Hi! I finally finished this chapter! It took forever, but it's done! I'm pretty sure you guys will like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of PJO. Just this plot.

Chapter Thirteen

Annabeth

Everyone says that love hurts, but that's not true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Everyone confuses these with love, but in reality, love is the only thing in this world that covers up all the pain and makes us feel wonderful again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I feel way too exposed," Thalia complains, spreading out on the beach towel in the sand. "Why am I wearing this again?"

"Well, would you rather wear jeans and a hoodie to the beach?" Piper argues.

Juniper adds, "And you can't get a tan if you're all covered up."

I grin to myself and listen to the three girls argue. My hand absentmindedly plays in the sand next to the beach towel I'm laying on. It's our second day here at Montauk, and after a day of nonstop swimming, us girls (with the exception of Hazel – she volunteered to go to the store to get more breakfast food since Percy and I ate it all) have decided to spend most of today to lay out in the sun and get the first tan of the season. From our spot of the beach, I can hear the guys all yelling and laughing as they dive into the waves. It's been surprisingly warm for the beginning of spring, really warm, so the water's perfect for swimming.

"Annabeth's not in a bikini," Thalia points out. Although my eyes are closed, I can feel her eying my pale yellow one-piece suit. I'm actually pretty fond of the bathing suit. It's a wrinkled one-piece and covers up my chest well. Thin straps intersect and form an "x" on my back. I was pretty proud of myself when I found it in San Francisco. It's hard nowadays to find a modest bathing suit, especially in California.

"I'd like to point out that you forgot a bathing suit," I say, coming to Piper's aid, "even though we were going to the beach. And it doesn't really matter. It looks good on you."

Piper and Juniper agree. The plain black bikini really does suit Thalia, whether she likes it or not.

"You're lucky I brought an extra one, or else you'd be stuck on the beach in your black punk clothes while the rest of us are swimming," Piper chastises.

"And then everyone would think you're depressed or something," Juniper murmurs and I laugh.

We lay in silence for a few minutes, no conversation except for the occasional comment from Thalia about how she probably looks like a stripper. I roll my eyes underneath my sunglasses and soak in the sun's warmth. This has always been one of my favorite things to do, back in California. I loved sitting out on the beach, doing nothing except bask in the sun's rays. It helped me think, too. I'd always go to the beach after a particularly bad fight with my dad or one of my friends.

A sudden cold washes over me, as if someone has blocked the sun. I feel drops of water hit my legs and stomach and I open my eyes to find a soaking wet Percy standing above me.

My heart jumps a little. I can't help it. It's just, he looks so good when he's drenched in water. His floppy hair sticks to his forehead and drops of water decorate his long eyelashes, making his green eyes sparkle. His sculpted chest and ripped stomach drip water. His blue swim trunks fit him perfectly, hanging off of his hips in a way that would make male models jealous. I quickly move my eyes up to his face, my face burning. My face burns every time I see him, ever since Thalia and Jason found us asleep with his arms wrapped around me and my face buried in his chest.

"Move," I snap, playfully swatting his legs. "You're blocking the sun."

"Oh, heaven forbid," he teases. "Like you're not already tan enough."

I blush and he laughs. "What?" I demand.

"Nothing. It's just that when you blush, your whole body turns red, not just your face." When that makes me blush even harder, he adds on in an intimate tone, "Don't worry. I think it's cute."

"Gross!" Thalia whines. "Percy, stop flirting. And move. You're blocking my sun too."

"Hold on a sec, Thals," he says, shooting me a mischievous grin. "I have an idea."

I don't even have time to let the dread settle in my stomach before he picks me up as if I weigh nothing, and carries me over his shoulder towards the water, holding on to my legs. He's strong, so I know that if I fight him, it'd be useless. I groan and glare at the ground while I bounce around on his back.

Then cold – shocking, biting cold that engulfs me and chills me to the bone, yet somewhat relieves me from the melting sun. I break through to the surface, my curls sopping wet and sticking to my shoulders. I glare at Percy, who's grinning innocently at me while he floats a couple feet away. "You're a jerk," I snap at him.

"So I've heard," he shoots back, the smile never leaving his face.

Smirking, I splash water at him. I feel victorious when he coughs it all up. His eyes bloodshot and red, he snidely remarks, "Who's the jerk now?"

We play around in the water, splashing each other in the face until the saltwater nearly takes our eyesight. Jason gets Piper in the water the same way Percy got me in the water, except Piper tries to fight back. It was like she was fighting a stone wall, though, based on the reaction she was getting from her boyfriend. Percy and I swim over to them.

"Don't you just love boyfriends?" Piper asks sarcastically while watching Percy dunk Jason in the waves.

I roll my eyes. "They're the best," I say, thinking bitterly of Luke.

Piper looks at me, incredulous. "Did you just refer to Percy as your boyfriend?"

I blush, and clench my lips together. "Oh, no. We're just friends."

Piper rolls her eyes. "Please. That's what they all say."

"How do you know so much about relationships?" I ask, half trying to change the subject and half annoyed by her comment about Percy and I.

Piper blushes. "My mom writes romance novels," she says shyly and my annoyance disappears. "Whenever I go visit her, she talks endlessly about her latest book and how amazing the lovers in it are. I get a detailed description of every plot line. I've heard every love story there is."

"Wow. My mom's a college professor."

"Fun. Does she talk about lesson plans at the dinner table?"

I shake my head. "Mostly just how annoying college students are."

We're both laughing when they boys swim over. "Hey," Jason greets us. His golden hair in sticking up, like he ran his hand through it while it was wet, which he did. "What's so funny?"

"You," Piper teases, splashing his playfully.

Jason rubs the water out of his eyes and tries to glare at Piper, but can't since she's smiling her biggest smile at him, kaleidoscope eyes shining. He kisses her on the cheek instead.

I smile at them. I can easily see why they're the most popular couple at Goode. You can't help but feel giddy when they flirt with each other.

"Hi, Annie," Percy says, swimming up beside me. Drops of water fall down his face.

"Don't call me that." I give him my best death glare.

"Okay, Wise Girl."

Rolling my eyes at his ridiculous nickname, I laugh. "You have a hair sticking up," I point up, reaching a hand up and patting down a tuft of hair that the water had modeled to stick straight up. I hope my face isn't as red as the burning sensation causes me to believe.

"I have a hypothesis," Percy whispers, swimming closer to me. His bare chest rubs my shoulder and I can't help but think of that night when I fell asleep on top of him. "I believe that Jason screams like a girl when scared enough. Want to test it with me?"

I grin evilly at him. "I'd love to. What are you planning?"

"We'll need to scare Piper too. To measure up their screams."

I nod and quickly, he whispers his plan in my ear. His breath is warm and soft. I want to dunk my head in the ocean around me to bring back down to reality.

Together, we swim to Piper and Jason, Percy to his designated spot behind Jason and mine behind Piper. They're too engrossed in their conversation to notice us, which is good. I glance at Percy next to me, waiting for his nod, which will signal me to pounce on Piper. He looks back at me and winks and my heart flutters against my will. Then, he nods and we pounce at the same time, dunking the couple in front of us while laughing like maniacs.

Turns out, Jason does scream like a girl.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

You know that saying, floating on a cloud? That feeling when you're just so happy and complete, that it's like you're almost there, but not entirely. You're just floating, passing by and it feels as if nothing can bring you back to the ground.

That's how I feel at the bonfire. Like I'm floating. Like I belong here more than I've ever belonged anywhere else. Laughing, making s'mores, feeling Percy's warmth next to me, I feel like I could spend the rest of my life here, with these people.

"And then he challenged me to a game of laser tag, and the winner won the argument," Grover says, telling us of the last time his cousin visited and they had a disagreement about whether using trees for paper is okay or not. "He won," he ends, defeated.

We all laugh while Juniper puts a hand on his arm and reassures him that she thought he was right.

"Annabeth," Jason asks, "do you have any crazy stories to tell?"

"You should," Hazel pipes up. "Being from California and all."

I feel my face heat up. The truth is, I do have crazy stories – bucket loads of them, but they all have something to do with Luke and I don't want to talk about him.

So I shake my head. "No. Nothing really."

They all begin to protest. Surely I should have at least one good story and that a semi-funny story is better than no story at all. It isn't until Percy bumps his shoulder lightly against mine and whispers, "Come on, Wise Girl. What about that one about where you and your friend went to that diner and it ended up being karaoke night? That one's funny."

I sigh and tear my eyes away from his piercing green ones. How he manages to break me down and make me do and say things I don't want to is beyond me. I launch into the tale of how Calypso and I went to our favorite diner and ended up singing a duet on their stage, our voices cracking from fear.

At the end of my story, everyone's roaring with laughter, although I didn't find it that funny. Percy grins goofily at me, his green eyes sparkling all different shades of green in the firelight. I smile weakly back, praying that my blushing face isn't noticeable.

I could stay in this group. I could be one of them and start over, forget about Luke and Calypso. I could do it.

Slowly, everyone starts trickling away, in pairs, back to the cabin to get ready for bed. Before we know it, Percy and I are the last ones left.

The fire crackles in front of us, waving around in the wind. I feel Percy breathing next to me and hope he doesn't feel my wildly beating heart that's about to jump out of my chest. "So," Percy starts, "are you having fun so far?"

I smile. "Yeah. This place is beautiful."

Percy nods and scans the beach before us. The whole setting is so terribly romantic, it physically hurts me. Who knew you could want something so much that you were so scared to have?

"I used to come here as a kid with my mom," he continues. "Just us two. No step dad. No other family members. It was nice to get away, even if just for a couple days, and forget about everything else that was going on."

I nod. "I know how you feel," I comfort, placing a hand gently on his arm. "It's nice to have one place to go to forget. Kind of like a, a peace parlor."

Percy snorts and turns to look at me. His hair has dried from earlier today and now falls across his forehead, like it usually does. His eyes hold an amused shine as he teases, "A peace parlor?"

I blush and shrug. "Well, yeah. A place you go to get peace. A peace parlor."

He grins his infuriating dopey grin. "I like it."

I swallow. "Me too."

Suddenly, I notice just how close we are. Our shoulders are connected, but I've turned to face him, so it's like they form a right angle. My knee brushes his and my hand is still on his arm. I catch my breath as he leans in.

I don't move. I'm as still as a statue while he brushes my hair over my shoulder, his hand lingering on my shoulder for a second too long. I feel his breath hot on my cheek, moving closer and closer in towards my lips until they're only a centimeter apart.

Time stands still. My hands shake and my stomach turns. I'm face-to-face with my fear, what I've been aching for since the day I met Percy, but what I'm the most scared of. Betrayal and guilt flares hot in me, even though I know it shouldn't. He betrayed me. Kissing Percy wouldn't be betraying Luke.

Defiance is stirring within me too. I want to show Luke that he didn't destroy me. I want to show him that he isn't the only guy I'll ever fall in love with. I want to show him that he had no effect on me. But shouldn't I be just wanting to kiss Percy? I do; man, I do. I want to close this gap between us more than anything in this world. More than anything this world could offer. But shouldn't that want of just Percy be the only thing I feel? Shouldn't my thoughts be only on Percy right now, in this split second before we kiss? I shouldn't be thinking of revenge or feeling guilty. I should be feeling giddy and light and be thinking of nothing but Percy, and the truth is, I'm not.

Quickly, I pull back, my heart beating as rapidly as I'm breathing. I look at Percy with wide eyes and bite my lip. "Um, I'm sorry," I whisper, my voice shaking with sobs. "I just – I can't."

I jump up off of the log we were using as a seat and run away from the cabin, away from the fire, and especially away from Percy, with his confused eyes and abandoned lips. I can hear him cursing himself and kicking the sand and my only thought is that I want to go back and comfort him, tell him it's not his fault and that I really did want to kiss him and be with him, but I can't because I don't want to hurt him with my broken past. But I keep running, trying to put as much distance between me and Percy as I can.

I reach the water when the first sob escapes. Tears fall fast from my eyes. I trudge into the waves, kicking and sobbing. I tried. I tried so hard to be strong. There were many times when I broke down in tears, but never had I allowed myself to have a full-on tantrum. Luke wasn't worthy of that, is what I kept on telling myself. He wasn't worthy, he wasn't worthy, he wasn't worthy.

But now, now I allow myself to scream and cry and kick and punch because what happened and what he did has affected my new home and new friends. I've hurt someone because of him.

I glare out at the ocean. It's rough and unforgiving, just as I am right now. I look out and picture someone on the opposite coast, past Europe, past Asia, on the Pacific coast, and scream, "Are you happy now? Are you happy, Luke?" I kick the water at my feet. "Not only have you broken my heart, but now I've broken someone else's because of it. So congratulations! I hope you got what you wanted."

I stand in the water for a few minutes, feeling the sand squish beneath my toes and the water splash my thighs. Tears still fall, but silently now.

How do I go back? How do I face Percy again after tonight?

A tear falls from my face and into the ocean, another drop of saltwater added to the mass that's already there.

How do I move on from this now? How do I fall in love with someone else now? How do I get over this guilt?

Another tear falls into the water. I wonder if the ocean is just a mass collection of the tears of pitiful humans. I wonder that if there was no sadness, if the ocean would still be there.

I can't move on. At least, not now. Maybe in a few years, when I've gotten over not only being betrayed now, but hurting another person. When I've gotten over my irrational fear of trusting someone. Maybe one day I can forget and move on, but that day's not today.

I wipe away my tears and slowly make my way out of the water and up the beach and to the cabin. The fire has been put out and Percy's nowhere to be seen. I bite my lip. Maybe I spent more time on the beach than I thought.

My suspicions are confirmed when I sneak into the cabin to find all the lights off and everyone in bed. A faint snoring comes from the boys' room, which I know is Grover. Juniper teased him about it all morning that first day when she wasn't teasing me about falling asleep with Percy.

That thought makes me gasp, as though I had physically punched myself. I push him out of my head and creep quietly into the girls' room.

All of them are asleep. I sneak past Thalia's air mattress which is right in front of mine and start searching my bag for my pajamas.

"Annabeth?" a timid voice calls quietly from the bed. I grimace and look up.

"Sorry, Hazel," I apologize. "Did I wake you up?"

The junior shakes her head. She's peering over the edge at me, her golden eyes flashlights in the darkness. The soft moonlight from the window shines on her, her curly mop of hair casting shadows on the ground.

"No," she reassures me. Then, she adds more solemnly, "I saw what happened."

I tense up all over. I don't say a word and Hazel must take my silence as anger. "I'm sorry," she quickly says. "I was just grabbing a drink of water before bed and was looking out to check on you guys, make sure you were still out there. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Hazel," I interrupt her. "I don't mind."

She breathes a sigh of relief and gestures for me to sit with her on the bed. I smile at her and join her on the twin size bed. "What was his name?" she asks, and the question is so abrupt, it takes a moment to sink in. And when it does, there's not a moment of hesitation.

"Luke," I whisper. "His name was Luke."

I start telling her about Luke and I, starting with how we met to how we ended. "And that's why I pulled away," I conclude. "I kept thinking about him and feeling guilty."

Hazel smiles sadly at me. "Oh, Annabeth," she cries. "I'm so sorry."

"How did you know it was another guy?" I question, not really wanting her to pity me. I allow myself to pity me, but I won't let others.

Hazel looks down at her lap and plays with her fingers. "I had something similar happen to me."

I look at her. "What happened?" I ask quietly, peering curiously at her.

Hazel takes a deep breath and starts, "His name was Sammy. We met when I was thirteen. I wasn't very popular at school. In fact, I was the opposite of popular. Everyone made fun of me because of my family. My mom was a fortuneteller of sorts, doing, you know, tarot card and palm readings. They called her a which because after someone came to her, something bad would always happen. They slip and break their leg or a family member dies. They thought she was a witch, and because I was her daughter, I was considered a witch too.

"But Sammy, Sammy was different. He was nice to me. He sat with me at lunch and was always my partner in gym class, even though I was terrible at nearly everything. He made me laugh and stood up for me whenever someone tried to bully me. We became best friends soon after we met, as you can imagine. And a few years later, we were a little more than best friends.

"My sophomore year, my mom's business was awful. The rumor spread around that she was cursed, so she was barely getting any business. One day, my birthday actually, I came home from dinner with Sammy. I was walking on air and in my own world, basically, because Sammy had kissed me. But my mom grounded me with the crushing news that we were moving across the country to start over, leaving everything and everyone behind. I wasn't allowed to keep in touch with anyone from home. We were going to disappear off the face of the planet, or at least it would appear to the people of New Orleans as that. I didn't obey, though. Sammy and I decided to keep in touch through email, since I didn't have a phone.

"We moved and everything was good for a while. I went to Goode and met Percy, who was a year older than me, but nice. He and his friends immediately took me in and I was happy, or as happy as I could be, being away from the boy I was in love with. But one day, Sammy sent me a shocking email that nearly crushed me: he had a girlfriend."

Hazel takes a moment to wipe away a tear. This must be really hard for her to talk about. When I told Silena about Luke, I broke down completely, so I admired Hazel for staying strong.

"It felt like I was dying," she continued, her voice surprisingly steady. "Physically and emotionally. That weekend, all I did was cry while trying to sound happy for him like a best friend should. But for the longest time, I was dead inside. The love of my life had completely ripped my heart out and I couldn't do anything about it but cry."

"That's how I felt," I say quietly. "All summer. That's why I decided to move."

Hazel smiles at me and takes my hand reassuringly. "But then I met Frank. He was new and Percy also took him in. When I met him, it was like being brought back to life. He was sweet, goofy, clumsy, and all around imperfect, yet he was perfect to me. Not long after we met, we started dating."

"But how?" I ask. "How did you get over Sammy so quickly?"

"I didn't," Hazel answers. "And I don't think I will ever be entirely over him. A girl never completely gets over a crush, much less someone they were in love with for years. But getting over them isn't what matters. It's forgiving them and letting go."

I'm silent, staring down at my lap. Nearly a year later, and here I am sitting here, still unable to forgive.

"You have to forgive Luke, Annabeth," Hazel continues gently. "You have to forgive and move on. You're gonna feel guilty and you're gonna feel like you're betraying them, but you only feel that way because you went for so long loving them. It's in your nature. The only way to get over that is to love someone else. Give other guys a chance to steal your heart. Percy, I know, would love to. He shouldn't be punished for what someone else did to you."

I smile at the girl in front of me. "Thank you," I say. "That made me feel a lot better."

She grins at me, her white teeth sparkling in the moonlight. "No problem. I hope I helped."

She crawls back underneath her blankets and I get off her bed and into mine, not caring to change into my pajamas. I burrow into the blankets, one thing that Hazel said repeating itself in my head.

He shouldn't be punished for what someone else did to you.

He won't, I tell myself. He won't.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

I wake up to the sound of someone cursing. I rub my eyes and crawl out of bed, making my way quietly to the living room, not wanting to wake anyone else up.

I'm met with the sight of Percy destroying the living room, obviously searching for something. All of the cabinets in the kitchen are thrown open and the coffee table's decorations are carelessly rearranged. Percy throws aside the couch cushions and mutters a few choice words quietly to himself while scanning the now cushion-less couch.

"Where is my phone!" he cries in frustration and I decide to walk into the room.

"Have you tried calling it?" I ask, a smirk on my lips.

Percy straightens immediately and rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, no," he mutters sheepishly. "Didn't think of that."

I laugh and walk over to the kitchen, where my phone is charging on the counter. Picking it up, I go to my contacts list and select his name.

"Best Song Ever" by One Direction starts to play faintly from the black backpack on the kitchen table. Percy dives for it and has trouble opening it, his face completely red. I'm still laughing when he finally gets the backpack open and turns off the phone.

"I'm going to kill Thalia," he mutters and looks up at me shyly, his face still red.

"A Directioner, huh?" I tease. "I never would've guessed."

"Actually, I'm a Swiftie. I guess Jason and Grover got into my phone and changed the ring tone."

I laugh again. A strange image of Percy jamming out to Taylor Swift in his truck fills my mind, making me laugh harder. "You truly are a strange one," I say. "Who's backpack is that anyways?"

Percy glares at it. "Thalia's. She steals my phone from time to time. Very annoying."

I smile, thinking how that's a very Thalia-like thing to do. An awkward silence spreads between us and the events of last night come raining down on me.

A campfire.

An almost kiss.

A decision.

I glance at Percy who seems very interested in changing his ring tone. From time to time, he glances up at me too and our eyes lock, only for both of us to look away quickly.

"Uh, so what are you doing up so early?" I ask, breaking the silence.

Percy shrugs and puts his hands in the pockets of his tan shorts. "Just going for a walk," he answers. "The beach is beautiful in the morning." Another silence. "You want to come?"

I bite my lip and nod. "Let me just go change."

Ten minutes later, I'm dressed in jean shorts, a loose-fitting white tank top, and my yellow bathing suit underneath, my hair half-up, half-down.

"Ready?" Percy asks when I come out of the bathroom. I don't miss the way his eyes linger on my lips a second longer than the rest of my face, but I don't say anything.

I nod and we exit the house.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Percy's right. The beach is beautiful. But it's hard to enjoy it with the awkwardness between Percy and me being stronger than ever.

We walk in silence. The water rolls up on the sand, wetting my feet. Playfully, I use my foot to splash the water on Percy, but he just gives me a halfhearted grin and continues walking. Resisting the urge to groan in frustration, I jog to catch up to him.

"Let's play a game," I suggest. "Twenty Questions?"

Percy shrugs and doesn't look at me as he says, "Sure. You first."

I look out at the water, thinking of a good question. Something I don't know about him, which is kind of hard, since I know pretty much everything. "Um, what was your first word?"

Percy gives me a puzzled look. My heart leaps as some of the awkwardness leaves and it becomes a bit more comfortable between us. "Why would you need to know that?" he asks.

"Don't question my motives!" I chastise, playfully slapping him on the arm. He rubs it, mocking pain.

"Fine," he says. "It was...uh...let me think..." He trails off, rubbing the back of his neck, his face red.

I bump him with my shoulder. "Come on, Seaweed Brain, fess up. It can't be that embarrassing."

"It was 'food'," he mutters.

I laugh. "Why am I not surprised?" I tease, smiling at him. "Okay. Your turn."

Percy thinks, long and hard, stroking a fake goatee while he does. "Alright," he says, an enigmatic tone in his voice. "I've got it."

"Fantastic."

"Why did you run away last night?"

His question catches me off guard, even though part of me had been expecting it. My breath catches. I realize we've stopped walking and are standing in the sand, facing each other.

My first instinct is to lie. I want to tell him that I just felt sick and was going to get some air that wasn't polluted with smoke. That I felt like I was going to pass out and needed to get away. I could play dumb and act like I didn't know he was trying to kiss me. Anything sounds better than the truth.

He shouldn't be punished for what someone else did to you.

And no matter how much I want to lie, I can't.

"I was scared," I murmur, looking down at the sand. "That's why I ran away. I was terrified and I couldn't do it."

For at least a minute, Percy doesn't say a thing. I keep my eyes trained on the sand, listening to the gentle sound of waves lapping on the shore. I try to steady my shaking hands by crossing my arms and tucking them against my torso. I try not to think of how pathetic I must look to him, how small and weak and pitiful. How lame my excuse must sound to him since he doesn't even know why I'm scared.

"There's nothing to be scared of," Percy says gently. He takes a step closer to me. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I step closer to him. "What if I hurt you?"

Percy takes a finger and uses it to lift up my chin to where I'm staring him in the eyes. Green on grey. Electricity sparks between us. "That could never happen," he whispers, and I know I'm gone.

He reaches his hands up, one hand cradling my chin and the other buries itself in my curls. He takes one last step closer to me, his body pressed against mine. I don't move at all as he leans closer and closer to my face, but I don't pull away either.

When our lips are a small centimeter apart, just as they were last night, Percy whispers gently, "Can I kiss you?"

I stare at his lips and nod, barely. My whole body seems to be trembling now, fear taking away my voice. I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I'm not ready, I'm not ready, I'm not ready.

Percy brushes his lips against mine and I take in a breath. His lips are soft, warm, cautious, and on mine not nearly long enough. He pulls away after only a second or two, his green eyes searching mine. I give him a small smile and he leans down again. I have only a second to gasp before his lips collide with mine.

It starts out gentle at first, like the first kiss was. When I begin to kiss back, it becomes more intense. Percy smashes me against him, as if he's trying to fold me into him. My fear melts the longer we kiss, replaced by the fire burning inside me, burning and growing with every second that passes.

Percy's the first to pull away. He grins his signature goofy grin at me and I smile back. "That was nice," he whispers, leaning his forehead against mine.

"Yeah. It was," I reply. A ridiculous smile forms on my face, and I'm unable to stop it.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend," he asks shyly, a blush just now forming on his cheeks.

I laugh. "After that kiss, I kind of thought I already was."

Percy grins and kisses me again. When we pull apart, I use my foot and splash water on him again. But instead of ignoring me like he had the first time I splashed him, he shoots me an evil grin. "You're on, Wise Girl," he challenges.

We both sprint into the water, the waves soaking us. Percy splashes water at me, which hits me in the chest, soaking my tank top. I'm thankful that I had the brains to wear my swimsuit underneath my clothes. I splash him back, hitting him in the face. He wipes water from his eyes, then charges and tackles me, both of us falling into the water.

I surface, coughing up saltwater, a second after Percy. I stand, the water level at my mid-thigh, and glare at Percy. "You're an idiot," I tease.

Percy shrugs. "But I'm your idiot."

Aw! "But I'm your idiot!" I just love that! Percy, stop being so adorable!

So who's ready for some Percabeth-y, fluffy chapters? I am! I'm on Thanksgiving break, so I'll hopefully update again this week. Hopefully. We're having Thanksgiving at my house this year, so we have to clean and do horrible stuff like that.

Review, perhaps? I got, like, a billion reviews for last chapter. If we could have a repeat of that, that would be fantastic. Thanks!

"But the fact is, it was our pains He carried - our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought He had brought it on Himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him -our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed. We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. We've all done our own things, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him." Isaiah 53:4-6