared his throat, looking away before answering with, "So you don't want to act?"

"No, I love acting, don't get me wrong—I just feel as though that's not what I should put my main focus on."

"Well, of course not. You're main focus should be on people."

My eyebrows drew together. "What do you mean?"

"If you put your whole life into a thing, like acting, singing—or even horses, you'll find you always come up short. Those can't provide you with something worthy in life. It's people that will do that. Your future spouse, your best friend, your mom or dad, your siblings—they'll be the ones that are always there for you. They'll be the ones you can rely on. If you place your dependence on a 'thing,' you'll never be satisfied. That's why the gods created other people."

I soaked that all in as our footsteps sounded against the concrete. A car passed us by, and I instinctively ducked my head to the side. "You know, Seaweed Brain, you can be pretty philosophical."

He held a hand over his heart, grinning cheekily. "I try, Wise Girl."

Chuckling slightly before growing serious again, I said, "But I guess that makes sense. Maybe I was thinking—well, am thinking too much about what I'm going to do in life, not who I'm going to do it with."

He held out a hand. "There you go. I know this will sound cheesy, but that's what love is. People sticking with you through thick and thin, always being there for you. I know love is really overrated these days, and people use it so freely, but I'm more careful with it, because I still believe it's a precious thing."

I recalled Rachel telling me that he would never tell her "I love you." I guess she was right in thinking it was because he thought too highly of the word to use it so carelessly. "Love is weird, though."

He laughed. "I agree. It shows up at the wrong time—"

"With the wrong people."

"But somehow, someway, it all pans out in the end. It's one of the ingredients for the perfect, sweetest dessert."

A giggle escaped me. "Only you would compare love to a dessert."

He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "As long as it's blue."

I rolled my eyes, the smile stuck to my face. Who knew that I'd be talking about love with Percy Jackson? The way he described it, the way he held the prospect of love in such reverence, it made my own feelings for him grow. It seemed he made them grow everyday, more and more.

But I found myself not caring.

"Ah, here we are. I'm starving." Percy quickened his steps as we got to the outskirts of the small town. It was eerily like West Burge, in the sense that it was small and homey. A cozy cafe here, a library there, a coffee shop on the corner—it was perfect.

Percy instantly veered towards the cafe. A light green sign waving at us in the slight breeze read, "Demeter's Delights."

There was an outside eating area and Percy grabbed an empty table. It wasn't hard to find—considering the time was around eight o'clock at night here, but for us, we were used to it being six right now. Most people had eaten two hours ago.

Percy held out my seat for me, and I sent him a grateful smile that he returned as he pushed my wooden seat in and took one for himself. Less than a minute later, a waitress appeared. She looked to be around her mid-forties, and her smile was warm. Despite how nice she looked, I still kept my head down, my hat covering my face.

"Hello, welcome to Demeter's Delights. My name is Demeter, and I'll be your waitress for the night," she explained as she handed out a pair of menus. "Can I start you out with some drinks?"

"Can I get a coke, please?" Percy asked. "She'll take a diet pepsi."

I smiled as Percy spoke my thoughts. The waitress nodded, and then proceeded to bid us goodbye, saying that she'd return for our orders.

"Wait, ma'am?" Percy called out, pausing her. "Can you make that coke blue, please?"

She frowned, but smiled nonetheless. After all, who couldn't smile in return to Percy's lopsided, sheepish grin? "Of course, sir."

She left, and he grinned in satisfaction. I perused the menu, scanning the foods and seeing which one my stomach responded to the most.

"Annabeth?"

I glanced up at him questioningly.

He hesitated a second before continuing. "Now that you see things in a different light, do you know what you want to be—or where you want to be in a few years?"

I bit my lip, my eyes distant on the menu. "I don't know. Still something with acting, but . . . well, we'll see, I guess."

He nodded.

About a minute later, "Annabeth?"

I sighed. "Yes, Percy?"

"Do you think, after you have to leave and go back to California . . . will you ever come back to visit?"

"Of course, Seaweed Brain. You're one of my best friends, and I can't stay away from Poseidon and Sally and Porkpie for that long."

It was as if a weight was picked up off his shoulders as he shot me a smile.

"Annabeth?"

An exasperated exhale was released from my throat. "Oh, my gods, Percy, what now?"

"Who do you think you'll end up marrying?"

Okay, that was not what I was expecting. My eyes shot up to him, and I saw his cheeks were red and he wasn't meeting my eyes—almost like he was embarrassed of what he just said.

"I mean, will you marry—like, what kind of person?" he stammered, trying to cover up. "Will you marry Luke? Once you marry someone, will you still visit?"

I could feel the heat radiating from my cheeks. "I don't know, Percy."

"He is who you have a crush on, right? That's why you wanted to learn how to ride horses so badly, so you could get in the same movie as him."

"Well, yes," I admitted. "But I also really wanted to just be in the equestrian world. I love horses."

"So . . . you do like Luke?" he looked wary, as if he was dreading what the answer was.

My mouth opened, then closed. What should I say? How could I tell him that Luke was now squished into the corner, Percy took up all of my mind. I found myself not liking Luke anymore—only Percy. He was the only one, the one my feelings were directed to.

I was saved from answering as the waitress made it back to our table.

To say that the rest of the dinner was rather awkward would be an understatement.

After we had eaten, we made it back to the cabin and got ready for bed. Percy had given me the bed, and he set up camp on the couch out in the mini living room. The bed was comfy, and I sighed in relief as I laid down and relaxed after the busy and somewhat awkward day. The conversation from before crept up in my brain, teasing a blush onto my cheeks. But I shoved that away, rolling over in bed and stuffing my face in the pillow.

"Annabeth?"

I bit back a smile. "Yes, Percy?" I called to Percy through the open door. I couldn't see him from here, but his voice carried easily across the rooms.

"I'm sorry."

I frowned. "For what?"

"For being so mad at you back at home. For making that week so tense between us, and then for getting you hurt in the crash."

"Percy, it's fine. I was pretty much the reason for all of that. We only crashed because we were arguing, and we were only arguing because I . . . I did that thing."

"You kissed me?" He said it so plainly, so simply. But I could hear a tint of something in his voice. What was it? Regret? No. Disappointment? No. Wistfulness? Maybe . . . no, it couldn't be.

"Yeah, that," I replied, my cheeks warm.

"Okay. Goodnight, Annabeth."

I pursed my lips, shaking my head at the quick conversation that surfaced so many emotions. "Goodnight, Percy."