This chapter is dedicated to CreativeWritingGirl, for shoving me off my butt and telling me to start focusing on this story again. Thanks for the chat, CWG. You honestly don't believe what you're reviews can do for me, this story, and all my dedicated readers. I'm sorry for being a horrible author, maybe this chapter will make up a little bit of it.

Percy couldn't get enough of the ocean. I woke up the next day to Percy trying to sneak through my room to get out the back way—ultimately leading to the ocean. He shot me a sheepish smile as I rolled sluggishly over in my bed, seeking sleep once more.

After I had gotten that morning's sleep, I slipped out of bed, changing into my swimsuit and throwing the same swimsuit cover on. I grabbed a granola bar on the way out, calming my rumbling tummy. It was eight o'clock, but it was already at least seventy degrees out. The early sun shed its light, and the birds sang gratefully in the trees surrounding us. The waves crashed alluringly against the shore, and the sand was soft under my toes—overall, it was absolutely perfect.

I took a deep breath, soaking in the moment before heading farther out. Percy was laying on his back out in the water, spinning around in circles. A snort of laughter erupted in my throat at the boy. He acted so childish when he was in the sea, it was adorable.

Reaching my destination, I fluffed out a towel onto the sand, sitting down on it and adjusting my sunglasses.

"Good morning, Wise Girl!"

I smiled. "Good morning. You got up early."

He shook his head in disagreement. "You got up late," he corrected.

Rolling my eyes, I replied with, "Percy, eight is not that late."

"It is when the ocean is nearby! Come on, get in the water!"

"No, thanks. I'll stay dry up here."

He grumbled, called me a "loser-pants", and even begged me to come out—but I refused. My mother had always hated the water for some reason, and I think that passed down to me. I just didn't feel safe in the inconceivably vast ocean.

Finally he gave up, resorting to spinning around again. I walked down to the water's edge, letting the water reach up and tickle my toes.

"Have you heard anything from your mom?" I asked Percy.

He tipped his head back to look at me upside down. "Yep. She called earlier this morning. She's doing fine, it was just some stomach flu. She says hi, by the way."

I grinned, glad Sally was doing better. She was like my surrogate mother, and I was disheartened when she couldn't make it on the trip.

Though when Percy stood up and trudged over to me—his hair wildly tempting and his toned body glinting from the water—I was secretly and wickedly glad I got to come in her place.

Shaking those thoughts off, I stared out at the water. That didn't help. They were the same color as Percy's eyes.

"Thanks for coming with me," Percy said, his voice soft.

"It's no problem at all, I always enjoy some beach time."

"Wanna swim?"

I exhaled exasperatedly. "Percy, I already told you. I'm not swimming right now. You'd have to drag me out there before I willingly went in."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm . . . You're gonna laugh at me."

"I pinky promise I won't laugh at you."

I sighed. "I'm afraid of the ocean."

It was two quiet seconds before Percy burst out laughing.

I stomped my foot, glaring at him accusingly. "You said you wouldn't laugh, you liar."

His guffawing continued as he leaned down on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "I—I'm sorry, just—scared of the ocean?" Another fit of giggles rose in his mouth and I sent my eyes to the sky.

"Idiot," I muttered, pivoting and marching away.

"Annabeth, wait!" Percy called behind me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh!"

"Right, sure you didn't," I replied sarcastically, making my way to my towel.

A hand grabbed my elbow and swung me around. I met Percy's amused green eyes as he said, "I really didn't mean to. I just don't understand how anybody could be afraid of the ocean."

"I'm not scared of, like, the waves. They're calming, and the water is pretty. I'm just scared I'll drown or something."

"I'd never let you drown, Wise Girl." He looked so serious, his gaze latched onto me was so intense, it sent shivers down my spine.

I crossed my arms close to my body. "I still don't want to."

He pursed his lips, and I struggled to keep my stare on his eyes. It didn't help when he turned and looked back at the ocean. His ridged body twisted and adjusted, rippling like the waves.

I cleared my throat, blinking a few times and quickly shifting my eyes back to his when he turned around again.

"Percy, maybe later I'll go out. But not now. I'm gonna go sit in the sun," I told him.

"I will too."

I looked at him skeptically. "Don't you want to swim?"

He nodded. "Yes, but I'll have plenty of time to do that later. We do have a whole other day tomorrow, and then half a day after that before the plane leaves. So I'll sit with you."

"But—"

"Annabeth, I want to sit in the sun. I need to tan this body up before winter," he said jokingly, pointing at his torso.

Well, since he's asking me to look . . .

Apparently I looked a second too long.

"Like what you see, Chase?" Percy asked smugly.

I scoffed, trying not to blush. I blushed way too much around this boy. "In your dreams, Jackson."

He laughed. "You're cute when you blush and get all riled up, Wise Girl."

That did not help the blush leave. Instead, I scowled at him as we walked over to the towels once more.

When we got there, I proceeded to pull off my swimsuit cover. It was his turn to blush.

I smirked in contentment. I wasn't going to say I didn't have a nice body. As a popular movie star, I was forced to stay in shape. My mom made sure I took care of myself, giving me a healthy diet and a planned exercise routine.

Looks like it was paying off.

For the next two hours we relaxed in the sun. After a little bit, Percy got bored and decided to start making a sand castle. Feeling that it was okay, I took off my sunglasses and hat, letting the sun reach all of me.

"Wise Girl, look at my creation!"

I chuckled, thinking this should be good. With a grunt, I pulled myself onto my feet, brushing some sand off my warm belly as I walked over to Percy.

A scraggly blob with a few spikes sticking up was sitting in the sand.

"And that is?" I asked.

He pouted. It was ridiculous how he looked so cute with that expression. "It's the ranch back at home, Annabeth. Can't you tell?"

I bit my lip, trying not to smile. "Oh, yeah, I can tell. That's, uh"—I pointed to one of the scraggly spires sticking up—"that's the house—"

"That's Blackjack."

I barely contained my snort. "Right. I meant that's"—I fixed, motioning towards another bump—"the house."

He scowled at me. "That's my dad."

A bout of laughter slipped uncontrollably through my mouth, and I fell into a fit of giggles.

Percy huffed. "Like you can do any better."

I smirked. "Challenge accepted, Seaweed Brain."

Soon enough, I was working side by side with him, each of us trying to make the best figure. In the end, he had another disfigured replica of his bumpy barnyard, and I had a carefully designed, easily recognizable sculpture of the Empire State building.

Percy stared at it, his jaw hanging on the ground. "Geez, Annabeth! How'd you do that?"

I stood up, wiping my hands off. "I don't know, I guess I've just always liked architecture."

"It's so organized and clean," he marveled, circling it like it was an ancient relic in a museum. "I can even see the individual ridges in it." He glanced up at me, his eyes shining. "So you're good at directing and organizing things?"

Shrugging, I replied, "Yeah, I guess."

"That's something you could do. What about being a movie director? You'd be good at that."

"Why?"

"Because you can situate things, you're good at arranging details, and you're extremely bossy."

I scoffed, flinging a bit of sand at him. He snickered and wiped it off his chest.

Smiling and shaking my head, I asked, "So who won?"

"Find, I admit defeat," he said dejectedly. I laughed and patted his back reassuringly.

"Percy, you should know by now that I'll always win," I stated in a grand, playful voice.

A glint lit up in his eye. "You'll always win?"

"Of course. And there's nothing you can do about—AH! Percy!" I was cut off as Percy suddenly ducked and tackled my waist. In a second, he stood up and started running, me slung over his shoulder like a rag doll.

I beat at his back. "Percy, let me down!"

"Ah, ah, Annabeth!" he disagreed, still running, his feet flashing in and out of my view. "You said you'd always win, I'm proving you wrong. You need to go for a dip in the ocean."

With me shrieking in protest and him guffawing with delight, we reached the water's edge. A few more long strides from Percy and we were thigh deep. Grunting with effort, Percy tugged me off his shoulder and I went flying up and down, right into the murky water.

I wasn't submerged for more than a second before a hand wrapped around me and brought me back to the surface. I was spluttering, shaking hair out of my face. After I had wiped my eyes I opened them and saw Percy's green amused ones.

"That's not funny, Perseus," I snapped at him.

He giggled like a schoolgirl. "I thought it was, Wise Girl."

Sticking my tongue out at him, I started tromping back to the shoreline. I hadn't made it a few feet when Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me back forcefully.

"Come on, Annabeth!" he whined. "The ocean is not that bad!"

"Yes, it is," I shouted back to him, trying to tug my arm away. But he just pulled me closer almost like my yanks were nonexistent. I went crashing into his side, and he wrapped his arms around me and started off towards deeper water.

I was thrown off my feet as Percy seemed to move more quickly than possible, taking me with him out farther into the sea.

The unexplainable fear started to overtake me, and the cold depths of the water sent more chills up my spine. I wanted to close my eyes, but at the same time, I was scared to. Percy ignored my calls for him to stop.

Soon we were about a little above waist deep, and Percy swung me around in a little circle before pulling my trembling body close to him.

I quickly wrapped my arms around him in return, my feet scrambling for a firm stance.

Percy shushed me, saying, "Annabeth, I told you. I'd never let you drown."

My struggling stopped. I looked straight at him, his eyes so close to mine I could see my own reflection peering back at me.

My breathing steadied, my heartbeat calmed—I didn't feel afraid. Percy's words, so honestly spoken, made me stop and realize that the ocean wasn't too bad.

The waves lapped soothingly around our bodies, and the water swirled at our feet. I could feel the rise and fall of Percy's breaths. Actually, we were so close together I could feel all of his skin on mine, like a blanket of warmth attached to my body, sending little flickers of fire tingling up my arms.

"Are you afraid?" he asked.

"No," I replied, my voice barely a whisper.

"You're beautiful, did you know that?"

There goes the breath that I just caught. Percy said it bluntly, almost like stating a fact.

"Percy . . ."

"No, you need to know that. I know the world puts a lot of pressure on you. What you said yesterday, about everybody automatically assuming you were going to stay as an actress, that you would live that cliche celebrity life—it's true for you, and I don't know what it's like exactly, but I know it's a lot of pressure.

"Everyday you are forced into routine, one that the world picks out for you. People are telling you how to dress, how to act, how to speak—people are telling you who you are."

I looked away. He was speaking the truth, and it hurt me to think that I was following the world's wants so blindly.

"But you're beautiful the way you are, Annabeth. Everything about you, from your smart-alec moments to the times when it seems as you're the softest, gentlest person on earth," he said.

"Percy." My voice was barely a whisper. I wasn't even saying his name because I wanted to tell him something, I was just saying the name of the person who made me feel like I was perfect the way I was. I was saying his name, just loving the sound of it, loving being right in his arms, loving the way I felt so, utterly safe and content.

"Annabeth, you're perfect the way you are. And don't let anybody tell you otherwise."

For a full minute we just stood there, the waves rushing around us in small drifts, the seagulls speaking overhead, and the green and grey eyes, meeting with an intensity that almost scared me.

"Percy, do you still need to wait?" I asked, want lacing my words. "Do—do you still need some time, like you said?" I don't even know what was giving me the courage to ask that. But I needed to know. I needed to know what was holding him back.

All of a sudden, a great pain entered his eyes, like he had come to a realization and it agonized him far more than a physical cut. "Annabeth—"

"Percy, just tell me! Why—who—what is keeping you away?"

Our faces were close, our bodies flush up against each other. It would have been perfect, except for the suffocating tension sucking the breath out of me.

"Annabeth, I can't."

"Why not?" I demanded. "Why am I not good enough for you?"

"No," he stated vehemently. "No, don't you ever say that."

"Then what is it?" I asked, my voice growing quieter.

He stared at me, a battle raging in his eyes.

"Please," I begged with a whisper.

But instead of speaking, Percy just angled his head, leaning down to give me our second kiss.

Our first kiss was sudden, almost like it wasn't meant to happen, just sprang up out of nowhere. This kiss . . . this one was fiery. Passionate. A fierce flame had ignited between us, and sealing our lips together just fed the fire even more.

I kissed him back hard, letting that one tear I didn't know had leaked out fall down my cheek. Percy's hands came up to cup my neck, tipping my head back to get even closer to me.

I didn't care if anybody saw us. I didn't care that we still hadn't resolved whatever was holding him back. Let people stare, let that stupid obstacle that was in his way disappear—if it be just for one moment. All I wanted was this kiss, was Percy's embrace, feeling like I was important. And not the movie star, famous person important. I meant the important to someone for who I am, not for the characters I act out in scenes.

"Annabeth," Percy breathed, leaning back a little to put his forehead on mine. His eyes were twins with the ocean, swirling with just as much depth and chaos. "Annabeth, we can't."

I was still breathless from everything that had just progressed in the past few minutes. "Why not?"

"We just can't!" he said, his voice staying quiet, but ferocity lacing his words. "You and I . . . we can't do this. You're a world-wide famous actress, I'm a nobody in a small town with a ranch and a few horses. It just can't work out. You know it."

"It—It could, Percy," I objected, straining to find some positive answer.

"No, it can't. We don't fit, you and me. We're opposites. The world knows we're opposites. We're just two smitten people with no care in the world, yes, but it can't last."

I stood upright. "Yes. Yes, it can. I don't care. My mom can curse us to the ground, the world can shun me forever, but Percy, I don't care. I want to be with you. I want to so badly I don't care. Please. Please, can we just try this? Can we just—just try to be happy, and maybe everything will work itself out?"

He stared at me, his eyes searching my face. "You are so beautiful."

"Percy, please. It will be good for both of us."

He sighed, looking to the side. "Annabeth, I don't want this to come crashing down painfully. I'm just trying to be realistic."

"It'll be okay."

"You're leaving soon."

"To Hades with that, I can stay."

"You're movie—the one that started this all."

"I can still do it, I'll just come back a lot."

"Luke?"

That one stopped me. He looked so pained, like a physical force was punching him in the gut at the sound of that name.

"Percy, I did like Luke. Maybe a little part of me still does, but I wouldn't be able to tell, because everything—every part of that has switched over to you."

"Really?"

I smiled. "Really."

"So we can really try this?"

A small laugh was let out of my mouth, and Percy watched me, delight growing on his face. "Yes, we can really try this."

So without further ado, and with nothing holding either of us back, he leaned down, sweeping me in for another kiss.

Two tangled teens alone in a raging sea, and neither could think of anything but the other.

Sorry if it seemed kind of rushed, but it'll all work out in the end. THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER. Gods, no. Sorry, ya'll are stuck with me for a few more chapters. Doing my Asian mental math (all you Indonesians out there, UNITE! Hehe, jk jk) I can tell you we have at least . . . eight more chapters left. I'll try not to be a stupid, nasty jerk and make you all wait again.

Truth is, I've been putting all my focus onto my own stories on Wattpad. Little Lady is time consuming. But I'd really really appreciate it if you guys checked it out. I've changed my username once more, and it's not "Sophia-Dee" anymore, it's "s-s-dee". So please, if you have time, look for Little Lady.

Love you guys. 3